Book Testimonial: “What a glorious romp through what can range anywhere from a desperately challenging to an exhilaratingly inspirational transition — from what we are in our working lives to who we hope to be in our “retirement” lives. Navigating these issues with humour, compassion, wisdom, insight, vulnerability, and her trademark “organizational lists,” Mariella’s cleverly-crafted mentoring manual is a comforting and welcoming guide on how to “see and claim our power” and create “purpose, passion, and well-being” during these most important and fulfilling years of our lives. A thoroughly enjoyable and valuable read!”
John P. Brown (he/him), Legal and Strategic Advisor, Indigenous Initiatives, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Book Testimonial: “Great guide. Excellent treatment of the retirement experience and how to live it well.”
Peter H.
“The workshop should be experienced by everyone – to provide more dimensions than just financial in preparing for their next phase of life.”
P. Horgan, Vice President, Operations, IBM
“Presented with humour, sensitivity and a wealth of information, The Crabapple Group poses the questions that ultimately only you can answer. It gets you thinking, sorting, discarding, dreaming. The exercises result in insights and self-examination that would otherwise be tough to discover on one’s own. I think the best part of the workshop was recognizing that creating the “retired” life for oneself was indisputably within one’s own realm but it is up to you to expand that realm.”
R. Morley, Elementary School Teacher
“Terrific session to help open my eyes to the work that is necessary to have a rewarding Life 2.0.”
G. Forfar, Senior Vice President, Product Operations, BMO
“I just retired – and the timing was somewhat outside my control. This workshop has set me in the right direction, and given me a sense of control over the options in my future. The time passed quickly – I guess it’s another example of FLOW.”
M. Johnson, Retired Economist
Having partnered with The Crabapple Group on a successful pilot of their workshop, we invited them to deliver a portion of the workshop at our board meeting, as a professional development opportunity. Their knowledge, style and professionalism were excellent for engaging our board members and senior OACETT team members, who really enjoyed the topic as well as the lively discussion and laughter. The session was outstanding and generated great feedback from participants. I view The Crabapple Group’s workshop, or a portion of it, as a great professional development piece for senior management teams.”
D. Thomson, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT)
“I found the facilitators to be both entertaining & captivating on a subject that we don’t really think about.”
M. Capotosto, Treasurer, Friends of We Care
“The program provides a terrific perspective on a very timely and valuable topic – how you want to spend the rest of your life!”
J. Brown, Senior Partner, McCarthy Tetrault LLP
“This workshop was an insightful look into how we can take time now to plan for what our life after work can look like. Communication with your spouse and planning now is key to having an amazing Life 2. 0 – and it’s within our control if we take the time now to think and plan.”
L. Forester, Assistant Vice President, National Sales Support, TD Asset Management
“Very insightful – a time to reflect, a time to share, a time to plan for an incredibly important phase of your life. Both facilitators were engaging, thought provoking & wonderful. An EXCELLENT workshop. I’d highly recommend it!”
C. Backman, Financial Services Executive and Not-For-Profit Board Director
“We have been talking about many of the issues addressed in the Reinventing Retirement workshops but taking the time to put aside a day to contemplate retirement as an individual, as a couple and as a group helped to frame them in a clear and organized way. Thank you!
A. Horgan, Special Education Teacher
“Very thought provoking, insightful. Looking forward to using this with my husband – a great tool!”
J. Rutherford, Consultant
“Very well planned and kept order quite well, amidst the laughter. Enjoyed it greatly.”
L. McCulloch, Retail Manager
“An excellent program for those in the workforce considering retirement or planning retirement. Or to assist organizations to encourage their experienced staff to stay longer or continue on a different basis.”
A. E. Dean, Principal, E. Dean & Associates
“The workshop was fun, interesting, and life-changing! I was able to develop a plan and find a friend to hold me accountable.”
A. Cousineau, Minister
“I was really impressed by the workshop delivered by The Crabapple Group. I am 51 years old and have recently cut back on my work hours. I have two adult sons who will be leaving home soon (I am an optimist!) and I have been wondering what I’m going to do with all of my extra time. Before the workshop I was fearfully anticipating both retirement and my current pre-retirement situation. Now I am excited about the many possibilities available to me and I have been given great tools to take positive action now. I believe that this would be a valuable workshop for anyone who plans on retiring within the next 15 years.”
V. Timoshenko, Owner, Orthotics Plus
“I thoroughly enjoyed the day. I think you used a wide range of learning experiences so people with different learning styles were accommodated. You provided ample time to chat and I was quite impressed that people took turns and shared the time so everyone could be accommodated. I really enjoyed all the theory that we discussed. One of the insights I had about the day was how much I have missed in my retirement learning new things and being challenged to think. I felt it was a very positive and uplifting session!”
B. Stuart, Semi-Retired Professor
“The day was valuable to me at a very personal level. It helped me look beyond the bottom line (money, future activities). I continue to reflect on how my expectations will evolve in a practical, every day way. I continue to reframe myself and affirm my future identity. The discussions with other participants supported my sense of well-being and the rightness of my decision to move on to the next stage of my life. I also have more concrete strategies to get there!”
L. Miller, Manager, Grey Bruce Diabetes Program
“The Crabapple Group offers a productive and enjoyable opportunity to clarify and develop retirement strategies. The workshop is quite worthwhile.”
L. Reith, Couple and Family Therapist
The Crabapple Group’s Life 2.0 Workshop is an absolute must for anyone who thinks that planning for one’s retirement simply requires a couple of meetings with their financial advisor. With their lifestyle-planning workshop, The Crabapple Group has developed a novel way to help you tap into your imagination and mine for gold. The exercises that they have researched, prepared and so effectively presented will guide you to inner resources that will reshape the way you think about your future. You will leave the workshop with an awareness that will enable you to plan to achieve your ideal retirement. Be prepared for a day full of humour, insight and self-discovery!
M. Serwatuk, Writer, Small Business Owner
I highly recommend Mariella as a coach. Mariella’s coaching style and approach was kind, considerate, thoughtful, and creative. Her patience and insightful questions allowed me to explore deeper issues and develop creative solutions that helped me move forward. Mariella is an insightful listener; she never rushed my thought patterns, but at the same time helped me stay focused on the agenda I identified. Her deep listening was apparent as she asked intuitive questions at exactly the right time. I learned to focus on forward progression in a natural flow; instead of forcing myself towards desired outcomes, I learned creative approaches for effortless progression. If you feel stuck, or are trying to expand towards new opportunities, Mariella’s coaching will help you make steady progress on the steps towards your dreams.
Keith Baldwin, Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Alaska
“It has been an exciting journey indeed, a journey with an able guide. The relationship that my coach established with me provided a safe environment where there was freedom to be real, to explore, to reflect, to learn and to grow. This relationship, while always remaining professional, met the basic human need to know oneself and to be known by another. In the safety of this relationship old ways that no longer served me well could be looked at, understood, challenged, let go of and replaced by new ways of being, of thinking and of relating that serve me better.”
B. Fox, Public Education Coordinator, Alzheimer Society of Grey Bruce