05 Feb

Posted at 00:19h in Blog, Play

Breakfast Television

Yesterday afternoon I received a phone call from an unknown number. I like answering these calls as I am a curious person and know that they might be international calls from Skype or from some other mysterious place, however I know many people don’t answer them. Of course, sometimes it’s a tele-marketer or some other sales pitch. Fair enough. 

Well yesterday this was not the case. I received a phone call from a Rogers Communications employee who claimed that I had randomly been selected as a semi-finalist in a competition that I had never heard of. She explained that because I moved my Spotify – music streaming app services – to Rogers, I had automatically been entered into this competition.

The contest was set up to award a family of 4 a trip to the 58th annual Grammy Awards. This prize was valued at $38,000. Wow!

Once I got past the stage of questioning if this was for real or not, a short interview process ensued and I was told that I might qualify to become a finalist. What the what?

The requirements were that I pull together 3 family members and that they not only be available from Feb 13th to Feb 16th for this trip to L.A., but that they all could be present to appear on Breakfast Television Calgary this morning at 6.30am. I was politely encouraged to make the necessary calls to see if I could make these arrangements while they checked out my social media profile. 

I didn’t really think that I’d qualify as a finalist because while I do love music, I didn’t even know who any of the nominees were this year. (and that was one of the interview questions). I consider myself to be fairly disconnected from pop culture. 

I made those calls, confirmed my twin sister and a couple of close friends and they called me back. 

I was to be a finalist! What?! How does this happen? Oh yeah, I answered an “Unknown Number” call. 

As none of the people on my team were any more connected to pop culture than I was, so some studying took place last night. But not before I published my video regarding my upcoming Thailand Creativity Camp. I felt that completing this video edit was like my homework and despite my excitement, I had to do this before studying and getting too excited about the contest. Sometimes you have to eat the broccoli before desert. 

We got ourselves up early and met at the CITY TV building in downtown Calgary for 6.30am and decided to make it fun.  There were onesies, glitter and juggling involved within our four person team.

The opposing team was a nice group of people who admitted that they were as disconnected from pop culture and music as we were. All 8 of us shared in the excitement before going into the studio very shortly after 7am. 

Game on!

In the studio we competed by listing off the next lines to the lyrics to some songs. Although it was exciting and close, the other team won the grand prize with a score of 3-1. 

While the other team won, by no means did we lose. Rogers Communications very kindly provided a $2800 prize package including 4 brand new Samsung smartphones and a bunch of Breakfast Television swag. Of course we were disappointed to have come so close to this amazing trip of a lifetime, but we were all still very grateful for a fun, unexpected television appearance and experience.  I was also thrilled to score my second brand new free smartphone.

Speaking with my room-mate Josh this afternoon, he confided in me that he suspects that he felt more disappointed than the rest of our “family” because he has never left Canada before. But he put a positive spin on this. “I realized that the reason this we so heavy is because it proves to me that I really do need to travel and have some of those amazing life experiences. This totally reinforces what I’m already working towards!” 

Talk about a winning mindset eh?

I also took pleasure in seeing one of the opposing team’s participants state, “Is this for real? Did we really win? I’ve never won anything before!”. I was genuinely happy for Mackenzie as I have had plenty of adventures in my life already and have won some prizes too. I am also aware that I’ll be in California for performing / presenting work for reasons that I don’t yet know about, so my turn is still coming. 

Furthermore, if I did win this prize I would have missed my upcoming performance with Le Cirque de la Nuit in Calgary. We will stage our next huge show in downtown Calgary on February 13th – the same day that we would have flown out for this adventure. 

Breakfast Television

So thank you Spotify, Breakfast Television, Rogers Communications and my team-mates Ayesha, Josh and Charlotte for helping make today the most memorable day of my 2016 yet. Please click on the image to the right or HERE to see the Breakfast Television Calgary segment.

When it was all said and done there were hugs, high-fives and handshakes between teams and a bunch of us exchanged contact information / Facebook details. They were such gracious winners. We look forward to following the Schacter family adventures in L.A. And after all, imagine what potential events might occur due to this chance encounter? 

Keep on talking to strangers because you never know what huge potential lies in those conversations.

Tony Esteves

iOnTheBall.ca  Creativity Inspiring Connections

Tony Esteves is an international inspirational speaker and facilitator who brings play back into the workplace. A Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, he helps people use their Unexpected Connections and Creativity to move their careers and businesses forward. He is a published author, a videographer and a member of Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation. 

Are you looking for more adventure in your life? Check out the upcoming Thailand Creativity Camp and join us for a life-changing experience in April 2016.

04 Feb

Posted at 01:31h in Blog

Ian Ord and Tony Esteves are brining you an opportunity to share a life changing experience. Join us from April 24th – May 1st, 2016 for the Thailand Creativity Camp. It will be a retreat like no other where you will identify and take action on the next steps in your own life expedition.

Click HERE to reserve your spot while spots remain. 

Tony Esteves

iOnTheBall.ca  Creativity Inspiring Connections

Tony Esteves is an international inspirational speaker and facilitator who brings play back into the workplace. A Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, he helps people use their Unexpected Connections and Creativity to move their careers and businesses forward. He is a published author, a videographer and a member of Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation. 

Are you looking for more adventure in your life? Check out the upcoming Thailand Creativity Camp and join us for a life-changing experience in April 2016.

23 Jan

Posted at 14:32h in Blog

Enjoy Lifes SurprisesLast evening I drove from Calgary to Edmonton to deliver a presentation on networking. It was part of the #GetConnectedYYC project that I co-present with Lynnell Ible. I put a note on Kijiji offering a rideshare as I love meeting people and helping people out. 

Several people contacted me for a ride however only 2 actually decided to come. One person was easy to connect with while the other was difficult to track down. I was a little frustrated that I’d gone out of my way to accommodate picking this person up. As they were more than 30 minutes late I decided to depart for Edmonton. 

That individual eventually did meet us before we left Calgary and it turned out that the person did not need a ride, rather a DOG needed a ride to Edmonton. While this was not communicated to me originally, I agreed to help and took the adorable dog to it’s owner in Edmonton. 

Even though the dog wet the seat moments after leaving Calgary the other passenger and I found great humour in the situation and it really didn’t matter that I was 2 hours behind schedule.

Here is a short video of that adventure from last night.

In the end, it’s good to relax when things go sideways as you can often learn lessons from these experiences. So enjoy life’s surprises. 

Tony Esteves

www.iOnTheBall.ca  Creativity Inspiring Connections

Tony Esteves is an international inspirational speaker and facilitator who brings play back into the workplace. He helps people use their Unexpected Connections and Creativity to move their careers and businesses forward. He is a published author, a videographer and a member of Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation.

Are you looking for more adventure in your life? Check out the upcoming Thailand Creativity Camp and join us for a life-changing experience in April 2016.

15 Jan

Posted at 23:28h in Mindfulness

Lake Louise2015 was a wonderful yet challenging year for many of us. There were
highs and lows and sometimes exhausting obstacles. There were also some wonderful moments of inspiration. 

So how will you make 2016 a better year than 2015? I’d like to share with you some of what’s working for me. Please take a look at these resources and try on what you like.

5 Easy Ways to Rock Your 2016

  1. Read more. I’ve now been enjoying reading an extra book per month since getting hooked on audio-books. Audible.com Try it. 
  2. Reflect more. I’m writing daily as an exercise to focus more conscious energy on the things that I’m bringing into my life. There have been some wonderful real-world results from this activity alone. 750Words.com can help you with this although for the writing I’m doing now, I’m using the good old pen and paper.
  3. Respect your needs more. I put out quite a lot of energy sometimes without the results I wanted in 2015. Already this year I’ve been able to increase my return on time by doing less. That has involved taking more time for myself. Yes, this involves saying “no” more often. Here is a great article by Scott Fetters on “How People Pleasers Can Learn To Say NO More Often”. 
  4. Recognize what comes easily. After what I can only describe as my spiritual “Awakening” this past New Year’s Eve, I’ve realized that a wonderful and productive way to make decisions is to do what comes EASILY. Until now I’ve pushed against too much resistance. To help find your Flow, do more of what comes easily to you. 
  5. Really listen to your intuition. It can be easy with the busy-ness of life to avoid listening to that intuition. But simply making space and time (most easily through meditation and / or exercise) allows you to connect more easily to that intuition and to make better decisions.  Take a look at this wonderful piece by Carolyn Gregoire called, “10 Things Highly Intuitive People Do Differently”. I hope that some of these tactics resonate with you. Wishing you a fun and prosperous 2016 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Here is a video montage of the personal and professional escapades from my 2015. This video is longer than most of my videos, but I’m sure that you will enjoy it.

 

I hope that some of these tactics resonate with you. Wishing you a fun and prosperous 2016 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Tony Esteves

www.iOnTheBall.ca  Creativity Inspiring Connections

Tony Esteves is an international inspirational speaker and facilitator who brings play back into the workplace. He helps people use their Unexpected Connections and Creativity to move their careers and businesses forward. He is a published author, a videographer and a member of Le Cirque de la Nuit – a Calgary based circus. Connect with Tony for a meaningful face-to-face conversation. 

Are you looking for more adventure in your life? Check out the upcoming Thailand Creativity Camp and join us for a life-changing experience in April 2016.

07 Jan

Posted at 01:06h in Blog

Early in December 2015, I attended my first national convention of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) in Halifax, NS.

That was a good move.

Besides getting 5 minutes to perform on the main stage (an honour at any point in one’s speaking career), I met and connected with some wonderful new people.

While being a solo-preneur has its perks, at times there can be a sense of isolation despite constantly being surrounded by crowds of appreciative, curious people.

What this convention allowed me to do was to be myself, have fun and feel like I’ve found my professional family. I haven’t felt something like this since getting introduced to the world of creativity back in 2012.

That first weekend in December 2015 will stand out as one of the most amazing weekends of my professional development. I don’t feel that I was lucky to be there. Rather I was fortunate to have had the foresight to know that I was supposed to be there, and I was prepared to do whatever was necessary to attend.

To make the trip more cost effective I’ll bet that I was the only participant at the convention from out of province who actually didn’t stay at the hotel. Instead I stayed with a wonderful stranger named Scott who was my host through something called Couchsurfing. This is a traveler network with over 10 million members worldwide. He lived a 7 minute bus ride / taxi ride from the hotel and was a superb host. I had my own room, some great conversations, amazing coffee and even a pork roast dinner one night.

Furthermore, I had the privilege of connecting with cousins from both sides of my family and got to catch up over some meals and chats.

So the next time you have an opportunity that you think you should chase after, but don’t quite know how you can make it happen, give it a shot. 

Sometimes it’s just the act of getting ourselves out there that provides the stage for us to shine. 

Love Life.

Danny Devine and Tony Esteves

IMG_4104

04 Dec

Posted at 21:51h in Blog
Melanie

A new friend from the flight to Halifax

It is with great pleasure that I can announce I’ve met the friendliest people in Halifax since arriving just over 24 hours ago.

I have come here to attend the CAPS (Canadian Association of Professional Speakers) National Convention.

The meeting of great people actually began while on the flight to Halifax from Calgary. I’ve NEVER seen so many people – who did not necessarily know each other before – have conversations on a plane.

I thought that it must have had something to do with the place where I was headed. I was correct.

Although I had arranged for a cousin to meet me in Halifax, I chose to take the bus downtown. This was in part because of the friendly person who I’d just met on the plane, Melanie (pictured above). She was heading downtown as well and could not stop talking about how great Halifax is and how much she missed it while visiting her boyfriend in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. We spoke briefly on the plane and it was as if we’d known each other already for some time. Once downtown we walked a short distance to the beautiful hotel where she works and I was introduced to a number of her colleagues. I felt like some kind of celebrety.

Two If By Sea

Two If By Sea Cafe Halifax

Now that I was fully awake, I decided to get some work done and asked where a good place to do so was. This took me to the “Two If By Sea Cafe” nearby. There I met a young fellow, Paul who struck up a conversation with me. (In my life experience it’s usually the other way around). We chatted about entrepreneurship as he himself is a small business owner and about Canada’s identity. His company is called, “Great White North Leather“.

I then got zipped in a taxi – driven by a cousin who I’d not seen in 20 years – up to the family house to be spoiled with great food, rest and conversation for the evening. What a treat.

Since being back in town today I’ve continued to meet more and more great people and it’s as if the entire town is charmed. It may very well be.

It is my wish that people who visit from all across Canada for this convention take notice of this friendliness and use it as a learning opportunity. It is an opportunity for us to let our guard down and to talk to more people.  I believe that it’s this friendliness and these conversations that really create possibilities.

Just last week I was enjoying a meal in Calgary and I got to chatting with my waitress about how it is that people connect. She commented, “It’s all about those connections isn’t it”. I remembered the statement, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” and this line of thought popped into my head. Further than that,

“It’s not who you know, but who you talk to”, that matters the most.

This enables individuals to take control of their experience and to create their own possibilities. As it ties in beautifully with my message about the power of unexpected connections, I’ll be sharing this concept more often.

There’s plenty more I could write now, but I’ve got to head out and meet some more people. Below is a piece that Global TV did with Convention Chairs Halina St. James and Ravi Tangri, CSP.

The 2015 CAPS Convention has begun, and I’m ready for the possibilities that we are going to create together, because we believe.

CAPS Convention

And if you know of anyone who would be interested in a Thailand Creativity Camp in April, could you send them my way? Thank you!

24 Nov

Posted at 13:24h in Blog

I won’t try to water this down.

This 8 day trip to Thailand will positively change the

lives of those who show up for it.

That’s not because of the beautiful setting, the yoga, the meditation, or the creativity workshops. It’s because of how the people who are called to this trip will enhance each other’s lives through face-to-face conversations.

When you bring a group of people together to have an experience, the experience is always more about the people with whom you share that time, than the place itself.

So I feel that my role with this trip is as the facilitator who creates the space for magic to happen.

If you are looking for an opportunity to spend some time with a group of inspired people who want to have an amazing trip, learn some things along the way as well as make fantastic new connections, you should consider the Thailand Creativity Camp.

You can contact me directly by email or phone if you’d like to have a conversation about it. Tony@iOnTheBall.ca +1 587 897 7529.

Thank you,

Tony Esteves

 

22 Nov

Posted at 23:26h in Blog

I have found that all of the video trainings that I’ve seen on YouTube are dry and boring. Informative, yes. Fun, no. So I’ve added a wee bit of Irish to this introductory video on editing using iMovie on the iPad. Almost all of these instructions are interchangeable while editing on the iPhone. 

Today’s lesson:

  • Starting a new Project
  • Adding video to the Project
  • Cutting the video

21 Nov

Posted at 01:11h in Play, Yoga

On my final day in Vancouver this week, I took some time to visit a circus school called, Circus West. This is a very fun place. You can bounce off of just about every surface and there are helpful people there to keep you safe and to share their knowledge.

So on this day, I learned how to do my first backflip. Here’s a short video on what that looked like.

While on the flight home the next day I got speaking with the gentleman sitting next to me. We got into a discussion about how important it is for people to actually TALK to one another nowadays and he told me this,

“You know Tony, when you get a little introspective, you can see how just about everything important that we do in our lives starts with a conversation”.

No kidding! I completely agreed. Thank you Dwayne for this inspiration. I asked him for permission to use this comment and have done so in 3 presentations since then.

Keep talking to people, keep playing, and keep connecting.