Sterling Creations

Greetings everyone and I’m Christian Robicheau at the Sterling Creations desk.
Well, it is the final week of January and today I’d like to share our president’s perspective on how to obtain trust.
A powerful way to raise one’s personal and professional profile.
See what Donna J. Jodhan is thinking.
Write to Donna at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca with your thoughts.
Happy weekend readers!

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How to Obtain Trust
What exactly is trust?
Trust is the invisible thread that holds together every human interaction, every partnership, every organization, and every society. To me, trust is like maintaining balance while ice skating or riding a bicycle — it requires both courage and steadiness. When we trust, we move forward. When we lose it, we fall.
Without trust, progress becomes impossible. We cannot negotiate in good faith, nor can we build meaningful relationships or sustain communities. Trust is the currency that fuels

collaboration and the foundation upon which all stability rests.
So, how does one obtain trust?
1. Consistency
Trust is not granted overnight; it’s earned through consistent behavior over time. People trust those who do what they say they will do — repeatedly. Consistency in action, tone, and principle signals reliability. It assures others that you are not unpredictable, that your word holds weight.

2. Transparency
Hidden motives and half-truths breed suspicion. Being transparent — about intentions, decisions, and even mistakes — invites understanding rather than doubt. Transparency doesn’t mean oversharing; it means communicating clearly and honestly so others can see your integrity through your actions.

3. Competence
Good intentions are not enough. Trust also depends on capability. We trust pilots to fly planes and doctors to perform surgeries because they’ve demonstrated skill. Likewise, in any field or relationship, competence builds confidence — the belief that you can not only mean well but also deliver.

4. Empathy
Trust flourishes in empathy. When people feel understood and respected, they are more willing to take emotional risks. Listening — truly listening — to others’ perspectives and validating their experiences shows that you care about more than your own outcome.

5. Accountability
Owning up to mistakes is one of the surest ways to strengthen trust. Accountability transforms failure into proof of character. It signals humility and growth — two qualities that make trust not only possible but enduring.

In the end, trust is balance — between confidence and vulnerability, giving and receiving, self and others. Like skating on thin ice, maintaining it requires awareness, patience, and care. But once established, trust becomes the ground beneath our feet — the quiet force that allows us to move forward together.

I’d like to leave you with this for your consideration.
An insightful guide that explores the principles and actions needed to earn and maintain trust in personal and professional relationships. The article highlights the importance of honesty, consistency, empathy, and accountability, offering practical steps to build credibility and foster genuine connections over time.

To learn more about me as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate visit www.donnajodhan.com

Image = A minimalist illustration shows four stylized hands of different colors—green, red, orange, and blue—grasping each other’s wrists in a circular formation, symbolizing unity, teamwork, and mutual support against a light beige background.

To learn more about me as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate visit www.donnajodhan.com

Greetings readers and I’m Scott Savoy at the Sterling Creations desk.
Today I am very pleased to share our president’s editorial with you and for this week Donna J. Jodhan’s focuses on how can we balance the playing field.
Take care everyone and enjoy your weekend.

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How Can We Balance The Playing Field
By Donna J. Jodhan

We live in a world that prides itself on progress, yet the “playing field” remains anything but level. Across the globe, people’s access to opportunities is shaped by factors they do not choose: the culture they are born into, whether they live with a disability, their gender, or the size of their household income. These differences are not just personal details — they are barriers that determine who gets through the door of opportunity and who is left waiting outside.

For women in many societies, systemic biases still limit career advancement, political representation, and economic independence. For people with disabilities, physical access, workplace accommodations, and social inclusion remain uneven. For communities from marginalized cultures, discrimination and stereotypes still influence hiring, housing, and education. And when poverty intersects with any of these, the obstacles multiply.

Opportunities and rights should not be privileges granted to a select few; they should be the shared foundation of society. Yet the reality is stark: a student from a low-income household may never see the inside of a university classroom, even if they have the talent; a qualified candidate may be passed over because of their accent, appearance, or mobility needs; a woman may be paid less for the same work, without recourse.

Balancing the field will require more than good intentions. It will require policy changes — from enforcing equal pay laws to strengthening disability rights legislation, from expanding affordable education to ensuring universal healthcare. It will require investment — in accessible infrastructure, community outreach, and targeted scholarship and training programs. It will require cultural change — challenging stereotypes, dismantling biases, and creating inclusive spaces in every sphere of life.

We can no longer treat inequality as an abstract social issue. It is a measurable, visible imbalance that harms economies, wastes talent, and erodes trust in our institutions. A fairer field benefits everyone: when more people can contribute their skills and ideas, society grows richer — not just financially, but in innovation, empathy, and resilience.

The question is not whether we can afford to balance the field. The real question is whether we can afford not to.

I’d like to leave you with this for your consideration.
Title: “Leveling the Ground”
Scene Description:
A wide, symbolic “playing field” stretches across the image—half of it is elevated and smooth, while the other half is rough, sloped, and full of obstacles like rocks, barriers, and holes.
On the elevated side, individuals are casually walking or running with ease. They’re dressed differently—some in business attire, others in sports gear—symbolizing varied sectors like education, careers, sports, and opportunity.
On the lower, uneven side, people are struggling to move forward. Some are helping each other climb; others are trying to push past the obstacles. Among them are children, people of different races, genders, and abilities—visibly symbolizing systemic inequities.
In the center, a large crane or set of hands is depicted restructuring the field—removing barriers, laying bridges, or flattening the surface—symbolizing collective effort toward fairness. This visual “balancing” action is being powered by diverse figures—educators, policymakers, activists, and everyday people—each holding tools like books, ballots, megaphones, or blueprints.
Tone & Style:
•
Artistic and metaphorical rather than hyperrealistic.
•
Slightly stylized or illustrated in a way that feels hopeful yet grounded.
•
A color palette that shifts from muted/dark on the uneven side to warm and vibrant on the balanced side.

Image = An illustration depicts two large hands placing a plank to bridge a gap between two cliffs, enabling people on the left, who are running on smooth ground, to cross over to the right side where others struggle to navigate rocky terrain; below, a diverse group of individuals collaborate by reading, planning, speaking through a megaphone, holding blueprints, and assisting others, symbolizing teamwork and support to overcome obstacles.

To learn more about me as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate visit www.donnajodhan.com

Greetings everyone and I’m Christian Robicheau wishing everyone a super 2026.
Glad to be back and for today, our president Donna J. Jodhan shares a perspective from a reader.
Donna would love to hear from you with your thoughts.
You can write to her at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca
Enjoy your wintry January weekend.

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The Clinic
Submitted by a reader
As we go through our daily lives, we all see people who need
to go to the “Clinic”. We have many medical doctors who read
these letters, and this one is dedicated to them.

The Clinic
I went to the Lord’s Clinic for my routine checkup and it
was confirmed that I was ill.
When Jesus took my blood pressure, He saw I was low on
tenderness.
When He read my temperature, it read 40 degrees of anxiety!
He ran an electrocardiogram and found that I needed several
“love bypasses” since my arteries were blocked with
loneliness and could not provide for an empty heart.
I went to orthopedics because I would not walk by my
brother’s side and I could not hug my friends, since I had
fractured myself when tripping with envy.
He also found I was short sighted since I could not see
beyond the shortcomings of my brothers and sisters.
When I complained about deafness,the diagnostic was that
I had stopped listening to Jesus’ voice on a daily basis.
For all that Jesus gave me a free consultation thanks to His
mercifulness, so my pledge is to, once I leave this clinic, only
take the natural remedies that He prescribed through His
words of truth:

1. Every morning take a full glass of gratitude;
2. When getting to work, take one spoon of peace;
3. Every hour, take one pill of patience, one cup of
brotherhood and one glass of humility;
4. When getting home, take one glass of LOVE;
5. When getting ready for bed, take two caplets of clear
conscience;
Do not give into desperation or sadness for what you are

going through today…remember God knows how you feel…
He knows exactly and with perfection what is being allowed
to happen to you in your life at this precise moment.
God’s purpose for you is simply perfect!! He wants to show
you things that only you can understand by living what you
are living and being in the place you are now!

May God give you:
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear a smile.
For every care a promise,
And a blessing in each trial!!!

For every problem life sends:
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer to every prayer!!!

I’d like to leave you with this for your consideration.
The Clinic tells the story of an ordinary patient who walks into a sterile white room expecting a routine diagnosis, but instead receives something life-altering — not for the body, but for the soul. The doctor, a soft-spoken and remarkably compassionate figure, listens with deep patience, his presence radiating calm and understanding. Instead of prescribing pills or procedures, he offers words that heal from within — a diagnosis that challenges the patient to open their heart, to choose empathy over indifference, and kindness over fear.
As the conversation unfolds, the clinic transforms from a place of medical care into a sanctuary of human connection. The fluorescent lights seem to soften; the ticking clock fades. In this small, quiet room, a new form of healing takes place — one that reminds the patient that true wellness isn’t only measured by physical health, but by the capacity to care for others.
By the time the patient leaves, nothing outward has changed — yet everything feels different. The doctor’s gentle wisdom lingers like sunlight after rain: an invisible prescription for a more compassionate life.

Image = A softly lit clinic room shows a compassionate doctor with a stethoscope seated near a patient on an exam bed. The patient faces him, one hand over his heart, listening. A rain-spattered window behind them holds a pale rainbow. On a small table between them are several glowing glass bottles marked with simple symbols (heart, leaf, moon, handshake), echoing themes of love, peace, patience, and rest. An ECG screen with a heart icon and a wall clock complete the quiet, hopeful scene.

To learn more about me as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate visit www.donnajodhan.com

Happy 2026 everyone and I’m Scott Savoy kicking things off for the new year.
We at Sterling Creations hope that all of our readers had a wonderful festive holiday season and are now ready to get down to business.
So to start things off our president Donna J. Jodhan shares her perspective on more awareness needed.
Donna wants to hear from you.
Send her your thoughts to donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca
Enjoy your weekend.

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More Awareness Needed
By Donna J. Jodhan

We are living in a world where iDevices and screens have become near-permanent fixtures in our daily lives. From the moment we wake up to the last minutes before sleep, our attention is increasingly consumed by notifications, apps, and endless scrolling.

While technology has brought us closer in many ways, it has also distanced us from something essential — awareness.
We are not listening enough.
We are not reading with the full attention we once gave to a single sentence, a paragraph, or a message. Too often, we skim emails, missing key information and context. We misinterpret messages, overlook details, and create confusion — all because we didn’t truly read or listen.

When someone speaks to us, how often are we really present? Our eyes might flicker up from the screen momentarily, our heads nod reflexively, but the message doesn’t land. We’re half-engaged, more absorbed by the digital world in our palms than the real people before us.

This isn’t just a bad habit — it’s a growing problem. Communication thrives on attention, and attention is becoming a scarce resource.
iDevices, as brilliant as they are, should not be allowed to dominate every interaction. There needs to be a shift — a conscious effort to prioritize real connection over constant connectivity.
So what’s the call to action?
We need more awareness.
More awareness in our conversations. More presence in our reading. More mindfulness in our listening. We must reclaim our attention from the devices that are constantly vying for it and learn to give it — fully — to the moments and people that truly deserve it.

Awareness isn’t just a skill — it’s a practice. And in today’s world, it might just be the most important one we can cultivate.

I’d like to leave you with this for your consideration.
A dimly lit city street at twilight. In the center, a person stands holding a bright lantern—its warm light illuminating only a small circle around them. Surrounding the person are figures fading into the shadows, barely visible—representing issues or causes that are overlooked or ignored (e.g., climate change, mental health, discrimination, etc.).
Above them, faint words and symbols float in the darkness—each symbolizing different social, environmental, or health concerns. The overall feeling is that of partial clarity, suggesting that while some progress has been made, most of the landscape remains in obscurity.
In the background, a billboard reads:
“See what’s in the dark. Speak what’s unheard.”
— highlighting the central call to action: raising awareness.

Image = A person in a hoodie stands in the center of a dimly lit street at night, holding a lantern that casts a small pool of light around them, while shadowy human figures stand motionless in the background. Above the central figure, bold white text reads: ‘See what’s in the dark. Speak what’s unheard.’ Faint symbols and words like ‘CLIMATE’, ‘MENTAL HEALTH’, ‘DISCRIMINATION’, and ‘POVERTY’ float in the dark background, suggesting hidden or overlooked societal issues. The atmosphere is somber and mysterious, emphasizing themes of awareness and advocacy.
To learn more about me as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate visit www.donnajodhan.com