If you had told me years ago that I’d be here, sharing my story on a little hobby blog started in 2018, I probably would have laughed—or maybe cried.
My journey has been anything but straightforward. It’s been messy, painful, and filled with moments where I felt like giving up entirely. But looking back now, I can see how every challenge, every misstep, and every breakthrough led me to this point.
This is my story.
A Rocky Start
Like many people, I didn’t exactly have the kind of childhood that sets you up for success. Home wasn’t a safe place—it was hostile and unpredictable. I learned early on to keep my guard up and fend for myself.
But even outside of home, life wasn’t much easier.
School was a battlefield of its own. I struggled to read and keep up, but instead of getting help, I was treated like I wasn’t trying hard enough.
What no one knew—not my teachers, not even my parents—was that I had ADHD, am highly sensitive, and a rare introvert. It would take decades before I’d get that diagnosis, but back then? It just felt like I was broken.
Stuck in Survival Mode
By the time I left school with no qualifications, I’d already internalized the idea that I wasn’t good enough. That belief followed me into the workforce, where I bounced between low-paying jobs with controlling bosses who saw me as disposable.
Deep down, I knew I had potential—I even started dabbling in online business when I was 20—but every time I got close to making progress, I’d sabotage myself. Fear of failure (or maybe success?) kept me spinning my wheels for years.
Looking back now, it’s clear that my low self-worth was running the show. I stayed in jobs that drained me because I didn’t think I deserved better.
And when depression hit in my late twenties, it felt like confirmation of everything I’d always feared: that something was fundamentally wrong with me.
A Pivotal Realization
Hitting rock bottom was both the worst and best thing that ever happened to me. Depression forced me to stop and really look at my life—the pain, the patterns, the choices that had led me there. It wasn’t pretty, but it was honest.
Around this time, I started therapy and began peeling back the layers of my struggles: social anxiety that had driven me to drink too much; fear of judgment that kept me small; imposter syndrome that made success feel impossible.
And then came the moment everything changed.
After reading a few books on mindset and spirituality (honestly just trying to find something to hold onto), I had what can only be described as a spontaneous mystical experience.
In an instant, it hit me: I am not my thoughts or my body—I am the awareness behind them.
It sounds simple now, but at the time? It shattered everything I thought I knew about myself. For the first time in my life, the distorted view of “me” fell away, leaving behind a profound sense of peace.
Rebuilding from Scratch
But here’s the thing about spiritual awakenings—they don’t magically fix your life overnight. While that moment gave me clarity about who I really am, it also revealed just how much unlearning and healing lay ahead.
Years of faulty programming don’t disappear with one realization; they have to be rewired. So that’s what I did—or started to do, anyway.
Slowly but surely, I began breaking free from habits that no longer served me. Alcohol? Gone. Refined sugar? Cut out for two years straight.
Instead, I leaned into healthier routines like journaling, meditation, daily walks, HIIT workouts—you name it. Each small change built on the last until they became a foundation for something new.
Finding My Purpose: From Survival to Success
As my mindset shifted, so did my work life. After years of scraping by with freelance web development projects (charging way too little for way too much effort), I finally invested in myself by joining Jim Fortin’s Transformational Coaching Program.
That program changed everything—I went from charging £500 per website to £5,000 and started seeing what was truly possible for me.
But success came with its own challenges.
Before long, burnout crept in as I realized I’d built a business that demanded more from me than it gave back. It forced me to reevaluate what freedom really meant—and how to design a life aligned with my values.
That reevaluation led me down new paths: freelance writing for a popular marketing blog (where I published over 140 articles), diving into mindset coaching (and getting certified along the way), and even finding success in affiliate marketing by partnering with some of the biggest names in personal development.
The Revelation: Understanding Myself
Amid all this growth came another life-changing moment—my ADHD diagnosis in my late 30s.
Suddenly so much of my past made sense: the struggles in school, the self-sabotage in business, even the overwhelm that often accompanied success. Understanding how my brain works gave me clarity and compassion for myself in ways I’d never experienced before.
Mastery: Building a Life That Feels Like Mine
These days, life looks very different from where it started—and honestly? It feels pretty damn good.
I’ve learned how to work with my brain instead of against it by creating systems in my business that align with my introverted nature and love for structure.
I’m growing Grand Habit—this blog you’re reading right now—and building a coaching practice that helps others break free from their own limiting beliefs.
But perhaps the most unexpected and beautiful part of this chapter has been meeting my soulmate. For so long, I carried the weight of my past into relationships, convinced I wasn’t worthy of the kind of love I dreamed about.
When I finally let go of those old stories—when I started showing up as my most authentic self—I found someone who saw me for exactly who I am and loved me anyway. Together, we’ve built a relationship rooted in trust, kindness, and growth—a kind of partnership I didn’t even know was possible.
More than anything else, I’ve learned this: healing isn’t linear, growth isn’t glamorous, and success doesn’t come from “fixing” yourself—it comes from embracing who you are at your core and building from there. And that includes love—not just romantic love, but the love you give yourself and the people who truly see you.
These days, I feel like I’m finally living a life that feels like mine. And if you’re reading this and feeling stuck or broken or like you’ll never figure it out—trust me when I say this: you’re not alone.
If my journey has taught me anything, it’s that even the messiest beginnings can lead to something beautiful if you’re willing to keep going. This is just the beginning for me—and maybe for you too. Let’s see where it takes us next.