As I’m sure you all realize, a mentor and guest speaker relies upon feedback from their presentations. The connection with the people we speak to and their openness. We welcome all feedback and take each as an opportunity to learn, modify and re-develop my material so each place I visit gets a tailored and unique presentation. This landing page will get you to the reviews and feedback I receive from Steve’s actual audience, in their words, and only first name and title will only be used to protect their identity. If you like what you heard at one of Steve’s presentations please send us your testimonial (use the form on this page) and we will be sure to put it on this website.
An example of the feedback I recently received, thanks to Ian for his comments!
I can’t put into words the impact that Steve has had on my life. Several years ago, after losing almost everything in my life, I hit my rock bottom. Riddled with anxiety and depression, I felt there was no way out and that my kids would be better off without me. Thankfully I made a call to a man that I knew I could count on, someone not in my direct circle of friends…but someone I trusted and respected a great deal.
Ian T. CEO, Business Solutions
Steve helped me out of the darkest place I’ve been in my life to where I am today. I couldn’t have done it without the help, support, and genuine care & concern he showed me throughout that time. He is a great friend, a great leader, and an even better person.
As a leader, what makes him so exceptional is the fact that he makes everyone else around better…no matter what the circumstances are.
He will battle harder for anyone than they often will battle for themselves.
His message is strong, his charisma is unequivocal, and his ability to make everyone else around him better is what make him such a tremendous person.
I would also like to take this time to thank all the teachers and administrators that welcomed me to speak to their schools this year. I delivered 42 high schools presentations in 8 months (2018/19). I must reflect that these kids are among the smartest, most compassionate, and most empathetic generation in history. I noticed however, they are also the most stressed generation in history, weighed down by the pressure to succeed socially and in education. As a result, I believe the basic high school curriculum should include courses that deal with mental health and addiction, as well as provide tools on how to deal with adversity, anxiety and depression.
Without an outlet for these kinds of stressors, these kids become susceptible to falling into the perils of cannabis and alcohol abuse as a way to help them cope. I would like to see High schools implementing a safe, judgement-free environment where kids can speak freely about the issues they face, given the opportunity to express how stressed they may, be and share thoughts and emotions that they may feel uncomfortable sharing with their families or guardians.
I am not sure where we are headed, but I know that, in this regard, the high school curriculum is failing our kids, and something needs to be done. We need to empower teachers to be the best they can be and support our school boards to pursue a more modernized approach to dealing with stress and emotion in the classroom and beyond. I believe that if we want to reduce addiction and mental health numbers, we need to start with high school kids. Many of these students’ cries for help are not being heard, and that is something that needs to change.
Stay safe,
Steve
