Cary Brandes - Raw, Real and Relevant

Looking for real, relatable ways to keep your Mental Health in check while juggling life and work? 🎧 Tune into my podcast above where I break down my Top 10 Sanity Savin tipm from the power of breathing and blasting feel good music to talking to yourself (yes, really) and knowing when to shut it all down.

It’s honest, a little unfiltered, and packed with small things that make a big difference.

Plus, I’ll remind ...

All alone in the moonlight
I can smile happy your days (I can dream of the old days)
Life was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again
⭐Barbara Streisand

I have never seen the play or listened to the lyrics of "Memories" but I am living the above on a Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly basis to bring back some normalcy to my life and try to course correct the wr...

We all played this game when we were younger. The goal was to get up the ladder and not hit the head of a Snake that would bring us back down to a new starting point.

So what does this have to do with #Retail? Well simple enough, alot of us start at the base of the ladder in Retail and unfortunately there are those out there who do not appreciate seeing individual progress (climbing the ladder) that were faster than their’s. Let’s c...

The OCD DEMON has returned WITHOUT permission.

He has created HAVOC in my life by making want to check to see if the door is locked 10X.

He has created HAVOC in my life by making me drive around the block several times to convince me that I closed my door.

He has created HAVOC in my life by highlighting minor defects on electronic products and making them GLARE in my eyes like the brightest moments of the Sun to which destroys me as I...

It was back in the late 1990’s on a bus going to a Manager Retreat when the thought came to me, Retail is just another form of ☆ Acting.

Who better to appear on a Reality Show than a Retail Manager who is able to STRETCH the truth on almost any opportunity thrown at them.

After many years in Retail, I finally realized my one and only weapon, guide, potion is our Job Description. Hold on to that and know it if your life depended on it...

I refuse to be a statistic and this is why I am thankful today.
Everyday.
Every Hour.
Every Minute.

We take life for granted and live under a dome of our own perceived stress.

This is how I was living my life until I was asked the following during an interview.
“Where do I see myself in 5 years?

🤓 Check out my portfolio:www.RenegadeRetailer.blog

Stay Phenomenal 🤩.

🙏🙏🏼🙏🏽 If you like what you heard, pleas...

👉Are you ready for the Annual Employee Evaluations? Before you start writing it please ask yourself:

1. Are the notes I took throughout the year of the individuals wins and opportunities are clear, concise and have input from fellow Managers?

2. Did the mid year Evaluation review have an impact on the prior year identified Behaviour?

3. Is the date and time of the Evaluation set during a time that is convenient and in an private area...

One of the thrills of being Bi Polar is that you get the highs of highs but alongside the low of lows.

I wish I could count the number of times I was euphoric with sleepless nights, countless business ideas, calling friends with incohertent speech, dancing like a tornado and just wondering how I can bottle this power and energy.

Unfortunately I could not to which led onto a slow decline of a depression to which I could not ...

30+ years in #Retail…. how things have changed.
Back then:

•  You called an Employee to come in on their day off, they would be there even if there taxi ride made them lose money…and no Uber wasn’t available.
• A handshake was the commitment towards getting things done and not having to write a plan.
• Letting the #Employee know that their performance is below par, you didn’t have to sugar coat it and got straight to the point.
• If so...

iAnyone who has followed me knows that my life has been a #Retail Journey mixed in with some Madness of being #Bipolar....but I have yet to expose the innerworkings of my mind and what has kept me in this tempest of internal conflict.

I hid these symptoms as far back in my daily life and in my career as far I can remember and the struggle was overwhelming on a daily basis trying to push them down just like the Whack a Mole...