A Bit about a book

​​On June 30th, 1978,  I was graduating with my peers from MacGregor Collegiate Institute (MCI). My Dad gave the toast to the graduates, and I gave the toast to the parents. I am trying to imagine the roar of laughter from the crowd if I had ended that speech by saying, 'oh, and by the way...I predict that 43 years from now, Mark McGregor and I will release a book we co-wrote together!' I also imagine, after the laughter died down, I'd have been escorted out for some type of assessment, because a comment like that would have seemed so off the wall at that time!

​Mark and I met in 1974 when the Rossendale Elementary kids got bussed to MacGregor for high school.  As we were both expected to have university educations in our futures, we had a lot of classes together.  Our individual circles of friends also had us in several social settings together. But really, beyond that, we were simply classmates who were seen as pretty much being polar opposites to one another.

I was the introvert, he was an extravert. Mark was the town kid, as athletic as they come, always with an entourage of friends and classmates around him. He was confident, charismatic, and focused on his dream of a life in the world of professional hockey.  I on the other hand was the self-conscious farmgirl who struggled immensely with a lack of confidence, a residual effect of relentless bullying in my early years mostly due to my challenge with weight.  I was the kid who was way more content to be walking the pasture with my dog, my notebook, and my guitar writing songs, most of them about the heartaches of life as a teenager. Sports and athletics were foreign abilities to me, other than the mandatory physed classes.  Just not my thing at all!  Over our years of high school, my music and songwriting opened doors to new friendships and my circle and confidence began to grow. Still, I can say with absolute honesty I myself would have never, ever predicted that Mark and I would be playing on the same team at anything, any time.  But, I have also learned through life that you can just never, ever say never!

Fast forward to July of 2010, when I was arriving at Mark and Faye's conference center on Storm Bay in Kenora, where Dixie, one of my BFFs, and I arrived so I could perform a house concert for Mark's first Canadian leadership camp attendees.  My invitation to perform came as a result of the release of my second CD.  It had come out in October of 2009.  My son Shane had died in March of that year. I had been working on the album when he passed, and after his death, I knew there were a few more songs waiting to be born that had to be added to the collection. When it was done, I sent out a blast of emails saying that the album was complete, but I was too broken at that time to be having anything liken to a cd release party.  I felt I could manage intimate house concerts...maybe....but celebrating was hard. As a result of that email, Faye contacted me to purchase several CDs for Mark's European customers and asked if I could join them the following July to entertain at their camp. That felt manageable, so I said I'd be there.

The following summer when we arrived at camp, I remember Mark taking me aside to ask when I'd started writing music. He had always known I played guitar and sang, but not that I was a songwriter. I remember his surprise when I told him I started in 1971 at age 11, but as teenagers, neither of us had paid much attention to the other's gifts and talents. In the years after we graduated, I would hesitate to guess we only actually saw each other in person 4 times.  Mark's hockey career had taken him to Europe, my life path had kept me close to our roots, farming and working in the disability field.  Of course, there was no such thing as social media to keep in touch with, so we all knew so much less about each other than we can garner now. 

He told me he felt that we should try collaborating together, because the message in so many of my songs was what he was trying to get across to people as well, and maybe some people would absorb that message better through music.  At that point, I had just lost my Mom 6 weeks previously, Shane the year before that, and my Dad the year before that. Losing three of the most important people in my life in that 25 month period left huge holes in my world that needed to be patched up with something, so I was in.  

The rest as they might say is history. Ten years later we have worked together in so many of his training events and camps. I've helped create resources and tools, have my fingers in most aspects of his business, and have gained so much amazing experience! Working with Mark lead me to get my coaching certification, and build upon that offering with other options and tools. He pushed me to become so much more comfortable and confident in my own story and to see how sharing it might benefit others. Even though our paths were very different, my own clarity on my values and vision for my life had lead me to have very few regrets in life, particularly around how time had been spent with the family I had lost.

In exchange, I believe I brought Mark a certain amount of order and organization to his business, an additional offering of music and coaching to his clients, but also an awareness of challenges and issues around disability, inclusion, and diversity that may not have been on his radar before our collaboration. I believe we helped each other to grow.

If you are a follower of The 10 Principles of Leadership and Life, we are a living, breathing example of Principle 8: Involvement and Diversity, because we are definitely a pretty diverse team. But we are also a prime example of the benefits of taking a deeper look at people you assume you know.  To see their gifts, what they offer the world (and to you), how to create synergy by combining your unique and different gifts and talents. It has certainly not been all roses, but it has been wonderful!

As we were finishing up publishing Mark's first book, 'Being on Mission', Mark told me that he wanted to start thinking about a second book.  I had done a ton of the behind-the-scenes work and writing for Being on Mission, so I knew the story like the back of my hand. However, for the second book, he wanted to change it up a bit.  I remember the day he told me that he thought our main characters should have twins, one with the same physical and athletic abilities as his own children, one child who lives life as Shane did.  I remember feeling both teary-eyed and honored that some of Shane's lessons could be shared in such a way.  The work of creating 'True North: Great teams are built, not born" began. 

Four and a half years later, we are finally able to release our collaboration.  A fable, it's a blend of our unique life experiences, stories shared by our clients and the work we've now been doing together for over a decade.  I'm proud and delighted that I've been given the opportunity to share the hope and possibilities that Shane lived through the story of Sam.  My greatest hope is that it will help people just know a little bit more about the world of disability if they haven't experienced it themselves, as well as the joy that can be experienced....even living life so differently. 

I know that my lifelong passion for music is part of what has led me to the life I am so blessed by today. It is one of my own Intrinsic Offerings (IOUs). Knowing what they are and continually offering them has opened doors to possibilities throughout my life.  I hope each of you has experienced similar benefits by paying attention to those things that bring you to life and bring you joy, because that is what the world needs more of!

​If life hasn't offered you that opportunity to explore and define those things for yourself, then I hope you can make time in the busyness to become clear on what those things are for yourself and find ways to fit them into your life. The world needs what you have to offer, and is waiting for it. Bring on your light and keep shining!