Success Unlocked

I’m so excited to introduce this week’s guest, Shayna Beeksma! Shayna is an award winning lawyer and founder of Beeksma Law PC. She attended Osgoode Hall Law School - which is also my alma mater! - and was called to the bar in 2012. She completed her articling at Gowling WLG, and following her articling she continued to develop her skills and knowledge at a boutique commercial and estate litigatio...

We have an exciting announcement to make this episode! Apply Yourself is growing and I am so pleased to introduce Jonathan Mackenzie to the podcast AND the Apply Yourself Team as our Chief Operating Officer! Jonathan has a professional background as a litigator and was called to the bar in 2011. Jonathan has been here since the very beginning of Apply Yourself’s humble beginnings back in 2015 and...

I’m so happy to be back this week and I’m so grateful that you’re taking time out of your busy day to spend some here with me! Today, I want to talk about something that I’ve received so many questions about - How do we balance application writing with school work, jobs, family commitments, and our other responsibilities? Many of our Apply Yourself clients and community members have application de...

I want to talk about 3 things: outgrowing, doing what makes you happy, and making the hard choices. In my life, in my experience, and in the work that I do with my clients and the people around me, these three factors often lead to the most growth and advancement when we exercise our abilities to identify and act on them. In our own advancement journeys, it is important to keep these three things...

In today’s episode, I am so excited to be joined by Olessia Lapina, HR and Recruitment specialist. Olessia has worked for some of the world’s top companies including Tiffany & Co, Accor, and LVMH. Since then she has decided to hang her own shingle by founding her own consulting agency, Lapina Consulting, assisting small and medium sized businesses with their HR and Recruitment needs, and provi...

Taking a break from doing something challenging - whether it be school, work, and even applications - is so needed, but is often difficult to do. Believe me, I’ve been there - whenever I have taken a vacation in the past, I almost always brought work with me. (I have brought my laptop with me to the pool on more than one occasion!)  However, I have recently come to realize the benefits and importa...

I am so grateful to be joined by Lavinia, a wonderful client of mine who was part of the Apply Yourself 1:1 VIP 90-Day Coaching Program. Lavinia graduated from York University’s Health Studies program. She is currently working in the community health field, specifically for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and Trillium Health Partners Institute for Better Health. Also, I am so excited...

This one’s an oldie, and a goodie! One of our most listened to episodes is back in case you missed it, or want to have another listen. In this episode, I unpack the concept of imposter syndrome, why it holds people back, and provide strategies to overcome this popular, self-imposed label. “Imposter syndrome” is a term, often used in academic and professional settings, that describes feelings of do...

I want to connect the themes and lessons we have talked about in some of the last few podcast episodes, from Episode 16: Reframing Fear to Episode 22: How to Achieve a Life Beyond Your Wildest Dreams. There is one question that often comes up when working with my clients during our coaching and visualization sessions: “What if it doesn’t happen?”  I’m here to ask you, “But what if it does?” And to...

Today, I want to talk about visualization - that it is one of the most important and powerful tools at our fingertips, something we can all do at our own time, and it’s totally free! Elite athletes do it all the time, and I started doing it even before I knew visualization was a thing! We just need the skill and the tools to be able to do it.  This technique is so powerful because it actually rewi...

I am so pleased to welcome this week’s guest, Shaun Bernstein! Shaun is a good friend and colleague who is a journalist turned-lawyer, turned-storyteller, and owner of The Write Stuff Agency, which he founded in 2019 as an open-ended, content writing business. Since then, The Write Stuff Agency has blossomed to help various businesses across many industries tell their stories through web copies, b...

This week, I am so excited to welcome Casey B. to the podcast! Casey graduated from York University’s Global Health Specialized Honours program in 2021 and is currently working part-time, volunteering, and studying for the LSAT. She is making amazing strides in her work and her law school application as part of the Founder’s Cohort in our signature course, Mastering Academic Applications: From Scr...

I am so happy to welcome this week’s guest, Evan Babins! Evan is a husband, father, and Canadian Events Professional. Evan has been in the Canadian Events industry for over 11 years and has been recognized on different event industry “best of” lists.  Evan shares with us his own winding journey. He started off his career in Grade 10 doing something he absolutely enjoyed - both as a hobby and profe...

This episode, I talk about something that I hear from my clients all the time during our first few sessions together - that they are afraid of change, or experience a fear of change or fear of the unknown. I work with applicants and clients who often struggle with identifying this fear of change - who want to hold onto things, jobs, or social circles that they are familiar with, but may not be pro...

This week, we’re going to talk about something that comes up with every client I have the honour of working with – failure. For many of us, the idea of failure, the fear of failure, is not an easy topic or feeling to talk about. Believe me, I’ve been there, too. But what if I told you that failure is actually a productive part of your advancement journey that you can use to your advantage? What if...

For this week’s episode, I want to explore something that everyone experiences but something that no one seems to talk about - fear. This is one feeling that everyone identifies with in one way or another, and I haven’t been immune to fear either. I’ve been there, too.  I’ve seen how fear holds people back, the different ways that it manifests in applicants, in my students, my clients, and in so m...

This week, I want to give a warm welcome to our guest, Rick Frank, one of my dear colleagues and law school peers. He completed his undergraduate program in criminal justice studies at the University of Guelph-Humber, and then his Juris Doctor at Osgoode Hall Law School. Rick is currently a criminal defence lawyer at a firm in Toronto called Foda Law, where he serves his clients in serious crimina...

I am so grateful to be joined by my dear client, Josh! Josh and I have worked together over the years on various application processes, advancing each time toward a life beyond his wildest dreams. Josh completed his undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at the University of Toronto. He began working with us at Apply Yourself in his third and fourth year to prepare for his grad...

In this week’s episode, we welcome Peter Bass to the podcast! Peter is an amazing client of mine who is completing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto and has been working on his applications for university professor positions. Peter has 14 years of experience working in the classical music field and has performed all over Canada, the US, Germany, and Italy. Peter also runs a...

I am so pleased to introduce my dear colleague and long-time friend, Francine! Fran is an in-house insurance defence lawyer and has been practising since 2017. She and I go way back - we first met at a boutique law firm where Fran was one of the lawyers I worked with, and we became fast friends.  In this episode, Fran and I chat about her path to becoming a lawyer, and eventually transitioning car...

In this week’s episode, we discuss actionable, strategic steps you can implement prior to, and during, your application process. A crucial first step to develop an application - one that is unique, professional, personal, refined, polished, and true to your values - is to mindfully think about what you actually want in life, both personally and professionally. Maybe you dream of enrolling in law s...

In this episode, we explore the concept of self-care and redefine how we view and practice taking care of ourselves while pursuing our long-term advancement and goals.  The self-care industry, which makes approximately $10 billion dollars per year, strategically markets “self-care” as indulgences, weekends away, and cucumbers on your eyes. Now, while those things may be nice in the moment, alone t...

In this week’s episode, I have the pleasure of introducing our very first guest on the podcast! Meet Anshikha , a dear client of mine, who is graduating this semester from her undergraduate program and who was granted admission to Columbia University for her Master’s degree this fall! (Huge congratulations to Anshikha for this amazing accomplishment!!) Anshikha shares her advancement journey and h...

At this time of year, I often think of my clients and students who are completing higher education and about to enter their exam period. In contrast, If you don’t have exams, your time is usually being tested by those end-of-semester essays or assignments, or even both.  I know how stressful and busy this time gets - I’ve been there myself as an undergraduate, Masters, PhD, and law student - and a...

In this episode, I give you 3 actionable strategies and tools to help increase your productivity and further your advancement, while also maintaining your health and well-being - even during high volume, busy times!  Let's dive right in! Here are 3 health-conscious, cost-free, and sustainable strategies to help increase your cognitive freedom, decrease exhaustion, avoid burnout, and provide p...