My ‘Backstory’
So, a little bit about me.
My name is Steve. I was engaged at 16, married at 18 and my wife and I have four grown up children. Between them they have given us, 18 wonderful Grandchildren. (My wife is one of seven children and I think it rubbed-off on our kids 🙂 )
I was diagnosed with a brain tumor when I was seventeen. So, I had an operation to remove it soon after.
Long story short, I was a vegetable for four days after the operation, then I was told that the tumor wasn’t Cancer. Three days later I was at home with my family, completely back to normal.
It was then I realized how powerful the mind was. (After all, I went from not recognizing my family and being unable to feed myself one day, to eating, drinking, reading and watching TV the next!)
While I was recovering at home, all I could think about was how different things could’ve been, if the diagnosis had been different.
I was also fascinated at how one thought could make such dramatic changes in me.
I needed to use this opportunity. So, I decided to learn as much as I could about how the mind worked. And then, how I could help people create better lives for themselves, using what I’d learned.
Over the course of 20 years, I formally studied Clinical Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy, and Psychology, gaining my Ph.D in 2006.
I’m also a qualified Cognitive Behavioral Therapist and I’ve completed professional development courses in both Advanced Child Psychology and Clinical Psychology.
I’ve also, read well over 500, personal development books.
But, right there was my problem. I spent a truck load of money and countless hours getting every piece of information and training I could. Then, because I didn’t feel confident enough to use it, I just moved on and learned something else. Telling myself “This time it’ll be different”. Except it wasn’t!
I got back into the same hamster wheel again and again. Every time getting the same results. Lots of knowledge, but no experience!
I think it was Einstein that was attributed to the saying…“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” That was me for more years than I care to remember.
Then, a few years ago I was speaking to my Mom and I told her about this new learning experience I’d enrolled in. But, rather than be pleased for me, or tell me how clever I was (I thought that was a Mom’s job?), she asked me a question that would change my life completely…
So, what was this life changing question?……..
“That’s great, but are you actually going to do something with it this time, or is this just another way to throw away your money?”
Wow! Talk about harsh! But she was right. For some reason, my head was full of all this powerful information that could help people, but it never occurred to me to use these powerful tools on myself. My thoughts were always “If I just just get a bit more knowledge about ‘X’, then I’ll start to helping other people.”
Since that day…
That was 13 years ago. The truth was, I needed to help myself first. So, I was my first client.
In the space of a few months I managed to make some huge changes to my life. I went from struggling to ask a stranger for the time, to being well-on-the-way to where I am now.
I’ve given presentations and provided live training events to rooms full of people, I was a lecturer at a college and also spent four years training CEO’s, and Managing Directors, etc of multi-national companies.
And during this time, one thing has become super clear. If you want to make a change in your life that sticks, the process you need has to have two characteristics…
- It has to be simple to understand and actionable.
- You need to be able to take action on it quickly and consistently.
That’s what this site is all about. Simple Tips and Techniques that are easy to understand and put into practice.
Over the last few years, I’ve been working as a ‘Confidence’ Coach. But one-to-one coaching has it’s limitations.That’s when I decided to take the show online.
You see, if I coach one person, I help one person. If I use the same tools and provide the guidance online, I can help thousands of people.
This website is one of the places where that happens.
I’m definitely not anyone’s Guru and I’m still learning everyday, from people like you.
That’s the beauty of community. There’s never going to be one thing that’s right for everybody, because everyone is different.
Everyone learns in a different way and everyone needs something different, in order to achieve what they want.
I spend most of my time now continuing my progress and wherever possible, helping people like you.
Standing up and giving an opinion is always scary, but it’s by doing exactly that, that you and I will both grow into something better.
By developing programs, training and information products and of course the blog and podcast, my greatest wish, is to help you increase your awareness. And help you build confidence in your ability to achieve change. And I hope, you’ll help me expand my understanding, by sharing your stories with me and the rest of the community.
Together, we can make big changes.
I still occasionally have times when anxiety and stress, etc. plays a part in my own life and I’m sure it always will. But, by following a path that’s powerful, simple to understand and implement and most importantly, right for you, you’ll gain more confidence and therefore more happiness and fulfillment than you ever thought possible.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this page. I hope you’ll let me go on this journey of discovery with you. I promise to be your biggest fan and I’ll help in any way I can 🙂
