Pool the Family Together

When the weather is warm, the last thing you want to see is your children staring at a screen. But with one parent working late and the other taking the oldest to soccer practice, bringing the family together can be trying. Canadian summers are short, so get the family together to enjoy your home’s outdoor space with a swimming pool from GR Pools.

“For children, it’s a source of fun, no doubt about it,” says Carlo Riccardi, co-owner of GR Pools. With years of experience, he recognizes the liberating transformation felt by customers once they start splashing around in their new backyard oasis. “Once you fix your backyard properly with a nice pool, you’ll find that you’ll be spending a lot of time in the backyard. It definitely brings the family closer together.”
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The Pros and Cons of Business

He’s a venture capitalist known to crack the core of a begging entrepreneur with a swift and slicing speech; an established brand-builder in the industries of education, computer software and finance, and an overconfident capitalist that once went head-to-head with the berating and uncompromising nature of the late Steve Jobs. He respects his money just as much as he loves the freedom that comes with it, and will never yield to what won’t generate profit.

As co-host of CBC’s The Lang and O’Leary Exchange and unassailable personality on business reality shows Dragons’ Den and its American adaptation Shark Tank, Kevin O’Leary is now offering a start-up investment of $100,000 to the frontrunner of his latest venture, Redemption Inc. The prime-time series judges 10 Canadian ex-convicts on their potential to become legitimate entrepreneurs in challenging business settings. Read more

Yael Cohen

Don’t let Yael Cohen’s clean image and faultless features fool you. The founder of F*** Cancer is as poised and self-assured as a heavyweight champion. And when your non-profit’s name is that direct and controversial, you would certainly have to be.

“I’m very proud of what we do,” says Cohen. “We’ve been successful because of our authenticity, our rawness and because of our name. It’s memorable. You see it once and you won’t forget it.”

While some may feel that employing such a racy, candid title is brash and immature, for Cohen, there was no better way to sum up the confusion, anxiety and anger she felt when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. Read more

Porter Airlines CEO, Robert Deluce

Robert Deluce shows no signs of jet lag after touching down in Toronto just before sunrise. His red eye from California was preceded by a long day of aircraft-fuelled meetings neither distracted nor tempted by the Golden State. When we meet in his office at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport later that afternoon, it becomes apparent that the CEO and president of Porter Airlines isn’t the type of man that mixes business with pleasure, but a man who paradoxically puts forth a company that does.

Deluce gestures warmly towards his office where to the left of his uncluttered desk rests a pile of framed portraits that chronicle his roots and achievements in the aviation industry. Despite their significance, they emit an unpretentious display as they rest on the floor stacked against the walls. Read more

Inspire: Reflect on Life and Commit to Change

“BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD.” – Mahatma Gandhi

The end of the year often calls on us to reflect on our life and commit to change. But while our trivial promises to eat healthy or become active may serve personal goals, there are those who look to expending positive change to the world around them. Whether or not you conceive or forget your resolutions, the following list of individuals and organizations will inspire you to do more – to be that change that Gandhi asks of all of us.

1.  Robin Sharma
Authoring 11 bestsellers and the founder of Sharma Leadership International Inc., Robin Sharma delivers inspiring and motivational talks to rooms filled with employees from Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft and Nike. Read more

Marshall Jay Kaplan, Reaches for the Stars

It’s 3 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon and Marshall Jay Kaplan is in the middle of reviewing an episode of My House Your Money for the W Network, one of five shows he’s produced in recent years, which  includes TLC’s Brides of Beverly Hills and TVTropolis’ Instant Cash. A few hours earlier he received a phone call from a Canadian Forces corporal who wanted to inform him that the base loves his reality show Totally Tracked Down, where Kaplan himself heads to Hollywood and hunts down celebrities from the ’80s and ’90s like Cloris Leachman and Doris Roberts. If we can learn anything from this Vaughan, Ont. resident, it’s that we’re all capable of drawing our own destinies.

Most people would go on to become a doctor after getting a double degree in microbiology and biochemistry, but as you’ll soon discover, Read more

Suite Escapes, Toronto Real Estate Hot Spots

1. Lago
Next to the Etobicoke shoreline, the 49-storey waterfront high-rise provides luxurious features, such as marble flooring, walk-in closets and spacious balconies. www.monarchgroup.net

2. Minto WaterGarden
Inspired by the tranquility of nature, the Minto WaterGarden’s six-storey building wraps around a serene garden, creating an inspired esthetic. Located in Old Thornhill, residents enjoy contemporary one-and two-bedroom suites. www.minto.com

3. Beach club lofts
Embracing an open, modern concept, Beach Club Lofts put residences within walking distance of Toronto’s historic The Beach community. Ceiling-to-floor windows afford a spectacular Read more

Joey Mazzucco, the Boy with the Fedora

When he was seven, Joey Mazzucco’s life was turned upside down by cancer. At an age when play is a child’s biggest concern, Joey was placed at the foot of an ominous mountain and told to climb. It was a demanding trek, but Joey refused to judge the journey as a tragedy. There was no time for self-pity, no use in lamenting. He donned his favourite fedora, embraced the power of optimism and climbed. Why? Because there was simply no other choice.

When Joey’s right shoulder began shooting with pain in the summer of 2009, a torn rotator cuff was thought to be the source. A visit to the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), however, revealed the tumour causing his duress, and Joey was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer. Read more

City Life’s Professional Health guide

Dr. Marc DuPéré, Visage and AgeLess Clinics.

AgeLess Clinic, Becoming Age-Less
Science and art create a natural look at the AgeLess Clinic.
Modern cosmetic plastic surgery isn’t just nips and tucks. It takes the creative eye of an artisan to deliver that desired, untreated look. With over 20 years of experience, Joyce M. Palmer, owner and director of the AgeLess Clinic, explains that, “To achieve results that are really natural looking, the plastic surgeon has to be both technically and artistically skilled.”

Medical director of the AgeLess Clinic is Dr. Marc DuPéré, a board certified cosmetic plastic surgeon. He brings superb specialized skills and that creative talent to the AgeLess Clinic, which is essential for natural results. “He is considered an elite plastic surgeon,” says Palmer, noting that Dr. DuPéré’s accolades include graduating as a gold medalist from the McGill School of Medicine, Read more

Steve Jobs: A Visionary Great

When Albert Einstein formulated E = mc², he changed how we looked at the universe. When John Lennon told us to Imagine, he changed how we heard music. And when Steve Jobs gave us a new device, he changed how we interacted with technology. When the Internet exploded with dialogue discussing the passing of the 56-year-old Apple co-founder on October 5, it can be said with all confidence that millions of people did it using the products he created. This is his legacy; this is the most important innovator in the last 35 years.

No one, especially in the world of technology, has influenced more lives than Jobs. Rival developer Bill Gates spoke of the pleasure of knowing him, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg thanked him for showing “what you build can change the world,” celebrities wished him a heartfelt farewell, U.S. President Barack Obama Read more

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