Celebrations
That Mattered:
Whether in a hospital, a boardroom, on a mountaintop, or even in my own living room, these celebrations capture the human heartbeat that drives meaningful work and remarkable outcomes.
Some are moments I’ve created with teams and organizations — designing experiences that spark connection, strengthen culture, and elevate performance. Others are personal turning points that have shaped my “Celebrate What Matters™” philosophy, the same lens I now bring to every client partnership.
And, as is always the case when we celebrate great stories, there are lessons, wisdom, and inspiration to be found. At the end of each story, just like I love to do with teams, I’ve distilled key takeaways that leaders and organizations can apply to spark connection, strengthen culture, and elevate performance.
Creating Impacts for Teams and Organizations
Celebrating What Matters in Healthcare:
Johns Hopkins Medicine
When Johns Hopkins Medicine invited me to work with them, they weren’t looking for just a keynote concert — they wanted a full-day, culture-building experience to help their people reconnect to purpose and to each other through such uncertain times.
Using my Celebrate What Matters™ approach, we blended facilitation, live music, and storytelling to surface moments of impact, clarify shared values, and give leaders practical tools for lasting connection and self-regulation.
The result: a 96.5% Net Promoter Score, a 16% increase in connection, and ripple effects that live on through ongoing practices like their “Joy Snacks” wellness station.
This story reminds me that celebration can strengthen culture when it’s tied to purpose, and that shared stories help teams see and speak their values in action.
Celebrating the Stories Behind the Achievements:
Ontario Tech University
Ontario Tech University originally invited me to give a 60-minute keynote at their annual staff appreciation event. But, as I listened to their goals — to make people feel seen, connected, and proud — I couldn’t help but pitch a different idea: What if we skipped the standard keynote format and made the honorees the main event?
Together, we turned the ceremony into a celebration of their stories, unlocking the wisdom behind each achievement.
Instead of polite applause, there were tears, laughter, and a renewed sense of pride that carried far beyond the room that day.
This story reminds me that understanding the “why” behind an achievement inspires more than the “what,” and that reimagining traditions can spark reinvigorated events and deeper connection.
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Celebrating Personal Leadership:
Equitable
When Equitable, one of Canada’s largest mutual insurance companies, entered a period of rapid growth and major change, they invited me to design a year-long program to strengthen connection, unify around a reinvigorated purpose, and create a culture of Personal Leadership.
Together, we blended keynote concerts, leadership workshops, manager trainings, and a branded podcast/video series — all built from interviews with team members across the organization to ensure every voice was represented.
Over the year, we celebrated homegrown stories, developed personal leadership skills, and gave teams practical tools to connect with themselves, each other, and their shared purpose.
The result: measurable before/after increases in engagement, collaboration, and readiness to lead.
“He brought out engagement from people that in my seven and a half years here I haven’t seen engaged.”
– Krissy Shantz,
Strategic Communications Partner, Equitable
This story reminds me that listening deeply to stakeholders shapes programs that resonate, and that celebrating homegrown stories builds pride and unity.
Celebrating Wisdom In The Room:
Keller Williams Realty
When Keller Williams Realty approached me, they wanted to shake up their typical recognition events. The original plan was to hand out 150+ awards, with each winner getting a quick photo onstage before moving on. I saw a whole other opportunity.
Each of these award winners had wisdom and ways of doing things that could inspire and benefit the other agents in the room. What if we brought that wisdom to life through their stories, and infused the gathering with true heart and soul?
Over the course of the night, I shared harvested stories of the award winners, weaving in their lessons and the spirit behind their achievements. The feeling was special — the collective wisdom flowed, and by the end of the night, there was a palpable sense of inspiration and “Wow, we’re part of something special here.”
This story reminds me that recognition is most powerful when it transforms individual success into collective learning.
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Celebrating a Life-Changing Product Launch and Collaboration Through Song:
A well-known multinational healthcare company (that prefers to stay anonymous — hence the mystery) was gearing up for a major new product launch that would positively impact millions of lives. They wanted to supercharge the launch team and build collaboration skills in a way people would actually remember.
What better way to do both than writing a song together?
After giving them a crash course in songwriting, we spent the rest of the morning crafting lyrics about the product, the impact it would create, and a hook that everyone could sing.
We recorded a demo right there in the room, complete with laughter, harmonies, and some serious swaying along. By the time lunch rolled around, the team wasn’t just smiling — they were buzzing with joy, connected to each other and the mission, and so proud of what they’d created together.
This story reminds me that shared creativity can ignite team spirit, and that joyful, memorable experiences can make lessons last in a way no slide deck ever could.
Celebrating Conscious Leadership –
The Conscious Leaders Quest
The Conscious Leaders Quest was born from a simple principle: live whatever we seek to teach. Alongside dear friends and fellow Xchange-Certified facilitators Ron Hill and Michael Dietrich-Chastain, we designed an immersive leadership retreat in Nosara, Costa Rica, weaving together our Mind, Body & Business philosophy and Four Pillars — Connection, Ritual, Adventure, and Wisdom.
It’s a living laboratory for leadership, not a lecture, and three years in, we’ve welcomed remarkable leaders from around the world, earning a 100% approval rating and fostering leadership transformations that endure far beyond the retreat.
This story reminds me that leadership is learned best when it’s lived, and that shared adventure can forge bonds and insights that last a lifetime.
Personal Stories
– Lasting Lessons
These stories pull back the curtain on moments that have influenced the “Celebrate What Matters” philosophy and approach, from unexpected collaborations to personal turning points, each carrying lessons that now infuse my work with organizations.
Celebrating Unexpected Impacts:
F.A.C.E.S.
In 2013, I unexpectedly walked into a sold-out theatre in Fort Macleod, Alberta, to discover the audience was there because a youth wilderness program, F.A.C.E.S., had been using my songs in their curriculum (completely unbeknownst to me).
They invited me to join them as a leader — and that summer, I traded concert stages for mountaintops, supporting teenagers as they faced fears, built empathy, practiced integrity, and experienced the key conditions for creating community.
Twelve years later, I still return every summer as a session leader.
This story reminds me that the impact of our work often reaches further than we realize, and that joining someone else’s mission can expand your own in ways you never imagined at the outset.
Celebrating Dreams Come True –
Heartstrings Songwriting Retreat
In the fall of 2024, I finally followed through on a vision I’d been carrying for almost ten years: to create a retreat for people who had always wanted to write and record a song but had no idea how. No experience necessary — just a willingness to try.
I had the perfect location — a magical cottage on a lake I was lucky enough to purchase in 2022 — years of practice facilitating groups and running retreats, and the ideal partner in my best friend Rob Szabo, a Juno Award–winning and Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter with whom I share twenty years of friendship and music. With nothing but a simple invitation to my mailing list and social channels, the inaugural retreat filled almost instantly.
Over 3.5 truly special days, each participant was guided through a highly personalized songwriting journey that resulted in them writing and recording their own song. Three days later, they left with their recordings in hand and the biggest smiles on their faces. The following week, I received the most touching videos of them sharing their songs with loved ones — the pride and joy on their faces will stay with me forever.
We’re sold out again this year and already have a waiting list for the next one.
This story reminds me that when people are given the right space and encouragement, they can create something beyond what they thought possible — and that some visions take years to ripen, but when the moment is finally right, they can bear the sweetest fruit.
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Celebrating Connection Against the Odds
“Living Room Studios”
When the pandemic wiped out all my concerts, keynotes, and facilitations, I found myself — like so many others — suddenly out of work. So, I holed up in my condo with a clear vision: “Like Netflix quality but the person is talking back to you in real time” and virtual experiences that felt as intimate and interactive as being in the same room.
For about six weeks, I was like a possessed scientist — plugging in cables, learning about cameras and lighting, and staying up through the night trying to figure it all out. On the other side of my technological growth spurt, “Living Room Studios” was born (because it was… my living room), and in over the course of the next eighteen months, I delivered over 300 virtual keynote concerts to 150,000 people worldwide.
Along the way, I saw fellow musicians and speakers struggling, so I created free tutorials, hosted free Zoom coaching sessions, and shared everything I’d learned. What was most meaningful during that time was hearing from countless other speakers and musicians about how that had shared knowledge had helped them get back to work too.
This story reminds me that constraints can be a powerful driver of innovation, and that when we seek to lift all boats, we all do better in the end.
Celebrating the Intersection of Art and Science
In Time Podcast
On a walk through Halifax after sharing the stage at an event, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe and I discovered a shared passion for exploring resilience, meaning, and the moments that shape us. That spark became In Time, a podcast blending Robyne’s expertise in psychology with my lens of music and storytelling. Each unscripted episode invites listeners to slow down, uncover what matters most, and carry those insights forward — sparking conversations in families, teams, and organizations across North America.
In response to popular demand, we also developed an offering called “Time To Connect”: a co-led interactive session purposefully designed to unite, recharge, and elevate team cohesion and performance, leaving people with a renewed sense of unity and resiliency.
This story reminds me that great collaborations often begin with a simple, curious conversation, and that unscripted moments can often invite the deepest unseen insights.
Celebrating the Ripple Effect of Doing Things for the Right Reasons
“Halo”
A friend of mine was getting married and asked if I’d play during the ceremony. Honoured, I asked, “What Peter Katz song would you like me to perform?” There was a pause… then he said, “Actually… we’re hoping you can do a Beyoncé song.” Of course I said yes — but suggested maybe I could put my own spin on it to make the moment just right.
I’ll never forget the feeling in the room as the song unfolded — hands squeezed a little tighter, there were tears, smiles, and that head-nodding thing people only do when they’re really digging a song.
He was so grateful that he offered to film me performing it as a little thank you. We set up in my living room, he shot and edited it, and we posted it online. With no plan or expectation, it went viral — 32 million+ views later, couples all over the world have used that version for their own weddings and special moments. (I even recently met Beyoncé’s dad, who watched it and loved it!)
This story reminds me that when you create with genuine intent, unexpected and extraordinary outcomes often follow. In organizational life, that’s how ideas, culture, and brand reputation spread: through authentic moments that inspire others to carry the story forward.
Celebrating Music as an Artefact of Connection
“Everything Unfolding”
With my new album “Everything Unfolding”, I wanted to create music with no deadlines, no commercial agenda — just connection and the love of music.
Working with Grammy Award-winning producer Rich Jacques, we alternated between my cabin in the woods of Ontario and his mountain hideaway in California, letting songs emerge naturally from conversation and presence. The result is an album that feels alive in the moment, an artefact of friendship and creativity that invites each listener to find their own meaning in the work.
This story reminds me that creativity thrives when freed from pressure — and that whether in art or organizations, when people feel safe, valued, and unhurried, their best ideas and most meaningful contributions can emerge.
Celebrating the Power of a Guide –
Glen Hansard
The night I decided to play music for the rest of my life was April 23, 2004, when I saw Glen Hansard and his band The Frames play in Toronto. I had been making music for years but hadn’t fully committed — until something in Glen’s performance crystallized my path.
After the show, not wanting to leave the energy of the night (and listening to a little voice in my head that told me to stay), I lingered outside.
Moments later, Glen walked by. I vulnerably shared the impact he’d had on me, and he invited me back inside to stand on the stage and feel how special it was — planting a future vision for myself that has stayed with me ever since.
For years afterward, Glen’s generosity continued — calling me up on stage at shows, singing on my album, and showing me what it looks like to lift others as you rise. It shaped how I now seek to mentor emerging leaders and artists: by recognizing their spark and creating opportunities for them to shine.
This story is a reminder that leaders, mentors, and guides shape futures — often in small but powerful moments. In the workplace, when leaders take time to encourage and guide others, they plant seeds of confidence and vision that can grow into extraordinary contributions.
