“We can't all have the textbook life we once imagined at 18, 21, or 30. Life is what it is. Your future depends on the decisions you make from here on.” I’ll never forget the day my brother Frank was told he’d never walk again. I sat beside him in his hospital bed,...
Many years ago, my younger sister Anne volunteered with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a French medical humanitarian organization – also known as Doctors Without Borders. Anne was not long out of medical school but wanted to heed a long-held desire to help...
"Every blade of grass has an Angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow! Grow!'" I love this verse from the Talmud for its imagery as much as its encouragement. It aligns with a valuable lesson from growing up on my parent's dairy farm which I shared in my...
It’s been over three weeks since my precious mum left this world and over two weeks today since her funeral. And oh, what a beautiful funeral it was! Yes, it was sad. Yes, we cried. Yes, our hearts hurt. My siblings and I have lost our mum. Our eighteen children, a...
“All right, I'll go in there for Dorothy," announced the Cowardly Lion. "Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I'll tear 'em apart. I may not come out alive, but I'm going in. There's just one thing I want you fellows to do. Talk me out of it.” This...
Dr Brené Brown has shared many insights that resonate with me. Yet one stands apart: "When we don’t work on our shame, we work it out on others.” Sometimes we conflate and confuse guilt and shame. Guilt is an adaptive emotion we feel when we assess that we have...
A swirling mix of nerves and excitement coursed through me as I waved my family goodbye and the sliding doors closed behind me at Melbourne airport. I was 21 and, armed with little more than a backpack and some travelers' checks (remember those?), I was...
We all know that it’s good to be grateful. Yet let’s face it, the gravitational pull to dwell on what we don't like or perceive as lacking is strong. Unless we consciously choose otherwise, our attention tends to get pulled toward what’s wrong and whom we can blame....
The woman across from me at a dinner I attended recently rolled her eyes in annoyance when the waiter accidentally poured wine into her water glass. As soon as he realized his error, he apologized profusely. But she was frustrated and let him know as much. Later on,...
As a kid, my dad often took me fishing in his rusty tin boat. Every now and again it would spring a leak. Dad was always creative in finding ways to plug the leak until we returned to shore. Blue tack. Candy. One time he used an apple. He’d often say, ‘Boats don’t...
While I grew up riding horses, I was never a particularly stylish equestrian. More like a pretty rough n' ready one… gutsy enough to hold on to my wild Brumby we won in a raffle for 20 cents (I kid you not!). I fell off a few times too. Most often because I’d...
As I’ve soaked in the spendor of Colorado's Rocky Mountains over the last week, many times I’ve thought back to this time last year when my future was mired with uncertainty. On more than one occasion I've felt like pinching myself. Not just because of the majestic...
You’re such an idiot. Seriously, when will you ever figure this out. You're just not (good-smart-together-accomplished-successful-Fill-in-the-blank) enough. You’re a lousy presenter/parent/partner/person/(fill in the blank) How often have you heard a little voice...
Today is the last Friday, of the last week of the month. I appreciate this is not particularly significant. However maybe you’ve had a bad day, or week, or month… or the entire last 12 months could be described as your ‘annus horriblis.’ Maybe you’re feeling really...
“Life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you.” This was a chapter title in my book Brave. It’s also a maxim I’ve had to remind myself of many times in recent years as my well laid plans have derailed and I’ve found myself in circumstances that were a far cry from...
There’s nothing like a global pandemic to make one step back and rethink life. So while this crisis has tilted our world on its axis, leaving many feeling ungrounded and off-kilter, it’s not all bad. A lot bad, yes. But not all. My own recent experience is a case in...
Last Friday my husband went to the doctor. He had a mild fever and occasional cough. In ordinary times, he would have just pushed through. But these are no ordinary times. He had flown into Singapore two days earlier from the United States where three of our four...
Growing up on my parents' small dairy farm, the vision I had for my life extended little further than the back paddock. I knew there was a lot of world out there but it was just impossible to imagine all the possibilities it held. Since leaving home at 18 I’ve...
Last weekend, women hailing from eleven countries – from Japan to Bulgaria, Israel to Argentina – joined me at my Live Brave Weekend. Being my first Live Brave Weekend outside Australia, I wasn’t sure how it would differ from the others. It was on a warm...
William James, considered the founding father of modern day psychology, once today his students at Harvard that most people live in a highly restricted circle of their fullest potential. He cited the number one reason as being a lack of faith in themselves. James...
