Real Life Sea Change Stories
The following stories illustrate the personal journeys of those who have made a sea or tree change or are in the process of undertaking a significant career and/or lifestyle change.
They include P2R client stories and contributions from other sea and tree changers to help you see what’s possible for your sea or tree change.
Special thanks to those who so generously share their experiences to inspire and teach others. (NB. Personal details have been changed to protect confidentiality).
Heart Attack Provides Wake-Up Call
James, his wife Michelle (a successful PR manager) and their two teenagers had lived in Sydney all their lives. For 10 years, James left home at 6.45am, drove in peak hour traffic for an hour and a half and worked in a windowless office in Martin Place. His days were full of intense and stressful meetings, crunching numbers, managing the ups, downs and personalities of his 25 strong team and clearing over 50 emails a day. Although he had great intentions of going to the gym at lunch time, he never seemed to get around to it. He’d get home late, have dinner and then do a couple more hours work before collapsing into bed at around 11.00pm.
As he worked his way up the corporate ladder, he got further and further away from what was important to him and became buried in the political jockeying of his company’s executive management team. Weekends were a blur or taxiing his kids to sport and parties and he was most likely to see Michelle as they past each other in the hallway, one coming home, the other leaving. They had planned to renovate their home but 5 years after moving in, they still hadn’t got around to it.
Battling exhaustion, stress, frustration and the inescapable truth that his kids were growing up largely without him, James suffered a heart attack.
Realising that they only had one life, James and Michelle took stock and decided to make major changes to the way they were living it. Obviously, the heart attack had been a big wake-up call and I asked James what had gone wrong. He said, “I lost sight of what was important to me and who I really am. I got caught up in the lure of professional success and jumped on the treadmill without even realising it. The financial rewards and validation were great but I never had time to enjoy them before it was nearly too late.”
Following the Dream It! Design It! Do It! 3D self-guided Sea Change program from P2R, James and Michelle identified their purpose, priorities, strengths and skills and what made them happy to create a vision for their sea change. Once they were clear about what they wanted and why, they were able to plan their sea change and make it happen. James worked out that helping people achieve financial freedom and being an involved Dad and Husband were vital to him, so having the time and good health to do this was essential. He is also creative and loves the satisfaction of completing projects – he fancies himself as a pretty skilled home handyman! Michelle worked out that she is much happier when she is making a difference to her community, using her PR skills and talents to promote it. The children love the beach and the freedom of the chilled out surfing culture. Time spent together as a family became a ‘must have’ and they designed a life around what’s important to them all.
12 months later, James, Michelle and their family moved to Gerringong on the NSW South Coast. James has established a successful Financial Planning Business and uses his skills and knowledge to advise individuals, families and businesses. Importantly, he now has the freedom to control the hours he works; exercises regularly and is renovating the beautiful old home they now live in. Michelle is promoting the Illawarra area and the family is active in the local Surf Life Saving scene, spending time together and being part of a close-knit community. While their combined income has reduced, so has their cost of living and James believes the benefits far outweigh any disadvantages. He says, “being able to visualise and clarify what we all wanted and what we hoped to get out of it saved a lot of time, energy, family conflict and potentially moving to the wrong place for the wrong reasons. I get to help people directly with their financial planning. I’m a lot more involved in the kid’s lives, we do stuff together and there’s a lot less pressure now. Everyone is happier and healthier and we are much closer as a family which is great.”
Swapping Computer Programming for Environmental Conservation
Sam, a 36 year old software engineer in the IT industry spent his days in front of a computer, writing code. While this had earned him good money over the years, he’d lost interest in it and found himself frustrated, bored and stuck, with no clear way forward. Once he’d given himself permission to let go of his father’s preconceived ideas of success, gained from a highly paid job, he was able to clear the way and find out what he really wanted out of life. He’s passionate about the environment and sustainability and living in Sydney seemed somehow incongruent with his love of clear air and being outdoors.
Sam’s IT career had enabled him to pursue his passion for bushwalking, skiing and exploring national parks. He’d also developed useful project management skills and the discipline needed to conceive an idea, develop it, plan it and implement it.
Engaging P2R to help him achieve his dream, Sam realised that his purpose in life is to conserve our natural environment, leaving it in a better state. He dreamt of being paid to do what he loved discovering, learning and sharing all there is to know about our natural heritage. Following additional training and a focused career change, Sam is now a Ranger in the Kosciusko National Park taking tour groups through the park in all seasons.
When I asked him what had given him the push he needed to make such a significant change, Sam said, “Giving myself permission to let go of other’s expectations and being honest about what was really important to me. Ironically, what I love doing is what I’m good at and once I could articulate it, I set out on a 3 year mission to achieve it. It wasn’t easy and I was often tempted to give it away. My Vision Board covered in stunning pictures of national parks was a constant reminder of what I was striving for and kept me going through the hours of studying and IT contract working. If I had my time over would I do it again? Absolutely. Do I have any regrets? Only one – that I procrastinated and wish I’d done it sooner. I’m glad I took the time to get clear about what I wanted and I’ve achieved it – life’s great!”
Robinson Family Farmers
The Robinsons are a family of 7 who were finding the cost of living in Melbourne prohibitive. Even though there were plenty or things to do in the city, their lack of money meant that evenings and weekends were largely limited to nights in front of the TV. Finding herself constantly tired, stressed and always nagging her family, Mia decided it was time to ‘get back to basics’ and reconnect with what they wanted for their family.
Engaging Caroline as their Tree Change Coach, the Robinsons worked out what they wanted and how to achieve it. At a family conference they sat everyone down around the dining room table and asked them what their ideal life would be like. The kids jumped at the ‘Back to Basics’ Brainstorming/Mindmapping game - even their 5 year old was very clear about what he wanted!
Martin, a factory foreman who had been raised on a farm, was keen to get back to the country and use his now dormant farming skills. He missed the freedom he’d had on the farm. Prepared to work hard, they all wanted an easier, healthier and freer lifestyle where they could do more things that weren’t dependant on having a lot of money.
Through planning their move and breaking it down into manageable steps, the Robinsons achieved their lifestyle change within 15 months. They are now managing a farm in central western NSW and couldn’t be happier. The children attend a small school where the teachers really care about them and the whole family loves going into town for the football on Saturdays.
Ironically, because it’s less expensive, the Robinsons have found they can do more as a family in the country. The children chip in with the chores and are then free to swim in the river or ride their quad bikes around the farm while Mia has made some great friends with other women in the surrounding region. She says, “Every now and again, I pull out our ‘Back to Basics’ drawing that we did as a family all those years ago to notice what’s changed and make sure our lifestyle is still doing what we wanted it to do.”
A Clear and Realistic Plan Provides the Key
Robyn and Michelle dreamt of opening up their own organic food store and café. Passionate about natural foods and provisions, they could describe it in detail. Robyn says, “We knew it would be in an old, converted hardware store with recycled floorboards and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. We even knew what we would stock in the store and sell in the café. Our customers would be locals who would also supply us organically certified produce as well as the constant, year round tourists who visited our gourmet food and boutique wine growing region. The problem was we just didn’t know where this would be or how we would transition from our current city based jobs as a chef and marketing manager.
Our Dream sat on the shelf for over 4 years, getting more elaborate over bottles of red wine and long dinners but going nowhere. Finally we decided it was time to get serious or give it away and we started the long but exciting process of looking at all the options, weighing them up, finding out what we needed and developing ways to make it happen.
Working with Caroline, we were able to easily convert this into an Action Plan with set timeframes, and stay focused. 18 months later we found our dream shop and moved to the Macedon Ranges region, just over 100kms from Melbourne. Without a Plan, we’d still be slogging it out in Melbourne and talking about our dream which would still be just that – a dream.
Now it’s real, happening and although it comes with a steep learning curve, we’re glad we made the move. Perhaps the best part is that we’re doing something we’re passionate about. We work hard and have made mistakes but we wouldn’t change it for anything. We now re-set our goals and develop a plan every 6 months or so because it keeps us focused on what we want to achieve and working steadily towards it,” says Robyn.
Making a Sea Change Work for Everyone
When making his Sea Change, Simon was faced with a dilemma. He’d successfully secured his dream job as a charter boat operator on the Great Barrier Reef. It offered the warm, outdoor lifestyle he’d wanted for years and the opportunity to explore the Reef marine life which fascinates him. As a former boat mechanic and part-time tour boat operator on Sydney Harbour he had the skills he needed and was looking forward to buying his own home in more affordable Airlie Beach.
However, Simon is an only child and since his Dad passed away he felt responsible for his ageing Mum who’d lived all her life in Parramatta. Simon describes it like this, “I wasn’t sure how Mum would feel about me moving to Queensland. I felt sick at the thought of leaving her and it took me weeks to pluck up courage to talk to her about it.
I was surprised at how positive she was and involving her in all the decisions and planning made it easier to make the move. We decided that when she needs full-time care, she’ll move up to Airlie Beach. On one of her visits we checked out the Retirement Home options, found one she likes and whenever she comes up, she meets and catches up with new friends she’s made in the place she’s going to move into. That way she won’t be lonely when she eventually moves up and I know she’ll be happy, which makes me feel better about moving her up here. She’s already inviting her Sydney friends up for holidays!
Her move will be Part 2 of our Sea Change and because it’s all decided and planned, we’re both looking forward to it.”
Through a tailored P2R Sea Change Transformation Program, Simon worked out how to make a Sea Change do-able for him and his Mum, created a two part plan and is well on his way to creating his ideal life.
Our Lifeline – Make Settling Easy
Renee, Gordon (a mining engineer) and their three small boys planned to move from Brisbane to Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia where they knew nobody. Having been introduced to 2 other families with young children, they stayed in touch for the 12 months leading up to their move. “The Jenkins and Smiths were like our lifeline,” says Renee. “Whatever we wanted to know, they were able to help. The choice of schools for our boys, finding trustworthy and reliable local services, even where the best place was for a haircut. Nothing was too much trouble.
We regularly talked to them online or via Skype and by the time we moved, we felt like we knew them really well. Our kids had ready-made new friends, Gordon was introduced to the local Cricket Club and thanks to countless introductions and invitations from our new friends, I settle in quite quickly. They took a lot of the uncertainty, worry and potential isolation out of the move and made us feel really welcome. Of all the things we did to prepare for our tree change, this one made the biggest difference to settling in easily.”
Renee and Gordon did the P2R Kickstart program and developed the inner resources to overcome their potentially biggest challenge – loneliness.
We Didn’t Realise What Not Making the Move was Costing Us
Malcolm and Genevieve, both in their mid-thirties, had a relatively good life, living in Sydney. Malcolm was a self-employed plumber and Gen worked for a city based legal firm. The daily commute was a real grind for Gen and Malcolm was finding that being stuck in traffic on Sydney’s congested roads was costing him too much time travelling between jobs. “It was really stressful and inefficient and I found myself spending more time travelling in my ute than working on jobs,” says Malcolm. Gen also found herself falling asleep on the train and felt constantly tired at work. By the time she got home she was too tired to cook so they often had take-away for dinner.
To make life easier and manage the shortage of time, they employed a cleaner, gardener and had their car washed once a month which added $450 a month to their bills. Reality struck when they did a budget and realised that this money could be coming off their $480,000 mortgage. They were really struggling to make ends meet.
Once they’d made the decision to make a major lifestyle change, they set about researching the options; deciding where they wanted to go and how they wanted to live. Having made their move 10 months ago, to a vibrant country community they are glad they made the move. Malcolm is establishing his plumbing business and Gen has made a complete career change by moving into home decorating.
Employed by a local blind and curtain company, she works 4 days a week and loves going to people’s homes giving interior decorating advice.
Their tree change has given them a lot more time together, they are healthier, happier and in spite of a drop in combined income, are over $12,000 better off each year.
Using the Dream It! Design It! Do It! 3D self guided Sea Change program from P2R, Malcolm and Genevieve were able to easily work out their finances, how much they needed and develop a plan that achieved their personal, professional and financial goals.
£10 Poms do an Aussie Sea Change - don’t look back
Caroline Cameron, Sea Change Coach's first Sea Change story.
My parents made the ultimate sea change, over 40 years ago when they moved from England to Australia. My father who was a GP didn’t like the way the UK National Health Service was heading and they wanted a better lifestyle to bring up their two small children.
Deciding on Australia over Canada and New Zealand, Dad accepted a job with a rural practice in Griffith, 570kms west of Sydney in the NSW Riverina area. It was years before the internet and my parents, who’d never been further than France for holidays, had looked at the map of Australia in their Atlas. Seeing (through a Pom’s perspective of distance) that Griffith looked fairly central in NSW, they decided that this would give them the life they were seeking. They knew nobody and were leaving their families, friends and all that was familiar behind, setting off for a life-changing adventure.
Our emigration was thoroughly planned and it cost ₤10 door to door, leaving Heathrow in a bitterly cold blizzard in January, clutching two small children firmly by the hand. As a 4 year old, everything I knew about Australia was in a small Ladybird book with a kangaroo on the cover! A 30 hour flight took us to Sydney, followed by a 14 hour train trip to Griffith, arriving on a day when the mercury hit 38o. We may as well have landed on Mars!
Years later, when I asked my Mum, how she’d ‘kept going’ through all the goodbyes and introductions to her new life she shared her coping strategies. One was to have a mantra, a song that resonates, inspires and keeps you moving forward. For her this was the song, “We Said We Wouldn’t Look Back” from the 1950’s West End musical, Salad Days. The other was discovering simple but familiar things which were comforting like finding Heinz Baked Beans on the supermarket shelf! Some things are the same, the world over.
After 35 happy years in Griffith, my parents made another successful Tree Change, retiring to Healesville in the beautiful Yarra Valley, Victoria. Again, focusing on the future and not looking back was the key to a happy retirement.
