Before I was seven years old I had lived in a house truck, on a commune, in France, in New Zealand, in Ireland, and several homes in England. I had been bathed in a sink, and had a pet goose called Lucy.

I think it’s fair to say that my parents gifted me with a curiosity for the world. I learned that being open and curious is the road to everything that’s good about being human.

It’s only when we close ourselves off that life stops being magical.

I understand, embrace, and cherish the unconventional.

The curious.

The extraordinary.

We’re not meant to be like anyone else and our differences are to be celebrated.

I had an unusual childhood, with exposure to so many things that are now widely accepted with merit that then, were weird and unheard of. I had access to spirituality, philosophy, healing modalities, esoteric tools and open minded elders who ‘got it’ - while all I wanted was normal.

My first career was as a Freelance TV & Film Production Buyer, Stylist, and Project / Event Manager. I worked hard and played harder. I suffered from burnout at the end of every job. My life was a roller coaster of working til I collapsed and then ‘retreating’ around the world.

I worked hard for my career and had got what I thought I wanted; money, status, some creativity and abject freedom; but it wasn’t enough…. So I opted to be courageous and try something different.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire

In the midst of the impending recession in 2009 I set up My Girl Friday Ltd, providing Freelance Personal and Virtual Assistance to Creative Businesses & Private Individuals in the UK and across the globe. The recession, my pride and a series of unfortunate events saw me homeless and sofa surfing. Massively in debt and knowing nothing about running a business meant I had nothing to lose and I gave it everything I had. 

By December 2011 from the outside my business looked great. Through pure grit, determination and hustle I had survived the toughest part of the recession. I had followed ‘the rules’ about how I thought business was supposed to be. The Company grew, our reputation and reach extended, we had invites to amazing events, and were being nominated for awards.

But, on the inside I felt stuck and lost. I wasn’t delegating, I was pushing people away and being led by my wounds and the voices that told me ‘I have to do this all by myself” and “everything is on me.” 

I was avoiding parts of myself and everything felt hard. I was making it work, but I was not having fun! I was not allowing FUN!

I worked around the clock, but the company was not making enough profit, I was not running my business, my business was running me!

If hard work and effort correlated with success, I would have won so many awards for my successes.

Instead, I felt trapped, and overwhelmed. I doubted everything, I did not trust the Universe, I ignored the messages from Spirit. I numbed my feelings with food, drugs, sex and alcohol. I felt no real pleasure and no real pain, I felt disconnected from my clients, from my business, partners and from my purpose. On the outside, a smile masked what was really going on. My body urged me to listen but I wouldn’t.

I contemplated suicide.

I chose to live.

In November 2011 I moved to Bali, surrounded myself in colour and femininity and made it my mission to figure out who the fuck I really was AND learn to like what I found or make changes until I did.

I decided to learn from all the crazy adventures I had been on, all the books I had read, all the people I had met, all the businesses I had worked with. I raked through all the notes I had from retreats and workshops, therapy and courses; all the journals I kept, all the money I lost, all the diets and pills, the pains, the patterns – everything!

I drew out all the lies and all the truths and synthesised it all into what went onto become 'YOUR COMPASS' The Value Filter and The Misfit to Maven Journey - which I share in my book: Misfit to Maven.

There is 'work to do' but it gets to be an adventure and an initiation.

It's never too late to realign or course correct. All it takes is a shift in perception.