“We’re launching Flourish as a weekend retreat, so stay tuned for that. It will be at a local destination. It will be people like Kerry [Clarke] who is one of my go-to’s at Locale, Novia [McDonald-Whyte], and just people of excellence,” said co-founder and president of the Heart Institute of the Caribbean (HIC) Dr Dainia Baugh, who also helms medical spa DB Glow.

The announcement came at the tail end of a transformative afternoon of engaging, and interactive sessions led by the dynamic duo of attorney-at-law-cum-happiness coach Rochelle Gapere and educational consultant Nicole McLaren-Campbell; the team of Dr Dainia Baugh and ob/gyn and menopause specialist at Charis Women’s Wellness Centre Dr Astrid Batchelor; and Jamaica Observer Senior Associate Editor, Lifestyle and Social Content Novia McDonald-Whyte, and facilitated by wellness coach Rose Tavares-Finson.

Journalling to create a clear vision

Session One kicked off with a rapid-fire prompt from Gapere. The Amazon best-selling author asked the participants, who had filled the Jamaica Pegasus Talk of the Town suite, to go to someone they did not know, and say ‘Hi Flourisher’, while giving them a high five. The room erupted in activity as men and women greeted each other with ‘Hi, Flourisher’ and ‘Flourishing looks good on you’ salutes.

Once settled, the group would hear the journeys of both McLaren-Campbell and Gapere. Gapere, a Campion College alum, went on to graduate with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law in 2005. “I was stagnated,” said Gapere as she relived her years of practising law. “But guess what? My mother gave me the gift of journalling at the age of 17… journalling is so powerful. Literally you’re writing the script of your life,” she said.

McLaren-Campbell’s journey was eerily similar. “Hi, I’m Nicole McLaren-Campbell, and I have been visioning for a long time. The first time I articulated a vision for myself was because I was asked. I was 13 years old, and I had been a part of a global youth summit, and this was on Nickelodeon, and I talked about wanting to connect and empower young people,” she explained. Years later, that vision has become her reality as the Princeton-educated McLaren-Campbell, who quickly became unfulfilled in her Wall Street job, has crafted a career helping students prepare for tertiary education and secure the best scholarships possible at AIM Educational Services and AIM Higher Foundation.

The two women, both successful in their own rights, credit the art of journalling and visioning to their success, with Gapere using Daniel Pink’s The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward
book as a benchmark.

Thriving through change

Dr Dainia Baugh then invited Dr Batchelor onstage for an extension of the discourse they started last October at The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause
screening. With years of experience between them, the doctors guided the diverse audience through the nuances of perimenopause and menopause, while pausing to answer their burning questions. The men gave the women the floor, as they asked ‘how this year’s theme, “Her Heart Matters”, explores the crucial relationship between menopause and women’s heart health, highlighting the importance of awareness and preventative strategies.

Showing up as your best self

Session three saw the Jamaica Observer’s McDonald-Whyte addressing the topic of excellence. Excellence, she proposed, is about repetition. It is doing, and doing, and doing until you get it right… you do not just wake up and become successful. You don’t, so what we just saw [Dr Baugh & Dr Batchelor’s presentations] is a culmination of years of blood, sweat, and tears,” said McDonald-Whyte.

“You have to be smarter, you have to put in the work… you have to wake up before everyone else in order to get a head start. You might very well buck your toe a few times, but because you are ahead of the pack you are still able to achieve success.

“Before I ask a few people to join me [onstage] to talk about their success, let me ask you this, ‘How hard are you willing to push yourself to succeed?’ That’s the million-dollar question. You can always journal… but you’ve got to dream big, you may not write it down but at the end of the day, you have to review your day. At the end of the month, you have to review your month. And at the end of the year, if you’re still doing what you were doing five years ago… you have to move!” she continued.

Joining her onstage for an impromptu talk were BrandED CEO Norma Williams; Jamaica Observer Deputy Managing Director Natalie Chin Samuda; Angelie Spencer Home principal Angelie Martin-Spencer; and Sagicor Life Executive Financial Advisor Wendy Wallace. The women — three of whom, like McDonald-Whyte, share a history of being flight attendants at the then Air Jamaica — shared their career journeys while detailing how McDonald-Whyte’s penchant for excellence helped shape their professional lives today.

The Flourish launch officially wrapped the 2025 two-day International Masters of Medicine Conference, hosted by the Heart Institute of the Caribbean (HIC) and Yale University’s Cardiovascular Medicine.

The next chapter unfolds later this year at the Flourish Retreat.