Tuesday, November 25, 2008

How to deal with fear/ La peur et comment la dompter

Many business organizations invite speakers to motivate their staff or members. Last night, AIC invited Denley McIntosh to speak about “How Fear Takes Shape in Your life”. I did not really know what to expect and came as open minded as I could.

Denley a tout d’abord demandé aux participants de nommer les différents genres de peur : peur de l’échec, de la pauvreté, du succès, du rejet, de la vieillesse, de la douleur et de l’inconnu. Divisés en petits groupes, nous avons alors commencé à chercher des solutions pour soit supprimer la peur ou en réduire l’intensité.

Our table was given the topic of Fear of poverty. Here are some of the solutions for allaying that fear: networking was one way to feel less alone. Our group also found – saving money, keep on learning, share the learning, listen to others, price services right and help other people. It was amazing to see how freely comments were made and how helpful everyone was: we were among friends.

Fear of failure, success, rejection, old age, pain and the unknown were dealt with in the next couple of hours. The feeling in the room was relaxed yet attentive as each participant seemed to want to help his/her colleagues.

La clôture de la présentation arriva trop rapidement mais les participants sont tout simplement passés au mode réseautage – rétablissant des contacts avec ceux qu’ils connaissaient et découvrant les nouveaux venus.

This is why I find membership in AIC so valuable – we share with each other various tips on how to conduct business and deal with problems that the consultant’s life throws us. If you are in Toronto, by all means, come for a meeting. If you are elsewhere, see what AIC does on their website and start your own organization in your location.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

History rewritten/L’histoire vue autrement


Back in April 2007, I wrote several articles on the Canadian Vimy commemorations and how history appeared to differ from what I had been taught. This year, I am witnessing a literal rewriting. In France, president Nicolas Sarkozy is moving the ceremonies from the Arch of Triumph to smaller venues, with an emphasis on the victims.

In the UK, the BBC presents an article on the last WWI veteran. I also saw a Canadian documentary on new explorations of the Vimy underground tunnels where Canadian troops lived prior to the big assault. Shown are pictures of Canadian carvings and graffiti of men who were on their way to the battle. It is surreal to see archeologists digging out Canadian military insignia and finding carvings of the maple leaf in the tunnels.

Another interesting article, entitled "In the trenches with Paul Gross", which explains the reasons that let Paul Gross to do his Passchendaele movie.

History changes - either because of political will, an altered perspective or the arrival of new evidence not available before. The documentary on trenches on the German side mentions that the reason the locals did not attempt any research is because the memories were too painful but also because there were too many unexploded mines around which prevented further investigations.

Au Canada, un communiqué de presse de juin 2008 explique une nouvelle initiative des Anciens Combattants intitulée Vigile 1914-1918. Voici le site de Vigile 1914-1918 proprement dit.

Here is another venue for the Vigil event. The projections will take place in Fredericton, Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Regina and Edmonton and in Trafalgar Square in London.

Here is an interesting explanation for the Vigil: " Families were forbidden from repatriating the bodies of their war dead however much they wanted to. It will be an important moment for the naes of 68,000 to first appear in Trafalgar Square and then travel home across the time zones. In essence, they travel back to Canada and across the country."

Détail intéressant - aucune ville de Québec ne participe à cet événement - ni de France, d'ailleurs.