Journeyman Stories

Where do I start? I don't really know. As I am waiting for my flight at Kigali airport, with tears in my eyes, I am thinking about the last few days. There are no words that can explain what I have experienced in this month of December 2010. As Phil Collins said, it's another day in paradise. The person who said that words are powerful was so right. It took a few words from my then girlfriend, now wife (are you kidding me!!!!), to start a series of events that led me to this moment. She just said: “Honey, this long distance thing is killing me”. Having been in a couple of long distance relationships, I knew what she meant. This time, it was different. I had to do something, otherwise, this relationship would end up like the other ones. I had promised myself to do whatever it took to make this one work. As I hung up the phone, I thought I had to move mountains. I had to find a way to meet her. Originally, my intention was to visit her in July 2011, however, this felt like a cent...

As I am writing, I am sitting in a luxurious living room in a nice villa, after a few minute walk in the garden. All I can hear are the birds singing and a few cars passing by. It was just yesterday that I landed in this beautiful country of Rwanda. What a week! Friday afternoon, I flew to New York, Sunday night I flew back to Toronto, the next day I was at the airport to catch my flight to Kigali via Brussels. Wait a minute. They are calling me for breakfast. I will get back to you in a second. What a delight! Where was I? Oh yes. My flight. I landed at Kigali airport eager to be there. More than anything, this trip has been a confidence boost for me. I wanted to prove to myself that what I have been learning all these years works. I can do anything if I put my mind into it. The last few days have been surreal. What was I waiting for? In a few moments, I will be with my childhood friends Jeff and Pacome. It's like a dream. I can't believe it. And tonight I will meet for the fi...

As the year 2010 is slowly but surely ending (is it really slowly?), for most of us, it is the time to reflect on what we have accomplished and what we would like to see happening in the year 2011 As far as I am concerned, 2010 was THE year. I learned so much, but I was also challenged a lot (thus the learning part). During this year, I finished writing my first book (the editing process is almost over), and I shared my stories with you blog fans with passion and sincerity . In the process, my Facebook friends went from 300 to over 1600 in just over a few months. Now I am always walking with my pen in my pocket just in case someone asks me for my autograph. By the time you start reading this blog, I will already be in the sky flying to my motherland, after spending an amazing week-end in New York.I wanted to surprise my mom on her birthday, and to also spend Christmas with her. Many of you will be surprised (maybe even mad at me) that I am flying to Burundi and did not even tell yo...

Where do I start? I don't even know. It's been crazy the last few days. Now it's almost 1.30 am and I can't sleep. Do I know why? I don't think so. Do you remember reading my blog “My journey to an amazing feeling”? If not, please read it before you proceed with this one (this is my plug for you to read my entire blog posts). Okay, are you ready now? Do you mean you did not read all of them? Come on! Go back and read. I have all my time. I can wait for you. All right. I am glad you did. There is something I said in my keynote presentation few weeks ago that keeps coming back to my mind. I said that all we need to know is where we're going, the rest is to figure out what will be our next step from where we are right now. It is a great concept, except that I was not using my own coaching. It is fun when you tell others to do something whereas you are not doing it yourself (I guess it came from the years I spent coaching basketball) The last few weeks were almost b...

I participated in a communication's course last week-end. Talk about being at the right place at the right time. It was unbelievable! Do you know what was the emphasis in the course? Guess! It was communication in relationships! No comment! Lol During the course, I reflected on two stories that I would like to share with you (free of charge of course). Here they are: There was an old guy who was sleeping in his couch. His grandkids came over while he was sleeping and placed a piece of cheese under his nose. Soon after, the guy woke up and exclaimed: “this room stinks!” He went into the kitchen and said again: “This kitchen stinks as well, maybe I should go outside”. He went outside, but still the same smell was around. Finally, in disgust he shouted: “The whole world stinks”. Little did he realize that the scent came from the cheese that was under his nose. Did you like that story? If not, I won’t share the next one. ..........Okay, okay, seeing that you insist, I wi...