Healing, Love, & Leadership with Sally Anderson

Published: Jan. 31, 2017, 10 a.m.

Mission #49

On Board: Sally Anderson
Mission: Healing, Love, & Leadership

The Co-Pilot:

In this conversation, I had the incredible pleasure of speaking with an absolutely amazing woman: Sally Anderson. She’s a world-renowned leadership coach, inspirational speaker, author and master trainer, who has decades of experience coaching the top levels in the corporate world.

Sally certainly hasn’t had an easy time of it. However, as she explains in this conversation, she transformed a shocking, heart-wrenching, traumatic experience into a life story that led her to become the amazing person she is today. She also talks about how important it is to silence your inner critic, and explores the steps you can take to feel inspired and empowered in a lasting way, rather than just for days or weeks at a time.

Connect With Sally:

@Freefall_Sally on Twitter
Sally Anderson on Facebook
Freefall: Living Life Beyond the Edge
The Co-Creative Age

The Mission Log:

  • [02:23] - Sally launches things off by telling us a bit about herself. She goes through her early life in chronological order, then talks about an incredibly shocking story. At just 15, she was abducted and gang-raped by members of New Zealand’s Mongrel Mob. She then recounts the inability of her family and society to acknowledge her trauma, and the resulting dysfunction.
  • [07:06] - We learn that Sally is at the forefront of leadership services providing a sustainability element of personal and professional transformation.
  • [09:20] - How did Sally’s experience impact her identity as a woman, as well as her interactions with men, women, and her own body?
  • [10:47] - Sally shares how her experience affected her voice. She then talks more about how her body image was impacted as well.
  • [13:33] - Being one’s word is integral to experiencing true transformation, Sally explains, then goes into depth about how this works. She then talks about the default identity, a disempowered self-image that we adopt and validate.
  • [16:10] - What happened to Sally emotionally when she became a bodybuilder? She then explores the problem with thinking that you’ll be happy once you achieve a certain goal.
  • [19:07] - Forgiving people isn’t the first step in healing, Sally says, then explains what the real first step is.
  • [19:55] - Sally discusses the difference between analytical forgiveness versus experiential forgiveness.
  • [21:10] - We hear about Sally’s experience on 60 Minutes.
  • [22:22] - How do you acknowledge that you are being your own worst perpetrator?
  • [25:50] - Sally talks about the next step, if you have awareness of what you’re doing and but keep sabotaging yourself anyway. Her answer revolves around choice.
  • [27:07] - We learn about Sally’s personal life with her husband and the fact that they haven’t had physical children.
  • [29:43] - Stopping people from hurting permanently is the essence of the education she provides, Sally explains.
  • [30:22] - What was the moment that Sally realized she was healed?
  • [33:33] - Sally shares her journey as it relates to her physicality and body. In the process, she talks about women’s dysfunction about weight.
  • [36:12] - We learn what Sally does in terms of mastering the inner critic.
  • [36:49] - Sally talks about her technique for dealing with the inner critic, which has a lot to do with her work around the default identity. She then explores why asking someone “are you a child abuser?” can help them overcome their own inner critic.
  • [40:07] - Despite having every reason on earth not to trust anything, Sally has managed to achieve and maintain a successful marriage. Here, she explains how she transformed her life and allowed that to happen.
  • [44:07] - Orion shares an overview of her own journey as it relates to healing and love.
  • [47:41] - In Sally’s perspective, what is a leader?
  • [51:19] - What are Sally’s three tips to leading a stellar life? 1. Beliefs run your life, so get disciplined in retraining your thought patterns. 2. Do whatever you can to form a new relationship with your spoken word. 3. Take responsibility, and don’t use excuses like not having enough time, money, or energy prevent you from reclaiming your power.

Your Pre-Flight Checklist:

  1. First, take a moment to figure out what was the most traumatic event of your life. Next, write down at least five positive things that have resulted from it.
  2. Write down your desires in each of the four main areas of transformation: money, love, vocation, and well-being.
  3. In the last five years, what sustained changes have you made in each of those four areas? Write down a specific list for each area of transformation.

Links and Resources:

@Freefall_Sally on Twitter
Sally Anderson on Facebook
Freefall: Living Life Beyond the Edge
The Co-Creative Age
Evolved Leadership
Mongrel Mob
Cory Everson
Inner critic