By Maggie Webber
In mid April 1997, I finished my studies with Dr. Deepak Chopra, to become the Chopra Centre’s first Meditation Practitioner in the Pacific Rim. I received so many benefits from learning this practice myself that I wanted to share its many gifts with other people. This desire became reality within less than a week of qualifying to teach it, when I was asked to share a stage with Deepak at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia, in front of an audience of over 2,500! That night was a turning point in my life.
For years I had been focusing all my time and energy on my former husband’s career, which kept us bouncing between the United States, Europe and Australia. After I enthusiastically shared my experience with the audience and spoke from my heart, more than 450 people came up at the break and wanted to study with me. I had nothing to start a business, but I immediately knew that when you shift from “What’s in it for me?” to “How can I serve?” the Universe will support you.
The realization that it was time to come out of my husband’s shadow hit me hard that night. Our relationship was a total charade, and it was costing me my self-esteem. Worse, I wasn’t living according to my soul’s purpose. Four days after my epiphany, I asked for a divorce. I knew it was not going to be easy, especially with two little ones, no family or any real friends close by, and now no job either because—even though I had three university degrees and my own business—I had put my dreams and aspirations on hold to travel with and support my husband.
As I was the one who had chosen to go, my husband informed me I needed to find a new home! But as one learns when one begins to meditate, it is not what happens to you in life that is really relevant; it is what you learn from it and how quickly you recover. The synchronicity in your life also picks up pace, so the day the kids and I had to leave our plush home was also the day one of my meditation students was leaving for England, and we were able to move straight into her little two-bedroom, furnished flat. One door closes, a better window opens.
Having learned from a father I rarely saw, I vowed that I would be there to watch my children’s sports on the weekend, volunteer at their school canteens, read to them each night and go on at least one holiday together each year, even if it was an inexpensive one. So I did my utmost to find a way to work from home, so I could take them to school and be there when they came home. I had seen so many latchkey children becoming troubled. So I worked my meditation seminars into their father’s schedule, which meant he saw them one weekend every five. I jumped into network marketing and did some public speaking, too. Both things I could do around my very talented children and their sports, drama, and many other interests.
Getting Back in the Ring
Then I discovered property investing. I started with one investment property, and then added another and another. I turned these into short-term rentals and ran a business online where I took bookings from overseas. Then I got over-confident, and I tackled a $6.5-million property development, where I was due to make $800,000 profit. But my financier went belly-up, the market turned, and I now couldn’t settle on two unbuilt properties I had put a deposit on. So “boom”—I lost $100,000 overnight. I had the option of going bankrupt, as did every other member of my investment group. But there was part of me that could not take the easy way out. I felt I had to pay back my creditors, no matter how long it took.
Interest added to interest, and financially I was going backwards by the day! I couldn’t sleep, gained weight, became a recluse, was too ashamed to ask for help from my family and, even though I was meditating each day, I developed depression. I found a life coaching course online, where we paired up with a buddy and kept each other accountable. This was all I could afford at this stage. Still, it was a great start. Very quickly I got my life got back on track. I saw the incredible power of having a coach and being accountable to someone else. It was a simple three-month program and I was close to finishing it, feeling like a completely new person in just 10 weeks. My income had more than doubled, my sleep issues had disappeared and my weight had dropped. I was feeling happier and more fulfilled than I had in years.
One of my property investing friends—who had chosen to go bankrupt and assured me that she had found such peace by doing so—became a financial planner. Ironically, she looked so well and happy, whereas I was working harder and going further backwards. I was due to meet her for coffee, when I got the call from her former boyfriend—“please come to Cherie’s funeral.” She had gassed herself, leaving behind two little boys aged ten and eight. At her funeral, we gave her a standing ovation. Finally, the recognition this talented and marvellous, yet troubled, woman had been crying out for all her career. Too little, way too late.
At her wake, as coloured balloons disappeared into the cloudless blue sky—each showing one of her gifts, values, hopes and dreams—I decided that NOTHING was ever that bad to end my life over. I signed up for a course to become a Life and Small Business Coach the following week, and have since become a Master Coach. For the last few years, I have made sure I will not die with one note of my music still in me—and neither will anyone I coach!
I am sure life still has plenty of surprises in store for me, and not all of them will be pleasant. Nevertheless, there is one thing for sure. My experience in life so far has taught me to dodge many an uppercut and right hook, and if one does connect, I now have the strength, courage and resilience to take it on the chin, learn the lesson from it and get back in life’s ring for another round.
Maggie Webber, from Hobart, Tasmania, has has 35 years of experience providing individuals and corporations tools to increase productivity, manage stress levels and achieve a greater work/life balance. Her list of clients includes professional athletes, top executives and world renowned entertainers. After receiving a Bachelor of Education and Business Leadership and a Master of Commerce, she became Dr. Deepak Chopra’s first certified meditation practitioner for the Pacific Rim. Using her NLP and Life Coaching certifications, she created her ‘3 Months to Transformation’ program, to help her clients identify their true passions and break their life goals down into bite sized and attainable pieces. Visit healthywealthywisegroup.com or shifthappensnow.com.au.
This article is a chapter from the book Transform Your Life! written by 60 real-life heroes and experts and available at Amazon.com, BN.com, www.Transformation-Publishing.com and all ebook formats.