Before she became a coach, Miranda lived through the disappointment and grief of 7 x unsuccessful IVF treatments, which led to a heart-breaking and unexpected divorce of her first marriage followed by all of the challenges that accompanied those major life upheavals and reality slaps.

Life and these challenges took Miranda on a very different journey than the one she had originally mapped out - a journey towards enlightenment and fulfilment in both her home and business life.

Through her own personal experiences, Miranda recognised the need for more empathy and support in our community for women going through similar experiences at the different stages of life we face in our journey of womanhood.

Miranda works with women of all ages to support them through changes & transitions, instilling and empowering them with a strong sense of self so they can thrive.

Just some of the ways Miranda can help. Visit her website >>>

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

The opportunity to grab 2 hours to myself every day before the rest of my world rises. I have a 4 year old and starting my day with quality time to myself, with my own clear thoughts, makes me a better Mum, wife and human in general.

That time usually involves at least 1 or 2 of the following things: Meditation, yoga, writing, taking my puppy for a walk alone in the fresh air, watering my vege garden. (Yep! I am one of the many who became an 'Iso Green Thumb' last year and there is no going back now. I freaking love eating fresh fruit and veges that I've grown from seeds or seedlings. I quite often share vege pics on my socials as to be honest, I'm still in awe and a little bit proud that I no longer kill garden things inadvertently).

Claiming this time for myself in the mornings is the best way to start the day feeling centred and then I have more capacity to give. I adore my husband Dan, our daughter Zoe, our oversized Groodle pup, Nala, I absolutely love what I do for work and serving the people around me, but self care plays a huge part in making sure I have enough energy to give to others without eating into my own reserves.

The days I skip this morning ritual for whatever reason, too late a night before, sickness etc, I really notice it and feel like I start my day on the back-foot without that time to check in with myself first.

Tell us something about yourself many people may not know about you?

I am by no means a cyclist per se, but I have cycled 800kms in 8 days in 2014, 1600kms in 16 days in 2015, and another 800kms in 8 days in 2019 across Thailand to raise money for Hands Across The Water, an Australian run charity that supports 7 x homes for at risk children and community projects in Thailand.

I met my amazing hubby, on my very first Hands Thailand ride and together we have jointly raised over $250,000 for the kids we consider part of our family over there. We eloped up to one of the homes in 2016 and got married with the kids and staff who are such a big part of our lives.

Who is someone you find inspirational? And why?

A woman called Mae Thiew. She runs the North Eastern home for the children Hands Across The Water supports in Thailand called Baan Home Hug. She gave up her affluent life in Bangkok and all of her worldly possessions to move to Yasothon and create refuge for the children she saw who had been cast out from their homes and ignored by society. Most of the children at Home Hug have HIV and either contracted it from their parents or through sexual abuse.

There is still a lot of stigma surrounding HIV in their country and these children were left homeless and unsupported. Mae Thiew created the home and single handedly provided a safe space for them to live and then once Hands Across The Water became involved, the children were able to be provide healthy food, the medication the children need, warm shelter and education and paid staff to help run Home Hug.

Mae Thiew has been living with terminal stomach cancer for about a decade now but still she does not give up. In 2015, when Dan and I signed up to do the 1600km bike ride, so did she! She rode those kms next to us in heavy bright orange monk robes, her tumours rubbing against the fabric in 35 degree heat. We averaged 100kms a day.

Why did she do it? Because she wanted to show the children that despite their extreme adversities in life, they could set their mind to anything they want to do and achieve it. They could dream big.

Some days I'd be slogging it out on a particularly hot afternoon and feeling like the hills in front of us were almost insurmountable to climb with our weary, dusty, sunscreen smeared, heat-rashed bodies fatiguing and our sore "peaches" ready to get off our bike seats. I'd glance behind me and see this incredible, resilient woman putting one foot after another and as I fell back in line with her to ask "SABAI DEE MAI?" (How are you?), her standard reply would come back to my ears: "I AM STRONG".

Mae Thiew is a part of our family. She married us at Baan Home Hug and gave a blessing that we hold dear to our hearts, and skins as it turns out, as we each have it tattooed on our bodies. She is one of life's true Empathic Leaders and our ongoing inspiration.

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

I'd be an author and spend my days putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard writing books and articles etc, maybe a weekly column... do they even exist these days still or is that just the Sex And The City girl crush from my youth coming to the surface again?

If you could meet anyone in the world, past or present, who would that be and why?

I'd have to hand on heart say my Mum. Sure there are loads of other amazing people who I'd love at the 'ultimate dinner party', but she would definitely be my first choice. We lost her when I was 6 years old to a cerebral aneurysm, that took her suddenly with no warning and I would so love to speak with her now. It would bring me so much joy to be able to share my beautiful little family with her and really know her now, from a woman to woman perspective.

I feel a deep calling to be doing the work that I do supporting other women and I'd love to know if that was something we shared, if that pull comes from a deeper, inherited place than my own life experiences. It's funny, every year that passes I have a new level of appreciation and empathy for what it must have been like for 6 year old me to lose my Mum at that tender age. Seeing my little girl grow up towards the age that I was when Mum died, I see how dependent she is on my husband and I as parents at this age already, but especially on me as her Mum.

Subsequently, my curiosity evolves further too around the effects of childhood trauma and how it can play out on our lives as we develop and this is a space that I am really passionate about supporting too.

I have recently become a mentor for another amazing Australian Charity Organisation called Feel The Magic which provides early intervention grief education programs for kids aged 7 to 17, who are experiencing pain and isolation due to the death of a parent, guardian, or sibling. Their aim is to create a world where grieving kids and their families feel supported, empowered, and can begin to move forward with their lives. Feel The Magic is so aligned with my values both personally and professionally that I knew I needed to be involved. I wish there was something like this around when my brother and I were little.

Use one word to describe yourself.

Nurturing.

What do you love about The Shire?

So many things! I love how there is a strong sense of community spirit that shines through, which has become even more apparent during the tough times. I originally hail from NZ and am somewhat of a nomad having lived in Auckland, London, Melbourne, Perth and now Sydney. Living in the Shire reminds me of the laid back lifestyle I had growing up in NZ and it's my favourite part of Sydney that I have lived in since moving to NSW in 2015.

When you were a child what did you want to grow up to be?

A school teacher, and then a flight attendant, then it went back to a school teacher.

Share one of your greatest personal achievements.

Raising my daughter to be the empathic, brave, funny little human that she has become already.

What brings you great happiness?

Spending time doing cruisy things with my family. I'm a simple creature really these days. My husband's and my work are both service providing roles helping people and so we re-energise by going inwards to re-charge. Home, time out on our boat, fishing, exploring little beaches etc is our sanctuary.

What is a personal challenge or fear you have successfully overcome?

I am afraid of heights, but a sucker for a good cause so back when I was living in Perth and freshly separated from my first marriage, I decided to jump out of a plane to raise money for the Telethon Adventurers who were raising funds to support vital research into childhood brain cancer. I had some friends who had lost their little boy at the age of 4 to this horrible disease and he'd spent half his little life in hospitals. So when the opportunity was presented - I was in hook, line and sinker!

It put my own shitty problems into perspective and I took the plunge. I loved it so much, I would do it again in a heartbeat once our little girl is old enough to fend for herself. High-rise building balconies - still not a fan, but give me a tiny plane and a parachute and I'm in. I also strangely like the idea of Base Jumping but maybe that can wait til when I'm 90 and lived a long, happy life!

Work With Miranda

Miranda believes life is about finding peaceful flow. She supports and empowers women to maintain a sense of self through life’s challenges and chapters, regardless of what is thrown at them.

Get Started Here >>>

If you had to choose one food/meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

Gimme an Antipasto Board or some Tapas and I'm your best friend for life! I absolutely love this style of eating. My little girl has inherited this love of all things grazing too. Her favourite foods are blue cheese, olives and wait for it....capers! Not your usual toddler preferences I know.

What people might not know about me, is that I am a terrible decision maker when it comes to small decisions like menu choices, napkin selections, font styles etc.

Big life decisions? No problems! Leave a job, leave a marriage, move interstate, buy a car, sell a house, start a business - those are all a walk in the park compared to "Fish or Chicken?".

What is one of the most interesting things about you?

Wow - I don't know. Good question..... Hmmm... Maybe that I don't usually go a day without laughing out loud at something. Like really loud! I have a distinctive laugh that friends affectionately label the "M Cackle". My husband says a day without making me laugh, is a day wasted.

Humour and fun have always been core values for me and probably two of my vital tools in my Mental Health First Aid Kit, before I even knew the idea of such a thing existed, for getting through the tough stuff in my life.

I don't take myself, or life, too seriously and often at times when if I didn't laugh, I would cry endlessly, these tools have served me well. For those who might be reading this and thinking "suppressed emotions are bad", the laughter and humour weren't a replacement. I still felt all the feels, they were a welcome accompaniment. Don't worry, there have also been times where I have danced around the lounge-room in my undies or PJs, Bridget Jones style, drinking a good bottle of wine in way less an honourable manner than it deserved, yelling a few f*ck yous to the universe, whilst my dogs watched in bewilderment and possibly, disapproval, from the corner where they lay at a safe distance. It was all part of the process.

But I have to say that having a cheeky sense of humour and a good laugh regularly has fared me well in my life.

What would you tell your younger self?

Don't worry what other people think of you. You do you, walk your own path, back yourself more and own the space that you deservedly take up in the world.

I feel like I probably spent too much time being a people pleaser when I was younger. I have always been easy going, and not too much phases me still, but I hadn't developed the skills yet, to not be taken advantage of at times. I learnt a few lessons the hard way when certain people abused that and walked all over me. There's a line between being laid back and letting someone abuse your good nature.

Now looking back, it's easy to see that I hadn't set enough boundaries. Hindsight and wisdom hey! They are beautiful things. It warms my heart though to know that we are empowering our little girl with a strong sense of self from a young age.

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Do you have a nickname? Tell us the story behind it.

I have several but the 2 main ones are "M".... clearly "Miranda" was too long for people to say and the other is "Mir" - short for "Mirmaid" (yes, a deliberately misspelt version of Mermaid). My very first job was working for Club Med in NZ as an Groups and Events Assistant in the Auckland Sales Office. Within the first few weeks of being employed I was told that I was being taken to the Club Med Moorea on one of the beautiful islands of Tahiti to help my boss escort a group of 250 Kiwanis' members, similar to a Rotary Club Organisation.

The group was too big for my boss to look after on her own and one of the Club Med NZ Policies was that they always tried to get new employees to experience one of their resorts within their first month of employment, so they could better understand the Club Med experience to share with customers. I was 22 and fresh out of university, driving an ugly old car and living week to week to pay rent and food, and suddenly I'd gone from hanging at the Student Pub to International Traveller within weeks! I could not believe my luck!

The beginning of the trip had a few "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" type moments with one drunk traveller on touchdown in Papeete, jumping into the water at the ferry terminal as the ferry approached, thinking he'd dropped his passport into the murky depths and that he'd seen it floating past. He hadn't! The first day on the island, someone fell asleep in the sun after too many cocktails at lunch and crisped up like a lobster, so required a bit of sheepish hand holding at the resort infirmary while they prescribed lots of aloe vera, sunstroke meds and instructions to lay low in their villa for 2 days.

But other than that, the group was pretty self sufficient once they all got settled into island resort life. So my boss and I found ourselves feeling like we were almost on holidays ourselves for the duration of the trip. We made sure we were always visible and accessible should anyone need us and the group affectionately nicknamed us "The Two Mermaids", as we would regularly cool off in the lagoon in front of the main area.

It evolved into "Mirmaids" from there due to my name over the course of the trip and then "Mir" naturally evolved from there and it stuck when I got home. I remember floating on our backs looking up at the clear blue skies, coconut trees gently swaying on the beach in the warm breeze and thinking "This working gig is alright!". LOL.

Tell us about your business in one sentence.

Essentially I'm a Women's Empowerment Coach and through my offerings, I support and empower women to maintain a sense of self through life’s challenges and chapters, regardless of what is thrown at them.

THE ULTIMATE THRIVE PACKAGE

This 12 week coaching project allows you to discover your life and family goals and create positive, sustainable practices weekly over three consecutive months.

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THE REVIVE AND THRIVE PACKAGE

This project is aimed at women who have worked with a coach in the past. Six sessions run over the course of 6 weeks, providing an accelerated version of ‘The Ultimate Thrive’ project.

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SUPPORT AND EMPOWER SESSION

Miranda offers one-off Empower Sessions as needed for women who would like to explore what coaching is about, would like some extra ad-hoc support during times of stress, or would like a check-in after completing a coaching package.

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What was the inspiration to start your business?

I believe that life is about finding peaceful flow, no matter what life presents. Through my own experiences, a few hard knock lessons, and conversations with women around me, I felt and witnessed first hand that there was a need for more mental and emotional support in my female community.

Share the mission of your business.

To instill and empower women with a strong sense of self so they can thrive.

Tell us about a business win or success.

Most recently, I was named as a finalist in the 2021 Peacemakers Awards in the Wellness category.

I created my business to help other women navigate the challenges they face with more ease, less isolation and far less overwhelm. My promise is to empower them to always hold on to the one thing that circumstances and/or other people can never take away from them if they are supported in the right way: their strong sense of self.

The Peacemakers Awards hosted by Dispute Resolution Centre Australia (DRCA), @disputeresolutioncentre, recognise, celebrate and showcase the incredible contributions of multidisciplinary professionals in Australian Alternative Dispute Resolution and Collaborative Practice.

Not just for Lawyers, the unique Awards will honour Australian Mediators, Arbitrators, Psychologists, Life Coaches, Innovators and Life, Financial, Business, Property, Health and Wellness Experts who play a meaningful role in creating positive industry change for the better.

Share one of your favourite reviews/testimonials.

"It sounds ridiculous but our time working together was a T intersection for my life, I was heading down a certain path that I wasn’t happy with but by having some candid and open conversations with Miranda my entire life changed. I became a better worker, a happier team member and my own personal determination for my life sky rocketed. I am a different person today because Miranda took the time to help me get back on track and really chase after what mattered to me. In a heartbeat, I would recommend working with Miranda, with no hesitation. I hope other people can have the experience that I had where literally my life was turned upside down."

Any exciting developments on the horizon for your business?

Funnily enough now I've said what would I do if I knew I couldn't fail was write, a book is actually in there somewhere, I just need to find the time. A dedicated podcast is on the cards too!

How do you define business success?

Getting to do what I love everyday and seeing the transformations take place in the beautiful women I work with. Meaningful connections built on understanding, empathy and trust and facilitating empowerment are values in my business. Staying aligned to these values brings flow to everything I do; the people I meet, my clients, the business collaborations and opportunities that present themselves.

If you could open another business what would that be?

A well-being hub where I get to still run my own business, but work alongside other amazing practitioners and facilitators who offer different modalities, where we collectively can feel part of something bigger than ourselves and provide a little drop of paradise-like sanctuary for people to come and feel nurtured.

Is there someone in your business you'd love to give a big "thank you" to; and why?

Yes my husband! He is not only my business partner and Co-founder of our family business Empathic Consulting that my Coaching biz operates under the umbrella of, he is also my biggest supporter and champion, no matter what I am doing. I often joke that I am the Yin and he is the Yang of Team Murray. Dan has an incredible Business Strategy mind with, in his own words, "self-taught" empathy, so he is the perfect balance to my passionate "save the world", lead with my heart, nature, and kindly reigns me in to the more practical parts of my own and our joint business ideas and is the best sounding board and helpful ideas generator. Everybody needs a Dan in their life.

What makes your business unique?

Self awareness – know thyself, values, beliefs, thoughts & emotions, mindfulness Empathy & self love – love who you are, trust self, compassion for self Authenticity – honour yourself with clarity & conviction, be true to self, show up for self Ownership & responsibility (for your own life) – alignment between personal values and decisions, actions and behaviors you make Resilience – building an emotional toolkit Meaningful connections – to self, support from others, community Being brave – having courage, feeling the fear, embrace challenges, allowing life to unfold, taking opportunities

Tell us about the positive impact your business makes for the Shire community and beyond.

I help provide a soft place for women to land in their local community where they can feel nurtured, supported, heard, seen and understood.

What projects have you got coming up?

Up until the pandemic hit, I was running an Intergenerational Playgroup at a local Shire Aged Care Facility which we had to unfortunately but understandably put on hold for the safety of the beautiful elderly residents. This is on my radar to reignite once we are allowed to as it was such a rewarding part of my work and so welcomed by the community. I also have some other Mum’s & Bubs Playgroup events in the planning stages for when we are allowed to meet again face to face so watch this space.

2022 will see some soul nourishing retreats coming into my offerings. I've teamed up with one of my beautiful mentors to bring some Glamping Retreat Goodness to the world at her new rural property down in Braidwood.

Do you have a special offer or event you'd like to share?

For all Shire Talk readers just mention this article to receive 25% off my Women's Circle and/or Coaching Session

GET IN TOUCH WITH MIRANDA

empowered@mirandamurray.com
0439 905 901

Cameron Laing
Marketing Director
Shire Talk

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