Some days I need a ray of sunshine. Today Daniel Lewis was just that for the Peterborough business community as the keynote speaker for The Future Ready: Business Summit 2020 brought to #PTBO thanks to collaboration between the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, Peterborough Economic Development and Regional Tourism Organization 8.
Daniel is the proud co-founder of the award-winning tea company T by Daniel (co-founded with his wife Renata). He is also a warm, funny, engaging and relatable storyteller.
Described as a modern, stylish award-winning tea company based in Brampton, Ontario, T by Daniel specializes in selling premium loose leaf teas and herbal infusions in a very fun and interactive way. One of T by Daniel’s achievements includes the royal honour of being invited to serve tea to His Royal Highness Prince Charles during his royal visit to Canada in 2017. (Photo credit: T by Daniel)
Daniel’s people-focused outlook on entrepreneurship and his experiential business tactics have garnered him and this company nationwide recognition and many awards and honours such as a 2016 Brampton Business Excellence Award and 2017 Top 40 Under 40 Entrepreneurs and many more.
Daniel describes his journey as both challenging and worthwhile. His story is a wonderful example of the grit, tenacity and resilience it takes to start a business and the hope and inspiration needed to sustain it.
His presentation titled The Engine Behind Ingenuity: How Creative-Minded Entrepreneurs Think and Produce Big Results highlighted the Power of Personality or POP as he describes it. He shares that choosing to use his personality in a childlike way was a game changer, freeing him to express his vision of a fun and inspiring speciality tea company without fear and with total authenticity. “BU are the first two letters of business. Be You. The moment you take the personality out of the business, the business will fail,” he says.
Here are Daniel’s laws of creativity shared today:
- Creative people are too foolish to be scared. “We usually don’t find great success until we challenge what is normal. We usually don’t challenge normal, until we find great success,” he says.
- Creative people don’t only focus on change. They focus on influencing change. “Being creative is not just about thinking outside the box. It’s creating the box that normal people will think outside of,” Daniel says.
- Creative people have a unique sense of perception and perspective.
- When others say no – a creative person hears “I dare you.” (Author’s note: relatable).
Daniel also talks about his slingshot theory, noting that set backs are often designed to propel us forward in life towards our purpose. (Also relatable). For him, a personal tragedy fueled his desire to create a company engaging, impacting and inspiring everyone.
I share Daniel’s belief that business can be a tool to impact people’s lives in a positive way. It’s why I love the work we do at The Mane Intent — we are doing just that. Daniel’s message was the ray of sunshine I needed today to keep growing.
Thanks Daniel for bringing your enthusiasm and inspiration to Peterborough.
If you want to learn more about his story, Daniel’s autobiography is titled How? He describes it as his message of inspiration to anyone who has ever felt helpless, hopeless and given up on their dreams.
About the Author: Jennifer Garland is the Owner/Program Director of The Mane Intent, offering Health and Wellness Workshops and Individual and Team Effectiveness Coaching. Jennifer’s intent is to bring horses, donkeys and humans together to explore new possibilities and find new meaning in lived experience. Learn more about Jennifer’s corporate experience, lectures, awards and publications, here.
Book your experience today: 705-295-6618 or contact jgarland@themaneintent.ca
