When you have the opportunity to ask some of the most interesting people in the world about their lives, sometimes the most fascinating answers come from the simplest questions. The Thrive Questionnaire is an ongoing series that gives an intimate look inside the lives of some of the world’s most successful people.
Thrive Global: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
Tiffany Kelly: I take a long hot shower and think about how I feel and what I want to get out of my day. All my best ideas come at this time of the morning. I truly believe that when we are happy and healthy, our subconscious can provide us with all of the information and ideas that we need while we sleep so my morning shower is the time to allow those realizations to wash over me.
TG:What gives you energy?
TK: Being around beautiful inspiring people that are doing what they love fills me with energy. Also my travels through different cultures and into the depths of nature. Having my bare feet in the grass or in warm sand fills me with joy.
TG: What’s your secret life hack?
TK: There is no such thing as jet lag, it is a belief system that doesn’t serve us.
TG: Name a book that changed your life.
TK: The Celestine Prophecy.
TG: Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?
TK: My phone does spend most of the time in the bedroom at nights as it is my alarm but I do put it on airplane mode.
TG: How do you deal with email?
TK: I use email as my to do list and like to keep my inbox below 40. It is tricky when I am delivering programmes though as I don’t want to do emails at all, I just want to focus on the people that I am working with.
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?
TK: Sit and reflect. Allow all the amazing things that we are doing to settle on me for a moment.
TG: When was the last time you felt burned out and why?
TK: Before I quit my job with a global consultancy firm and walked away from a relationship that wasn’t making either of us happy. Both things were ‘perfect’ on paper and exactly where I should be and what I should have been achieving at that time and stage of my life but neither filled me with joy or a sense of passion and purpose by the time I left. I think we fear leaving more than we love ourselves enough to prioritize putting our happiness first.
TG: When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
TK: I don’t believe in failure. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that everything is to learn from. The concept of failure is fear inducing and leads to people feeling disappointed and blaming rather than learning and being in a solution driven mindset. It saddens me that this concept is a driver in schools for our younger generations.
TG: Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace.
TK: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of the universe. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of the universe that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson
Tiffany is a Founding Partner of RoundTable Global, an international award winning leadership development organization, where she is focusing full time on her desire to create empowerment and balance in the world. She is passionate about creating corporations and communities that are creative and compassionate as well as commercial and believes that by empowering leaders to authentically tap into both their masculine and feminine energies we can redefine social and business norms, unlock potential and ultimately create fearless cultures where effortless change will happen in the world around us.
She has also become an inspirational speaker leading women’s empowerment workshops, leadership summits and innovation think tanks towards social change. Tiffany has worked with the First Lady of Japan to create empowerment for women in Tokyo, has created and run summits at the House of Commons in London and delivered Ted Talks in Delhi and Tokyo. Tiffany was also the moderator and speaker for BOLDtalks Woman in Dubai and joined the panel of speakers at Accenture’s International Women’s Day in Abu Dhabi.
Tiffany has recently become Honorary President for Education for Sustainable Development on a prestigious journey of connecting educators, educational experts and individuals who are contributing for the betterment of education, including establishing education
Tiffany has spent the last 18 years working and living around the world connecting business and communities through award winning people and organizational development initiatives. She is Patron of the En Committee and Global Change Ambassadors where she works with senior leaders, influencers and policy makers to support sustainable world change.