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TEDx: Ideas Worth Spreading

Posted by  on Monday, November 5th 2012     

Just over a week ago I attended TEDxToronto – a one-day conference, which draws a diverse and passionate array of speakers and audience members to the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts for a day of networking and inspiration.  All of TEDxToronto speakers and organizers are volunteers, committed to developing innovative solutions and amplifying the ideas that we hope will make Toronto — and the world — a better place… how cool is that!?

The theme for this year was Alchemy – “the seemingly magical process of taking ordinary, common elements, usually of little value, and combining them to make something extraordinary of great value.”

Each talk had its own perspective on the topic of Alchemy, and although they all were great, like most people I had my favourite moments and speakers. My 3 favourite talks from the day, the people who really sparked something in me and made me think beyond what we hear and say at the surface were:

“Life is fragile, we’re only here for a finite about of time… it is up to us how we use that time”
“If we are amazed by little kids using iPads and their ability to hit one single button, we aren’t asking enough of our children…”
“Great things come from small beginnings… How do we live with illness, well?”

What I took away from the day (my interpretation of what was said, not necessarily word for word of the talks…) – food for thought, was this:

  • Stories are where it all begins… it’s human nature to feel a more intense pull toward something or someone when you have heard a story that you can relate to… each of the above 3 talks were the ones that resonated most with me.
  • Speak softly and carry a big stick…
  • Try. Get up every morning and tell yourself today is going to be the best day – maybe it will be and maybe not, but try to connect with someone new or challenge yourself in a new way – you’ll surprise yourself with how you feel.

The best part of events like TED to me are the opportunities to meet like-minded (and not so like-minded) people who really make you think about things from a different perspective. Attending the event alone was also a good choice my my part – really forced me to open up to others (or take that alone time I love) and reach out to get to know people and what they think.

Can’t wait for next year — who’s coming with me?!

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Body Blogging

Posted by  on Saturday, August 11th 2012     

I visit Diet & Dumbbells regularly to learn from the articles on how to properly take care of my body with nutrition and fitness

I’m sitting here eating my lunch – brown rice, a chicken breast and grilled veggies, yumm. Despite managing a good diet and working out 4-5 days a week, I am feeling guilty because I also indulged in a chocolate brownie and a London fog with my best friend last night. To make sure I “stay on track” I’ll hit up a hot yoga class tonight and get in a really good workout tomorrow and the next day… and the next day.

Ugh, the guilt! Why is it that our world is so obsessed with how we look, even more so than how we feel? Or is this not a new concept for us? Is our social networking obsessed world making us increasingly aware of how imperfect we are?

As much as I love social networks and stand behind the use for it in certain aspects of the professional world, there are too many people in my Facebook feed showing off their amazingly toned bodies – aka they are 16 and have no fat, therefore have a six pack. I AM SICK OF IT! Where are all the dedicated adults of the world showing off their well deserved, hard earned bodies?

When I used to workout at World Gym Kitchener, I met a lady named Sheryl – my inspiration for this post. Sheryl has two lovely sons, and over the years has lost about 100 pounds!! On top of this amazing accomplishment, she has a heart of gold and really is a health ambassador to the core… she is living proof that truly being fit and healthy requires dedication, determination, and of course… knowledge.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, and Facebook doesn’t count as your only source.

If you are going to follow the “diet” and “fitness” trends set out by celebrities, at least check out appropriate sites to read up on accurate information.

Here are the top 5 sites I recommend to gain proper knowledge from to help you achieve your ‘health’ related goals:

1. Livestrong

LIVESTRONG.com is “here to make you unstoppable”. The site offers passionate articles, recipes and tips to help transform anyone and everyone’s lifestyle. I love that the site encourages its readers to celebrate their daily victories while making smarter choices about food, fitness and health.

2. Diet & Dumbbells

Diet and Dumbbells delivers the goods on the things most people just don’t understand when they are in their local health food/nutrition store. Created by two Canadians passionate about the world of health, nutrition and fitness, D&D aims to “bring about a genuine enthusiasm for what we do and try to extend this enthusiasm to our readers.” Diet & Dumbbells is definitely my go-to hot spot to check out the latest conversations (and exclusive interviews!) in the industry.

3. Women’s Health / Men’s Health

“Women’s Health is for the woman who wants to reach a healthy, attractive weight but doesn’t equate that with having thighs the size of toothpicks.” Need I say more? The site does that for me: they know that exercising and eating well will make women happier and stronger and that looking and feeling good have very little to do with cosmetics and high heels.

Men’s health is a man’s guide to fitness, sex, women, workouts, weight loss, health, nutrition and muscle building… Men’s health is the world’s largest men’s magazine. Life can be stressful and sometimes it feels like there is never enough time, but both Women’s and Men’s Health help the everyday person to find balance in their own life.

4. Lifestyle Kick

LifestyleKick.com is a healthy living website featuring useful blogs by everyday people who are kicking their lives into shape in every way possible. The site offers a fresh look at tips on everything from nutrition to financial well-being. A healthy lifestyle comes from much more than fad diets and endless gym membership contracts – so Lifestyle Kick approaches health from a range of topics to incorporate into your daily life.

The website is coming soon – in the mean time check it out on Facebook and Twitter!!

5. Heart & Stroke Foundation

A volunteer-based health charity, Heart & Stroke Foundation leads in the area of eliminating heart disease and stroke and reducing their impact through “the advancement of research and its application, the promotion of healthy living and advocacy.” The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is a federation of 10 provincial Foundations, led and supported by a force of more than 130,000 volunteers… in 2010, the Foundation invested more than $106 million into research, health promotion and community programs… WOW!!

Although some of you may disagree on the applicability of this site to my post today, Sexuality and U is another great source for becoming informed on your sexual health – after all, it is a huge part of your physical health.

According to the site, being sexually healthy means that you are free from disease, violence, injury, fear and false beliefs. It also means that you are comfortable with your sexuality, and have the ability to control and positively experience your own sexuality and reproduction. Check out the site for any accurate and reliable information related to sexual health.

Don’t waste another minute, get informed on your health today. Gotta start somewhere, and knowledge is power!!

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The Freelance Survival Guide

Posted by  on Tuesday, July 31st 2012     

 

Just under 2 months ago I decided to start my own business – I had a lot of questions and had trouble finding many of my answers; but in the end Beccomm was born, and I am SO excited!!

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word freelance as “self-employed and hired to work for different companies on particular assignments” [adjective].

Working for yourself sounds fun right? Of course, but it also requires a lot of unpaid over time, and persistence. Whether you are a writer, a photographer or a web designer, here are 5 pieces of advice for your future in the freelance world (and in life, of course):

1. Filter out the noise and get the job done. Set a goal, seek out the people who have accomplished this goal, and persist, persist, persist! People are always going to have their own opinions; freelancing is your opportunity to try new things and see what works for YOU.

2. Seize every opportunity to learn. There are so many knowledgeable people in the world, yet for some reason we don’t take advantage of getting to know them and learning from their experiences. There are many sites on the internet where you can learn for free, too. I highly recommend Academic Earth and TED.com

3. Grow your passion into a labour of love.  Every person on this earth has that one thing that they love, and that they are great at; pursue that thing – it’ll be worth it. Sometimes it takes some serious ‘alone time’ to figure out what direction you want to go in, but that time and dedication will pay off down the road.

“Honor your calling. Everybody has one. Trust your heart and success will come to you.” – Oprah

4. Prepare to fail; and prepare to get back up again. When I decided to start my own business I was so excited to be doing something not a lot of my fellow graduates were doing. What I soon realized is that while every mistake is an opportunity to learn, some opportunities seem to come too often. You are what you think – sometimes we get discouraged and want to give up, but remember: it is in the struggle that progress is made.

5. Stop Caring. OKAY – this is not about others, but about yourself. Freelancing gives you the opportunity to be your own boss, but also your own employee. Stop caring about doing things the “right” way; do them your way instead. This doesn’t mean that you ignore the advice of others but rather you learn to push the limits and constantly move forward. This is your chance – all you are guaranteed is today and this moment, so GO FOR IT! Whatever you want out of your professional life and your career as a freelancer, go do it. Not tomorrow, today… Right now.

“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.”
-Hardy D. Jackson

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Guinness World Record Set For Busker Carnival Opening

Posted by  on Thursday, July 26th 2012     

Sun Life Financial Waterloo Busker Carnival

This August, Victor Rubilar will attempt to break a Guinness World Record juggling multiple soccer balls at the Opening Ceremonies of the Sun Life Financial Waterloo Busker Carnival, set to take place on August 23, 2012 starting at 6:15pm.

With thousands of Facebook likes and Twitter followers, Rubilar has the world behind him cheering him on and waiting for what exciting new move he will perform – and what record he will break – next.

Just one year shy of its 25 anniversary, the Sun Life Financial Waterloo Busker Carnival will welcome the 4-time Guinness World Record holder to UpTown Waterloo this August. Victor Rubilar will share his mesmerizing soccer skills and outrageous sense of humor with the crowd this summer in UpTown Waterloo – he is excited to show that there’s more to soccer than just kicking the ball.

In 2007 Rubilar broke three Guinness World Records: “The most rolls of a football from temple to temple”, “The most footballs juggled” and “The longest time to spin a football on the forehead” (19.96 seconds). Victor has also broken a new world record of “The longest distance traveled while balancing a ball on the forehead” (278 meters). In 2010 Rubilar set a new world record of “The most consecutive football rolls across the forehead”.

This August, Victor Rubilar will not only perform his act at the carnival, but will lead the Opening Ceremonies on August 23, 2012. Come to UpTown Waterloo this August 23-26 to watch Rubilar attempt to break a Guinness World Record juggling multiple soccer balls right here in Waterloo!

- 30 –

The Sun Life Financial Waterloo Busker Carnival began in 1989 as a project to revitalize the Uptown core. The original committee was the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce who hoped to encourage people to the Uptown area for some fun and to have an opportunity to see what was available in the city center.

After the initial success of the Carnival in 1989, the Chamber decided to pass the running of the Carnival onto a volunteer committee along with two City ofWaterloo recreation representatives. In 2011, the carnival broke attendance records with over 40,000 attendees.

Connect with the Carnival TODAY on Facebook and on Twitter.

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Finding the Right Fit

Posted by  on Thursday, June 21st 2012     

About 3 years ago I got a membership at Goodlife Fitness – I had gone from dancing 30+ hours a week to about 4 hours a week and my body was feeling like crap from this drastic change. Over the years I have worked out at The Athletic Club and World Gym Kitchener as well. All 3 gyms offer different things, but I believe that becoming a member of a gym is like getting a car – they all look nice on the outside, but only one is the best fit for you – no pun intended.

For those of you starting out or even just thinking about it… here is your basic gym breakdown, Becca style – with some help from those who know the gym best:

Goodlife Fitness – Canadian owned and operated, and a proud supporter of many charities and foundations.

What I love about Goodlife are the values you clearly are aware of as a member: it’s not about having 6% body fat but about taking care of your body to live the best life for you. With that said, I find personal trainers at some Goodlife’s don’t give their clients the best bang for their buck. Members at Goodlife who are training tend to be in their 40s and up (give or take) and I find some trainers are afraid to push their clients. If you are looking for a clean gym with friendly faces, then I strongly suggest Goodlife.

The Athletic Club – offering services like no other to achieve “a higher quality of life”.

The positive of TAC is obvious: who doesn’t want to come out of their hot yoga class and receive a cool towel and a cold glass of water? I don’t, HA. I do not come to the gym to be pampered… yes it is nice, but at the end of the day I am there to sweat my bum off and really take care of my body. However, two things TAC offers that no club in the region can match is a swimming pool and multiple studios for classes, including a hot yoga studio… I usually have to pay an extra $10-20 for a hot yoga class somewhere else in KW. I have to admit, the overwhelming variety of equipment, loaded class schedule and familiar friendly faces is why I am leaving Goodlife this summer to head to TAC.

World Gym Kitchener – inspired by Muscle Beach, California; known for their cheap memberships and the gym is a bodybuilders paradise.

World Gym, ah – where do I begin. I can only speak of the Kitchener location, as I am sure the American locations are much different. World Gym makes their presence known in ways TAC and Goodlife don’t – 91.5 The Beat DJs there some days, they throw red carpet launch parties… and the trainers range from ‘super awesome’ to ‘what the *%&$’. I have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly at World Gym from working with them on promotions, to training with Luke Curry – one of the best trainers I have met. My thoughts on World Gym are simple: if you want to really sweat your ass off and be around people who are willing to push you hard, then this is the gym for you.

No matter what gym you go to, or whether you belong to a gym at all, always remember this when you need that extra push of motivation:

 

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Taking On The World.

Posted by  on Saturday, June 2nd 2012     

She is Taking on the World, one woman at a time. But who is she and what does she do? Her name is Natalie MacNeil; she’s an entrepreneurial powerhouse empowering career-minded women to follow their dreams. Natalie started her blog, She Takes On The World five years ago as she was starting up her own business. Over the years her success has skyrocketed, and She Takes on the World was recently named by Forbes as one of 10 Best Career Sites for Women and by ForbesWoman on its list of Top 100 Websites for Women. The blog was also the 2010 winner of Blog of the Year at the Stevie Awards, dubbed “the Oscars of business”, as proven on her site which can be found here.

Last Tuesday I attended a Social Media Breakfast in Kitchener, where I networked and talked about everything and anything social media related with others working in the industry. The highlight of my day was without a doubt meeting Natalie. I had been reading her blog for years and have always looked up to her as an inspirational role model; a woman who had a vision of what she wanted to do, and made it happen — absolutely amazing!

I had the opportunity to sit down with Natalie and tell her about my new business, Beccomm. Not only did she give great advice to me as a young entrepreneur just starting out, but she actually took a look at my website and said she thought it looked great – what a compliment! Coming from Natalie herself, I was ecstatic!

What I learned that day at the Social Media Breakfast is to always seize opportunities – to meet other people, to try new things, and to push yourself to be the best that you can be. I strongly believe that it is important to share your knowledge, challenges and experiences with others so that you can grow and help others to grow, too.

With that said, here are my Top 10 must-read She Takes on the World resources:

1 – TEDxUW – Natalie MacNeil – Women: The largest untapped block of human potential

2 – Three Resolutions Your Small Business Needs to Keep

3 – Five Empowering Words for Women

4 – Lessons Learned from Obama’s Presidential Campaign

5 – Reframing Equal Pay Day – ASK for what Your’re Worth

6 – Video Marketing: 3 Inexpensive Ways to Create a Presence

7 – The 30 Best Business Blogs for Women

8 – Lessons from Oprah Winfrey: A Tribute to the Ultimate Female Mogul

9 – Dear Mr. Zuckerberg: Where are the Women?

10 – The Noisemakers Campaign

Natalie, thank you for inspiring me all these years to follow my heart and to truly go for what I want in life. Meeting you in person and having the opportunity to talk with you one-on-one was an experience I will never forget!

Her advice that every entrepreneur should know?

Network, network, network & never take ‘NO’ for an answer!

category: Becca Blog, Pending Trending
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The Telephone Game

Posted by  on Saturday, May 26th 2012     

At one time or another as children, we have all played the telephone game – you know, the person on one end whispers a short sentence and by the time the person at the other end of the line hears the message, everyone is confused and laughing hysterically.

Now you’re probably wondering what does the telephone game have to do with this blog? Today’s post is about more than just the 8-year-old shit disturber who purposely screwed up the message while playing the game as a kid. Today’s post is a wake up call for all adults to smarten up. Think before you speak and always be honest – you know, the simple rules your mother taught you as a child – these rules still apply as you “grow up”.

It is of course human nature to talk about others, with others – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest – it is all about creating conversations and relationships based on what we do, who we are, and who we spend our time with. What is important, is to always keep in mind how your words and conversations can hurt another person. Before you start ranting to your friend about someone else, think about how the words that you are saying could create unnecessary drama and confusion for the people further down the line. For example, maybe on one end boy meets girl, half way down the line the boy finds out the girl has a boyfriend, and by the time the message reaches the end of the line, the boyfriend has heard his girlfriend met someone else. Sounds harmless right? Think again.

Every word, every sentence spoken to another person has a purpose and leaves an imprint, and although the person originally sharing the information may have good intentions, the people retelling the stories and messages down the line don’t always have the same goals in mind.
Although we can’t change what people think or what they say, I believe we hold a strong weight on how they think and as a result, how they share what they have to say. This goes far beyond face-to-face interactions and into the world of social media. You may think retweeting is a harmless, two-second act, but the message you are sending out to your followers will directly affect your personal brand.

Everyone has a brand. Whether you own a business or not, you have a personal brand which you develop and share with others constantly, whether you are aware of it or not. Your brand is developed through what you say, how you say it, who you speak to, and who you don’t speak to. Your brand then expands (or shrinks) based on where you live, where you work and where you like to hang out. Your personal brand is just that – your brand and your brand only.

How you develop and grow your brand is up to you. There isn’t a magical formula of right and wrong methods to use, but there is this: listen, learn and tell the truth. Always be aware that you are a part of every message – and therefore connected – which you send along, whether it is in person or over the internet. You are responsible for your own voice, and your voice is your brand. Speak clearly, stand tall, and be you. It’s all you’ve got.

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Meet Becca

Rebecca Grieb is a strategic and creative thinker – an ambitious and passionate University and College graduate with a consistent work ethic, strong leadership abilities, and a desire to succeed. Read all about Rebecca and Beccomm by clicking Rebecca's photo.

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Personal Blog

An adventure seeking life enthusiast who is always ready to hit the ground running, Rebecca is a dreamer and a doer. Join her as she goes through each chapter of life, discovering new adventures and people along the way. Life is what you make of it - whatever happens tomorrow, we have today.

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Professional Blog

As a Corporate Communication & Public Relations graduate, Rebecca has a specific interest in emerging social media trends and platforms. Another passion of hers is the local talent and entrepreneurial culture in the Ontario region. Follow Rebecca as she discovers what is pending, what is trending and everything in between.