The Pay It Forward Series: Notes to My Younger Self (Volume 4)

By Kezia Luckett and Glenn Marsden

Have you ever wished that you could go back to a pivotal time in your life and give yourself sound advice? Words of hope, wisdom, knowledge and inspiration that everything is happening for a reason, and all will work out. That those failures, challenges and detours that you are experiencing, that have s

• Language: English
• Publisher: Imperfectly Perfect Publishing
• Release date: Nov 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781916344396

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The Pay it Forward: Notes to My Younger Self. Volume 4

Copyright © 2022 Kezia Luckett

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

First Printed in United Kingdom 2022

Published by Imperfectly Perfect Publishing

Edited by Elise Abram and Daniella Blechner

Typeset by Oksana Kosovan

ISBN: 978-1-9163443-9-6

Praise for The Pay It Forward series: Notes to My Younger Self

‘We each experience defining moments in our lives, moments in which we choose to drown in the darkness or look for the light, moments in which we choose to make our destiny or let our destiny make us.

This book is a collection of defining moments shared by some of the most inspiring and inspirational people in the world. It is a compendium of dark nights of the soul followed by sunny days of the spirit.

It is a lighthouse of sorts.

By spotlighting dozens of people who, like you and me, have experienced their own defining moments — dark nights of the soul — and found their way out of the darkness and into the light, this book provides solace, support, encouragement, and enlightenment for everyone hoping and praying for greener pastures and brighter days.

Each story in this book shines like a sparkling gem, sharing timeless words of wisdom from people who have known suffering, known loss, experienced defeat, and found their way out of the depths. These people have an appreciation for themselves, other people, and life that fills them with real peace, love, and joy.

These stories remind us that it’s always darkest before the dawn, beautiful people don’t just happen, and there is always a way up, out, or through whatever you experience… if you just hold on and reach out.

You might have seen or heard of some of these people before, and you might have discovered some of these gems on your own, while some people and their stories will be brand new.

In any case, as you read this beautiful book, you will be reminded time and time again that your pain can become your purpose, your self-disclosure begets others’ self-disclosure, your confident vulnerability is positively contagious, and your happiness is your gift to the world.

If you or a loved one needs a little encouragement — some chicken soup for the soul — look no further. This book will uplift and inspire you to keep going, keep moving forward, and keep looking for the light within you.

So, don’t walk — run to pick up your copy today. Then, you — like they — will remember that it’s always darkest before the dawn, and only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars. And you are that star! You are quite literally made of stardust.

As Elizabeth Kubler-Ross says, When the darkness sets in, your true beauty is revealed… because there is a light within.’

Rob Mack — Celebrity Happiness Coach, Author and Inspirational Speaker.

‘This book, The Pay It Forward series: Notes to My Younger Self, is an empowering book with 12 unique, individual stories from some truly incredible and inspiring people. 

This book demonstrates the potential that we all have. To dive deep inside our souls to find our true authentic selves, the theme of writing a note to our younger selves is beautiful. It allows the reader to see the inner work of navigating through challenges, struggles, and obstacles in life to overcome mental health issues and believe that it truly all starts in the mind.

From where one is today in one’s journey of self-awareness, being able to love oneself for all one is, and accepting imperfections one believes are weaknesses that don’t need to be fixed or corrected, comes spiritual enlightenment.

Paying it forward is the only way to impart this information to one’s younger self. For those who have not yet tapped into their connection to self-awareness and the younger generation, this will give them a guide to learn the wisdom that will allow them to progress and upgrade their mindset faster without needing to face the challenges that have already been faced.

It doesn’t matter what your OLD story was; the beginning is already written, and the ending is being written before your eyes. In your mind, it’s time to rewrite the ending, creating a NEW story. How you decide to change the narrative in your mind is what matters.’

Sam Humphrey — Actor: The Greatest Showman

‘The insight and wisdom from every person’s story in this book is profound. Not only are there moments in which you see yourself in parts of somebody’s story, but you also get to acknowledge how pain can be turned into purpose. There is something to be said about people sharing their vulnerability through their personal stories to demonstrate the healing process we all need to go through to find ourselves again. Thank you for this life-changing gift.

My own growing up was done in the public eye with over one billion people across the globe watching me weekly on Baywatch I lived out my highs, my lows, and my struggles very personally and made my mistakes, like we all do, in front of many. Yet nobody saw behind the TV screens, what was being written about me, and what was, in fact, my truth and reality. Where were all those people who watched the highlight reels of my growing up when it all fell apart? There was nobody cheering me on then. 

These stories really hit home, and will help so many people navigate how to pick themselves up when the world seems like its crumbling and tap into that inner-strength, to keep going.

This book demonstrates that.’

Jeremy Jackson — Actor Baywatch

‘This book is absolutely inspiring and unique. It gives true life stories that really help the reader feel as if they are not alone, uplifted, and that they, too, can have a great life despite any challenges. I highly recommend this book!’ 

Kim Somers Egelsee — Life coach, Author and Tedx speaker

Dedication

This book is for every human being who has looked in the mirror and disliked what they have seen. For every human who has been told that they were too much, too little, too loud, or too quiet. For those who have felt less than perfect whilst striving for the unrealistic goal of perfection. It´s time to remember that we are all imperfectly perfect.

Contents

The Gift That Keeps Giving. Blaine Bartlett

You’ve Got This. Chibs Okereke

Lost Soul Wandering… Ali Duggan

Beauty & the Beast. Aga Zielinska aka Skin Sensei

My Sliding Doors Moment. Clair Carrington

My Choice to Fight. Claire Gibbons

Lame Ducks. Esther Rowan Wells

Every Moment, Every Choice, Every Experience Made Me Who I Am Today. Kristi Maggio

Rescued from Her Suffocating Shell in Hell. Leigh Anne Gardiner

The Lotus Self. Romy Brooks, MSc

Hanging onto Hope. Tiffany Brix

Why I Befriend Fear and Disrupt. Somalía Brown

Your Turn to Pay It Forward

In your hands you hold a book containing a wealth of hope, wisdom, knowledge and inspiration gained through the experiences of life.

To truly understand the power of the written word and what happens when people come together for a single cause, read the stories within these pages and, in the message box, write your own words of hope, wisdom, love and inspiration to the next person you are going to pay the book forward to.

Give it to a friend, family member, or even a stranger by leaving it on a bus, train, park bench, or even on the table in your local cafe. If leaving for a stranger, place a Post-it note on the front and write: Yes, this book is for you. Read it. Love it. Pay It Forward.

Share Your Book & Pay it Forward:

Share a photo of you leaving or paying forward your book on

social media on our official book page

www.facebook.com/ThePayitForwardSeriesNotestoMyYoungerSelf

Tag us in with these hashtags:

#payitforward

#imperfectlyperfectcampaign

#1billionlives

#aroundtheworld

Join us on our mission to positively impact on one billion lives

Pay It Forward Messages

Foreword

‘One moment, caller,’ I mutter to myself as I put my phone down and have to think about how to answer the question the lovely young man just asked me.

Twenty years ago, in school, I would have said, ‘Just kinda going with the flow of life but looking forward to doing something meaningful,’ but I can’t really answer that currently. I’m supposed to have my life all set out and be successfully adulting.

School was prep for life. School was a wild jungle, survival of the smartest, street-savvy apex kids who got pretty much everything right, never doing anything they weren’t already good at to risk looking weak, giving the impression they were awesome and definitely not worth challenging.

Back then, I was wide-eyed about life, hugely naïve, massively hopeful, afraid to ‘get it wrong’, and fueled with youthful confidence and ignorance. Guess what I ended up doing? Yep. Something meaningful.

Going with the flow had me moving in the fast lane of life. Yeah, sure, I got caught in a few pond weeds that briefly held me back. I was fortunate to be sheltered by some great big tree roots, so I didn’t have to weather those storms alone. All in all, my notes to my younger self boil down to going with the flow and having confidence, belief, and faith.

Don’t get things twisted here: going with the flow didn’t mean I had a smooth ride.

I went with so much flow I became flow (my state boundaries had no border control), emotionally battered by obstacle after obstacle (whoa — say that word more than once, and it feels weird) and my metaphorical juggling skills that, for sure, could get me into a metaphorical Cirque du Soleil.

My meaningful radar picked up a signal from Sydney that was a beacon to the world that it was cool to be imperfectly perfect. This was the moment I found myself doing something so meaningful it helped me feel like me again — the imperfectly perfect me.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I should have replied, ‘Me.’

Where do you see yourself in the future? I should reply, ‘Even more me.’

You can spend your most valuable young years in time trying to find yourself by adding, altering, comparing, and competing, seeking to improve upon what was designed to be left to grow into itself and reveal the imperfectly perfect person you are.

This book wraps up a powerful message into little bundles of self-love, a message that I wish retro-Rach had 20 years ago.

If only I knew that everything I was doing to get recognition in my effort to be perfect was me getting better at making things worse.

The making of me was, in fact, my breaking point when I could no longer hold everything together. Let’s call it my ‘making point’.

The authors contributing to Notes to My Younger Self have written a page upon page real guide to your own personal greatness. From breaking point to making point, the difference is the uniqueness of your Imperfectly Perfect Journey, and embracing that uniqueness with this book in hand is the first step on your best adventure: life.

Rachael Newsham

Health & Fitness Celebrity Coach

Instagram: Rachael_Newsham

Introduction

March 2020, like many others, will forever be etched in my mind. At that time, a series of events would forever change my life and the direction of the book series you hold in your hands, but I didn’t know it back then.

In order for you to understand, I want to take you back to an event I was running just days before the world closed down. I remember walking into a large conference room that would be a home for women from around the world for two days as I hosted my annual Destined for Bigger Things conference, hopeful that the crew would have started setting up the stage.

Instead, I was met by one of our authors from Volume 3 who had flown in from Australia, saying, ‘They don’t want to start constructing the stage because they are not sure the event is going on. Please tell me I didn’t get on a plane for nothing!’

As I approached the crew huddled around their phones, listening to the news, I heard the British prime minister trying to decide whether or not the UK was going to shut down.

The crew turned and asked, ‘Do you want us to go ahead and set up?’ to which I answered most definitely, ‘Yes.’ With women travelling in from Australia, Canada, America, Europe, and from all around the UK, we were going to spend some quality time at Destined for Bigger Things and celebrate the launch of Volume 3 of the Pay It Forward series no matter what.

For those two days, we were cocooned in the most beautiful space of connection, love, growth, and memories that would tide over many of us in the months that followed.

When the attendees flew back, many were put straight into quarantine in their respective countries. High from the energy of the weekend, we all figured it would just be for a short while.

In my own life, less than a week later, we would lose a family member to cancer, my father would move in with us, and we would enter into a worldwide lockdown, unlike anything the world had ever seen.

Through it all, I kept the faith that it would be for a short while and life would carry on as normal, but unfortunately, this was not to be the case.

It was at that point I had a heart-to-heart with God. I felt led to close down certain aspects of my business and put others on hold, including the Pay It Forward series of books. Through it all, I walked in faith and trust that He knew best, although I cried many a tear, hopeful that one day soon, this book and the vision He had given me back in 2016 would once again come to light when the timing was right.

Little did I know I would have to wait two and a half years, and there would be a slight change, even though the vision would ultimately remain the same.

The vision I was given back then was simple: to positively impact one billion lives by sharing stories of hope, wisdom, and inspiration surrounding moments of adversity.

Although simple, it seemed such a big ask when I was gifted it on a cold winter’s morning in 2016. In fact, it sounded sooooo big and ridiculous to speak out loud that I battled with my ego as it constantly questioned who I was to bring this vision to light, who I was to think so boldly and so big, and who I was to think I could achieve the task.

But I learnt quickly as I shared with others what had been placed in my heart, and I saw them well up with tears in their eyes or give a shudder as they were covered in goosebumps from head to toe, that this vision had been placed in my heart for a reason, and that reason was to ignite something in others.

I was just the conduit, and I discovered that if I got out of my own way and shared with everyone I met from my heart, the right people would always step forward at the right time to share their own stories.

However — and I think it´s important to add here — the collective mission to positively impact one billion lives has always featured YOU quite heavily. So firstly, thank you so much for picking up this book and getting this far.

The idea of this book is not only to pay forward stories of courage, wisdom, and inspiration from the most