I bet you’re wondering how it all still added up to me being a coach right?

I promise you I’m getting there!

I want you to see that all the dots really do add up over time. And often when a seed is planted you may barely notice what it is growing into.

Things started happening pretty fast for me after that time away from work. With the dust settling in my mind I started to realise there were some bigger things that needed to change in my life.

One big thing in particular.

I realised that I’d been living with a to-do list in my mind and I’d just about ticked it all off. I was at a junction. I could keep going down a familiar path and essentially repeat what I’d always done or I could start tuning into the parts of me that really get lit up.

Like when I booked that Kenya trip.

Or when I arrived at the PEP weekend.

Or when I (finally) sunk into my coffee dates with myself.

I realised that many of the decisions I’d made in my life that filled me with joy were ones that possibly didn’t make much sense at the time, and they certainly didn’t have much of a clear plan in place.

For over a decade I’d dreamt about living in London. I’m not sure where the seed was first planted. Mostly I thought it was just because it felt like the epicentre of traveling. And I loved traveling.

My first trip to London I’d actually made happen whilst at university. I’d constructed a way to study a summer subject at the London School of Economics (i.e. I’d figured out a way to justify it to my brain that it was okay to spend the money) and got to spend a full six weeks in London.

I was in love.

There was something about the feeling of jumping on and off the train. Of how the buildings looked along the river. Of the cute houses lining the streets. Of the busyness that actually didn’t feel so busy at all to me. Of the cute laneways and shops. Of the theatres. All of it just oozed excitement and adventure to me.

Maybe that’s when the seed really started to plant its roots in. The dream was expanding. I’d look at everyone on the streets and in the tube and wonder how they lived here, what it was they did, how they made it work.

At the end of that trip I’d return to Australia and just get on with it (remember I had that mega to-do list to action). I’d return a few times over the years for various travels, always with that same sensation when I landed. It felt so familiar.

And I would hear of people moving to London. Friends of friends. Then friends. And, if I’m completely honest, I always felt this little pang. Not quite jealousy. Possibly more disappointment. I thought it was exciting and adventurous and awesome for them. And I also felt a little sad for me.

It felt so distant. Like a thing that I knew I really wanted, but it still felt like it lived in make-belief land. And yet, time after time other people would make the move.

Having had the space to let the dust settle in my mind with my time off work, I was getting really clear on the things that were most important to me in my life. Yes my family. Yes my partner. Yes my friends.

But there was something else now.

There was me.

I knew for things to really change I needed to start making decisions that put me and what matters most to me at the centre. And it started to dawn on me that if I wanted my dreams come true – I could just go and make them happen.

If I wanted to live in London – why didn’t I just go and live in London?

If they could do it, why couldn’t I?

And, most importantly, if not now, when?

That was the question that really catapulted me into action.

And – I promised you I’d get to it – whilst all that was happening, and the dust had settled, and I started to pay attention to what was most important to me, I also got curious about this whole coaching thing.

I’d filled out a form online for an information pack for the top coaching school in Australia. When the pack arrived it was like Christmas. This gorgeous big box filled with goodies and a handwritten card.

I opened the envelope, and pulled out the card to read on the front:

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

It literally sent chills down my spine. It had been one of my all time favourite quotes. And it felt so much like a direct message to me. This is it. This is what you’re going to be doing with your life.

I texted my best friend (we met on our Kenya trip, kindred spirits) and told her.

Six months later my house was packed and we were off to London. It took me a little longer to sign up to my training, but the decision was made well before.

I didn’t have the plan. I just knew I’d keep moving in the direction.

And that’s been another big lesson for me. You don’t actually have to have it all figured out from the get-go. But you do have to say Yes to you to get going. And trust that when you do it’ll unfold from there.