Who Am I?
I am Tom and I am a Self-Development Coach, who helps people with cripplingly low confidence and who may suffer with Imposter Syndrome and as a result, live their lives full of fear, afraid to step out the front door and embrace life.
I have experienced this first hand how devastating it can be trying to live life filled with success and happiness, only to be robbed of both because of experiencing multiple life traumas.
A brief timeline of my life, to give some perspective
1982 - I entered the world and contracted Whooping Cough shortly after
1985 - Developed Glue Ear that has left me permanently deaf with a 50% hearing loss in both ears.
I was in and out of hospital up until the age of 10, having various operations to try and reverse my deafness. None of them worked and it was a very traumatic experience.
1991 - My dad died suddenly of a heart attack. He was my hero and I never really truly got over this.
2011 - Nursed my Mom’s partner through end-of-life cancer care. He was like a second dad to me and his passing was also incredibly painful for me.
2016 - I collapsed with a near fatal heart condition where my beats too fast. Rushed to hospital and spent 10 days in the Cardiac Care Unit. Fitted with a pacemaker & defibrillator.
2018 - I collapsed a second time and the defibrillator did its job ( a bit to well) shocking me 25 times in a 45 minute window. This left me with severe PTSD, which has taken me years to recover from.
2019 - My daughter fell ill with an unknown virus that attacked her brain. She spent 8 weeks in a specialist children’s hospital fighting for her life, and she has been left with a life long brain injury that required intensive rehabilitation to get her to walk, talk and live again.
2020 - Covid hit the world…
Present Day - I write as a form of therapy for myself and others.
My letters are written to a younger version of me, penned with the perspective of hindsight. Having been to hell and back, numerous times, I have experience of what is required to pick yourself up when life knocks you down, repeatedly.
It is my hope that as you read the letters, you may relate to the feelings and emotions that I have experienced in life and apply the lessons to your own life, if needed.
These lessons are what I have found helpful to me but you may need to apply them in a slightly different way to your own life and circumstances.
Remember the lessons are just a guide and are not meant to be a one-size-fits-all solution. You tailor them to you as you see fit.
Please note, this Substack is for people who need a dose of inspiration to start their own journey of self-development and is not a replacement for seeking professional medical help when dealing with complex mental health challenges.
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