Be Inspired in your
RetiremeantTM Journey
Our Retirementors and clients in RetiremeantTM offer excellent articles to help you live a full and balanced life: read about Health, Purpose, Relationships, Money, Work, Learning, Play andGiving back.
Latest Blogs
In keeping with our Chartered philosophy of living holistic and fulfilling retirements, we love to share stories of how our clients are doing just that – in a variety of contexts, for a number of reasons, and with positive outcomes (sometimes, very interesting ones!). We invite you to read, comment, share … and be inspired and inspiring!
Review of FINDING ME by Viola Davis
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From Priest to Painter – Gill’s journey
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The Never-Ending Journey of Learning
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Spotlight on Negester Onrusrivier
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From rugby fields to empty nests
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Review of The Good Life and How to Live It
Lessons from the World’s Longest Study on Happiness by Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz
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Reinventing Retirement – Cheryl and Duncan’s Journey
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U3A – A Look Over the Fence
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Spotlight on Eastlands Mature Lifestyle Estate
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Age ain’t nothing but a playlist track!
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Review of I am Ella by Joanne Jowell
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Spotlight on Sondela Senior Lifestyle Estate
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Ubuntu in Action – The inspiring legacy of the Donaldson Trust
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How balanced is your life in retirement?
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How things can change in the blink of an eye
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A review of 1000 Ultimate Travel Experiences: Make the Most of Your Time on Earth
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Dare to Ask: Embracing Courage in Seeking Assistance and Discovering New Possibilities
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AnneArtz: A Story of Creativity, Resilience, and Inspiration
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Retirement Villages Spotlight – The Retreat Retirement Estate, Hazeldean, Pretoria
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Say yes to life! Live every minute … every second
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A review of Breathe (Strategising Energy in the Age of Burnout) by Dr Ela Manga
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Unleash Your Creativity and Boost Your Mental Health with Neurographic Art
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Retirement Villages Spotlight – Amber Ridge, Howick, KZN
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First time running the Two Oceans Marathon
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A review of The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
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Garden Route Slackpacking Adventure Trip
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Preserving Our Legacy: The importance of recording memories
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Retirement Villages – Spotlight on Waterfall Valley Mature Lifestyle Estate
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First time welcoming new members into our family
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Cleaning up your Mental Mess by Dr Caroline Leaf
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2023 – the year of trying new things
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Winemaking in your Backyard
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Retirement Villages Spotlight – Woodside Village
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A first-time experience – learning in Africa
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Review of Atomic Habits by James Clear
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Phinda, pangolins and a once-in-a-lifetime experience
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2023 – the year of trying new things
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Retirement Villages – Spotlight on Randjes Estate
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Dare to experience the unexperienced
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Chartered events – 2022
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Bread – one of life’s simple pleasures
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Santiago de Compostela Cycling Holiday
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When What If becomes If Only
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Return to self – Margie’s weight loss journey
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Mindfulness – a way of perceiving, thinking, and behaving
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Breathe in. Breathe out.
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Ladles of Love
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The gift of preparation
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National Wills Week – don’t be daunted by relooking at your Will
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Cold Water Swimming
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When last have you embraced your childlike spirit?
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Freehold Title, Sectional Title or Life Rights – what’s best for you?
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Where should I live- taking yourself with you
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Retirement Estates – Understanding your options
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Where will you live in retirement?
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Radical Acceptance
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Don’t close the book when you can start a new chapter
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Perfectly balanced
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Extract from The Last Road Trip
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What are you waiting for?
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BirdLife South Africa’s 2022 FLOCK CRUISE TO MARION ISLAND
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Where purpose and passion meet
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Slowing down to enjoy the stops along the way
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Clear your clutter – inside and out
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Clearing the clutter
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Why giving brings more joy than keeping
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Building a new career of relevance and meaning in retirement
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Chartered give back initiatives – 2022
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Paying it forward
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Experiences of a Covid-19 patient
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What’s your personal word for 2022?
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What gifts will the interesting detours of 2022 bring you?
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A look back at our online client events during 2021
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Reflections on turning 60 – the good, the bad, and the ugly
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Wellington Wine Walk – June 2021
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“Music gives soul to the universe and wings to the mind”
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Spring Reads & Eats
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A South African Spring adventure
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We all need basic human interaction
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Blooming through disruptive times
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Ring the bells that can still ring
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There’s a hero inside all of us
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July Winter Warmers
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Lending a helping hand this Mandela month
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Giving back through skills sharing
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Lean on me – lean on you
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Winter warmers
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My experience of the vaccine
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Keeping tabs on our physical wellbeing
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Showing up can make all the difference
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From languishing to flourishing
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Helping aspiring entrepreneurs bring their business ideas to life
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Midlife Money Makeover book review
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Dreams can come true
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Bringing some fun back into our lives
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Our Route 62 motorbike road trip from 20 February to 6 March 2021
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You’re not imagining it
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Get Journaling
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Extracts from an (Eventless) Diary
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Learning another language
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Living in the Present
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The best-laid plans go awry
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Making 2021 your best year ever
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Meet your Expert Retirementors

Dr. Dorian Mintzer
M.S.W., Ph.D., Board Certified Coach
With over 40 years of clinical experience, Dr. Dorian (aka Dori) Mintzer is an experienced therapist; retirement transition, relationship, and executive coach; consultant; writer; speaker and teacher. Her expertise in adult development, holistic life planning and positive psychology, combined with her life experiences, have led to her passion helping individuals and couples embrace their life and “bonus years” as a time to learn, grow and evolve. She is founder of two free virtual communities, The Boomers and Beyond Special Interest Group for inter-disciplinary professionals and a monthly webinar–the 4th Tuesday Revolutionize your Retirement Interview with Expert’s Series to Help you Create a Fulfilling Second Half of Life for professionals and the public.
She is co-author of The Couples Retirement Puzzle: The 10 Must-Have Conversations for Creating an Amazing New Life Together, and of the LPN book, Live Smart After 50!, and has contributed to other books such as Not your Mother’s Retirement, 65 Thing to do when you Retire, 70 Things to do when you Turn 70 and 80 Things to do when you Turn 80, and she co-produced The Career Playbook: Second Half Plays eBook. She has been featured in the NY Times, WS Journal, USA Today, CNN Money, ABC evening News and the Today Show and has done a TedX New Bedford presentation: “Embracing your Bonus Years.“ Her website is www.revolutionizeretirement.com. Dori lives in Brookline, MA with her husband and son (when he’s home from college) and works in person and over the phone.

Jeunesse Park
Jeunesse Park is a visionary who pioneered vital climate and greening initiatives in South Africa and has been globally recognised for her work. In 1989 she founded, and then ran Food & Trees for Africa, conceptualising their core programmes that planted well over 4 million trees, developed thousands of permaculture food gardens and grown climate change and environmental awareness, whilst enriching lives and landscapes.
Jeunesse introduced urban forestry, urban agriculture and Permaculture to South Africa and lobbied for their inclusion in government policy. She initiated South Africa’s first carbon calculator, the Carbon Protocol and the Climate Change Leadership Awards. She was a Brand Ambassador for both Toyota and Audi SA.
Her work has been recognised through several United Nations and other global and local awards, such as the Mail and Guardian Green Trust Award for Established Environmentalists of South Africa, the Mail and Guardian Chairman’s Award for Excellence, the International Chevron Conservation Award, the Nelson Mandela Forestry Award, the Arbor Foundation Award and the United Nations Environment Programme Sasakawa Award for Climate Change.
Jeunesse has run various awards and high profile events and adjudicated awards such as the EduPlant competition, the South African Breweries Environmental Awards, the Johnny Walker Strides and Real Simple Awards. She has featured in many publications including the Book of South African Women and 100 Good Ideas, Celebrating 20 Years of Democracy.
She was singled out as Al Gore’s first African Climate Leader, appeared in two 24 Hours of Reality and founded and ran the African Climate Reality Project. She facilitated Gore’s training of 700 new African Climate Leaders in March 2014, appeared on two of his 24 Hours of Reality initiatives, has attended trainings around the globe and has mentored many African Climate Leaders.
Jeunesse is an alumna of HRH Prince Phillip’s CSCLeaders and as an international environmental award winner is invited to the European Environment Convention annually. She received an Honorary Doctorate from Rhodes University (2016).
She is currently on the Boards of Solar-Aid and the Carbon Protocol, and is an advisor for Fossil Free SA and Simply Green magazine, as well as consulting for various NGOs.
Jeunesse lives and works with an understanding that one can change the world so that there is enough for all forever. Her passion is for a better life on a healthier planet.

Lynda Smith
Lynda is an excellent Social Entrepreneur and networker able to connect the right people, thereby creating synergy and dynamism. She has a real passion for children, women in leadership and understanding how we as South Africans can unlock skills development and grow the economy. Lynda feels strongly that the social landscape of South Africa will only be influenced when South Africans understand how important it is to play an active role in the development of the future generation.
Lynda is the CEO of Refirement Network, a business involved in helping organisations and Baby Boomers to understand the opportunities and challenges that the future holds for this demographic group. Her work focuses around helping Baby Boomers plan for their next season of life and identify where they can still add value in business and society. She is also involved in helping organisations develop a Baby Boomer business strategy going forward, to retain their necessary skills, experience and organisational wisdom and plan for the changing world of work. Refirement Network hosts conferences, workshops and other public events, is involved in educating organisations and Baby Boomers through the media, assists companies with Baby Boomer strategy and wisdom preservation, and conducts life coaching for the retirement years.
Lynda began her business career in education when she started her own Educational School Supplies business. She then joined the direct sales division of Smile Education Systems where she eventually became the Sales and Marketing Director and then the International Director. She then helped grow the MySchool program with Woolworths in South Africa, which assists schools with funding on a sustainable basis. She has also worked with the TomorrowToday.biz team, helping companies understand how the world is changing and the challenges and opportunities of working in the 21st Century. She is currently also involved with pioneering a social project focusing on parenting and the development of the 6 million children under 6 in our Nation.
Lynda has 2 married adult children and 2 grandchildren. Her hobbies include reading, learning, theatre, movies, travel and socializing with friends and family. She is a committed Christian and spends time helping in her community.
Read about Retirement and Life Coaching through the Refirement Newtork

Pat Blamire
Pat understands the importance of having financial peace of mind; her personal experience in keeping her own financial affairs in order urged her to pursue a career in financial planning. The freedom gained in achieving financial freedom led her to help individuals in the same situation.
Pat places her clients at the centre of her aim to achieve precision in her financial plans, creating the best possible solution for them.
Pat is a CFP® professional. She.has a post-graduate Certificate in Advanced Taxation, and a post-graduate Diploma in Financial Planning, to expand her expertise on retirement funds.
After qualifying in 2003, Pat joined Acsis as an Institutional Asset Consultant, consulting to retirement funds. In 2006, she completed her Advanced post-graduate Diploma in Financial Planning, specialising in investments, and in 2012 completed the module specialising in Advanced Estate Planning.
Pat joined Chartered Wealth Solutions 2007, where she continues to guide her clients on their financial journey into retirement.
Pat was a finalist in the Financial Planner of the Year 2010 competition. She regularly writes articles for various financial publications, and appears on TV talk shows.
Pat’s second love is nature, and grabs any opportunity to visit the bush. She has a Field Guide Association of South Africa (FGASA) Level 1 qualification. She is a devoted mother to two sons and has a zest for life and curiosity that continually results in new goals and achievements.
Lean more about Chartered Wealth Solutions.

Kim Potgieter CFP®
Director and Head of Life Planning at Chartered Wealth Solutions
Brand Ambassador for Retire Successfully
Kim’s position as Head of Life Planning at Chartered Wealth Solutions enables her to make magic in people’s lives by helping them merge money with meaning, bringing a fresh approach to retirement. The “magic” that Kim brings to the topic of retirement and the passion she has for the second half of life, has distinguished her as Brand Ambassador for Retire Successfully.
She encourages people to understand and embrace their relationship with money, and her most joyful moments encompass discussing with clients how money can enable the fulfilment of goals, dreams and aspirations in their current lives, as well as in their retirement years.
Kim is a Registered Financial Life Planner, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, a Professional Certified Coach (PPC)TM (International Coach Federation), a Certified Dare to LeadTM Facilitator, and a New Money Story® Mentor Coach. She is well qualified to guide people in pursuing the life they truly desire – by helping them put their money in the right place. Her Industrial and Clinical Psychology degrees further enable her to assist clients in merging their money with meaning, bringing a fresh perspective to RetiremeantTM.
With the aim to share her innovative perspective on retirement, Kim, together with Chartered Wealth Solutions, established this consumer retirement lifestyle website. Kim also founded the Women in Finance Network, a forum for women in the financial services industry where members meet through organised events and are able to share experiences and learn from one another.
Kim is also an accomplished author and her first book Retiremeant: Get More Meaning from your Money (Jacana) was published in 2015. Kim’s message is that creating your best life cannot be left to chance: she demonstrates that taking an active role in preparing for your retirement enables you to live without regrets. The book offers readers an opportunity to see things differently – to be open to learning and new possibilities.
Kim is passionate on the subject of retirement and views retiring as a new chapter – something clients should retire to, and not from. She is frequently asked to write about life planning in journals such as The Financial Planner and has also made numerous television and radio appearances. Kim runs Retirement Preparation workshops for corporate clients and advises clients on what she believes defines a successful retirement. She also runs workshops for financial planners, encouraging them to engage in life planning discussions to help clients get a return on investment and a return on life.

Lyndsay Barr
Lyndsay Barr is currently the writer for Chartered Wealth Solutions. With a background in social work, and many years’ experience working in the NPO sector, Lyndsay is very passionate about people. Giving back to those less fortunate is something that drives her, and in her spare time, she runs a charity assisting the children and staff of the Paediatric Burns Unit at Baragwanath.
Writing has always been her creative outlet, and she has trained hundreds of delegates in Business English at various corporates in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Her pride and joy are her teenage son and daughter and her husband.

Joni Peddie
Joni Peddie is a Behavioural Strategist, who will use her abundant energy to ignite new thinking and ways of seeing what’s potentially holding you back from being resilient, vibrantly energised and agile. In a time-pressurised world of stress and disruption, there is no better way to anchor new mental models, habits and behaviours than participating in this session with Joni. Participation, engagement and relevant activities to mentally, emotionally and physically embed today’s learning is what her gift to you will be!
Joni Peddie’s first book is The FAB Quotient, aligns with her self proclaimed purpose on the planet. On a daily basis, we should all be incredibly conscious and mindful about how we: Fuel our bodies, Activate our brains & Behave… towards ourselves and others!
Joni is busy writing her 2nd book: SLEEP is The Swiss Army Knife of Health.
Joni believes that Personal, Team, Departmental and Organisational behaviour shifts require MEASUREMENT. It’s easier to manage what you measure. This needs to happen at the start, as well as on the client-crafted Journey and measurement at the end, in order to ‘celebrate’ the deliverables of the Journey!
Joni uses internationally accredited Online Assessments, which are pragmatic, insightful and ignite thinking around the ‘So what, now what?’ This is necessary after collating the results from the assessments.
The variety of assessments include the Enneagram Personality System and a wide variety of Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessments. Six Seconds, founded in 1997, and now in 25 countries and is the first and largest organization 100% dedicated to the development of emotional intelligence.
Joni has run this business for 22 years. Before that she worked for three multinationals: Unilever; Kimberly Clark and Bristol-Myers Squibb, in marketing; sales and senior leadership positions reporting into London.
Besides facilitating organisational culture change, team performance workshops; speaking at conferences and writing books, Joni is an avid trail & road runner with 5 Comrades, and 6 Two Oceans Ultra Marathons under her belt.
As a Behavioural Strategist, her fascination lies in meeting and working with people from around the world. She is based in South Africa and loves to travel and immerse herself in different cultures. Luckily her husband, Gavin, shares the same interests and they choose off-beat places both locally & internationally to travel to each year.
Joni’s pride and joy are her two daughters, both studying at University… learning, growing and contributing, as a way of finding their own purpose on the planet. The Purpose of Life is a Life of Purpose.
Joni: Key Note Speaker / Workshop Facilitator for Teams & Organisational Change initiatives / Enneagram; EQ & Resilience Coach / Info-taining MC
