Getting back up when life knocks you down

September 7, 2020

I'm just feeling so blessed to have this amazing job. I get to spend time with some incredible people and then share it with you! Today's guest is Kate Fitzsimons. A truly inspirational young lady who's got so much wisdom to share!

Kate is an award-winning international youth speaker and resilience specialist. She is a speaker and a coach who specialises in uplifting teens. She is someone who deeply understands the key principles of motivation.

Kate understands how overwhelming, confusing, and encompassing some challenges can be especially at a time in your life when you're struggling to find your own independent identity. Some of her struggles we can all relate to and she candidly shares how she didn't always have the best attitude or handle things in the best way during those times. She got a unique 'wake up call' which she bravely used to turn all her challenges around and in the process has transformed her life!

Now she's off in the USA taking some big steps to follow her dreams.

Kate is a natural with the way she tells her story — I use that term sparingly because I never want people to think they don't have to work to get where they want to get to, but she really is easy to relate to.

This rich, inspirational, and potentially life-changing conversation with Kate shares a lot of great little nuggets of wisdom, especially on mindset. It sounds so simple but it is actually turning darkness into light!

So if you're facing a tough personal struggle now, make sure to reach out to Kate or to me using the links below. This episode is sponsored by Project Space and the free new training - 5 secrets to boost your child's learning and prime them for success in 2020 and beyond, this is a powerful learning program to build confidence, grit, determination and a whole bunch of other soft skills essential to position your teen to win in the dynamic world of the 21st century. Make sure you check that out.

Let's listen to her story...

Here's the highlights:

[01:48] I felt so trapped. I had a cookie-cut life but I suffered mentally and emotionally because of the pressure I've put on myself.
[03:55] I was 20 years old and was writing a funeral speech for my sister when I realised that no one cares about what dress size you wear, how much money you made; it's about how did you treat people and your life. I'm no longer defining myself by a number; it's a feeling, legacy, it's the choices you make that makes you value most.
[05:42] My mission as a coach is to give teens back the one thing that they crave most during that time in their life—a sense of control. Over their experience and the person they have grown to become.
[07:59] Think purposefully. If we make decisions from kindness and bravery, we will make mistakes and get it wrong sometimes, but we will never sacrifice our character in the process of doing so. It doesn't have to be heavy, you can do it with a smile on your face.
[09:06] It's more important that we celebrate the effort and the passion that we've put on the journey, not just the outcome.
[12:23] I realised that the only way that I'm gonna get through this is to let go of the hate for the person who killed my sister but to channel and focus on the love I have for my sister which he could never take from me and the lessons that I could dig in. It didn't make the pain go away but it helped me not to be bitter and victim over it.
[13:50] Resilience is a skill that can be learned. It's just about finding the right tools and messenger to deliver that message and strategies. I worked hard to deliver and be that messenger.
[15:57] I learned that the unthinkable can happen in the worst way. But if it can happen it the worst way, it can happen in the best way too. When nothing is certain, anything is possible.
[20:25] Learning mindset in school has been expected that we can just pick it up somewhere along the way. But in reality that just doesn't happen.
[21:20] Success is both leaving this world better than when I found it, being the change I want to see and being in my deathbed with nothing left because I gave this life my ALL.
[22:25] The circumstances are still the same but what I've changed is my perspective and the story I tell about it. My favourite people in the world are those who've gone through hardship and adversity but found a way to bring some meaning and purpose to it and tell the story in an empowering way. Humans can enjoy any HOW when they know their WHY.
[25:29] You have a choice, your life is your responsibility. You're not responsible for people's actions, but you are responsible for your actions and who you choose to be. Focus on the one thing that you have control over—yourself and who you want to be.