About Me
Throughout my corporate career, people saw me as brimming with confidence—and honestly, sometimes I felt it too. I was the person voicing opinions in meetings, leading teams to success, and pushing back when I believed there was a better path forward.
But beneath that polished exterior lay an exhausting internal battle. Every bold move required extensive self-convincing, constant vigilance against comparison with others, and careful calibration of behaviors to project exactly what I wanted people to see.
What remained invisible were the countless late nights perfecting every piece of work, the compulsive email checking, the inability to truly disconnect, the rescue remedy I'd slip away to take before big meetings, and the family moments sacrificed at the altar of professional achievement.
Here's what's fascinating about our professional personas: over time, we become masterful at concealing our true inner workings. We get so skilled at this performance that we almost convince ourselves we've become genuinely more confident. The mask becomes comfortable, even natural.
Until life reminds us otherwise.
When our idea gets shot down, a valued team member walks away, we feel like we're failing as parents, or we catch our reflection and realise we've neglected our health entirely—that's when the facade crumbles. We're forced to confront the reality that despite our confident exterior, we're like swans: appearing graceful and composed on the surface while frantically paddling just to stay afloat underneath.
And it's exhausting.
The Deep Work That Helped Me Figure Myself Out
Here's a rewritten version with better flow:
I remember exactly where I was sitting when everything clicked.
For decades since joining the corporate world at 16, I'd been trapped in a cycle of overworking, desperately trying to prove to myself and others that I deserved to be there. The moment was profound when I finally understood why.
If I'm honest, it wasn't confidence I was lacking—we can all find ways to appear confident.
What I truly lacked was self-esteem. I hadn't realised how vast the difference between the two could be.
My low self-esteem was driving that relentless internal dialogue: *I'm not enough. I need to do more, be more, achieve more.* This revelation came when I worked through some coaching tools on myself, digging deep to understand when I first felt this way. The trail led me back to secondary school.
I wasn't naturally academic, so I worked incredibly hard studying for my exams. When I achieved straight A's, I was ecstatic—I had put my mind to something and it had paid off. But looking back, there's a painful memory of my achievements going unrecognized. No conversations about college or university. Just straight to work.
I carried that story with me into the corporate world: despite studying incredibly hard, it still wasn't enough. I needed to do more. And there, those decades of overworking to feel worthy were born.
The moment I realised this and reframed that period through emotionally mature eyes, everything shifted. I understood that I didn't need to keep chasing the next level or be the best at everything to prove my worth.
This doesn't mean I'm any less ambitious. It means I can now achieve in a way that feels good to me. I don't need to always be available. I can be a present parent, get to the gym regularly, handle rejection, and be perfectly okay with all of it. The internal narrative changed, and it shifted something fundamental within me.
My Why
My mission is to activate driven professionals to live and lead in a way that feels good to them.
That's why I started my coaching practice in 2020; to help as many people as possible be both successful and present. Because when we feel genuinely good about ourselves, our success bursts open from the inside out, and life becomes easier and more enjoyable.
This work isn't just my career. It's my calling.
And if you're reading this, showing up daily and digging deep to present yourself in a way that people expect you to, know this:
The stories you are carrying around are not yours to own. There’s a different way to live and lead and you;re exactly where you need to be.
