A lost child finds its way

This story isn’t a judgement of the way my parents chose to grieve and honour my uncle’s memory. It’s my way of sharing how these events became a force that has taught me some of life’s most important lessons: the value of time, the power that comes from a sense of urgency and the principles for attaining any of my set goals.

The only way to reach my objectives was to have a plan, so as a child, I drafted what is known today as the seven principles to goal mastery. Based on this framework, I skipped school grades, won musical competitions, got selected to join the national basketball team (despite my height), travelled extensively, had a successful international business career and started a beautiful family. And I’m just getting started.

At the age of 17, I entered law school in the pursuit of becoming an Army officer. I thought that this was a good vehicle to help others and gain leadership experience. After two years of diligent study, however, my sense of urgency kicked in. I realised that if I was to really help others in a meaningful way, I needed to become a leader. And in order to lead, I first needed to learn how to serve by gaining practical, in the field experience. 

So at the age of 19, I joined the military to help others and protect human life as part of the tactical and rapid deployment forces. In an incredible three year experience, I learnt what leadership should be about: Courage, Discipline, Humility and Dedication. I also saw things that didn’t align with how I wanted to live my life, so I decided to leave and express my values in the business world instead.

In service of others

After several years of trial and error, working in the wrong industries and lacking strong and supportive leadership, I found myself lost and lacking purpose. My only motivation was to get my paycheck at the end of each month because I didn’t believe in what I was doing.

The military had been steeped in meaning for me: I was protecting and saving people! But I found the business world lacked the same degree of purpose – I just couldn’t find an opportunity to contribute meaningfully. It was through this frustration, however, that I had my breakthrough. 

I realised that I could be the one to change this. I could bring purpose to the business world by empowering people to go beyond their current perceptions of what work meant to them. By doing more extraordinary things in their lives, they could do greater things in their work. The old strategy in the military had been to apply discipline, tactics, techniques and teamwork. The new approach in the business world was to connect with people on a deeper level – with only my words and my heart as ammunition.

Since 2005, I have developed extensive experience with businesses of all types and sizes, from startups and social enterprises to publicly listed companies. This has ranged from guiding entrepreneurs and founders to fulfil their mission through goal mapping and business strategy, to contributing to the digital transformation of several SBF120, NYSE and Fortune 500 companies. My hunger to learn and be at my best has been just as important to me as my desire to help as many people as possible to become leaders in all aspects of their lives. My hard work in various leadership positions has been rewarded in many different ways, affording me the opportunity to work in three continents and to call Aotearoa home since 2014. 

Empowered individuals lead to a powerful collective

Two years after starting my business career, I began to coach founders, CEOs and goal seekers. Sharing my story, explaining my blueprint and taking the time to understand each person are the core components of each transformation journey. In coaching, I have found a balance between pursuing my calling to help others and living a purposeful life. I know about doubt, chance, inner power, limiting beliefs and getting incredible results when you know who you want to become. Now that you know it, this is not theory-based content.

I am a practitioner. This is my oxygen and my blood. My mission is to inspire a new wave of holistic leaders who achieve success in all aspects of their life. I am sharing the exact blueprint that has been used to achieve my own goals, successfully build teams, turn seekers into achievers and help entrepreneurs to realise their visions. This story is one amongst many, proving that what really matters is what you believe in and the actions that you take because of them. Your beliefs contain your power (as well as your weaknesses). How I applied this power and how it made me feel are the lessons to remember, more than the story itself.