Gina Gardiner is a No1 International Bestselling Author, Motivational Speaker, Empowerment and Relationship Coach, and Transformational Leadership Trainer with well over 30 years of experience helping people experience happiness, success and fulfillment. She’s the founder of the Thrive Together Tribe membership and personal and spiritual development program and The Enlightened Leadership Program.

Gina has learned to walk twice as an adult. For over 20 years, she ran her award-winning school, for the most part from a wheelchair.  The gift of this experience was the development of a unique approach to life and the development of transformational leadership.  

Gina's journey has not been an easy one. She became the youngest Deputy Head Teacher (Deputy Principal) of the largest school in the district, at age twenty-nine in September 1982. She had a serious ski accident in February 1983 when she fell between 150 and 200 feet down a black run when the mogul she was sitting on gave way.  Gina then became the Head Teacher of the school 7 months later when the Head died suddenly in his sleep. Gina became the Head (Principal) and ran the school for twenty-one years --mostly from a wheelchair.

Necessity is the mother of invention. The greatest gift of her disability was the creation of a very different approach to helping people step into their genuine power.  This facilitated a unique and highly effective leadership program, based on mutual respect and people taking radical responsibility for their performance and shared responsibility for the success of the school.  

The strategies were successful, and the success was sustained was demonstrated as the school won several accolades including being on Her Majesties’ Inspectorate’s (HMI) ‘Best 100 Schools (In England,)’ list, twice during my leadership.

Work was great pain control, Gina became very good at switching her body off whilst she was working but it was taking its toll. Gina left Headship in 2004 because her health was deteriorating but, she was not ready to sit at home and be limited by her health.  

Gina reinvented her professional life and published her first two books (Manage Your Staff More Effectively and Kick Start Your Career) to give herself credibility in the business world and expanded her coaching skills. She became an NLP Master Practitioner and coach.
 

Over the years it has become very clear when working with individuals, couples, teams or whole organizations that the vast majority of challenges or issues fall into one of five categories: beliefs, particularly self-belief, love and relationships, achieving and sustaining success, managing change and transition and finding a sense of purpose and fulfillment.  

These are represented by the five secret pathways in her latest book, ‘Thriving Not Surviving – The Five Secret Pathways To Happiness, Success, and Fulfilment.’ In the book, Gina shares the principles and lots of practical strategies which have helped her and clients achieve greater happiness, success, and fulfilment.  These act as an SAT NAV to help people navigate the challenges of life.  
 

"I believe that disability is a metaphor for life. Limiting beliefs: I’m not worthy, not clever enough, too old, too poor, not beautiful enough, etc. keep people stuck.  I may have challenges with my mobility but I have the capacity to wheel away (usually at high speed) in my wheelchair.  I have learned that it is not the challenges that define us but what we do with them. Focussing on what I can do rather than what I can’t and challenging those beliefs which have the capacity to limit have made a tremendous difference to the quality of my life."

Both James and his wife, Steph, have overcome the deepest darkest moments of their lives to create amazing lives. Fast forward 15 years, after many ups and downs and a lot of hard work, they recently sold their tech company, one of the world’s largest construction software companies! They have created a personal evolution company called Powerful U, along with producing a film, book, and assessment to help others transform their lives through evolving their Perceptions.  The book is titled Perception: Seeing is Not Believing and it's available now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble's websites.  

James and Steph’s journey of transformation is nothing short of extraordinary. Before they met 15 years ago, both of their lives had hit rock bottom. They were both financially, emotionally, and spiritually bankrupt. Life had beaten them down and shattered their self-esteem. At the lowest point in their lives, they met and were united by a shared vision of creating and becoming more. They started the only place they could by working on themselves and helping each other grow. They challenged each other every step of the way, and never settled.

Shortly after meeting, Steph wrote James’ first resume and taught him how to send an email. This began James’ unlikely career in technology. Around this time, they also started a family. Fast forward fifteen years, after many ups and downs and a lot of hard work, Steph and James recently sold their tech company, one of the world’s largest construction software companies. They now have five beautiful children and live an extraordinary life. Through this journey of self-creation, they developed a personal philosophy centered around perception. They believe perception, more than any other factor, will determine how someone’s life will turn out. James and Steph started Powerful U as their way to give back to the world.  

Their mission is to provide a roadmap for people to master their perceptions and their emotions to become the conscious creators of their lives. According to James and Steph, “Everything you see and experience is determined by your perception, and your emotions give your life the only meaning it has.”

James and Steph Purpura are seekers who find the state of humanity inadequate. They believe the unrealized potential of the individual is both the source and solution to this problem. Their goal is to inspire fellow seekers to tap into their unlimited potential, through a personalized combination of philosophy, science, technology, and community.