I have had a lot of life experience in leadership roles.

My first experience was in Army Cadets from 2006-2012. Also, I have been a ball hockey player and captain for many years. I started hockey in 2011 and still play to this day.

Currently I’m a peer support worker in the mental health field. Leadership is something I have been able to practice for many years.

In cadets I learned the importance of leading by example. I was the Sergeant Major of my unit in 2012, and was also a staff cadet in the summers of 2011 and 2012.

The most important thing to do as a leader is walk the walk.

As a ball hockey captain, I took pride in leading a hard working and physical team that would compete in both regular season and playoffs.

The reason I was a successful captain wasn’t because of goals or assists. It was because I could lead the charge with my intensity and work ethic. I had teammates that were better at putting points on the board. I had other teammates that would grind and play hard minutes.

My best moment as a captain was leading my 8th place Ottawa Knights to an upset over the 1st place team. I knew the opponent was expecting to win the cup.

We squeaked into the playoffs and I instilled confidence in my teammates. We won the game 9-7 because we outworked the opponent. I have always played hockey with intensity and commitment to defense.

In cadets I demonstrated dedication and was almost perfect with attendance. This showed the other cadets the importance of dedication. I strived to lead by example. I didn’t have to talk much to gain the respect of the cadets around me.

Leadership is about example above all else.

You also have to have the empathy to understand the people you are leading. Asking them what their goals are and working with their self-interest is also key. Effective leaders are able to put themselves in the shoes of the people they are leading. Leadership requires you to understand people.

Your vision for the people under your leadership needs to have something in common with their vision. Rallying a team around a common goal or goals is a huge part of getting buy in from your people.

Fear based leadership is going to get buy in as well, but for the wrong reasons. If your people can’t talk to you openly and share their points you won’t get the most out of them. Coaches in hockey can often be hard nosed but they have a much shorter shelf life than a players coach would.

To sum it up, your example matters above all else. You don’t have to say much if you set a good example. Empathy is also a major part of effective leadership.

To your success,

Angus

You are always moving towards your true desires.

I began to understand the law of attraction at a conscious level when I was in 11th grade back in 2011.

My motivation in learning the law of attraction was to get my high school crush to love me back. I didn’t know how the law of attraction truly worked back then.

I knew that reality is going to render opportunity and also work with you to fully help you manifest what you want.

In 2006 I was using the law of attraction without actually knowing how it worked. I was a natural with the LOA.

Back in October 2006 I was in 7th grade and a private in the Army Cadet program. My mom began to tell me that my thought creates my reality. She had recently heard of the book called “The Secret.”

I was very inspired in my Army Cadet career. I didn’t know that my level of inspiration was actually moving me towards my desires. I had some desires at the time, my first being about being the best Army Cadet in Canada. The other being about helping my cadet unit be the best unit in Canada. I was very proud of my success in cadets and strived to be an MVP calibre cadet by helping those in my unit become better.

In 2004 my Dad passed away suddenly. I also look back in this time of my life as one where the universe was communicating with me. I was having a conversation with my Dad about 4 weeks before he passed away. We were talking about not taking life for granted. He told me that anyone can pass away without warning and I began to wonder if he would go out that way. I had a deep feeling that his passing was imminent.

Later on that May he passed away suddenly.

Part of my motivation for joining cadets was to make him proud. On Feb 11th 2006, I went to my first NHL game. I didn’t actually love hockey at this point in time. But it’s a day I always remember because only 2 years later I would become obsessed with the NHL and a die hard Ottawa Senators fan.

Back to the law of attraction.

The first part of manifestation is being clear about what your soul really wants. This comes down to feelings, not physical objects.

I wanted the joy of winning. As a competitive soul, I always wanted to come out on top. In cadets I wanted to be the most excellent cadet in my unit, but also to have the best possible unit.

I wanted to become the Sergeant Major before the end of my career to help my unit while leading by example. Using my leadership and rank to influence my cadets for the better.

In 2006-2007, I was promoted to corporal after setting the intention to get my promotion in Dec 2006 ahead of most of my peers. I earned the promotion by being on my shooting team and drill team. I also knew my dedication to excellence would be the reason for this success. Sure enough my intent manifested because I had a very strong desire to be a success.

In class when I was in grade 7 I would actually draw pictures of myself in uniform as the Sergeant Major. I would have a chance to get this position in 2011 or 2012.

In 2008, I was a die hard Sens fan and wanted to attend NHL games. My Mom’s boyfriend would take me to 20 Sens games per year. I was able to manifest this desire because of how badly I wanted it. I also didn’t enjoy school that much, and my Mom was able to put me in a private school to allow me to excel in cadets.

I was able to accomplish a lot of my success in cadets because I had a couple of unfair advantages. But I took full advantage. It’s amazing what the universe will do to manifest your soul desires.

My soul desire to be a great cadet and attend hockey games had a common theme. I wanted the feeling of winning, and winning as a team.

I strived to be the best individual and team player I could possibly be.

My future self had plans for me, and the law of attraction can sometimes work backwards in time. You can have a destiny to be in a certain position in your future, and your future self can influence your current self to allow you to manifest the life of your dreams.

You want to have a sense of trust that life has big plans for you.

I have always had trust in the universe.

My imagination was a preview of life’s coming attractions.

Everywhere I went as a leader, I was dedicated to helping those around me. I personify leading by example, and in Cadets I was respected long before I was able to recognize how much respect I had.

In 2011 I was going for a promotion to Chief Warrant Officer, and one of my friends got the rank ahead of me. My defining moment in Cadets was how I responded to this. I knew the following year I was going to get the promotion, so I did my very best as the senior Master Warrant Officer. I embraced the role I had and strived to show my peers the value of loyalty to the unit and not giving up.

I ended up realizing my dream on June 3rd 2012. I was promoted to Chief.

At this time I was also appointed the Drill Sergeant at Connaught Ranges. I met one of my best friends that summer. We talked to each other lots about the law of attraction. We knew each-others language. To this day I see him from time to time, and we always have great conversations.

That summer he was a company sergeant major, and I was the second in command of the entire camp.

The day before I was appointed Drill Sergeant, the base RSM had a conversation with me saying “there’s no doubt in my mind you can do this job” he left the conversation at 11:11PM and the next day I was appointed DSM of the camp.

The law of attraction can work in any direction of time.

In 2013 I was arrested as I got in trouble while having a manic episode.

At the time I didn’t fully know God had a plan for me.

I was found Not Criminally Responsible on the charge.

At the hospital I was getting help from I would eventually become the peer support worker in the same program I was in. I got hired for the position in 2022.

The life I have now is way better than if I was the one who scripted it.

Sometimes the universe has a plan.

I wouldn’t have been able to script my own life as well as the universe did.

Throw a lot of ball hockey in the mix and I get to play the game I love at the highest level in Ottawa.

You don’t always get what you think you want.

Drop socially conditioned desires and hone in on the true feelings you want to experience in your life.

Success, inspiration, triumph, winning, helping other people.

There’s no limit to how much you can create in life, and your life will be made of moments, not things.

Ask for a life with rich moments. A movie is made great for the moments, and you will have your moments.

To your success,

Angus

I’m in the process of building a business from my lived experience. I already work at a job where I use my lived experience to help other people. I work in a mental health unit as a peer support worker.

Before I started to work as a peer support worker, I was working as a life coach. I’m reopening my coaching practice soon.

In 2018, I decided to become a coach who would work with clients on the autism spectrum.

The mindset I had was about helping other people overcome autism related challenges. I’m on the autism spectrum and have been since I was 5.

I was able to overcome my challenges by gaining social exposure.

Learning how most people think, speak, and behave and was what made me able to emulate normal behavior. I was still myself, but I learned how to fit in with people.

I have had clients who struggled with bullying in school, and also with people who had trouble making friends. The work was focused on being a good friend first and foremost and connecting with the right people.

I was fitting in with new friends in ball hockey back in 2011-2012. At the same time, I was developing into a leader in my Army Cadet unit.

At age 19, I was leaving the Army Cadet program.

I began to play serious competitive ball hockey at this time. A lot of my friendships are from the time I spent playing ball hockey.

I became socially calibrated because of post game hangouts and chilling with my friends.

By 2018, I was 24 years old. I decided I wanted to be a life coach because I wanted to help others.

In 2016-2017, I got to know another life coach, and he helped me realize I would offer a lot of value to clients who are on the autism spectrum.

There’s another motivational speaker who is also from Ottawa who is on the spectrum. He’s fairly well known on YouTube.

I have never met him before, but I would imagine I have a lot in common with him.

The first thing I did for many years was write to share wisdom and ideas.

This isn’t my first blog. But it is the first blog I want to stick with for many years. I now have a good job, so I can afford to keep the site up and running.

To start the hero’s journey of being a helping professional, you’ll want to understand your own story and where your life experience can help other people.

I was able to join cadets a couple years after my Dad passed away in 2004. That helped me learn to be a leader and also made me far better socially. I also had my fair share of trials and tribulations. In 2010 I went through a heartbreak and it took me a good 8-10 years to move on. There was a girl who went to another high school that I liked and got rejected by.

In 2012-2013, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and needed to take medication to function.

I used this part of my lived experience to become a peer support worker.

Now I’ve been a peer support worker for almost 3 years. Having a job that’s in your element is a foundation for future success. You are very fortunate if you have a job where you get to use your core strengths.

In the future I want to publish books, and share my story by doing speaking engagements.

The more I speak and get content out there the more I’m helping other people grow.

As an author a blog is a good way to start getting your content out there.

You can also do speaking on YT or spaces on X.

The synergy between being an author, speaker, and coach allows you to get your message out there through a few different mediums.

In 2018, I was on a speaking engagement for people on the autism spectrum. I told the audience that I do life coaching for people who are on the spectrum. I got my first offer from someone who listened to my talk. I took on the client and met with him on a weekly basis. We worked together for about 6 months.

My next client saw an ad I put online. We had a phone call, and his family wanted me to support him with high school related challenges.

My 3rd client was already a friend of mine, but wanted formal coaching. I coached him on an as needed basis until he passed away a few years ago.

Writing can get you speaking engagements, speaking engagements can get you clients who may want to do coaching with you.

It’s key to understand synergy and create a business where many different mediums can connect you with your audience.

I can write books on an array of topics that people will gain value from.

I suggest if you want to follow the same path I’m following that you look at your own unique lived experience and create content based on that.

Don’t try to copy another guru, maybe share a concept from another author if you want to help your reader. To build a good personal brand use experience that is unique to you.

You will soon find that other people will be able to relate to you more.

Publishing a free autobiography is something I’m working on right now.

I want to get my full story out there and use it as a means to help my future audience get to know me.

Charging money early on in your business may be counter-productive.

The autobiography is a gift that will allow people to know me better.

In the long run this will bring in more opportunity.

Speaking is a great way to get your message out there as well. Starting with opportunities in your city and then sharing other services you offer is a big part of it.

The more you give away up front the more of a market you will have.

I suggest you look at your life story and use your successes to help other people succeed.

The mediums are just mediums, the message is the part that really counts.

To your success,

Angus

Early Career

I joined the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Program in Feb 2006.

There are 7 ranks in the army cadet program. Private, Corporal, Master Corporal, Sergeant, Warrant Officer, Master Warrant Officer, and Chief Warrant Officer.

Each unit in cadets has one RSM (Regimental Sergeant Major).

It often takes about 5-6 years for a cadet to be promoted up the ranks to become the RSM. And that’s if they even get selected for the position.

I was a young cadet in 2006 (age 12), and I had aspirations of becoming the RSM by the time I would age out of the Army Cadet program.

In 2006 I was a private who had a dream of being one of the best cadets ever.

The goal of becoming the Chief Warrant Officer in my unit was far away, and I would have to be excellent each and every year to have that chance.

My first lesson in Cadets was about rank-structure, and we learned the 7 ranks in the program and the organizational chart.

I was right away set on reaching the top of the organization. My goal was to dedicate myself to being the most excellent cadet I could possibly be.

Naturally I was visualizing my goal, I would draw pictures of my future self as the Sergeant Major of my unit.

I was reading the cadet instructional manual inside out to learn everything I possibly could about the cadet program.

Early in my career I was acing all the exams and getting promoted ahead of what I would have expected.

Acting as If

I would wear my uniform every week and it would look immaculate.

It was important to make sure my boots were shined to the best of my ability and that the rest of my uniform also looked immaculate.

My goal was to be the standard that other cadets follow.

Leadership skill is about influence, and I was expecting to set the example as a leader.

I acted as if I was the top cadet in my unit long before I actually was.

I would imagine myself racking up accolades for having a great week to week performance.

The law of attraction will work when you start acting as if.

I would think of myself as the CWO in my unit long before I ended up getting that promotion.

Visualization is meant to instill belief that your dream is reachable.

In visualization you want to imagine yourself being the person you want to be. Doing the things you want to do, and having the things you want to have.

Having a presence about yourself that you are important is another thing. The self-belief you need to manifest is key. Telling yourself stories about yourself that line up with your long-term vision.

To manifest your goal, its key to act as if.

What would you be doing if you already had it?

In 2012, I was appointed as the Sergeant Major of my unit and promoted to Chief Warrant Officer.

When you reach a big goal, you’ll wonder what’s next. This is because success doesn’t stop, and I was wondering what my next goal would be after that.

I left my Army Cadet unit as someone who truly cared about the success of those around me. I was also the leader of my unit long before I was in charge of it.

The thing that distinguished me from most was that I truly cared about making those around me better. The example I set as a leader was why I was an effective leader, I didn’t have to speak much to inspire the cadets I was leading.

I also saw it as paramount to grow the leadership potential of those I was in charge of.

When you have a giver’s mindset, the universe will work overtime to actually help you.

Takers on the other hand face a lot of resistance from the universe.

The more you help the universe, the more the universe will want to help you. The universe alredy knows exactly what you want.

You don’t have to try to tell the universe what you want, the universe is already bringing you closer to your desire.

The stronger the desire, the easier it will be to manifest it.

To your success,

Angus