In my line of work, I am pretty privileged to meet a lot of amazing people.
Apart from my wonderful clients of course who inspire me daily, on the speaker circuit we often meet a lot of celebrities, athletes, political powerhouses, successful business people as well as incredible individuals doing amazing things.
I often get asked, “Who inspires you?”
I always find it challenging to answer. As much as I respect & admire many of the people in my professional world, I am not sure the word 'inspire' is the right word. But then there are some people you meet who blow your world.
Last week, I had the privilege of not only meeting but working with one such person.
Turia Pitt!
Turia Pitt & Blythe Rowe at the Corporate PA Summit 2016
Now, to be fair, I have been following Turia’s incredible journey since we heard of the horrific bushfire that swept through the Kimberly in 2011, causing burns to 65% of her body.
I have always been touched and amazed by what she went through and the fighting spirit she has continued to demonstrate. So when I found out I was speaking at the same conference, I was beyond excited.
Here’s the thing, after working and hanging out with Turia she exceeded all my expectations. She is seriously the coolest chick I’ve met. She is smart, gorgeous and absolutely hilarious!
We can all get sucked into the 'pity party' of busy lifestyles, and crappy stuff happening at work and perhaps even home, and yet here is a girl who had her whole world turned upside down in a heartbeat and can rise above it to be even more amazing than before.
Turia re-inforced some key lessons that really touched me:
1. Life is fragile & can be brutal:
Don’t wait for a tragedy to make the most of each day.
2. All of us are way more capable than we think we are:
Yes that includes all your team too if you are a leader. Don’t put a ceiling on your own ability or that of your team, you really are capable of so much more.
3. The power & importance of a support team:
Yes it is true ladies - Michael, Turia’s fiancé, is even more amazing in real life.
Who do you have on your support team? and who are you supporting?
Turia Pitt & Michael Hoskin
4. Keeping it real:
Turia pulls no punches, she is a straight talker and is genuine. She is warm, kind, approachable and graciously gives her time with everyone who comes into contact with her. Even as we sat at the airport together taking silly selfies, her and Michael never ignored a request from the public who asked for a photo with Turia. It was pretty cool.
5. Paying it forward:
Her generosity alone is totally inspiring. Can you believe in the past 2.5years, Turia has raised more than $800,000 for Intraplast in an effort to pay it forward.
6. Having a sense of humour:
This is probably what I love most about Turia. She funny, like hilariously funny. She is not afraid to take the piss out of herself. Don’t you think, sometimes (especially at work) we really need to loosen up. If Turia can make light of a horrific circumstance or situation (which pretty much trumps anything we are likely to face) then who are we not to?!
7. The human spirit is an amazing thing.
In this volatile world, it is sometimes challenging to remember this - meeting people like Turia restores my faith in the human spirit and for that I am externally grateful.
> THIS BLOG WAS ORIGINALLY SENT OUT AS A NEWSLETTER ON 12TH DECEMBER 2015
BLYTHE ROWE & Her Life on Heels.
The founder & director of Human Incite, is widely recognised for her passion, energy and her ability to shake things up. Blythe is brilliant at revving-up productivity & performance in organisations. Her passion made her to be an advocate in creating sustainable behavioural changes & creating meaningful relationships both personally and professionally with her most recent Keynote Science of Connection. Her enthusiasm simply is infectious.
Turia pitt & her amazing journey
In 2011, Turia was caught in a grass fire and suffered burns to 65% of her body. Surviving against overwhelming odds is the least of her achievements. Turia has gone on to thrive in the ultimate story of triumph over adversity. A humanitarian & motivationalist, and now IRONMAN, Turia inspires people everywhere to unmask their full potential.
Visit her website to read more about her story and contineous passion for life to thrive and inspire others!.
turia is an ambassador for Interplast
Interplast sends teams of volunteer plastic and reconstructive surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and allied health professionals to provide life-changing surgery and medical training in 17 countries across the Asia Pacific region.
Not only that, they do this in partnership with local organisations, including hospitals, universities and local NGOs. Their mission is to ‘repair bodies and rebuild lives’ and do this through providing surgical services to those who could not otherwise afford or access these, and by building the capacity of local medical systems through our training and mentoring programs.
Visit their website to read more about Turia's involvement and to support amazing work Interplast is carrying out!