So, in the late 90’s I formally studied Counseling, solidifying a self development path that I was to follow from that point on. Skip forward 10 years and I was done with the Music Industry. The successful Events Management business I had run for about 10 years had consumed every ounce of creativity that a musical path had originally promised and I was ready for a change. I moved back to my home town, took some time off, then found a “real” job while I figured out what to do next. For a year I worked for the Facilities Management Team in a large government organization, enjoying a relatively stress-free existence and a wonderful sense of freedom. When my boss asked me to apply for a job in Strategic Procurement I said yes (and thought “what the hell is Strategic Procurement!??”).

It turns out that I was rather good at it! Five years and 3 jobs later I had learned a very valuable lesson. A creative mindset, courage and persistence had catapulted me from the bottom of the organization to somewhere quite near the top! I was leading a team of Project Managers, Technical Architects and Developers in a large IT department, responsible for the IT security of about 10,000 people, creating strategy, policy and due diligence documents, European Union compliance submissions, overseeing a network that was connected to the Secret Services and Armed Forces, and spear-heading large scale, complex, multi-stakeholder efficiency projects on impossibly low budgets. It was stressful, exhilarating, frightening and wonderful. 

Throughout that journey I had one secret weapon! Deborah, an English Executive-turned-Coach who had created her dream life, living and working in a small town on Lake Geneva, Switzerland. With her help I rocketed up a corporate ladder and, once again, decided to take a leap of faith, albeit a strategic one! The Coaching, 7 years in Government, my thirst for knowledge, fool-hardy “say yes” approach and a lot of study had brought me to a realization. I had choices. I could do anything!