Testimonials

AIG Assurance  "Thank you so much for speaking with our clients in Montreal and again in Halifax. We have had a overwhelming response to your presentations – I think the standing ovations spoke volumes as well. I hope we see you again very soon."

Atlantic Canada department of Oceans & Fisheries – Government  "When you sat beside me at lunch I had no idea you were the guest speaker. When they introduced you and you mentioned me right away I felt like a million dollars. I listened to every word you said and I feel so much better about myself already. When you admitted that you have learned from your own mistakes I realized that everyone makes them and I am not a loser after all! Thank you for giving me some confidence – you are a great speaker by the way and I hope we bring you back again next year."

Bell Canada  "I see myself in many of the examples you used in your talk today. You made me laugh and you made me cry. You have helped me see my goals more clearly."

"Your talk reminded me how much we miss you at Bell. When it comes to hearts, you wrote the book. Thank you for always being so honest with us."

"You were one of the highest regarded Vice Presidents at Bell and we miss you. Thank you for sharing your story with us at our conference. You have made a difference and reminded us that one person can."

Bell Pensioner's Group (BPG)  "Thank you Carol Ann for the trip down memory lane. Your talk today spoke to every single person in the room I am sure. I, for one, feel that I had a small part to play in your success to-date and I am so proud to continue hearing of your accomplishments. You made us very proud today – all 500 of us!"

Canadian Association of Gift Planners  "You definitely put the "fun" in fundraising. Thanks so much for sharing with us how you raised a million dollars – and thanks for the humour too! The passion, purpose and personal touch that you spoke of gave me considerable food for thought."

CAPS – Canadian Association of Professional Speakers  "You come across as so sincere and speak from your heart. Your delivery is excellent and I felt that you were speaking to me personally. I love you idea of using a poem to motivate the audience."

"You have great presence and are very engaging. Your voice is dynamic and makes me want to listen to all of your presentations. You are passionate and sincere."

Calgary Herald  "I loved your talk. Thank you for a wonderful presentation. You made me look inward."

Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technology  "We are so glad you came to our conference. I could relate to so many of your own 'lessons learned' and can't tell you how much I appreciate your honesty in using your own personal examples in your life stories. I hope you come to our next conference!"

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation  "Thank you for giving so many presentations on behalf of CBCF. You are the easiest, most delightful person to work with. You have an enormous amount of energy and are a great communicator with absolutely everybody."

Canadian Cancer Society  "I remember you from five years ago and attended the event again this year to hear you speak. I wasn't disappointed and wanted to send you a note to thank you for the positive impact you have made on my life. I could listen to you every year."

"Thank you for sharing so much of your life story with us today. I am so motivated I am going for a promotion! If you can do it so can I – I too am a single parent and I thought I couldn't climb that corporate ladder and raise my son at the same time but you made me feel I can do that and much more. Look out world, here I come!"

Canadian Federation of University Women  "I am so glad you came to speak to our group and I hope you don't mind me contacting you personally. I would like to tell the world what a great speaker you are and I might do that. All through your talk I was convinced you were talking directly to me – then I learn the woman sitting beside me felt the same way. Good for you and thank you!"

CAW – Canadian Auto Workers  "Thank you for sharing your story with the 'sisters' at our conference. We laughed and cried with you and thank you for showing us your soft side. We think you would make a great boss and we don't say that very often!"  Chamber of Commerce

"I could listen to you all night – and so could my wife so don't take that the wrong way! Your presentation was wonderful and we felt so fortunate to have you at our AGM. The turnout was because of you and we thank you so much."

CIBC  "I could have listened to you all day. You have made me very proud of myself and that is because you challenged me to see my good points and not dwell on the negative."

Freelanceink  "I am so glad I went to hear you speak this morning. I am now a Carol-Ann-Cole-groupie. You have inspired me to make a difference."

Family Transition House "I am sure it was not easy telling us the personal stories you shared. You must have dug very deep to be so honest. Thank you for that. Thanks too for sticking around and meeting all of us afterwards. I hope to meet you again."

Famous 5 Foundation "Thank you so much for your fabulous presentation. You and your story thrilled the young women who attended our "Rising Stars" evening. Congratulations on your success. The legacy of the Famous 5 is truly alive within you."

Grande Prairie Regional College - marketing students "Carol Ann Cole was an amazing speaker. This made a profound impact on the success of the business conference. She was engaging, entertaining and inspiring; very well done! Carol Ann set the tone for the entire day."

"We couldn't have asked for a better speaker because she was inspirational and made you feel like you were the only person in the room."

"Miss Carol Ann Cole was in one word amazing, she was both graceful and inspiring in her presentation to the students. Her presentation was not like the average one you would expect to hear, it had no statistics or boring cliché statements that we usually receive when going to hear a speech. Instead, she infused her presentation with honesty that came from both her heart and life experiences; she showed the students that we can all make a difference, no matter how big or small. She was able to both reach the students on an academic and emotional level by relating her life to both the knowledge and lessons she has learned through her career and her battle with cancer. I would recommend her any day."

"Carol Ann Cole was by far the best feature of our event. Not only was she an inspiration to any student who has a dream of climbing the corporate ladder, she also is a cancer survivor and gives hope to anyone dealing with a similar situation with her words of wisdom. Our class had the great honour of having dinner with her the night before the event itself. This to me was a great opportunity to meet an individual who really has made a difference in the lives of many across Canada."

High School Administrators – Annapolis Valley Region "Carol Ann, you can go anywhere you want but you belong to us! Thanks for spending so much time with us at our conference. I feel better about my own personal goals after listening to you today. You talked about one person being able to make a difference and you made me feel that I am that person. Thank you for that."

International Telecom Pioneers  "Hey how come we don't know about you in the good ole' USA? Come on down here and speak on our turf. I am going to spread the word. You are the best I have ever heard – and I love you book too. We need you here."

Investment Planning Group  "What an honest speaker you are. One minute you had me laughing and the next minute I was wiping my eyes. I hope they have you here again next year. Thank you, as you say, from the heart."

Jewish General Hospital  "Are you sure you aren't Jewish? I think you are. Seriously I loved you talk last night and hope you don't mind me contacting you like this. I could have listened to you forever and hope they bring you back again next year."

Lawtons Drug Stores Limited  "Thank you for the presentation you made at our meeting. I hope my boss was listening when you told us that you learned as much from one of your installers in a garage as you did from an executive in the boardroom. More people need to think the way you do. All of us who work together have been talking about you since you left and wanted to send you this personal thank you note. You made us feel that we are important and that we can make a difference."

Northwestel  "The week you spent with us in both Whitehorse and Yellowknife is being remembered positively months after your departure. Work/life balance is such a personal issue and you made it okay for everyone to discuss it openly and honestly. We have learned lots about life and about ourselves and we thank you for that. Please come back."

Nova Scotia Dental Association  "You were so funny! Thank you for giving us a reason to laugh and show our smiles at our conference. I have never heard a speaker who was as personal and sincere as you were with us. Thank you for that."

Nexacor  "You are a real leader and I enjoyed your talk very much. I can identify with so much of what you said and am going to apply your 'lessons learned' at work and at home. Thank you for inspiring me to be a better person on and off the job."

NS Fisheries Union  "I admit that when I saw you at first I decided you couldn't teach me a thing. I was wrong – you taught me to listen and to learn from the people around me. I will start learning from my family too and I bet I will be a better father as a result. (Your kid is lucky!) Thanks and sorry for the things I said to you when I met you at our mixer the night before your talk. You're pretty special and I get it now.

Occupational Health Nurses Association  "You made my day – in fact you made me rethink what I am going to do with the rest of my life. Your talk hit home in a way no speaker has ever reached me. Thank you – as you would say – 'from the heart'."

OceanArt Pewter  "You are a phenomenal speaker to listen to. You touch people's hearts and you are so sincere – people open up to you and I see them talking to you as if they've known you all their lives."

Ortho Biotech Canada  "Carol Ann thank you for sharing your message about making a difference. It fit perfectly with our conference theme and the feedback has been wonderful. You personally made a difference and we greatly appreciate it. Many of us now quote you daily!"

Paradise Imports  "Thank you for speaking at our event. You made a difference and it was wonderful to see you laughing and crying on stage and inviting everyone to join in. We hope you will come back."

Petro-Canada  "Thank you for making me take a hard look at myself. I am a good person and you have helped me see my strong points. You have made a difference and so can I. Your talk was very inspirational. Everything everyone says about you is true – and it's all good!"

Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation  "Your English sounded French to me and please take that as a compliment. I guess what I mean by that is that you are the first person I have listened to in Montreal who spoke English from the stage and I didn't care. I understand not only what you said but also what you meant. I wish I could get your book in French. Please come back even if you can't speak our language – we love you anyway and I know I would learn from you the next time too!"

Queen's University Women in Leadership  "Carol Ann I really want to keep in touch with you. Thank you for the life's lessons that I will not learn at university and thanks for telling all of us that we could contact your directly – I can't believe you said that and I, for one, will take you up on it. Your presentation was the one that taught me the most."

Shoppers Drug Mart  "I thought you were talking directly to me but so did everyone else – not sure how you do that but thanks for sharing such a personal side of yourself at our pharmacist's conference. I could have listened to you longer and I truly did learn something about myself – I care more than I let others see. I am going to change that."

"You have a great sense of humour and one of the things I learned from you is that it is okay to laugh at myself. I am pretty self conscious and often when I hear someone close by laughing I assume they are laughing at me – now I know, they are laughing at themselves!"

"Thanks for reminding us to dwell on the positive and to move on from the negative. I really like your pity-party reference and I have shared that with my daughters who seem to be forever locked in a pit-party of their own! I found your presentation very helpful on a personal level and we don't often get that at work related conferences."

Sobeys  "I'm just a worker here but I got your e-mail address and wanted to thank you personally. We are getting so many positive comments about what you had to say and we all feel better about ourselves thanks to you. We would like to keep in touch with you."

Sunnybrook Hospital – Public Lecture Series  "I thought you would only speak about cancer but left feeling I had learned so much from you and most of it had nothing to do with cancer at all. Thank you for sharing your personal stories with us. You are totally believable because you use real examples of how you live your life. I like that and plan to apply your 'lessons learned' to my own life."

"You are a true leader and I really enjoyed your presentation. Your examples of making change a good thing are excellent."

The Telegram  "What a tremendous presentation! You touched everyone and made us really think. I feel better about myself. You were humorous and warm and I like that. You have a unique gift of being able to share yourself with your audience and leave them feeling so positive. Thank you so much."

Wee Watch – Private Home Day Care  "I have so much more confidence in who I am and what I can do after listening to you speak at our conference. I couldn't believe that four hours went by so quickly. Thank you for sharing such personal stories and making us look within."

WINGS (Women in Need Growing Stronger)  "Thank you for speaking with us today. Your book and your honesty when you spoke with us helped me to feel better about myself. You are making such a difference in the lives of so many – single parents in particular as it relates to my own world. I will be telling other women about you and I hope I can keep in touch with you."

Writers Federation Nova Scotia – Writers in the School program  "I am a grade eleven student and I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate the encouragement you gave me about my writing, and my song writing in particular. Even though you are alot older than me, I learned so much during the few hours you were at my school. I kind of don't normally learn very much from old people but I guess I should start listening to them more. I admitted that to my mother last night and she said I should sit down and send you a note – and thank you very much. And, she said she thanks you too."

YWCA  "Thank you so much for coming to our little conference. The feedback has been great and everyone loved you – they are quoting you all over the place here."