S2 Ep49. Unlocking Joy & Personal Power: Pursuing Excellence on Your Hardest Days with Karel Mc Intosh

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In this uplifting episode of ABWilson's Heart of the Matter, host Aderonke Bademosi Wilson welcomes Karel McIntosh, a joyful, spirited and analytical team coach from Trinidad and Tobago. Karel shares her remarkable journey from childhood resilience to becoming a transformational team coach who helps individuals and organizations discover their hidden potential.

Karel opens up about her natural joyfulness, describing how it manifests as warmth, generosity and an ability to see the world through a positive lens while remaining grounded in reality. She explains her love for deconstructing and reimagining things, whether it's transforming old furniture or helping people recognize strengths they didn't know they had.

Listeners will be inspired by Karel's story of pushing through illness at age 10 to excel in her common entrance exam, a pivotal moment that taught her she was capable of excellence even when not at her best. She reflects honestly on both the empowering and challenging aspects of this lesson, including learning to honor her body's needs as she matured.

Karel discusses her intensive 10-month journey to become a certified team coach, describing how the experience expanded her internal capacity and transformed her approach to working with groups. She shares the powerful Avengers analogy for team dynamics and explains how team coaching differs from individual coaching by treating the entire team as one entity working toward shared goals.

The conversation explores Karel's passion for helping others advance in their careers and lives, her role as a connector who sees potential in people and her commitment to asking for nothing in return. She credits her late father with teaching her sovereignty and the courage to forge her own path, lessons she now passes on to her 10 nieces and nephews.

Karel reveals her hidden creative side, including her love of singing, her history as an aerobics enthusiast and her talent for writing and performing rap songs. She shares her self-care practices, from electrolytes and intentional sleep schedules to starting each day by asking what her heart, spirit, gut and mind need.

With warmth and authenticity, Karel describes life in Trinidad and Tobago, the natural beauty of her island home and the joyful, supportive spirit of Caribbean culture. She discusses her excitement about expanding her team coaching work throughout the Caribbean to build courage and confidence in communities, schools, governments and businesses.

The episode concludes with Karel's powerful invitation for listeners to conduct a research project on themselves, to discover who they are at their core beyond societal expectations and to take one small step toward embodying that authentic self. This conversation is a celebration of joy, resilience and the transformative power of believing in yourself and others.

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