I am a simple country girl at heart. I was born in Lancashire, England. My family relocated to County Mayo on the west coast of Ireland when I was just 6. It took a while to adjust to living in the countryside but I loved it and my parents’ home is still my ‘happy place’ to this day. Family is very important to me. I learned so much from my wonderful parents.

My teenage years were full of adventures, mistakes, heartbreak and a real desire to explore beyond my cosy countryside life.  I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life when I finished school aged 18. I wasn’t exactly a straight-A student, but I wanted to do something different so I enrolled on a textiles course in Belfast. I grew up a lot during those 3 years in Belfast, but again became restless, so I began searching for my next adventure.

This led me to Scotland, a place that has been my home for the last 23 years. How did that happen? I came over here to pursue a degree, which I felt I needed, but I honestly didn’t think I would still be here over two decades later.  Looking back on my 40+ (a lady never tells) years on this planet, I realise that I have spent much of it chasing something without being clear about what that ‘something’ was.

Anyway, back to life in Scotland. I completed my degree (Quality Management and Business Studies, just in case you were wondering) but like so many, I didn’t have a clue about what to do with it. I still hadn’t found my passion, the thing I felt compelled to do and so I went with the flow. I got involved in student politics which was a fascinating experience. Although I felt totally out of my depth, it was exciting and I was able to help people which I realised I really wanted to do. Following this I worked with student volunteer groups and then moved into the charity sector. 

I was a fresh faced 20-something with big ideas and the desire to change the world. That was eventually knocked out of me when the day-to-day reality of work in the sector set in. I loved the work I did in volunteer management. I met some of the most amazing, caring, determined and selfless people ever during my almost two decades in the sector. After almost a decade working in the third sector, I took a short break when my daughter was born. It was so difficult returning to work and leaving my bundle of joy. My priorities had changed and I felt I was missing out on so much while working full time.

A few years after my daughter was born, I developed chronic pain. I underwent multiple investigations, tests and tried every painkiller on the planet (well at least it felt like that), but nothing worked. I was trapped in a constant cycle of pain and my world shrank. I stopped making plans with friends as I had to cancel at the last minute far too often and I retreated into life at home.  All the time I spent without a diagnosis, I felt like a phoney and even began to think that it was all in my head. This went on for almost 4 years before I was diagnosed with endometriosis. This was probably the worst period of my life. I lost all sense of who I was, I lost my confidence, my spark and myself. Bleak or what!

When the year started, I was not in a good place. I was struggling with chronic pain. I had been working with the same charity for almost 10 years in a job I had loved but I now felt trapped and unable to leave due to my ongoing health concerns. What I loved most about my job was working with people, supporting their development, and seeing them flourish.  In January of that year my team was restructured and my job was put at risk of redundancy. This was my catalyst for change.

During the consultation process I started to think about what I really wanted to do with my life. I knew that something had been missing career wise for a while but I had held myself back from making a change due to my ongoing health concerns.  I came across an advert for an information session for a diploma in Life Coaching. I went along and felt like the other shoe had finally dropped. I felt excited about the possibilities for my future for the first time in so long.

Becoming a Transformational Life Coach has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. Life has continued to throw many curveballs my way over the past few years but my training, own personal development, growth and coaching have seen me through and now I want to do the same for you.

My goal, is simple, it’s to make the world a better place, one life at a time.

So, what are you waiting for? Come on and join me, find yourself, become the person you are meant to be.