Bio

My career started as a teacher, until I became a mother, which led to becoming a photographer. My passion is photographing children and bringing out the best in them – capturing bits of time. Examples of my work can be found on:http://www.cazpix.co.za/ 

1. How long have you been doing photography? How did you get started with it?

I have always had an interest in photography, but didn’t do anything about it until I got a really nice camera in the middle of last year. I have since upgraded my camera, and the learning curve is huge, but having kids is what made photography amazing for me – something I had to capture properly!

2. Is this your full time job? A career goal? A hobby?

Right now it’s half of a hobby and half of a career. I take pictures because I love it. I have started a small business so that other people can also have memories captured.

3. If this is not your full time career, do you struggle to make time for this? Is there anything you do to ensure you make time?

Making time is a bit difficult, as I run my kids around all week, but my husband is very supportive, and I do most shoots on weekends – and he watches the kids for me.

4. How do you deal with “naysayers”… you know, those voices/people who keep asking when the phase is going to pass? Or negative criticism about your work/creative endeavor?

Most people have actually been very encouraging, and helpful. I have so much to learn, and have not had negative feedback, only positive encouragement – my friends are quite amazing. I would be my own worst enemy in this endeavour!

5. What would your dream project be?

Have a studio, and take pictures of kiddies having fun

6. Is there something you have worked on that you are especially proud of? Or received accolades for?

I recently won a photography course with the very talented Andre Van Rooyen. I entered a Breadline Africa competition with one of my images, and won. I am very excited about this!

7. What does creativity mean to you?

Creativity is absolute expression. Defining yourself by making things is fun, relaxing, and rewarding. It needs to be an arena where you can explore. You learn a lot about yourself through creating things.

8. What advice would you give to others trying to follow a similar path?

Go for it. Take tons of photographs. Read lots. Ask questions. Experiment. Go way out of your depth, and enjoy the learning curve!

All images are copyright Cath Scott and are not to be reproduced  or used without permission.

Bio

Karen J. Lum, aka the Black Mamba, has been playing in a slough of different bands since the age of thirteen. Fifteen years later she still hasn’t left East Vancouver but has toured to such exotic destinations as Abbotsford. Currently, she melts faces in the bands the Stems, Disaster, and esteemed cover band, Crucial Taunt. “Tattoos, good tunes, and bad attitudes.”

1. How long have you been a drummer? How did you get started with it?

I’ve been playing the drums since I was thirteen. I used to set of large plastic buckets in my room in the form of a drum set and pretend to rip. Then my dad bought me a kit for my birthday because he needed the buckets to wash the car.

2. Is this your full time job? A career goal? A hobby?

Yes, yes, no. Music has taken over my life in more ways than one. I am its slave and it is mine. We have a give and take relationship. If I called it a hobby I’d be the fifty year-old fart with the Kiss shirt that laser drums in the jam space beside mine.

  2. If this is not your full time career, do you struggle to make time for this? Is there anything you do to ensure you make time?

Don’t work, ever.

3. If this is your full time job, how did you achieve this?

Don’t work, ever.

4. How do you deal with “naysayers”… you know, those voices/people who keep asking when the phase is going to pass? Or negative criticism about your work/creative endeavor?

I give them an open hand slap. Sometimes back hand, it depends on my mood.

5. What would your dream project be?

Playing percussion for David Bowie. Or if Disaster could just get big time then I could collaborate on some babies with the redhead from Mad Men.

6. Is there something you have worked on that you are especially proud of? Or received accolades for?

Two words: Christmas Band. We raise money for charities every holiday season. Come check us out at the Biltmore Cabaret this year.

7. What does creativity mean to you?

Doing something without thinking about what the end product will be because you don’t care what the fuck anyone thinks. That, and a bong and a Frank Zappa album.

8. What advice would you give to others trying to follow a similar path?

Make sure you practice, take good care of your gear, and never smile in pictures. But most importantly, never forget that chicks love drummers.

9. Any other comments or thoughts?

If you can’t play well, at least play sexy.

The Holidays

One of the first assumptions people seem to make is that we get these gloriously long holidays. While one’s schedule does match the school holidays, this doesn’t mean the work is over. There is a lot of admin involved and a lot of marking. There are marks meetings, prep for the next term and any professional development work a teacher might do during the break. That being said, yes, the holidays are long. But, if like me in my initial teaching at BCIT, you are on a contract, that means three months unpaid, until the new term. And the terms are often so exhausting that you need the long holidays to recover!

The Hours

“So… you only teach 12 hours a week? So, uh, what do you do during the day?”… <if you really want to know what I do during the day… see Meerkat Communications> Yes, physically we are in the classroom for maybe 12-17 hours a week depending on your load, but that doesn’t mean you only work 12-17 hours a week. First of all, those 12 hours I teach are 4 hours at a stretch of non-stop energy and being on the ball, which isn’t easy from 6-10pm at night. And scheduling means that during day school, there are often solid blocks of constant classes, which means no lunch break or coffee break. And you are constantly having to be on your game. There is no room for being slack or not concentrating, as, not to sound too dramatic, someone’s future is tied to what you are teaching.

When you add preparation and marking, especially when you are teaching a class that doesn’t involve multiple choice tests, then you are looking at a 50-80 hour week (which is not paid). Especially when you have close to 200 students, and no Teaching Assistant. Luckily, I don’t teach that many students any more, but I do usually have about 50 students at a time x 5 assignments each, with about 15 minutes for marking each paper (more for exams), adding insightful, useful comments for the students to be able to improve on their work… can you see how it adds up fast? And I’m just teaching part time!

If you want to be a decent instructor, you also don’t want to just churn out the same crap each term, so you need to spend time updating your work, creating new assignments and exams, designing new activities, and believe me, four hours is a long time to fill.

The other thing I find interesting is that people don’t realize how much time you also have to spend before, during, and after class on paperwork, emails, printing etc. I often have about 5-10 student emails a day with drafts of work to be checked (at about 15 minutes a piece) and other teaching-related queries to respond to. Then, there are the 20-30 minutes (if the equipment all behaves) of copying and printing to do before each class. Then, add in the walking time to fetch a projector and/or a laptop (and returning equipment after class), get set up and be ready before the class starts. I think people are surprised to find out that we can’t just waltz into the classroom and start teaching, although if it looks that effortless, then we’re obviously doing something right.

The Rewards

So why on earth, given all of the above, do we subject ourselves to this? I have encountered the element of the martyr in a lot of educators, so I think there is some of that ‘woe is me, I am a slave to my work but I daren’t slack off because I want you to feel sorry for me for working so hard and they couldn’t possibly survive without me for a day’ syndrome. However, the reality is that you often realize that if you are faced with missing a class through illness, it will be so much easier to just limp through the class, semi-compos mentis, than it will be to try and catch up the work (especially when you are only teaching a 12-week course). It is also really hard to have a cut-off time for work when you aren’t on a strict 9-5 schedule.

So why bother?

Well, when a student comes up to you and asks you if you are teaching the next level of the course because they really enjoyed your class, or that you were their favourite instructor, or you bump into them down the line and they tell you they miss you, or they refer their friends to your class, then all the hours of effort and of prep and marking and photocopying are suddenly worth it. Also, when a student suddenly “gets” it, and they leap from a C to an A, or a fail to a pass, it really an amazing feeling. And being able to share insights, spark debate, and help someone improve, is such a great reward.

I often think that teachers are not paid what they are worth, because it is so hard to quantify a lot of what we do, but really, being able to make a difference in someone’s life, despite the slog, is more than enough reward in itself.

Geraldine

*DISCLAIMER: These are my personal reflections and are in no way a comment on my employer. My perspective is also that of a tertiary-level educator; I have no experience teaching in K-12.

Bio

Isabella Mori is a Vancouver writer and counsellor. Born in Germany to the painter Juergen von Huendeberg and his wife Elisabeth, she has lived in the UK, Paraguay and Chile. She immigrated to Canada in 1982. Isabella is the mother to three wonderful children and grandmother to the two most perfect grandsons ever to grace the universe.

While her mother tongue is German (and her grandmother tongue Russian), she writes mostly in English, with a little German and Spanish thrown in for spice. She blogs about psychology, creativity, spirituality and social justice at change therapy.

1. How long have you been a creative?

As Picasso said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” I was just lucky that growing up in an artistic family, not all of my creativity got stunted (although being told to take up the violin when I was 5 sure put a damper on my musical creativity). I was fascinated with typewriters all my life and made my first money by typing addresses for an invitation to a gallery opening for my father, who was a painter. And what did this 6-year-old do with it? Buy a fountain pen. I tried my first novel when I was 11.

Now you might say that because I talk about typewriters and novels, I should have said that I’m a writer. Which I am. But it’s more than that – and yes, I said “it’s”, not “I am.” The expression of my creativity may be most obvious in the word – in writing, and in conversation (I make my money as a counsellor) – but it is everywhere. “It” – creativity – moves through me in many ways, be it cooking, writing, thinking … it’s everywhere.

2. Is this your full time job? A career goal? A hobby?

It’s what I do.

3. If this is not your full time career, do you struggle to make time for this? Is there anything you do to ensure you make time?

While I also do lots of writing for my paid work (among other things, I blog and create resumes and artist’s bios), I do struggle often with making space for other creative writing efforts. Note I said “space” – not time. Making time is relatively easy (e.g. for a while, I did not allow myself to go to bed unless I had written a poem); making headspace is a bit more challenging. In the end, “just do it” wins just about every time, for example when I participate in NaNoWriMo, the annual challenge on the internet to write a 50,000-word novel in the month of November.

4. If this is your full time job, how did you achieve this?

The part that is my paid work – the easy answer would be “it just happened.” However, this “just” was long and arduous. First, I inched myself closer and closer, not even knowing what I was doing. I always found a way to carve out a creative niche for myself, although for the longest time, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to call it that. The strangest time was when I worked for a lawyer and would occasionally make incomprehensible mistakes; only later did I realize that was my creativity forcing its way through. Shortly after, when I was going through a difficult separation, I was able to make the jump into the counselling field. Education – university and all that – gave me some credentials but also sharper tools in thinking and expressing myself, mostly through taking courses in philosophy. I’d say I’ve achieved where I am right now through refusing to work in an environment that does not allow me to be creative.

5. How do you deal with “naysayers”… you know, those voices/people who keep asking when the phase is going to pass? Or negative criticism about your work/creative endeavor?

I don’t hang out with people who are unsupportive of who I am.

As for most of us, the biggest challenge are my inner gremlins. There is the Procrastinator, then there is Mr. Nobody-Cares-What-You’re-Doing and good ol’ You’ll-Never-Be-Able-To-Finish-This. The trick is to catch them talking out loud, then I can usually do something about it. The Procrastinator is easily defeated by simply doing one little thing – even a little haiku on Twitter – right now. The “nobody cares” voice can often be countered quite rationally by saying that a) it doesn’t matter and b) remembering there are at least a handful of people (including myself!) who do. The last one is the trickiest; being accountable to others really helps there. Unfortunately, finding someone suitable and reliable to be accountable to can be hard. But as I said, being attuned to those negative is a bit difficult; I’ve always been the kind of person who is more successful dealing with a direct challenge than with the quiet, subtle manipulation that those negative voices are so good at.

6. What would your dream project be?

Oh Gawd, you want the list? Ok, here’s one thing: I’ve always wanted to be a corporate philosopher. Work in a biggish organization, wandering the halls having deep conversations with people. Mostly for the fun of it (I’m really, really big on fun!) but also to help the organization become wiser, more creative and more humane, and to become a better force for the good in the world.

7. Is there something you have worked on that you are especially proud of? Or received accolades for?

There’s a few things that I look back on with a big grin on my face. Creating Mental Health Camp with my friend Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega, a conference about the intersection between social media and mental health, is one of them, particularly since the 3rd Mental Health Camp had a strong artistic component. Another one is my Tea Table Book which I created with my friend and book coach Carol Sill. In it, I make poetry more accessible (I hope) by accompanying each poem with a little story. Receiving the annual best thesis award from Athabasca University for my little opus on transformative learning in distance education wasn’t bad either.

8. What does creativity mean to you?

I’m sorry but I never know what to make of the word “meaning.” That’s what happens when you deal with words a lot. It’s hard to just glide over them; their sound, their many dictionary meanings, they way they look on a page, even the way they feel in the body when I say them – all of it easily sparks thoughts, associations, dreams, none of it seems insignificant. But I guess before I write a few pages about the many possibilities I see in this question, I’ll move on to the next question …

9. What advice would you give to others trying to follow a similar path?

DON’T STOP! Whatever it is that you’re doing – pottery, dance, writing, filmmaking, anime, oil paintings, throat singing – DON’T STOP! It doesn’t matter whether it’s “good” or “bad” or “mediocre”, DON’T STOP! Follow your creative urge because it’s the spark of life – not just for you but for the whole wide world.

"Twelve Days" - copyright Annabelle Nicoll 2010

Our next creative to be featured is Irish photographer, Annabelle Nicoll.You can see more of Annabelle’s exquisite work on her website www.annabellenicoll.com. In her words, “it is what you see that informs how you see”.

How long have you been a photographer? How did you get started with it?

I have been a photographer for 10 years. I fell in love with the medium while doing a year’s foundation course in art and design; I then went on to study Editorial Photography in Brighton, UK, though I would see myself more as a Fine Art Photographer.

Is this your full time job? A career goal? A hobby?

It is a full time, part time, hobby that drives me crazy. There is a love hate relationship with it as there is no consistency and no predictability to how I work. For the last 5 years I have made good money from it but I now have 2 daughters who take up most of my time. My work is mainly shown in a gallery context and I have had work bought for the commercial sector.  I struggle with balancing the need to make money and my attachment to making work for this, and just working for pleasure’s sake.

If this is your full time job, how did you achieve this?

With lots of self help books!

How do you deal with “naysayers”… you know, those voices/people who keep asking when the phase is going to pass? Or negative criticism about your work/creative endeavor?

It depends on my state of mind at the time, if I am feeling confident, I would think it was only their opinion, yet if not, I may question my motives etc…

Annabelle Nicoll at work - copyright Annabelle Nicoll 2010

What would your dream project be?

To photograph the Ice caps, to highlight the worlds fragility and link it to our current state of consciousness as  a species.

Is there something you have worked on that you are especially proud of? Or received accolades for?

Yes. I worked on a body of work around Meditation and state of mind which has received numerous mentions in articles, including in the Sunday Times. This work has also had a lot of sales, enabling me to carry on working, going to Finland  to complete another body of work.

What does creativity mean to you?

Creativity is a human condition; it is part of who we are and to deny it is to deny ourselves. A  moment of flow, of true connection to who you are in a place in time. It is an unformulaic discovery, a process. It is something I cannot live without, yet to be creative is a calling that can drive you mad. Reaching the highest highs and lowest lows.

What advice would you give to others trying to follow a similar path?

To journal every day, to try (though hard) to not be attached to outcome . To be present, patient and persistent and to believe in yourself (hard also). To never give up and most important, to not be perfect, to make mistakes .

Bio

I am a 30-something software developer who would prefer to spend his time writing and drawing, often both at the same time. With a full-time and very demanding job it is difficult to make these more than hobbies, but I’d like to change that as soon as possible.

I have a very new blog at www.alzacklen.com, and I will soon be putting examples of my writing here. You can see one of my drawings in the header of the website you’re currently reading.

1. How long have you been writing? How did you get started with it?

I’ve been writing ever since I was old enough to browse through the vast collection of books my parents had collected. In particular my dad had a fascinating selection of old sci-fi which inspired me to think up many bizarre stories and kept me speculating ever since.

2. Is this your full time job? A career goal? A hobby?

Right now it’s a hobby, but …

3. If this is not your full time career, do you struggle to make time for this? Is there anything you do to ensure you make time?

I do struggle, but I have recently been focusing more seriously on making time. I have set up a blog for myself and I will be putting the first few chapters of a story I am working on there – this is my way of prodding myself to work on completing it, since other people will be able to read it and give feedback. It’s not easy to write in the evenings after a work day, but once I get going it’s a lot of fun.

4. If this is your full time job, how did you achieve this?

It isn’t, but I am lucky enough to be in a position to make it a serious part of my working day very soon.

5. How do you deal with “naysayers”… you know, those voices/people who keep asking when the phase is going to pass? Or negative criticism about your work/creative endeavor?

Luckily for me I haven’t had anyone telling me I shouldn’t give up my current day job. As for negative criticism… if it’s valid, I’m happy to listen. You can’t please everyone all of the time, so I believe one can choose what one wishes to take to heart. It’s still your work, after all.

6. What would your dream project be?

I’ve already begun. I’ve wanted to complete a full-length novel for a long time and I am now working hard to get there. Keep an eye on my blog for a preview.

7. Is there something you have worked on that you are especially proud of? Or received accolades for?

For fun, I submitted a short story for the 2003 ITSF competition, which got me a place in the top five. That boosted my confidence somewhat.

8. What does creativity mean to you?

Building something awesome when you didn’t know you knew how.

9. What advice would you give to others trying to follow a similar path?

For anyone who is just starting on a creative path, whether it is your first novel, first drawing or first software application: Don’t be shy about showing other people what you’re working on. I have learned a lot from others, whether I liked what they told me or not – particularly how to take criticism without taking it personally.

If you’re an artist, writer, actor, musician, photographer; participating in any creative realm, I want to hear from you! If you’d like to be interviewed (electronically), then email me: geraldine@meerkatcommunications.ca. There’ll be an opportunity to link to your work/porfolio, and if you’re a visual artist, a spot for an image to be included.

I’d love to hear from you, and have you be part of the Meerkat Creative Path Series.

Geraldine

To me, this is such a key element to success, in whatever your field of interest. You have to identify your passion, and you have to have the guts, and perhaps a bit of selfishness (in the best sense of the word) to follow that passion. It’s what motivated me to leave full time teaching and begin the adventure of Meerkat Communications.

When I was heading home after the lunch, I thought about how much I love speaking, and sharing information and knowledge with others. It was great to talk to a room full of fellow writers and also to reflect on my own journey. It also reminded me of how good it feels when you are doing what you are truly passionate about. It is energizing and also reassuring; reminding you that you are on the right path.

It got me thinking, too, about the three words I chose a long time ago to sum up what it is I do, and that are the pillars of what Meerkat Communications does as a business.

Create.

There is something about words. About how they can roll off your tongue, how they can inspire or hurt, compliment or destroy, humour or surprise. I have always loved words, and have to confess that I even love swear words. There are also certain words that I just hate. They just hurt the ears and seem wrong. I love how certain words just suit their meaning, and how others seem to say the opposite of their meanings. I love word play and jokes, poetry and prose. I really will read anything, from trashy holiday novels to serious academic journals.

I love being able to use words to create and illustrate ideas. I love helping clients express what it is that they do, and promote their company or ideas through their websites and marketing materials. It’s all about finding the right words..

I love being able to also use words to share my own information and ideas, whether it be through articles, blog posts, emails, and yes, even real letters! I am lucky enough to have some correspondents and we actually write real letters. It is such a great surprise to find a real, hand-written letter in amongst the bills and it makes such a difference from the brevity and speed of emails.

Educate.

I love that I get to pursue both my passions: writing and teaching. I love been able to help my students and give them “real world” skills, and show them how using proper business writing skills can help them reach their goals. I also love helping them learn to feel more comfortable presenting in front of others. I also use my love of teaching to help people advance their skills, in the workshop context. It’s great to see people’s faces when they “get it”. It’s incredibly rewarding and I love being able to pass on ideas, tips, resources, and anything else I can think of to help other people find and promote their passion.

Motivate.

Through speaking engagements, workshops, teaching, my volunteer work for Wired Woman, and also through writing, I love being able to help people make connections – whether with other people, or connections in terms of ideas.  If it helps or inspires them to find their passion, or take even one step towards reaching that passion, then I feel like I have really made a difference, and helped motivate someone.

It is so easy to let the humdrum of daily life trick us into thinking that we have to do something. It is very easy to follow the security (I mean, who doesn’t want to live free of the stress of uncertainty?), but if you deny rather than embrace your passions, the stress can actually be bigger and have more of an affect on your emotions and mental well being. It is important, too, to remember (as a wise person once told me) that just because you have an aptitude for something, doesn’t mean you have to do it. You may have many passions or abilities that you can pursue.

Personally, I have been really lucky to have had great support in terms of family and friends, and wonderful mentors too, who have never let me feel like I have made a mistake and who remind me that I am doing what I love and am good at. It does, however, also take a lot of self belief and a definite leap of faith to stay on the path of your passions. I have learned to trust my instincts, and also to let people know not only what it is that I do, but also what I need help with.

If you follow your passions, your rewards are that much sweeter, but don’t feel afraid to ask for help, seek a mentor, network and put yourself out there.

You will get there.

Geraldine

PS – If you are looking for inspiration, you can read my review of The Career Guide for Creative and Unconventional People by Carol Eikleberry. I highly recommend the book.

I think it really does illustrate the difficulty with Web 2.0 and the social media explosion. How are you an expert? How did you build your reputation? And do you really know more than the next guy? It also ties in wonderfully to the Building Community theme (albeit in a humourous stab at the subject).

The fantastic speakers we had at our event definitely were not “Social Media Douchebags” and really did have a lot of insight into turning that online community into ROI, and gave us valuable tips, tools and insights. The speakers were:

• Briana Tomkinson / Tenth to the Fraser and Fjord West – Co-creator of popular New Westminster blog, and Marketing Strategist with Fjord West
• Carisa Miklusak / SoMedios – New media marketing, business development, and leadership consultant
• Chris Breikss / 6S Marketing – Co-founder and Director, and Vancouver’s Social Media Innovator for 2010 with partner John Blown
• Mhairi Petrovic / Out-Smarts Marketing – Social Media and Internet marketing strategist and CMO of Out-Smarts
•  Sibylle Tinsel / Club Fat Ass – ‘Chief Executive Fat Ass’ Online Community Manager and social media co-ordinator

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the round table format and it generated a lot of discussion, with different women from vastly different industries coming together to add their insights too. One of the biggest lessons I took away from the event was the importance of listening. See what people are saying about you/your industry and start to build a following by answering their questions and finding your audience in the right places.

I came away with a lot of ideas and also a sense of pride that the event went off so well.

Now to get to the point were I really can add “social media expert” to my Twitter bio…

Geraldine

If the jobs that most current students will do when they graduate don’t yet exist, and we’re supposed to be preparing them for the workforce, then what the heck do we teach them?

As you may know, I teach Business Communication part time at BCIT and earlier this week we had a Professional Development workshop for the department. We had some interesting speakers (including department members) and a lot of the discussion focused on teaching millennials. One morning session was lead by Jim Muldowney, a former instructor at North Island University, and he talked about the challenges of teaching the NetGeneration (to use a Don Tapscott term).

It was an interesting discussion and one point that I brought up (because of my experiences as a South African and a teacher in the Third World) was the fact that the majority of the research out there focuses on a lot of assumptions around access to technology, and centres largely on the First World. I would be really interested to see some research done on the same age group in places where technology isn’t as prevalent. Do the same types of values hold? Are the differences between generations less apparent? Do they have different abilities and principles?

An area that Jim addressed was around the assumptions that many researchers are making about so-called shared principles and abilities of the NetGen. One of the major inferences is that when confronted with all the information that is at their fingertips on a daily basis, the NetGen has the ability to think critically and analyse the billions of megabytes of data zooming at them. Not so true if some of the research papers I have seen over the years as a teacher can be taken as empirical evidence…

Having studied an MA, I am well familiar with the scornful “so what are you going to do with that?” questions. One thing that I can truly say that I learned in my years of study in Humanities was the ability to think critically, evaluate texts (of any kind – image or written), and select the best material for my purposes. This has given me frustration at times (I can often not watch movies or read books without overanalysing), but also great joy at the layers of meaning and information I have uncovered for myself.

These skills have also in turn, I feel, lead to a stronger ability to do the same with people, and have well prepared me for the path of an entrepreneur. I would not trade these skills for all the “practical, useful” degrees in the world. As the realms of information and technology, and education change, I agree with Jim; I think we are assuming a level of sophistication that just isn’t there yet. I know it certainly took me time, effort, passion, and engagement to reach a certain level of ability, and I had the guidance of instructors along the way.

To me, this lack of sophistication can be a good thing though, because as educators, we are working with a clean slate. However, the difficulty is always the fact that we have limited time and resources to try and get through a curriculum and also promote and instill these skills. In a culture that I have observed to be very entitlement-based, this is certainly a challenge. Add to the fact that I teach at a training institute and the challenge swells.

One thing that I took away from the workshops, though, was the need for us as educators to be adaptable. I think this is a vital skill in business too. Something else that Jim discussed struck me immensely; the students are a resource in themselves, and we should be talking to them about what they want. If collaboration is a sign of the new world of communication, then this needs to become a large part of what we do, for our own success, and theirs.

Geraldine