Hello, I’m Said (like sci-eed).
Welcome!
To a library your future self will thank you for exploring.
Writing in these halls will help ambitious people find courage.
Courage to;
- show up in imperfection,
- risk daring boldly and
- stand in honesty when instinct says to run or hide.
Building the courage to open up and find honesty isn’t loud or exciting.
It’s quiet, done in the dark when nobody is looking.
Because who you are in the dark is simply who you are.
It takes courage to look.
I don’t have it all figured out, but I’m learning every day and leaving a trail for people like me who know they’re meant for more.
More connection with loved ones, more time spent on what matters, more sense of felt contribution and celebration of the little things.
The more that makes life worth living.
Writing started here in around 2020, mostly focused on suicide prevention.
The words came from deep within, from years; on the frontline and training others, hundreds of hours of reflection, and of course the personal experiences that led me to mental health work, some of which you can listen to.
For me, personal growth has been a battle.
A struggle.
Like a knife fight between me and myself.
I’ve hired coaches, paid for online containers and been lucky to have incredible people willing to offer perspective and heart.
But things didn’t really change until I learned to be more honest.
Firstly with myself, that’s where it all began.
Next, with my mentors Mitch and AJ.
They’ve helped me tend to the soil of my heart, navigate absolute chaos of my partner’s health challenges.
With their help, I overcame countless limiting beliefs. I still do.
Their coaching in business has set us up for a secure future, but more importantly their example in life is what stirred our hearts.
They challenged me, showing I could step up as a provider and support Marissa financially, against my deeply ingrained – even dogmatic – beliefs. They helped me live through the values I actually hold in my heart, rather than the ones I inhereted without question.
As a result, Marissa’s been able to devote herself totally to healing.
She’s confronted aspects of her psyche, nervous system and physical health with such intensity that any courage I lay claim to absolutely pales by comparison.
Her recovery has been no less than miraculous.
I’ll share more about these things, but more so what led to them.
Sometimes in the form of Notes, big ideas expressed as quickly as possible.
Growth happens beneath the surface, like a tiny root spreading down beneath a seed where it can’t be seen in the soil.
I love this metaphor because it fits perfectly the personal growth journey, and also because this is how ideas work.
A tiny little concept can make its way deep into the soil of someone’s heart and thereby take root… leading to futures of forests.
I’ll write about what’s helped not just as a mental health trainer but as a lover, friend, mentor and especially as someone learning to receive support.
From that perspective I’ll share about mentorship and leadership, in my career, business and life.
I’m a huge believer in the power of personal relationships, because I’ve been touched by that power countless times.
By people who were both generous and also skilled. Generous with their time and hearts, but skilled too in that they have backbone and aren’t afraid to challenge me to live more aligned with my values.
People who don’t want me to shrink my dreams to fit the limits of reality, but rather help me grow, expand my reality to fit the size of my dreams.
People who ask me directly; is that really all you’ve got?
Do you really believe the limits you impose on who you are and what you’re capable of?
‘You think that’s air, you’re breathing?‘
It’s been a humbling journey.
And if you’re anything like me (proud to the point of arrogant) humility actually feels like humiliation.
It feels like a gong smashing in my chest.
One that has reverberated multiple times while attempting to make positive change in the world, and learning in order to do that I first have to make change in me.
It’s taken deep soul searching to look within and ask genuinely what holds me back from the life I dream of…
A life where I can sow into people, design and nurture communities, build sustainable systems of education and produce.
It used to be that I wanted to help 1,000,000 people learn suicide prevention skills.
This drove me.
After years of pushing and striving I’m now focused on something more calm: being where my feet are.
Today I’m planting a single seed and tending to it with love.
The same way that has been done for me.
Often and yet gently.
One by one, one on one.
This is a place for people who want to make positive change in the world, but recognise it starts within.
If my journey resonates with you, welcome home.