In 2023 I headed out on a Regional Queensland Tour in 2023 to visit clients spread across North Queensland. One of my stops was to meet with my long-time friend and client Lyn French at Gilberton Outback Retreat, an extraordinary luxury retreat nestled on a working cattle station in Far North Queensland.
Today, people travel from all over Australia and around the world to experience Gilberton, but looking at what Lyn has created today, it would be easy to assume it all came together quickly.
The reality couldn’t have been more different.
As Lyn shared her story, she reflected on the fact that the dream of building the retreat had lived in her mind for more than ten years before it became a reality. During that time she continued believing in the idea while trying to convince her husband it was worth pursuing and listening to countless opinions about why it would never work. Even after the retreat was built, there were still people who questioned the concept, suggesting no one would travel so far for the experience.
Listening to Lyn reminded me how often this happens whenever we’re trying to create something different or outside the norm.
The people around us can only see our vision through the lens of their own experiences, beliefs and limitations. They don’t see what we see because the idea wasn’t given to them. If we allow every opinion to carry weight, it’s easy to abandon the very thing we’re here to create.
One of my favourite moments from our conversation came when I asked Lyn what had changed most after she began investing in herself, in her mind, leadership and habits. She smiled, paused for a moment and said something only Lyn could say:
“It just helped me gallop forwards.”
I love those words because they capture what personal growth is really about. It isn’t about becoming somebody different overnight. It’s about reaching a point where you trust yourself enough to keep moving no matter what.
The doubts don’t necessarily disappear, but they no longer pull up back into old decisions or standards. You keep taking action like the person you want to be.
As our conversation continued, Lyn shared another story that reinforced this beautifully. Learning to fly helicopters had been a dream she’d carried for decades. One day she decided it was time. She bought the helicopter before she had her licence and committed herself to becoming a helicopter pilot.
Lyn had the courage to act before every piece of the puzzle was in place. She was willing to make decisions that are in alignment with her future, not her past.
I have loved all the years of working with Lyn. She’s hard-working, dedicated and gets the job done. She believed in her idea, before the rest of the world could see it.
And now the rest of the world gets to enjoy it.
→ Watch my full conversation with Lyn French from Gilberton Outback Retreat below.
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