Clarity and knowing often don’t come from books or other people.

At the very best, they reflect what you already know or have inside of you.

Whenever others are coaching, advising and guiding you, they are doing so through their own particular prism of understanding and conviction. Through their guidance - however well-intended - they will always seek to confirm their identity (mostly, that’s a subconscious process). And there’s nothing wrong in that. It’s natural. The influences that we have on each other are what make us grow and create all sorts of positive triggers in our personal evolution.

Yet it’s important to stay aware of the limitations of the advice of others. Realising that, I began using writing as a tool in my work with people.

Over time, I understood that we already have all the knowledge in us to make every important decision in our lives - we just need to clear the way for it.

This is where writing comes in handy.

This is why I...

I recently gave a talk to 70 people about authenticity and integrity, and my own journey to discovering it.

Before I went on stage, I gave myself permission to be brutally honest and open - so that my openness might inspire the openness of those listening.

I began sharing my journey - how I ended up moving to Bali, how I discovered what mattered to me the most - family, how I lost some people I loved, how I created and built my businesses, how I have been travelling the world.  

People listened. Really listened.

It was real. I left my ego behind at the door. I didn’t care about ‘me’. I cared about the common denominator of my story, the aspects of it that people could relate to and be  inspired by.

I knew I was choosing vulnerability. Consciously. I knew it was provocative but connecting.

QUOTE: Choose vulnerability. Do it deliberately. It is provocative but connecting.

People asked me questions that eventually led me to sharing my greatest loss in life....

Everyone is a brand nowadays. We are getting personal, we are getting intimate, we are sharing who we really are.

The creation of a personal brand is a necessity, whether you are knitting sweaters or producing solar energy panels.

How can you  start creating your personal brand?

First, choose truth, your truth, instead of illusion.

What do I mean?

I am convinced that to build something truly authentic in business, you have to know  how to be truly authentic in your personal life.

Business is changing. Corporations are dull. We care about your story. Your struggles. Your lessons. Your values.

You have to be honest enough with yourself to start with and you have to understand what you stand for in your own life, and then let that transpire in your brand and what you choose to do with it.

In this day and age - however uncertain it may be economically and politically - we have the privilege of being able to  combine money flow with purpose - the two don’t have to...

Joseph Campbell writes about a hero and his journey.

You are a hero too.

I am as well.

I have also met many heroes on my travels.

A hero travels to distant lands, slaying dragons, fighting darkness in the world and often within  himself, entering the most scary of  caves and, by  doing so, transforming himself. (For each of us these are metaphoric representations of challenges that we encounter along the way).

A hero never returns home as he left. He always returns changed.

But, for a hero to travel far and wide and to be able to slay  dragons and face himself, he has to know his home.

Knowing one’s home is different from being born there.

It means feeling the strongest connection to his land, his roots, his parents and his ancestors, so that he is able to withstand the battles, the challenges and the tests that the gods throw on him throughout his journey.

A hero who doesn’t have a home can never achieve his full potential.

Every hero has parents...