I ditched WINZ, flew to Bali for a YTT & bet $4K I didn’t have on my future because I knew to trust my desire.
| Let me tell you a story. It’s mid-2014. I’d been a single parent for just over three years, on the Sole Parent Benefit while building my business to support my 4-year-old and me. I’d been running The Yoga Lunchbox for five years, published Forty Days of Yoga, and was teaching classes and workshops, but I hadn’t ventured into retreats yet. Through Justine Hamill and Wanderlust, I met the Power Living crew, including Duncan Peak. They were running a one-week, 50-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Bali that June, and I wanted in. The training (including accommodation) costs $2,500. Flights were around $1,200. Call it a $4,000 trip. All tax-deductible on my business. I didn’t have the cash, but I had access via my business credit card and overdraft. WINZ had just introduced rules requiring beneficiaries to notify them before leaving the country. I was still receiving around $200 a week from WINZ—if my business had a slow month, that amount topped me up. It was my safety net. Yet, I knew if I pulled off going to Bali for Yoga Teacher Training, I had to commit fully and leave WINZ behind. Staying partially on the benefit while taking that leap didn’t feel right. The pull was strong. Duncan was my age, and had practiced yoga just as long, yet our yoga businesses were in different stratospheres. He owned a chain of studios across Australia (soon NZ), ran Yoga Teacher Trainings, headlined festivals, and had a team. I was making about $15,000 a year, and running a yoga website at a loss. What made him different? What did he have that I didn’t? What did I need to do to get where he was? That desire made me jump. (Learn to FEEL your desire & trust it!) I called Justine, registered for the training, booked my flights, arranged for my mum to look after my son, and went off the Benefit. It took everything I had, but I knew I had to be in that room to make the next leap. And I was right. It was a wild adventure where I saw the truth behind the Power Living team (a story for another time), realized my own power as a teacher, AND… It led to two of my most significant collaborations of the past decade plus a dream fulfilled: I met Rire (DJ Ria), and we clicked big time. She invited me to join her as the yoga teacher for Yoga Rhythms, and we went on to deliver shows across New Zealand, including headlining at festivals. I met Sandey Hoskins, who later owned Om Yoga Studio in Auckland, where I taught several workshops. When she launched Inspire Yoga Teacher Training, she invited me to teach on the training. I was invited to present at Wanderlust 2015 and went on to present every year it ran in NZ. The financial value of those collaborations and spin-offs? Tens of thousands of dollars. The wealth in experience, deep friendships, connections, and identity shifts? Priceless. It’s still unfolding too—I’m teaching on an Inspire Yoga Teacher Training tomorrow—all because I listened to the call, backed myself, leveraged money like a wealthy person, and took the leap without knowing what would happen. I barely remember the ‘topics’ from that YTT—shoulder function in asana, maybe? That wasn’t the gold. The gold was in the up-level. The connections. The relationships. The identity shift required to make that leap. The shame I confronted and burned through. The shift for me happening because I forgot about all the obstacles and the barriers – money, childcare, time, energy – and I focused on the PULL of my desire. I KNEW to trust my desire, and I let that LEAD me – finding solutions to ALL the obstacles because I didn’t let the fear rule me. Your ability to do this – let desire lead and pull you THROUGH the fear – it’s priceless. If you support with this and are ready to step into your full potential and create a life aligned with your deepest desires, ❤️🔥 Own Your Desire is the course for you. It’s about unlocking the full power of your desires, understanding how they shape your decisions, and turning them into actionable, transformative steps. This course is designed to break through the blocks holding you back and give you the clarity and confidence to act on what you truly want. To FEEL your desire. To TRUST your desire. To ACT on your desire. ❤️🔥 Own Your Desire gives you the keys to start living with intention and purpose. Don’t wait for the perfect moment. The time to leap is now. Join❤️🔥 Own Your Desire today and begin the journey to owning your path, your desires, and your future. And if you’re not ready to committ – YET – I’ve created a gift just for you – the first nine episodes of the ❤️🔥 Own Your Desire podcast, for free. Grab that here. |
