It is TIME.

I turned 33 this weekend. And with it, I made a commitment. To give myself a year. To GIFT it to myself.?

When I turned 30 in 2020, I was at an almighty rock bottom. Everything that felt like it could go wrong, did. I didn’t know which way was up or down, my world was total chaos, and it felt like everything was falling apart.

What I did have was the understanding that ultimately I could not control the chaos that was unfolding around me, I could however, have power over what was going on inside me.

So 3 years ago, I gifted my 30th year to my self. I knew I had to find a way out of the pain and the suffering that haunted me, and I made a commitment, for one year, to ONLY do what felt good.

I made a commitment to get free, by whatever means possible, of the stories, the beliefs, the attachments. ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that was not supporting my happiness, had to go. And it did.?

It was a HELL of a year, that saw me give up my apartment, sell all my possessions, ride an expired visa on a 30,000 mile road trip throughout the US, during the height of the pandemic.

Throughout it all I thought I was losing my mind, but that commitment to get free, was unwavering. I had to get totally and utterly free of my old life, wipe every slate clean, face the darkest shadows of my mind to clear out the cobwebs, and get taken to new edges of my perception of consciousness.?

That commitment was the best decision of my life, and I return to that level of commitment again.

I have spent the past 3 years building a toolbox. Kate, or Angel Kate as so many have come to know her, is someone I met 3 months after Tom died. We were friends instantly. She too has been in many rock bottoms, facing the darkest of nights and unimaginable chaos head on.?

That was the moment we started tag-teaming. Kate’s ability to reframe my perception of certain situations, offering an alternative approach to the language and relationship to experiences I was navigating… it nothing short of BLEW MY MIND.?

I then had friends who were navigating difficult experiences - career transitions, panic attacks, stuckness, break-ups, anxiety - all the stuff they tell you to go to therapy for - my answer to them all, ‘you gotta speak to Kate’.

And they did. And their minds too have been blown. Friends and family who have been in therapy for 20+ years, are saying ‘WTF, how do we not know this stuff already?’ I quote one, saying ‘it’s totally revolutionary!’

I learnt how to build a toolbox with Kate.?

This work is never about going to someone else to ‘fix’ you. It can’t be. It’s the greatest lie we’ve been sold by Western psychiatry. WE have to be willing to go in there. Down into the depths of our soul, to come out the other side.

Knowing that WE are the ones that fell to the ground, and that WE are the ones who learnt how to climb back onto our feet with the blood and sweat of every hand, foot, tooth and nail. It is the ONLY way.?

In Kate’s birthday message to me a couple of days ago, she commented on the total transformation of the person I have become within the space of 3 years. It has been an unwavering commitment, a dedication to this path, that has changed every cell within me.

I feel FREE at a level I never knew existed. I feel JOY in the fullest sense of the word. And I know PURPOSE like my life depends on it. Because it does.?

I couldn’t have done this without Kate. I guess I pushed her into coaching. Coerced maybe. But my GOD is this woman brilliant. And the truth is, we’re not meant to do this alone. And when we’re in those dark moments of despair, it always feels so very, very lonely.?

I compare my January 2020 rock bottom to where Tom was. He went one way, walking into the ocean, I believe to escape the pain, drowning in May 2019. I went the other way. I’m here. Living, breathing, more alive than I’ve ever been. I threw a party on Saturday in my new home, surrounded by SO MUCH love, dancing in my living room.

I feel more alive than I’ve ever been.?

I ask myself, how I did I get here, and Tom didn’t? What was the swaying factor? I now feel like I’m here because I’m supposed to be here. I am here because I got myself out of a very dark place, and I’m proof that it’s possible.

So I ask, what did I need at that moment? What did Tom need at that lowest point??

I always return to the same two messages:

1. You are not alone
2. There is a way through

We need hope. When we’re at our rock bottoms, the message we need is HOPE.?

The reason I write, the reason I share my message, the reason I want to speak to as many people as I can, is to say, you are not alone.

The world may feel like it’s falling apart right now. I’m seeing countless layoffs on LinkedIn, marriages breaking down, news of cancer, disease, child suicide…

I’m hearing a lot these days. Entire worlds are being rocked to the core, surrounding us in chaos and despair. And throughout it all, you are not alone.?

And number 2 is where Kate comes in. There is a way through. And you have all the tools inside you, although it may not feel like it. But navigating uncertainty is a hell of a ride, and we’re all doing it right now.?

What I have learnt in my own practice these past 3 years, is that there is literally NOTHING I can not navigate. NOTHING. And that’s some Viking level confidence right there.?

We are in VERY uncertain times, that much is so obviously clear. Navigating the storms and tsunami waves of it all. And whilst the truth is that we can not control anything that is happening outside of us, whether it be a crashing economy, or news of sickness, or loved ones dying (yes I’m not afraid of the morbid or the darkness, and that is a power), we DO have total and utter control of how we navigate our internal worlds.?

I have spent 3 years going deep into the underbelly of my darkness. I had to. If I want to share these tools with the world. I had to go there myself. I had to come out the other side with such unfailing conviction, that THIS is the stuff that matters. THIS is the stuff that works.?

So I spent these 3 years on the back-burners. Waiting patiently for the right time. I have an extensive network of people, and huge community of folks in the business world that I built with Tom. They know his story. Some of them know mine. And the power of story is everything.

I have been waiting. Until all the ducks were lined up. And now, that time has come. The time has come to get back into the world. It’s time to build.?

I’m here to get these tools into the hands of the masses. Because I know if Tom had these tools, he would still be here. It’s as simple as that. And the proof of the 30+ friends and family that have learnt these tools in the last couple of years - we have the data to know that this stuff works. That it IS truly revolutionary.

I’m excited to announce that we’ve just partnered with Quan Wellbeing . We’re going to be helping grow their presence in the US. Wellbeing software that can actually track the impact of these tools.

There’s a lot of mental health tech out there, but how much of it actually works? All these companies who have a mental health budget, how effectively is it being used? I’m willing to take a bet that it’s not.

I’m only going to be shouting about the stuff that I KNOW works. The stuff that ABSOLUTELY TURNS ME ON. Kate does. And, we just connected a Fortune 150 company with Quan - they were so impressed with the offering that they’re trialling it out.

We talk about purpose, and finding what it is that lights us up. THIS sets me on fire. Taking Kate’s toolbox of the mind to as many people as possible, and then using Quan as a. a way to measure changes, and b. a revenue stream for us - this is a no brainer.?

And so now all these ducks have been lined up. I know what I want to do. I know what the next steps are. Here’s where my 33rd birthday commitment comes in.

I’m going all in. Give myself a year.

Knowing that this is the work I want to be doing for life. Knowing that what we’re building IS the work I am here to do. I’m going ALL in. How big can I build it? How fast can we run?

Gift myself a year. With the overflowing toolbox I now have at my disposal. I know what my body needs every day. I know what I need to thrive. I know the work I am here to do.

THIS LIGHTS ME ON FIRE.?

This lights me on fire.

The brand I’m building this under is Whole Collective - a network of the tools, the businesses and the people who leading are a new way. A new way for being, a new way for living. The one where we’re not all depressed and disconnected as hell.

And, this new world that we’re building, my GOD is it exciting. There are masterpieces inside every one of us. There is work inside every single one of us that lights us on fire, that brings us abundance, success, and meaning to our lives.?

Quan is the flagship to how we get off the ground. Kate’s tools are the ones I’m going to be shouting about from the rooftops - “YOU HAVE TO MEET HER.”

I’m building structure around it all. There will be events like the ones we used to host in Tom’s garden. 100-200 C level execs, coming together in connection. With purpose, with meaning.

The power crew of folks I am bringing together are the ones who have one foot in both worlds - where their rational minds co-exist with the endless possibility of what tapped-in consciousness can create. One foot in the WOO, and one in the knows how to BUILD. Those are my kind of people.?

There’s more to come. There always is. I’m all in. You’ll be hearing from me. This stuff matters more than ANYTHING I have ever known. We’re getting free of the old, building the new, and MY GOD is it hella exciting.?

I’d love to hear from you. Please reach out. Better yet, if you’re interested in learning more about Kate’s work and how Quan might benefit your company, HIT ME UP YO.?