For several weeks, thousands of protesters have been taking to the streets of Quebec, mostly in Montreal, to whine about planned tuition hikes in the province. Too bad it is frowned upon to spank kids because all of these whiny brats need a good whoopin! I cannot believe how messed up their thinking is but as this blog is my rant-zone, I am gonna let some stuff fly.
Over a year ago, the Liberal government of Jean Charest announced that his province was in a financial crisis and some sacrifices were due to allow residents of the province to continue in a lifestyle they have grown accustomed to, and by the way (racisim alert) that lifestyle makes them the drama queens of Canada! I love visiting Quebec and have many dear friends who call Quebec home but ever since I can remember, I have been listening to the these mostly francaphone whiners complain about how unfair their ives are. They are allowed their voice, of course, and should challenge legitimate inequity but their chorus has been shrill as it shreeks for special status and treatment claiming a unique society exists there! Is Quebec unique? Sure. So is Saskatchewan where I grew up. So is Nova Scotia where I just visited and so is B.C. where I will be all this week. Every area of our great nation of Canada is unique in its own way but Quebec has always clamied to be “more unique”. How can you claim that? Because we have allowed them to. So seeing thousands of spoiled brats roaming the streets is bad enough since they should be in school but why are Canadians so surprised.

This entire generation of Quebecois is a by-product of my generation who handed them the keys to the car and after letting them drive whenever, wherever and with whoever they piled in the backseat, we are now taking the keys away and they are having a tantrum. Congratulations to Jean Charest and his government for standing up to these clowns and reminding them that all residents are feeling the stress of the economy and they must do their part! Let’s take a look at some facts.
Quebec has the lowest tuition rates in Canada, even most places in the free world and its costs are subsidized by taxpayers. Quebec has a unique public education system where students finish high school in 11th grade and then attend two years of Cegep (translates in English to “College of General and Vocational Education”) which allows students to choose a stream that will direct them to post-secondary options that may include university, community college, technical schools or none of the above. Cegep is free so if students choose university, they need only pay for three years as Cegep completion comes with the equivalent of first year college so not only are tuition rates in Quebec low, but they get four for the price of three. Am I missing something here? But most insulting is this complete belief that a free university degree should be their right!!! Makes me puke!

This sense of entitlement has got to stop. I will admit to bias. When I was six years old, my parents had to fight to just get me enrolled in a regular school as the practice of the time was to send “all” handicapped children to the “special school” across town. We lived across the street from a Public, albeit Catholic, school and my parents pushed to get me enrolled as what would be the frst student of my kind (crippled) to attend “normal” school in our town’s history. True, one can compare my parents to protesters as they battled an injustice and it was a legitimate one. Tuition hikes are completely different!
I had the remarkable honour of meeting and befriending a young protester of a different class at a convention in Singapore in March. Whaleed Rashed was one of the organizers of youth protests that led to the Arab Spring in Egypt last year. This young man stood for a basic human right…democracy. These young Quebecers are comparing themselves to the Arab protests…Get Real!!!

Let me just say that when I went to school, I was reminded every single day that I was the first. I was the test. How I did in normal school would reflect on every future student with special needs. I needed to be the example and with that comes the most powerful motivator…gratitude! I was truly fortunate to get to go to school. I never thought of it as a right, just a priviledge. My point of view may seem predictable, I am a motivational speaker after all but there is zero argument in the difference between earning a life and having one handed to you!!!!

With the Province of Alberta going to the polls on April 23, the rhetoric is resounding as usual and even though this blog goes around the world, I decided to address a local issue that involves everyone on the planet…prejudice in politics!
What prompted this observation were two candidates for a relatively new and definitely unknown political party in Alberta called Wildrose. For a bit of background, Alberta has always been viewed in Canada as Conservative with big C. That idea is rooted in the significant religious history of Alberta with the belief being (and this is universal) that right-wing politics believes in limited government allowing people to have their own ideas but I see that as pretty hypocritical in that organized religion loves to tell you how to live and is seriously judgmental. Politics being what it is means the right-wing moves left to include more people in the voting pool and subtle shifts over time have made todays Conservatives a tad too left wing for some; thus the Wildrose. The idea of change is appealing to many Albertans as the Conservatives have been in power for over forty years and frankly, the ruling party has become quite arrogant. I will disclose for you here that I tend to be Conservative politically even having run for the party in the Saskatchewan provincial election in 1986. In 2012, I have expanded my belief system to include more Liberal beliefs as well. In fact, I have no idea who I will vote for but I will exercise my right and cast a ballot. What I will tell you is as much as I think a change would be good, the unkown element of this new party makes me nervous. Their leader, Danielle Smith is not an issue as she appears to be a good leader, well spoken with lots of positive energy. Some of her candidates are focusing a spotlight on a bigger issue.
Over the weekend, two Wildrose wannabees put their feet in their perspective mouths with what they argue were misinterpreted statements. First, Allan Hunsperger, running in Edmonton, was questioned about a blog where he accused the Public School Board of being godless and wicked blaming its policy of welcoming and accepting gay students and added his categorical refusal to acknowledge gay marriage as well.
The next was a Calgary candidate, Ron Leech, who in a radio interview was quoted saying he believes that being Caucasian means he can speak for all his constituents where ethnic candidates like Sikhs and Muslims only speak for thier communities…yikes! Here is the scary part; both these men are pastors! I realize that everyone is entitled to their opinion and being pastors seems to give them more of a license to state their beliefs based on some antiquated moral code. However, that is the point exactly. Whether or not they are pastors, they should check out the new millenium. I believe that sexual orientation is a non-issue anymore. I would hope that all the new information might enlighten more folks than it has but what is particularly offensive is religion is supposed to be about tolerance and acceeptance. Mr. Leech is doing his best to assume the role of old fart white guy with his head in the fifites! Wake up kids…it is 2012!

My wife and I watched the movie, The Help last night and if you have not seen it, do. It is an uncomfortable movie as it addresses the radical prejudice of, in this case, Mississippi in the fifities and sixties as related to maids for snobby white debutantes who clearly believe their crap does not smell. Sure, it is a movie based on a fictional book but we all know that discussions of race at that time resulted in countless deaths including Medger Evers and the obvious Martin Luther King. Is it just me or is it not INSANE to judge people by race alone. I realize not all of us are enlightened and of course, many would disagree with me but how about getting with the program that change is essential to our adcancement as a society and I seriously doubt that gay marriage is going to destroy the precious religious tradition supposedly reserved for a man and a woman, an institution that now boasts a divorce rate of 57%!

I do, of course, realize that we must not allow anarchy and our governments are an integral element of social order. I also applaud anyone involved in public service, especially those who run for elections. I am also not an atheist but in my church, which I call The Religion of Humanity, everyone is deserving of respect and honour, as long as they apply the most basic rule…The Golden One. It is funny that with all the debate and intellectual chess, at the end of the day, just treat people like you want to be treated and the rest will take care of itself. Oh, and one more we are taught early…Make sure the brain is engaged before opening your mouth!
If you live in Aberta, remember to vote on Monday and remember the old saying…no vote, no say!

Since a percentage of my subscribers are outside Canada, this blog may mean nothing although the bigger picture rules do apply. This past weekend, the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada elected a new leader to replace the second- coming-of-god, Jack Layton, who died of Cancer in August of 2011, just months after he led his party to a shocking 103 seats making the NDP official opposition and decimating the former opposition Liberals in the process. It was a shock because the only place the party was ever elected in Canada were in various provinces and if you followed the election that May, the NDP acted like they won and the press in particular, mostly because the press hates this government, seemed to forget who actually won and won big, the Conservative Party. There’s an old sports adage that says, “Nobody remembers who finished 2nd” and that principle may not apply to politics per se, but I am fascinated by how Canada’s media portray politics as if the winners, the democratically elected party of choice seem to be the enemy rather than the leaders of our democracy.

Let’s be clear, I find politics fascinating and in case you didn’t know, I even threw my hat in the ring running for a seat in the Saskatchewan Legislature in 1986. I found it fascinating in that I had become a Saskatchewan “celebrity” having appeared on several high profile telethons and events where the majority of the population truly admired my efforts in life, something I never took lightly. I also wanted to make a difference in my world so when given the opportunity to seek public office, I was honored. I ended up losing to the NDP candidate in my riding and that was okay but what astounded me was the day my name got put aside a “Conservative” party banner, over 40% of the population hated me. I never realized how nasty politics was and is and for that reason, I will never run again but I mention all this before I vent just so you now that I have “been there, done that”.

Let’s start with this; the NDP are the most negative, divisive and judgmental political party ever conceived. They did not start out that way. They started in 1932 and were called the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. Ironically, the party was formed in 1932 in Calgary and I say ironic because the CCF or NDP hasn’t been elected significantly in Alberta for decades. In 1933, the party met in Regina where they chose their first leader and adopted the “Regina Manifesto” which set out its goals that included creating a mixed economy through the “Nationaliation” of key industries and establishing a “Welfare State” with universal pensions, health and welfare insurance, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and other social programs that when growing up in Saskatchewan I thought were “free”. This, of course sounds like nirvana, a utopian world where everyone is equal and there is no elite. This would be code for “Communism”. The farm-based mentality and the religious component (their early leadership were blatant in the fundamenalism) looked good on paper but that was 1933. It simply does not work in 2012 yet the NDP believes that if you don’t support their beliefs, you don’t care about people. They have used that tactic for decades and continue promoting themselves as the only party for “real people”. They are pro-union, anti-capitalist and extremely self-serving, but yet, those who don’t know them voted for them for reasons that nobody seems to want to admit. They did not win the seats that sent them to second place, the other parties lost as a protest vote and in particular in Quebec.

I love Quebec but their politics is even wackier than the NDP. It doesn’t help that since the 70′s polticians having been kissing Quebec’s butt for the sake of votes as history has shown that their sheer population gives them huge representation in Canada’s House of Commons and thus, some decisions have not been for a better Canada but to serve political interest, bilingualism being the most contentious idea. More skewing allowed Quebec to field candidates under the political banner of “Bloc Quebecois” and although elections are supposed to be Canada-wide, Quebec elected a large number of the BQ who did not have to run candidates anywhere else in Canada. Does that sound fair? These BQ Members of Parliament were elected based on a simple hatred for Ottawa and the message it would send. In a bizarre twist, the NDP in Quebec convinced the electorate that if they really wanted to send a message to Ottawa, elect a truly “National” party who can get even more perks for Quebec who have long annoyed many Canadians for preferntial treatment. For example, Quebec believes in universal daycare and even though no other province in Canada has it, all of Canada pays for it under what is known as “Equalization” where “have’ provinces like Alberta give literally billions of doallars to “have not” Quebec. Sounds like Communism wearing a french mask but I digress.

Jack Layton was viewed as a “saviour” of the NDP and his unfortunate death from cancer made him into a true martyr. I mean no insult as he was loved and for those who did, they suffered great loss but to suggest he was singular in changing the face of Canadian politics is as much a myth as the idea that they are but one election away from being Canada’s government makes my akin crawl. We cannot let that happen!

We left Saskatchewan for many reasons and was a truly tough decision…I grew up there and love the place. But I grew weary of the negativity….constant negativity that was and is the guiding princiiple of a party that is not “new” at all. The party principles are still linked to the Regina Manifesto and Quebec is similarly connected as they are defintely the most socialist jurisdiction this side of Russia! Remember, I love Quebec, the place and most of their people and I say most because there is still a significant number who would love Quebec to seperate from Canada hating this wonderful country.
Nohing ever comes from hate and anger and I may be hypocritical here, but i really hate a belief system that says, amongst oher things, that anything I create and become wealthy from I have to share with all the folks who have done nothing to earn it. I care for the underdog (its why I am still a Saskatchewan Roughriders fan) and I have helped raise over 175 million dollars for charity so I am constantly concerned for the betterment of society but to suggest that the NDP is the only party that cares is bogus.
Thomas Mulcare is the NDP’s new leader and if you listen to the press, especially the CBC, he is the third coming, will be the country’s saviour and slay the evil conservatives who only care about the rich. I would urge severe caution. Thomas Mulcare is a typical Quebec politician and a typical member of the NDP. He will never be positive, never be constructive and will do his best divide not unite a country in dire need of renewal. If it looks ike a pig and oinks like a pig, it is still a pig and no amoujnt of lipstick can change that!

Told you that my two-in-a-row sreak of positive blogs would’t last long and this one could go so far the other way that I must warn you that I am going to get graphic so no children allowed for this one, okay?
If you live in Canada, you can’t go a day these days without hearing the disturbing facts surrounding the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of Victoria “Tori” Stafford, whose decomposed body was found wrapped in garbage bags and hidden under a rockpile 135 kilomteters from her home in Woostock, Ontario. Stafford went missing in February, 2009 and a suspect was charged in her disappearance four days later. Terri-Lynne McClintic, now 21, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murder in April 2010 and her partner in crime, 31 year old Michael Rafferty is on trial for kidnapping, forced confinemen, sexual assault and muder. If you don’t know the story, you are probably wondedring why I would care, as unfortunately, this kind of thing does happen and no one story is more tragic than another, right? Wrong!

Tori Stafford was eight years old! She was vibrant third grader who lived with her single mom, 33 year old Tara McDonald and older brother, Daryn. McDonald described her little girl, lovingly nicknamed Princess Chubs Chubs, having a fondness for art, dogs, lip gloss and dance movies. On a normal day in April, little Tori was leaving school when McLintic approached her asking if she wanted a ride home and on the way, they could stop and see McClintic’s Shih-tzu puppy. Tori didn’t know McClintic but the stranger knew who Tori was as the little girl’s mother and her partner, James Goris, had been to McClintic’s home to buy OxyContin from her mother, Carol..Whether little Tori was specifically targeted is uncertain but what is confirmed from McClintic’s confession is her on-again, off-again boyfriend had a dark secret; he wanted to have sex with a little girl. So after spending the day high on drugs, they cruised past a familiar elementary school and McClintic agreed to lure a target for Rafferty. Believing it was better if she could tell the target she knew her mother they watched for someone familiar and managed to run into innocent Victoria. Feeling no threat and loving puppies, Tori accepted the ride and could not have known that by nightfall, a man would attack her sexually in the backseat of his car and the woman who lured her woud kill her with a hammer purchased that afternoon at a Home Depot, along with the garbage bags used to bury her in. The couple even stopped at a drug store, with little Tori hidden under blankets and forced to keep quiet so McClintic could purchase pharmaceuticals they altered to enhance their high. There are many more details, but you get the idea.
But one last item; Rafferty has pleaded not guilty of all charges and his defence team is attempting to place the blame on Tori’s disappearance on the little girl’s mother citing her own addicition problems for her lack of responsibility in caring for the eight year old….amazing! No wonder lawyers have a bad reputation.

Seriously, I would normally leave this alone as my opinion about such a despicable crime doesn’t really matter but my sensitivity was provoked while listening to my favorite Canadian talk-radio guy, Charles Adler on Monday of ths week. Apparently, the previous Friday, Adler had one of his usual end-off-the-week guests, David Menzies who is known as “The Menzoid” and his banter is typically goofy and meant to lighten things up, but not on that show. Charles Adler has been particularly incensed by this horrific case and started an on-line petition for the Canadian Government to re-visit the death penalty as a sentence for crimes just like this one. Menzies doesn’t usually sign petitions so the discussion turned serious and then Menzies got a listener calling in to challenge his and Adlers position. The caller was Susan G. Cole who is a known and controversial figure in Toronto who among other things, wants Canada to legalize prostitution as she believes hookers are just misundersood business women…I digress. The point is, she vehemently disagreed with supporters of those calling for the ultimate price to be paid for this horrific crime against a litlle girl. Cole believes the losers responsible for planning, abducting, sexually assaulting and then using a claw hammer to murder a completely innoecent third grader are “misunderstood”. She was particularly defensive of McClintic who she says is a typical female who surrendered her “power” to yet another abusive and manipulative male and her aactions that day weren’t committed by a criminal but someone whose judgment was altered by drugs and suggestion of a man she was afraid of. So, if you could see my face right now, t has turned red!

I realize that this Cole has her right to her opinion and I normally respect people’s opinion but I am writing this to ask you two favours; first, please go to charlesadler.com and sign his petition to revisit the death penalty and please write Susan G. Cole an E-mail asking her how anyone sould defend someone as foul and criminal as these two nightmares. I know, we’re Canadian, we don’t execute people, that’s for brutal countries like the U.S. or Iraq! However, when the “Liberal” government repealed the death penalty fifty some years ago, Canada was posturing itself a “the peaceful country”. Well, times have changed. Our “peacekeeper” military has fought for democracy in Afghanistan and Libya and successive government policy changes have given more rights to animals like McClintic and Rafferty. See the disconnect?
I have always had a problem with “rights” anyway as I was taught to see privieldges that were hard fought by my family. The priviledge of going to a regular school when handicapped students were sent to their own school. The priviledge of getting a post-secondary diploma in Broadcasting so I could have the priviledge of a job. The priviledge of owning a home, owning a cottage, travelling the world….thanks so much for my life! I am far`from perfect and I really hesitate judging people I don’t know but this is the perfect time for common sense to rise above the rhetoric and start altering the status quo.

Tori Safford had nobody to stand up for her when she was brutalized by a pig and beaten with a heavy hammer to her head until she died. Time to stand up for her and right now!

As any of you who follow my blog know, I use it for my rant zone…a place to vent about what’s bugging me but for two entries in a row, I have nothing negative. This will not be a trend, just a coincidence. Darlene and I just returned from what can only be described as a new high point in our personal and professional lives. I was one of 16 main-=stage keynotes honoured to present for the 2012 Global Leadership Summit for YPO/WPO in Singapore. Amazingly, I had never heard of this group but guaranteed, I will never, ever forget them. With very due respect to every event I have spoken for (over 8,200 in my career), this was simply the best.

It started with the city of Singapore. We had never been there but heard about this place that some decribed as too good to be true. Well, it is true, at least most of it. Having heard of the police state (drug possession is a death penalty), we were a bit concerned about customs, but it had to be the easiest and least intimidating ever. Maybe the United States should take a lesson on welcoming visitors into their country as the immigration agent was delightful and didn’t ask one single question…amazing. The walk from the plane, through customs and to the luggae was seven minutes and our bags were already on the carousel…amazing. We’d heard about how clean the city is and the limo ride to our hotel confirmed it. But not only was it clean, it was what every big city should be. Great roads and for a city of four million, seemingly little traffic. The truth is there is lots of traffic but the roads are designed and built for more than 6 million people so it is over-engineered ad built…amazing. We also noticed very quickly that these awesome freeways were not built at the expense of their beautiful ancient trees. In fact, all of the roadways incorporated trees, hedges and flowering bushes so if felt like a drive in the country, not a concrete jungle…amazing.

We had heard about the architecture but seeing the creativity of the skyscrapers was awe-inspiring. Other than the typical, boring high-rise apartment buildings, the office towers were more like works of art than buildings. But if there were ever a buidling to take your breath away, it was our hotel. We’d seen the website but seeing it in person was beyond description and you could see it from a long ways away. The Marina Bay Sands Hotel has three seperate towers and they are joined on the 57th floor by what can only be a described as a big ship almost two football fields in length. Opened two years ago, it boasts almost 2,200 rooms and pulling into the drive gave me goosebumps. It is opulent but not pretentious and the staff were immediately welcoming. Our beautiful room was on the 37th floor and faced the strait where I have never seen so many ocean-bound container and tanker ships. We were pretty tired but had to go to the roof where we witnessed a truly one-of-a-kind…an infinitie pool the length of three olympic-scale swimming pools on the 57th floor…amazing!
The hotel is attached to a very high end shopping mall and a state-of-the-art convention center. Every step we took we saw something that made us go wow! But the real wow was yet to come.

YPO is otherwise known as the Young Presidents Organization and WPO is the World Presidents Organization and what happens to your membership when you reach the ripe old age of fifty. They are all CEO’s of companies employing over fifty people and grossing more than $10,000,000 a year. Most important, to be a member, you must complete a vetting process that has very high standards. Most impressive of the standards for me is the emphasis on character. Let’s be blunt here; Donald Trump may be very successful but he seems like quite a dick-head! The types of people involved sounded good on paper but what would they be like in person?
My time slot had me fifth in the openeing morning program and following me was Stephen Attneborough, Sir Richard`Branson’s partner in Virgin Galactic, the enterprise that will see private citizens flying into space as early as late 2012…amazing.
I got a big surprise at 6:30 in the morning before my scheduled start of 11:10; could I switch slots from number five to number one? Could I start the conference? Could I be the lead for a list of speakers that would include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, Waleed Rashed, the co-founder of the youth movement that led to the Arab Spring and ouster of Egyptian President Mubarek and 2006 Nobel Prize winner and creator of micro-loans, Muhammad Yunis? I would get another surprise; I had 20 minutes and I absolutely, positively had to be on time because immediately following me would be a live interview via Skype with Burmese political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi…amazing. Could I do it? Absolutely.

It was the fastest and most amazing 20 minutes on stage I could ever have imagined. I got an immediate and spontaneous standing ovation from a group that doesn’t give them out gratuitously like a professional speakers assoctaion of my acquaintance. The organizers asked just one thing…make them go “wow”. Well I may have done that but it was me (and Darlene) that kept saying it. Wow after wow after wow. It was the other speakers including a 14 year old from Germany. Felix Finkbeiner started “Plant-for-the-Planet when he was just nine years old and his group whose motto is, “Stop Talking, Start Planting” now has members in 101 countries and it’s volunteers have planted over four million trees…amazing. What was going on? It all of a sudden hit me! There wasn’t one single speaker talking about making money. They were all there to challenge the delegates to commit to makng a difference for the planet and the planet was there. I have difficulty describing what it feels like to be around almost 2,500 driven, successful and ethical over-achievers from every corner of the earth. I thought they’d be arrogant and annoying but they were anything but. As an audience, they were awesome but one-to-one, they were even better. They were kind, generous and surprisingly humble but more than anything, they were refreshing. They weren’t cynical, or jaded and did they ever have fun…so did we! But what they really did was remind me that my life’s work is worth every single minute.

Without promoting myself at all, I have always believed that the world can do better. Not just because I have, and you have to admit, I was born without arms and have managed pretty well, but because the cliches are true. My parents said, “There’s no such word as can’t” and they meant it, so I embraced it and proved the words. Sometimes, I feel very frustrated that so many give up on themselves and grow angry and cynical. It takes a lot of work to ignore that outlook and even more to live every day with a state of gratitude and joy. The energy required is quite taxing so I want to simply say “Thanks!” Thanks to the organizers for inviting me (us). Thanks to the staff of the Marina Bay Sands for your outstanding service. Thanks to the people of Singapore for making us so welcome. Most of all, thanks to the members of YPO/WPO and the delegates of the 2012 Global Leadership Summit; you renewed my faith, energy and idealism. You were, simply…amazing!

So, I am having a very reflective week. We just returned from a very successful weekend in British Columbia helping Variety with their annual “Show of Hearts” telethon ($6.7 million was the final total). I have done a couple of television interviews for the fundraising gala I am speaking for this Saturday in support of the Independent Living Center of Calgary which helps clients with special needs. Thursday, I am speaking at the Southwest Alberta Teachers Convention in Lethbridge and Rick Hansen is the opening keynote. Then Sunday, Darlene and I are leaving for Singapore where I am speaking for the Young Presidents Organization, one of the most elite associations for CEO’s in the world. Time to brag? May sound like it but I am bragging to make a point…we’ve come a long way, baby!

I usually reserve my blogs for my rant-zone and if people didin’t know, 95% of the time, I try to focus on positive thinking both in my work and in my life so my rants are my release valve…one can only take so much. The sad part is how many people are negative 95% of time and believe they not only have a right to be cranky, but they actually call it their nature. I think that’s a copout because our nature reflects our attitude and attitude is a simple choice.

The first week of March will represent thirty-five years since my first appearance on a telethon. I was extremely fortunate to be the Easter Seals “Timmy” (they call them “ambassadors” now) for Saskatchewan in 1977 and represented the province’s handicapped children. After speaking on air a few times, I was brought on to play the drums with a band called Prairie Fire and in five minutes, became an instant celebrity as over 600,000 people were believed to be watching the show at the time. That event is what I attribute driving me to the field of public awareness and ultimately, inspirational speaking. What people couldn’t believe was how someone without arms could not only play the drums with his feet (I am pretty good at it too) but possess such a positive outlook on life. At 16 years old, my nature was shifting from typical moody & angry adolescent to a more cheery outlook…the celebrity thing helped a lot but you may not know exactly why.

When I say celebrity, I am obviously not world famous around the globe but in 1977, Saskatchewan, with a population of under a million then, was my world. Everybody recognized me and I even got asked for autographs! It was pretty cool. One of my favorite changes involved those who I would label, my school “bullies”. Let’s be clear, there weren’t many “bullies”, but I definitely felt disconnected from the bigger high school population. That changed when I got on TV. Honestly, people said they were “proud” knowing me and upon reflecting themselves realized they not only didn’r really “know” me but could have been kinder to me. They just didn’t know how. Whatever I said on TV, I guess I never said at school but more important, my attitude outside of band and choir activities was not negative so much as the disconnected way I felt. Somehow, I figured out that I can alter a person’s treatment of me by how I treated them and more important, how I conducted myself. The theoretical “celebrity” I had acquired made me very aware of how I responded to people wanting to meet me. I soon found that the sometimes forced positive response to people was becoming a part of my nature and eventually, became my default position. Not only did it work with strangers, but it worked at school. People I thought hated me didn’t hate me at all, they just chose to keep away from me for a various personal reasons but comfort zone was a big one. In fact, and more on this another day, I believe the core issue for the majority of young people is lack of confidence so they create a shell, some thicker than others, to protect their fragile egos. My shell was being taken off piece by piece so when I opened up my life, something new took place…empahy. But empathy doesn’t just occurr, it must be encouraged and sometimes, the most effective ambassasors are the victims themselves.

If it’s 35 years since my first telethon, it’s 25 years since Rick Hansen did his “Man in Motion” world tour. I always thought it was funny that the media called Rick “handicapped”. He raced a wheelchair around the entire globe!!! What Rick did was give awarness of people with special needs an extremely positive face. Its interesting how many persons with a disability dislike(d) Rick Hansen calling him one of the “Chosen Ones” in reference to high achieving handicapped folks who don’t represent the majority of the disabled community. By the way, i have that title too. It used to bug me but I realized I should be very proud of what I have accomplished and if people can be inspired by it, bonus!

Don’t worry, I’ll get back to the rants next time, which will probably happen after Singapore (February 29 is the gig). On that note, other than the obvious of going to such an incredible place, getting to speak to this group means a lot. For many, the highlight would be knowing that from a list of 750 potential speakers from around the world, I am one of six chosen for the event and trust me, that makes me feel pretty good. But honestly, what I am most pumped about is knowing that 2,000 Chief Excecutive Officers and members of one of the most influential organizations on the planet who I will address may be so inspired by the event that they go back to their real lives and make a positive difference in their own companies and communities.

I can’t believe how far I have come. Born without arms in small-town Canada, given away at birth after a prognosis of zero quality of life and labelled severely crippled. Then my path takes a turn as I am taken in and raised by elderly foster-parents who provide a no-nonsense approach to life, reminding me that there is no such word as can’t and holding me accountable for my own success. They not only made me independent but made me understand I could make it in life as far as I could imagine and that dreams coupled with action can make the impossible, possible. Just words?

Someone once asked me why I became a speaker. My response may have sounded (still does) pretty arrogant; “I want to change the world”. Well, I certainly haven’t done it by myself and it still has a way to go, but the world is a better place today than when I came into it in 1960. Indeed, I am very proud of my contributions to a better world but my reason for bringing it up is again, not to brag, but to issue a challenge.

So many people feel powerless. They think of themself as one of the “little” people lacking influence, often grieving the loss of their dreams and ambitions. That may be perfectly accurate from one point of view but I want to ask one favour; how about changing the view?

Let’s get something straight right off the top; the death of Whitney Houston deserves respect and condolences to her family and friends. I want to comment on the media frenzy surrounding yet another star dying directly because of addiction and the public’s fascination with it.

When Whitney Houston first became known, just like most people, I was astounded at her talent. Her voice was exraordinary and her stage presence was made for the new video-enhanced world of music. Personally, being a classic rock fan, her tunes were a bit schmultzy for my taste but hearing the power of her pipes was inspiring. That was then. Why is everyone so surprised and saddned by her death? She was a junkie…period! She had the world given to her and she you-know-whatted it away. That doesn’t deserve any respect. It actually should be a cautionary tale that the public’s obsession with celebrity needs a reboot. I know it will never happen but I still want to rant about it.
Darlene and I just spent the weekend where I have the honour and priviledge of being one of several hosts and pitchers for the Variety Show of Hearts telethon in Vacouver. Broadcast across British Columbia, the show has raised over 170 million dollars for children with special needs and it’s 46th edition this year raised 6.7 million during a recession. It really is a special thing to be part of. I did the show for the first time in the 1980′s. I was only on for a few minutes while I played the drums with the most excellent Bill Sample Band to showcase both my talent and ability to overcome having no arms. Clearly, telethons can be controversial as they are often seen as taking advantage of the disabled to raise guilt money from a gullible public. Jerry Lewis’s MD Telethon skirted the line for a long time as he was brilliant at “milking” emotion for a cause which ironically, really needed the help but suffered from their connection to Jerry. It’s probably obvious but I like to think I choose the shows I do very carefully and use my broadcasting background and thirty-plus years of experience in “live” television to help my dignified approach to asking for money on behalf of charity. To get people watching, telethons are known for recruiting celebrities to “pitch” for the cause so since 1977, I have met my share of big names.
Obviously, as a teen and young adult, I was very starstruck by truly famous people like Arte Johnson, Ray Charles and David Foster. The clear bulk of these people were awesome and I felt very priviledged to meet them. But I also met some very questionable individuals (no names here) who acted arrogant, were mean to people around them and expected everyone to kiss their you-know-what. Why? What made these people think they deserve special treatment? We have! Or better put, others have because I learned very quickly that as the cliche goes, they still stink when they poop and nobody gets a license to behave as they want just because they are famous.

In fact, and I am very small “c” celebrity, my fame has made me very aware of how I treat people and I work very hard at honouring those who want to meet me, have a photo taken or even ask for an autograph. What a treat that people want to meet me and I have learned the valuabe lesson that with great power comes great responsibility. I must admit to have embarassing myself in public a few times and never enjoy reliving those moments but they were teaching moments.

My problem with Ms. Houston is she never seemed to cope well and clearly didn’t learn about what a celebrity should act like when she was surrounded by people who must have pointed it out a million times. She should be remembered for her gifts and talents but instead, she makes the illustreous list of celebrity flame-outs who died by direct linkage to some sort of substance abuse and this should be a sign for the public to learn that celebrities are nobody special and all the attention they get needs to be re-evaluated.
Again, the death of Whitney Houston should be mourned and I am painfully clear that this blog may seem disrespectful but my point is Ms. Houston didn’t die on Saturday, she died the moment she chose to disrespect the celebrity she was given by an adoring public. She died with her first hit of crack. She died when she fell for Bobby Brown and his arrogant and decadent lifestyle that extinguished Whitney’s flame in favour of the fire of self-indulgence and disrespect.
I am not perfect but have never claimed to be and I am also not suggesting that fame might not have a negative effect on me if cast onto such a bright light but as we observe all of the tears in the wake of yet another fallen star, perhaps we shuld ask what the tears are really for?

Like ir or not, when regular people become famous, its usually not a surprise. Actors, musicians, athletes comprise a group whose ultimate objective is always…always to make it big. The majority don’t so you’d think that statistic alone would make the ones who do that much more appreciative, and many do. They deserve our adulation. But those who choose poor behaviour (Lindsey Lohan, Brittney Spears, Snooky) don’t deserve a single thing. In fact, the public should make a point of sending a message to these fakes that there is absoulutely no excuse for bad behaviour…ever! Isn’t that a principle that we should all follow?

This coming weekend (February 11-12) is a very special one for Darlene and I and not because of Valentines Day approaching (everyday is Valentines in our life!). It is time for the annual Variety telethon in support of handicapped kids and their families in British Columbia, Canada. I can’t remember which was my first but my guess is early ’80′s and my wife and I have been part of the show since we met in 1991. Actually, the Valentines thing does come into play as the show is always around the 14th and they call the telethon a “Show of Hearts”. If they are accused of taking advantage of the hype surrounding yearly event, they certainly shouldn’t care since “Heart” is the resounding theme, but not of the romantic variety.
Originally called “The Variety Club Telethon”, the fundraiser is organized by Tent 37 aka the BC Chapter of Variety Club. Memebers of the tent have dwindelled over the years but support has done anything but. Thousands of volunteers, organized labour in particular, have given their time and resources all because of big hearts. Global television provides the crew and airwaves to yes, raise money, but also to entertain viewers in the tradition of Variety, the origins of the charity is known for it’s members being from theatre. The show has changed over the years from a huge “live” production including hundreds of BC performers and of course, “celebrities”. I can count some pretty special memories of my life occuring at Variety, one of the highlites getting to know Ray Charles. These days, the show is still “live” but instead of big names being in the house, they perform through video and instead of the Queen Elizabeth theatre that housed over two thousand, the intimate Red Robinson Theatre is the show’s home now and if you are wondering why all the emphasis on seemingly meaningless details, there is a meaning to me.
This week, I was listening to an interview on CBC radio’s “The Current” with Anna Maria Tremonte. I enjoy CBC as I enjoy current affairs so I listen often and I am very aware of the left-leaning bias of their reporting and usually let it go, but this interview bugged me. I won’t go into names and detail but prefer to comment on the tone.

Ms. Tremonte was interviewing a disgruntled Canadian playwright who was whining about how he chose to quit his job as writer in residence with a small Ontario theatre company because a play he wrote focused largely on his bias against the current Conservative government and more specifically, the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. He claims that government funding for the small theatre company was being jeopradized by his criticisms so chose to “fall on his sword” for the sake of the bigger picture. But he also wanted Canada to know the story and the interview morphed into an angry soliloquay of the death of independent theatre in Canada because of a government who can’t handle citicism.takes away your money if you do. Write or wrong, what struck me is the attitude that because they are “creative” and “cultural”, they deserve taxpayers money to live rather than the obvious alternative. When growing up without arms, my Dad used to say, “There ain’t no limo gonna show up at the back door to take you to life, boy. You’re going to have to walk and it’s going to be a long trip!”
Remember, I am artistic as well, playing music, not painting, and I understand the starving musician conceept and I truly believe that the government should provide funding to artistic and cultural initiatives, but this ‘Wha, Wha, Cry Baby Crap” makes me sick.

This weekend, we’ll be surrounded by ill and/or handicapped kids often battling for their lives. You have parents and siblings who through no fault of their own find themself thrown into the storm where everything stops for the sake of the ill. But what strikes me the most is the clear majority of these people hate to ask for anything and when they receive funding, their humility and greatfullness is inspiring.
So, since they don’t like to ask, I and all my dear friends and colleagues will spend the weekend doing just that…asking for help. Not because they expect it and certainly not because they ever planned to need it. They are real-life victims, real-life fighters and rea-life heroes, not a bunch of whiny cry-babies. Variety…theatre as it should be!

So, a while back, I asked people to send inspirational energy through personal means, be it prayer, meditation or intention to my dear friend, Peter Loster. He was battling leukemia fuelled by radiation treatments for a brain tumor a few years back. Most of us believed he would win but sadly, I must tell you that Cliffy lost that fight on January 15th of 2012. I meant to write about this sooner but anyone that knows me knows I am a bit of a procrastinator, especially if I am having to do something unpleasant. Until today, it was not pleaant to even think about losing who I have aptly described as “my best friend”. Why today? Well, Peter didn’t ask for much in his life an even less in his death but one thing was to not mourn but celebrate and in Vernon, B.C. on Sarurday, January 21st at the Elks Lodge, there will be a party. I love parties so I hate missing them but I am particularly disappointed to not be able to partake in this one. Unfortunately, my work as a professional speaker doesn’t allow me to easily call in sick. In 35 years of speaking to groups, I have missed three gigs and all were weather related. I mention this not to brag and particularly not to excuse my absence from Cliff’s memorial but I felt compelled to do a little writing.

For the majority of people who read my blog, you may right now be thinking…why would I care about this blog? My simple answer is I cared about Peter Loster.

I met Peter Loster somewhere around 1965 and I say “around” because as much as we tried, He and I could not recall exactly when. What we did agree on is it felt like we knew each other “forever”. You might imagine that for Alvin Law, making friends wasn’t easy. That may seem because I had no arms but it was actually because I was very precocious. I wasn’t spoiled since my family didn’t have much but even at 5, I was used to getting my way. Peter was one of the rare individuals who put up with that. Peter and I became fast friends and we played together whenever we could. “Dinky Toys” (die-cast metal cars, trucks, etcetera) were common, as were Hot Wheels. One of our favorite games was pretending to be pilots “flying” in my Dad’s Rambler but our absolute favorite was table-top hockey. I got a game for Christmas and it was awesome. It had metal players and removable plastic sticks that we would use a lighter to put a bend in the stick for harder shots. It came with two teams; the Montreal Canadians and Toronto Maple Leafs. Pete loved Boston so he played the Leafs as Bruins and I played Montreal and that’s when they became my favorite team. You can imagine the rivalry was part of our lives and was both heated and respected. What remembering that game reminds me of was how accommodating Peter was. He knew I couldn’t play real sports so he accommodated me. One of our favorite activities then continued into our adult lives and some of the most fun Cliff and I had together was hunkering down with some beverages, cigars and video game battles in each other’s basements. In fact, the day of my Mom’s funeral in March ’96 ended with a fierce battle of rally car racing in Peter and Sharon’s basement in Yorkton.
Rather appropriate then that Peter asked for a party not a funeral…they aren’t much fun, are they? Speaking of fun, there isn’t enough time today to recall all the special moments and creative events that Cliffy either planned or participated in. Shoot The Shit…a personal favorite. Pardon the grammar but this was a game Pete invented that involved two porcelin toilets (used), four toilet plungers wrapped with duct tape so they wouldn’t easily bounce when striking the toilets, which were placed twenty to forty feet apart and players would toss the plungers at the toilets with the aim of landing and staying in the bowl. If you did it handle down, you got bonus points. I have often told people our home town was boring…proof! But did we have fun.

I think of all the places he lived and who came to the best ever parties. The roof of Haus Nissan on Broadway (the old one); Seradaville. Hell, Cliffy lived with me and a biker chick in Saskatoon in 1983 and just about got my beloved Green Hornet Sportabout Station Wagon ruined after borrowing it to Deejay a dance at a remote reserve in Northern Saskatchewan.
He was my best man at my wedding, twice. I was part of his, once. He was more than a friend…he was a brother. In fact, we used to borrow Johnny and Lenny’s (Pete’s older brohers) albums, sneak them down to the celar on Darlington and pretend to be rock stars…Creedence Clearwater Revival our favorite. We both dreamed of who we’d be, what we would do and where we would live and of course, we thought it would be forever. As we learned last week, that would not be true. Strangely, it reminds me of something Cliffy loved to do and it bugged us all. He’d be the life of the party (he was good at that) and then he would just disappear. Usually walking, at all times of year and usually after midnight, he would just leave. He’d never warn anyone or say goodbye…he’d just vanish. Somehow, we knew he was alright and no matter what, he’d always end up at home.

Well Cliffy, you did it again. You were the life of the party, you had enough and you split. But we all know you are home, safe and sound.

Cheers Brother!

So, it’s a little late for a “New Years” message but I have been a bit distracted. We had a very busy home over the Christmas holidays as our niece, Marcie (on Darlene’s side) and Rob got married on December 30th in Calgary. I have to be honest that I have a personal stigma affected by years of going to weddings that makes me question a winter wedding but was I wrong. It was beautiful! The ceremony was at a 100 year old plus Baptist church and it was all decked out in Christmas bling…stunning. But this blog isn’t a wedding log, it’s about the undercurrent that accompanied this complex event.
I have written before how fortunate I was to have nothing but happy memories of Christmas as a child growing up in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. When I met Darlene, we celebrated our first Christmas in Regina.in 1991. We had a big family dinner and minus the drama of sharing a child with an ex, it was a memorable holiday. We were so poor. We’d both sold the farm for divorces that led to our meeting. We didn’t have any money to buy each other presents as any spare cash went to gifts for my son at his mom’s place. I actually cashed in bottles so I could buy tickets ($10 each) for Handel’s Messiah at a local church. I was embarassed until Darlene broke down in tears and confided it was the best Christmas she ever had…ever! I thought it was so romantic until I found out her truth. Darlene’s family Christmas’s were simply horrible. Without getting into detail and wth absoluluely nothing personal, they were a big family with few resources and that made Christmas a time of stress instead of celebration. They were not alone. It is truly sad that so many people rue the entire Christmas season and it actually makes me fill a bit guilty. I know that seems silly or perhaps, “predictable” but I mean it. I am also very lucky that even though I have no control over millions, I could affect a change in Christmas for Darlene and boy, did it work!
It took Darlene two weeks to decorate our home for Christmas this year and with no arrogance intended, House & Gardens magazine could have done a spread on the stunning displays. But they aren’t just “stuff”, they create a “feeling” that just screams of “how lucky are we”? We even host a Christmas party for our Calgary chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) as being speakers, we are mostly self-employed so no big office celebrations for us. We had almost sixty people and the mood was one of warmth and appreciation. Then it happened!

As the 25th of December approached, the obvious came out. A family wedding for Darlene’s side of the family that were coming to Calgary from all across North America and Christmas would be smack dab in the middle of it all! It semed like a recipe for disaster and it could have been…but it just wasn’t. From the first arrivals on the 20th till they all left on New Year’s day (following yet another party the evening before at, yes, our house) there was not one single issue! Not a single disagreement, not a single negative tear shed, not a hateful word spoken, although the card and dice games got a bit heated! As we sat in the vacuum of silence on January 1st, Darlene looked at me and said, “We’ve had a lot of memorable Christmas’s but I’ll remember this one forever”. It as a truly inspiring, if not exhausting, couple of weeks and I mention all of this for a reason.

WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE!!!!

Life can be so challenging and as we enter 2012, the doomsdayers are already slinging their negative arrows in every direction! Europe’s going to go broke! Iran’s going to start World War 3! The economy will fall apart and the Second Great Drepression will hit! Just listen to the American news channels as they froth at the mouth for the next 11 months leading up to the Novemeber elections! NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE!!!

NEGATIVE IS A CHOICE!

NOT BEING NEGATIVE IS ALSO A CHOICE!!!

This is not a motivational speaker without arms being predictable. This is a challenge to you! I challenge all of you to choose a positive approach to 2012. No matter what your excuse (I have them too!), choose a positive lens to view the world. I heard something on the news about the Mayan calender. If you don’t know, the Mayan calender ends on December 21st, 2012 (I can just imagine the doomsdayers this December). The comment that struck me was; “While some view this as the end of the world, others view it as the beginning! The beginning of a new calender and a new world!” I like that…a lot!
Make 2012 the best year you’ve ever had. Don’t fall into the pit of negativitiy but if you do, you can dig your way out. Anything is possible and this past Christmas was all the proof I need.
By the way; Thanks you Reitsma’s for making this year’s Christmas the best! I love you all!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!