Honouring my Inner Pioneer

I’ve always had a pioneering streak.
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Not because I set out to be ahead of the curve – but because I tend to see the dots before others do, and I can’t help but connect them.
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Add in a spark of inspiration,  and suddenly I’m off exploring what comes next.
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 In 1995, at the dawn of South Africa’s democracy, when freedom of the press was opening up, I found myself starting a Student Media company.
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Looking back, I see how much that moment was about giving voice to a new generation in a country finding its voice.
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 In 1998, I packed my bags and rushed off to San Francisco for the great Internet Gold Rush. I joined a founding team for a start-up, swept up in the excitement of building something new in a world that was just discovering the web.
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 In 2005, on a night bus in Argentina, I had an epiphany – that my work was to help people believe in the power and MAGIC of their dreams. At the time, no one really knew what a coach was, never mind what “manifesting” meant. But I followed the call anyway.
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 By 2009, I was running online programs and gently explaining what a “web-i-nar” was (a seminar… on the web!).
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 And from 2011, before “digital nomad” was a thing, I started spending summers in Jo’burg and winters somewhere warm — the Caribbean, Durban, Spain, Morocco.
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Working happily from my laptop in coffee shops. Surfing daily and coaching clients all over the world.
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Again and again, I’ve found myself at the edge of what was new.
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And yet, in the last few years – between being a mom, navigating a pandemic, moving countries, learning a new language, and building my business – I haven’t had much time to THINK deeply.
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To pause. To “see” clearly.
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And we are in times when clear seeing matters.
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AI, robotics, biotech, cryptography – all converging.
Economies, education, politics, even culture itself shifting.
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I want (and need) the time and space to pause.
To think deeply about this next chapter.
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To imagine and create frameworks for the next 10–20 years of my life and work.
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I especially want to think deeply about Childhood Education.
Luke is 5 now.
By the time he’s 20, the world will look so different.
I want to ensure he is set up to thrive.
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Sometimes the bravest thing a pioneer can do… is stop.
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Which is the second big reason I’m taking a sabbatical year in 2026.
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And I wonder, where in your life could you give yourself the pause you need (even if just an hour, a day or a week) to see things more clearly, or from a different perspective?

If your soul is whispering for stillness, clarity, or recalibration — my November retreat may be the pause you’ve been needing.

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