Once upon a time …

Once upon a time …

I grew up on a council estate in Swansea, South Wales.

Growing up, it was just me and my mum. The benefits we lived off didn’t afford us a car, holidays or branded clothes.

Where I grew up, aspirational dreams didn’t belong.

But what I did have, was someone who believed in me. Someone who saw my potential and believed I could achieve anything I wanted if I put my mind to it.

My mother taught me the value of perseverance, education, hard work and integrity. For as long as I can remember I wanted to be that person for other people.

I wanted to be a Teacher.

I wanted to let people know that no matter where they came from, no matter what their background or their past, if they believed in themselves and they worked hard, they could achieve anything they wanted to.

And so can you.

Bec 2.0

I was the first in my family to go to university and bagged myself a First Class degree in English Studies.

I secured my first Teaching post, bought a house and got married. I was ticking all boxes for how society said I ‘should be living my life.’ From the outside, things looked great.

But I had a knowing in my belly that this wasn’t the life I was meant to be living. The more I ignored it, the unhappier I became.

Until one day at the age of 28, during a pretty routine visit to the doctors for a suspected chest infection, I discovered I had two holes in my heart. If not successfully treated, I’d experience significant heart and lung complications by my late 30s.

This devastating news was the wake-up call I needed to stop sleep-walking through life and start prioritising my hopes and dreams.

First stop, Tanzania.

Bec 3.0

Hello my 30s. The decade of my second marriage, pregnancies, pushchairs and nappies.

I gave up Teaching to focus on my 3 beautiful daughters, the youngest of which was born with no vision and significant health problems in her first year of life.

Another reminder of the fragility and uncertainty of life.

Thankfully, with the help of our wonderful NHS and various charities, she recovered well and now lives a full happy life with good vision in one eye.

I found motherhood lonely and challenging. And I missed having something for ME. I was ready to continue my professional development, but jobs were too inflexible and didn’t fit our hectic family life.

So I decided to start my own business; an online tutoring business.

Cue the pandemic and the need to be home-schooling my own children.

It was the excuse I needed to walk away from my tutoring business. My heart had never been in it. If you want to be successful at anything in life you’d better be passionate about it, or it just isn’t going to work.

Bec 4.0

I took a job in Social Services supporting parents and carers to look after their wellbeing …

… whilst juggling the demands of looking after children with illnesses and disabilities, but it wasn’t long before the knowing in my belly ignited again telling me there was something more.

I completed an Animas Diploma and ICF accredited course in Transformative Life Coaching and the rest, as they say, is history. The course was mind-blowing and life-changing all at the same time. It felt like magic. Magic that I was going to use to help others unlock their limitless potential and live the happy, strong successful lives they deserve.

I set up my Coaching and Consultancy company, continued my professional development with an MSC in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology, and I’ve been helping people and organisations step into their potential and greatness ever since.

Bec 5.0

Who knows. I’m far from done.

For the first time I’m truly open to the abundance of my own limitless potential. I’ve silenced the self-doubt, and I thrive from getting out of my comfort zone and into my growth zone.

I love running marathons and ultramarathons, and generally spending as much time as possible outdoors with my family and two cockapoos.

My personal goal since lockdown is to complete an endurance event in a place I’ve never been before!

Suggestions welcome!

The values I live and work by :

Inspiration

Surrounding yourself with inspirational people is key to your happiness, strength and success in life. The highest form of inspiration is the natural world. I will inspire you and challenge you to be the best you can be.

Authenticity

Know yourself. Love yourself. Be yourself. Embrace all parts of who you are, even the parts that are painful and uncomfortable, and accept that you are perfectly YOU. Stop caring what other people think. Tap into your knowing, your strengths, your courage and your potential. Only YOU can create the life you want.

Greatness

Greatness has nothing to do with money, status and power. It’s about living life courageously, being self-aware and authentic. It’s about embracing your uniqueness and taking action to achieve what’s important.

Wellness

Look after yourself. You have one body and one mind. If you look after them, they will serve you well throughout life. Self-care isn’t selfish. Stop putting your own needs to the back of a very long queue and invest every day in your mind, body and soul. Waking early every day to prioritise exercise and meditation is a great way to set your day up for success.

Strength

Resilience, mental toughness, perseverance, grit, hope and optimism are all strengths that can be learned. Challenge, messiness, failure and mistakes are all part of life, and they provide the seed for a huge amount of POSITIVE transformation and growth. You are not made to bend and break.