WEBVTT - Fear + Greed Collab Ep 1: Passion, Integrity, and Reinvention: The Tory Archbold Journey 0:00:02.400 --> 0:00:05.320 Hello, I'm Tory Archbold. For two decades, I've nurtured the 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:09.320 world's top performing retail brands and celebrities. Now I'm asking entrepreneurs, 0:00:09.400 --> 0:00:12.720 CEOs and influencers to share their own secrets to success. 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:15.920 They're highs, their lows, the game changing moments, and how 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:18.400 they got to where they are today. It's a podcast 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:21.319 equivalent of opening the best Little Black Book of Contacts ever. 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:23.840 If this resonates with you and you're ready to step 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:26.440 outside of your comfort zone and into your power zone, 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:30.000 I invite you to join my exclusive community via our website, 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:32.800 The Powerful Josh Steps dot com. 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:37.199 Welcome to Powerful Leadership, a collaboration between Powerful Steps and 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:40.680 Fear and Greed. This is a six part series examining 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:44.920 leadership and becoming the leader you wish you had. Part one, 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:49.320 I'm chatting to the wonderful Tory Archbold, pr guru, publicist 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:53.400 extraordinaire and founder of Powerful Steps. Good morning, Tory. 0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:55.920 What an introduction. Thank you, Sean. 0:00:57.040 --> 0:01:00.480 Now many of us know you from the last few years, 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:03.800 but let's talk about the early days. Where were you born? 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:04.600 Where'd you grow up? 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:07.360 I grew up on the North Shore in Sydney. 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:10.679 Okay, a little more. This is a very tory thing 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:12.920 to do, is to not say too much about herself. 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:14.520 But I'm going to bring it out of you today. 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:18.679 I love it. Okay. I am the eldest of four girls. 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:22.399 I grew up in a loving family. I went to 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:25.759 school and I was probably placed in a box which 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:27.039 I wanted to jump out of. 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:29.319 Sean, I'm sure there are a lot of people in 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:31.840 that boat. So what was the box that you were in? 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:35.319 I think because I was an average student. I was 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:38.640 fifties and sixties at school, no one really believed in 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:41.400 what I was capable of. I was a big talker, 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:43.560 I was a disruptor, and I was the person that 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.520 probably got sent outside the classroom door. 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:50.080 No, a lot, not you. Sure it was me? 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:53.960 And so my mom and my dad said to me, 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:56.760 maybe when you leave school, you'd be better off getting 0:01:56.760 --> 0:01:59.520 married to a really nice man, staying on the north Shore, 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:04.240 and maybe studying interior design. So when my hsc rolled 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:07.880 around and I blew everyone out of the water and 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:11.440 almost got ninety percent in my exam, and I had 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:14.839 enrolled in interior design because I really didn't have that 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:19.919 forward thinking brain that I now do, I said to myself. 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:22.520 I'm going to do this interior design course and I'm 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:24.440 going to see if I do want to be placed 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:27.320 inside that box. And if it doesn't work out, I'm 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:28.440 going to jump out of it. 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:30.440 So what happened? Did you start it? 0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:33.160 I started, and I jumped out of it, and I 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:37.040 ended up booking myself on a flight to London for 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:39.760 the working holiday visa. And that's really where I got 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:43.480 my education. And when I talk about education, my eyes 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:46.360 opened up to the world. And I had the opportunity 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:49.239 to work with some incredible people on media and entertainment, 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:53.320 and I fell in love with storytelling. So I worked 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:56.520 with Viacom so I had the opportunity to work alongside 0:02:56.520 --> 0:02:59.560 the lady that launched MTV in the Middle East, which 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:02.600 was pretty incredible because MTV at that point was really 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:05.160 at the forefront of media and entertainment. We had the 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:07.080 Spice Girls, we had Howard Stern. 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:11.080 You not talking nineties here, I think you're aging yourself. 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:15.119 Oh, it was a nineties nineteen ninety six around those timings. 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:15.400 WG. 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:19.600 You know what it was all about storytelling in a 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:22.919 way that was disruptive. But also what I loved about 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:26.440 it was the passion that people had to tell that story, 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:28.200 and so I did a couple of stints in the 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:31.480 licensing company. You know, I got to work alongside George 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:35.880 Lucasfilms Columbia trista little stint in advertising because in those days, 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:38.560 the working holiday visa was all about a twelve week stint. 0:03:39.040 --> 0:03:41.760 So when people say, you degree educated, do you believe 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:43.920 in it? I absolutely believe in it if it's right 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:46.640 for you. But what was right for me was human 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.720 connection and leaning into the best of the best. So 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:54.040 when I arrived back into Australia, I realized very quickly 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:56.880 that the media was very behind what had been going 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:59.000 on in London and what I'd been exposed to in 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:02.360 Europe and obviously through that Howard Stern process in the US. 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:05.960 And I said to myself, I think I can do better, and. 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:07.200 So I did tour Star. 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:11.080 Twenty four years old, I decided that I was going 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:13.920 to start my own agency. I wanted to create a 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:17.000 brand communications agency that believed in the power of storytelling, 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:20.760 that would create and build powerful brands. But most importantly, Sean, 0:04:21.360 --> 0:04:22.839 I wanted to work with the best of the best, 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:24.880 and I wanted to attract the best of the best. 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.480 But the only problem was is I had no money 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:28.960 and no media connections. 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:31.960 You had a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of passion. 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:33.160 How did you do it? 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:37.400 I decided that I was going to build the foundations 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.640 of my business and my values because I really truly 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:42.560 believe that no matter where you are in life, your 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:45.200 values act as as super attractor. It's a law of attraction. 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:48.320 So for me, I really thought long and hard about 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:51.159 what those would be and how they would actually build 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:54.040 not only my powerful brand, but would attract the brands 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:56.240 that I wanted to work with. So I broke it 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:58.600 down like this, I'm a passionate person, obviously have a 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:01.359 lot of energy. I love being around passionate people that 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:03.200 want to make a difference, that want to lead, that 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:06.920 want to disrupt, not afraid to be agile, but most 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:09.520 importantly love what they do. So that was my first one. 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:12.360 My second one was integrity because I really didn't want 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:14.720 to work with assholes. And I was adamant about that 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:17.279 because I grew up in the times where you know 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:19.600 what things went on behind the scenes and the media 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:23.080 and entertainment business that it just didn't sit well with me. 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:25.800 But I thought if I'm going to be a part 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:28.039 of this. I just want to work with the people 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:32.160 that respect me, that also respect what we're doing together. 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:36.440 But most importantly, my third value was delivery. Because you're 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:38.440 only as good as the last podcast chat that we're 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:41.919 having here, the last zoom call in today's society, but 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.560 in those days, it was the last, you know, project 0:05:44.560 --> 0:05:46.919 that you delivered, or media release that you wrote that 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:50.160 went viral, or brand that you created. And so off 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:53.360 the back of that my business was born. And when 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:56.400 you asked me about media connections and I say I 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:59.440 didn't have any, again, I had to anchor that back 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:02.160 to the passion, integrity, delivery and go out and find 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:04.920 the right people to help me on this journey. 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:08.480 So your values led you. But how did you land 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:12.560 your first big brand? What was it and how'd you 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:12.880 do it? 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:16.240 Meghan Gal for David Jones, and I believe she was 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:19.480 the most successful brand ambassador for David Jones, who at 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:21.880 that point in time was a number one retailer in Australia. 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:24.800 And that's a great question because no one in Australia 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:27.400 would give me a go. So even though I'm an 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:30.599 Australian citizen, I built my business in Australia, I managed 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.680 to attract the world's top performing brands, which are global. 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:37.119 Where did that first connection come from to get David Jones. 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:40.039 It actually came from a connection in London, right. Yeah. 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:42.440 So I'm a big believer in coffee eights three week 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:44.479 I always have, even when I was doing the working 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:47.400 holiday visa. It's all about the art of conversation, leaning 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:51.000 in listening to people, reading their energy, understanding what the 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:53.039 runway of life is for them, but also for me. 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:55.440 And so when I was in Australia and I said 0:06:55.480 --> 0:06:59.000 to myself, I actually need to have a client that 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:02.800 everyone is going to go. How the fuck did you 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:06.159 get that? Right? I needed that aha moment. So I 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:09.000 called the agency that had placed me into my working 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:11.520 holiday visa Experiences and I said to them, I'm studying 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:13.080 my own business in Australia and she said to me, 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:15.320 nothing surprised me, Tori. And I said, well, the thing 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:18.680 that's going to surprise you is that I need a 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:21.960 client in Australia. Can you help me, because I know 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:25.200 that you've just started your agency out here, And she said, yes, 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.360 I can. David Jones are looking for a publicist. They'd 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:30.280 just fired theirs. They were exposed. They just signed Megan 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:32.600 Gal as the face of David Jones. Can you write 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:35.440 a press release and send it off? And I was like, yes, 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:37.800 I can. But the thing was, Sean, I'd never written 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.400 one in my life. But what I had done was 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:45.080 I'd been exposed to media. I'd exposed myself to the 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:47.960 best to the best. I was an avid reader and 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:50.480 you would know these from being you know at Fairfax 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:52.840 and what you do now in fear and greed, you 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:55.360 need to lean into what's going on around the world. 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:58.760 So I tapped out this press release, I hopped on 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:00.840 a bus, I went into my dad's office in the city. 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:02.360 I faxed it off and I got the job. 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:05.360 Fantastic. So you had a number of brands from there. 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:07.080 So twenty years or so, a bit longer than that, 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:09.160 you had tor Star. What were some of the other 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:12.200 names you were working with? What were some of your favorites. 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:16.160 Some of my favorites would have to be Zara, which 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:19.680 goes down as the biggest retail launch in Australian history 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:22.920 but possibly the world. For Indidex as well, that was 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:27.800 an incredible experience because Indidex it's a multi billion dollar brand. 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:30.400 I believe they're the best of the best in terms 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:33.280 of retail in the world. They found me through my values, 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:37.199 the passion, integrity, delivery was you know, the power of attraction, 0:08:37.760 --> 0:08:41.000 but also the power of connection. I absolutely love working 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:44.199 with them because we were so much in alignment with 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:46.760 what we wanted to create in this industry. Look, I 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:50.880 loved launching Amazon Shopbop into this market because I worked 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:53.880 with the most incredible communicator who had also had the 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:57.240 opportunity to work alongside Anna Winter from Vogue magazine, which 0:08:57.280 --> 0:09:00.360 in those days, I mean she was the power house 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:04.040 in media. Yeah, and so Steph Horden hired me to 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:06.839 launch chop Up and I learned so much from her. 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.040 If you switch around to the UK, I got to 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:11.240 work with Misguided, which at the time was the you know, 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.199 the biggest fast fashion brand in the world. And when 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:16.560 we talk about fast fashion, let me tell you that 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:19.480 was a fast account to run, because it was really 0:09:19.559 --> 0:09:23.360 when influencers started coming into the world and making their 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:28.440 mark more so than magazines or radio or TV. And 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:30.920 so I had the opportunity to work along the best 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.800 influencer management teams in the world, and I learned and 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:37.439 I grew so much so when you asked me about 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:39.360 one of my favorites, I mean, those are just a few, 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:42.280 but every single brand that I worked with, you know, 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:49.640 from added Us to Mowlbury to Everlane. You know in Nespresso, Sephora, 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:53.320 c Folly, Sukin as like a roll call of incredible brands. 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:56.120 The best thing about working with these brands with the people. 0:09:56.520 --> 0:10:01.080 Yep, yep. It sounds so glamorous, and from the outside looking, 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:03.440 I'm sure it was, but we all live real lives. 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:06.320 You had Bella, your daughter in two thousand and four. 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:09.160 You know, you went through a breakdown of your relationship. 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:10.959 You were very unwell there for a while, whether it 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:13.719 was that six months where you were recovering. How did 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:18.719 you manage all that yet still give that appearance of enthusiasm, 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:21.280 passion loving what you do? It must have been hard. 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:24.160 I'm going to say something quite controversial here, because when 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:26.640 you're a woman in business, but also a woman in 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:29.920 charge of a business, which I was, I call it 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:32.320 success and survival. No one wants to know your data 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:36.280 little secret, right, so you know on the outside you 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:38.960 are willing and dealing with the world's best. You are 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:42.240 delivering extraordinary results. Everyone wants to work with you, everyone 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:45.160 wants to be on your team, and that energy is 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:49.920 just so incredibly inspiring for everyone that comes into your orbit. 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.800 And you know, sometimes you can't talk about what actually 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:55.800 happens when you close the door, when you walk into 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:58.960 your home at night time. And so for twelve years 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:02.640 I lived too lives and it got to the point 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:06.480 in twenty thirteen when living those two lives became too much. 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:09.440 I was you on a flight to London, my pandis 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:12.640 first at two am in the morning, I'm rushed into surgery. 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:14.440 I ended up having step to see me or I 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:18.840 lost eight kilos in five days and I was literally 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:22.120 burnt to the ground. So when you talk about how 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:25.000 do you rise like a phoenix from the ashes, I 0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:27.200 had to learn about what it was that I truly 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:29.560 wanted and what mattered to me. And I think that 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:32.320 whether you're a man or a woman in a leadership role, 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:36.120 you can have the highs that are so high and 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:38.880 so inspiring to everyone around you, but then you can 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:42.679 have the deep, dark lows. And I'm grateful for both 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:46.160 of those experiences because it's enabled me to create my 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.880 new business powerful steps, but most importantly, It's enabled me 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:53.440 to really anchor myself to what's important to me, to 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:56.520 live in alignment with my truth and make a difference. 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:59.880 Okay, you said that you started Powerful Steps. Why did 0:11:59.880 --> 0:12:01.839 you give up a tour Starle? Why did you leave? 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:03.240 It must have been very difficult. 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:07.200 It was actually an easy decision. I know, I knew 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:10.240 for three years before I shut the doors on Powerful 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:12.600 Steps that something magical was going to unfold, but I 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:15.760 just wasn't sure what that was. And I know that 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:18.160 a lot of people in leadership roles as well. They 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:19.920 rise to the top of their game and they go 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:22.720 what's next? And I think I had that feeling, and 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:25.560 so gradually what I was doing. I had twenty two staff, 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:27.880 I had two assistants at that point in time. And 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.960 I'm a big one about trust instinct, believe that you 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:33.280 can do something and you will if you surround yourself 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.520 with the right people. If you've got that, get up 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:38.400 and go to connect with others to build powerful partnerships 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:41.640 and deliver anything is possible. But for me, it was 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:43.720 you know, what, it's time for new beginnings? What does 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:46.679 that look like? And so when people started getting other 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:49.839 roles or moving overseas, I just didn't start replacing them 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:52.160 in the business, so my team was shrinking. I had 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:55.240 the opportunity to sell my business. I decided not to 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:57.160 do that because I didn't want to sell my soul. 0:12:57.640 --> 0:12:59.679 I really wanted to focus on my daughter and I 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:01.319 and what the next journey. 0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:01.480 Was for us. 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:05.880 But most importantly, it was a moment in time where 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:08.920 I discovered that I had been very, very visible in 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:11.840 my career, and then I was invisible in my career. 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:14.600 And it was around the time that we were launching 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:18.400 Kate Spade into Australia. And what had happened was my 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:20.160 team had said, Ohtore, I know you don't like getting 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:22.000 up in the mornings, but will you come along. The 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:25.760 leadership's down from Southeast Asia. It's really important. They licensed 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:27.920 all these powerful brands from around the world. We need 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:30.840 you to be there. Because I had trusted everyone to 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:33.560 do everything for me and I wasn't as involved in 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:36.600 the business. I arrived. You know, it was a great launch, 0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:38.720 but I said to them, what other brands are you launching? 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:41.240 And they said to me, well, in six weeks time, 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:44.040 we're about to launch Victoria's Secret, which was a billion 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:46.720 dollar laundry brand. Which was a number one in the world, 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:49.320 and you know, we have X, Y, and Z, but 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:51.240 the one that stood out for me was like, I 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:54.400 have always wanted to be at that Victoria's Secret show, 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.960 behind the scenes making it happen, but actually understand the 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:01.800 power of why these girls are here, right? Why are 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:05.680 they here? What's the machine behind the scenes that makes 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:08.440 this the most watched show in the world. And I 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:11.520 said to them, why haven't you considered us? And she 0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:13.440 said to me, well, I don't really know who you are, 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:15.959 And of course I'm like, well we're Tori told Torsta 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:19.160 laun Cizara, you know, all these other big brands into 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:22.600 the country, and she said, well, we're down to the 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:25.320 short list of three agencies, but I will give you 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:27.600 a chance. I went back to the office and I 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.920 said to everyone, guys, we are invisible. We need to 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:33.240 become visible. We need to remind people about the power 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:35.760 of our story and what we have to deliver. At 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:40.800 seven o'clock that night, we had created the best storytelling 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:43.520 that we could of what we could deliver on behalf 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:45.840 of ELT Brands. We sent it off in a credentials 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:47.520 document and I just said, you know what, let's just 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:49.400 leave it up to the universe. We'll see what happens. 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.280 Eleven o'clock that night, Boom, you are one of two 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:55.960 agencies selected, and I was like, gosh, this is awesome, 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.560 but how do I get to the finish line? So 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:01.280 I hopped on LinkedIn and I looked at people that 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:04.680 knew the people that were making the decision, and I 0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:07.840 asked them to advocate for me. And at the same time, 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:11.360 because I realized we weren't visible, I started reminding people 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:13.320 of all the success stories of all the big brands 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:16.080 that would launch into Australia, all the results that we'd delivered, 0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:20.800 and so bit by bit what happened was people were like, Okay, 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:23.720 we're giving you Victoria's secret. Then Steve Badden, like the 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:26.320 billion dollar shoe man, says we want you to launch 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:28.840 Steve Madden into Australia. Then all of a sudden, I 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.400 get an email from Drew Barrymore's best friend out of 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:33.040 la that I had a coffee date with a couple 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:35.760 of years before, saying, Hey, my girlfriend's launching a beauty 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:37.720 brand in Australia. Would you be interested in launching? And 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:40.560 I'm like, yeah, absolutely, who is it? Boom? The next 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:46.680 emails Drew Barrymore. Now during that process of launching, flying 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:49.640 to New York, working with the media, being told that 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:51.640 I have to wear black, being told that I was 0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:55.640 invisible watching one of the world's top supermodels having a 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:58.800 panic attack, just like I had at the top of 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:02.800 my career, right because I wasn't anchored, and I'm saving 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:06.240 her with my lavender oil. I was like, maybe I 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:09.120 can help people in a different way. Maybe I can 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:11.280 share the power of stories in a different way that 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:14.960 empowers other people. So I came back to Australia, we 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:17.560 launched Steve Madden. That was all influencer base. It was 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:20.280 boom boom boom, and I was like, this is amazing. 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:23.000 Then Drew came out. I'm like, this is even more amazing. 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:26.120 But the thing that anchors a good leader is their family. 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:28.800 And my daughter wanted to come to this launch with 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.040 Drew and she wanted to get her picture taken. And 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:33.120 I've never had a photo taken with celebrities and I've 0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:35.440 worked with the best of the best, And in that 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:38.720 moment in time where Drew pulled me into this photo 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:42.040 with my daughter and you know, the camera goes click, 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:45.920 I was like, it's time to pass the batten. It's 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:48.680 time for new beginnings. Those three years of that boom 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:51.680 boom boom in my stomach was like, yes, the time 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:55.000 is now. And so then I decided to share the 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:58.040 power of my own story, and my own story became 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:00.120 a brand, which became Powerful Step. 0:17:00.000 --> 0:17:04.280 Powerful Steps is the subject of our second interview. But 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:06.640 before we finish this one, I want to find out 0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:09.879 what the Buddhist monk in Thailand told you, because you 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:12.760 have said that you had a discussion with a monk 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:14.560 and it really made a difference. 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:17.600 Well, basically on two trips he told me I'd be 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:19.000 dead if I didn't get my shit. 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:22.200 Together right, fair candid those monks. 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:26.280 He was so candid, and I mean he was extraordinary. 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:29.080 He said to me, pick a cart, and I picked 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:33.439 a cart and it was this warrior princess just like ah, 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:36.439 you know, breaking free of all these shackles. And he 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:39.200 said to me, one by one everything that's holding you back, 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:42.959 aka the success and survival in your story, those shackles 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:44.560 are going to come off and you're going to be 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:47.320 the warrior princess. It breaks free. But you need to 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:50.640 prepare yourself for this moment in time and she said 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:53.880 to me, you actually need to put yourself first. What 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:55.399 do you do to meditate? What do you do for 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:57.720 yourself every day? And I said, I don't have time 0:17:57.760 --> 0:17:59.800 to do anything. I'm busy, busy, busy. And he said, 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:02.639 I can't tell you how many CEOs have flown around 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:06.199 the world to see me, and told me exactly the 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:08.760 same thing. But do you know how they step up 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:10.480 into their game and do you know how they deliver 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:12.600 the best of the best to the people that they lead. 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:16.000 I said no. He said, because they put themselves first. 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:17.919 And so this is what you're going to You're going 0:18:17.960 --> 0:18:19.560 to come and see me twice. And the first thing 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:21.840 he said to me was when you're driving to work, 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:26.159 turn everything off. And so I was driving. It was 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:28.120 like a ten minute drive into the city every day. 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.240 Turn the radio off, turn my phone off, just listen 0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:32.680 to what was going on, and all of a sudden 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:35.120 you discover, oh my gosh, there's a bird. Oh god, 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:38.240 people are so angry on the roads, and you really 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:40.760 just start becoming aware of yourself. So I went back 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:43.080 to Thailand. I saw him again and I said, I've 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:45.960 done that, and I'm starting to see what other people 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:47.879 are doing and he goes, well, your eyes are starting 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:50.760 to open to the world. Now, your next powerful step 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:52.639 is is who do you have a shower with in 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:55.560 the morning? And I said myself, And he said, every 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:58.320 morning you're going to anchor your values, your intent, in 0:18:58.359 --> 0:19:00.199 your purpose to what you want to achieve in the day. 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:03.520 And so every single morning for over a decade now, 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:06.480 I get three drops of lavender oil. You can bite anywhere. 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:08.920 It's less than ten dollars at chemist warehouse, I put 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:11.560 on my declage I'm in how in and out I 0:19:11.640 --> 0:19:15.960 anchor myself and I trust my intuition about what I'm 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:19.760 supposed to do, and each and every day my intuition 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:23.719 never fails me. But most importantly, I end it with gratitude. 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:25.040 So if you have a shower at the end of 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:27.800 the day as well, Sean, you should do this as well. 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:31.119 You thank yourself to the lavender oil again and you 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:33.000