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

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 of discovery.

It's never too late to realign or course correct.