Secrets in the Garden

Had the best day at Secrets in the Garden! Secrets in the Garden is a women’s festival held at Belvoir Amphitheatre in the Swan Valley, where women share secrets to success. There were different tents set up where you could hear speakers share their wisdom in areas such as business, wealth creation, nutrition, wellness, etc. There were also some extra special speakers on the main stage like Michelle Bridges and Lola Berry. I also got to sing my tunes on the main stage which was a bit exciting! It literally was a dream come true and was as amazing as I imagined it would be! The bizarre thing was that it all came about after I randomly sang at a yoga class, fundraising for World Vision, and one of the yogis knew the organiser of the festival and put my name forward! Keep dreaming those dreams! They will happen, even if it’s not how you expected!

 I made a beeline for the business tent and got to hear some amazing women share their wisdom, including business coach Nicky Thomas. She was just herself on stage and it was really refreshing! My favourite thing she spoke about was how a lot of us talk about how we ‘should’ do things and end up feeling guilty if we don’t do them or end up feeling exhausted if we do! Her advice was to change the ‘should’ to ‘could’. So you have a choice to say yes or no to things without obligation. I liked it when Nicky said ‘your cup has to be full and whatever overflows out of your cup is for others.’ You can’t help anyone else if you’re running on empty!

If you have a business or you’re a mum (or both!) life gets really busy! Some things have to go on the backburner for a while, and you may not have time for coffee catch ups or have people over for dinner like you used to. You don't have the time to go to every birthday, wedding, social gathering, etc. Some people may not understand and get offended. Who cares? Your real friends will understand. At the end of the day, you need to put your hubby/kids/business before all others. If you fall in to the trap of people pleasing and try and be everything to everyone you won’t have the time to work on your business and therefore won’t be making enough money to feed your family and pay your bills! It’s ok to say no to things without feeling guilty. Surround yourself with likeminded people who will understand and support you. If someone tries to make you feel bad for not doing what they want, that is their issue, not yours.

I also had the privilege of listening to inspiring coach Annette Stanton, who was previously a champion athlete and gold medal winner. My favourite things she said were ‘your weakness is only something you don’t know much about, because you haven’t needed it in your life until now.’ The way we get good at things is by doing them over and over again. I also loved it when Annette said, ‘With every step you take, the next step will appear.’ We may have the end goal in mind and have no idea how we’re going to climb that mountain. It doesn’t matter. Just take the step that’s in front of you and trust that the next step will appear. Annette also mentioned the importance of not being attached to how things are meant to look in our lives. We may have expected or envisioned that some things in our lives would look a certain way, and when they don’t we can feel disappointed. I love the saying, ‘it is what it is.’ Sometimes things are just the way they are and we need to accept it and move on. Also my amazing friend Liz McCoy from iWant Enterprises was speaking about 'Powerfully Feminine Leadership' but her talk was on at the same time as my set so sadly I missed it! I've heard Liz speak before and she's incredible!

There were delicious food vans, stalls, fashion parades, and a beautiful vibe, buzzing with excitement! Imagine a world where the secrets women share with one other are about inspiring and building each other up, rather than gossiping and tearing others down with our words. I had a taste of that world yesterday, and I want to be a part of it!