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Honesty is the building block of all relationships. It is always speaking the truth while being authentic, straightforward and clear in your words. It also is about never lying, never hiding the truth and never intentionally misdirecting others. Honesty is closely linked to trust as well. When you are honest with someone, it shows them that they can trust you with not only their words but also emotions, feelings and actions. Honesty also helps with communication, as it lets you and others feel comfortable having an open dialogue. This type of communication is necessary for all relationships to thrive, whether between lovers, friends, or family. Without honesty, others will not trust you and will stay away from you, making any relationship you are looking to form difficult. Focus on making honesty a staple in any relationship and watch those bonds flourish as you will start to feel more comfortable in your skin, and the other person will know you are a rock and someone they can rely upon!

Some ways to improve honesty:

1. Be truthful
2. Reflect on your behaviour and thoughts
3. Stop trying to impress others
4. Don’t exaggerate the truth
5. Accept feedback

By: Sunny Dhaliwal

As individuals and leaders, we must recognize the things in our lives that are improving and reducing us. We all have addictions, some positive and some negative, but things that are part of our daily routines. For instance, how long can you go without looking at your social media accounts or phone? Conversely, on the positive side, how often do you compliment others or yourself, for that matter? We are the sum of our habits; therefore, we must recognize that each pattern creates a set of outcomes in our lives. If value our lives we must know that time waits for no man or woman. Furthermore, we all have a responsibility to grab our personal steering wheels and direct ourselves in the right direction.

This brings us to a fundamental question: When did you last assess your habits? We live in a fast pace world, where our days become weeks in a blink of an eye, but that does not excuse us for not taking the time to love and understand ourselves properly. Looking at who we are, is a challenging task, but it is necessary. The human mind is complex and great at avoiding and distracting itself to get us through our days. Consequently, many habits are formed based on our ability or inability to address situations, people, and personal challenges. So today, I want to challenge you to start your spring cleaning by allocating at least 20 mins weekly to self-assess. Below are a few questions to help you during this process.

1.  What thoughts do you find to be most reoccurring?  

b) How can you ensure that these thoughts are making you better?

2.  What is 1 habit that you would like to change?

            b) What are 3 positive things you can do to help your transition?

3.  What are 2 things that you are grateful for this week?

4.  What is 1 area in your life will you commit to being 1% better each day for the next month?

5. What was the biggest learning lesson from this past week?

By Christoff Kyere

Many times in life, we look to celebrities or people of influence as examples of heroes, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Who we often forget on our list of influential heroes are the people who do the simplest yet most complex things: love us unconditionally through life’s ups and downs and failures and successes… Let us not forget our parents & loved ones.

Our parents and loved ones have helped us with life problems, setbacks, and other challenges. They have helped us grow, showing us right from wrong, teaching us about life and helping us when we needed it most.

To me, a hero is someone that we can model ourselves after. A person we can look up to and strive to be like; who we imagine when we ask what would that person of done in this situation. By definition, a hero is a person admired for achievements and noble qualities. Heroes don’t need to own a cape or go out every night to fight the world’s villains. Our heroes can be ordinary people, the ones we love day in and day out.

There is nothing wrong if your hero wears a cape and goes out to save the world but remember, before superman and batman, it was mom and dad that were saving us!!

By Deklon Roberts

Many people ask what is more important to have – talent or a strong work ethic?

Talent is the ability one is naturally gifted with; this makes a person exceptional at one or several things. Conversely, being hard-working is putting effort into doing something diligently and consistently. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Naturally talented people are fortunate because they do not need as much effort to succeed. But if someone puts enough work into something, they can surpass that talented individual and achieve much more. We see this a lot in sports. When we combine the potency of talent and a strong work ethic, we get g.o.a.t such as Michael Jordan & Tom Brady.

A strong work ethic can help build, develop and raise an individual’s talents to surprising success. If one is talented and doesn’t put in the necessary work, that talent becomes useless and, in time, will fade as naturally as it came. Many people demonstrate skills but are less successful than those who dedicate themselves daily to achieving their goals. The simplest example of this phenomenon is imagining that the goal is making a fire. The match used for this task is the talent someone possesses. Lighting a fire becomes comparatively easy. However, a strong work ethic is the fuel that keeps the flame going and makes it shine brighter & longer with every drop.

For one to be successful – talent alone will merely unlock the door. Hard work, desire, commitment and persistence are critical when blowing the door of success open within sports, business and to live excellent life. Do not solely sit on talent and think it will help you succeed; if you want gold medals in life, you have to be willing to put in the work.

By Deklon Roberts

In the face of another black male being killed at the hands of police, we all must challenge ourselves as to why this has become a norm that society has accepted. For something so horrific to happen this frequently speaks to how our communities view black males. Although this conversation is uncomfortable, we all must question why we are closing our eyes and hearts to a segment of our population. Although we love seeing black males in sports & entertainment, why do we avoid seeing them in a positive light in other environments? And what impact is this having? This narrative informs me that black males are loved and hated equally or only accepted in limited spaces.

The role that police provide is vital, or as their slogan says, “to serve and protect” but is this applicable to all citizens?  Unfortunately, the power of stereotyping has aided in the demise of the image of black males who find themselves victims, and whose voices consistently go unheard. Stereotyping is believing unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same. The stereotyping of the black male population has gone too far and has justified the brutal treatment and devaluation of these lives. How long will we support the existence of these harsh generalizations of all black males that endanger their lives, families and communities consistently?  

Stereotypes are a very limited & impactful way for us to use our thoughts. As leaders, we truly need to understand that when things are said repetitively, they eventually create a reality. Therefore, as leaders, we must be very cautious of how we think and use our words. Furthermore, we must be more aware of what our words and actions support or challenge? We can all change how others think and operate within the world.  When we care about each other, we can do so much more. On that note, we all need to use our words for breathing life and not death into the world. If we are going to change this horrible reality, we need everyone to be intentional in changing how they view, interact and support the lives of black males everywhere.

A Vancouver Canucks hockey stick and signed jersey from captain Bo Horvat has made its way to a Nanaimo, B.C., boy following an intense series of ups and downs.

Linden Erwin was at a Canucks game in Edmonton on Dec. 23 when he received a special gift from Horvat.

The young Canucks fan was hoping to get a hockey card signed, but ended up being gifted a stick from the team’s captain.

Linden was thrilled until he realized he had to place the stick with checked luggage on his flight home from Alberta to B.C.

During the flight with Flair Airlines, the stick got lost in transit.

After Linden’s mom, Janelle Staite, made an appeal to the Canucks to help track the stick down, Horvat decided to go one step further and promised to give the Nanaimo family a new stick.

Several weeks after the stick went missing, Flair Airlines told CTV News it had found the misplaced hockey stick and promised to send it to Linden as well.

While the rediscovery of the stick would’ve been a happy enough ending on its own, former Canucks goaltender Kirk McLean arrived at Linden’s home in Nanaimo on Tuesday with the team’s mascot, Fin, and gave the family the new stick and jersey.

“It’s a great feeling. There was a big smile on his face when we rolled up,” McLean said in a video posted to the Canucks Twitter account on Wednesday.

“I mean, that’s what we do, that’s what we’re here for,” he said. “The community is huge for the Vancouver Canucks and whatever we can do to make people happy and to fix things once in a while is super important and we love doing it.”

In the video, Linden says he’s going to hang the new jersey and stick in his room.

“The Canucks room,” his brother, Marshall, clarified.

“Yeah, the Canucks room now,” said Linden.

By Adam Chan CTV News Vancouver

For over a month 10-year-old Cohen Lane stood outside in the frigid temperatures, braving wind and rain to sell hot chocolate and raise money for Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.

The results are sweet.

On Tuesday, Cohen is going to present SickKids with a cheque for $6,130.90—a far cry from his original goal of raising $350 over the holiday season.

“I’m happy,” he said in a phone call to CTV News Toronto from his home in Whitby, Ont.

Cohen came up with the idea for the fundraiser on his own, his mother said. He designed the stand, which featured not just hot chocolate but various toppings and alternative tea options, as well as a QR code so that those without cash could still make donations.

He even set up a seating area where people could enjoy their beverage every Saturday and Sunday between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Neighbours helped set up canopies when the weather turned sour, and classmates took turns manning a pop-up station at Cohen’s school—helping raise $500 in the process.

“We brought the entire setup into the school, and then every class came down and donated,” Cohen’s mother Karina Oliveira said.

Cohen said he plans on doing the fundraiser again next year, adding that it is his dream to open up a little café in which “all the profits will still go to SickKids, no matter what.”

Cohen’s cousin was taken to SickKids Hospital when he was three months old after experiencing a Trachael collapse. Ever since, his family has had a strong connection to the facility and its staff.

“We’ve had other family members who’ve had to go to SickKids, like actually recently last month, my young cousin, he also had to go in,” Oliveira told CTV News Toronto in November when the campaign first launched.

“Cohen’s just really always loved SickKids … it’s just such a great hospital.”

Cohen will be receiving a certificate of recognition for his fundraising on Tuesday. He will also be going to city hall at the end of the month to get yet another certificate for his good works.

“I try to be the best person I can,” Cohen said.

By: Katherine DeClerq CTV News Toronto 

Responsibility is a rare quality in people these days, making it a precious characteristic one can possess. What exactly is responsibility? “The state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone.” There is also “the state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something.” In other words, it is having the ability for someone to be responsible or accountable for something within their control. As mentioned earlier, this is an important quality that seems to be disappearing, and we need to start revitalizing this energy. Many of us live as if our words and actions do not have any impact or implications, whether positive or negative. At flightunit, we want to change this mentality as we believe that; “responsibility brings opportunity”- Christoff Kyere.

Taking responsibility for something positive is much easier than something negative. We, as humans, want to be recognized for creating a positive impact on the world, as it makes us feel valued and good about ourselves. Conversely, we usually distance ourselves from the harmful effects we make as it brings forward shame and feelings of guilt. We believe you should take accountability for your actions, even if it brings out these uncomfortable emotions. Taking responsibility and holding ourselves accountable is the quickest and most effective way to be on the right side of change. We grow from our mistakes, and people respect us more for not hiding from the consequences of our actions. Taking accountability is taking one giant step forward to becoming a better leader and a person that you will be able to admire!

The holidays are all about coming together and spending time with friends and family. Reflecting and
appreciating the year that is about to come to an end. However this time of year in Canada also brings
treacherous weather at times, something the folks of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada quickly learnt.
Over 50 people were forced to stay overnight at a local Walmart as weather and road conditions
became dangerous.
Some of these people lived around the corner, some were from Ohio, but none of them were allowed to
leave due to the poor conditions outdoors. The employees pulled games from the shelves and even
made warm dinners with help from the deli team. One employee even had a surprise birthday
celebration for them when the clock struck 12. Thankfully the ordeal wasn’t too bad of an experience for
those that had to go through it.

By: Sunny Dhaliwal

Every day we wake up, we are very fortunate & blessed to have the presence of choices; our abundance of options allows us to empower our hearts and minds to improve our thoughts, experiences, and outcomes. It is said that life is a sum of our decisions. Therefore, we need to be leaders to acquire a high-level thought process to enjoy life better. Life is not easy and to possess the skills necessary to turn lemons into lemonade is astonishing and attainable. That said, we all need to have a leadership mindset if we want to do this consistently.

To possess a leadership mindset, we first must embrace the concept that working hard is a benefit, not a hindrance to life’s joys. There’s a parable in the Bible that speaks to this and reflects how we operate as a society; the parable says, “the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few.” Unfortunately, too many people are looking for the easy way out or quick money. Simply put, the farmer’s mentality is one of a great leader; to put this into greater context, put a farmer anywhere, they will not only survive but thrive.

When a farmer is planting seeds, they know that they must do a good job, or when it comes to harvest time, they are the ones that will suffer. To add, farmers also know that everything happens in seasons and that nothing happens before its time. Farmers understand the importance of the role of patience in relation to their success.

One of the major benefits of being a farmer is that farmers tend to live the longest and healthiest lives. For example, one of my grandfathers, a farmer, lived to be 110 years old. Beyond that, he was very strong and healthy throughout his life.   

We can all learn from the life of a farmer if our goal is to become a champion. Farmers consistently give it their all and understand the importance of detail and being battle-tested. Through experience, farmers adjust to whatever comes their way, as each season brings different challenges and results. Furthermore, farmers don’t live lavish lifestyles but still have a high quality of life. So, to bring out the leader in you, be sure to think and act like a farmer.   

By Christoff Kyere