“Allow adversity to shift your thinking and propel you into something new or give you the impetus to change the world.”

Michelle Cox

“I spent 25 years in the corporate world- owning, founding and leading a number of companies- before taking a creative break. I’d spent years in high pressure roles and wanted to take some time out to be more playful. That’s how I found myself at s p a c e.

s p a c e was a catalyst that changed my thinking. I met so many amazing people doing such profound things- both monumental and simple. The experience reaffirmed, that we are so much more than our careers and we are all less than perfect. Our flaws are what make us human. We need to be more vulnerable and share our imperfect stories more with each other.

Inspired by the conversations I’d had, I left s p a c e on a Sunday evening, woke up at 3am on the Monday morning and started writing a series of books focused on embracing adversity and enabling others to live an unconventional life. I wanted to raise issues that people often don’t discuss for fear of embarrassment or judgement. I’m now writing my fourth book and have also launched a podcast.

The series is inspired by and named after the Wabi Sabi principle- the discovery of beauty in imperfection. In other words- stuff happens. I had cancer and my parents both passed away. We’ve all had horrible events and complexities in our lives. We all have to face adversity. We all deserve to wallow if and when shitty stuff happens. But we can’t let this define us. Instead, allow adversity to shift your thinking and propel you into something new or give you the impetus to change the world.

By being a little braver in our own lives we can impact the world far more as a collective. I hope that my books and podcast can play a part in that. I hope that by sharing some really personal stories of adversity I can have a positive impact on others. If I help just one person to live a better life, feel more comfortable with the path they’ve chosen, or feel free to do things differently, then I feel like I’m onto something good.”