As the end of 2024 approaches, I reflect on a year of growth, milestones, and meaningful progress. These include the launch of 3 magazine, the publication of my first book, Between Borders, Beyond Boundaries, completing my third marathon, and delivering the keynote address at The Conference Board of Canada’s 2024 Immigration Summit. While these have been significant milestones, in 2024, my personal growth intention was focused on relationships.
I intentionally aligned my efforts with relationships to foster deeper connections with family, friends, and professional peers. I sought to achieve a healthy balance between my work and personal fulfillment, focusing on career-focused accomplishments while ensuring my life was enriched by those who matter most to me. I’m proud of my journey this year, how it has shaped me, and the strong foundation I have built going into 2025.
In 2023, “focus” was my guiding word; I dedicated the year to refining my skills, deepening my expertise, and strategically planning for the future. That focus became the cornerstone of my successes this year. Entering 2024, I shifted my focus to relationships—the driving force behind everything I do. From personal connections with loved ones to professional collaborations, I’m deeply grateful for the relationships that enriched my personal and professional life this year.
Business, family, and friendships all revolve around relationship building, and in everything I do, I like to focus on three core elements: my mind, body, and soul.
Mind: Learning, Leadership, and Growth
On the mind front, my focus was on learning and leadership development. I dedicated time to enhancing my speaking skills, which allows me to connect with people in an enriching way. Beyond speaking, I invested in improving my writing skills, taking courses and working with mentors to refine my craft. This learning helped me refine my keynote speeches, including the one I delivered for the Conference Board of Canada, which was a standout moment.
I further honed my leadership skills as 369 Global grew from a small domestic operation into a larger business with an international presence. My focus has been on attracting top-tier talent to scale our vision and, during the 10th anniversary of my acquisition and revamp of Computek College, bringing in diverse, skilled talent to enhance our culture, products, and services. Relationships have been central to this journey. 369 Global and Computek College remain deeply rooted in community, collaborating with government, non-profits, and corporations to achieve meaningful outcomes. These partnerships are vital as we expand into new sectors and amplify our impact.
Body: Health and Wellness
On the body side, my health was a significant focus. At 45, I committed to prioritizing my physical well-being and running the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon for the third time. It was an important accomplishment for me; while training for it was challenging, it was incredibly rewarding to be able to push my limits and achieve this goal. While I didn’t hit every fitness target, like my target of weight training three times a week, I made significant strides in incorporating more health-focused habits into my life. I dedicated more time to my well-being this year than ever, which feels like a win.
Turning 45 made me appreciate my determination and ability to push myself physically. As I trained for the marathon, I often thought about my younger self and how amazed I would have been to know I’d still strive for new physical goals well into my 40s.
Soul: Spirituality, Relationships, and Purpose
For my soul, I focused on deepening my connection to myself, spiritually and the people I love. I made space for meditation, which became a calming ritual, especially during stressful moments. A meaningful gift I brought back from my travels in Sri Lanka last year was a rosary that has helped me find peace and clarity. Though I didn’t always remember to use it in the heat of busy days, it’s been a grounding force in my life.
I prioritized connecting with the people who matter most to me, especially my family and close friends. At least once a month, I intentionally stepped away from my phone to take a break from work to focus entirely on my family and create meaningful one-on-one moments with my son, Leonardo and daughter, Sofia. Whether through trips to places like Istanbul and New Orleans or simple experiences like weekend getaways or family dinners, I made it a point to build my relationships with those most important to me in diverse and intentional ways. These small moments of connection have meant the world to me and reaffirmed how precious our time with loved ones truly is.
The Magic of Believe, Conceive and Achieve
The guiding philosophy behind these achievements is a straightforward principle: Believe, Conceive, Achieve. Anything is possible when you believe in your ability to accomplish something and conceive a detailed plan. For me, that’s been the magic of this year—knowing that anything I set out to do with the right mindset can be achieved. Whether running a marathon, writing a book, or launching a magazine, these goals were made real by taking consistent, thoughtful action.
As I look ahead to 2025, I’m grateful for the journey. While I’m proud of my accomplishments, I hope others are inspired to achieve their goals and dreams. Whether launching a new project, writing a book, training for a marathon, or building deeper relationships with the people you love, everything is possible when you focus your energy, trust the process, and stay consistent.
Here’s to a year of focus in 2023, relationships in 2024, and for 2025….
