We are delighted to welcome new author Mel Carnegie as a regular contributor to The Best You. We asked her a few questions for her first appearance, so you can get to know all about her!
The Best You: Mel, tell us a little about who you are and how you came to join us?
Mel Carnegie: I’m a leadership development specialist, motivational trainer, author, and founder of DeNA (the inside-out training programme that changes peoples’ lives for the better). I spend my days working with business leaders and their teams, helping them to be the best they can… and I absolutely love it! Like so many of us, my journey to who I’ve become has not been an easy one. From an early age I learned how to cope with adversity. My new book I’m Still Standing tells my story about overcoming adversity – not just once but many times over. My personal message is that if I can come through all that I have, then so can others.
TBY: Tell us more about your journey into Personal Development.
MC: My love affair with self-development really came in to being 16 years ago, just after my son turned one. I had just become a single mother, and was browsing in a bookshop for some inspiration when Louise L Hay’s book You Can Heal Your Life quite literally fell off the shelf and on to my feet. I bought it, took it home, and devoured it in one sitting. A couple of days later I spotted an advert the size of a postage stamp at the back of a Big Issue magazine, inviting people to enrol on a course to become trainers of Louise Hay’s methodology. The course absolutely blew me away, and I came straight back home and resigned from my well-paid job in advertising. Of course my actions raised a few eyebrows, but I have never looked back. I started running weekend workshops sharing the teachings of Louise Hay and I found the experience both empowering and humbling. It was a magical time, and it was through these workshops that I discovered my love for helping others to free themselves from limitations. Within 18 months I achieved qualifications in NLP, Reiki and even as a certified fire-walking instructor!
TBY: How did you move from personal self-development into the corporate world – it’s quite a jump isn’t it?
MC: On the fire-walking instructors programme I met the man I later married… My soul mate. He was working as a trainer and coach in business, and soon after we got together we founded a leadership development company that combined both our skills and resulted in an experiential-based training approach. It quickly became successful and we attracted a number of blue-chip clients. Word spread that what we were doing was unique, fun, and most importantly, delivered outstanding long-term results. We enjoyed working in this way for many years – and many of the clients I have met over the years have become lifelong friends!
TBY: So what’s next for Mel Carnegie?
MC: Life continues to be a rollercoaster, that’s for sure. For so many years it had been a terrifying, stomach-churning ride that jolted me from one trauma to another. These days it’s a very different story. Yes, I still face challenges – and these days I am also equipped with sufficient experience and knowledge that I can choose my responses. As one of my favourite quotes so rightly states, “Life is like a rollercoaster. It has its ups and downs. But it’s your choice to scream or enjoy the ride.” My focus now is to share DeNA with as many people as possible – and my dream is to see the programme adopted in schools, so that our children are fully equipped to build a world where humanity is king, and joy is the currency.
Through my work I have been approached to feature in a movie akin to “The Secret” that is being filmed this autumn in the USA, alongside such world-famous luminaries as Brian Tracy and Don Miguel Ruiz among others. It’s a huge honour and an incredible opportunity, and I am absolutely thrilled to be involved!
Over the next few issues of The Best You, Mel will be sharing more about the five-step methodology that is DeNA, so that you can start to understand and use some of the techniques to make positive differences in your life.
