If there’s one thing that’s constant in our lives, it’s change. Some people welcome it, some people flee from it, and some people ignore it. In this insightful five-part series, Ashton Bishop, our CEO, shares how you can deal with change to lead you to success.

This video is the first part of the series on Sustaining Change, which he presented to the ACN’s National Nursing Forum. In this short video, Ash reveals significant milestones that happened early in his life and the driving factor that led him to reach these milestones.

Check out the other videos in the series.

Episode 1: You are here.

Episode 2: Sustaining Change: Keeping the Motivational Fire Alive

Episode 3: Sustaining Change: The Fluidity of Success

Episode 4: Sustaining Change: How Purpose Influences Happiness 

Episode 5: Sustaining Change: 5 Steps to a Fulfilled Life  

The text that follows is a transcript of the video:

So today I’m going to give you two things that matter when it comes to stopping that habit of not building the habit of not completing. It’s going to let you, when you set off for something, be free and fulfilled when you get to the end.

When I think of Tasmania and when my story started, I actually think of being bullied. And when you are bullied, you seek out friends that can protect you. So I made very good friends with someone who is a boxer. His name was Rocky. He was my best friend growing up, and he was very, very protective of me.

When I was seven, I started running. By the age of 17, I’d run 1:56 for the 800-meter race category, which won me an underage state title and would’ve won me a gold medal of the 2004 Olympic game in the women’s division.

At 17, I started martial arts. At 22, I attended the world debating championship as a judicator proudly representing my university. I graduated with a Law and Commerce degree at 23. At 24, I ran away with the circus.

That was my story, and when I looked back, what was interesting about that was that fear was my driver: Debating, so I can talk my way out of trouble; athletics, so I can run away; martial arts, so I can fight when cornered; law, so I could sue when I get beaten up; and comedy, so I can laugh at the futility of my own situation.

Photo by Martins Zemlickis on Unsplash