‘Think positive!’ Is that mantra really enough to lift us out of motivation funk for longer than, say, 30 seconds? It is when you hear it from Steffi August.
An hour spent with Steffi will have you walking out the door feeling, not just positive, but kinda like you could take on the world.
She’s known locally in The Mount as the ‘Pocket Rocket’, and is now blasting her brand of energiser bunny into everyone she meets, whether in the supermarket or at the beach, or through her motivational seminars and one to one coaching.
How did she become so flippin positive?
In fact, Steffi has endured a number of challenging life experiences, but with healthy doses of tenacity and openness, and unconditional positivity she’s learnt how to push through her fears and doubts.
“For everything that happens in life, I believe there’s a reason. Sometimes you don’t even know straight away, but later you will find out why. I had a very challenging marriage but I have an awesome son and I wouldn’t have had him without the marriage. I see the positives in every situation.”
She also has an uncanny knack of visualising what she wants in life, and getting it. A keen runner, she once entered a half marathon and visualised winning the top spot prize – a trip to Vanuatu – and she did. Later that year she set her mind to winning running shoes at another event – and yes, she scored those too.
But it’s not magic that helps Steffi reach her goals. It’s the rock solid belief she has in herself and her abilities.
“Many women are scared to take the next step; they ask ‘what if’? I say you need to believe in yourself, have passion for what you want to do, and then commit to it; and you will succeed. We must never be afraid of challenges.
“When they put up excuses, I come in and kick their ‘buts’ … and their butt. I push them out of their comfort zones and ask ‘what are you waiting for?’ Some women think when they reach 50 they go downhill. But no! I have 48 years till I’m 100 – 48 years to do all kinds of things. You just need to change your mindset about how you look at things and go for it!”
Watch out world! A lot can happen in 48 years. As well as her seminars and coaching, Steffi is a massage therapist, writer, fitness freak and former chef; she runs a furniture removal business with her husband and loves driving big trucks. You get the feeling this energiser bunny is just cranking up – fortunately she doesn’t need much sleep!
Self-belief
Her latest venture, a new book, was launched in July. That’s it! I’m OUT of here! Time for a change is a compilation of inspiring stories from women who wrote about the moment in their lives they decided to make a change for the better. The book includes two of Steffi’s own stories when she chose to believe in herself and trust that a better life was within reach.
One tells the story of her early life in communist-controlled East Germany, when living under the Stasi (secret police) often meant constant scrutiny and monitoring. When Steffi and her partner wanted to get out to the West, they hatched a plan to visit Hungary, only to have their visas ripped to shreds in front of them. After that the Stasi camped outside their apartment watching every move they made. When they finally got permission to leave – after two years of waiting – they had 24 hours to pack up and say goodbye to their families, unsure when or if they would see them again.
Her other story recounts a challenging relationship in her first marriage, and how, for her children, she chose to stay. But the situation became untenable and she made the decision – that’s it, I’m out of here.
“That’s when I believed in myself and left. For the first five months I would wake up in the night and think ‘I destroyed my family’. Good friends helped me and after running up the Mount every day for two years, I found myself again.”
Inspiration for change
Rather than recounting just her own story, she decided to gather stories from other women too – some who made the decision to leave abusive relationships or move on from difficult childhoods; others who have learnt to live fulfilled lives with compromising disabilities.
“It makes me so happy when people start taking the next step to achieve something. This book is about inspiring all women to have the courage to make a change if they’re not happy. When people say to me, ‘I hate my job, but it pays the bills’, I go on alert straight away. Come on! It’s time for a change.”
That’s it! I’m OUT of here! Time for a Change is available at PaperPlus in Mount Maunganui, and on Steffi’s web page. Steffi’s next plan – apart from starting work on a new writing project – is to take the book and some of the contributors ‘on tour’ around the country and inspire as many women as possible.
After all, what is it that holds us back from taking action?
“In the end it’s always YOU,” she says.
www. steffiaugust.nz or find Steffi on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SteffiAugustmotivationalspeakerandauthor
