The day that changed my life!
Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia - September 29th, 2016
Everything changed when my 50th birthday came around. Well, not immediately, but the decisions I made that day initiated a process that eventually led to fundamental change in my life.
I had been working in financial services since graduating from university and often dreamt of being my own boss, running my own business, and most importantly, having time/financial freedom. Up until that point, I hadn’t done much to make that dream come true. I had taken redundancy from a major bank in the United Kingdom at the height of the global financial crisis and took a few tentative steps toward starting my own business called Expect2Win. However, soon thereafter, another bank in Australia recruited me, and so, I returned to the world of banking I was so familiar with—except this time, it was on the opposite side of the world.
My dream was exactly that: a dream. And if I had continued on the same path, it was in danger of staying that way for the rest of my working life.
And so, on my 50th birthday, my eldest daughter, Emma, did one of the most amazing things anyone has ever done for me. One morning, while we celebrated in a private villa with close friends, my wife, Leona, and I took an early morning walk on the beach. Whilst we walked, Emma thoughtfully hung 50 photos from 50 different moments of my life in the villa’s living area. Between each photo was a small card with a handwritten speech pinned to the strings that stretched across the room. Every person that celebrated with us that day wrote more than one of these cards. Some were deep and meaningful, while others were fun and silly. Each one began in the same manner: “I love Andy because…”
When Leona and I got back from the beach walk, I was shocked at the beautiful sight my eyes were met with as soon as I entered the villa. I walked around, reading each card and studying the photos of wonderful memories I had made over the past 50 years with tears in my eyes. It was both a heartfelt and creative gesture. While I toured the room, I was subconsciously engaged in the Sir Richard Branson Rocking Chair Test in which you imagine yourself as a 90-year-old in a rocking chair, reflecting on the life you’ve lived. It was at that point that I began to question what I had achieved so far in my life and what I could achieve during all the years to come. I knew I had a long way to go to be satisfied with my accomplishments and to even near the limits of my own potential.
50 photos and 50 comments fundamentally changed my life. These were the sparks that ignited a burning desire within me to achieve more, do more, and ultimately be more.
What did I WANT to be saying to MYSELF?
Sir Richard Branson asks you to think about what you would say to your 90-year-old self in that rocking chair. And so, I thought and pondered upon this concept. Did I want to be saying: "If only I had done this” or “I wish I had done that”? Did I want to say, “I could have done this” or “I should have done that”? Surely, the answer was no.
I decided to achieve more in the next 25 years of my life than I had in the previous 50 years. To do that, I needed to clearly define my purpose and break free of my own self-limiting beliefs to make room for significant change.
Many would consider my career to have been a success, but personally, I felt as though I still had so much more to achieve and give. I wanted to take my knowledge, winning habits, routines, frameworks, and leadership techniques out into the world. I encountered far too many people who were trapped in a job they didn’t enjoy and working for a boss who didn’t value or respect them. Yet, these people didn’t have the required, positive self-beliefs or confidence to create change in their lives. They lacked the courage to follow their dreams. They bought into their own self-limiting perceptions and were convinced that their current circumstances paid the bills, which was worth the sacrifices they had made.
To help others believe in themselves and stretch further than their comfort zones allow, I had to go first and model what I was preaching. When I talked about my thinking, many people advised me to play it safe, stick with what I knew and hang on to what I had. I was urged to think of the risks and consequences associated with my decision. In the hope of persuading me, many people shared the failure rate of start-ups, and focused on what I could lose as opposedto what I could gain.
Those closest to me gave me the greatest level of support and encouragement and were the wind beneath my wings. Leona gave me the confidence to reach for what I dreamed of, and for that, I am forever grateful.
So, it was decided. I had made a commitment and it was time to ‘go’.
After returning to Australia from Bali, I began to journal with a focus on two specific aspects of my life. First, I wrote about my purpose and the vision I had for the remainder of my life. From this, clarity emerged.
I realized that my purpose is as follows: To help as many people as possible strive to reach their true potential by being the wind beneath their wings so they can soar to new heights.
Second, I focused on the more practical side of thinking by creating a plan for my own business, identifying the problems I wanted to help people overcome and what I needed to establish to hit the ground running. How would I serve my audience? How did I intend to make a difference?
6 months later, I left the corporate world and founded GiFT631.
I grew up in a house that was numbered 631 and I wanted my parents and grandfather’s legacy to live on in my business. During my journaling process, I had wrestled with a few business names until GiFT fell into place. It was an acronym for the following words:
Growth - Personal, team and business. Without growth, we stagnate and decline.
Inspiration - Inspiring others to reach their true potential by guiding them from where they are to where they want to be. I call this place ‘FutureYou.’
Fulfilment - Helping people pass the rocking chair test by finding their own value and living true to their passions and purpose.
Transformation - Helping people, teams, and businesses pivot, evolve, and soar.
Once I took the plunge, I went from being the general manager of a big bank to a self-employed founder of a start-up. Early on in this transition, I immediately recognized the value of the habits, routines, and frameworks I had developed over the past 30 years. As a new entrepreneur involved in the world of self-improvement, I have continued to develop, recreate, and implement these habits, routines, and frameworks for increased and long-term success, and now consider them to be my success system. In essence, this system helps me set and work through big goals, develop and sustain a ‘champion’s mindset’, take consistent, high-value action, and seek ongoing improvement to ensure I am always moving forward and improving. The more I modify these routines, the more robust they become, thus giving me the confidence to stretch my thinking and aim for bigger goals.
Now, I have the pleasure and privilege of sharing these habits, routines, and frameworks through my work as a coach, consultant, speaker, facilitator, and writer. I constantly witness the difference they can make, but only for those who are willing to consistently apply them and do the work.
Nothing changes without action.
What/Why/How/When?:
I want to use substack to share my success formula and help people move in the direction of their potential. I want to answer subscribers questions about what is holding them back, getting in the way and distracting them from living a great life and following their purpose and passion. Simple, practical, action and clear content based on my experience and learnings.
Expect articles on lots of leadership and personal development topics including goals, mindset, continuous improvement, self-confidence, high performance teams, leadership and self-belief.
I will add the odd passion article about travel, sport and live music along with some guest articles on powerful topics.
Expect a min of 2 articles a week - more if the community wants to consume it (content is not a challenge here!!)
Paid subscribers are also going to get every chapter of my forthcoming book - at least one article a week will be a chapter, along with questions/exercises and worksheets where relevant.
Foundation members will also get complementary access to my #whatwinnersdo - global livestream events (via private Facebook groups).
