Gone are the days where to be seen as successful you need to be at the top of your game on the corporate ladder.
Yes that is all well and good, and by no means and I saying that people who are flying high in the corporate world aren’t successful but success looks different for everyone.
I spent more than a decade of my working life in the finance and banking world, studying exam after exam thinking that once I had finished and reached the top I would be successful, but really it meant nothing to me as I was working in an industry I absolutely hated.
High stress, long hours which took its toll on my health in a major way and in 2014 I was admitted to A&E with crippling stomach pains and was hooked up to a morphine drip for a week. I knew that I needed to make some changes to my lifestyle and stress levels otherwise my health was going to continue to suffer.
The catalyst of change
I had always admired people who it seemed went out on a whim and just created a business out of nowhere that was based truly on their passions. They seemed to be loving life, designing their own days and their “job” just didn’t seem like work.
I wanted a piece of that action. I wanted to be that one who created something out of nothing and was doing what she loved every day.
It wasn’t until I left Australia for Italy in 2014 that I had my chance. I completely abandoned my banking career and I knew in my soul I was meant for bigger and better things but I didn’t know what that was.
Tapping into my passions
I always had a passion for the real estate industry, and I was fortunate enough to start working for an estate agency in northern Italy. As much as I loved working for an agency, this didn’t fulfil my desire to be working for myself and creating my dream business like I craved.
I am a huge believer in investing in myself for personal growth and development and I came across an incredible business coach here in Italy, an Aussie woman like me who had an extremely similar corporate background to me in Australia. We clicked instantly and I knew from watching what she was creating on social media that she would be able to help me create something epic.
She explained to me the power of tapping into your niche, what are the things that light you up, what are the topics that you love to talk about with family and friends; those are your true passions.
A new career was born
It really didn’t take me long to think about what my niche could be, I already knew it. After 5 years of working in the real estate industry and dealing with overseas investors I knew that I could create a program specifically designed to help people purchase property in Italy.
So I started brainstorming and with the guidance of my incredible business coach, I put together a program in under 2 hours.
I was so excited about this new path I was taking I couldn’t sleep at night. I would wake up with ideas in the middle of the night and have to write them down on the notes section of my iPhone.
For the first time in years I felt really alive. I felt more alive than I ever did when working in my banking career because I was creating something for me. That was totally aligned with my thought process and passions and I knew that it was a service that people all around the world need.
Universe aligning
I am a huge believer in manifestation and alignment and I recall for years journalling daily about creating this incredible life living out my passions and now I am finally living that dream on a daily basis and I literally pinch myself various times throughout the day that this is actually my life now.
The amount of gratitude I have for what I am creating, the opportunities that are coming to me from people all over the world just have me in total awe.
That for me, is true success. I am a huge Tony Robbins fan, and he has a quote which has stuck with me for years: “Success without fulfilment is the ultimate failure”. This resonates so much with me.
I feel totally fulfilled helping people create their own dream life in Italy like I have, it totally lights me up inside.
My life has a meaning and purpose like never before and something that I never found sitting at my desk 12 hours a day in a career that totally drained my soul.