The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 59: Build where you are Hi friend, What if success looked less like movement and more like staying put?What if wisdom sometimes meant building slowly instead of chasing the next opportunity? This is the story of Sarah Ashbridge. In the late 1700s, Sarah Ashbridge was a Quaker widow living in Pennsylvania.She had lost her husband and was responsible for a large extended family.They came from modest farming backgrounds and were used to hard physical work. In...
16 days ago • 2 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 58: What is your life’s story? Hi friend, What is your life’s story thus far?What is your family’s history?What is your city’s history?How are these three stories woven together? Most of us move quickly through our days.Work, responsibilities, commitments, deadlines.We rarely stop to reflect on where we came from or how we arrived where we are. That pause for reflection is what led me to start #ExperienceTO. Since July 2022, I have been hosting free, in person...
22 days ago • 3 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 57: Plant what will outlive you Hi friend, While researching in preparation for the #ExperienceTO: Leslieville Historical Tour, I've been thinking about a man whose work still touches Toronto in a surprisingly practical way: George Leslie Sr., the namesake of Leslieville. George Leslie was born in 1804 in Scotland. He immigrated to Upper Canada (now Ontario) with his family, with sources commonly pointing to 1824 or 1825, and they settled first in what is now...
26 days ago • 3 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 56: Reflect on who has positively impacted your life Hi friend,Today I turned 40 years old. My wife, children and I had a small celebration in the morning, and the rest of the day involved many tasks relating to our house in the Upper Beaches now being available for sale (if you know anyone looking to move close to the Beach, kindly let them know about it) and other family responsibilities. Once I got some downtime this evening, I realized that it would be...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 55: We'll Overcome This Challenge Hi friend,If you're paying attention to the news, you know that Canada's past and present experience of living beside the U.S.A. is a fascinating one. Today's The Globe and Mail editorial provides a helpful summary of Canada's story within this context: "For much of our country’s history, relations between Canada and the United States have been less than intimate, and yet our country grew and prospered. Despite all the drama...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 54: Impact Starts with Listening to the Community's Needs Hi friend,Happy new year!If you’re like me, you’ve set goals (or “resolutions”) for 2026. You may have goals that relate to your faith, your family, your work, your health, your finances, your personal development, and your impact in the lives of friends and the broader community. Through this life lessons-focused weekly e-newsletter (here are all the past 50+ editions of it) and through the monthly...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 53: Community Is a Work of Heart and Hands Hi friend,I hope you're doing well!As 2025 comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the fact that community is a work of heart and hands. Toronto’s Little Italy gives us a meaningful illustration of this truth. In 1968, entrepreneur Rocco Mastrangelo Sr. opened Café Diplomatico on College Street together with his brother and their father. Born in Anzano di Puglia, Italy, Rocco immigrated to Canada in 1958 and...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 52: Build habits that will help you win Hi friend, Most people are already thinking about what they want to achieve next year. Very few are thinking about what they need to do consistently to make those outcomes inevitable. That’s the difference between setting goals and building leadership capacity. The life lesson: build habits that will help you win Outcomes follow systems. Systems are built from habits. And habits only last when someone takes full...
2 months ago • 2 min read
The Rășcanu Weekly Update Lesson 51: The Grocer Who Changed Toronto - A Life Lesson from Johnny Lombardi Hi friend, This week's story comes from the heart of Little Italy, and it is about someone whose life shaped the Toronto we know today. You may have walked past his statue on College Street without realizing that he quietly transformed Canadian media, community life, and how newcomers find their voice here. His name was Johnny Lombardi, and his journey holds a powerful life lesson for all...
2 months ago • 2 min read