MY STORY

Hi! I’m so glad you’re here, let’s get to know each other...

I am an open book. Seriously...if we ever get the opportunity of meeting, you will probably know my entire life story within hours. Actually - just keep reading; a big chunk of it is here! Meeting new people is one of my favourite things to do; learning about your story and what lights you up inside. I am known for asking those unusual questions - those questions that have you sitting back in your seat thinking...hmm. They're my favourite because they allow us to get to know each other on a deeper level.

My intention for this space is to be able to share my learnings and life lessons with you. I’m on a journey to fully step into my passion and purpose. I want to support and empower others to live their best lives through both mind and body.

The journey of life is continually inspiring me. It’s easy to say that life is magical on the good days but it’s the low days or the difficult moments that intrigue me most. After any breakdown comes a breakthrough and for me, some of my greatest blessings have followed my darkest hours.

I’m continually reminding myself to always find the beauty; it’s everywhere if we’re open to seeing it. Think about those moments that stay with you forever - the ones that don’t hold any significant memory but for some reason so much magic sits in your heart. Think about the possibility of meeting your best friend at the bus stop - one minute they are a stranger and the next they are the person standing next to you on your wedding day.

I recently heard a story about a couple who have been married for 12 years. One day she was looking through old photographs from a trip she took to Europe, many years prior to meeting her now husband, and guess who was standing in the background? Clear as day, his face was staring back at her through the lense. This stuff gives me goosebumps! I am such a strong believer of the universe aligning perfectly and whilst we are in control of our day to day lives and the choices we make, there is a much greater plan in play. If you’re meant to meet someone, see a certain place, learn a lesson or invent something, whatever it is, life will find a way. This thought patterns has truly got me through some expanding times and it's from this way of thinking that I strongly believe we have the ability to create our own reality in every given moment.

This wasn’t always my outlook on life. I, like everyone, have a story…

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Growing up I had a very ‘normal’ life. My family was often referred to as the ‘brady bunch’, not because we were a blended family or because I had lots of siblings...but because we were always so happy, or so I thought.  

In my younger years bullying was something I struggled with, much like many children do. But it’s interesting to notice, the more I explore my emotions and dig a little deeper into my suppressed feelings how such traumas still impact me today. I would like to discuss so much more on this topic but for the sake of time I’m just going to say: if something triggers you, if you’re impacted by something someone says or you feel anxious about an experience...don’t turn away, don’t avoid it - lean in and explore, because what you resist persists. This is something I've learned time and time again.

Fast forward to my early teens years when things really started to change. My parents separated and my mum was diagnosed with a terminal illness called Scleroderma, which back then was incredibly rare (affecting only 1 in 20 million). So at this point it was only my mum, sister and I, and even though those times were challenging in all areas of life, our bond only grew stronger. Plus, being the little sister I was definitely shielded from much of the hardship. My sister is that type of woman who was born an adult, always looking out for everyone and playing the mother role. This became especially prominent when mum fell sick.

My dad was still around but his life changed course and he found a woman he loved. They then had two beautiful boys, my little brothers. Many turns happened in the years when it was just my mum, my sister and I; we moved from our family home, my sister and I were trying to complete our high school education and my father's once very successful business began to struggle, which caused huge financial strain on all of us.

To say my mum was a superhero would be humble, she was the strongest person I have ever met and her perception on life is something to admire. We were in and out of hospital more often than I like to remember, the intercom at school would go off in class requesting for me to come to the office and after years of this, I would always just run, knowing exactly where I was headed. But through it all, the one thing I remember her saying continually was “there are always people worse off than me”.  And her humour! Even on the days where she couldn’t get out of bed, she had all of us in stitches. (That’s not something I took from her. I like to think I’m funny but I'm not sure others would agree!)

In August 2008 my mum passed away and as you could imagine my life completely changed. I decided I needed to move, get away and find some distance, so I booked a one way ticket to Canada with no idea when i’d return. One of my dearest friends and I closed our eyes and put our finger on the map. The closest city was Calgary so that’s where we went. Talk about spontaneity and trust, I guess it has always been ingrained in me. My family were really worried about me, my sister and aunty especially, but I knew they didn’t need to be. Sure I was devastated, I’d lost the most important person in my world but that’s a pain that’s never going to go away. I sit here writing this today and tears still well up in my eyes, thinking about her and the pivotal moments she has missed. The first time I had sex (yes I was 21 years old), my first love, heartbreak, finishing my degree, working in Africa, my sisters wedding - the list is endless. But I knew Canada was where I needed to be, I had no idea what was waiting for me but I trusted, and flew out within 8 months.

It definitely wasn’t easy, especially financially, considering I flew out with less than $1,000 in my bank account. Some days we literally wouldn’t eat. Other days I would have to walk the 2 hours home from work, arriving after midnight only to have to be back at work at 7:00am the following morning - all because I didn’t have bus fare. We were so stubborn and couldn’t admit to our families that we needed help, and let’s face it, at this point they had already helped us so much. Looking back today, I laugh about it. Sure it was dangerous, but it’s all a journey and so much growth and life lessons came from those times. Plus I got to experience it with one of my dearest friends.

Things started to settle really quickly, especially after both of us stepped into relationships, which I might add was only about 6 months into our journey. I was always that girl who was never interested in anyone enough to ever form anything serious. But things always happen when you least expect them. And truthfully, this was not something I was ready for, or expected considering the point in my life. But I knew there was something there to explore so I leapt and whilst it wasn’t an easy chapter, it was incredible in so many ways. The growth that I experienced over that 6 year relationship was something I will forever be grateful for.

I won’t bore you with many details regarding that stage of my life but we were together for 6 years, living in both Canada and Australia, going back and forth, trying to work out what worked best for us. Honestly, I hear so often with international relationships about the battle of which country to live in, and whilst that was a topic of conversation for us I never felt, for me anyway, that it was a huge hurdle. I loved Canada. Sure, Australia is and always will be my home but I have this belief that your home is where you make it. When we moved to Canada again, after our two years back in Australia, I made sure to make friends, join the gym and build my own foundation outside of my partner. This is something I feel very strongly about, more so today. Our partners are here to share this life with us, not be our lives. We each individually are on our own journeys and travel our own paths but in alignment with one another.

If you’re still with me, you’re amazing. I told you I’m an open book! Stay with me, we’re almost done.

Let’s fast forwards again.

I moved home to Australia in October 2015 after my ex and I decided to break up. It was an incredibly difficult decision and time in my life as I still held so much love for this person. But things had changed and no big crazy incident happened to cause this change; it was just a feeling and an energy. We started to feel differently and we no longer worked together as a couple. It took me a really long time to work this one out - it’s so common for us as humans to need answers, we have to try and understand why things happen, especially us women. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about! You sit and analyse every little detail...why did this happen, if I did that would we still be here etc. But yes, of course you still would be. If it didn’t happen that week, it would have found another way to happen. Something I heard recently from a friend, and it really stuck with me, was “if you could love the wrong person this much, think how much you could love the right person." How true is this?   

But trust me when I say I was a mess. My friends are incredible. They had to listen to me cry and talk about him for months. I wouldn’t even want to be around me! But that’s what you do for those you love. Although, in my opinion it’s also important to not let them wallow. I think allowing yourself to feel all the emotions, sit with them and be sad, yes 100% but don’t wallow in it, get up and make yourself happy. I always say "reach for the low hanging fruit" - think about what can make you smile, even for a minute, and do that.  

This is where my personal development journey truly began. I focused on myself, shifting all of my attention on what I was able to control. I began investing in myself, and that started with ‘The Bridge Experience’ with Alexi Panos and Preston Smiles.  It was a two day workshop which shifted everything for me. I was able to completely rewrite my relationship "story" that I was allowing to control me.

Moving forward from that weekend my outlook changed, I attended every workshop I could find: women's circles, seminars, growth summits, business programs - you name it. I connected with some of the most incredible people and began reading every recommended book I was able to get my hands on (and that’s huge for me; reading wasn’t always a passion of mine). In October 2017, I attended the ‘Extreme Leadership Bridge’, again with Alexi and Preston, and things expanded for me even more. For the first time I actually felt like I'd truly found what it is that lights me up. I realised that I wanted to support and empower others to live their best lives through mind and body. They are both connected and health and fitness have always been constants in my life.

Walking away from that three day workshop, recognising where I was still "playing small", I dove even deeper and commenced a 3 month online ‘Integrate’ program which was centred around building and executing your vision. I also commenced working with my own coach, something I highly encourage - you can always do more than you think you can.

Which leads me to where I am today, sitting here writing “My Story” hours before my website is about to launch. I wanted this to be as real, honest, authentic and as relevant as possible because this is me. And I told you at the start I can talk for hours! If you stayed with me and you're reading the final few lines, we should definitely connect because I already love you! Haha

We all experience hard times but I am forever grateful for all of mine as they have lead me here to this moment where I am now stepping in to support and empower others to live their best lives. In my opinion we should never say “what if” or “I regret” because you only know what you know now because of the choices you’ve made. The only thing you need to ask yourself is “what do I choose next?”