It has always been a desire of mine to help people less fortunate than myself. I was born to a poor family who never had the money to do the things I saw ‘normal’ families doing. Through some strokes of luck I managed to extricate myself from the hand to mouth existence that appeared to be my destiny and, over the next 30 something years I worked long and hard to achieve some success. But, no matter where I was, or what I was doing, I never lost the memory of where I came from and how much of a struggle life was in the early days.
Recently, it has dawned on me that most things I have done in my life have brought me to a position where I am now able to help people who need some guidance in their life. People who can see no way forward, or who have experienced some personal trauma, or have fallen into depression, suffer from anxiety or PTSD. I have experienced all of this and am able to relate on a personal experience level – not an academic/theory level (although I do have academic credentials to support my experience).
In 2019, I conducted a number of very fruitful talks across the UK. This included theatre shows as well as presentation in prisons, drug and alcohol rehab groups and small village halls. A number of similar session were planned in Australia until the dreaded Covid put a stop to everything.
Later in 2019 I presented my own one man play based on my experiences with PTSD and depression at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It was planned to present that play at the Adelaide Fringe in 2020 but, once again, Covid put a stop to that.
Over the past few months I have not sat around doing nothing. Instead I have undertaken additional education to gain credentials as a life coach and am now refreshing my outdoor education and bushwalking skills through a Certificate 3 in Outdoor Leadership (evidently you now can use a GPS to navigate rather than a map and compass…).
In summary the following qualifications and skills have been obtained:
Diploma of Teaching (major studies in Educational psychology and human movement studies)
Graduate Diploma of Applied Science (Instructional Design and Technology)
Graduate Diploma of Applied Business Information Systems
Executive Certificate of Event Management
Certificate of Life Coaching
Certificate III in Outdoor Leadership (in progress)
Nineteen years in the Australian Regular Army
Twenty years in Australian Army Reserves (including various operational deployments)
Public speaking, training, teaching and counselling – constantly for over forty years.
It is now time to use all the skills I have gained over the years to assist people get on with, and enjoy, their lives.