Not long after my Mind Body Green obsession began, still at sea, both literally and metaphorically, I realised that the healthy shenanigans articles I was reading were all written by people who had trained at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

I looked it up and realised that I could study health coaching part time while still working, no new 3+ year degree needed!

Apparently it would enable me to start an online coaching business that would render me location independent and free! Hell yes, it was on like Donkey Kong. Not long later I moved to Melbourne, got two part time jobs as a bartender and practice manager and began my health coaching studies.

Despite diving into the study with excitement, I had a lot of fear around becoming a health coach.

The concept was still new back then, no one had heard of it, and no one I knew even knew about online business or entrepreneurship.

To the outside world, and to my practical mind, it seemed like an idiot thing to do.

I was petrified that no one would take me seriously without a degree, and that my friends who knew me as a pessimist who hated annoying females who loved salad too much would judge me for turning into a wellness coach.

I was especially worried that if I became a health coach people would think I was stupid blonde noob, without any position of status or relevant university credentials to prove to the world I was intelligent.

I’d created an identity around being a high achiever and highly practical skeptic, and

this concept I was holding onto of “who I was” was holding me stuck in fear and procrastination.

Thankfully I had been observing the stories that made up my mind-made identity for a year or so by then while practicing mindfulness. By being aware of these stories I was telling myself about who I should and shouldn’t be, I was able to get free of them, bit by bit, though the process was hard and scary as hell.

Luckily my desperation to follow my newfound passion for mung bean pasta and raw cacao bliss balls was strong enough that I was able to keep taking small steps out of the confines of my identity to create a new path for my life.

Additionally, I had NO idea how to coach, in fact back then I was allll about giving advice.

Questions? What questions? I’ll tell you the answer!

Suffice to say, my confidence in my ability to coach people was pretty bloody low.

This brings me to the 3rd of the 3 leashes –

our lack of confidence to follow our passions and to step outside of our comfort zone – for fear that we’ll fail or that our friends and family will judge us.

Our mind always tries to prevent us from social isolation and humiliation, so it creates a shitload of fear every time we try to step outside our comfort zone and do something that we’re not confident at.

This lack of confidence needlessly holds so many of us back from creating a life we want.

Unless we’re aware of what’s happening, the fear will likely have us running back to the safety of our comfort zone, and our passions and curiosities will remain unexplored.

If we want to follow our passion into our career, or a new way of living that’s outside of what we know, the only option is to get really clear on the identity that we’re living within and the stories we’re telling ourselves, so that we can get free from them.

So ask yourself –

‘when was the last time I shied away from doing something I wanted to do because I wasn’t sure of myself or what other people would think of me?’

Do you think life would be different now if you’d followed your gut instinct unapologetically?

A quote I love to re-read every time I feel like I’m sabotaging myself and getting stuck in thoughts of ‘Who am I to do that?’, or ‘What will Emily think of me?’ is:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

I know that when I’m enjoying my life and my work I’m approximately a million times more compassionate and helpful to everyone I come across.

It’s selfless work being selfish about your dreams.

So, now that we know what these 3 invisible leashes are – it’s up to you to decide if you’re happy staying tied up.

This year I’ve been beavering away building a course to help you get past these leashes.

If you’re ready to locate that bloody elusive fulfillment and passion in your life, sweet as mate, check out the new Nail Your Values & Find Your (Bloody Elusive) Passion course here.

I’ve worked with hundreds of people in my 1-1 coaching and group programs, and if there’s one thing that links all these wonderful humans,

it’s that they’re looking for fulfilment and passion and they’ve become completely lost, anxious and down on themselves for not having found it.

I created the Bloody Good Life to help people find their real sense of self and reconnect with their gut instinct – but that’s the long game, and it doesn’t always result in immediate obvious answers, so I’ve developed new strategies to help my 1-1 clients and group participants to fast track the process to getting clear on their values and the things that will fulfill them most.

The path to finding your passion is a long, windy, confusing place with no street lights, and I’m bloody passionate(!) about helping you turn the lights on so you can find your own way much faster than I did, so you don’t have to suffer for so many years like I did.

So without further ado (after a lot of ado), my new program, Nail Your Values & Your (Bloody Elusive) Passion LIVE (yes, it’s the longest course name in the history of ever), will be available from tomorrow until midnight Sunday 25th June (Melbourne/Sydney time).

Keep your eyes peeled, I’ll be back tomorrow with the down-low.