Some people dream. Others help weave those dreams. This episode is about two women who refuse to separate the two.

It begins with Karla Briones. Raised in an entrepreneurial family in Chihuahua, Mexico, her first business was a schoolyard candy empire at six years old. Then the drug cartels arrived. Threats followed. Friends disappeared. At eighteen, her family dismantled their entire life and drove nearly four thousand kilometres to Canada with no safety net, no jobs, no guarantees.

What followed was survival. Credentials did not transfer. Her parents fell into depression. Karla became a provider before she had finished becoming a student. Three jobs. A new language. University. Failure. Grit. Then entrepreneurship again. Pet stores. Restaurants. Retail. Some worked. Some collapsed. All of them taught her the same lesson: everyone can use and benefit from a helping hand.

That lesson eventually became Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada to help weave the dreams of others.

One of the many who benefited is Lina Asmah, the Hot Pepper Lady. From Ghana to Canada, Lina carried fire in both food and spirit. She works full-time. She farms. She grows over 160 varieties of peppers. Her turning point came at a last-minute event she almost skipped. Karla spoke. Lina applied. She entered Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada and found something rare, a system that did not talk about immigrants as numbers, but as builders. She found mentors. She found clarity. She found momentum. She found her dream.

Lina also named something most people feel but rarely say out loud: we listen to accents before we listen to ideas. Inside that community, she found her voice again.

Immigration Entrepreneur Canada and Karla Briones are helping newcomers weave their dreams.

To find out more about Immigration Entrepreneur Canada: https://www.immigrantentrepreneurcanada.ca

I went in, and she was sitting there in a motel room with a kilo of cocaine on the bed and two bikers helping her break it down into smaller bags. That was the insanity I was living in.

Gordon Lownds has lived multiple lives. He grew up in Toronto and clashed with his father and an older brother who bullied him until he finally fought back at sixteen. That was the moment he said, enough. He left home, hustled at carnivals, and learned some of the sharpest business lessons you will ever hear.

He packed in a philosophy degree, then an MBA, and turned out to be a brilliant business mind. By his forties, he had co-founded Sleep Country Canada with Stephen Gunn and Christine Magee, and later Listen Up Canada. These companies reshaped how Canadians sleep and how they hear.

At the height of his success, on his forty-eighth birthday in 1998, Gordon tried crack cocaine for the first time. It was day one of a thousand-day descent into hell that nearly destroyed everything he loved and all he had built and cost him over a million dollars in drugs. What happened after is a rare and remarkable story of recovery, resilience, reinvention and redemption.

To buy Gordon Lownds' Book: Cracking Up: From Rising Star to Junkie Despair in 1,000 Days-An Unlikely Addict's Memoir - https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/cracking-up-from-rising-star-to-junkie-despair-in-1000-days-an-unlikely-addicts-memoir/9781990700798.html

As you listen to the show, I encourage you to step into Debra E. Meyerson's shoes. Debra had a dream life: a tenured professorship at Stanford, a reputation as a groundbreaking scholar on organizational change and identity, and big adventures with her husband, social finance leader Steve Zuckerman, including sailing across Europe with their three kids.

Then, at 53, a stroke changed everything. In the first 48 hours, Steve watched the Debra he knew slip away. Her speech, her mobility, and everything she took for granted. After her medical leave expired, her academic career, one she had spent a lifetime building, was taken away.

Debra and Steve sit down and share what happens when life happens in an unexpected manner. You will hear Debra struggle to form the sentences she wants to communicate, and Steve talk about what it means to rebuild lives that will never be the same.

You will celebrate how they moved from crisis and almost depression to purpose as they create Stroke Onward to support the emotional side of recovery - how Debra found the strength to write her book Identity Theft, and why they took on a 4.500 mile tandem bike ride across America to raise awareness and funds.

If you have ever faced a before-and-after moment or loved someone whose life changed in a split second, or you want to feel the power of human positivity, Debra and Steve's story will stay with you long after the episode ends.

Recorded in front of a sold out crowd at the Toronto Hunt, this episode captures the energy of a live audience and a message every Canadian needs to hear. We are living longer, and more of us will reach 100, yet our healthcare system is under strain and our daily choices matter more than ever.

My guest, Mike Kessel, CEO of Cleveland Clinic Canada, brings a clear and practical view of what it means to live long and live well. He explains why lifestyle drives most of our health outcomes and how simple habits like movement, sleep, and lowering stress can add years to our lives. He takes us inside the future of virtual care and remote diagnostics and shows how rapidly medical knowledge is accelerating. His message is simple. We are each the CEO of our own wellbeing, and the small decisions we make today shape the life we get to enjoy tomorrow.

Mike frames healthcare in the most human way possible, as the business of creating more meaningful moments with the people we love.

After Mike, Leanne Kaufman, President and CEO of RBC Royal Trust, joins me to share why planning for the later chapters of life matters just as much as planning for your health. Because living longer only works when we prepare for it.

A powerful and timely episode for anyone who wants to understand how to live not just longer, but better.

A special edition of Chatter that Matters. Thirty-five years ago, David Chilton and his record-shattering best-seller, The Wealthy Barber, revolutionized Canadians' approach to money. Its profound impact was not just on the nation, but also on me. I cleared my credit card debts, paid myself first, and found peace of mind. I had the chance to sit with David to talk about the complete remake of his classic. We delve into why David returned to the barbershop, how he rewrote every lesson for a generation facing heavier financial pressures, and why the simplest habits still create the strongest foundations.

We also discuss spending in the age of social media and tap-to-get, the affordability crisis surrounding home ownership, and why Wills and Estate Planning matter. David Chilton, with his humility, honesty, and unwavering commitment, remains a beacon of support for Canadians.

Encountering someone who has reshaped a nation's financial mindset is rare, but witnessing them do it twice is even rarer.

So grab a seat on the Barber's Chair, and listen to my interview with David Chilton.

To buy David's book: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-wealthy-barber-the-fully-updated-all-time-canadian-classic/9781068975004.html

To learn more about Wills and Estate Planning: https://www.rbcwealthmanagement.com/en-ca/royal-trust

Barry Avrich is a Renaissance man, and his creativity knows no boundaries. From crafting brilliant advertising campaigns for Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Frank Sinatra's final concerts to directing over fifty documentaries that expose the power, ego, and humanity behind fame, he's lived by one lesson from his father—don't blend in.

In this conversation, Barry opens up about his unlikely path from Montreal to the Silver Screen, the thin line between ambition and addiction to power, and why storytelling is his calling. We explore the making of The Last Mogul, Prosecuting Evil, and The Road Between Us, and his belief that movies can still change hearts, minds, and even history.

This year, Barry is being honoured with the 2025 Horatio Alger Award, one of Canada's most distinguished recognitions. The award celebrates Canadians who have triumphed over adversity to achieve extraordinary success while giving back to others. For Barry, whose films often illuminate resilience and moral courage, the award feels like the story coming full circle.

Many people are experiencing a growing sense of insecurity in an uncertain world. Every generation feels it, but for many young people, it's hitting harder. They've endured a pandemic and now face a world that's changing rapidly, along with high unemployment and a mental health crisis that's even harder to confront.

That's why I wanted to share this story about a 16-year-old girl who was lost and then found her way back.

At sixteen, Natasha Soregaroli was caught in a storm of self-doubt and comparison, her mind constantly echoing what she believed she wasn't. At eighteen, during the pandemic, she turned her journal of thoughts into a book titled Becoming Me Again, a raw and heartfelt memoir about learning to love yourself in a world that often profits from your insecurity.

Now twenty-three, Natasha has transformed her private struggle into a message of hope for anyone feeling alone with their thoughts. She openly discusses journaling as healing, the trap of perfection, and the effort needed to make your inner voice your ally rather than your critic.

This isn't a story about fame or wealth. It's about resilience, self-discovery, and the bravery required to come home to yourself. It might change how you speak to yourself or someone you love.

To purchase Natalie's book: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/becoming-me-again/d883d2f3-3c47-3108-94c0-f00ae4da68f6.html

I am breaking format and putting this show up on Monday, as Stewart has an event called Man Enough to Heal this Wednesday, that I want to support. Details and links below.

This week on Chatter That Matters, meet Stewart Thompson, a man who turned unimaginable trauma into a mission to help others heal. For decades, Stewart carried the silence of childhood sexual abuse, numbing the pain through addiction and isolation. At fifty, he faced an unthinkable choice: end his life or ask for help one last time. Walking through the doors of The Gatehouse changed everything.

Today, Stewart is a national advocate, leading Survivor Council Canada, and hosting a podcast with more than 300 episodes, empowering others to speak their truth. Stewart shares how he rebuilt his life from the ground up—through courage, community, and the hard work of healing.

It's raw, real, and deeply human. If you've ever struggled to find your voice or support someone searching for theirs, this is an episode you'll never forget.

To buy tickets to Man Enough to Heal, or to support Gatehouse: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/man-enough-to-heal-men-share-their-journeys-of-healing-and-hope

"Everybody's journey is unique, and we have the power to write our own story. We need to stop giving other people the pen." Calissa Ngozi

Calissa Ngozi's life is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the choice to rise above. Born into hardship, labelled by a doctor as a child who would "never amount to anything," and adopted into a world that didn't mirror her reflection, Calissa faced sexual abuse, family mental illness, and later in life, the unimaginable loss of her twin sons. Yet at every turn, she refused to surrender her story.

Now a mental health educator, community leader, mother, and creator of The Oxygen Mask Mindset, Calissa teaches others how to breathe again, how to care for themselves before they care for others. Her voice is unfiltered and full of grace, reminding us that healing begins when we reclaim our power.

Andrea Barrack, RBC's Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Impact, reveals how RBC's leadership in mental health is giving more Canadians the care, hope, and community they deserve.

Perry Miele is someone I have admired since the first day we met many decades ago. Perry shares his remarkable journey from growing up in Thunder Bay as the son of Italian immigrants to becoming a serial entrepreneur, investor, and mentor to many. Perry's story is about resilience, optimism, and the enduring lessons that come with having both grit and grace.

In this episode, Perry reflects on politics, entrepreneurship, and pursuing the Canadian Dream as individuals and as a country.

Alan Depencier from RBC joins to share how small business owners are the engine of our economy and all RBC does to fuel their dreams.

A show about positivity and possibility and all things Perry Miele.

Many people dream of owning their own business and being their own boss, especially today when careers can be suddenly disrupted by tariffs or technology. I would encourage those who dream to also do.

Judy Lewis is my guest this week, and she doesn't follow paths; she creates them. An inductee into the Marketing Hall of Legends and co-founder of Strategic Objectives alongside her sister Deborah Weinstein, they have redefined what it means to build with purpose.

Their campaigns have received every PR honour, as well as recognition from the United Nations for promoting social change.

Judy shares her story and how vision, grit, and a simple "What if?" mindset enabled her to leave the corporate world and establish one of the world's most respected public relations agencies. Stay tuned for my three key takeaways, and then ask yourself, What if I applied Judy's lessons in life to my own life?

To find out more about RBC's Women of Influence Awards: https://www.womenofinfluence.ca/rbc-cwea/