But my love for trading persisted, and the Malvern Star bicycle and 10-foot fiberglass dinghy I bought with the proceeds are still my most prized possessions. I used to believe that running a successful business was as simple as offering a product or service for money. Little did I know, an essential piece was missing—a lesson that took me four businesses and 40 years to learn. I often wondered, "Why am I working day and night, stressed about payroll, and barely giving myself a paycheck, let alone a regular one?" Whether it was creating ad campaigns, selling land, or wedding packages, we made lots of money and watched it vanish just as fast. So, what was I missing? Financial education? Discipline? A solid business plan? Yes, all of those, but there was something even more critical that society often neglects—self-mastery. I had no clue who I was or what my true life purpose was. I blindly followed the belief that hard work equaled happiness. I achieved the dream: a waterfront mansion, a stable marriage, three beautiful daughters, and a hefty bank account. Yet one day, while kayaking with my daughter Clover, looking out at our grand estate, all I felt was emptiness. The thought of confronting my inner void terrified me. Would it open a Pandora's box of dark truths I couldn't handle? I stuck with what I knew.
Great Recession. As our 30 years of hard-earned wealth disappeared in just nine months, I spiraled down with it. I believe there are two kinds of death: physical and metaphysical. I had to let go of the belief that success meant sacrificing myself on the altar of hard work. Instead, I needed to stand before the mirror and face the stranger looking back at me. I sought therapy and relocated my family to Bali, the world's personal development hub. I immersed myself in inner work programs. However, after a decade and thousands of dollars, I realized I had a bagful of insights but no lasting change.
We are raised to see mental or emotional pain as undesirable. We tend to deny or numb it. What I came to realize however is that what feels like the enemy within is potentially the most precious friend, the portal to discovering who we really are. All it takes is the courage to confront and understand it. My pain? The deepest of all—self- betrayal. Chasing money and blind achievement had buried my true self. To end this self-betrayal, I embarked on a journey of self-mastery, confronting my pain, unleashing my passion, embracing my power, finding my purpose, and creating prosperity. At 50, I joined the ranks of successful entrepreneurs who found their true path later in life. Today I do for others what I did for myself, helping my fellow entrepreneurs transition from pain to prosperity. I've discovered what I believe is the holy grail for every self sacrificing business owner and entrepreneur: to make a living while loving what we do. So here's the life-changing lesson: Making money isn't the hardest part; it's becoming the person who can hold onto it, nurture it, and use it to improve not only your life but also the lives of others. That's when you'll truly understand the essence of living a happy and prosperous life.
My advertising background taught me two vital lessons:
Every problem has a solution. If you accept someone's money, deliver tangible results. I created the program I wished someone had guided me through in my darkest times. Starting with Stephen Covey's "Begin with the End in Mind," I worked backward. My ultimate goal: prosperity, a blend of financial success and profound fulfillment. But before that, I realized we need to find our purpose, a reason to wake up each day. To find our purpose, we must define and claim our unique gift or genius. Unlocking the energy source, passion, is the next step. But passion requires confronting the one thing we fear most—emotional pain.
But the universe had other plans. It threw me a curve ball—the 2008
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