Aloha Everyone! I’ve been busy… I made it to the Top 100 in the Next Top Speaker Tournament out of Australia with Kaley Chu and Richmond Dihn. There was over a 1000 applicants, then it went to about 400 video interviews, then Top 100. From there it was an all day event; the first 100 went in groups of 10, then to 50, then to 10 then to the Top 3 and out of the 3 the Next Top Speaker was selected. I went as far as competing in the groups of 10 in the Top 100 but that was it. It’s ok though, I may not have won but I gained the experience that it will take to become the Next Top Speaker. I don’t get a lot of opportunities to speak so this was a great experience. I recognized that my speech didn’t stay on topic and I should’ve reiterated the topic point more times throughout my speech. It was a seven minute speech. I need to learn more and practice more so I can get clearer on the message (I think there’s parts I can omit) work on the flow and watch my timing.

Sporadically (up until now), I have done podcast type interviews with people whose story I believe will resonate with Canadians interested in working with Indigenous peoples or with Indigenous peoples themselves. For example, I have interviewed: - Millie Gormely, my financial planner who NEVER made me feel shame about my impoverished background. - Julia Gibson, an American woman I co-wrote (or rewrote) a book with because the original version received backlash from the Indigenous community. BTW, Julia and I are doing a public Zoom session today to talk about our journey together. Link in the comments if you want to join. - Coming soon Jody Loos, a man who runs a dry bar here in the city I live in (for those who wish to be sober but still come out and enjoy music, karaoke, friendship or dancing) - And I have plans for some other peeps as well. So, would you like to be one of those peeps? Do you have a product, service, workshop, etc. that could either help non-Indigenous people understand marginalized people or one that empowers the marginalized? Not sure? Let's schedule a chat if you do. My goal going forward is to release one interview per month to my 2,250 YouTube subscribers and my 4,000+ LinkedIn followers. Let's do this! Here’s my Calendly link. Feel free to book a time to chat. https://calendly.com/sandiboucher/intro-chat

Recently, I posted in this community about wanting to do a monthly video with people who offer services or products that could either assist marginalized/Indigenous peoples or the people who want to work with them. WELL THAT HAS MORPHED! Now those videos are part of my new podcast "Walking the Talk". After YEARS of telling my Indigenous followers that it IS possible to work with non-Indigenous without being talked down to, bulldozed over, or any other kind of ugly, I am now "walking my talk" by introducing them to the amazing non-Indigenous people I know and love AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM ARE IN THIS COMMUNITY. So if you would love to join me on "Walking the Talk", I would love to have you. Let's talk about it! YAY!!! @Angela Neufeld ... that is your interview. @Ryan Brady ... you too! YAY!

Just completed the Speaker Growth Accelerator course and it was SO worth my time! My top two key takeaways: 1) The Job Descriptions! (Pure gold!) and 2) The 50 Jobs You Can Outsource (totally didn't think of some of those!) HIGHLY recommend for those who can access it! Incentive to get there for those not there yet! Great job @Drew Brania !!