“THE LIST”

The list has changed my life.

I have always been in relationships; leaving only a few weeks in between relationships, many of which lasted for years. After leaving my ex last year I wanted to spend a lot of time on myself and I didn’t want another relationship that didn’t fulfill my needs. I was sick of not being treated like I wanted to be treated.

It was around this point whilst soul searching that I got some really great advice from a person who seems to me to have wisdom far beyond his years. He and his gorgeous fiancé had a wonderful chat to me and supported me a lot. He said that at a point in his life he wrote a list of everything he wanted in a partner and everything he didn’t want and 6 months later he found the woman of his dreams.
I took this advice on board and wrote my own list, I decided that I wouldn’t leave anything out. I ended up writing 7 pages detailing everything from his smile to his sense of humour to how he treats me. Every single thing I could think of that I did and didn’t want in my dream man was put on paper. Once I had finished I read through the list (and kept reading over it every week) and deep down inside I didn’t believe that this person existed. How could that perfect man exist?! And even if he did exist what were the chances that he lived in Brisbane and was single and attracted to me!?! It seemed impossible.

Well, all I can say is I am so glad I wrote that list. About 6 months after I finished writing that list, by pure chance, I met him.

I met someone who shared my beliefs and values. Someone who, like me, doesn’t understand contemporary art. Who LOVES food, training hard and always sees the lighter side of life. Who will spend time asking me about my day, watch daggy tv shows with me and laugh at my corny jokes (and make a few of his own!)

Now some may believe it is the law of attraction that brought him to me. Some may think pure luck, chance or fate. Perhaps because I took the time to truly think about what I wanted in a person that made me more open to finding him. I knew what I wanted and so was only interested in men that had those attributes.

All I can say is I’m really glad I wrote that list.

Changing the world. Changing yourself.

Change is an interesting thing, it seems simple but can be the hardest thing to achieve and maintain. We all have things about ourselves and our lives that we would like to change. I would like to share a couple of stories with you about a few changes that have occurred in my life and how these can be utilized in your life too so you can be a happy, positive, high on life, superhuman.

There was a time when I didn’t lead a very inspiring life. I was unfit, unhealthy and unhappy. I think back to those days now and am so grateful to be where I am now having been through some dark times. I believe it is those challenges that create us into the amazing people we are. The best thing about going through an eating disorder, chronic pain, addiction, depression and self-harm is the knowledge I now have to utilize to help other people with their challenges. The most important lesson I have learnt is – everyone goes through ‘stuff.’ Some people have a lot more ‘stuff’ go on in their lives, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is what you do after said stuff. Do you stay the same unhappy person blaming life/God/other people for what has happened to you? Or do you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and MAKE SOMETHING OF YOUR LIFE!?!
For me, it took about 5 years before I gave myself a massive kick up the ass (with the help of my circle of influence) and changed my life. So change doesn’t happen instantly and don't expect it to happen immediately and smoothly.

I needed time to develop my beliefs and values to be able to ‘fire’ some people from my life and make some big changes. I moved from Tasmania to Brisbane with my then partner of 5 years. And once I started at Max (my fitness/business college) I learnt about circle of influence and how important it is to be surrounded by people with similar beliefs and values to you. I loved this period in my life, at college I was learning SO much, opening my mind and making a lot of new friends. Sadly, while I was learning all about health, fitness and creating your ideal life at the end of the day I was returning home to an unhappy relationship and a circle of influence who smoked, did drugs and drank alcohol everyday. I felt very unhappy and out of balance with this for a long time. I spent hours chatting to a couple of good friends of mine about how my partner and I had grown apart. But didn’t do anything about it. One day after hearing B-Huge chat about circle of influence and your personal beliefs and values and how important it is to be living in line with these I decided enough was enough! And I made some bloody big changes!!

And in the space of one week I had no job, no partner, no house and no car. Lucky for me I had an amazing circle of influence from Max. Amazing, goal driven people who helped me get back on my feet, fed me, let me stay at their houses and supported me through a massive time of change.

I learnt from this that the only person holding you back is yourself. If you want to change DO IT!! Think it through and if it is necessary and in line with your values and beliefs then kick yourself up the pants and take some action!! Recently I have had a few people discuss the issue of change with me and I thought that not enough of us really take enough action! What is stopping you from your ideal life? Is it you?

Finally, the best thing about change is once you have changed you can then improve not only your life but the lives of people around you.

I am only one person and I can’t change the world on my own. So I’m asking you to step up. If you know how great it is to be fit, happy, healthy and strong share that feeling to others. Inspire others to be the best they can be by being a better version of yourself; by constantly leaving a profit and improving the world just by being in it.

Love, impact and affection.

Never underestimate the impact you can have on another person’s life.
Everyone has the same ability to change someone’s life. It might be in a small way or a big way but we all have the given gift to impact on another person’s life. It might be one person it may be many; even if it you only help one person you have changed the world and made a positive impact and it may mean the world to that person! This became crystal clear to me this week. Sometimes you might not even know the person but through the internet they can read about you and gain strength from your strength, gain happiness from what you say or write. They could change their whole life because of YOU.

They might not say it out loud but someone might be dying to tell you how much you brighten their day.

You should try express your emotion in as many ways possible. Tell the retail assistant how easy they make your transaction, how their smile meant a lot to you or that they always are happy and put you in a good mood.

Valentine’s day has just been and is a day to appreciate and show love to those who mean most to us. It’s about showing appreciation and demonstrating that we don’t take the special people in our lives for granted. That we love them. Some people are hesitant to the Valentine’s Day idea. But perhaps we need a dedicated day every year to be reminded that we all need love and connection. A day to take a step back from our busy lives and just LOVE. Whether it is a girly night with tapas and cocktails, a romantic night with your partner or returning home to find your best friend has broken into your house and left chocolate roses, gifts and most importantly a letter detailing your adventures over the last ten years of friendship.

So, never underestimate the impact you have on someone. You could be the most important person in someone’s life without ever even meeting them. So make your impact on this world a positive one. Fill the internet; facebook, twitter, blogs, with positivity and love. Someone might be relying on your happiness to make their day.

A New Journey of Purpose

Live your purpose and you'll never have to work another day in your life.

Purpose is a very important thing. Many of us spend our lives searching for it but how do you know when you have found it? And is it always the same thing or is it something that evolves as we learn, live and grow?

My whole life I knew I wanted to help people - apart from being a fiend for recognition - all I really wanted to do was improve other people's lives. I never knew which path I could do this on though. I started out doing some volunteer work while at school and loved that. This continued while at Uni and I changed my path from Law to Criminology and Sociology. I had the intent of graduating and getting a job within an industry that helped rehabilitate people from jail to the outside world. But there were no jobs. So I continued my study and started my masters degree. I began to realise that I would have to work my way up in the industry and would probably spend most of my time sitting behind a desk trying to figure out why people did bad things... A long way from my original purpose. When I started fitness training, it changed my life. Completely and utterly. And I wanted to bring this absolute joy to other people's lives. I began to realise that over time our means of delivering our purpose may change.

Now I have graduated and am working in the fitness profession I believe I have found my calling. I spend most of my waking moments training, thinking about training, and chatting to people about how I can improve their lives. I am filled with love for my clients - the feeling of helping them become a better version of themselves is incredible.

Soon I am going to be marketing to a very specific target market - 20-35 year old women who have come from a background of addiction, like myself. Exercise has such a massive power on people's emotional health as well as physical health. It gives purpose and meaning to many people's lives. It gives them power when before they had none.

Watching the face of a young lady after she did 2 chin ups was mind blowing. A reason to get out of bed every morning.
A purpose filled life.