On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2019. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Gary ↗
In their words
I want to talk about the underlying pathology, the underlying situation that's happening right now — and it's our distracted lives.
We mind-wander half the time, and when we mind-wander we're net unhappier. So we're always more happy when we're present — and in this overly distracted world it's becoming harder and harder.
What happens is those connections that we're sacrificing by being distracted, by being on our tech all the time — that's creating this underlying issue where we're not getting that feedback that we've evolved to get.
Quick answers
Who is Gary LeBlanc?
A Toronto entrepreneur, author and speaker who calls himself a life engineer. He co-founded Ikkuma, a holistic consumer health company, and wrote Ikkuma: The Evolution of Vitality. His own site says he is building EverMe and Zero dB Drinks, a national beverage line approved by Health Canada.
What was his TechTO talk about?
Presence, at HealthTO in February 2019. He opened by noting the irony of a former alcohol company vice-president speaking at a health event, then argued that distraction is the underlying pathology beneath a disengaged workforce — and that mindfulness means peripheral awareness amid the noise, not retreat from it.
What is his method?
Nudges. He described the goal as lowering the activation energy between one state and another — small, measurable actions, supported by gamification used as a learning tool rather than as a hook to drive platform usage.