Welcome to Invest in Yourself, the The Entrepreneur Podcast. Join the podcast mogul Phil Better as he interviews successful entrepreneurs that make their living in the digital world. Now, let's join your host Phil Better as his special guest today on Invest in Yourself, The Digital Entrepreneur Podcast.

Welcome to another episode of Invest in Yourself, the Digital Entrepreneur podcast, where we dive into the journey of those who have carved their own paths in the digital world. Today, we have a guest who brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective of overcoming adversity and and embracing cultural diversity to achieve personal and professional success. Born and raised in Albania, our guests cross continents to make Canada her home over 2 decades ago, embracing the riches of her native and adopted cultures. She has navigated through personal and professional challenges, transforming them into stepping stones towards success. A graduate in business management, she ventured into the world of numbers, but not just any numbers. No. She's a seasoned tax accountant with a twist. She has spent 20 years in the field working both for the government of Canada and our own private CPA practices in lower mainland.

However, that however, what sets her apart is her approach to the profession. She believes that that only barrier between people and their potential abundance are blocks and limiting beliefs, making her not so not so traditional accountant. Beyond her professional endeavors, she's a loving mother, an avid reader, and a yoga enthusiast, after my own heart pretty much. She's she's dedicated herself to daily education through literature, art, healing, and healthy living, and is deeply passionate about life. Her commitment to growth and empowerment extends beyond her personal development, and she's also a co author of 2 insightful books, navigating through human experience and addicted to bliss. A recognized voice in empowering women, she has graced several stages as a key note speaker at Women Powering Events in Vancouver and shares her expertise at the BCFM conference on human resources focusing on employee versus contractor dynamics. So please welcome me, please welcome the, a remarkable individual whose journey and insight inspires us all to navigate to the next level. Please give a warm welcome to Alma Torelli.

Alma, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you so much for having me here for having me here. I am so excited to join your podcast. We came across in Facebook. So, when you invited me, I'm like, oh, finally, I get a chance to speak to your podcast also. Pleasure. It's my pleasure to be here.

I'm so excited to start talking because you're you have a very unique story because you you you're you're you came from another country, traveled all the way to Canada. I have to ask you first of all, because as a Canadian, I have to know, why did you choose Canada? Why Canada?

Well, I was born and raised in Albania, and I moved to Canada because I got married, actually. My husband was a Canadian citizen. I got married, and I moved here. But apart from this, I have to say that I love Canada. It's my home country now. I embraced this country from day 1 that I came, and I have had so many opportunities being here. It's a wonderful country to live. If I had to choose now to go back or to leave anywhere else, I would not I would not change place.

So this is my home now.

So you you've you've come accustomed to the cold

that the winters come. Initially, we used to live in Toronto, and it was cold. We moved in Vancouver, and I love it here. I

love it.

Place to to be. I love Vancouver. I have to tell you that it's quite a bit of change from where I come from because, the way I was raised and grew up, Albania was a communist country. So coming from the regime and moving here was a huge, change for me. I'm an accountant. As you said, I'll introduce myself to your, listener. And, I used for CRA, Canada Revenue Agency, in the beginning here and moved to work with different practices around Vancouver. And I have noticed in my experience that people and money act a certain way, and we always think that money is physical and it is beyond that.