Success Story - The Power Of Conscious Choice - Avalons Story

This is Avalon: an amazing singer, conservationist, house vice captain, great friend and kind hearted soul.

I first met Avalon in Browns Bay on Aucklands North Shore when I was singing on stage during their local market day. Singing is one of my passions - something I started at the age of 4 years old, began professional training at the age of 11 and have used as one of my JOY TRIGGERS. It's helped my confidence and self esteem and I always get a beautiful buzz when I perform a song that people love!

As I looked out into the crowd, I saw a beautiful young lady smiling - and I nearly had an out of body experience! I could have sworn it was me as a child looking up at ME on stage. I got chatting with Avalon and mum Tracie (also a talented singer) and they asked about singing lessons. At the time, I said no, however this sweet wee girl stuck in my mind and some weeks later, I was back in Browns Bay singing again. This time I decided to take her on board and see if we could develop her voice and confidence as a singer.

Avalons journey exceeded my expectations.

I shared some of my experiences as a child, showed her photos and talked about the changes I made in my life. I know first hand the power and destruction of bullying to a child's self confidence and while we never really discussed this issue, I was aware that my role as her coach was to work on helping Avalon find her uniqueness, find her strengths and help build those in view to elevating her self esteem. She was a pretty happy lass from the get go, however I understand the challenges of being a 9 year old!

On helping Avalon discover her voice, she discovered so much more! She decided she wanted to participate in more sport and play with her friends. She wanted to perform more and understood that you need to be fit to sing and perform on stage. She decided she needed to make different choices. And she did.

Utilising online apps, learning about nutrition and balancing that with exercise and fun, Avalon started to shed weight.

8 months later, Avalon has shed 19 Kilos, is maintaining a healthy weight, feels happy, is having more fun, is creating beautiful pieces of artwork, is singing in the school band, is a caller in the Kapa Haka group, is Vice House Captain at school and sings like a nightingale.

She is PROOF that adding more of what you love into your life can have a profound domino effect. She is a beautiful example of the power of conscious choice.  AND I'm really proud to say that aside from being her coach, SHE is my friend.

Congratulations Avalon! YOU inspire ME!

To learn more about Avalon and her conservation efforts to clean up her neighbourhood, click on this link to support her on FACEBOOK