I was bullied and felt stuck in my skin through my whole upbringing. It was like wanting to scream and express myself but nothing would come out and there was no way to reach people.
I found it hard to stand up for myself and learned to be quiet. At times I would have tears in my eyes and find myself walking away from groups of people because I didn’t want them to see me cry. The pity was worse than the pain, and when people gathered around me to see if I was okay it was torturous to not be able to respond. So I learnt to through by with suffocating my voice, soul and expression.
It wasn’t until my early 20's until I began to find my voice.
It all started with learning to meditate. Meditation for the first time in decades connected me with how it felt to feel good again. My mind opened, I began to feel more.
I began crying and feeling joy and bliss that I had hidden from myself for years.
I began to feel like myself for what felt like the first time in my life.
On one hand it was amazing, and on another alienating as I still couldn’t connect with anyone while in meditation.
So, I began asking,… How do I experience this level of connection with others?
The answer hit me hard and fast. Begin teaching.
What do you mean? Let myself stand in front of groups of people and teach when I was terrified to stand even in front of my?
Yep!
The universe, life didn’t hold back either.
It began to hit me from all sides. I joined a training and the meditation teacher and in the first session pulled down his glasses, looked at me in the eyes and said, “You’re a teacher.”
He saw right through me, I knew I couldn’t hide and that this was the way forward. What started off with me teaching meditation sessions in my parents living room, quickly became workshops, teaching yoga, facilitating and public speaking.
What ensued though was no ordinary experience. As I began to teach and speak I began having the same deeply connecting experiences I had had in meditation, but now they were happening with other people.
I was, for the first time in my life, being seen, being heard, and impacting the lives of the people around me. I was giving them goosebumps.
Fast forward, and now I run the Enlivened Speaking Institute where I teach conscious entrepreneurs, facilitators, and coaches to connect deeply with their audience by being fully present. I teach them to give goosebumps of embodied aliveness.
The magic in my method is not rooted in a formula or script that pulls us away from our true selves. It was rooted in being fully authentic and present with people.
In bringing all of ourselves to the stage,
In letting people fully us you for who we truly are
When we do that people leave feeling fully seen.
They are enlivened and connected to life and each other.
I teach people to drop the notes, get out of their head, step into the fear and bring all of themselves to the stage.
It’s a magical experience, one born out of authenticity, love and connection.
And it's a transformational experience. From the shy boy who was assumed mute, I went on to do aTedx talk on mastering our relationship with fear which has been seen by over 30,000 people. I earned thousands of dollars in single hours as speaker. I ran events and retreats helping thousands of people get connected to themselves, face their fears and live fulfilling lives.
The stage became my muse. It allowed me to connect to parts of myself I had forgotten, and to bring together ideas and concepts which I was not able to do by myself.
It showed me my true value and helped me celebrate life as I supported others.
And the great thing is that everyone can learn it.
Whether they are terrified to speak or feeling trapped in their notes.
Whether they have been on stage for years or are just getting up for the first time.
They already had the main ingredient inside them -their authentic self.
The Enlivened Method simply brings their magic out and onto the stage so they can mesmerise and connect with their audience, more deeply than they ever imagined.
