During a five-year professional stay in China, where I experienced many questions and contradictions with my "Western" perception of the world, I began to research the stages of the construction of our "system", the one in which we were educated, the one in which we live and which is currently undergoing transformation.

From our early childhood, we absorb what our environment teaches us. If we were born somewhere else, we would think differently. The people around us teach us what is done, what is not done, what success is, what failure is, what happiness is – or the illusion of happiness – what is the path to success in our culture and in our society.

With all my background, all my experiences, all my studies, years of exhaustive reading, research, analysis, meetings, discussions and training – including that on Theory U at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) – which I have been doing seriously for over 20 years – it has become essential for me to share what I have learned, understood and what I continue to learn and understand.

It has been said of me: “A great communicator, MJ shares her learnings with passion and conviction in order to help people better navigate today’s world.”

I have made it my mission to inform and raise awareness in a simple, concrete and pleasant way, as many people as possible about the foundations of our economic system, the creation of money, the importance of our cultural and professional environment and the essence of what each of us is viscerally for himself or herself. The ultimate goal is to support people so that they succeed in flourishing in their professional life and have a positive impact.

During my own struggles, I did a lot of research, interviews, reading. One day, I woke up! A few years later, it became my mission, my cause to help people in the job market, or early retirement, to have a better understanding of our system, to have more open-mindedness, to strengthen their critical thinking, to develop their courage to dare and finally, to facilitate a support network with those who wish to have a positive impact to improve their environment.

Through a specific path, I discovered my intrinsic, deep motivation, the one that makes me want to wake up every day. Fellow DOTters who are – or have been – members of the DOT Advisory Committee, helped me formulate my mission:

“An honest and solid approach to transformation; DOT is my cause. Because that I know that life is a gift, I accompany professionals from all walks of life. horizons in learning, reflection and the implementation of positive actions, which helps create a better world.”

MJ Caya

I was born in Lac-Saint-Jean. My parents met through a dating agency! They were pioneers and I owe my life to this agency that introduced them to each other because they both loved “music”.

The only quarrels my parents had were about "music"! My mother, a notary's daughter, loved great classical music and opera. My father, the son of a farmer and a winter road worker, loved Gladys Mills and American musical culture.

My mother trained as a nurse and made a career change when she became a teacher. Among other things, she taught psychology to nursing assistants.

My father, an English speaker, was an accountant in the oil industry. The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business Week were part of what was lying around on the tables. With my father, I often peeled vegetables on the stock market quotes pages and he explained to me what the stock market was, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and what I could read on these two pages of the newspaper like: "IBM", the acronym for the company International Business Machines.

My mother taught us things like, “What goes on in other people’s heads is none of your business.” My father said things like, “There aren’t multiple races on the planet, there are two: male and female.” If he were alive today, he would learn that it’s more complicated than that…that there’s all LGBTQ++.

I was very ill at the age of 7 (kidneys) which made me understand at a very young age that I could die at any time, and that life was short.

As a teenager, when we were asked at school what job or profession we were interested in, I couldn't answer like the others because everything interested me. I became an actress to be able to touch on – superficially – several professions. This first professional training gave me the opportunity to work for more than a decade in the artistic world.

Be punctual and always be ready

Work as a team and give credit to those who did the work

Being able to improvise and think of a solution

Listen actively to understand what others mean

Adapt quickly to last-minute changes

Accept temporary discomforts at 100%

Maintain a positive attitude (seeing the glass half full)

Trusting yourself and taking care of yourself

Trust all team members

Respect others; their opinions, tastes, comments, perceptions, personalities.

One spring day in my twenties, I took the time to write down everything I wanted to do in my life. When I added up all the years it would take me to do everything I wanted to do, the calculator told me I had to live 729 years! Realizing in your early twenties that you won't be able to do everything you want in your life is a rude awakening! In life, to have a sense of satisfaction, you have to prioritize... that is, eliminate.

Being an optimist by nature, I had reduced my list to keep 125 years busy! I had kept the item "go live abroad for a few years" ... and in 2003, with my partner, we went to live and work in China. And that's where DOT was born!

In our increasingly individualistic world, the collective dimension has become important to me.

The day we register as a piece of a collective dynamic – in our life
professional or private – the vision and understanding of our environments changes.

Feeling in harmony with a good portion of citizens – employees and entrepreneurs – who move forward without making headlines, who get moving to face one or more issues that we experience and that affect us. Everywhere on Earth there are movements, groups, individuals who are transforming their environment – personal and professional – for the better. Participating in large numbers in this momentum towards a better tomorrow, each in their own field, each in their own corner of the country, is fascinating.

A few years ago, I discovered my deep, intrinsic motivation that makes me happy every day. I want to support you so that I can do the same.