HERE'S MY STORY
My dream when I was a kid
I never dreamed of having a job – it was always that I would be free to be myself, and to love my life. I was going to be a writer and wrote my first “novel” when I was 11 years old (publishers please note). I struggled with fitting in, as I was awkward, self-conscious, and didn’t say what I “should” say to be accepted by others. I knew I was “weird”, and figured that’s just how it was going to be…
Early in my twenties...
I discovered soon after graduating uni that I was really, really bad at working in big companies. I got fired from my last full-time job when I was 21, and I’m not sure who was more relieved to see me go, him or me. I hadn’t trusted myself by working in those companies, because I was paying attention to the messages around me about a “steady income”, and “something to fall back on”.
I was failing, and becoming suicidal
I quit the corporate world (before it quit on me) and began writing novels. I put so much effort into the “out there” goal of writing, I neglected by “in here” world as it got more disconnected from who I am at my core. I found myself ill, depressed, disconnected, feeling alone, and thought about suicide. I stood frozen in place, unable to move because of the feelings of shame, dread, confusion, and fear...
THAT MOMENT CHANGED MY LIFE.
I asked myself one question
As I stood there, I asked myself one question that changed everything. I realised that there were people who had experienced traumatic events and had gone onto live extraordinary lives where they inspired the fuck out of themselves. I had experienced setbacks, had low self-esteem, and was tired of rejection by publishers. I had spent the first 37 years of my life learning how to make myself miserable.
So the question I asked myself was:
“WHAT WOULD I NEED TO LEARN TO MAKE THE NEXT 37 YEARS OF MY LIFE INSPIRING TO ME?"
I learnt coaching
I had found my song, simply because I wanted to learn how to inspire myself. Coaching opened up my world to me. I went from one client who needed to learn how to master their own mind (me), to clients all over the world. Every single thing I learned to turn my own life around I brought to my client sessions. Soon I couldn’t keep up with demand.
I STARTED THE COACHING INSTITUTE IN 2004
And it’s gone from strength to strength. We’re across so many countries, touch so many lives. I get to hang out with the best people! People who are also on journeys of self-discovery.
MY FIRST BESTSELLING BOOK CAME OUT IN 2006
How great did I feel? Yep, a book out in the world. Not a novel (maybe one day), but a book on empowering leaders with a coaching and leadership model I developed called the Critical Alignment Model. People love it. I love that I did the thing my heart had wished for me when I was just 11 years old.
THE BRAVEHEART PODCAST IS MY PLAYGROUND
BraveHeart is where I share ideas, talk with fascinating people, and get to have the deep conversations I love to have about ideas, psychology, philosophy and culture. Sometimes I do coaching demonstrations there. It’s a creative outlet that I love and which attracts approximately 500,000 views each episode.
Business is fun and freedom
As a kid I wanted freedom. I’ve created the freedom to have the lifestyle of my choosing through learning business, and business investment. I am a private investor in five different companies and this gives me the financial freedom I set as my goal when I started The Coaching Institute. I’m still working on the freedom that comes from being free from my thoughts, but that’s another story…
Giving feels awesome
I got into the habit of hoping to be saved from myself when I was younger. Now I realise that the better way to go is to figure out how to make a difference for others. So far I’ve given away over $3,000,000 AUD and support a lot of causes important to me each and every month. One of the ways I love making a difference is through the Awakening Foundation, this is my newest charitable initiative and where I will get to give away books to children who can’t access them. Education is the path to financial independence, to self-determination and so people can stand on the shoulders of the geniuses that came before them.
Lessons I’m learning
Life delivers uncertainty, problems and situations we don’t want. There are three paths we can walk as we deal with this. We can react and get caught up in the whirlwind of our discomfort. We can figure out how to manage the challenges of life better through life skills and knowing our values. And we can learn to let go, and realise that there are only situations in life, and it is us that decides that the situations are problems. Which path we choose determines the quality of our life.
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