There was a lady with the broadest smile who popped up on my social media feed from time to time, her posts always made me smile, either because they were funny, or because they were really touching. One day her post shared a more personal side to her story, I was honoured to be part of her audience, and knew she was the kind of person I needed in my tribe. Now it’s your turn to be honoured, as I tell you about the funny, the candid, the ever so strong – Gina Mann.
“I am so passionate about sharing my story because I truly believe that we are NEVER too old, and it is NEVER too late to step into the best version of yourself and be authentically you. That was what I was after.
Fat, frumpy, drinking way too much, with low self-esteem, and no confidence, I was depressed and generally feeling unloved and invisible. I can pinpoint the thing that inspired me to make big changes in my life, acknowledging, accepting and then taking action to deal with the thirty-eight-year drinking habit I had accumulated.
That was the hardest, and best thing I have ever done in my life, with professional help I managed to do it, despite me feeling like I was never going to be sober. But I am proud, so proud to say that I am now over eight years sober”.
Now for most people that would be wonderful and inspiring enough, but this is Gina, so get ready because there is more to come…
“Tackling that, which was very hard, meant I was then open to new opportunities and the Universe (as it always does if we are open to receive), gave me the keys to a golden future by showing me to Forever Living. I was looking for something I could do from home that was both ethical and environmentally friendly, I wanted financial freedom, but was fed up with bosses, especially male ones.
Joining them meant that I had the tools to tackle the weight problem I as a typical yo-yo dieter I had struggled with all my life. But I managed to step off that merry go round too, and have been at my ideal weight and size for five years now. This is something that I had never achieved before”.
So, here we now have a sober, slimmer Gina (and believe me she is almost unrecognisable, I have seen the photos!). But again, she was ready to push forward.
“I have always said how much the business has affected my personal development. One of the things I struggled with when I first started the business was my lack of confidence about driving. I was ok to go from home to the shops, or to work and back, what I call the golden triangle, but ask me to step outside of my comfort zone and I was terrified.
Until that I had to go to my first ever company event at our head office in Warwick, I was so excited! I got on the motorway, feeling very smug and proud, only to realise, eventually, I was going completely the wrong way! And that I was on my way to Bristol, not Warwick! It was quite a long journey to be able to get on the right track but I made it in the end”.
With her wealth of experience of triumphing over serious adversity I asked Gina to share a pearl of wisdom with me, and it’s a great one. Something that we all need reminding of “If you want change in your life of any sort, then YOU have to make the decision to change. Change is within our hands, it is up to us to grasp opportunities and take steps and action to get us to where we want to go and step into who we want to become. Stepping out of your comfort zone is the way to live!”
www.ginag_mann@yahoo.com
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