My journey of work and learning has been varied, and this variety has been purposeful. I’ve worked in different sectors and industries. I’ve completed an assortment of courses. I’ve met and worked with a range of people. I’ve undertaken many different tasks. I’ve had paid and unpaid roles. And I’ve faced a myriad of challenges, disappointments and successes. At first it wasn’t clear how all of these different parts would come together, but a deep sense of knowing always told me I was on track. I believed that a clear purpose would emerge if I continued to listen and to trust, and it has.
My timeline of work & learning
Start at the beginning:“The beginning is the most important part of the work”
– Plato
I started out in environmental science. Graduating with an Honours degree, I took a job in a nature conservation organisation. I’ve always had a deep connection to Earth and to nature, so I really enjoyed working in this field and met some extraordinary people. About halfway through my time there I became sick with Epstein Barr Virus and natural medicine was the key to my healing. Feeling inspired, I explored a range of courses such as wholefoods cooking, nutrition, health food retailing etc. By the time my employment contract ended, I was ready to take a chance and experiment with some different work experiences and discover what else the world might hold for me.
Navigating a new direction:“You can steer yourself in any direction you choose”
– Dr Seuss
A wide variety of roles came after that, such as working in business administration and environmental education. I even managed a health food store for a while and worked in the curatorial department of a zoo. After a time, I took a role in human resources (HR). It was quite early on in HR that my much-loved cousin, Travis, died and immediately my life went in a completely new direction. I began an intensive quest to learn about myself, about life, about spirituality and about the world in which we live.
A decade of learning:“Always desire to learn something useful”
– Sophocles
My time in HR was truly valuable. I learnt so many important things, including a vast amount about people, relationships and communication. This job also gave me the funds and flexibility to travel overseas and undertake a wide-range of personal development activities and courses. After 10 years my job was made redundant and I was retrenched from the company. But I celebrated because it was the start of a new and exciting chapter, and it was time for me to specialise in the personal development field.
Evolutionary fast-track:“The track is fast and I appreciate anything is possible”
– Yohan Blake
Straight away I set out on a fast-track programme to healing and teaching. I certified in a number of energy and intuitive based healing modalities, and started seeing clients in my own small practice. It was a great start for me; learning how to build rapport with clients and guiding them to understand more about themselves and how they could change their lives. I then went on to complete qualifications in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), NLP Coaching and a number of other powerful therapeutic / healing techniques. Each training course was life changing and served to refine my focus and purpose, and to achieve great results with my clients.
New phase of growth:“I woke up today ready to challenge and conquer a new phase in my life; watch me”
– Scottie Somers
I then took on a part-time practice manager role in a new allied health clinic. The business, the staff and the patients thrust me into a new and advanced phase of growth. Here I was challenged to stand authentically in my power and embody my strengths and abilities. I was challenged to persevere when I didn’t think I had any internal resources left. I was challenged to overcome fears. I was challenged to speak out when it was needed. I was challenged to hold firm boundaries. I was challenged to be flexible and supple. In short, I was being asked to put all my learnings directly and immediately into practice and to embrace the role of leader. Here I found an inner strength and power that would be invaluable for the work ahead.
Creating a body of work:“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it”
– Buddha
Every day I could sense myself changing and evolving. As I contemplated how I could present the most authentic version of myself in my work; the inspiration to write and develop a series of transformational processes and techniques spontaneously awakened within me. I then spent 12 months intensively developing and documenting this work – everywhere I went, every conversation I had, everything I came into contact with was inspirational fodder for my writing. I found myself scribbling on scrap paper, putting notes in my phone and typing on my laptop for hours. I was creating a programme for living that would help to cultivate and support a new kind of world.
Birth of JaneChessell.com:“Everything is gestation and then birthing.”
– Rainer Maria Rilke
I had been quietly nudged for some time to show “who I am” to the world; to put “me” out there for the world to see. And so was the birth of JaneChessell.com. Today I am coaching, healing, mentoring and teaching clients through the work at JaneChessell.com, and continuing to listen and to trust that life will show me where it wants me to take this work into the future.
Creating a different world:“People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones that do.”
– Steve Jobs
Together my experiences form a vast network of personal and professional references and tools which support and inform my work at JaneChessell.com. I couldn’t have guessed the path my life has taken, but I took a chance and I allowed life to show me the way forward. I trusted myself and I showed faith and commitment to an unseen purpose. With JaneChessell.com I’m able to channel all of my experience into my work and share it with you. And together we can truly change the world.
A big vision
I’ve long felt a desire to create a better world; to play my part in creating a new way of living. And so one day when a Hawaiian teacher very clearly told me that in time my work would have an impact on the world, his words instantly triggered in me a giant wave of emotion. Deep inside something stirred and in that moment my vision for the future was somehow validated.
Today I have a big vision for myself, for my life, for JaneChessell.com, for those of you who participate in the work at JaneChessell.com, and for our global society. It is a vision that will take sustained effort and commitment and each step taken by me and by numerous others is another step closer to bringing this vision into reality. With JaneChessell.com my intention and my long-term vision is for us to:
- Explore and learn who we are and about the nature of life
- Grow, develop and transform into our most authentic selves and create purposeful and great lives
- Through the example of our own lives, facilitate understanding and transformation in the lives of those around us and in the greater world
- Live and share a new model for transformational living – a framework of principles, knowledge, tools and skills designed to build a new society
- Take that transformational living model out into the world to help to build a new global society in which we all choose to live authentically as a unified group
Your participation and help is vital. I ask you to join me in this vision and take a step into our new, shared future.
And the first step is simply working on you.
My personal transformation
My teacher looked straight at me and said:
“Stop pretending you don’t have any power. Stop pretending you don’t have all the tools.”
And I can still feel the intensity of those words as I say them now. He told me that life was just waiting for me to really commit to being the healer and the teacher, and that once I did then things would really start to change for me. At that point, I had no idea how incredibly pivotal that moment would be in my life.
Later that same day, I followed his advice and sat down to make a heartfelt internal commitment to myself, declaring that I was ready and committed to the path of healer and teacher. Remarkably, things moved quickly after that and within 5 days of that commitment my corporate job was deemed redundant and I was retrenched from the company. And that signalled the start of another new and intensive phase of transformation and transition.
For more than 20 years I have in some way focused on my own personal transformation. Sometimes the understandings and transformational processes have been fast-acting like they were with my corporate retrenchment and at other times much slower, but always consistently present.
When I started this journey I was focused solely on me and my own development. Like many of you, I wanted to understand what was happening in my life and explore how the challenges I’d experienced had a deeper meaning and purpose. I wanted to feel better and I wanted to be happy. But as I continued to change and evolve, I began to take a deeper ownership of my purpose and my life. I knew I wanted to live the most meaningful life that I could, and not only create change and transformation in my own life, but support others in that process.