At 31 I was making $15,000 a month and sipping Mai Tais on my back deck by 3 p.m. I had found my groove. I was a businesswoman in the oil and gas industry, and I couldn't have been prouder. I had climbed that goddamn ladder as hard and as fast as I could, and I really made something of myself. I was the first woman to sell service rigs IN THE WORLD. I had quadrupled my revenue from $1,000,000 to $4,000,000 in the first nine months, and I was the first woman ever to participate in all-men’s hockey tournaments. Fast-forward a few years, and I had reached more of my goals. I was a business coach, building a respectable client list, and had created and successfully executed a sales and leadership platform. I was forging forward at supersonic speed. Along the way, I recognized the power of money and its relationship with women. I saw a future where balance existed. I thought, “OMG. If more women could create and sustain financial independence, this world would be such a healthier place!”  

The problem?

I was completely burnt out and I felt trapped in my own life. On the outside I had everything I needed to have a good time ⏤ a nice house in the city, a little ski cabin in the country, a husband who loved me, lots of money in the bank. On the inside, however, I felt like double-sided sticky tape. Everybody else’s problems stuck to me like a toxic relationship. I had no concept of what a healthy boundary was, nor did I have the confidence to create one. Not to mention that my husband and I were not on the same page. We were like two ships passing in the night, moving farther and farther away from each other everyday. And my health was not great either. I was suffering from headaches, cramps, allergies, asthma, poor digestion ⏤ you know, the usual symptoms of burnout.

I needed to get out.  

I needed to step away from the work, the buy-spend cycle, the ego-fueled rat race and get real with myself ⏤ mind, body, and spirit. I knew I had  some stinky habits that I needed to wash away. And based on the work I had already done on myself, I knew that I was not just changing a few niggly habits, I was reprogramming my whole existence. I needed to get back to my roots. Because if I wanted an abundant, love-filled dream business and life, then I needed to remove every single piece of armour that was holding me back ⏤ and let go of everything.  

So, we threw caution to the wind, and my husband and I quit our work-spend-repeat, rat-race lives, bought a 1972 Volkswagen van, and headed down the west coast from Canada to San Diego, California. A year later, we sold our house in Calgary, put everything into storage, and moved to Spain, where I started writing a book. Soon after we returned from Europe, we moved to Vancouver. My husband went to university to finish a diploma in political studies. I decided to get real with my lack of self-confidence and took an acting course, found myself a great talent agent, and started auditioning for commercials and working as a background performer in TV and film.

In my naivety, I assumed my journey of transformation and self-discovery would take about one year. Ten wild years later ⏤ and I mean wild ⏤ I am healthy, on my path, and ready to be the best, most kick-ass version of myself.

Are you ready to do the same?

P.S. Still wondering how we ended up living in a van down by the river?

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Much love,