06/07/2026
Last Wednesday night, I got up in front of a room of businesspeople at the CBD Sydney Chamber and talked about my personal journey over the past 8 months and what I’ve learnt about boundaries, identity and self-worth.
It was raw, it was emotional, it was vulnerable.
Alongside Cathy Dimarchos HFTGN and Marcela Acosta, I participated in a heartfelt workshop on decision mindset, boundaries and conscious collaboration, deliberately designed to encourage the kind of authentic conversations not heard enough in workplaces and businesses.
One thing that came up in the conversation that has lingered with me ever since, is one question: What are you prepared to give up to become more of who you really are?
It’s a simple question, but in reality, a hard one for so many of us to answer.
In my experience, the question is just the starting point. The answer comes from understanding what things we are emotionally attached to and releasing the parts of our identity that no longer align with our truth.
For me, this has required me to release unhealthy identifies tied to profound grief and loss in my early 20s, to let go of self-sabotaging views around worth and value, to question the ambition I was chasing rather than consciously choosing, to loosen my grip on relationships and friendships that no longer reflect my values and to redefine my life on my own terms.
I've come to believe that many of us aren't attached to our circumstances as much as to what they represent. That has required me to sit in enormous moments of discomfort and vulnerability, but the emotion I shared in the room last week, reflected the profound sense of freedom, happiness and relief I now feel.
Sometimes we hold onto careers that make us feel important, relationships that make us feel chosen, business that proves we've made it, being THE dependable friend that makes us feel needed, the assets that make the hard work feel worth it, or the expensive house in the address that signals that we’ve made it.
I understand now why answering that simple question can be so hard.
True alignment to who we really are and what makes us happy in life can feel like losing a part of ourselves.
However, aligning your life with your values is not asking you to become someone new. It's asking you to have the courage to stop holding onto the versions of yourself that no longer serve you.
My journey is shaping the way I now coach, the way I facilitate leadership programs and, ultimately, the way I see leadership itself.
The greatest privilege of my work is creating the space for people to reconnect with who they really are. The leader you become, the business you build and the life you create will never be more authentic than the relationship you have with yourself.
So, I'll leave you with the same simple question: What are you prepared to give up to become more of who you really are?
