The future you is already inside yourself: tap in, learn to embrace it

Early in her career, Burlington's Ashley Deland was able to outsmart her boss in less than six months. In fact, she got the boss’s job.

She shared her story of success leading her to own and operate her own design house Maison De Land and become a strategic business advisor, during the Burlington Chamber of Commerce’s Young Leaders breakfast summit on Tuesday morning at the Holiday Inn.

The keynote speaker spoke about her rapid rise to success. As an intern for Moses Znaimer of CityTV/MuchMusic, CP24 fame, she became director of events and marketing, rapidly.

She then left the corporate world to become her own leader because why not be the person in charge.

After that, she became a strategic business advisor and opened Ashley Deland, followed by Maison De Land.

“The end goal is not money, wealth or success, it’s who you become in the process,” she told a group of 100 people, including younger guests. Her own journey saw her building, scaling and exiting multiple businesses.

During a question period, she said that she gets nervous, but she taps into things like meditating, affirmations, walking etc. “You have to invest in yourself.”

She touched on possibility planning and the importance of being the best version of yourself. And to make dreaming big a normal habit.

“Make it a routine habit and think of things you’re meant to do and go after that.”

She said she made “trend intentional” decisions: opening a hot yoga studio. “I predict the trends and I build, scale and exit.”

Deland uses affirmations: that your true desires are projections of what your internal potential is: you cannot desire what you don't already contain and be courageous enough to step into your highest version.

“On the other side of that fear lies possibility. On the other side of that doubt lies opportunity. On the other side of those limitations lies abundance. And on the other side of that temporary pain, lies a new version of yourself.”

Burlington’s Joseph App spoke about his company Joe Apps Technology Support. The CEO and visionary said it’s important to use active listening when engaging with others.

Regarding cyber security trends, he spoke about the importance of becoming aware of AI’s impact on business, an area of technology that’s “being governed by guys like me in sweaters and T-shirts. There’s no governing policy. We need to look at the security of AI.”

He said it’s taken mere months to adapt and take on AI as a general culture, which he calls “very scary," He said a graph showing technology adoption shows it took the internet 20 years, mobile phones about 15 years, facebook about seven years and AI four months.

Also speaking about his business success, TJ Harb, spoke about his family’s business that has been going strong for 50 years and boasts 14 trucks and 25 employees.

His advice was “don’t be afraid of what’s next.” He started with his dad when he was just 13 years old. He’s also learned to “always make sure you make people feel special.”

Bringing the crowd to laughter, he added that Harb Plumbing has new-aged plumbers “we wear belts, my dad? Maybe not –” referring to the stereotypical butt crack that plumbers have a reputation for.

Conrad Zurini, broker and owner of Re/Max Escarpment/Re/Max Niagara, says it was his father's company. His successful business has inspired him to want his own Netflix Series, which he already has a name for - Secrets of an SOB. "Son of Broker," he laughs. He said it could include “every crazy story from the real estate business. Every character and every story could be its various episodes.”

He also said that real estate is a pay first, eat later business. To that end, he said his company has plans to shift to the rental market. He says it will feed his two favourite things: "transparency and paranoia."