Author of “Gulp!: the 7-day crash course to master fear and break through any challenge”

http://www.gulptime.com

Describe yourself in five words:

Visionary, creative, empathetic, adventurous, agile

What fact about yourself would really surprise people?

I have a fear of deep water. So a few years ago, I decided to do a diving course to try and overcome it. Luckily I was so distracted by the beautiful fish swimming past me that I forgot I was 100 yards under!

How do you work through self-doubts and fear?

Firstly, I dig deep and try to understand what the root of the fear is and where the emotion is in my body. Then I try to imagine a better and more positive outcome, and notice where that emotion is in my body. The secret then is to dial up the positive vision and feeling so that it drowns out the fear.

What scares you the most?

Being bored.

What makes you happiest?

Working on my creative projects and being around people who are doing cool stuff.

Why do you write?

Writing is an important part of my job as the coaching director at the brainsparker academy. Every day I’m writing blog posts, articles, top tips and course content. Writing for me is a great form of self-expression where you get to say exactly what you think and feel – without any interruptions. (lol)

Have you always enjoyed writing?

Actually for me, sitting down and typing words on my laptop is quite a painful process. I live for the day when the ideas in my head can be telepathically transferred to a recording device. What I do enjoy about writing is the editing process. This is where true magic can happen.

What motivates you to write?

Words are a powerful form of communication. How many times have you read something and found that it triggered a new insight that shifted your thinking? This is the power of words. And I am grateful that I have the confidence and ability to express myself in this way, and make a difference in people’s lives as a result.

What writing are you most proud of? .

I am very proud of my first published book, “Gulp! : the 7-day crash course to master fear and break through any challenge,” which was a dream come true.  I’d suffered a cancer scare and this was a real wake up call. I had always wanted to write a book, but just never got around to it. After my cancer scare, I asked myself – if not now, when?

What are you most proud of in your personal life?

I’m really proud of finally finding work/life balance.  Throughout my career I’d always been a workaholic. It wasn’t until I started developing my creativity that I realized the importance of taking time out. Most days are now a healthy balance of work, rest and social.

What books did you love growing up?

My favorite author growing up was Nancy Drew. I loved how she solved mysteries and the fact that she was a girl. If she could do it, so could I!

What do you hope your obituary will say about you?

I’d love it to say “she made life happen no matter the obstacles.”

Location and life experiences can really influence writing, tell us where you grew up and where you now live?

I was very lucky to grow up in New Zealand which is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. And like most Kiwis, I travelled around the world and lived in worked in countries like Japan, France, UK, Mexico and USA which was an amazing experience.  These days I’m based between the South of Spain and London, UK and get the best of both worlds – beach and city buzz.

 What else do you do, other than write?

I run a company called “brainsparker” which helps people boost their ability to think creatively and come up with better ideas. Our free brainsparker app uses random prompt cards to spark new ideas and is very popular with writers. And our brainsparker academy offers a range of online training and coaching programs to help people develop their creativity and innovation skills.

What other jobs have you had in your life?

For the past 15 years I’ve been working as an Executive Coach and Leadership Development Facilitator in the corporate market which has been incredibly rewarding. And before that I worked in international marketing and branding in the telecom and technology industry which was very exciting.

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you? 

For me, success in writing is about getting words on paper. Once they’re there, you can do so many things with them. But you have to get them down first. Plus, as soon as they’re out there in black and white, you leave space in your brain for new ideas to ferment. And you never know what might pop out.

Tell us about your new book? Why did you write it?

One day, out of the blue, I found a lump in my breast. It was devastating. And while I was waiting for the doctor’s results, I spent many hours reflecting on my life and the dreams I never made happen.

One of those dreams was to write a book. So when I got the all-clear from the doctor, I decided to make that dream happen. After a few false starts, I ended up writing a book about my experience called “Gulp! : the 7-day crash course to master fear and break through any challenge.”

Luckily for me Penguin UK liked it and published it, followed by Random House in the USA.

It was amazing to make that dream come true, and now I coach other people to do the same through our Brainsparker creativity app and academy.

What do you hope people will take away from your writing? How will your words make them feel?

“Gulp!” is all about helping people to make their big dreams happen. It includes loads of inspiration, tools and techniques to help people overcome their fears, and find the inner courage and confidence to step outside their comfort zone.

So many people have amazing ideas that never see the light of day, which is such a shame. I really hope that Gulp! can give them the inspiration to at least get started.

We’ve just launched a really cool Gulp! eKit which includes the digital ebook for Gulp!, plus 25-page workbook and 8 weekly coaching lessons.

If you have a big dream or a creative idea but you feel stuck or lack confidence, check out our Gulp! eKit at http://www.gulptime.com
If you are a writer and want a cool app to inspire your writing with random prompts, then check out our free brainsparker app at http://www.brainsparkerapp.com