BY: SIMONE JENNIFER SMITH
“I am an organization person, I believe in individuals banding together. I don’t believe in unilateral actions. Some people don’t like organizations. But it is always awesome to me when you can pool a lot of talent and lots of people who have so many talents. This is when you really can make your program move” Hortence Canady
TORONTO! Spring is here, and it is time to shake off the winter blues, put on the summer smile, and start moving. The one thing that I have always passed on to students, and people who I work with, is that without knowledge, there cannot be change. We all have our sources of knowledge, and everyone’s sources of knowledge are different. The goal is to be forever learning, forever growing, and forever finding ways to move forward in a productive way. This week, I want to speak with the community about a tough lesson that many of us have to learn the hard way; people will not always do for you, what you do for them.
As many of you know, on Sunday, May 6th, 2018 the owners of the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper, Grant and Trish Browning, are hosting a community event called The Business Social. This is an annual event that has been successfully put on by Carib 101 Media Group, in the intention of uniting new business, and business strategists together to help support each other, and showcase the great products and services that exist in Toronto. Grant and Trish have worked tirelessly over the last few years, creating this space for the community; their hard work at times goes unnoticed, so I want to take a few minutes to thank them for their dedication to the community, and for continuing to do for others, what they want to be done for them. I work personally with both Grant and Trish, and I know the hours that they have poured into helping others. As a beneficiary of their help, I am not here to necessarily praise them but to let them know that they are appreciated, and sometimes this appreciation can show itself in ways that are not expected.
“Be careful with whom you associate, especially when you are vulnerable because negative people can steal your dream right out of your heart.” Joel Osteen
When developing a team or an organization, you have to be mindful of who you choose to include. Have you ever had a project or worked with a group of people, and for some reason the project seems to drag, and the productivity is low? Have you then realized that it is a person, or people, not the actual task that is making the work so tedious? Once you realized that and then were rid of the person or people, did you notice that things seemed to move forward seamlessly, and the resistance you once felt was gone? I am sure many of you who have had to work with other people and have experienced this, and while working at Carib 101 Media Group, I have seen this manifest, and the effects that wore on even after the person was no longer with us. I have learned that you have to trust the process. There are people that are in your life for a reason and a season. Everything is transient, and sometimes we hold on to thoughts, beliefs, ideologies, and people that we are better off letting go. Hard lessons have been learned, but one thing that I learned just this past Sunday, is that when the chips are down, you see who is ready to step up and really be there.
“You’re only as good as the company you keep. You can’t soar like the eagle when you are hanging out with turkeys.” Author Unknown
Grant and Trish had to make a serious business decision this weekend, and I could tell they were disheartened. It was what I saw after that makes my heart feel warm. The group that has been working together has begun to communicate, strategize, and formulate ways in which to ensure the success of the social. Although things may not have gone how we may have wanted it to, we as the Carib 101 Media Group working community, have made it our decision to focus our efforts into building the GTA community by showing them that love can conquer all. Yes, there are some selfish people in this world, we cannot avoid them, but I have seen that there are some great people as well, and I am honored that they have allowed me to be a part of what I see as being the new standard of community development.
Until next Sunday everyone! Have a great couple weeks!
