LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
I had the great honour of contributing to the commencement reel for a graduating class of 2021.
Given my focus is typically on financial advice it was a good place to start. Life isn't about the money. Money is simply the foundation to free you up to do the things that give your life more balance and meaning.
Let's begin with building the foundation.
NO REGRETS
Acknowledge you will never be the best. There will always be someone who is better and that's OK. What's not OK is not giving your best. When you do the absolute best you can, and things don't go according to plan (trust me they won't always turn out as you hoped), you shouldn't have any regrets because you tried and gave it your best shot. I recall one of my first presentations and while the feedback was predominantly positive, one person stated, "I didn't come here to hear you read your presentation.”
I was relying on my notes too heavily. After that I never used my notes again and today I don't use a teleprompter on air. I work hard to learn my material. Today, if that same person wasn't interested in what I had to say or how I said it, I know I did my best. No regrets.
NO COMPARISONS
Comparisons rarely drive financial success. It doesn't matter who gets the best job or buys their first home. What does drive financial success? Finding a financial role model to guide you. Be open to the basics such as building an emergency fund of three to six months’ living expenses. Start investing for the long run even if it is a small amount, and beginning with your very first job, live below your means. Simply put, spend less than you earn. My father was that role model in my life.
PASSION AND STRENGTHS
Follow your passion and get excited about the next chapter of your life. It isn't always about landing the high paying job. If the job you choose doesn't play to your strengths it could delay your progression, or worse, trap you in a field that will never make you happy. I don't know anyone who retired from a low-paying entry-level job in a field that really interested them.
My husband Jim gave me plaque, a quote from Walt Disney, for my desk. It reads: "If you can dream, you can do it."
He added the only person holding me back was me. Sometimes you have to get out of your own way and go for it.
EMBRACE LIFE LONG LEARNING
You may be graduating today, however, it is so important to embrace lifelong learning. Your human capital is your ability to earn a living. The more you have to offer, the greater the potential to earn. One day your financial capital, the money you have saved, will take over from your human capital, the money you make working.
Start tucking some money away early on, especially if your employer has some form of retirement savings vehicle. I know retirement seems miles away but this is how you benefit from power of time and compounding. Investing early and often may be the most impactful financial move you can make. As someone who has saved her whole life, I can tell you it gives you the freedom of choice and that is a wonderful feeling.
I would be remiss of course if I didn't touch on the basics of budgeting: avoiding mindless spending and getting the biggest bang for your buck. Look at your return on investment. Paying off student debt is a sure thing, investing in the market is not.
It is a tough environment for today's graduates and sadly, you can't control that, but you can control how you will respond.
In a world where you can be anything and do anything, I will leave you with two words: Be kind.
You will be surprised how far that will take you.
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.