Shayna Rattler – Putting Faith First

The Spirit of Work: Purpose and Cora's Restaurant

Cora's Restaurant, a breakfast establishment originating in Quebec, exemplifies the transformative power of a clear organizational purpose. With a mission centered on "promoting the importance of breakfast," Cora's has expanded from a single location to a global presence, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa.

The guiding principle of promoting breakfast's significance influences every aspect of Cora's operations, from menu choices to environmental initiatives. Cora's serves vibrant, nutritious breakfasts to infuse people's mornings with energy and joy. Their commitment extends beyond the dining experience; they partner with the Breakfast Club of Canada, donating a portion of each meal's proceeds to provide nutritious breakfasts for Canadian children.

Environmental responsibility is a cornerstone, with decisions rooted in local food sourcing, exclusive use of biodegradable packaging for takeout, and collaboration with environmentally conscious partners. The emphasis on a warm, friendly atmosphere is ingrained in staff training, fostering creativity, work-life balance, and opportunities for advancement.

This purpose-driven approach aligns internal and external processes, creating a harmonious organizational culture. The success of Cora's Restaurant is a testament to the profound impact of a well-defined purpose, inspiring growth and unleashing creative potential.

In The Spirit of Work, I emphasize the importance of purpose to work. A lack of purpose leads to scattered efforts, breeding cynicism and suspicion among the workforce.

Discovering Purpose – Cora's Journey:
Finding purpose, whether individually or collectively within an organization, is a challenging but critical endeavor. Cora, a divorced mother of three, stumbled upon her purpose when she sold her house to start a small snack bar. Her knack for creative, nutritious snacks evolved into the first Cora's Breakfast restaurant, emphasizing the importance of breakfast.

Over seven years, Cora and her children expanded the venture from nine restaurants in Greater Montreal to a global, multi-million dollar franchise. Her journey underscores the link between clarity of purpose, values and branding.

Purpose, Play, and Joy in Workplaces:
Purpose, like children's play, involves dedication to an activity that energizes and brings joy. However, purpose can either contribute to the betterment or detriment of society. It serves as fuel, requiring direction to ensure it serves the greater good.

Reflecting on Cora's example, how has purpose affected your business or career journey?

Reflection Questions:

1. Similar to Cora, how has facing difficulty in your life contributed to personal growth and purpose?
2. How did your purpose evolve when creating something new and testing it with others?
3. If in a leadership position, can you state your organization's founding principle in 5-7 memorable words?

Purpose, is pivotal chapter in my book, The Spirit of Work: Timeless Wisdom, Current Realities. If you liked this episode, the book is available online on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or directly through my website. 

Unveiling Gerald J. Leonard’s journey from music to making a difference

Bio:
Gerald is the CEO and Founder of the Leonard Productivity Intelligence Institute and the CEO of Turnberry Premiere, a strategic project portfolio management and IT governance firm based in Washington, DC. He attended Central State University in Ohio, receiving a bachelor's in music and later earning a master's in music from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geraldjleonard/
Website: https://productivityintelligenceinstitute.com

Quotes:
“Once you learn the complexities of things, I think you can implement it with very simple processes.”

“Words shape our world.”

Episode Highlights:
This episode delves into the significance of personal development, reframing negative thoughts, and embracing cultural diversity. Gerald shares insights on overcoming constraints, the power of relationships and the importance of learning from diverse cultural groups.

Gerald has authored three books: Culture is the Base, Workplace Jazz, and A Symphony of Choices."

Childhood Incidents:
From his father’s example of building a construction business and his mother working as a seamstress, Gerald knew he had to be industrious. In middle school, Gerald was part of junior achievement where he learned more about business and the monetary value of hard work.

Influential Groups:
As a child, family shaped a lot of things for Gerald. He saw how hard his father worked to provide for them, how he was there for them and his business. The experience taught Gerald what it was like to be a family man.

Gerald grew up Methodist, but after joining college, he learned about other religions. He got a chance to interact with people from different backgrounds and used the scriptures as point of reference to see if he was on the right track.

Cultural Influences:
Gerald never saw his parents meditate, but he integrated meditation into his life from Indian spiritual practices into his life. He credits a course with Judith Glaser on conversation intelligence for teaching him about the brain and nervous system which he has incorporated into his own behaviour.

Personality and Temperament:
Gerald believes that he values long term friendships. He has people whom he has known for years, and he goes out of his way to ensure they remain close.

In 2018 he lost 86% of his right inner ear capacity and experienced constant vertigo. Although he was six weeks away from giving a TEDX talk, he did everything in his power to heal , incorporating music therapy as part of the process. His resilience and determination paid off and he delivered his TEDX talk on the appointed date and time.

Cultural Dissonance:
Gerald once worked for a big law firm where the work culture was different from what he was used to . In the Ivy League environment Gerald knew he had to find ways to belong but it felt uncomfortable. He looks at it now as a positive learning experience that taught him new skills.

What brings the Best in Gerald Leonard?
Gerald has a focus on spending quality time to make a difference in the lives of others. He isn't counting the money made or time spent, rather the impact of the exchange.

Soapbox Moment:
Gerald invites us to check out his books and podcast from his website. He also encourages us to check out KIVA provide microloans that support people in difficult circumstances to reach their dreams. 

What I Learned About Culture From 100+ Interviews

Cultural insights from 100+ interviews

Quotes:
“When you don't have cultural awareness, you tend to take things personally when they are not personal. They're cultural.”

Episode Highlights:
In this episode, I delve into a rich tapestry of cultural insights drawn from over a hundred interviews on the Culture and Leadership Connections Podcast and my own intercultural experiences. Building upon our previous discussion on leadership, this episode focuses on unraveling some of the dynamics of culture. 

Before we embark on this journey, let me offer a brief glimpse into my background. With a doctorate in culture and learning in the workplace, my personal narrative, shaped by immigrant roots and diverse professional experiences, serves as a lens through which I navigate the nuanced terrain of culture. From becoming fluent in French to changing my religion, I've undergone transformative changes that allowed me to see culture with more nuances. 

I once had a conversation about traditional names with my late mother-in-law. She told me that parents should give their children “proper French” names. According to her, those proper traditional names were like the names she gave her own children. I asked her what names were given to her mother and siblings and their ancestors. It turned out that a so-called traditional name was dependent on the generation and didn’t carry over between generations. This was a revelation to my mother-in-law!

From the 100+ interviews about culture that I have had the privilege of hosting, I have noticed certain recurring themes and characteristics. 

Insights About Cultural Awareness From The interviews:

• Awareness of one's culture deepens when you move away from it and experience culture shock as you become aware of differences between what you have experienced and what others experience. 
• There are degrees of cultural flexibility and rigidity in all people. If people express cultural rigidity, it is best to accept that and move on to another topic where there is more willingness to explore.
• Third culture: In cultural studies, third culture refers to people who have moved a lot because of the military were displaced due to war or because of immigration. Now because of our interconnectedness, more and more people are showing characteristics of third culture in their view of the world. They feel more comfortable with people who have had broad experience rather than narrow experience. 
• Those who have reflected consciously about the role of culture in their lives tend to be more credible than cultural competency experts in the field who have not reflected on their personal cultural selves.

Characteristics of People Who Reflect on Their Culture:

• They suspend judgment and hone the ability to bring it back to themselves and say, “Is this me or is this them or is it a little bit of both?”
• As we become more nuanced in cultural understanding, we start to see the person in the culture, and the culture in the person.
• Those who feel the most uncomfortable in a new cultural experience tend to adjust faster than those who feel comfortable because they try harder to make sense of their world. However, when people leave a cultural experience without being able to join cultural understandings, it's because they feel that their values have been compromised.

Every person needs a mentor for personal and career growth.

Bio:
Liz Jaluague is a Toronto-based cybersecurity engineer and Canadian Army reservist. She earned a BSc in Biochemistry and a postgraduate certificate in Computer Security and Digital Forensics, and has been a non-profit leader in seven different organizations since the age of 19, currently volunteering with a NFP cybersecurity organization.

She believes in the power of mentorship from her own experiences, Liz consistently commits her time to guiding others along their professional paths.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/existentializm/

Quotes:
“When you're constantly learning different skills, you kind of remember that everybody is a different level, and it's a humbling experience.”

Episode Highlights:
On today’s episode, we delve into the captivating story of Liz Jaluague. From navigating cultural experiences to challenging conventional career paths, Liz shares her journey of resilience, determination, and growth. She shares insights into the ethical implications of cybersecurity, the power of mentorship, and the impact of cultural influences on leadership.

Childhood Memories:
Liz grew up in a Filipino family in Toronto. She had a great understanding of both English and Tagalog. In Tagalog, there are suffixes that one uses when addressing people older than them to show respect. At some point, Liz started questioning why she wasn’t accorded the same respect as a young person. She dropped the suffixes, and it caused her issues with her parents. A year or two down the line, her parents came to term with it. Later in her own life, she came to value the respect accorded to elders and now sees both sides of the issue.

Cultural Influences:
Growing up, Liz had a desire to learn new things and really valued the learning culture. She was able to grasp a lot of new things but learned later on that she couldn’t ace everything and became more selective with her learning and more humble in her approach to others.

Liz’s parents had her much later in life which gave her an opportunity to learn from her older cousins.

Influential Groups:
After university, Liz volunteered in several NFP organizations, currently with a cybersecurity non-profit. Looking back at her leadership journey with the NFPs, Liz realized that the people she most admired had a sense of purpose, and in every job, she connected with the mission and vision of the organization.

Liz vividly remembers a time when she was in Las Vegas for a conference and she recognized one of the sponsors. She walked up to him and thanked him for giving her the opportunity to make friends working in that organization. The simple act of gratitude gave Liz a mentor.

Personality and Temperaments:
Liz describes herself as a pessimistic optimist. By nature, she looked at things glass half empty since her family didn’t have a lot of material means. On the flip side, Liz learned to adapt and understand that things always work out in the end.

Cultural Epiphanies:
In Belgium and the Netherlands, Liz began to consider cultural differences through the experience of a glass of water in restaurants and different types of door locks in AirBNBs.

What brings out the best in Liz?:
Liz loves working with people who are authentically themselves. She is not a fan of hierarchy.

Soapbox Moment:
Do you have a question on cybersecurity? Liz invites you to send her a message on LinkedIn, and she will be more than willing to answer the question.

Spiritual Awareness for a New Future of Work

Without the experience of work as spiritual, we see only parts of the whole.

Quotes:
“People's behavior starts to autocorrect with self-awareness. Without that self-awareness, it doesn't go anywhere.”

“We can't create a new future of work if we can't imagine something different or better.”

Links:
Website: http://www.shiftworkplace.com

Episode Highlights:
In Episode Two of the "Culture and Leadership Connections" podcast, the focus is on the need for spiritual awareness for a new future of work. The episode begins with a traditional Jewish story about a rabbi whose selfless actions inspire others. The story illustrates the power of leading by example and highlights the importance of spiritual awareness in leadership.

The podcast discusses the concept that humans are spiritual beings, and work is an expression of the soul. It emphasizes the necessity of recognizing the spiritual nature of work and compares it to the story of the blind men and the elephant, suggesting that without a holistic understanding, workplace issues may persist.

I share a personal story about addressing a health issue involving dissolving teeth. I saw a dentist, hygienist, an oral surgeon, and a naturopath. They all had ideas and suggestions on how to help me, but my solution came after seeing a naturopath. I kept wondering, what if the three experts had worked as a team, wouldn’t my teeth have been saved earlier?

The workplace example of holding onto toxic managers for their operational knowledge, despite the emotional and psychological impact on other employees, is presented. Another scenario involving a toxic manager who transforms after a passing comment sparks self-awareness is shared. Our workplaces require us to have a certain level of self-awareness.

Overall, the episode aims to inspire a shift towards spiritual awareness in the workplace for a more positive and respectful environment.

Key Takeaways from the Episode:

Spiritual Nature of Work: The foundational premise is that humans are essentially spiritual beings, and work is an expression of the soul.

Leadership by Example: The episode underscores the power of leadership by example, using a traditional Jewish story about a rabbi whose selfless actions inspire others.

Holistic Perspective: The blind men and the elephant metaphor is used to stress the importance of a holistic perspective in understanding workplace issues.

Transformation through Self-Awareness: A real-life scenario is shared where a toxic manager transforms after a passing comment prompts self-awareness.

Metaphor of Spider's Web: The metaphor illustrates our interconnectedness and shows how each person's actions impact the entire organization.

Reflection Question:
How could your workplace be better if interactions with others were animated by a deep sense of respect for the dignity of others? What would be different?

Bio:
Mark Shekter is the co-founder and CEO of Think8 Global, an international business design firm headquartered in Montreal, Canada. His progressive system is used in business schools and university post-graduate programs in both the US and Canada.

He is also a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and original thinker who has pioneered a new system of creative thinking empowering start-ups to Fortune 500 companies in building robust and sustainable enterprises.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-shekter-a36a437/
Website: https://think8globalinstitute.com/

Quotes:
“If you're not operating your best, if you haven't created that space and that structure, then the company is suffering to that degree.”

Episode Highlights:
In this episode, I have the pleasure of having an interview with Mark Shekter, the multi-talented individual. Mark shares his journey from a small Jewish community in Canada to Hollywood and how his upbringing shaped his innovative approach to business. He discusses the importance of mentorship, collaboration, and creating a positive work environment. We also get to hear a little about his book.

Childhood Incidents:
Mark grew up in a family where all of them were lawyers. By default, he was slated to be a lawyer, but he took a different path and joined arts. He did art for fun, and little by little, people started picking up his work. Before he knew it, he was directing movies in Hollywood. According to Mark, his upbringing was a fertile ground for his talent.

Influential Groups:
For Mark, whenever he worked with anybody, he always did his homework to have a better understanding of them. Mark had an opportunity to work with Ray Charles, a famous soul musician, who was visually impaired. Because he was black, and prejudice was rampant, Ray Charles was obligated to perform behind the curtains. Mark wanted to get Ray Charles seen and to see his performance himself.

One day, Mark had Ray Charles sit at a piano with reflective glasses on, and his band was distant from him, and there was his orchestra. Mark placed a camera on every instrument and musician. Every camera had a monitor, and the monitors were placed in front of Ray Charles. As each musician entered the song, they were reflected in Ray Charles’ reflective glasses which was a powerful movie effect.

Personality and Temperament:
Mark believes he is blessed with good genes. His father passed on at almost 100 years of age, and he believes he will get there too. He feels he is a good mediator; he listens very well and is always interested in the person he is speaking with.

Cultural Epiphanies:
Mark was used to being a free agent where he would do everything by himself. When he moved to the USA, he got the shock of his life. People were working in teams, and he was no longer a freelancer; he had a job where he would work from 9-to-5, then pitch his idea, then go to the studio from 8:00 pm to 3:00 am.

One day, Mark and other writers were called to a meeting by the producers. All the other writers presented funny ideas, but Mark’s idea impressed the producers, despite his inexperience. As a result, he was tasked to write 50% of the show.

Soapbox Moment:
Check out his book, “Think8: 8 Steps to Ignite Your Creative Genius in Business, Career, & Life.”

What Brings the Best out of Mark:
Mark believes you can impact your environment if you use your natural creativity. He works with people who are open and interested in bettering themselves.

Tagline: Ignite creative genius in all aspects of your life.

What I Learned from Interviewing 100 Plus Guests

A reflection on 120 podcast episodes.

Episode Highlights:
In this first episode of "Insights into Culture and Leadership," I share a powerful story from my experience in Haiti after an earthquake. I draw a contrast between good and bad leadership, exemplified by a compassionate youth leader working with orphans and harsh teachers in a school.

In Haiti, I met a Haitian youth leader who demonstrated exemplary leadership by working with earthquake orphans, fostering healing through music and expression. This contrasts with a negative example in a nearby school of teachers berating, punishing and humiliating students. The youth leader's approach inspired self-expression and confidence in the orphans. The contrasting experiences highlight the influence of leadership on behaviour and actions. I define good leadership as that which brings help, insight, health, and healing to individuals, community, and the environment.

The story serves as a backdrop for my subsequent reflection on the common themes I observed in the 120 interviews I conducted for the Culture and Leadership Connections podcast.

Six Key Insights That Emerge from The Interviews That I’ve Conducted:

1. Role of Hardship and Adversity: All interviewees, regardless of the type or severity of their challenges, spoke about the transformative role of hardship and adversity in shaping their character.
2. Transformation from Suffering: Those who thrived, understood the value of transforming suffering, leading to increased empathy and a profound ability to connect with others.
3. Embracing Community: Almost all interview guests expressed a sense of belonging to a community or society, recognizing the importance of collaboration and shared values. Only three out of the 120 felt like they did not need a community to thrive.
4. Fluid Identity and Solid Values: Interviewees exhibited a willingness to evolve and adapt their identities while holding onto solid values. 
5. Humility Through Unexpected Challenges: Even those with privilege and talent faced unexpected challenges, fostering humility and a realistic understanding of life's uncertainties.
6. Influence of Family: Family, whether positive or challenging, played a foundational role in the development of each person interviewed.

I conclude the episode by emphasizing the significance of reflection, transformation, and humility in leadership, whether at home or in the workplace. Considering how these themes have proven formative for you, could reveal some new insights!

The Power of Beliefs and Relationships

Potential expands by seeing others as competent and good.

Quotes:
"If we change the beliefs of limited potential into unlimited potentiality for good, it has a completely different effect on how we show up at work."

"People often think, only poisonous things grow in the workplace, but kind things grow as well."

Episode Highlights:
Last year, I published a book called The Spirit of Work: Timeless Wisdom, Current Realities. Here is a quote from the opening page by the late Indigenous author Richard Wagamese. He wrote, "All my relations mean all." With that quote, Richard focused on principles of harmony, unity, and equality for all of creation.

In this episode, we'll look at what we have been missing in our workplaces, how to and the power of having positive relations.

What Has Been Missing in Our Workplaces?
Relationality, harmony, unity, and equality have been missing from the workplace since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Richard's text describes a mindset, an attitude about who we are and how we should be in the world. We all carry these attitudes, mostly unconscious expressions of what we see social reality as. One of our powers as humans is to reflect on who we are and our actions.

The problem is a misdiagnosis of a malady that cannot be solved with logical proof alone. Research, statistics, and logical arguments do not have the power to affect hearts, minds, or behaviors. Reasoning does not affect people's deep-seated beliefs and allegiances to the communities they identify with. Attitudes and beliefs that see human nature as predominantly aggressive, self-serving, and incorrigibly motivated by self-interest dominate our workplace systems.

They are supported by books, movies, and games that project a bleak dystopian view of a human race with no future other than destruction. These attitudes have in common a limited view of what it means to be a human being and what it means to be a human being at work.

How Our Beliefs About Others Discourage or Encourage Growth:
What if we saw that people are motivated by being inspired and seen as competent and good? Changing these limiting beliefs about others into seeing their unlimited potentiality for good has a completely different effect on how we show up at work.

I used to believe I was surrounded by incompetence. When I examined it, I had a sense of superiority and rightness over everybody else that did not allow me to be open to learning or see things as they actually were.

Now if I feel frustrated with someone at work, I ask how I could have contributed to the issue and how we could turn this around together. This allows me to suspend judgement, investigate reality and make better decisions.

The Power of Positive Relationships:
As human beings, we need to appreciate the importance of positive relationships to growth. An 83-year-old Harvard study started in 1938 about the determinants of health, concluded that positive relationships keep us happier, healthier, and living longer. Although other actions matter, positive relationships have the most influence on well-being.

Reflective Questions:

1. How does your belief about who you are and how you should be in the world affect your relationship to work?
2. How do your beliefs about how the world works, why people act the way they do, and what constitutes reality affect your approach to the workplace? 
3. How do you show up at work because of these beliefs?

Bio:
Daniel Gagnon is an organizational agility adviser who co-founded the Agile Leader Academy, a boutique training, coaching, and consulting firm, to help leaders develop progressive team-building skills in dynamic and adaptive work environments—while avoiding the traps of naive over-optimism or simplistic positivity.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgagnonleanagile/
Website: https://www.agileleader.academy/

Quotes:
“Rejection is as painful as physical pain to the brain.”

Episode Highlights:
Daniel Gagnon's journey is quite a roller coaster of self-discovery and growth. His experiences, from working in a TV station to venturing into stock trading, showcase a person willing to disrupt his own path for personal and professional development. It's fascinating how these disruptions eventually led him to establish the Agile Leader Academy, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and progressive team-building skills in dynamic work environments.

Childhood Incidents:
One day, his mother gave him 25 cents to go get a book of his choice at the school book fair. The first book that caught his eye was one with a rocketship to the moon. Unfortunately, the money wasn’t enough, and he had to get a smaller book. When he got home, told his mother what happened.

A few months later, his dad sent for them, and they moved to Sudbury. One day Daniel found some books on the table, he asked his mother where the books came from. His father had gotten them for him after hearing his book fair experience and promised to get more every two weeks. The experience created a reading culture in Daniel and his brother, which still exists today.

As children, Daniel always thought his little brother was annoying, but that changed one day when they visited the beach. His brother almost drowned, but Daniel got him help. Since that day, Daniel loved his brother even more.

Influential Groups:
Daniel grew up with a dual heritage in cultures and languages. His parents always insisted that they had to learn Canada's two official languages and become good at both so they could get accepted wherever they went.

When Daniel and his family moved to Montreal, his best friend asked him if his parents were sending him to the college on Rosemont Avenue. The school was expensive and needed good grades, and Daniel had the grades.

When Daniel talked to his parents about it, his dad said they would do everything in their power to send him there. Daniel joined different groups in school that made him feel like he belonged. He even had a girlfriend for two years who gave him his first chance to go on vacation.

Personality and Temperaments:
Growing up, Daniel was introverted and self-reflective. Despite being an introvert, he understood the survival imperative of being gregarious and outgoing. Currently, Daniel has attained a balance on when to say no, make a move, and when to reach out to people.

Cultural Epiphanies:
During a family dinner in Germany in 1984, Daniel realized that people were looking at him because he kept transferring his fork from the left to the right hand. In Germany, that is seen as a waste of energy. Since that day, Daniel adopted the German way of handling the fork.

Soapbox Moment:
Daniel and Bruno Collet started Agile Leader Academy to offer training to leaders on vertical development.

What Brings out the Best in Daniel:
Daniel believes in genuine commitment, and it’s the first thing he looks at before working with a client.

Tagline: Where would you be without self-disruption?

Bio:
Fr. Jhack is a Parish Priest, Diocesan Vocation Director, Vicar and among other titles, Incoming Diocesan Catholic Women League’s Chaplain. He is the first Filipino priest ordained in the diocese of St. Paul, Alberta and is currently the Pastor of a Catholic church in rural Mallaig.

He entered the seminary at age 17 and after long years of patient waiting, received his ordination into priesthood at the age of 35. He brought with him a personal battle cry: "Blessings delayed but not denied.”

Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fr.jhackdiaz
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQFtXbf_OBarmd1A0qW1Fug

Quotes:
"Life is not about accumulation, but it's all about contribution. It's all about giving, not getting."

"Prayer is the weakness of God and the strength of men."

Episode Highlights:
In this episode, Fr. Jhack shares his journey of becoming the servant leader he is today.

How Father Jhack is Handling Cultural Divide:
Fr. Jhack believes his faith in God and love of people have been instrumental for him in handling the cultural differences between the Philippines and Canada.

He attributes his ability to work with diverse cultural beliefs to his personality and his philosophy to live the way people live. In his parish, Fr. Jhack is often referred to as a 'rock star' because he helps farmers collect rocks from the fields. When he rides on a combine with his parishioners, he delights the people he serves and they welcome him as part of the family.

Childhood Incidents:
Fr. Jhack comes from a humble Filipino background with a staunch Catholic faith. As a child, the family walked several miles a week to attend mass. During church, Jhack admired how the priests dressed and desired to be one, after realizing that his first choice of being a physician was not possible given his family’s financial situation.

Influential Groups:
Fr. Jhack's parents were strict with discipline and laid a strong foundation for his faith. They encouraged him to pray, not to be ashamed of his faith, and always aim higher. Knowing it could lift him out of poverty, Jhack took his education very seriously.

Cultural and Leadership Influences:
Fr. Jhack defines his leadership style as servant leadership. He draws his inspiration from the Founder of Christianity, Jesus, serving as He did.

Personality and Temperaments:
In spite of his seriousness and discipline, Fr. Jhack said his natural state is being the life of the party. He loves people, seeks attention, and enjoys being front and centre, even boasting a YouTube channel of thousands of superfans from around the world! Although his strong sense of competition causes him to struggle with humility, he believes his vocation helps tone this down.

Cultural Epiphanies:
One day, Fr. Jhack was going to renew his passport in Calgary. He got into a merge lane, and because of his driving experience in the Philippines, he yielded instead of speeding up. The people behind him began honking, and one of the people showed him the middle finger, apologizing later upon seeing his priest collar. From this experience, he realized that things were different in Canada.

Soapbox Moment:
Fr. Jhack urges us to believe in ourselves, never give up, and keep praying.

What brings out the best in Fr. Jhack:
Father Jhack believes music brings out the best in him and is an avid song writer, something I personally experienced when he played a delightful song he wrote for my husband’s aunt’s 90th birthday celebration!

Tagline: Delay is not