Testimonials
Since 2003 I have had the great pleasure to deliver workshops and presentations to a wide variety of audiences. From 14-year-olds working on career planning to adult learners interested in uncovering their potential; from entrepreneurs planting the seeds of their future to senior management focused on creating a successful business in partnership with engaged employees.
Some have contacted me with their delightful stories of achieving their dreams by applying the power of their own natural strengths. It’s been, and continues to be, a real privilege to have been a part of their transformation.
The following are comments and stories from those who were kind enough to share their thoughts and results.
Enjoy!
Desiree Bauer
(In the early years I used Dr. Katherine Benziger’s BTSA assessment model and recently switched over to Herrmann International’s HBDI model. Both Ned Herrmann and Katherine Benziger were involved in the development of these models in their early days with General Electric. Both are based on the 4-quadrant model for identifying specialized brain functions. As of 2008, Herrmann International had over 2,000,000 assessments in their database and they continue to provide us with the latest information on effectively applying our strengths and unlocking our potential.)
Workshop Participants
"Fantastic dynamic presentation!"
"Totally changed the way I look at marketing"
"Information I can use everywhere!”
"Powerful!"
"Why don't they teach this in school?”
“The challenge with practicing this method is organizations are not set up to incorporate this type of thinking, doing or being! Often the natural strengths are not recognized and hence leave workers unsatisfied and feeling undervalued.”
Donna B., Supervisor, Calgary, Alberta
“Though the quiz was a thumbnail sketch, it was clear where I fit. Knowing that will make it easier to have people with different strengths become part of the team with positive outcomes.”
Uma Y., Manager, Calgary
Career Planning
"It was wonderful to see you and have a few minutes to chat. I really meant it when I said that the book 'Thriving in Mind' really helped me. I knew that I loved to read inspirational and learning material. However I had not quite put it all together yet that that was exactly what I should be doing for the next four years while I got my BA in Psychology. I am tickled pink to be back in school... It was so interesting reading that book and getting that big 'aha' and it's nice to have a definite direction to be going in instead of just meandering along. Thank you so much for enlightening me! Take care!"
Diane K., Red Deer, Alberta
"I want to thank you above all for the way that you handle your business. Although I found you with a bookmark from the Red Deer Library and a website, you were able to speak to me many times over the phone and always made plenty of time to answer my questions. You made the product seem very tangible and real, as I have never purchased anything over the net. I really enjoyed your openness and willingness to actively listen.
After taking your test, I really realized that I may actually have some answers to my ever mind- boggling question as to "what to do with my life?" I have been pondering this since I was 17, and absolutely hated this question, because I just didn't know. Because who really knows anything about themselves at 17? I wish that you would have been in my C.A.L.M class or some kind of health and wellness day program, you may have saved me a lot of heartache and frustration. I had too many interests and forced myself to be good at everything.
I went off to live in LA, when I was 18, alone with no working visa, enough money for my first semester tuition for acting school and no family or friends, but I made it. I came back to Canada 2 years later and had the experience of being a waitress who learned a lot about life and acting and living in Los Angeles.
Still not content with any jobs in Canada I went to on to travel for 4 years; 2 in Europe and lived in Mexico for 2 years. I went from job to job, chasing sun and fun, I spoke 3 languages and could never ever find anything satisfying. I was always changing jobs, people and places and always hitting some kind of wall. I thought about every type of job and profession and dabbled in every different industry. And of course forced myself to be good at it all and burnt out!! Got sick, got frustrated, got depressed, anxious, worried and looked for someone else to solve my problems!!
But at the end of the day I did have some fabulous experiences. But I really needed some type of guidance and direction. I needed to be on my true path. I knew it was business. I knew it was people. But I didn’t know what or when or where.
Now after taking your test that I have realized there is no better joy than knowing yourself. Lying to yourself will cost you more than staying unemployed. We all deserve to be doing what we were meant to be doing and instead our High Schools indoctrinate us into spending thousands of dollars in colleges and universities. Do they get some kind of kickback?? All high school graduates across Canada should be encouraged and made aware of this type of testing. University and College educations have gotten out of hand and no one seems to remember that all of these institutes at the end of the day are businesses - earning a profit, per day, per student, per graduate and how many of them give fair guidance?
Finding my career has been one of my greatest challenges and finally I have received some insight. I was not surprised to hear the feedback form your report. It was exactly what I had thought all along -- that I was an entrepreneur and needed a job with constant change.
With that report I was able to finally focus my energies and find other entrepreneurs and mentor with them and take courses and programs that helped define my success. It is the greatest gift in the world to have awareness and an understanding as to what will aid your development. Now I have control of my life and control of my destiny and I can stay on track. I encourage everyone to take this test, regardless of the cost, and learn more about themselves and keep heading in the right direction. The pay-off will be limitless.
Thanks so much, and thanks to my mom, for finding your bookmark and encouraging me to call!”
Jennifer Murphy, Heat 4 Health, Edmonton AB,
"I was a successful Campus Director for a Canada-wide private school. The school I managed was stable in a fluctuating market, and I had received numerous awards and recognition celebrating my efforts. I should have been satisfied. I was blessed and had a lot to be thankful for, but for some reason I wanted something else, and the very thought of that filled me with tremendous guilt.
The feeling was back. Each time I thought I had overcome it, it would return. Each time it grew stronger and more overwhelming. It was nothing I could verbalize, it was no more than a sense that something needed to be different. When I thought about it carefully I could see a path, and in my heart I knew I was lost, heading in the wrong direction. In my dreams I would run through streets, the forest, or even hallways in buildings I knew well. I would be hopelessly lost, making the wrong turns over and over, ending up where I began until I broke down and cried in frustration. At other times I was lost in the same situation with people I knew, angry, and chasing me.
All along, I knew what I liked. I knew when I would be inspired and excited. At times I could immerse myself deep into information, sorting out trends, finding ways to forecast the future, developing plans to positively impact the trends. Other times I would immerse myself into the existing systems, searching for ways to change the processes, in order to prevent continuous issues and problems. I volunteered to participate on improvement and training development teams. The problem I faced was that these activities weren’t the foundation of my role, they were extracurricular. My middle-management role was steeped with timely reporting, monitoring, student and staff discipline, routine communication, expenditure tracking and review – all things I hated to make time for.
My work reality was compounded by my growing family responsibilities. As my son matured I was faced with a more rigorous and structured home-life. My preferred method of maintaining a general mental sense of my schedule and commitments was continuously failing me. I needed to begin writing all of my work and home commitments down, and was consistently missing important commitments, personally and professionally. I felt I was continuously juggling my responsibilities. Initially, my commitments to myself lapsed. I struggled to make time for personal care, reducing the time I took to exercise, eat well, visit the dentist, doctor and hair salon. Next, my commitment to maintaining my household lapsed. I had always struggled to complete routine maintenance tasks consistently; but now my household was unorganized and dirty. Finally, I was withdrawing from my responsibilities on the job, and I knew I had to make a change.
I knew I couldn’t continue like this. I was a shell of my former self. I couldn’t laugh and have fun. I dreamed of climbing mountains, of swimming in the ocean, of escaping. I would wistfully remember the adventures I had in my life; skydiving, water skiing, high diving, wall climbing, my high school trip to France, and imagine I was that person again. Sometimes, I would get snapshots of my former self when I had a chance to unwind. Our winter excursion to Cuba, the family holiday, and work conferences all were times I came out of my new constricting skin and would find the energy to exercise, talk and share with animation and excitement, dance and enjoy life. I yearned to be that person again.
The birth of my second son offered me the opportunity to re-think my life choices. Along with dedicating myself to the rigorous schedule of a new mother with two children underfoot, I made a commitment to myself to regain my focus and passion. Not knowing where to start, but having a background in education and career planning, I knew I needed to focus my efforts on getting to know myself again. I dug my old books out of storage, wiped the dust off and pulled out all the assessments I could find. Personality, learning styles, interest inventories and thinking styles were all tools that I revisited. For good measure, I dug a little further and found an astrological chart, and palm-reading chart that had been completed when I was a teenager. I poured through the self-help books in the aisles of my local bookstore, happening upon a book I had used with some of my students, Do What You Are, by Paul Teiger and Barbara Barron-Teiger. Based on personality types, the book reviews the strengths inherent in each personality and predicts a number of careers that would be promising for each type. While this helped me to focus my efforts and provide some direction, I was hungry for more. A visit to the Teiger’s website introduced me to Dr. Katherine Benziger, who Barbara Barron-Teiger recommends as the expert on falsification of type.
When I went got to Dr. Benziger’s site, my stomach tightened as I reviewed the symptoms of falsification of type. I couldn’t believe how closely they resembled what I had gone through!
While there are many free articles and a short self-assessment on Dr. Benziger’s website, the services I selected and found personally important, are the BTSA, her electronic assessment, the book Thriving in Mind, and her one-on-one coaching. I couldn’t wait to complete her assessment. Upon payment, I received a 24-page report of my results, the principles that impact my type, and further recommendations. When I received my copy of her book, Thriving in Mind I understood why it was valuable and how it provided for a more thorough understanding of the entire concept. Once I had completely reviewed my profile and the book, I e-mailed Dr. Benziger further questions and received a phone call later in the day, from Dr. Benziger, herself!
The knowledge provided by Dr. Benziger’s profile was liberating. As I suspected I had been falsifying my type at work. Finally I could explain the stress and fatigue, and get rid of the guilt. Further, a thorough understanding of the concepts Dr. Benziger reveals in Thriving in Mind have helped me to establish a new career direction that will make better use of my talents. I am still at home with my youngest son but I have rekindled my passion for writing. Once I had decompressed inspiration returned to my life. I’ve begun a home-based business and I am slowly building my portfolio and client list. I’m not sure if I will see the economic rewards of my former career again, but I love who I am again, and that’s worth much more to me."
Colleen S., Edmonton, Alberta
"I have had many different and varied ‘careers’ in my life but when I became a single parent, looking 50 right in the face, I knew it was time to find a job with some security and longevity.
When we sold our business I remember thinking that sell advertising for a newspaper seemed appealing. Unfortunately I needed to get a job working in the small town we lived in so I could be near my daughter’s school because of her health issues. I worked in a local grocery store as a cashier and in the summer worked with my sister in her lawn care business. When my sister decided to get a full time job and give up lawn care I was resigned to being a cashier for awhile working for $6.00.
One day in spring the sun was shining in the window and I remember thinking I would die if I had to stay there through the summer. I kept wondering why I was unable to reach my full potential...I knew I had lots but something always stopped me. The next week I saw an ad for an advertising sales rep in a town nearby that published our local paper and decided to apply. My sister would be working in town full time so I could accept the job when it was offered to me. I was excited about working for commission because finally I would be properly compensated for working the only way I knew how.....hard.
Here I was in a job that I wanted and was making more money than I had ever made. After almost a year with the company I had developed a good relationship with my clients and although there were frustrations that come with every job I remember praying that a job would come along that had more of a challenge and a boss with more integrity. Beware of what you ask for because sometimes you get more than you expect.
Shortly after our paper was bought out by a new company who I thought had all the perks I was looking for... benefits, more challenges etc. When my job description changed I was given a lot more responsibility and more paperwork. Not only that, they wanted me to change the way I did things. I struggled along trying to learn the new procedures that were now delegated to me. I found I was spending so much time doing things over and over and still not be able to get them correct that I was unable to get out and do the thing I did well…sell and keep my customers happy. As deadlines loomed I become more stressed by the workload and the frustrations of not being able to get things right, the time crunches became unbearable. I cried a lot because I felt so inept but I wouldn't give up.
I spoke with my friend about this and she said it sounded like I needed to find a new job. She knew my potential and just felt I was in the wrong place. I lamented, "But when will I find the time?".
Just when I felt I was going to see the light at the end of the tunnel where I would have time to regroup in our slow time I was summoned into the office during one of my busiest days and was stunned when I was told that I was being terminated effective immediately. My new boss had mentioned to me previously that his partner did this BTSA testing and I was interested in it but had tabled it until I had" time".
Well, here I was with all this time so I decided to go for it.
It was wonderful. It helped me see why I had been unable to do the new tasks they had given me....I didn't think with that side of my brain. It explained why I had so much difficulty proof reading the ads, why I couldn't seem to get the ideas in my head across on paper, why I couldn't do the paper work efficiently.....I only had 50% skill range in basal left... I was falsifying type.
More to the point though it showed me that I had what it took to be in commission sales. I had the people skills, I was a risk taker and I functioned best if I could work my own hours allowing me to be with Sarah when I needed to be. I was heading in the right direction I just didn't have the right vehicle.
The test was awesome but the book, Thriving in Mind, gave much more information and insight. It helped me tremendously to keep my head up and be positive about losing my job. It helped me to realize that my job at the paper had been an important steppingstone in my journey of life and the BTSA testing pointed me in a more positive direction.
I am in a new job now and I am still not working in the ideal situation but there is still time to explore the one area that really surprised me, an area I have never considered for a "career" but one I have been unconsciously doing anyway....helping and nurturing, soothing and harmonizing the people around me...still time to figure out how to make my million at it!"
T. R., Eckville, Alberta
Conferences
"Desiree, we have a problem. We have so many delegates registered for your workshop that we can't fit them all in. Can you stay an extra day and repeat the workshop?"
ACDS Conference 2008
“This workshop would be very valuable for our entire staff to attend.”
Lane C., Employment Specialist, Red Deer, Alberta
“Thanks for help in dealing with and talking to people who have opposite thinking styles than me – it will help with my boss!”
Janis C., Program Coordinator, Calgary, Alberta
Professional Development
“There is no “u” in team is a powerful reminder that we need to change the spelling of team. We need ‘u’.”
Ron Wardner, Environmental Services, City of Red Deer
“Practical, helpful, insightful tools!”
Elaine Vincent, City of Red Deer
“Informative and insightful – new knowledge and tools to use back at the office.”
Debbie Hunter, Manager Transportation Services, Edmonton Catholic Schools
“Good material, well organized. Good presenter, easy to follow.”
Ron Esch, Executive Vice-President, Calgary Real Estate Board
“This seminar did give a better idea about the people we deal/work with everyday. It makes it easier to understand what strategies to use when dealing with them and how to make the workplace more harmonious.”
A.G., Alberta Transportation, Red Deer
“I very much enjoyed your program - it really shed light on why we do the things we do. I appreciated the insight into different personalities, other than my own, and how to work with those differences. I also found it intriguing to learn about my own personality type - both strengths and otherwise - as well as how to capitalize on those strengths. Thanks Desiree!”
Linda Sietzema
Regional Coordinator, Central Alberta
Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta
Entrepreneurs
“Always a good reminder that we deal with different people each day and in different situations. I hope this will help me in all of my networking activities for Send Out Cards!”
JoAnn G., Red Deer, Alberta
“What a fantastic meeting we had with Desiree Bauer! Thanks Desiree! I know I will be thinking about my ad layouts in a whole new way now. Look out target market, I see the target...even without my readers.”
Arlana Tanner
Chapter Director - Central Alberta
Women in a Home Office
“Thanks for your great presentation, Desiree. As a life-long learner, I am always eager for new knowledge. As a Personality Dimensions facilitator, I was able to overlay your Whole Brain Training onto my understanding of personality. Since most such models divide people into four categories, it was interesting to learn that the brain is also divided into four lobes.
Your presentation gave me insight into my own preferences and styles and those of some of my family members.”
Peggy Birse
Creating Wellness Homes and Workplaces
Red Deer,Alberta
Business Coaching
“It is with pleasure I write this letter of endorsement for Desiree Bauer of 2020 Mindsight. The biggest challenge I faced was what to look for in hiring a group of independent contractors for Chiroback Trekker Inc., a new sport performance & rehabilitation centre, in Springbrook, Alberta.
Prior to meeting with Desiree, I was hoping to get guidance on how to continue to operate and market the centre in Springbrook while practicing as a chiropractor at sports clinic in Olds, Alberta. I wanted solutions on how to be self-employed in one business and be an owner of a different business without losing my “grip” on building my personal life.
Desiree accomplished the above-mentioned goals by listening and understanding the direction that I want to take my chiropractic practice and performance & rehabilitation centre. She took the opportunity of explaining how to use one of my audio/televised programs, Health Express, as way of marketing both businesses. Secondly, she explained to me that what I need for Chiroback Trekker Inc. to function on its own is to have passionate people working in it. Credentials are important, but having the passion to help others improve their lifestyles is critical to developing a successful enterprise.
What I appreciated the most from Desiree is being able to objectively look at the situation and come up with solutions to keep myself and both businesses moving forward. Whether the dilemma was personal or business, Desiree had the ability to steer me into the right direction. As a result, I will be starting the independent contractor hiring process for Chiroback Trekker in September 2008. In addition, a proposal for a health show will be submitted to the Alberta College and Association of Chiropractors in August 2008. The health show will allow me to market the practice in Olds and rehabilitation centre in Springbrook simultaneously.
I recommend Desiree to all owners, executives, managers, employees in the health field. In 2009, I will be making a special request to have Desiree set up a workshop for all my new independent contractors at Chiroback Trekker Inc. She did a wonderful job with me and I feel that others can benefit tremendously from using her services.”
Dr. Emily Roback, B.Sc., D.C., Business Owner and Chiropractor
Personal Development
“Your workshop has inspired me to complete stuff that I really didn't want to deal with and isn't all that important in the long run but I am widdling (is that a word?) down the list Thanks to you! Good stuff... and food for thought... explains a lot... never thought myself as a procrastinator but perhaps I am....darn!
Soo...off to class and then some other things I need to finish off! Thanks so much Des!”
Shelley G., Red Deer, Alberta
"You are just what the doctor ordered for me, and you gave me the breath of fresh air that was needed!"
Carol Z, Edmonton, Alberta
"I highly recommend the HBDI to anyone wanting to look a little deeper into themselves to determine how they came to be who they are today. This tool is great for almost any purpose....to answer questions for the most trivial of reasons, perhaps for the simple sake of curiosity. Or for more personal reasons, maybe to look more deeply to discover a greater self-awareness, for career-choice exploration, relationship-based reasons or even as a helpful tool in some soul-searching therapy. As a tool to enhance personal growth, I've come across nothing quite like it. Its accuracy is uncanny and I've applied its wisdom to my life in several ways. It has unlimited applications, offers something for everyone and is guaranteed to deliver some surprises along the way. Thanks, Desiree."
Daphne I., BSW, Victoria, British Columbia
"The best lesson I learned from taking the HBDI was to embrace the person I am. It taught me that I am who I am because of the way my brain works. I can use the results to plan a career, taking into account that I'm a people person but need structure and organization in order to thrive. In my personal life, it has helped to understand my emotions...why I feel the way I do and how best to deal with the other people that I care about. It gave me added knowledge in dealing with others including understanding why my husband isn't organized or ever on time! And my children...one's a sensitive boy who collects everything and hates to throw anything away and the other who is very much like his dad. The self-awareness gained from taking the HBDI has definitely made life easier and more enjoyable for our entire family."
R. J., Grande Prairie, Alberta