I’m Anna. A 25 year old who unapologetically loves life and all the joy and mess that comes along with it. I retired from the 9-5 in July this year to live out my life of ideal days and coach others to do the same. I coach, run my own business, live with my fiance (Morgs) of 6 years and being a daughter, sister, fiance, business partner, and friend keeps me busy but thus my passion and zest for living.

I want to be the girl who never loses site of who she is and what she wants, who lets her values dictate her decisions, who learns from every failure, who believes that whatever she wants in life she can get with hard work and determination, who loves unconditionally and who believes that the imperfectly perfect balance can be achieved…

Check out my blog, Lifes Shiny Pretty Things and follow me on Instagram here!

Tell us three things about yourself

• I have pieces of my soul scattered all over the world. My fiancé and I LOVE to travel and travel is a huge part of my Joie De Vivre for me, it is ultimate soul fulfillment. We did a 4.5 month Europe trip late last year and have visited over 60 cities in the world (& counting)
• I have set big goals ever since I was little. I used to walk around shopping centres telling people I was going to own a hotel when I was older, and I really meant it (that goal is no longer but the desire to achieve big has always been in my life)
• I love love. I am a true romantic in every form.

What’s been the biggest health challenge you’ve overcome and what did you learn from this experience?

I had debilitating anxiety. In fact, that is what set me on the path to where I am today. I went to the doctors when I was 20 years old with anxiety so bad I would have up to 8 panic attacks a day and constantly struggled for breathe – I also developed adult acne I used to stress myself out so much. I went to the doctor to ask for a referral to a counselor or psychologist as I just knew that I could fix it, I just had to know where it was coming from in my being and why.

The doctor stared at me, and flatly told me no. He couldn’t give me a referral, it was so bad, I just had to go on two types of drugs – one daily being xanax. I literally fought with him in his room until I gave up, took the script and got the drugs. I was on them 2 weeks…resisting it the whole time, devastated that although my anxiety and breathing seemed to be squashed now, my mental clarity and my ‘self’ was gone.

I promptly declared then and there I would get better by myself. I threw out all my drugs and went on a self love journey. I started my blog (although I didn’t share the story at the time, nor really ever have) it was a way for me to capture that journey and share my growth along the way.

That was 2.5 years ago now. I am anxiety free and adult acne is long gone. I did it through self love – yoga, cutting shit and debilitating friends and people from my life, getting clear on my purpose, changing my diet, introducing exercise and writing.

I could write a book on what I have learnt from that and what else came up for me along the way but the biggest most beautiful lesson of course was that we can heal ourselves – you don’t have to accept status quo on health or life – I lost some friends by trying to better myself but it was the best thing that could have happened. I learnt that nothing IS more important than my health and being the best version of me can be achieved through healthy ways, – like eating right, exercising, loving myself and radiating love.

What’s your top tip for getting your day off to a great start?

Have a morning routine!!! I am a free spirit, I don’t need an alarm clock as I was lucky to retire from the 9-5 life in July however I still champion having a routine in the morning more than anything else. I think having a solid foundation of stuff you love as soon as your eyes open is a key to not just a successful day but a successful life.

Here is an example of that in my own morning routine I do EVERY day.

5:30am – Wake up to a new favourite song I’ve picked for that week instead of a crappy, soul draining alarm. How? I just choose whatever song I’m loving that week from my music library. You can do this through your iphone alarm clock, click on ‘Sound’ when you are editing your alarm and you can go in to your library of songs! Smile number 1 accomplished 🙂

6:00am – Go to the gym (between 4km – 7km) with my divine fiance Morgs (a couple that works out together stays together right?).

7:00am – Put on our music to get ready to & have my breakfast, which is always a big healthy nutrient rich smoothie. 

Dry Brush my whole body. Read about what this is all about here & then smother it in Organic coconut oil (instead of chemical filled moisturizer).

Write out my daily goals & gratitudes I do this EVERYDAY. You can never ever leave the house or go in to what you need to head on for a day without knowing why you’re doing it I believe. WHY you are working hard or living or loving. I write my goals & gratitudes out so I am telling (in a loving ‘I am here’ kinda way) the universe & myself every day what it is I truly desire. It’s not selfish stuff either. It’s stuff like, I allow myself to have all my goals with love and abundance. I radiate love, calm and joy at all times and attract the same energy back.

Gratitude attracts abundance – and I love a life of love & abundance x

Your brekky usually consists of…

I am on an amazing nutritional cleansing program and so I have my smoothie that is the ‘perfect meal’ – full of every nutrient and vitamin my body needs to function correctly. I normally add blueberries, strawberries or some organic granola if the mood so calls for it. When I started on my new lifestyle 2 ½ years ago, making sure I NEVER missed breakfast was a big thing I introduced and now on my program I adore my shake and the ease and deliciousness of it all.

Which foods do you eat to nourish your body and give you vitality?

I, like most other wellness women, am ALL about food and I love everything – in moderation. I lost 17kg by changing my diet from pasta/bread/rice/potatos to meats and veggies and salads. Now, as mentioned, I’m on my nutritional cleansing program so it makes it so so easy to sustain my weight and health but to give you a little peak in to foods that are a staple in my diet are:

+ Broccoli

+ Quinoa

+ Avocado

+ Steamed veggies (peas, carrots, snow peas, corn)

+ Pumpkin

+ Fish

+ Eggs

+ Fruit (but in moderation, such as berries)

+ Asparagus

+ Zucchini

As I said, I do love meat as well (as does Morgs) so we are big ‘little bit of meat, a lotta veggies’ people. Breakfast and lunch is always my nutrient rich shakes with healthy snacks throughout the day and dinner would involve the above.

I have also developed a sweet tooth in my older age (eeek) so will never ever deny my body a sweet treat if it so calls for it. I will say it over and over again, just everything in moderation – even cake!

Why is fitness an important part of your life and do you have an exercise routine?

Fitness is huge in my life – I make sure I move my body every day. I heard one of my health hero’s Dr Michael Colgan say one day if you want to live to 110 (healthy & fit) there is no such thing as rest days). I have never been over the top about exercise though and there is a key distinction. I always move my body but it’s stuff that I love and if I do miss one day I will never beat myself up (so so important to not – I notice an increasing amount of this going on these days). My fitness routine looks a little like this:

Mon: Fun gym session

Tues: Cardio & Yoga

Wednesday: Gym Session

Thurs: Outdoor PT Session

Friday: Gym session

Saturday: Boxing Class (Boxercise, my fav session of the week!)

Sunday: Relaxing 7km walk around the beautiful Perth river

Your ‘perfect day’ in a nutshell would be…

My perfect day begins and ends with the sun. I wake up as it streams through my big glass windows waking me next to my fiance in our beautiful big warm house by the beach (or with rain pattering against the glass in winter).

I get up and drink my breakfast smoothie and laugh and smile and feel energised about the day ahead. I go for my morning run or do some yoga, or even both – time is not against me so I plod along as I please smiling all the while at how overwhelmingly grateful I am for this day.

I then have some hours engaged with my clients – I show up in our space online or in the corner of an organic coffee shop – with love & ready to give all of me and my advice, buzzing with energy as we dig deep and work on carving out their life’s path and souls purpose. Each client walks away every time feeling aligned, excited and closer to living their own dream life.

I then get back to emails in my business partners (Peta Kelly) & my dream office and we have our daily business meetings with natural sunlight streaming through the office, with beautiful views so we are constantly inspired and connected to our source. By afternoon I’m back at our dream home by the ocean with a big delicious green smoothie in one hand, my favourite book in the other on the balcony over looking the ocean having some me time.

I have time every single night for date night with my hunk of a fiance Morgan and we eat by candlelit at home, or dine in our favourite restaurants with other best friends with no care for bed times or tomorrows.

Every night I go to bed with a smile on my face knowing for that day, I left everything on the table. I loved without wanting, I gave without expecting receiving, I showed up, I engaged, I laughed till my face hurt & I made a difference in somebodies life (whoever I was connecting with for that day).

Describe what motivated you to choose your current business or career path?

I am actually incredibly blessed to not have a ‘conventional’ career path. I was able to retire from my 9-5 in July and live on a growing residual income through a nutritional cleansing company I’m aligned with.

The big inspiration with that was…everything. SO much. Humanity inspires me. I adore people. I overcame my anxiety and went on a huge journey of own self discovery and really felt I finally was living on purpose this year when I discovered I could impact lives on a greater level – I could do coaching on a broader scale and not have to charge. I offer it free for girls who want to change both their financial and health situation and as soon as I started to align with doing it the universe just threw me reward after reward.

The biggest motivation is the huge driving force in life that came about from my own 2 year self discovery journey. I am heart on fire kinda desire to change a generation, our generation of women, to believe that they can be whoever they wish to be, do whatever they wish to do, and live so beautifully bang on purpose and with fulfillment. To live with passion and purpose and earn an income through that. The second big motivation is my mum & fiancé.

What business or career challenge have you overcome and what one piece of advice would you like to pass on to others?

I had a 3.5 year career in Federal Politics and although I wouldn’t say there were any huge challenges, I think trying to pave the way as an outspoken, fun loving female in a very serious and male dominated industry was a challenge unto itself.

I learnt SO much over the years and to only give one piece of advice is too hard so here were some of the biggest take home lessons I learnt along the way:

+ Always walk in to a room confidently with your head high, eye gaze strong and handshake stronger.

+ Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t, that you’re not smart enough, or that you’re not old enough – your limitations are only what you think they are. Anything is possible, never let anyone tell you otherwise.

+ Believe in your worth, if you respect yourself and work hard, others will believe in you to.

+ Learn how to network and do it well – it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

+ Know your social graces – and use them.

+ Learn to listen, properly and to emphathise, genuinely.

+ Be yourself – of every hour of every day. For me, that meant remaining loud, slightly crazy and sometimes inappropriate (for that industry anyway) but it meant I was being honest, and true to myself and it matters. It really does.

+ Work hard and play harder – remember that we are here working to live not living to work.

+ Be assertive, respectful and honest in all that you do and you’ll always come out on top.

+ Use your voice – speak up. Your voice is important just like anybody others, so are your ideas and opinions.

+ Don’t ever be unlimited by the fear of the unknown. Ever.

+ Have fun. With everything. Always

Your favourite book or movie of all time is? And why?

Danielle Laporte – The Fire Starter Sessions. I have read hundreds (honestly), hundredsss of books, and all whisper sweet love stories to my soul, but this one? It is the one that was a HUGE game changer for me when I went through my second stage of self declaration and spiritual growth. When I finished reading this book, I put it in my lap, took a few deep breathes and the tears came flowing it was truly THAT powerful.

It changed a lot for me. It helped me hammer down limiting beliefs, build up new ones, declare my super powers (one of my fav chapters in the book) and know that I am worthy, it is achievable and to give give give of myself and my gifts in life. The header for the book sums it up better than I ever could so allow Danielle to explain..

It’s the permission slip you’ve been waiting for — to fully want what you want and go for it, to expand your consciousness and your cash flow, to up the ante on your dreams, to be incredibly generous with your love. This is a modern-day pep talk and soul-centered Q&A for people ready to shine brighter than they ever have.

BOOM. Just.go.read.the.book. I promise it’ll be worth it.

And lastly, do you have a recipe you’d like to share with us?

I think it would be an injustice to myself and to your absolutely gorgeous readers if my recipe didn’t honour my obsession with smoothies (especially of the green variety) so today I would love to share one of my all time favs’ whipped up all year long in my kitchen:

2 Kale leaves (roughly chopped)

2 Celery Sticks leaves attached (roughly chopped)

1/2 Avocado (Scooped out)

1 Banana (frozen, pre chopped)

1 Lime (squeeze juice in to blender)

1 Green Apple (roughly chopped)

1 Kiwi Fruit (roughly chopped)

5 Strawberries (chopped)