WELCOME TO ANOTHER ISSUE OF 'EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN' WHERE WE BRING YOU CONVERSATIONS WITH EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN AND DELVE INTO PHENOMENAL CAREERS, PERSONAL STYLE, MOMENTS AND EVENTS THAT SHAPE THEIR LIVES, PASSIONS AND SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS THEY'VE LEARNT.
FOR OUR SPECIAL MOTHER'S DAY ISSUE WE ARE EXCITED TO SHARE OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH 2 INCREDIBLE WOMEN. FIRST UP IS FORMER MISS AUSTRALIA, PHYSIOTHERAPIST, WELLNESS ADVOCATE, PEOPLE HEALER & SOUL PLEASER, AND DEAR FRIEND OF MINE, TRACY SECOMBE, WE HOPE YOU ENJOY OUR CONVERSATION AS MUCH AS WE DID.
Tracy Secombe's entrepreneurial spirit started with selling Year 12 jumpers with names on the back when she was studying at Uni, she then went on to become Miss Australia. She talks to us about juggling a career while being a mum to 3 and how when her beautiful mum passed away she realised she was burnt out because of her incessant people pleasing. She shares how she overcame it and consequently reached out to help thousands of women overcome the same.
TS (Tracy Secombe): I was born in Port Lincoln, finished my schooling as a boarder at Immanuel College, lived in Texas as an exchange student for a year and studied Physiotherapy at Uni of SA. I started my first business when I was studying selling year 12 jumpers with the names on the back, followed by a Newsagency with my brother while I was at Uni, and then created an injury prevention business called Safe Work Practice in 1996 which I ran for 21 years.
I also raised over $100,000 for The Spastic Centre of Australia in 1996 and won the role of Miss Australia in 1997, which was when I met my lovely Irish husband who was circling the world on his motorbike with his mate. Our worlds collided in a little pub in Dingo, outback Queensland when I was there to attend The Dingo Races. We have 3 gorgeous kids – Aine 25, Ciara 24, and Teagan 19.
LM: You have just invested in our very luxurious Precious Charm Necklace, what do you love about it and how does it make you feel when you wear it?
TS: I love how versatile it is! It honestly works with everything I wear. I feel feminine, romantic and delicate when I wear it.
LM: With Mother's Day just around the corner tell us about being a mum to your 3 gorgeous adult children? How has this dynamic changed over the years?
TS: Being Mum to my wonderful children is the greatest gift in the world to me. They are each so unique and bring great joy into my life in their own special ways. We were blessed with a new German au pair each year once Teagan was born for 10 years which expanded our family and added a gentle, nurturing influence to the family, while I was juggling my businesses with motherhood.
I am grateful to have had the flexibility over the years to be present for each child’s special events. Aine will be moving out into her own home with her partner in less than a month. It’s a bittersweet feeling. I love having them all at home and I will miss her, but I am equally thrilled for her.
LM: I know there was a huge turning point in your life when your beautiful mum passed away, tell us about this deeply challenging time.
TS: When my dear mother passed away in 2016, I realised that her and I were burnt out because of our incessant people pleasing which inspired me to create a coaching program to help women to discover who they are and what they want and follow their dreams, like you Marika. I published the book From People Pleaser to Soul Pleaser in 2022, sharing the inspirational transformations of my clients and how the reader can experience these life-giving changes too.
LM: We've always had a bit of a cosmic connection, you introduced me to vibrational energy and you've help me tap into vibration raising practices which have radically changed my life. Can you explain to our readers, in a simple way, what this all means?
TS: I think Albert Einstein put this concept into words so concisely. “Everything is energy and that's all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want, and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way.”
As a people pleaser, I realised that my emotions were dependant on what was happening around me – when things were going the way I wanted them to I felt good, and when they weren’t I didn’t – especially how other people were feeling. I was the classic empath – feeling everyone else’s emotions, especially those I love the most. I think we can all be like this at times, which leaves us on an emotional rollercoaster and at the whim of the people and circumstances around us.
I also got very good at appearing happy so that I didn’t worry others, leading to poor internal emotional awareness and living in my head. Mum passing was the catalyst for me to realise how much I lived in my head as the grief cracked my heart open. I became aware of my emotions. Once you are aware of how you are really feeling, you are empowered to find ways to feel better. The better we feel emotionally, the better decisions we make, and the better results we get in our lives – our health, relationships, and careers. My number one priority in life now is to feel good. The better I feel, the more inspiration I receive, and the more blessings continue to flow into my life.
LM: You have also helped hundreds of other women, and men through your work with Farm Owner’s Academy, in person and thousands through your book 'From People Pleaser to Soul Pleaser', to step into their joy and take control of their lives. What has this work meant to you and how does it make you feel?
TS: I never work a day in my life. I am truly blessed to have the opportunity every day to teach people how to release the recurring thoughts that keep them stuck in relationship, health, career, and money patterns that they don’t want so that they can experience their personal definition of success in all these areas. It is such a joy to talk about a topic I love and believe in so much every day. Witnessing the transformations in families and knowing the flow on effect that has on the wider community – to people I will never meet – makes my heart sing!
LM: You're a busy person and I know you are super organised, what tips would you give women who are trying to find balance in their life?
TS: Start every day making yourself and how you feel a priority. Exercise in a way that feels wonderful to you, ideally in nature, within the first hour of waking up. Plan your day the night before and be okay with the plan changing if need be. Plan your recipes for the week ahead, enter them into a groceries app and shop from the app. Take micro “breath breaks” at least every 50 minutes. Eat more fruits and vegetables 😊
LM: And finally, what advice would you give to your younger self?
TS: You are beautiful inside and out, just the way you are.
THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR OUR LATEST EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN, WATCH THIS SPACE FOR OUR NEXT EXTRAORDINARY WOMAN.
MARIKA XX