Written by: Andrew Cowie, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
It's never too late to achieve your dreams. It might sound corny but it’s true. If you’d told me ten years ago that I’d ever been living the life I am now then I wouldn’t have believed you.
And yet, after enduring years of rejections and knockbacks from publishers and literary agents, on Friday I finally celebrated the fulfillment of a lifetime’s ambition when my latest book became an overnight international 1 bestseller across numerous categories on Amazon.
“Creating Impact: Changemakers Who Overcame Adversity To Create A Positive Impact In The World" is a multi-author collaborative venture which includes stories from 17 amazing entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the globe. All have one thing in common – they have overcome challenges including job loss, anxiety, depression, burnout, bereavement, heartbreak, and illness, but have come out the other side and are now making a positive impact in the world through the work they do.
When I was first invited to participate by ex-journalist Dina Behrman, whose independent publishing company Inspired World Publishing masterminded the project, it was a complete no-brainer. I’m passionate about raising awareness of mental health issues and making people realise that it’s never too late to turn your life around and maximise your potential. I also recognise the power of storytelling and shared experiences as tools for inducing profound personal growth. I recognised instantly the potential for this book to be a major source of inspiration to anyone currently struggling with their own issues and life challenges.
Anyone who’s read my previous Brainz article “Phoenix From the Ashes” will know that I underwent a catastrophic burnout myself a decade ago in my former life as a newspaper journalist and suffered a prolonged period of depression and stress-related ill-health as a result.
In Creating Impact, I describe how I clawed my way back out of the abyss and underwent a complete regeneration to create a new and improved life for myself as a coach and therapist. I adopted the image of the phoenix for my business, Phoenix Coaching & Therapy, to symbolise not only my own return from the ashes but also as a powerful source of inspiration for my clients to demonstrate that they too could turn their lives around.
As I’m fond of reminding my clients, some of the greatest names in history didn’t achieve glory without first having overcome significant challenges and adversity.
Inventor Thomas Edison, when asked about his 10,000 unsuccessful attempts to create the electric light bulb, famously replied: “I have not failed 10,000 times – I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work”.
Physicist Albert Einstein didn't speak until he was the age of four and didn't read until he was seven. His parents thought he was "sub-normal," and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.
Business magnate Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he succeeded. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland.
Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him "hopeless as a composer" and yet he wrote five of his greatest symphonies while completely deaf.
Author J.K. Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers before finding one prepared to take on the manuscript of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. She had previously battled crippling depression following the death of her mother from multiple sclerosis, followed by a divorce, financial struggles, and the pressures of being a single mum. She refused to give up but instead channeled her emotions into writing the Harry Potter series. Eight films, one theme park, and countless video games, board games, and products later, Harry Potter is one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time.
The lesson to be learned from all these inspirational stories is the importance of never giving up. No matter how bad things seem now, you never know when your greatest victory or success is just around the corner. American architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) once said: “Whatever humans have learned had to be learned as a consequence only of trial and error experience. Humans have learned only through mistakes.”
Creating Impact, which hit number one in various categories on Amazon when it was published on 8th October, is full of similar inspiring stories from a diverse range of voices, and it’s our hope that the readers will gain inspiration, insight and wisdom from these chapters.
All proceeds from sales during the launch are being donated to Book Aid International, a charity that provides books to refugees, schools, hospitals and prisons all over the world.
Andrew Cowie, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Andrew Cowie is a transformational life coach, psychotherapist, and author dedicated to helping people overcome adversity and achieve their full potential. He came to the world of therapy after a 20-year career in newspaper journalism was brought to an abrupt end by severe burnout. In the course of his own recovery, he was introduced to meditation, mindfulness, hypnotherapy, yoga, martial arts, and NLP. He went on to retrain under some of the world's leading spiritual and personal development teachers to become an expert in these fields. Andrew has since dedicated his life to passing on this knowledge, synthesizing the various disciplines into one overarching system blending ancient spiritual practices with the latest cutting-edge techniques from the field of modern psychology. He is the owner of Phoenix Coaching & Therapy and the founder of its associated 'magical training school' The Ancient and Mystical Hermetic Order of the Phoenix (AMHOP). His debut book Rise Like a Phoenix was published in 2021 and is described as a manual for personal regeneration. Andrew works with clients worldwide and is passionate about mental health and exploring the latent potential of the human mind.
