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Name: Dawn Zimmermann
Superpower: Riser from darkness into the light (and piglet mommy)
I met Dawn in a hiking group. We instantly connected and spent many late afternoons walking around the neighborhood together or up mountains with hiking groups after that. We also often walked to the local farmer’s market on a Saturday morning to enjoy a whisky coffee and buy something yummy to eat.
There’s always something interesting happening with Dawn. I love hearing about her work, her dreams, her stories. And she’s helped me get through some very tough times too. Thank you ?
In the time I’ve known her, Dawn has moved several times, been a life coach and a corporate trainer, a friend, and so much more. Today she’s telling her raw and honest story. It’s the first time I’m hearing it all. She really dug deep for this one…
Hi Dawn! Thanks for agreeing to open up to us. What’s your story?
My name is Dawn…it’s a conspicuous name, the sun coming up, bringing light to the world. That is my story and my purpose. It’s been a journey and a hard one at that, but yes, no self-pity – everyone has their story and there is purpose in all things, so my story starts out with darkness.
I was a lonely child with few friends and my harsh, disciplinarian, over-protective parents made adapting to the general crowd challenging. Hence, my school years were difficult and lonely. By the time I left high school I had no self-esteem, a social phobia and was suffering from intense depression.
My dream then…well, there was no dream, just a desperate need to somehow survive in a world I had no preparation to face. A terrible marriage was the outcome of all my confusion and self-doubt…what else was I going to do? How do you build a life with no foundation? You borrow someone else’s life!
What journey do you find yourself on?
Learning to grow is about my path to finding myself and finding happiness, but it’s not just about me. Where does one start if not with the first step?
How did you start learning to grow?
In 1998, hesitantly, terrified, I took my first scary step. I was angry, furious at my parents. Do you know that suppressed anger causes madness? Well, that was the madness I was suffering from. Years of being told what to do, how to be, not being good enough to just be who I am!
I made an appointment with my then psychologist and invited my parents to a meeting. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, taking that first step to defend ME, care about ME, it was a step to becoming a person I liked and respected.
It has been my observation about life that when your perspective changes, your life changes.
My second step was equally daunting, but so very necessary. Divorce. Ugh…so much goes into that one word: years of abuse and pain and disillusion. How does such a tiny word ‘divorce’ cover so much? It seems so benign.
It was the second-hardest thing I ever did and it left me high and dry, out in the cold with no direction, with an angry, abusive ex-husband, few friends and very little support from my family.
Many days I thought I wouldn’t make it. Everything seemed dark and hopeless until the day that the universe called me to make a decision: Do you want to live or die?
I stared at myself in the mirror. I saw the sad, desperate person I was becoming. I closed my eyes and in my mind a picture formed. On one side, a path leading into the darkness down a steep dark staircase, on the other a mountain with the sun shining at the top.
In that moment, I made my choice. I turned my head towards the mountain, started the climb and have never looked back.
Power of Intention
I discovered the power of intention. Getting what you want is pretty simple. The challenge is in knowing what you want and then creating a plan to make it happen…simple! Six tumultuous years later and I had my degree. It was hard going, but I’d made up my mind and that made all the difference.
Two little children, a full-time job as a personal assistant (PA) and very little time to study, but I told myself I could do it. I told myself I WOULD do it and that is precisely what happened.
Dawn with her two children, Jason and Amy, who are all grown up now.
Setting Goals
Getting what you want takes some planning. My second goal was to get out of being a PA as quickly as possible.
Interestingly, when you set your mind to something with real determination, the universe seems to play along. It didn’t take long for the opportunity to come.
Armed with newfound confidence and my degree, I found myself being an events manager at the Department of Science and Technology. Two years later there was another move to work for the CEO of the Nuclear Energy Corporation and two years after that, it was time to start off on my own.
I started Resonance Therapy SA and got an opportunity to become a soft skill facilitator. My teaching passion…Learning to Grow.
Dawn as a successful soft skill facilitator in the world of corporate training.
Discovering Self-esteem
My self-esteem grew in leaps and bounds. I started to find my feet in this big world and discovered friends, boundaries, assertiveness and a passion for teaching. I pushed myself harder each day to achieve, become the best, become a sought-after facilitator and meet the dream I had of teaching as many people as possible what I had discovered: self-esteem, confidence, Me!
My business went from strength to strength and so did my facilitation, but despite the great strides I’d made in finding peace in my life, all was not well. I was trying so hard that I was burning out. In August 2016 I seriously crashed with job burnout. I stopped sleeping completely and ended up in hospital, and thus began a brand-new lesson in my life – finding balance!
Somehow, success is not all it’s made out to be. It’s great for self-esteem, but when is enough enough and how do you say no when all of you is reveling in saying YES?
Such single-minded devotion to success takes a toll on your body and mind and unfortunately, the choice is ours to make. There is no big daddy in the sky saying, ‘STOP, you’re killing yourself’. And so began the biggest challenge of my life, to regain my lost health.
With a brand-new attitude of peace and calm, I started my life again. Pills, doctors, psychologists, chaos. I had to give it all up. The job, the business, the teaching, my passion. It was time to rest.
Again, the universe complied. When I had no idea of where I was going or how I would get there, I was offered a job on a pig farm as an estate manager, my dream job. What a change, what peace, what a relief.
What does a day on the farm look like?
Learning to become a peaceful, content being was a long, hard journey, but has been well worth it. Life is different, it is peaceful. What peace, and I never knew it was possible.
I now live on the farm and my day starts at about 7a.m. when I wake up…yes, I’m sleeping again. I move to the kitchen, eat breakfast and then move outside to speak to my staff and plan the day.
Often some of my day is spent chasing things: ducks, cattle, sheep…yes, I’ve become a sprinter and a hurdler. I leap over fences and catch livestock, chickens or whatever has ventured from its pen. I am the keeper of domestic animals, planter of gardens and swimming pool expert.
The ducks taking a walk on the farm.
I am also the substitute piglet mommy and spend some of each day feeding under-nourished piglets.
Dawn feeding one of the hungry piglets on the farm.
I shop till I drop as I do all the farm grocery shopping as well as manage items needed to keep gardens and pets fed and healthy.
All in all, I wake up with a smile, I have a peaceful, stress-free day, and end at 5p.m. with a long soak in my bath before going off to make supper for the family. It’s heaven on earth and I feel like I can breathe for the first time in years.
What personal challenges have you faced along the way?
Self esteem has always been my greatest challenge. Feeling worthy, knowing that I am capable and loved has always been a challenge following the tough years I had at school. The journey continues, and each new year brings new understanding of people and myself.
Tell us a funny story about farm life
Although the farm is peaceful, it has its moments. About two weeks ago, I decided to wear my Ugg boots in the cold spell. I saw a spider web across the top so just to make sure, I shook my shoe out before putting it on – obviously not effectively enough.
As I put my foot into the shoe, I stood on a very large spider who had made its home in my shoe! It was seriously freaky.
What would you like to do with your precious life?
I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony! If I can convey to every person I come into contact with that we need to be the example of how to treat people. To actually treat people the way you wish to be treated, not because they treat you well, but despite how they treat you.
What keeps you going when things get tough?
The realization that I’ve come this far and survived and I can overcome most challenges by being calm and centered.
It’s time to stay calm and chase some ducks out the office!
What advice can you give us?
I would like people to know, really know and understand, that each one of us makes an impact. We seldom recognize just how important we are. We self-judge and self-doubt, but seldom recognize our worth.
There is no such thing as perfection, it doesn’t exist. All there is, is continuous improvement and that is enough!
Where can we find you and see what you’re up to?
We post pictures of the farm (Multipig) on our Facebook page.
Thank you, Dawn. Is there anything else you’d like to share today?
I believe that we are put on earth to discover our worth and value. Each day that we strive to overcome our fears is a day that we make the world a better place.
♥♥♥
Thank you so much for your honesty. From a difficult childhood and job burnout to a whole new world!
I remember a hiking weekend we went on and I had a suspicion there was something in my shoe. I asked you to put your hand in there and you totally trusted me and did it. You then pulled out a huge locust-type thing screaming. I found it quite funny, but I probably shouldn’t have done that. And now you have spiders in your shoes – I had nothing to do with those, I promise!
Keep on growing and shining. Keep on sharing your stories and yourself with the world. You have been very brave to share this and you are very brave to keep on following your heart in life.
Here’s to many adventures and some whisky coffee. Let that tiara shine xxx
♥♥♥
