Unlock Potential | Challenge Possibility | Lead Purposefully

To me, the media provide another channel to share my expertise in helping people navigate life’s challenges, create better lives and look at the big issues confronting us today.

Leadership. Trust. Workplace bullying. Managing anxiety. The gender gap. Working mothers guilt. Digital addiction. Over-parenting. Negotiation. Handling a bad boss. Risk psychology. Difficult relatives.

I’ve shared my expertise on these topics and many more in my “Courage Works” Forbes column and with outlets from The Today Show, Al Jazeera, CNN, Fox News to the Wall Street Journal, Women’s Health and Psychology Today. I’m also the ‘Resident Coach’ on Australia’s Sunrise morning show and a regular commentator on ABC News Breakfast.

Last but not least, I’ve launched my own online TV channel RawCourage.TV where I share advice and insights from some pretty amazing people. It’s not Oprah… but I’m working on it!

Not to brag or anything, but I was hands down the best writer in my class right up to high school. I guess I should also mention that I was the only kid in my class in my rural one room school (it’s since grown to two rooms!)

Seriously though, while I’ve never considered myself a brilliant wordsmith, I’ve now written four books—Find Your Courage, Stop Playing Safe, Brave and Make Your Mark—because I decided that I wouldn’t let my fear of being a lousy author keep me from writing about the things that light me up. And like every brave thing I’ve ever done, I’m so glad I did. My books have now been translated into six languages and thousands of people have shared with me how they’ve changed their lives. I hope you’ll check them out!

Oh, I should also mention that I’ve co-authored two other books with some cool people like Stephen Covey, Jack Canfield, Ken Blanchard and John Gray.

The first time someone told me I should be a coach, I laughed. “I can hardly catch a ball,” I replied. I soon discovered this new field of ‘coaching’ was a great fit for my professional experience (Fortune 500 business and psychology), personality and passion for helping people better themselves.

I was fortunate to learn from two of the ‘founding fathers’ of the coaching profession – Thomas Leonard and Julio Olalla – as well as the inimitable, Tony Robbins. I then started my coaching business with four kids under six (told you I was passionate!)

While my speaking, media and writing schedule now takes up more of my time than it did when I first embarked on my ‘second career,’ I still love supporting other passionate, big thinking people who value an objective sounding board to bounce ideas, challenge their thinking and keep them focused on what matters most. If you think you’re one of those people, let’s connect.

Growing up in the “Aussie bush,” the horizons of my world didn’t stretch very far. However, upon leaving home, I soon realized there was a whole world waiting to be explored. So after graduating from university, I saved up a few dollars (sorting corn by day, serving beer by night) and set off around the world with little more than a backpack, some travelers checks and an intrepid spirit.

Since then I’ve traveled to 70+ countries, spent three years living in Papua New Guinea, and over ten in the USA, experiencing many adventures along the way.

A few highlights include crossing the Sahara Desert (part of it in an armed convoy), piranha fishing in the Amazon (a bit chewy!), staying in Palestinian refugee camps, climbing to the icy summit of Papua New Guinea’s tallest peak, camel racing in Qatar, slaughtering goats for Christmas lunch in Nigeria, hitchhiking in Jordan, cycling rafting in Nepal, cycling through Beijing (brave or crazy? debatable), drinking tea with Tuareg tribesmen in Algeria, and swimming with whale sharks in the Philippines.

Now that my four kids are older, we share new adventures together! Most recently we hiked up Mt Kilimanjaro. A lesson in GRIT if ever there was one! (I wrote about our adventure here.)

It is my belief that the only way to address the most pressing problems in our organizations and society is through the empowerment of women. I am, therefore, passionate about empowering women to become braver leaders, more confident in their ability to influence change and more resilient in the face of it. My PhD studies are focused on doing just this.

My appointment as an Ambassador for Google’s WomenWill initiative, and as Australia’s first Ambassador for Women In Global Business by the Australian government, has only reinforced my commitment to helping more women make a bigger mark on the world.

In 2010 I also founded Global Courage to empower women to become more powerful catalysts for change. Since then I’ve spoken at many international women’s events from Washington DC to Shanghai.

I am also an honoree of the Women’s Economic Forum, member of the UN Women National Committee Australia, UN Women Singapore and on the advisory board of Ladies America.

Perhaps closest to my heart is my work in Africa with Women for Women in Africa through sponsorship of young women and running leadership development programs in Kibera slum, Kenya.

Last but not least, my Live Brave Women’s Weekends have been and will continue to be some of the most magical experiences of my life.

My life has been blessed with opportunity. But not everyone is as fortunate. So I value the chance to support causes that work toward creating a more equitable and tolerant world. One way I do that is by mentoring women entrepreneurs in developing countries like India through the UN Global Initiative. I’ve also supported the work of various women’s not-for-profit organizations such as Women for Women in Africa, Girl Up, Dress for Success, The Hunger Project and UN Women. I look forward to speaking the international Women’s Economic Forum in New Dehli in May 2017.

I also have the honor of being on the advisory board of MindShift and an Ambassador for Beyond Blue. Having lost my youngest brother Peter after a long battle with mental illness, I’ve experienced first hand the toll mental illness can take on those who suffer from it, their careers, family and friends. Helping to remove the stigma and shame that still surrounds mental illness is something I’m deeply committed to. Coping with mental illness is hard enough already.

Last but not least, I am the mother of four rowdy, untidy, curious but very loveable children – Lachlan, Maddy, Ben and Matthew. They teach me lessons on courage, resilience, patience, acceptance, forgiveness and gratitude every single day. Oh and letting go. Probably the hardest lesson of all.

Being a working mum with four kids, I’ve practiced plenty of conscientious neglect over the years. While my kids are yet to manage their own lives fully, they are incredibly self-reliant, adaptable, passionate and resilient young people. If you’d like to read a recent column I wrote on raising brave and resilient kids, please click here.

The photo above is from Angkor Wat, Cambodia. From the Himalayas to the Amazon to our recent climb up Mt Kilimanjaro and time in Nairobi’s Kibera slum, already they’ve seen more of the world than I knew existed at their age.

Not only do I want them to experience the world, but to do their part in making it a better one.