Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates, exclusive content, and new podcast episodes delivered straight to your inbox!
Struggling with Behavioural Questions in Interviews?
They are the most common and also the toughest for many candidates.
This free E-book shows you how to answer them with confidence.
They are the most common and also the toughest for many candidates.
This free E-book shows you how to answer them with confidence.
Career Reshaped Episode 5: How Knowing You Have ADHD Can Give You a Different Perspective
What if 2025 wasn’t about figuring it all out—but learning to embrace the twists, the pivots, and the unexpected paths?
In this reflective episode of Career Reshaped, Natasha and Pauline are joined by Lia Lawton—a psychologist, psychosexual therapist, and founder of Find Sanctuary.
Lia’s career didn’t follow a straight line. From feeling lost in school to navigating depression, ADHD diagnosis, and career uncertainty, her story is a reminder that clarity often comes through the mess, not despite it.
This conversation isn’t just about therapy or titles—it’s about the courage to pause, shift, and try again. Lia opens up about moving countries, retraining multiple times, and the emotional cost of constantly starting over. Through it all, she kept returning to one question: What do I need to feel whole?
Now running her own practice in Tasmania and online, Lia supports others through their own relationship, identity, and healing journeys—bringing deep empathy shaped by her own experience.
🎧 Tune in for a raw and inspiring story about career redirection, inner work, and finding purpose in the pauses. Because sometimes, the most powerful moves aren’t about climbing—they’re about coming home to yourself.
Discussion Overview
Many start in hospitality or customer service roles and gradually move into organizing conferences, managing venues, or coordinating experiences. These roles help build confidence in high-pressure situations and often reveal hidden strengths in logistics and leadership.
Night shifts can severely affect mood, energy, and mental health. Working during hours when others are resting can lead to isolation, poor sleep quality, and even depression—especially when paired with long-term stress or lack of sunlight.
The catalyst is usually burnout, health challenges, or a moment of realization that the current path is no longer sustainable. It’s often sparked by a need for purpose, better alignment, or simply the desire to feel good again.
Hearing that you’re not capable or suited for something can either break you or push you harder. For many, doubt becomes fuel—the spark that proves others wrong and validates inner strength.
A diagnosis offers clarity. It helps people make sense of past struggles with focus, memory, or motivation—and empowers them to work with their brain, not against it. It can also reshape learning approaches and boost confidence.
Never. Age or past experience doesn’t define your future. Many find their true calling later in life and discover a more sustainable, joyful, and purpose-driven path when they allow themselves to explore something new.
A good move often brings new energy, challenges that spark growth, and a clean slate. It might be uncomfortable at first, but it opens up space to meet new people, create new habits, and take bold career steps.
It’s the moment when someone fully commits—no backup plan, no halfway in. This level of commitment often leads to big breakthroughs because there’s no option but to make it work. It’s about trusting yourself and showing up fully.
Podcast Transcript:
| Time | Transcript |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | yeah i think in school i never really knew what i wanted to do i didn't feel |
| 00:03 | like i was all that good at many things it was when i was like 23 i just decided |
| 00:08 | to go backpacking i bought it with my ticket to grace and just left |
| 00:12 | i didn't say daylight for months and i got very depressed i also did get |
| 00:17 | diagnosed with like adhd halfway through which was |
| 00:20 | the best thing that ever happened to me i don't know if i'd still be alive if i |
| 00:23 | didn't because i'd never been good with school |
| 00:26 | because i'd always struggled with everything and no one had ever kind of |
| 00:30 | taught me how to do a lot of these things i kind of had to re-learn how to |
| 00:33 | do a lot of these things this podcast is your go-to guide for landing your dream |
| 00:37 | job think of it as your free masterclass packed with all the tips advice and |
| 00:42 | strategies you need to take your career to the next level hi welcome back to our |
| 00:47 | channel we're so happy you can join us we would like to welcome leah lorden as |
| 00:51 | our guest on today's episode of career reshaped leah is a psychologist and |
| 00:56 | psychosexual therapist who has started her own company called find sanctuary |
| 01:02 | where she conducts her work both in person in hobart tasmania as well as |
| 01:06 | online leah has had many twists and turns |
| 01:09 | throughout her career journey that led her down many different pathways we're |
| 01:14 | looking forward to speaking with her about the challenges she faced what led |
| 01:18 | her to make changes throughout her career and what she had to do to get |
| 01:22 | where she is today so we've let everybody know what you are currently |
| 01:27 | doing and that you've started your own company which is super exciting |
| 01:31 | but we've said to them that we want to know all the twists and |
| 01:36 | all the challenges you face because this is not something the the psychologist |
| 01:41 | and psychosexual therapist is not something you thought you were going to |
| 01:44 | be maybe in high school i mean maybe you did but i don't think that you did and |
| 01:48 | so i'd love to know the journey and the challenges so maybe |
| 01:52 | just start from the beginning but yeah i think in school i never |
| 01:56 | really knew what i wanted to do like i didn't feel like i was all that good |
| 02:01 | at many things in school so it was quite hard and i did |
| 02:06 | actually like psychology um i liked the weird stuff |
| 02:10 | like um when we did like abnormal psychology and all the like personality |
| 02:14 | disorders like i really remember really getting into all of that |
| 02:18 | um it is fascinating hmm |
| 02:27 | yeah why then after high school because this from what i |
| 02:31 | understand is a recent change for you like in the last you know |
| 02:35 | quite a number of years but straight from high school that's not what you |
| 02:38 | went into is it no um i went into events management so i |
| 02:42 | didn't actually do that well in year 12. um |
| 02:46 | and i did want to i wanted to do like business or |
| 02:49 | something else at the time and i wanted to start a bar and i had all these like |
| 02:52 | big dreams and of yeah ridiculous things that |
| 02:57 | um like i loved doing bar work for a long |
| 03:00 | time but i did work in hospitality for about 12 years and i did really like it |
| 03:06 | many different times and other times not so much |
| 03:09 | but yeah like because i didn't do so well in year 12 i ended up doing events |
| 03:13 | management and at the time a diploma was the |
| 03:17 | highest level you could get to because now there's degrees and other things |
| 03:20 | again events management's a really good job but once again that's a lot of work |
| 03:26 | it's it's hard work and you're dealing with a |
| 03:29 | lot of different people and it's not usually people you know depending on |
| 03:32 | what it is like you might get those bridezillas and things like that so |
| 03:36 | it can get challenging as well i actually loved it like i worked a lot |
| 03:41 | as like function manager of like pubs and at one point a strip club and |
| 03:46 | nightclub in london um |
| 03:48 | where i was yeah manager there um and |
| 03:53 | i ended up actually using it to run conferences which i thought i'd hate but |
| 03:57 | i loved that job like i really did it was a lot at times because when we |
| 04:01 | actually had a conference on and if the conference dinner was on that night |
| 04:04 | sometimes we went from 6 am to midnight wow |
| 04:08 | that's a wow but isn't that interesting that you |
| 04:12 | didn't think you'll enjoy it but you did so just being exposed to something gave |
| 04:18 | you the insight a little bit more about yourself that you didn't even know |
| 04:22 | yeah and like it showed me things that i was actually quite good at so |
| 04:26 | if something went wrong when the conference was on like i was really good |
| 04:29 | at just making sure no one ever knew that like |
| 04:32 | everything had gone like gone badly and could just get everything fixed |
| 04:37 | before anyone ever knew that's that's amazing that shows really |
| 04:42 | a lot of really good skills there not just problem solving |
| 04:46 | but just being able to keep your calm in a difficult situation and maintaining |
| 04:53 | like a really calm still very festive atmosphere |
| 04:58 | even though there's a crisis going on in the back |
| 05:00 | so so i'm interested to learn what |
| 05:05 | what was the trigger to go to london and be |
| 05:10 | in that event management type role there and |
| 05:15 | what changed after that um okay so |
| 05:20 | it was when i was like 23 i just decided to |
| 05:22 | go backpacking i bought it with my ticket to grace and just left |
| 05:27 | and i had a working visa for the uk and so yeah i was looking for a job in |
| 05:32 | london i was looking i looked at bar jobs |
| 05:36 | and then yeah this job just came up it was like gd manager at like nightclub |
| 05:40 | and strip club and also running events and |
| 05:45 | and it looked perfect for me and i actually loved it it was a great job um |
| 05:50 | i just really didn't like london all that much um i didn't see daylight for |
| 05:55 | months and i got very depressed um |
| 06:00 | because i was going to work from like 7 00 p.m |
| 06:04 | to on the weekends or 7 p.m to 7 a.m on |
| 06:09 | other days it was like 7 p.m to like 2 or 3 or 4 a.m like |
| 06:13 | depending on what day um |
| 06:16 | and so then i'd come home i'd sleep andby the time i woke up like after 4 p.m |
| 06:21 | it was already pitch black so i didn't see daylight and it got very depressing |
| 06:26 | and you didn't get to see london either i mean you could you travel the other |
| 06:30 | side of the world not to see it just to work i did see london like because i had |
| 06:36 | like two days off every week so i would always go |
| 06:41 | still had a weekend so that's actually really interesting as well because i |
| 06:45 | guess that is some thing good to note for anyone that's listening that is |
| 06:49 | thinking about this sort of path as well what |
| 06:54 | night works even not this path like this shift work what night work can really do |
| 06:58 | to someone mentally as well and you're not the |
| 07:01 | first person to tell me this i actually know someone that worked |
| 07:05 | nights they um cleaned uh entire resort they were there was one of the resort |
| 07:11 | cleaners a huge resort but it was night work and after i think |
| 07:17 | i think he said six or seven months he just couldn't anymore he was also |
| 07:22 | depressed and your whole body needs to |
| 07:26 | change the way it functions because we get the the vitamin d and the sunlight |
| 07:32 | that's what wakes us up the natural light naturally wakes us up |
| 07:36 | and as soon as it's dark we get i don't know what chemical it is that releases |
| 07:39 | in the brain i'm not the doctor here but um it gets released and |
| 07:46 | it makes you tired so yeah also the sun makes you happy |
| 07:52 | there's something about the sun like in winter it's dark as gloom is dreary but |
| 07:56 | since the sun comes out there's just a little it doesn't matter what's going on |
| 08:00 | in your life you there's a bit of hope suddenly you feel like oh you know |
| 08:04 | and you want to go out and enjoy fresh air and the day |
| 08:09 | that the sun brings so yeah the sun makes plants grow so you need it |
| 08:16 | it's healthy it's important that's why people naturally do get more |
| 08:20 | depressed over winter anyway is because you know they're not getting |
| 08:24 | enough vitamin d and no yeah isn't it it's called seasonal |
| 08:29 | depression right i've heard that before |
| 08:33 | a lot of people are actually lacking vitamin d |
| 08:38 | i think it's because we don't go out in the sun and and even if we |
| 08:42 | were day workers you know we would not see the sun often because we're in the |
| 08:47 | office i remember just being in the office |
| 08:50 | and i would go to work in the morning and i would |
| 08:54 | leave and when only left it's night time i want to step out |
| 08:59 | just to get some lunch that's it so i was in the office all day long so i |
| 09:03 | never got to see the sun technically |
| 09:06 | either until the weekend and then the weekend i was trying to catch up on |
| 09:10 | sleep then you have all the chores and everything like that so |
| 09:14 | it's hard even when you're a full-time employee |
| 09:17 | in the office so then after |
| 09:22 | after the i guess you |
| 09:25 | would have noticed your mood and the depression hitting is that when you |
| 09:29 | decided to come back to australia or did you try something else what happened |
| 09:33 | there i went traveling for a few more months |
| 09:36 | and then i came back to australia when i ran out of money um |
| 09:44 | it sounds like an amazing adventure it was and that's when i um that's when |
| 09:50 | i ended up getting the conference job when i came back |
| 09:54 | a conference job is that what you said the job yeah writing conferences that |
| 09:57 | was when i got back to australia so that's i did that for about a year |
| 10:03 | were those confidence conferences uh corporate or what were they |
| 10:09 | um mostly like teachers so i remember we did one for like japanese teachers we |
| 10:14 | ran like the mathematics victoria conference |
| 10:18 | um i can't even think of what other ones |
| 10:22 | now but yeah like i remember those ones |
| 10:26 | so leah i'd love to know what was the the catalyst so what happened |
| 10:33 | to make you start to want to change like you said you |
| 10:36 | actually loved what you were doing yeah there were some hard bits but you were |
| 10:40 | really good at you know smoothing things over making sure no one knew anything |
| 10:43 | was wrong you had fun you got to do different things |
| 10:47 | why change what is it that made you decide a different path |
| 10:52 | so like one event pays terribly um i remember i was working full-time and i |
| 10:59 | was getting 35 grand a year oh |
| 11:03 | that was yeah i think we do know that i was living here |
| 11:08 | and i was living in a dodgy house like in north fitzroy and like you know i |
| 11:13 | wasn't paying that much in rent but like i only got paid monthly and by that last |
| 11:16 | like two days i had zero left like sometimes i just had two months this |
| 11:21 | time i went into the city i'd have to like walk home because i couldn't even |
| 11:24 | afford to get on tram at that point |
| 11:32 | that do pay more but it's it is tough it's a tough industry yeah |
| 11:37 | they pay more now today yeah but it's still like the equivalent |
| 11:44 | because i think now to be like 60 000 maybe 80 000 |
| 11:49 | again you know with the way that the |
| 11:53 | everything is yeah might as well be 35 000. i do |
| 11:58 | know i think what like really senior senior event managers might get paid |
| 12:02 | more but typically um |
| 12:06 | it's still not a lot of money and for the amount of hours that you put in |
| 12:12 | the energy that you put in and to always have to be on |
| 12:17 | for the client is |
| 12:20 | drink is difficult it's hard work um so the first one was i went to a |
| 12:26 | psychologist one time and i told her something and her response to |
| 12:31 | me was now i'm not judging you but do you think |
| 12:34 | that's a good life choice oh |
| 12:38 | yes and maybe it's a fair question to ask i don't know |
| 12:42 | why it's psychology judgmental any well also anytime you use the word but you've |
| 12:46 | negated anything that you've said before that |
| 12:50 | that's true right that's why yeah i try not to use the word but it's really hard |
| 12:54 | not to use it though right well this is why i'm not a |
| 12:58 | psychologist so they're points so that was one and what |
| 13:02 | was the other reason and the other one was getting glandular |
| 13:06 | and that just screwing me up and i couldn't and because of glandular and it |
| 13:10 | was basically like um the like you know tail end of that with |
| 13:15 | that turned into almost chronic fatigue um |
| 13:19 | that i couldn't do anything like hours i couldn't even stand up for more than |
| 13:25 | two hours a day like it was even though it's events i didn't have to |
| 13:29 | stand up that much but it was like i couldn't be on i couldn't do it like i |
| 13:32 | had the worst brain fog like none of my you know my body didn't work |
| 13:37 | um it was basically shut down for a while |
| 13:41 | and so i'd actually started back doing psych i just doing it through |
| 13:47 | like open university or something for like one subject while i was working |
| 13:52 | like after i had that conversation with that |
| 13:54 | woman the psychologist then um i decided to join |
| 14:01 | well i just didn't want other people to feel judged i didn't want them i wanted |
| 14:04 | them to feel hurt i wanted them to have a safe space where |
| 14:08 | they can say whatever they need to say yes |
| 14:12 | without them being judged because people have to |
| 14:16 | mask so much in so many different situations that i don't want people to |
| 14:20 | have to mask |
| 14:23 | if you're going to see a psychologist you want to be able to speak freely |
| 14:27 | because you're there for a reason and if you can't even express what that reason |
| 14:30 | is how you're supposed to heal yeah you know |
| 14:34 | so if you don't feel safe you don't feel hurt |
| 14:39 | yeah absolutely |
| 14:42 | yeah so you went to do um universities |
| 14:47 | yeah so i'd signed up for one class then but then after i got glandular and could |
| 14:51 | barely do anything i decided to um sign up for like |
| 14:56 | a deacon and just actually sign up for psych |
| 15:02 | and that that was music that was purely because you wanted to be |
| 15:07 | a better psychologist and give people more than what this lady was i just |
| 15:12 | didn't want people to feel that way hmm |
| 15:15 | i love that i love that that one person just made you go you know what i need to |
| 15:19 | change this that's really good i i really love that |
| 15:25 | and it was the hardest like getting through psychology was the hardest thing |
| 15:28 | i've ever done like it was and i think i got through like on sheer |
| 15:33 | anger at points of like going i'm going to do this just to like |
| 15:37 | so i can |
| 15:41 | yeah so i can do this and also show myself i can do this and prove people |
| 15:45 | like i feel like a lot of people never believed that i could do anything like |
| 15:49 | this so so that's the challenge so that's this |
| 15:53 | is this is what we like to hear as well so obviously you had challenges you |
| 15:57 | struggled to do it you said it was the hardest thing but then |
| 16:01 | you said people believed you couldn't do it so how did you get through that |
| 16:05 | because that happens to a lot of people that we talk to they get told |
| 16:08 | oh really that's what you want to do i don't think you can do that i mean |
| 16:12 | pauline and i were even told that to do my career angels we were told that by |
| 16:17 | some people as well and so i'd love to hear |
| 16:21 | how you were still able to motivate yourself i know you said some of it was |
| 16:24 | she anger but when others told you that they didn't believe you could do it |
| 16:29 | how did you turn that around that's i can show you i can do this um i |
| 16:35 | also did get diagnosed with like adhd halfway through which was |
| 16:38 | the best thing that ever happened to me um |
| 16:42 | i don't know if i'd still be alive if i didn't |
| 16:45 | oh wow because |
| 16:48 | it was a lot like it was just yeah so i think that that was a really |
| 16:53 | amazing thing that letting diagnosing adhd like an aha |
| 16:58 | moment for you and explain a lot you're like this explains it and now you're |
| 17:03 | like i have an answer as to why it's not me i'm not |
| 17:06 | broken in any way and now i can move forward |
| 17:11 | yeah and so it's actually my dad um called me up one day and he goes |
| 17:15 | so you know how i've always told you that your brain's normal it's just like |
| 17:19 | mine i'm like yeah he goes yes so it's not normal you need to go get um |
| 17:24 | diagnose you need to go get like an adhd diagnosis |
| 17:28 | because he got diagnosed cause he got diagnosed he's like i just got my |
| 17:32 | diagnosis and they put me in ritalin and he goes i feel like i can breathe for |
| 17:36 | the first time in my life and he was like 59 at this stage |
| 17:40 | yeah it's never too late to |
| 17:43 | move forward 59 so i i was recently diagnosed with adhd and it's only |
| 17:50 | because my kids were diagnosed with adhd and i was like well hang on |
| 17:56 | but they're just like me so when i went down this little rabbit |
| 17:59 | hole of adhd understanding it i was like oh you know who else has it my dad |
| 18:05 | he has adhd because i know so then i went and i told him i said hey listen um |
| 18:10 | and i didn't say i think you have it i just said i just want to tell you what |
| 18:14 | is adhd and i started going down the list and his eyes went really big and |
| 18:19 | he's like oh that sounds like me i said i agree with your dad that |
| 18:25 | it has changed a lot for me |
| 18:28 | yeah me too which shift |
| 18:32 | you were saying that the studies was challenging so once you've figured out |
| 18:36 | what what was holding you back with your |
| 18:39 | studies and i assume medication was involved did you |
| 18:43 | did it get better was it easier was it still quite challenging |
| 18:47 | it would okay so it was both but it was like easier in ways that like |
| 18:52 | i could actually sit down and just do stuff |
| 18:56 | but it was still hard in the ways that because i'd |
| 19:00 | never been good with school because i had always |
| 19:03 | struggled with everything and no one had ever kind of |
| 19:06 | taught me how to do a lot of these things because they just kind of broke |
| 19:08 | me off i kind of had to re-learn how to do a lot of these things |
| 19:13 | wow okay amazing i i'm really enjoying your story so far |
| 19:18 | because please right it's showing that yes you don't have to start with with a |
| 19:22 | university degree to figure out what you want later in life but also |
| 19:27 | you did think event management was the path you were going to take |
| 19:31 | and then you changed it that happens too that a lot of people go down a path and |
| 19:36 | they even go to uni to do that and they study that and they get that degree i |
| 19:40 | know someone who got their accounting degree |
| 19:43 | but hey they finished it finished their degree but hated it so much |
| 19:49 | that they ended up doing something completely different and never |
| 19:53 | looked at finances and taxes again because it just |
| 19:57 | was not for them and it really shows that once you find that |
| 20:02 | passion and whether it's a trigger of someone |
| 20:05 | telling judging you and you're going well i need to improve this industry one |
| 20:09 | person at a time or it's meeting someone and hearing the |
| 20:14 | story of what they're doing and that makes you |
| 20:17 | or gives you that passion it you showing people that you can do it |
| 20:22 | later and successfully too you've got your masters you've started your own |
| 20:27 | company the fine sanctuary that you've gone through all that |
| 20:31 | and you should be really proud of yourself and i'm sure you are |
| 20:36 | sometimes it's hard to but yeah you know like it is |
| 20:40 | it's hard to say that at times you know because we always judge ourselves in |
| 20:44 | such a harsher way than what someone else does and also you know with school |
| 20:49 | and everything um |
| 20:51 | with wanting to go to uni later after 21 years doesn't actually matter |
| 20:56 | at all anymore and the thing is you can actually do |
| 21:00 | better university or tafe than you do at school because you're studying a subject |
| 21:04 | that you enjoy like it's you know matt's methods is not for |
| 21:08 | everyone so they actually wanted to go into accounting |
| 21:12 | but they didn't get the score so they did it in tafe but they did that really |
| 21:16 | really well because that's something they did enjoy and because they did so |
| 21:20 | well their grades transferred them into the university |
| 21:25 | the tafe was connected to the uni so they didn't really end up missing i |
| 21:28 | think it took them an extra year and in the big picture of it what's an |
| 21:32 | extra year so um they still end up getting exactly |
| 21:36 | where they wanted to be they just had to take a slight slight detour which |
| 21:39 | and who knows maybe it was an advantage in the end maybe they've they got some |
| 21:43 | additional skills out of it because again i think tafe is |
| 21:47 | a lot more practical than |
| 21:50 | university was a lot more theoretical so you kno |
| 21:55 | like it's funny when you're a teenager and in school they want you to make this |
| 21:58 | huge life choice but in other areas they're like well you're not old enough |
| 22:01 | to make any of these decisions so you get stuck in that thinking |
| 22:09 | so yeah it'd be great if they did some programs like that and stop putting the |
| 22:13 | fear of god into these poor kids that they have to have it all figured out by |
| 22:19 | where they're not even old enough to vote yet |
| 22:22 | but then even like at 30 people like i'm too old to change careers and it's like |
| 22:26 | at 30 you still have at least another 30 years of working |
| 22:31 | correct not more but that's like miserable doing what you're doing find |
| 22:35 | something that you're passionate about and do that |
| 22:38 | instead that's it because if you're passionate and you |
| 22:43 | really enjoy it you might not want to stop |
| 22:47 | yeah like my my partner's husband he was a pilot and he absolutely loved |
| 22:53 | us so he was uh flying a private private jets |
| 22:58 | and he didn't retire until his 70s where he had physical wear and tear that it |
| 23:04 | was no longer safe for him to fly um but just because he's no longer flying |
| 23:10 | doesn't mean that he is not keeping busy like so now he's going um |
| 23:15 | and mentoring the younger next generation |
| 23:19 | and teaching them and passing on the knowledge and supporting them |
| 23:22 | so i think that if he |
| 23:25 | if his body wasn't just i can't see very well |
| 23:30 | um he'd probably still be doing it so if you really like it |
| 23:34 | even at 70 because you have a purpose at least in life you know a reason to get |
| 23:39 | up in the morning and to to do something and to feel like |
| 23:44 | you are needed and all that gives purpose and |
| 23:47 | that purpose gives you this longevity in life |
| 23:52 | if something gives you a purpose if something makes you feel like |
| 23:56 | it's the reason that i wake up in the morning it's the reason that i want to |
| 24:00 | do this you know have read the book icky guy |
| 24:03 | or heard of the concept icky guy i've heard of the whole concept i haven't |
| 24:06 | read the book but i have done a lot of research about it and it is something i |
| 24:09 | talk to a lot of clients about is like you know if you |
| 24:12 | doing what you love what you're good at |
| 24:15 | what you can make money from and what the world needs in terms of doing work |
| 24:19 | they were saying to find a job where you can flow |
| 24:23 | and what they mean by that is like for example let's just say you know you like |
| 24:27 | to paint and you're sitting and you're painting |
| 24:30 | and then you look up he was oh my gosh like five hours just went by i didn't |
| 24:34 | even notice and you don't feel tired you feel rejuvenated it's flow |
| 24:39 | so that that will be something that um |
| 24:43 | it doesn't have again doesn't have to be a job it could be a hobby that you're |
| 24:46 | doing that you're just flowing with it but i know that with my work i flow when |
| 24:51 | i write blogs when i'm writing resumes i'm really into it i wonder whether you |
| 24:56 | feel the same with it at the end of the day you're like oh my gosh it's the end |
| 24:59 | of the day already i have like especially when i've got a |
| 25:03 | client in front of me like sometimes i look down at the clock and i go oh god |
| 25:06 | we've like we've gone over time like how'd it get it just went like that it's |
| 25:10 | just and it's like time does go quite fast |
| 25:14 | it's like days um weeks i find go really fast |
| 25:19 | you know and it's just except when i have to write reports and |
| 25:23 | stuff which i do have to do but yeah you're not gonna |
| 25:31 | yeah that's the thing is so you you found your passion and |
| 25:35 | and from you know what we've discussed before is that when you were working |
| 25:40 | for someone against somebody else's clinic and you were still getting your |
| 25:44 | hours and finishing off your masters and everything like that you started |
| 25:48 | to say that you wanted to have your own place |
| 25:52 | because you wanted to have your own style and |
| 25:56 | like you said at the very beginning of this |
| 25:59 | allow people to be themselves and have zero judgment and you've done that but |
| 26:05 | were there any challenges that got you there or |
| 26:09 | any self-doubt that you had to overcome |
| 26:13 | so much like yeah so when i started like psychology |
| 26:18 | um so i did the four plus two like internship and my first |
| 26:23 | job was in um rehab occupational rehab hated it more |
| 26:27 | than anything it's mostly writing reports um for people that are often |
| 26:32 | work cover yeah |
| 26:34 | horrible um and then i got another job where i was |
| 26:40 | working doing therapy with people in centrelink |
| 26:43 | and i actually really loved that job it ended up using company poli like |
| 26:46 | politics that drove me out of there a lot |
| 26:50 | and i felt like i was burning out because |
| 26:53 | all the things i'd asked for like i asked for someone else to be that like |
| 26:56 | to be down here in town because i was the only person working for the |
| 27:00 | company down here in terms for over a year |
| 27:03 | wow and it ended up being face-to-face with |
| 27:07 | those clients in tasmania um i would say i had about |
| 27:11 | 80 face-to-face there and like with that job they're always like oh |
| 27:17 | half your clients won't show up like because it's free service like so many |
| 27:20 | people won't show up i had like 90 people didn't show up you know like |
| 27:25 | um it's very full-on well if it was free why wouldn't you |
| 27:30 | it's so expensive to go see a psychologist and to get therapy and |
| 27:34 | treatment and if clearly you need it like people obviously realize they need |
| 27:38 | it if it's free |
| 27:40 | i'd take advantage yes |
| 27:44 | um but yeah like it wasn't always taken advantage of in |
| 27:47 | other places and there were people that kind of did just try and |
| 27:53 | you know they didn't actually want to do anything or want it it was just oh |
| 27:57 | you'll give me like 15 points on my centrelink if i do this kind of thing |
| 28:02 | right yeah so they just showed up just to get |
| 28:06 | to get the tick basically yeah |
| 28:10 | and like i'd worked for other people and i just found like i was constantly |
| 28:14 | getting burnt out because i do put all of myself into work like i do i always |
| 28:19 | have but i'm like if i'm gonna get burnt out |
| 28:21 | i may as well work for myself and do it on my terms |
| 28:26 | and like |
| 28:29 | and are you burnt out doing it for yourself |
| 28:32 | no you see yeah i'm going on holiday next |
| 28:35 | week and i cannot wait because i haven't take like i started |
| 28:39 | so i started this business i saw my first client on the 1st of february and |
| 28:42 | it was stressful like i had no clients at that point like it was just trying to |
| 28:46 | build up my relationships i like got business cards and took them around to |
| 28:50 | all these doctors offices i signed up on like every psychology like |
| 28:55 | website you could think of and just like oh god and like my first month i made |
| 29:00 | like a thousand dollars so one of the other things that i wanted to quickly |
| 29:04 | chat about because obviously your career has changed and things have changed for |
| 29:08 | you but you also moved into state you've mentioned you're in tasmania now and |
| 29:12 | originally you were in victoria so and and i'm sure some people listening |
| 29:18 | are going through that as well maybe they've just moved and now like how do i |
| 29:22 | start what do i do or i was in the middle of studies i don't know or |
| 29:26 | they're thinking that they have to move so how was that transition for you as |
| 29:30 | well what implications came up and what advice would you give when moving |
| 29:34 | interstate if just to find work or to finish studies i |
| 29:39 | just applied for like every like my first job down here i applied for like |
| 29:42 | every job possible until i got something and then |
| 29:47 | the next one i think i only applied for that one job i just saw it and i was |
| 29:50 | like well that's my job um |
| 29:58 | yeah the interview process was interesting |
| 30:01 | because you were the only one yeah talking to doctors like giving |
| 30:05 | business cards to doctors like signing up for different things word of mouth |
| 30:08 | has also helped and with starting my own business is like i knew i wasn't going |
| 30:13 | to get any income if i like stopped trying to do stuff so it's like what's |
| 30:17 | next you know like |
| 30:20 | that's a really good motivator you know what it is you know what you do |
| 30:24 | there's a temperature it's called the point of no return |
| 30:28 | and so when you reach the point of no return that's where you have actually no |
| 30:33 | other option other than to succeed so you know if you were in a position that |
| 30:37 | was quite comfortable then you might think to yourself |
| 30:41 | why am i stressing myself out you knowlike it's okay like i've got support or |
| 30:46 | like you know imagine if like you know you had financial support |
| 30:50 | anyway from somewhere else and you had a job that was pushing you not too bad |
| 30:55 | like you know why am i why am i doing it but you put yourself in a position where |
| 30:59 | you were uncomfortable and then if there was |
| 31:02 | you couldn't fail because if you did what that |
| 31:05 | it's just not an option and i think sometimes people don't push themselves |
| 31:10 | to that point that's why they never make a massive change so whether it's a |
| 31:14 | career change go putting yourself back into uni by enrolling yourself into |
| 31:19 | university you will force them to go to university |
| 31:22 | you put yourself in that point of no return well i've enrolled now got to do |
| 31:26 | it like how natasha started the business she registered the business so i was |
| 31:31 | like oh and before that it was just talk but soon she registered it well now we |
| 31:36 | have to do it you know like the wheels are in |
| 31:39 | motion we got to make this work so |
| 31:43 | it's um you got to push yourself to that point but once you're in that point |
| 31:47 | that's when all that magic happens yeah exactly |
| 31:52 | um and like it's like cinco swim it's like i have to succeed or i'm like |
| 31:56 | what's next absolutely no but thank you so much for |
| 31:59 | coming this was amazing we've got we just learned a lot about your journey |
| 32:04 | and very inspiring really truly inspiring you've gotten so fun you've |
| 32:09 | had so many changes thank you so much it was lovely talking to you enjoy the rest |
| 32:14 | of your day thank you bye |
Other episodes you might be interested in:
Stop Waiting.
Start Creating!
Take the first step toward a smarter, more effective job search with The Unseen Advantage. This ebook is designed for job seekers who are ready to move past outdated methods, create genuine opportunities, and position themselves as the candidate employers are looking for.
The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Future is Clarity
When you take time to reflect on your career and align it with your values, you’re not only investing in your own growth — you’re creating a ripple effect that impacts your family, your workplace and your wellbeing.
Whether you’re feeling stuck, ready for change, or simply craving more purpose in your work, Career Coaching can help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
Start your Next Chapter Today!