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mad at like the world . I'm mad at everything else .

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1:19

. Are

1:21

you someone who turns your toughest challenges into

1:23

a force for positive change , not just

1:25

for yourself , but for others too ? How

1:27

do you find the strength to advocate for yourself and

1:30

for a more inclusive world , even when you're facing

1:32

your invisible struggles . Hey

1:34

, tim here and thanks for tuning in to another episode

1:36

of the Invisible Condition Podcast , where

1:38

we talk about advocacy and unusually normal

1:41

things the conditions , diseases and

1:43

illnesses we live with . We will

1:45

end the stigma of invisible conditions by empowering

1:47

voices , and today's voice is brought to us by Manpreet

1:49

. Dhillon Manpreet lives

1:51

with multiple concussions , lyme disease

1:54

and other invisible conditions

1:56

. At a young age , she became

1:58

focused on making an impact in the world

2:00

and she's doing just that . The

2:03

founder of Vesa Global a diversity

2:05

, equity , accessibility and blogging consultancy

2:07

to working with the UN , manpreet

2:10

is focused on impact . This

2:12

episode explores how facing and sharing

2:14

our struggles with invisible health issues can

2:17

empower us to inspire change . It's

2:19

about finding the strength in vulnerability and the importance

2:22

of advocating for a more understanding and

2:24

inclusive world . Have a listen , manpreet

2:29

. Thank you for joining the Invisible Condition podcast

2:32

. We met many

2:34

years ago . I actually brought your

2:37

organization , vesa Global , into

2:39

the organization I was in to do a diversity

2:41

audit , and

2:43

so I just love the work you're doing and

2:46

I know you're very outspoken and very

2:48

open about the invisible

2:50

conditions you live with , so I knew that

2:52

it was just natural to have you on the podcast

2:54

. So thanks for joining me .

2:56

Thanks for having me . I'm so excited about the work . I mean , yeah

2:58

, we met like back in 2020 and it's

3:00

been so exciting to see your journey and I'm so

3:02

glad you're getting these stories out there and kind of

3:05

end the stigma around invisible conditions

3:07

as well . So happy to be here .

3:10

Yeah , you know it's ending the

3:12

stigma . It's a big , lofty goal

3:14

, big lofty vision , and so people

3:16

have questioned it . But more

3:18

people are behind it , and I'm just grateful

3:21

to have your voice behind what we're trying

3:23

to do . So why don't you just tell us a little bit

3:25

about yourself and some

3:27

of the conditions that you live with ?

3:29

For sure . So the

3:31

conditions I actually live with are concussions . I've

3:34

had 10 concussions , which

3:43

is not fun . It's really impacted my life in many ways , and I have Lyme disease and

3:45

endometriosis and other autoimmune conditions I grew up

3:47

at . But when I was five years old I had an autoimmune

3:49

disease where the muscle cells were attacking

3:51

themselves . So it's been something

3:53

that I've and I was one of the rare and the

3:55

amazing thing is , every time I'm like one

3:58

of the people that recovers from , like the rare people

4:00

that recovers from these conditions . So

4:02

, germomyositis only 6 000 canadians

4:04

have it and I was one of the three percent that

4:06

actually fully recovered um , as a

4:08

juvenile , and then I

4:11

ended up all the concussions and everything else

4:13

, and so from that it's and

4:16

actually my diversity , inclusion work didn't actually

4:18

start because of the conditions I live

4:20

with . I've always just I

4:22

didn't even know I was , I wasn't diagnosed

4:24

actually until like the three years , uh , five

4:27

years ago with a brain , a minor brain injury , and three

4:29

years ago with Lyme disease . I just lived with chronic

4:31

fatigue , exhaustion all the time

4:33

, um , and just not being able

4:35

to really function in life . What I thought was

4:37

normal . I pushed myself a lot , which led

4:40

to multiple burnouts , um . So now

4:42

I do equity , diversity , inclusion work , looking

4:44

at system , systemic change within

4:46

organizations and how to create organizations

4:48

that actually help people thrive . I

4:50

was focused more on gender equality and race . That's

4:53

where my work started and , as I've been

4:55

diagnosed , I've started to bring in more of this invisible

4:57

conditions as well , because it's such an

4:59

important piece , and now lately the conversation

5:02

has been a lot about perimenopausal and menopausal

5:04

women , because it's been somehow just

5:06

being an age bracket . I am , and we're getting looking

5:09

at women's health in the workplace as well , so it's

5:11

been exciting work to talk about topics

5:13

that no one else wants to talk about .

5:16

It's so important to be talking about these topics

5:19

that nobody wants to talk about , and it's

5:22

still just I don't say

5:24

to say blows my mind or frustrated with it

5:26

that we just don't want to talk about

5:28

it . We don't want to talk about diversity , inclusion

5:30

or , as you'd mentioned

5:33

, menopause in the workplace

5:35

, which is an important conversation to

5:38

have in the workplace . And why

5:40

do we shy away from that ? Why do workplaces say

5:43

you know what , we want

5:45

our people to thrive , but we're not going to talk

5:47

about these topics .

5:48

And then I find that the conversation is completely

5:50

different . They're very open and they really want

5:53

to engage and create a different world , a different place

5:55

to work or because of the personal connection . But

6:11

we can't . We need to get to a place where it's not

6:13

just about from personal connection that we want

6:16

to create change . We want to create which is amazing

6:18

when we do want to create from personal connection as well

6:20

but it needs to be just for the betterment

6:22

of society in general . And

6:29

I mean I know that there's a lot of topics out there that are hard to kind of focus on . There's

6:31

so much going on in the world and there's so much it's always hard to put where your energy goes

6:33

. But this is where , if we actually create systems

6:35

that where everyone can thrive , we can actually

6:38

focus our energy on creating a

6:40

better world as well . I'm

6:42

a little bit of an idealistic person , so I

6:45

believe that you know , we can create a better place

6:47

, but the systemic change

6:49

, I think , doesn't happen because people

6:51

are just uncomfortable and people are not okay

6:54

with being uncomfortable , but also because they're not

6:57

emotionally attached to it , and they're not . They don't

6:59

understand the experience of someone else and

7:02

we're so disconnected in society is like . In this

7:04

individual society that we live in , we forget

7:06

that our neighbor might be , you know , dealing with

7:08

something drastically different , that they might actually

7:10

need us to say hello to them , or they

7:13

might need that extra you know , support to go to the

7:15

grocery store , or they might just need that

7:17

job to help them pay their bills , and

7:19

that doesn't mean that they do just entry-level

7:21

work because they have a disability . No-transcript

7:33

.

7:39

So I think it just goes back to people not knowing and

7:41

the discomfort as well . People don't know . You're absolutely right , the

7:43

discomfort . It does make people uncomfortable . I was talking with somebody who

7:45

is in the HR field , who

7:47

was diagnosed with something , and

7:50

they had said there's just so

7:52

much nerves and emotion and

7:54

fear wrapped around

7:56

having to disclose to their workplace because

7:58

it dramatically impacted their work

8:00

to a place where they

8:02

needed to disclose and they

8:06

didn't feel necessarily

8:08

safe or trusted . The

8:11

outcome was positive but

8:13

it took so much emotion just to get

8:15

to that place . And if we , like

8:17

we said , we create systems , we create

8:20

these places , whether it's in the school system

8:22

, in our family system

8:24

or in the workplace where

8:26

somebody discloses and we say

8:29

thanks for trusting me with that . Let

8:31

me know what support you need and we'll get that .

8:34

That's it , and I think that's actually

8:36

the space that we need

8:38

to start looking at is how do you

8:40

give people the tools and the conversation

8:43

pieces so that they can have these conversations

8:45

? I think , a lot of the time the discomfort . I

8:47

just had a conversation with a client on Friday

8:50

where she was just like

8:52

I don't know what to say , so I don't know how to

8:54

put it into words . So

8:56

when someone discloses they need accommodations

8:59

, I'm like I don't know how to respond to it

9:01

. And if we give them the language , I think that

9:03

that will change a lot of how people

9:06

feel about disclosing . I have

9:08

many friends who are like neurodiverse and they're just like

9:10

I don't , I don't want to tell my employer because

9:12

then they're going to think less of me . And

9:15

you know , and I know that even now

9:17

when I disclose like I'm open about my

9:19

conditions because I'm like I

9:21

don't have anything to hide

9:23

but I know I get reactions from others who are

9:25

like are you really going to be able to handle this or is this going to

9:27

be too much for you ? I'm like that's not the question

9:29

to ask . I know what's too much for me . It's

9:32

not for you to judge how it's too much for me as well

9:34

.

9:36

Yeah , it's amazing , right it's . Are you going to

9:38

be able to handle this ? Are you going to

9:40

be able to see this through ? Versus

9:43

. Hey , thanks for trusting us with that

9:46

. Thanks for disclosing , and

9:48

we really appreciate that . Let us know how we

9:50

can support you . We want you to thrive and

9:52

we know by you thriving , our

9:55

organization is going to thrive . So

9:58

that's a language we need to adopt

10:00

, and somebody

10:02

said to me recently we were talking

10:04

about a complex topic

10:07

and

10:10

their answer was you don't need

10:12

the answers . That's the answer

10:14

. You don't need to have all the answers . Be

10:17

honest , hey , thanks for trusting me with this

10:19

. I honestly don't

10:22

know what our policy is , or don't know what

10:24

, how to respond , but

10:26

you know what . I'm going to go and find an answer for you

10:28

.

10:29

So hang tight , that's the best answer . Like that's

10:32

when people just claim

10:34

that they don't know something . It's actually the best answer

10:36

that you can give to anyone , regardless

10:38

of what the situation is Like . I just remember

10:41

, like even with a

10:43

friend , I

10:46

was dealing with the loss of my brother and I had a friend . She's like I don't

10:48

really know how to support you right now and I don't know how

10:50

to be there for you , and she's like I don't know if I have the capacity

10:53

. And I'm like I had so much more respect for her Because

10:55

she was just like I don't know what to do , I

10:57

don't have the capacity and I

10:59

just want you to be well , and and

11:02

she's like that's all I can provide for you right now . I'm like

11:04

, hey , that's the best you can

11:06

do . And I think , like that answer , even

11:08

though she was able to do nothing for me but

11:10

that . But she , what she did was set up a

11:12

boundary , but also just claimed what she

11:14

was and wasn't able to do . So I wasn't

11:17

. And actually like years later , when we

11:19

, when we did reconnect , um

11:21

, our relationship is just as beautiful as it was

11:23

back then , because we both had

11:25

created the space that we both needed for ourselves

11:27

to flourish . And then , when you do that in the workplace

11:29

, you're actually creating space for

11:31

yourself to flourish as a manager , you're creating

11:33

space for yourself to flourish and also

11:36

going to get educated on how you can help

11:38

this person , but also someone else , and it's

11:40

actually a really amazing thing because there's a learning

11:42

opportunity , because otherwise we get to the day-to-day

11:44

and it gets kind of boring . And then now there's like

11:46

this great learning opportunity . But how do I address

11:48

this to not make this a challenge for someone else

11:50

, which is like the best way

11:52

to do it , I think .

11:54

I find that and I do this I'm

11:57

really guilty of . This is just wired

11:59

to provide a solution .

12:00

Yeah .

12:18

Oh , completely . You don't

12:20

need us to

12:22

provide a solution , because you might

12:25

not know what the solution is . So , instead

12:27

of trying to fake it and I love , what your friend did was

12:30

they acknowledged it , they honored

12:32

it and were completely honest and transparent

12:34

say , look , I , I don't have the capacity right

12:36

now .

12:38

And you remember that years later , you still

12:40

remember that completely , and I love the

12:42

fact that you just said like it is about

12:44

the fact that , um , you don't

12:46

have to always provide the solution , because

12:49

it's we're . Actually

12:51

. I had to like learn this for myself because

12:53

I'm so used to just , okay , I can get this done

12:55

, I can get this done , which is also being

12:58

a like from a feminine core . That's

13:00

a very masculine way to do things , where you're trying to overpower

13:03

someone else and like not do

13:05

it in a way of connection , but you're actually

13:07

disconnecting from the person . When you're trying to take

13:09

away from someone's experience . If

13:11

we actually like look , I can be here with

13:13

you , what do you need and what

13:15

can I ? How can I support you ? All

13:18

of a sudden , you're actually harnessing a deeper connection

13:20

with the person , connection

13:26

with a person , and you're also creating a space for them to feel more empowered and make choice

13:28

in their life , and make a choice that works for them rather than a choice that

13:30

works for you , and that's actually really

13:32

powerful to have at that

13:34

as well .

13:36

Yeah , you think about who's that center of the conversation

13:38

, right , as soon as you say , hey , I

13:40

live with multiple concussions

13:42

or Lyme disease , and somebody is going through their mind

13:44

and going , okay , I read something about concussions

13:47

and so as soon as Manpreet is done

13:49

talking , I'm going to offer this as a solution . So

13:51

now , all of a sudden you've uh , the

13:54

person on the other end or a person who's listening is

13:56

not actually listening . I mean , this is classic

13:58

coaching technique . Is that act of listening

14:00

? I call it authentic curiosity

14:03

. Put away the noise , put away

14:05

that assumption that you have an answer

14:07

and just get curious . And

14:09

I would love to back

14:11

up a little bit . You said you were

14:13

diagnosed with something when you were 10

14:15

years old and I'm

14:18

wondering if you can just talk

14:20

a little bit about that diagnosis , that

14:22

condition , that invisible condition .

14:24

Yeah , so it was actually five years old . Okay

14:27

, germomyositis , and

14:30

it's where your muscle cells how I was

14:32

explained it was muscle cells attack themselves and

14:37

it was so , yeah

14:39

, the moment that that I , when I found out I was going to get diagnosed

14:41

it was interesting because I was . It was a cold day

14:43

and I still actually remember this moment um

14:46

, I was walking to school all bundled

14:48

up , and all of a sudden , um , and

14:50

for some reason my mom was like looking from the window that

14:52

day which usually never happened , but anyways , I

14:55

would cross the street and all of a sudden I fell and

14:57

I didn't have any power in my legs and I couldn't get back

14:59

up and I was just sitting there in

15:01

the cold , cold , snow , snow , and it was so

15:03

cold and I remember my body's

15:05

just shivering from it and it was just like freezing

15:08

and I'm like , and I'm like feeling like , oh

15:10

my god , what am I gonna do ? Because I can't get

15:12

up , and I'm like looking around , there's no

15:14

one else around , for some reason . I used to always walk with

15:16

someone , but that day I didn't . But all

15:18

of a sudden , my mom like saw that I hadn't gotten up

15:20

and we , and then she like

15:23

ran across she was wrong with you and I'm like I can't move

15:25

my legs and there's nothing . I can't , just

15:27

can't function . So anyways

15:29

, um , that led to diagnosis

15:31

, led to like my mom was like only 24

15:33

at that time . Um , it led her

15:36

to like , you know , like when you love someone , you

15:38

do things so outside of there , like you're going to

15:40

do anything it takes . She like drove on the high

15:42

, you know coca-cola highway for the first time

15:44

from kamloops and she's like taking me to all

15:46

these doctors . She's like I need to get , you know , a solution

15:48

for my daughter . Um , at the time

15:50

, um , they had put me into

15:52

surgery because they didn't really know a lot about this condition

15:55

and it

15:57

made me gain like 30 pounds as a child , like

15:59

in a month , from prednisone and

16:02

uh , and it just it impacted

16:04

the rest of my life , like it impacted how I was

16:06

able to move . Um , I couldn't really

16:08

play with kids , um , because

16:11

I couldn't run . The same , I couldn't , like I was actually

16:13

for a couple months I just didn't even really walk and

16:16

um , I remember that you

16:19

know they used a lot of ancient like um

16:21

, ayurvedic techniques

16:23

on me , like the almond oil and

16:25

things like that , things like our grandmas used to use and

16:27

that's the only thing that was working to actually

16:29

get energy back in my legs

16:31

. And so , um

16:34

, it took me a couple months and I got recovered

16:36

and , to their surprise , and they're like , okay , it's under

16:39

control . Um , then I had

16:41

a remission . Uh , seven years later

16:43

, uh , sorry , two years later , um

16:45

, again like completely destroyed

16:47

everything about my life and confidence and stuff like

16:50

that . And then the third time I had it

16:52

, um , no , it's fine

16:54

again . And then the third time I

16:56

was in . We

16:58

were in Paris and all of a sudden , I'm like I

17:01

don't feel so well and my mom's like , okay , and

17:03

there was certain conditions they would look for , like a rash

17:05

on my joints , and like you know how

17:07

I was feeling . My mom's like , oh , you have a rash , like

17:09

this doesn't look good . So we cut our trip short

17:11

, we

17:19

went back to Canada and , lo and behold , they're like , oh , it's flared up again . Um , and I didn't

17:21

want to go to school because this was in august . And I didn't want to go to school because I was like my , I've gained so much weight . All of a sudden , because

17:23

from the prednisone , you just blow up and you're

17:25

grade seven , like your confidence is impacted , your

17:28

body image , like , and so I actually

17:30

, um , so my mom called the teacher and she's

17:32

like , my mom doesn't want to come to school because

17:34

she's scared that the kids are gonna make fun of her . Can

17:36

you like what ? And he's like , okay

17:38

, I'll talk to the kids before she comes . And

17:41

so , apparently , so they did . They talked

17:43

to the kids before I came . Like this is she's gonna

17:45

look different than what she did last year and you

17:47

know , whatever , and and it was really positive

17:49

because everyone was really like , no one ever asked me about it

17:51

. They were just like treating me the same as they always

17:53

did . And , um

17:56

, and it was really interesting because , like , after

17:58

that , I started playing . Um , I

18:00

got the concussions after that , but I started playing

18:02

ice hockey . Um , I didn't know how to skate

18:04

. I started like , and I was on

18:07

the basketball team at school . I

18:09

played volleyball . Um , I became

18:11

like super active and I actually wanted to be an athletic

18:13

therapist for Team Canada Women . Um

18:15

, and I had , like , the Team Canada Women's team

18:18

actually taught me how to skate . So it was really

18:20

a great feat when you're coming from , like not being

18:22

able to use your legs to coming to a place

18:24

where the women

18:26

from Team Canada are like teaching you how to skate

18:28

. And Hylia Wickenheiser

18:30

was the first person who taught me to skate and when I met her

18:32

years later she was like I totally remember you . And I was like

18:34

I totally remember you and I was like what is this woman doing

18:37

? She's like 16 , doesn't know how to skate

18:39

. She's at like trying out for BC summer

18:41

. I was at a hockey camp at that time

18:43

. I tried out for BC summer games but

18:45

it was also it gave me . You

18:48

know , I just remember as a child people

18:51

would always like look at my parents and be like is she okay ? And I'd be

18:53

sitting right there and no one would have talked to me . It was like I had

18:55

become invisible . As soon as I got the disease

18:57

, I became invisible and

19:00

I was so tired of people only

19:02

connecting to me because I was sick and

19:04

I felt like I had so much to offer . And

19:06

it was interesting because I just had a Tony Robbins weekend

19:08

and I realized that I was still using that

19:10

connection of sickness as a way to still connect

19:13

with people , even though that was when I was five years

19:15

old , because I thought that's the only way people would love

19:17

me because I felt sick and it's

19:19

not true . But it's also it's

19:21

so interesting to how , as a child

19:23

, that got imprinted on me , thinking

19:26

that that's how I can connect to people and how they

19:28

relate . And when people only see you as being

19:30

sick , they forget that there's so much other

19:32

other aspects of you that's like

19:34

available to get to know and

19:36

become curious about that . When

19:39

they define you as that's all they define you as they

19:41

forget , they don't actually get to know you then and

19:44

that's where , like afterwards , I had to really

19:46

like I was , like I became so public

19:48

, right , like the way that I show up in

19:50

the world , um , because I'm like there's so much

19:52

more to me rather than me being

19:54

having a disease , and so so it was

19:56

really interesting experience .

19:59

There's so much more to you than just having

20:01

a disease . Oh man , if , if

20:03

somebody is listening to this and that's

20:06

what they're taking away , just take that

20:08

away . There's so much more to you than

20:10

just your disease , and

20:16

I've said this numerous times and I'll continue to say this is my normal . Looks different

20:18

than your normal , right . Your normal was

20:20

hey , you weren't able to walk . It

20:23

was a remission . You're able to walk . I'm

20:25

going to learn how to skate , I'm going to

20:27

just go . And that

20:30

determination was was

20:33

that your kind of defining moment of like ? You know what

20:35

? I'm not letting this slow

20:37

me down .

20:39

What's so funny ? Cause I never thought about it until like recently

20:42

, where I was like I didn't realize I was so determined because

20:44

I just did things that felt right and

20:46

I was like I want to do something , I'm just going to do it . And I also

20:49

I'm really supportive by my parents because , like I was

20:51

like I want to take ballet , my parents will put me in ballet

20:53

classes . I went to , I did tap , I did soccer

20:55

, like it was always . Like I got to , my

20:58

parents were just like , okay , go try whatever you're doing

21:00

. But it's also like , whatever

21:03

my heart desired I just did . And

21:05

I think because you , when you realize that you can

21:07

lose it in a moment , and like whatever

21:09

that is , I think I just kind of

21:11

made a decision to really fully live life

21:13

, in a way that to live a full life

21:15

and so nothing really kind

21:17

of stops me . You know , over the years

21:19

, as I get older , now the fear has creeped in . Now I'm like

21:21

, oh , do I really want to get back on skates when I can't

21:23

skate ? And I was like , no , my feet hurt , like so

21:26

different . But

21:28

yeah , it was . But that determination is something

21:30

that has like shown up as a great trait of

21:32

mine , and I think it has to do with the fact that you

21:34

just realize that life can

21:37

change for you in a moment and it literally

21:39

did change for me in a moment and

21:45

that you just want the next moment to be everything that you want it to be .

21:46

What you said reminds me of a previous

21:49

guest on the podcast , sean Bernstein , who

21:53

he's a hemophiliac , and he said his

21:55

parents made a decision and

21:58

he said it was either pad

22:00

the world or pad the child . And

22:02

his parents said you know what ? We're going to let John

22:04

run wild . And so

22:07

he said , even in his childhood house , his parents still

22:09

live there , there's tape and

22:11

foam still around some of the corners , around the fireplace

22:14

and things like that . And it's like you know what I want

22:16

you to have the most normal quote

22:18

, unquote normal life as you can , and

22:20

so have fun . And

22:22

he said that was a defining moment . He still

22:24

remembers that like that gave him that confidence

22:27

and has instilled confidence in him

22:29

. That sounds like your parents did that as well .

22:31

They did Like . I remember when we were at I

22:34

mean I didn't realize my mom had

22:36

like overcome her fear of driving on the

22:38

highway highway to like take me to the hospital in

22:40

Vancouver . But I remember like

22:42

when we my dad would come

22:45

visit me and it was always like you

22:47

bring me this , like you give me this stuff toy that

22:49

I actually still have somewhere and

22:51

but it was like this moment

22:53

that they're just like you , it's

22:59

your mindset that's going to make the difference . It nothing else right . And then they were

23:01

just so positive about everything and I mean they were pretty beaten down

23:03

like this is hard to watch your child go

23:05

through any condition and what that looks like . But

23:08

I don't actually remember them being ever

23:10

stressed about it . Even though they were like

23:13

it wasn't something that they never and that they never stopped me . They never

23:15

stopped believing that I can do anything and I think that helped me believe that they never stopped

23:17

me . They never stopped believing that I can do anything

23:19

and I think that helped me believe that I can

23:21

do anything . And I think that's where it goes

23:23

back to like when people believe in you more than you believe

23:25

in yourself , like that makes the world

23:28

of a difference and I think

23:30

I got that from my parents and I remember

23:32

that , like being in doctor's

23:35

offices and they're just like , oh , she may not be

23:37

able to have kids or she may not be able to walk again , and

23:39

my parents are like , no , no , she'll be fine , and

23:41

that was it , Like there was no like question about it

23:43

.

23:44

So Wow , I

23:46

love that . Thanks for sharing that . The

23:49

caregivers in our life . Big shout out to caregivers

23:51

who are there

23:54

, who stand by us , who walk

23:56

life with us , unwavering

24:02

, and sometimes wavering because we're human and things get hard

24:04

. But that's a testament to how

24:08

you were brought up and that

24:10

determination . I love that . What I know

24:12

about you is it seems like you

24:14

put your mind to something and there you go , and

24:18

I would love if you

24:20

can just tell us a little bit about 10

24:22

concussions . I've known

24:24

people who've had a few concussions Maybe

24:27

they've had to stop mountain

24:29

biking or riding a motorcycle from their

24:32

second concussion or something like that and

24:34

10 concussions , and how has that impacted

24:37

your life ? How has that ?

24:39

impacted your life , or has it impacted your

24:41

life Drastically has ? But it's also

24:43

interesting , I wonder

24:46

. So the first one was when I was in grade nine , I

24:52

dropped a deep fire over my head and then , in grade 11 , I walked into

24:54

a sign . So I have a dent in my head like a physical dent , and

24:57

then , two weeks later , misjudged where the boards

24:59

were because I didn't realize I had a concussion and

25:01

I was playing ice hockey . Misjudged where the

25:03

boards were , fell on the ice . Then , a couple months

25:05

later , a friend dropped a hockey stick on the head 20 years

25:08

to the date , almost later

25:10

. Um , me and my cousin were playing ball

25:12

hockey because we started playing ball hockey

25:14

to honor my brother and

25:16

, uh , he , my cousin

25:18

, is full muscle . We

25:20

banged into each other and I fell on the floor and I'm

25:23

like my head just bounced and I was like , oh

25:25

, this is not good , but it was almost 20 minutes , 20 years

25:27

to the date , and there's a reason

25:29

why I'm mentioning this . And then , a couple months , happened

25:31

afterwards . One was like my niece just tapped me

25:33

on the head and I got a concussion because at that point

25:35

my brain had , you know , and the last

25:37

one I got was I was living in the Netherlands and

25:40

it was a windy day and the door flipped

25:42

open and hit me in the head and

25:44

all of these . After a while

25:46

, what happened ? What happened was , um

25:48

, I didn't realize that it

25:51

wasn't until 2018 , when I was like I should , like I had

25:53

friends . So , 2016 , when I got

25:55

like a series of like three or four concussions , a friend

25:57

friend was like you need to go get a baseline done . I

25:59

was like , no , I'm fine , he's like you should get a baseline

26:01

because he's like your brain's going to start getting impacted

26:03

. You need a baseline . And so

26:05

I started to put it off , put it off , and

26:08

but I was like I didn't realize I had gotten like

26:10

really light sensitive at the time and I was

26:12

just getting overwhelmed all the time . The

26:18

time I have had a lot of anxiety . Um , couldn't

26:20

haven't slept in years , like I still haven't slept in years , and

26:23

I couldn't figure out what , what was going on . And then , um , fast forward

26:25

, I had to leave my job and I just like up and quit

26:27

, like emotional decisions , you know , made

26:30

right , right in the spot , which is a sign of like

26:32

concussions as well sometimes and

26:34

, um , I quit my job and

26:37

I left . And then 2018 , I finally

26:39

went to a neurologist and he was like , look , I don't believe in concussions

26:41

, but you have minor brain injury , but you're

26:43

actually seem to be functioning pretty well , but

26:45

you shouldn't really be working anymore . And he's like

26:47

your brain's too far gone , you shouldn't be working . I was

26:49

like , well , that's

26:56

not going to happen . That

26:58

. And I started to research and I was like , oh

27:00

, like , so a lot of my life of like , where

27:03

I stay , I try

27:05

to stay in the dark , or I feel constant

27:07

nausea , I feel constant motion sickness . I

27:09

was like this isn't normal , so 20

27:12

um . I ended

27:14

up . A friend was like had just dealt with concussions

27:16

. She's like you need to go to neurovision therapist and I

27:18

, I don't like I don't even know what that is

27:20

. And she's like I mean , no one told me to go . She's

27:22

like you should go , go to the neurovision

27:24

therapist within five minutes . She's like how nauseated

27:27

do you feel all the time ? I'm like all the time Like

27:33

it's horrible , like I don't think the ground's ever stable

27:35

, like , and I fall constantly and all these

27:37

things . And she's like that's all symptoms

27:39

of your brain and your eyes are not communicating

27:41

. And so I'm so glad I met the neurovision

27:43

therapist and um , and

27:45

because it just made a world of a difference for me

27:47

, um , literally , um , I

27:50

was able to , I like , and she worsened the symptoms

27:52

. So I was on bed rest . Actually , when my company was growing

27:54

, because I was on bed rest , because

27:56

I couldn't , they made

27:58

the symptoms so much worse and at that

28:00

point I only had had seven concussions . And

28:03

then , 2019 , at the end of the year , I met

28:05

this chiropractor who started

28:07

doing physical testing because I was finally able to

28:09

get to the physical part and she's like

28:11

you can't be in like rooms with light

28:14

and I'm like no , I'm like if I

28:16

get overwhelmed , I get overstimulated . And then

28:18

then I finally had language for it . I just thought I would

28:20

just get irritated and shut down emotionally

28:22

because I was like a horrible person

28:24

, but I was like no , it's actually because of the concussions

28:27

. So my entire life I've had become

28:29

emotionally overwhelmed , like within

28:31

like five , ten minutes of being around people . And

28:33

it was actually not to do with me having

28:36

not limited emotional capacity . It was because I had

28:38

con with me having not limited emotional capacity . It

28:40

was because I had concussions . And then I find out like partnered with Lyme

28:42

disease , it adds onto it and

28:45

then it's actually made like . This is part of the reason why

28:47

I stayed single , because every time there's

28:49

people around me constantly I get overstimulated

28:51

. So being in a relationship wasn't something that

28:53

I could do , and

28:56

so with the chiro , it really helped . We

28:59

got to the physical parts . And then it wasn't actually until I got to Netherlands

29:01

, um , where I met a personal trainer . He

29:03

was amazing and he was in kinesiology , um

29:06

, and , as he would like , he started

29:08

getting me movement again . And I was like , cause I missed

29:10

working out , cause I couldn't work out anymore . I used to

29:13

play hockey , I used to play sports . I sucked at

29:15

everything I played , but

29:19

I still used to play . And now , all of a sudden , I was barely able to get out of bed . And

29:21

so then , when I went to go work for the un and um

29:23

in the netherlands , it was a great opportunity for me to like

29:25

. I'm like , okay , let's focus on myself . I don't know anyone

29:28

in the country I can like actually

29:30

focus on my healing , met this personal trainer

29:32

. Then someone introduced me randomly

29:34

, randomly , um , to osteopath

29:36

who lived , who was like 10 minutes , a 10 minute

29:39

walk from my apartment , and he was a game

29:41

changer . Within five minutes he was able to diagnose

29:43

me with like things that no other practitioner was able

29:45

to do and I was like , and he actually

29:47

released like so much tension from my brain

29:49

that I won't get concussions again , hopefully , fingers

29:51

crossed . And then he introduced me

29:54

to another trainer who was able to give me , um

29:56

, a strength back in my legs which was

29:58

not like possible , like because

30:01

I've always had weak legs ever since I was five

30:03

, and all of a sudden I started getting strength back

30:05

. Um , but it's made it . But

30:07

the last couple years , because I've been on bed rest so much

30:09

as as through the recovery period

30:11

and and additional concussions

30:14

, I've missed out on a lot of life

30:16

. Like I literally took myself out

30:18

of my life at Vancouver . I moved to the Netherlands to be

30:20

by myself so I can heal , and

30:22

I mean it was amazing because I got to work for the UN and made

30:24

all these new friends and I did all these other things and

30:27

I traveled a lot . But I also had to physically

30:30

take myself out of a space where I had

30:32

too much emotional stimulation and

30:34

too much physical stimulation . Vancouver

30:37

is you have to drive . I

30:40

can't . I'm not really even supposed to be driving anymore , because the driving overstimulates my brain

30:42

and if I drive for any more

30:44

than an hour I can't , I'm out for the

30:46

next day , and so

30:48

it's also it means I can't really go

30:50

to a lot of parties . I used to be like , I used to

30:52

party , hop every night , like every weekend , and

30:55

I can't go anymore , um , because I can't function

30:58

with the lights and the sound and the stove lights

31:00

, and so it's me meant that a lot of people are disappointed

31:02

by the fact I don't show up . Um

31:05

, so it's really impacted a lot of my relationships . It's

31:07

impacted my lifestyle . It's

31:09

impacted like I spend way more time alone

31:11

than ever would have liked . I'm an introvert , extrovert

31:13

, but I've had to become , um

31:16

, I had be okay , become okay

31:18

with the fact that people , and also like we

31:20

live in a society where I feel like people

31:22

just don't have time and they don't have

31:24

time , and if you're sitting , like I've had been on

31:26

bedrest multiple times other than like maybe

31:28

like two or three friends who came to visit , other

31:31

people don't come to visit , and I think that's one

31:33

of the things that's been the hardest , because you

31:35

realize that those people , like

31:44

you have a lot of people that aren't really friends and , um , that's really disappointing

31:46

to me , and so it's kind of like made

31:48

me really question what relationships mean as well .

31:49

Thank you , first off , for sharing that . Uh

31:52

, I am so grateful

31:54

that you found the

31:56

support that you needed . The

31:58

trainers in the netherlands little

32:02

side note uh , that's a place . Me and

32:04

my wife and we'd love to spend

32:06

months in the netherlands . I'm from

32:08

the nether , or my my

32:10

dad was born in the netherlands . My wife

32:13

and I went once and we still have

32:15

some . I still have a lot of extended family there , so it's

32:17

like one of our dreams to go . So you've lived

32:19

that for . So I'd love to , maybe over coffee

32:21

or you know something . We can just want to absorb

32:24

all of that , but , uh , but to be able to recognize

32:26

that and say you know what I ? This is an

32:28

opportunity to focus on

32:31

me . Somebody again

32:33

recently said it's like have

32:35

they said it was time

32:37

that I choose me ? Yeah , and

32:40

choosing yourself , getting that support

32:42

. But he also said something that's really

32:45

important . Um , and I think impactful

32:48

is you weren't able to

32:50

go to those parties and

32:52

socialize like you wanted to or you used

32:54

to , and you realized that maybe some

32:56

of the people weren't your friends or they didn't have time , yeah

32:59

, and again , if somebody is listening

33:01

to this as a , maybe a caregiver or somebody

33:03

who lives with something that's invisible . And your

33:06

condition , um , is

33:08

very different than my condition , and

33:11

we need to have

33:14

that mutual respect and that understanding

33:16

and saying hey , I've noticed that you

33:18

aren't attending these parties . Um , tell

33:21

me more . What's going on , what

33:23

works for you , and thanks

33:26

for walking us through that

33:29

. That's quite the journey 10

33:31

concussions and then you've got Lyme disease

33:33

as well on top of that and

33:35

all the symptoms of Lyme disease . And

33:38

yet you're building and you've built a

33:41

global impact company . You've worked

33:43

for the un , you've done

33:45

a . You know you've done

33:47

a lot and yeah

33:51

, yeah I have .

33:52

But I think sometimes it's because I wasn't diagnosed early

33:54

enough , because the lyme diagnosis came

33:56

25 years later um

33:58

, that I didn't label myself and

34:01

I just thought . And so once I started

34:03

healing from the concussions , I found actually there's a really great

34:05

naturopath here locally

34:07

that helped me figure out , like that I needed neuro

34:10

um , neuro feedback and stuff and I was able

34:12

to recover from even now after

34:14

the 10th concussion . Like my clinical

34:16

psychologist , who I work with on the concussions

34:18

, he's surprised on how healed my brain

34:21

is because I used I used a lot of biohacking

34:23

, I , you know things that have worked for me um

34:26

in different modalities and it's been amazing

34:28

that I've been able to heal my brain . But then I

34:30

couldn't figure out why I was still tired . So I ended

34:32

up having this random conversation with on a webinar

34:34

, like listening to a webinar . She was talking about like

34:36

being always being exhausted . I'm listening

34:39

to her and she said somebody with Lyme disease . I'm like I don't think

34:41

I have Lyme disease , but let let's just talk to her . They've had consult

34:43

functional medicine expert from Texas

34:45

. And as soon as I talked to her she's like I'm

34:48

telling her . She's like I think you should get tested for Lyme

34:50

. I'm like I don't . I'm like no

34:52

, and then all of a sudden I like I

34:54

call my mom . I'm like did

34:58

I ever get bit by anything when I was younger ? She's like

35:00

well , you were bit by a tick . And I'm like what

35:02

? And he's like , yeah , we were on a hike , you were a bit

35:04

by a tick when you were in like grade six . And he's like this

35:06

is what it looked like and your mom wasn't able to

35:08

take it off . And I'm like , and me and my mom had

35:11

no idea , like remember nothing . So

35:13

I go in . I went

35:15

to my like another naturopath and I was like

35:17

can you test me ? Yeah

35:20

, I got I strains of Lyme because it mutates

35:22

within your body afterwards if it's untamed . And

35:27

then I started the protocol . But it made me so sick because

35:29

it actually makes you like . For me when

35:31

I was the die-off symptoms

35:33

. It made me choke on myself , like choke constantly

35:36

, so I couldn't sleep because then I was choking while

35:38

sleeping and then obviously I would have could

35:41

have something else could have happened . So

35:43

when I moved to theetherlands my mom didn't know , but

35:46

I uh conned her into coming a week later so

35:48

I can start my medicines because I knew I was going to have this choking

35:50

reaction , so at least she would be there with

35:53

me as I'm having it . So I'm balance

35:55

it out . Um , I

35:57

still have , I still have

36:00

lyme um because there's such

36:02

a long process to actually heal from it and

36:05

I mean it , it's it's going to

36:07

take a couple like you can't . You can never heal

36:09

fully from it , just by managing it , and but

36:11

the beautiful thing is , like I don't . For me

36:13

it's just something that it's making me just like . Okay , I'm

36:15

using this as a tool on how do I learn

36:18

about health ? I've I've become , I'm

36:20

a practitioner in Ayurveda . Um

36:22

, I've learned so many other like I

36:24

know about plants and herbs and how they actually heal

36:27

our body , and so it's become a

36:29

really amazing experience and using

36:31

this as a way to like heal . Like one of the

36:33

best trips that I did was me and my dad went to Nepal

36:35

um to learn how to make Ayurvedic medicines

36:38

, and we're me and my dad are both a part

36:40

of our documentary for it and you

36:42

know and so talking about the ancient foods

36:44

and how that they impact our body and

36:46

um and how they heal . So it it

36:49

sucks in many ways because it's hard

36:51

, because some days I can't get out of bed building

36:53

out this large global company . But some days I'm

36:55

like I just need extra time to myself and

36:58

I need to sleep until noon . Um

37:00

. But on the other hand , when I'm productive I'll be super

37:02

productive . And so even right now is like I

37:04

was telling a close friend this morning . I'm like I'm

37:06

having a productive time because I haven't been able to work

37:09

for four months because , I was telling you , I

37:11

had a cough . I haven't been able to work for

37:13

four months because I had an autoimmune reaction

37:16

to having an iron infusion , and

37:18

so I've been exhausted for the

37:20

last four months . We've had lots of losses

37:23

in the family and haven't been able to work for

37:25

four months and as soon as I

37:27

was able to start working . So now I'm like

37:29

I don't know when , how long I'll be able

37:31

to work , so I have to be productive during this time . So

37:34

yesterday I , like I built , I put out a guide

37:36

, you know , finished another

37:38

chapter in my book and it was like super productive because

37:41

I have the creative juices , my brain . I don't have

37:43

the brain Cause I don't know when . I

37:45

know that usually , like the belts for Lyme are

37:48

every three weeks and right now in

37:50

a good stage , and lately

37:52

they've gone like a little bit longer . So I'm like I

37:54

got to use this good stage until the belt

37:56

comes again . And it's . It's

37:59

interesting running your life this way , because I don't

38:01

make plans more than a month in advance , cause I don't make plans

38:03

more than a month in advance because I don't know how I'm going to actually feel . But

38:05

it's okay , though , too , because it also keeps my

38:07

life spontaneous .

38:10

I love that , the spontaneousness of just

38:12

going okay , we've got about three to

38:14

four week window here . What are we going to do ? Where

38:17

are we going to go ? What are we going to get done ? And

38:19

was there a

38:21

moment where you

38:23

decided like , okay

38:25

, I'm going to be productive in

38:28

those weeks versus letting

38:31

that disease and these concussions

38:33

and conditions play

38:36

the opposite effect on you ?

38:38

Oh , totally . So I care a lot

38:40

. I am driven by the impact

38:42

I want to make in the world . At 13 , I

38:44

decided I wanted to end sexism , racism and

38:46

war At like age 13,

38:48

. No idea why , but that was what I decided . So

38:51

everything I'm doing right now is in that

38:53

field and so for me it's not

38:55

even an option to be like , yeah , some

38:57

days I do feel sorry for myself or I feel like a

38:59

victim and I'm pissed and I'm mad at God

39:01

and mad the world . I'm mad at everything else

39:03

, but then I'm like I have a , there's

39:06

a reason why I was put on this earth and I have to make

39:08

my life , you know , meaningful

39:11

and leave my own legacy in a different way . And

39:13

how do I do that ? And that's where , like the impact . And

39:16

I also find that as soon when I'm healthy , like you

39:18

know , it was interesting because I just moved back to Vancouver and

39:21

and one of the things is like , with diversity , inclusion

39:23

, work , it's heavy , it's hard and it's like

39:25

it's it takes a lot and you're also having

39:27

tough conversations all the time and I was like I

39:29

need to just go and , like you know , volunteer in

39:31

the food kitchen and I was like I

39:34

need to give back because I need to realize that

39:36

how gifted I still am , how grateful

39:39

I am for the life that I have and the ability

39:41

that I'm still able to go and do all these other things

39:43

, and it just

39:45

have like step away from my ego

39:48

around . Like I said here , I feel sorry for myself

39:50

but I'm like , I have the resources , I have the finances

39:52

, I've been able to get support . I know

39:54

most people other people can't and this is why I want

39:56

to , like you know we were chatting about how

39:58

we need to advocate for

40:00

change , for for

40:05

change , for you know how invisible diseases are looked at and the support that are needed and what

40:07

other access to therapeutic ways that they have . Because

40:09

I was lucky and I

40:11

was able to have all these resources and I've

40:14

been able to work when I , you know

40:16

, even though I've been told five years

40:18

ago not to work , but that

40:20

doesn't , that's not everyone's story . And

40:22

this is where , like , I talk about it

40:24

so I can end the stigma . I talk about it so

40:26

we can actually create change in terms of , like , the

40:28

types of benefits that are offered by companies

40:31

, by the government , what

40:33

we , you know , what gets clarified under

40:35

the medical plans . That's why

40:37

I think that work is so important and it needs

40:39

to be done as well .

40:42

Yeah , it's , it's important to acknowledge that . Yeah , yeah , it's important

40:44

to acknowledge that . Yeah , there are bad days . Not

40:47

every day is a good day . I've

40:58

, like you , I'm sure , I've had many bad days , and it was weeks ago . I had woke up just in a bad mood

41:00

, just not feeling good , and I had a bad day and I allowed myself to

41:02

have that . And the next day I said

41:04

you know what ? Get

41:07

off the couch . What

41:09

can we do ? And whether that

41:12

is just having a shower and

41:14

hanging out with a friend , a partner

41:16

, your kids , whatever that looks like , acknowledge

41:19

those bad days and make

41:21

an impact on those good days . And

41:24

I know that , as you said , sometimes

41:26

that's a privilege . Maybe

41:37

we're in organizations that we are

41:39

afraid to disclose , afraid to ask for an accommodation , because

41:41

we know that there's going to be some discrimination

41:43

. And I hear you , I feel that I see you if you're in that , and

41:46

I feel grateful

41:48

that there's people like yourself , ampreet , in this world

41:50

who are advocating for change , who

41:52

will end the stigma . And

41:55

so you've had to advocate

41:57

a lot for yourself over your

41:59

life and for someone who is

42:01

struggling with advocacy

42:04

or with advocating for themselves . What would

42:06

you say to someone ?

42:08

You just have to do it . I mean , it's hard

42:11

, it's uncomfortable

42:13

, as we talked about , and it's also but

42:16

you matter . Like it's also remembering

42:18

that you matter . You're worthy of advocating for yourself

42:20

, you're worthy of getting the support you

42:22

need and the resources you need and you matter

42:24

Like that's . I think that's like the you need and the resources you need and you matter Like

42:26

that's . I think that's like the reminder

42:29

that all of us sometimes need that you

42:31

are not your disease , you are not the condition

42:33

you're living with it , but you are not that person . There's

42:36

so much more to you and so you deserve to

42:38

have to experience all of life in

42:41

the spectrum of lives that exist . And

42:43

when you're advocating , make sure you

42:46

have your medical like I wish I had done this years ago . But

42:48

having my medical history written

42:50

, because like this is some most things that we

42:52

take for granted . But having your medical history

42:54

written , the doctors you've talked to , the medications

42:56

that you've done um , and the impact

42:59

that , the facts that you've had on those

43:01

things . And I struggle with this all the time

43:03

. But I know my diet is one of the major things . If

43:05

I change my diet , it would change how my

43:08

process of everything . Sometimes it

43:10

is easier to just be like I'm gonna eat a bag

43:12

of chips or I'm gonna eat , um , you know

43:14

, junk food , rather than make that healthy meal

43:16

. But the the food is

43:18

for me is something that I struggle

43:20

with and I found ways that I needed

43:22

to ask for help with my family

43:25

or ask for help from like other

43:27

friends and be like when I need to

43:29

be held accountable for this , because I think that's gonna

43:31

. That's hard , the hardest thing for me

43:33

, and being vulnerable

43:35

with it , with insecurities that you have

43:37

, but also knowing that when things

43:40

are tough , that you are supported

43:42

. There's we're lucky if we

43:44

live in the western world . We are so

43:46

lucky with the resources and the tools and the organizations

43:49

that are there to support us , even if we don't have the family

43:51

and friends support . And then , plus , there's communities

43:53

like listening to this podcast , but also

43:55

there's communities of people that are out there

43:57

that can support you as well .

44:01

What's come to mind is that

44:03

saying that asking for help is a sign of weakness

44:05

and we got to change that . Asking for help is actually

44:07

a sign of strength . It's a sign

44:09

of strength . It's a sign of hey . I

44:12

know I can't do this on my own , and

44:14

I've recognized that , so I need

44:16

help , whether that's again with school

44:18

, workplace , whatever , wherever you are .

44:20

And it goes back to when someone doesn't know what to do

44:23

. It's not a weakness for them to say I don't

44:25

know what to do in this situation , I

44:27

don't know about this . It's the same

44:29

thing If we're expecting them to be strong about it and

44:32

claim that they don't know . It's the same way that

44:34

we have to ask for help too , that we have to kind of step

44:36

into our strength and ask for it as

44:38

well .

44:40

Yeah , I love how you've just brought that back full circle

44:42

, right . It's

44:46

a sign of strength , it's a sign of honesty , it's a sign of

44:48

vulnerability , which I argue , and I would

44:50

say that vulnerability is

44:52

your strength , because it's who you

44:54

are and we got

44:56

to stop hiding our normal . And

44:59

I'm curious , as we

45:01

wrap up Manpreet , what's your

45:03

vision , what's your plan ? And I know

45:05

you're building your business and you've got

45:07

a lot going on . You're writing a book and I'm just curious

45:09

where do you see things going over

45:11

the next I don't know four or six months

45:14

?

45:16

I don't know . Actually , to be honest , I've kind of

45:18

just surrendered . I just , as

45:20

I mentioned , I just moved back to Vancouver . I

45:27

do have the book I'm writing and I've been , you know , starting to do , starting to

45:29

cause I've I've learned so many things over the time

45:31

, so I'm actually developing like a university of

45:33

different courses , like around womb leadership , so

45:36

people can tap into , like you know , tap into

45:38

their own creation , the womb and

45:40

looking at how to like , move past , like ancestral

45:43

and eternal lineages , and how to

45:45

use the power of the wisdom of your body . Grief

45:48

and leadership is something I've been talking a lot about because

45:50

grief impacts , like I've had so much grief

45:52

around what I can and cannot do , loss

45:55

of my brother and things like that , and I've

45:57

been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul around grief . So

46:00

it's something that you know I've got

46:02

grief and leadership . And then going back to , like

46:04

, the primary , like women of color in the workplace

46:06

and how do we get them to leadership from a holistic

46:09

leadership perspective where they're not getting

46:11

burnt out , um , that's really my

46:13

focus . Like , coming back to that focus again , I

46:15

still do the audits for organizations and

46:17

the systems and we do assessments , um

46:20

, but I want to support individuals more

46:22

in feeling that they're not alone , um

46:25

, cause I feel like that feeling of loneliness

46:27

is getting worse in this world , and

46:29

how do we foster that not to be present

46:31

, um , in different ways . So that's really

46:33

where I'm at right now and

46:36

uh , and also like I'm

46:38

working with a startup and we're talking , looking at future

46:40

of work and looking at , um , how burnout

46:42

impacts healthcare workers , um

46:44

, and how to reduce that as well . So it's

46:47

everything kind of comes back to how do we support

46:49

individuals to thrive in the workplace and

46:52

what does that look like ? So , and in their own

46:54

personal leadership . And I

46:56

, that's that's I decided at 13, . That

46:58

was going to be my work and that's what I'm going to continue

47:01

to do . I'm still doing stuff on public safety and

47:03

, like you know , I'm not

47:05

in chemical weapons anymore , but , like in other

47:08

ways of us we support we

47:10

. I work with a lot of organizations that are paramilitary

47:12

, and so it's great to be able to talk about gender

47:14

equality and race in those paramilitary

47:16

organizations as well you're

47:19

an inspiration to me , manpreet .

47:21

Um , you you truly are of

47:24

knowing from that young age . And you're still

47:26

on that path , man , at 13,

47:28

. I just wanted to get into

47:30

as much trouble living on a farm

47:33

as I could and not get caught . It's not thinking

47:36

about the global impact that I could make

47:38

, but here you are

47:40

, sharing your story and I

47:43

am . You've you just continue

47:45

to ignite that fire in me ? And for

47:48

those who are inspired

47:50

by your story , who want to connect , who

47:53

just want to learn more about who

47:55

you are , how , how can someone reach you ?

47:58

The best way is LinkedIn , actually just LinkedIn

48:00

, mapre , dylan , and

48:02

then you can go to our website , vesiglobal , because

48:04

a lot of the there's a lot

48:06

of stuff on there . I'm just rebuilding the website . Actually , that's where

48:08

I'm like . I don't know what I'm doing because I have to rebuild the entire , rebuilding

48:11

everything right now . So that's great

48:13

, but , yeah , linkedin is the best place , and then happy

48:16

to connect , and I love hearing people's stories .

48:19

Yeah , that's great , and we'll put those notes . We'll

48:21

put those contact in the show notes as well , and I

48:23

think we'll have that

48:25

all there , as well as wherever you listen to your podcast

48:28

, we'll have the links in there . So , manpreet

48:31

, I know you're busy . You've taken time

48:33

to share your story in the Visible Condition Podcast

48:35

and I really appreciate you and , for

48:37

those who are listening , thanks for

48:39

tuning in . You know we will end the stigma

48:41

of invisible conditions by igniting voices

48:43

, and your voice matters

48:46

, and so if you have a story to tell , reach

48:48

out to me . If you

48:50

are inspired by this podcast , please send

48:53

it to all your friends , your family . Please

48:55

subscribe . That really helps us get

48:57

noticed as well . And , if you have the means

48:59

, invisible Condition is being

49:01

built as a nonprofit . Everything

49:06

that we take in is going directly back into this project . So if you have the means , please consider

49:08

donating to keep this podcast

49:11

, as well as other podcasts , up and running . So

49:13

with that I'm Ampreet . Thanks

49:15

for joining .