Meet Carol Cambridge | Founder of the Stay Safe Project

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carol Cambridge and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carol, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I do not believe in work life balance – at least not in the way most people think of it. Do you remember the old fashion scales, the balance scales where you would put a weight on both sides until it balanced? Well when it is perfectly balanced there is no movement. And I always want energy and movement both professionally and personally. I think the idea of work life balance creates undue stress for many people and its not really achievable.

I think that leading a balanced life is about balancing our beliefs and our values and routinely looking at what’s most important to us and to those who are most important to us. Every year around the holidays I take a look at what belief, action or habit is no longer serving me and I will either eliminate that or reframe that into something that will serve me moving forward.

There are times in our lives that business will be the main focus of our time and energy and other times it might be our younger family, aging parent or a family or friend dealing with a major medical issue. Each life crisis spins our idea of work life balance but if we can focus our energy on what is most important to us it can help us stay balanced.

To help me with my life balance, I have learned to stay present in whatever situation that I am in. This gives priority and honors the people I am with. As a professional speaker and trainer, I must focus on the audience the entire time I am with them. A few years ago, I had a brother-in-law with Alzheimers who was nearing the end of his journey and a sister-in-law who was in the last stages of battling stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and I was crazy busy traveling for work providing keynotes and seminars. When I was home for a weekend, my life consisted of my husband and I going from hospital to hospice and giving loving time and attention to our 3 dogs. I kept in touch with friends through e-mail, text and facebook which I could easily do while sitting on an airplane rather than any person to person contact. The key was staying present with who and what was most important and that allowed me to feel balanced rather than crazed that there wasn’t enough time in the day to do everything.

I also focus on doing my best not on perfection and this really helps take the pressure off.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As early as age 7, I found myself standing up for those who couldn’t speak for themselves, those who were afraid and those who had been abused. I stood up to bullies in the playground, on the police department and in later years bullies who threaten and intimidate others in corporations across North America. From a career that began in emergency services with a Canadian law enforcement agency, to an international conference speaker and workplace violence expert, I show people how to navigate fear & use their critical thinking skills to guide them through an emergency or a crisis.
As I thought leader, I want people to move away from FEAR based thinking which is limiting, paralyzing and just plain negative. Whether I am training on How to “Survive an Active Shooter”, “De-escalation Skills” or “High Risk Terminations”, attendees in corporations leave with skills that they can immediately implement. My customized trainings and keynotes are focused on the audience, their industry, their specific vulnerabilities and risks as well as the companies goals and objectives.
I have studied adult learning for over 20 years. This means that attendees will be involved in the learning. Whether it is a highly facilitated session or an experiential presentation, I share real world lessons that employees can relate to and learn from. Case studies, interaction, facilitated conversations, risk assessments are all used to raise vital questions, identify assumptions and bias’s, determine the relevancy of information – ultimately guiding the attendees to the next steps and problem solving to a safe conclusion.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We always have lots of suggestions for our visiting guests. We like to take them to places of interest to them. Tortilla Flats and Cave Creek are great fun for those that want the cowboy experience. For those into hiking or into the arts, Jerome and Sedona are our favorites. We love the Asylum Restaurant and the Haunted Hamburger in Jerome. Talesin West is a great spot for those that appreciate architecture. For something nostalgic, we enjoy the Glendale 9 Drive In. For sporting events – well we have it all here in the valley and always host lots of company for spring training. Food is great in the valley. We like small family owned restaurants. For Sushi – Yen Sushi & Saki Bar, for Mexican – PoPos, For German – Haus Murphy’s and for a quick bite – In & Out Burger.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people along the way that have been there to mentor me, help me and boost my confidence. My Dad, my best friend, the love of my life have always been there for me, encouraging me when I felt defeated, supporting my ideas whether they agreed with me or not. I have had many colleagues in both the National Speakers Association and the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers who have answered my questions, provided me with amazing lessons and shorten my learning curve in the business world. I am grateful to all the people that I have met along my journey as well as all of the bad experiences or bad choices because they all cause me to look deeper and go outside my comfort zone to find solutions. There are so many people that I have met that have touched my soul. I believe we learn from others and whether I am doing community service, attending a conference, on an airplane, I stay open to receiving and giving. When an audience member sends me a note saying that my training has changed their life or the Uber driver gives me a hug as I am being dropped off, I know that I am making a difference.

Website: www.thestaysafeproject.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/carolcambridge

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/staysafeproject

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMjWguGqkmnStnN4HYhooUA