A privileged childhood in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. A good school with great friends. Loads of sport and fanatic for AFL. The good fortune to achieve academic success at a tertiary and masters level. Plenty of travel overseas. Living in Europe for 10 years then travelling the globe for my career.

Privileged, fast paced, life measured by toys acquired, the right suburb to bring up kids, good schools, special events, great holidays. In the later part of 2016 I was at the peak of my life, well at least outwardly so. I had a great family, was married with three amazing children, a terrific house in Bayside Melbourne, a highly rewarding job, close connections to community and family. In a matter of days, weeks or months I lost a parent, my marriage and then the corporate coup. My identity had packed up and left.

Part orphan, separated and jobless and not well equipped to manage the grief or trauma of one of these events let alone 3. I was wrestling with three and drowning in denial. I attacked life as I always had but something had changed and I couldn’t work through it. Ultimately my mental heath failed to a catastrophic level and off to the hospital / clinic I went. From that very low point I began to rebuild slowly. There was no quick fix. I was supported by experts in many fields from GPs, nurses, psychiatrists, counsellors, psychologists, out placement professionals, yoga teachers, people with wisdom, other patients young and old amongst others.

Everything came back to some simple principles. Life in balance, live in the moment, take time to check in with yourself. Or as my mum said “everything in moderation” That nothing is given, to enjoy moments. To plan and have ambition but not lose sight of the now. To the psychologists, psychiatrists, mentors, people of wisdom, yoga teachers, family friends who simply want you to find a happy balance, thank you. The next step was how was I going to organise myself? I needed to build a plan and process, the specialists could only do so much. That plan is now what I support clients with allowing them a system to check in with what is important and how to navigate a hectic life. My experience and challenges equipped me well to work through 2020 and into 2021. To me it was proof I had something to offer others.

My purpose now is to support you by using all of my, yours and other people’s resources to build a life in balance. My lived experience, academic qualifications and connections to professional specialists can help navigate a plan to be your best self. Una Vuelta? One turn, return, walk, tour?

Richard Coyne