My Promise to Arlene Dickinson of CBC's Dragons' Den

This past week, I had the good fortune of hearing Arlene Dickenson of CBC Dragon's Den speak two days in a row in Prince Edward Island. On Thursday evening she hosted a 2 hour Q & A period and Friday, she was a noon-time speaker.

If you ever have the opportunity to see Arlene live, I really encourage you to make every effort to do so! Arlene is a refreshing speaker. She is authentic, genuine and gracious - none of this splashy, over done salesmenship hype. She speaks from the heart when she shares her entrepreneurial journey which is truly inspirational.


Arlene gave a lot of good advice and I am going to share with you some of the more resounding statements she made that truly connected and resonated with me:

1) Remember the moment you are in. Enjoy where you are - live it. "Live in the moment you are in".

2) Take your human life experiences and apply what you learned to your business.

3) Business is about personal relationships.

4) Sometimes you have to help people who you feel are the right people to help.

5) Sometimes business is about about good luck! You need to be living in the moment in order to identify good opportunity when it presents itself.

6) The beginning days of your business helps to build your character - your personal character and the character of your business.

7) Take care of yourself first - you need to be happy. You will be better as a person and more successful.

8) Stay physically active.

9) Find the potential within yourself and think better of yourself.

Arlene is 52 years old and she joined Dragon's Den 3 years ago. She started her entrepreneurial journey in her early 20's to support her family, and in 1988 she entered into a partnership to launch a marketing company in Calgary called Venture. During her key note address on Friday, she shared a number of 'struggle stories' in the beginning years of Venture. They were comical and real! She also shared when breakthrough began for the company. Now, 21 years later, Arlene is sole owner of Venture and has won many awards.

During her closing address, Arlene challenged the audience to believe - Believe in yourself and find the potential within to think better of yourself! She also challenged us to live in the moment.

On this very day, I am promising Arlene Dickinson that I will live in the moment so I will see very clearly when opportunity presents itself and I will believe in myself to seize the moment.

Arlene, it was a blessing to hear you speak; a true gift that came just at the right moment in my entrepreneurial journey. I thank you for being an authentic, genuine person that makes a significant difference in this world!