About Joanne – with lots of detail!

I asked one of my daughters, Arabella, what I should write here.

Here’s how our conversation went:

Bella: ‘How old are you?’

Joanne: ‘Gosh, that’s a bit personal! Ok, I’m 38.’

Bella: ‘Kee-hee! Umm, they need to know that you want to give them a happy life with healthy habits.’

Joanne: ‘Ok, yes Bella, that’s great. But I’m not the one who can make people have a happy life. They need to do that for themselves, but I’m here to help them along the journey in any way that I can.’

My other daughter, Evangeline, now enters room. ‘Are you going to mention me on your website as well?’

Joanne: ‘Yes, darling, if you can help me decide what to write here.’

Evie: ‘Umm, what about [giggles] that you can help them through their life, if they’re being stuck… That’s as much as I can think of. I want to play with Bella now.’

And so it is. I’m a mum to two adorable, very helpful, seven-year-old twin girls; the wife (previously the long-standing girlfriend) of a lovely man called Darren; and a law of attraction life coach. I live in the beautiful city of Melbourne, Australia, and my life is pretty amazing.

The Early Years

I was born in the southwest of England, and moved to Australia as a babe. I grew up in a regional city in sunny Queensland, enjoying fresh tropical fruits (sometimes in parfaits from the glamorous ‘Big Pineapple’) and the freedom and fresh air of the sunshine state. As the eldest of four (yes, four!) children, I learned to be bossy and quite organized at a young age. Or perhaps I was always like that? My lovely mum assures me that I was.

Always an avid reader, I set my sights on becoming an author when, in Grade 2, I won a writing competition. In Grade 6 I read a government document (dragged from a shelf at the school library, which was my usual hang-out) that said most authors made a living as journalists, so I decided then and there to become a journalist. After deferring a journalism degree, working in OK-but-not-inspiring jobs and then living in England and travelling for a year with my darling Darren, I finally went to university (college) at 22.

Career Girl

At uni, I realised that the reality of cranking out gory daily news stories to knot-in-stomach deadlines was not something I’d enjoy, so I decided to enter the more genteel field of book publishing. I then grabbed my boyfriend Darren and moved down to Melbourne, and we have lived here ever since. I found work in publishing straight away, first as an assistant to the publisher’s assistant(!), then in marketing, and finally to my dream job as an editor at Lonely Planet. I’d always been drawn to practical, self-help type books, so working on travel and food books at Lonely Planet was just wonderful.

Just being able to get a job as an editor was a huge achievement, because publishing is such a competitive industry (everyone thinks it’s glamorous to be an editor, and in some ways it is) – sheer determination and absolute faith eventually helped me to land my dream job, as did completing a post-graduate degree in editing and publishing. I’d written my goal of becoming an editor on a pretty piece of paper and stuck it on the fridge, at eye level, so that I’d see it every time I opened the fridge door. Even back then I knew that my subconscious mind would absorb the message, and that it would be working away in the background to help bring my dream into reality.

I then married the adorable Darren, had my beautiful babies and became a part-time freelance editor.

Spiritual Shift

Until the mid-1990s (in my mid-20s), I’d had a fairly slow spiritual awakening. I had followed the advice of personal development gurus (I’ve always been a very practical person) in setting goals and so forth, but I always seemed to be searching. I knew that my life could be even better than it was, but at the same time I often didn’t fully appreciate what blessings I did have.

In my final year of university back in 1996, I got into the habit of watching Oprah most afternoons (when I didn’t have lectures!). On one show, Oprah interviewed Sarah Ban Breathnach and introduced the concept of ‘gratitude journals’, from Sarah’s new book, called Simple Abundance. I ordered my own copy of the book, and it became my bedside ‘bible’, and a guide for my life. Then, in the mid-noughties, I watched the Oprah show that featured the new movie, The Secret. I was fascinated with what the presenters were saying, and with Oprah’s reaction to it.

I ordered a copy of the movie, and life has never been the same since. Straight away I began seeing the world in an even deeper way, and even though The Secret has had many detractors because it doesn’t seem to give the ‘full picture’ in relation to the law of attraction, it gave me inspiration and a wonderful starting point.

All I can say is, ‘God bless Oprah’. Who’d have thought that a daytime TV show could have such a positive influence on the lives of so many people? From then on I devoured every spiritual development book that called to me.

The Test

As if to test my belief in the law of attraction, something awful happened in 2007. My back, which had caused me problems ever since I’d fallen on it in a roller-skating incident when I was 12, became a real problem. I ended up needing surgery, and I was out of action for more than six weeks. This was a real wake-up call. I really needed to look after my health, and to stop working ridiculous hours and worrying endlessly about money.

Because I was now so much more aware of ‘things happening for a reason’, I paid attention when I was reintroduced to the concept of ‘raw food’ just before my surgery. I’d dabbled with raw food in my mid-teens, and it came back into my life at just the right time. I started to heal my health, and wonderful opportunities came my way, such as being asked to author a children’s recipe book for an Australian publisher.

I then went on to write a raw-food recipe e-book for the blogging site Raw Mom (www.rawmom.com), and I still write blogs for Raw Mom. That e-book is the first-ever raw food recipe book written just for children – if you’re interested in having a look at it, head here.

Because the publishers of my first book knew how much I loved gardening and the concept of eating freshly picked, home-grown food, they commissioned me to write another book, this time a gardening-recipe book for families. It will be published by The Five Mile Press in September 2010.

Sometimes I pinch myself to realize that my childhood dream of becoming a writer actually came true. (Having a baby girl was also a dream of mine – imagine my delight when I found I was having two girls?)

An Inspiring Vision

After finally plucking up the courage to create a vision board, the next phase of my life began. I travelled to amazing places, met incredible people, attended life-changing events, and felt strongly called to create this website, and to undertake training as a certified Inspired Spirit law of attraction life coach – although, I’d been coaching friends informally for years – I’m a serial ‘helper’!

The Inspired Spirit coach training rounded out my already broad knowledge of universal laws, and it gave me tools (something I really value, being a practical person) for helping people break their way through blocks and reach their audacious goals. I’m now also a proud member of the International Association of Women in Business Coaching (the IAWBC), and to help people even further, I’ve also trained as a raw-food teacher with Europe’s leading raw-food coach, Karen Knowler.

Resources and opportunities then flew my way, and I began coaching people professionally, helping them achieve goals that they’d been struggling to attain on their own. I feel so fortunate to be able to bring my expertise, experience and enthusiasm to the world, and to serve as a guide and inspiration for anyone who feels pulled towards something higher.

For much of my life, I struggled around the areas of prosperity, health, and living authentically – and I feel such delight knowing that I can now guide and support others in their journey to a beautiful life that’s rich, radiant, and real.

Well, that’s my story so far! I really look forward to getting to know you better, and I hope you’re inspired by my story, and by all that’s offered, with love, for you on this website.

To abundance, vitality, and the life of your dreams!

PS Be sure to check out my blog, for ongoing inspiration.