Be Brilliant

Facet 8 Network

In 2010, I was working full-time as Group Marketing Director for Oroton Group, Australia & New Zealand, looking after the Oroton and Ralph Lauren brands. My professional life looked glamorous, at least on paper. It was jammed with fashion shoots, invitations to international fashion weeks, store opening events and media parties. Yet personally, my husband and I were juggling full-time jobs with three children under seven and all that comes with that.

Life was frantic, to say the least, and I felt like I was constantly giving to others and giving nothing to myself. My days were spent giving to my team, media, clients and suppliers, and reporting back to the fabulous Ralph Lauren team in New York. I felt drained. Everything revolved around industry-specific, sometimes superficial, surface-level chit-chat or conversations about managing mother guilt and how to chase the infamous work–life balance.

As much as I was enjoying all I was doing, I felt lonely and disconnected. I didn't have like-minded people around me I could talk to about current challenges, big-picture thinking or decisions I had to make, and I certainly didn't feel like I was feeding my brain. I was existing (albeit not very well at times) rather than being.

I remember one evening thinking to myself that there must be other women out there like me. Women who wanted to keep growing and developing their thinking and mastery. Women who wanted to build personal success as well as nurture a family and ...