Calm after the storm: Survivorship and other stories, with Amy Syed Amy Syed

During her childhood, Karlyn Percil experienced bullying and sexual abuse. Without understanding how to deal with her trauma, Karlyn unconsciously carried it throughout her life, which formed into self-sabotaging narratives that ultimately affected her relationships with other people and herself. Eventually recognizing that she needed to make a change, Karlyn worked towards accepting and loving herself. She developed programs and stayed disciplined until she was able to regain her own power and tap into her full potential. Today, Karlyn Percil is a successful entrepreneur who focuses on sharing the lessons from her journey with women around the world. 



1.33 - Karlyn’s childhood
4.10 - Karlyn’s child sexual abuse
5.39 - What self bullying looks like
8.10 -  The institutionalization of our lives and breaking free
14.45 - How to create a conscious contract with yourself
17.20 - Amy’s reflection 
18.10 - Reflecting on your SIMUs
23.07 - How Karlyn reclaimed her power
29.16 - Karlyn’s businesses evolve
32.09 - How to help others understand the impact of stepping into your healing
35.25 - How to discover your purpose
36.30 - Remember to be audacious


Support the show (https://www.amysyed.ca/calmafterthestormpodcast)

When Leigh Mitchell was three months old, she was given up for adoption. Her adopted parents divorced when she was only a year hold, causing disruption to the stability she felt from an early age. In school, Leigh struggled to find her stability, suffering from learning disabilities and constantly moving from place to place. Eventually after finding her footing in high school, Leigh watched her father buy a resort and suffer from a nervous breakdown that changed the course of his life. As a business owner herself today, Leigh has spent years helping both herself and others heal from similar traumas. In adulthood, Leigh managed to reconnect with her biological parents, putting together estranged pieces of her identity and began counselling to better understand how her traumas had affected her life. Today, Leigh is a thriving entrepreneur as the founder of Women in Business Network, a group of 30K+ women created to support female business owners. 



1.41 - Leigh’s adoption and childhood
4.30 - Leigh moves back in with her mom
5.10 - Leigh’s learning disabilities
6.20 - Leigh’s stepfather has a car accident, family moves to Mississauga
7.20 - Leigh’s relationship with her biological parents
8.05 - Leigh starts hanging out with older crowd
9.10 - Leigh’s weekends with her adoptive father
10.14 - Leigh’s adoptive father buys a resort, sees her father have a nervous breakdown
11.52 - How Leigh’s trauma affected her
12.57 - Amy’s reflection on Leigh’s story
13.57 - Leigh goes to college instead of university
14.44 - Leigh gets her driver’s license
16.21 - How Leigh found and met her biological parents
18.55 - Leigh gets an explanation for her adoption from her father
21.55 - Leigh experiences postpartum depression after having her first child
22.17 - Amy’s second reflection
23.17 - Leigh starts seeing a psychiatrist 
24.59 - How Women in Business Network was born
25.42 - How our businesses are often reflections of ourselves
26.21 - How to deal with rough days in business
29.58 - Self care for entrepreneurs
32.50 - Making decisions
33.56 - Leigh’s dedication
35.21 - Amy’s takeaways


Support the show (https://www.amysyed.ca/calmafterthestormpodcast)

Farah Nasser is an award winning journalist who has dedicated her voice to elevating people of colour. Recently, Farah opened up about her personal experience with the stillbirth of her son Hussain, live on Global News. Throughout this episode, Amy and Farah trade stories about what it was like growing up as children of immigrant parents, and their pregnancies with their twins. Farah talks about the moment she found out that one of her twins had passed away in her womb, and the psychological effects it had on her as she continued to carry both twins. Today, Farah discusses her stillbirth openly to raise awareness on the subject and remembers Hussain fondly with her husband and two children. 



1.32 - Farah’s childhood
2.51 - How Farah felt growing up as a child of immigrant parents
6.05 - The first time Farah was called a “paki”
8.21 - When Farah got married and decided to have kids
9.46 - Farah finds out she was having twins
10.32 - How Farah’s pregnancy went
11.12 - Farah lost one of her twins
13.26 - Amy’s reflection 
14.43 - The pregnancy build up, Farah gave birth and found out how her twin passed away
16.33 - Farah’s labour
18.02 - The importance of talking about stillbirths
19.22 - Group therapy
21.17 - Why Farah and her husband decided to tell her son about his brother
22.54 - What life looks like now for Farah
24.38 - Amy’s reflection on loss
25.31 - What Farah is seeing in working moms today
28.03 - The need for protectionism
29.35 - Farah’s episode dedication


Support the show (https://www.amysyed.ca/calmafterthestormpodcast)

After Avery Francis was promoted to her dream job, she was sexually assaulted at a work social. Put in a precarious position as part of the company’s HR department, Avery made the difficult decision to come forward and take action. However, although the individual was let go, Avery could not let go of the feeling that she was unsafe at her workplace. Months went by and she slowly became more and more depressed, suppressing her emotions of the incident, rather than dealing with them. After an emotional breakdown, Avery took a leave of absence where she found art therapy and began to move through the trauma that had occured. Upon arrival back to her job, Avery made the decision to leave the company to continue her pathway to thrive. Today, Avery is the founder of Bloom, a full service workplace design consultancy.


1.34 - Avery’s childhood
5.04 - Dropped out of school and had to pay her parents back. Ended up in recruiting.
7.02 - How Avery started her career after university
7.40 - Avery became the Director of Talent at Rangle.io 
8.58 - Started to distance herself from her colleagues
9.27 - Avery’s promotion
10.05 - The work social, celebrating her promotion
10.57 - Avery’s sexual assault
16.15 - Avery turns blame inwards, how the assault affected Avery’s sense of self
17.56 - The dinner after the assault
18.27 - What action Avery took afterwards
19.04 - The action Rangle took
20.57 - How Avery felt at work after her assault
21.43 - Avery’s rock bottom
24.08 - Amy’s reflection
25.10 - Tools Avery used to heal 
27.52 - Avery’s take on art therapy
29.50 - Sexual assault is often not a one-off situation
30.15 - Why Avery came forward 
31.16 - Amy’s second reflection
32.32 - What happened next?
34.10 - How Bloom was born
35.18 - What thriving means to Avery
37.05 - Avery’s advocacy for BLM
42.40 - Who Avery honours on the website
43.00 - Amy’s final reflection



Support the show (https://www.amysyed.ca/calmafterthestormpodcast)

Fortunate to have several parents due to divorce, Jodi Kovitz came from a large family that shaped her view on making lemonade out of hard situations. As Jodi grew up, she adopted the mindset of always trying to find the positive out of pain. After having her daughter Lilly, Jodi and her husband divorced. A family lawyer at the time, Jodi hit a breaking point where she recognized that the life she was living was not the right path for her. This sparked a metamorphosis, where Jodi recognized the negative behaviours she was manifesting and began to see that their impacts were bigger than herself. After realizing the behaviours were happening, Jodi focused on her self development to heal the wounds that would change her life and create a bigger impact. Today, Jodi Kovitz is the Founder and CEO of #MoveTheDial, the host of the Joyful Sundays podcast, and a certified meditation instructor. 


1.32 - Jodi’s childhood, first experience with her parents  
2.57 - How Jodi’s parents' divorce impacted her  
6.24 - Jodi’s advice for anyone going through divorce. 
7.55 - Jodi’s co-parenting relationship with her daughter’s stepmom  
9.30 - Why Jodi became a family lawyer  
12.00 - Jodi asks for a business development budget to build a collaborative family law practice  
12.50 - Jodi realizes that the life she was living was not the right path for her  
15.34 - Jodi’s life changing experience in Arizona  
19.12 - How to hold space for people with severe mental health issue  
19.43 - Amy’s first reflection on self love and physical manifestation of disease  
21.19 - The start of #MoveTheDial  
23.40 - Pausing operations of #MoveTheDial due to COVID-19  
24.22 - Jodi’s meditation process  
27.49 - Jodi’s grieving process for #MoveThe Dial  
29.26 - Joyful Sundays  
33.43 - Jodi’s dedication for the episode  
34.32 - Amy’s final reflection  


Support the show (https://www.amysyed.ca/calmafterthestormpodcast)

A self-made millionaire, Tahani Aburaneh came from extremely humble beginnings. After being born to Palestinian parents in a refugee camp in Amman, Jordan, and is supported by international aid groups, Tahani was married against her will at age 15 to her cousin and sent to Canada without speaking a word of English. Determined to not be defined by her circumstances, she finished high school and managed to complete a business diploma from Conestoga College. Eventually, Tahani managed to leave her marriage and went on to build several successful businesses and a thriving real estate empire. Today she is also the author of Real Estate Riches: A Money-Making Game Plan for the Canadian Investor, and is one of the country’s leading experts on real estate investing.

Show Notes:
1:40- Tahani talks about life in her refugee camp felt like
2:18- Tahani talks about her childhood. Emphasis on her relationship with her dad
2:55- Tahani’s arranged marriage
5:40- Tahani explains the “why” behind moving to Canada and how she reconciled with the decision. (To support her family in the refugee camp)
7:00- Tahani’s Dad's letters
7:13- Tahani’s life when she came to Canada + her husband
8:03- Excitement over going to school + learning English
10:20- How Tahani balanced her wife and home duties with school + her part-time job
11:17- Numbness wore off and Tahani starts questioning her life and decisions
12:12- Tahani talks about her marriage
13:04- Amy’s first reflection
13:42- Rock bottom
14:97- Tahani’s brother passed away + mom suffering from illness
15:45- Tahani talks about her real estate career starting + her first home purchase with no down payment
17:06- Gratitude and mindset shift
18:09- Tahani talks about her new “why” her two kids being her inspiration behind her hustle
19:07- Amy's second reflection
22:49- Her inspiration to help women
24:25- disadvantages of not promoting women at the forefront of investing
29:23- Tahani dedicates the episode to her parents
30:06- Amys conclusion


Support the show (https://www.amysyed.ca/calmafterthestormpodcast)