I had made it to the career ladder, earning promotions and prestigious opportunities, and being applauded as a successful business and personal development facilitator who had supported hundreds, if not thousands, of students to gain better opportunities and life skills. Still, all of a sudden, in my ‘positive and successful’ life, not everything was as it seemed:

·       I suffered a lot of burnout, stress and anxiety but kept on, keeping on

·       My seemingly successful career and business decisions brought me a huge mental burden

·       a complete lack of well-being awareness and self-maintenance

·       a lack of general confidence and imposter syndrome due to my constant masking and people-pleasing wasn’t sustainable anymore

·       I didn’t know how to recognise what was happening to me, let alone communicate what I needed and how to navigate the best way around or out of the situation

·       I had a complete misunderstanding of what the best priorities in life are to be successful

It was due to these ups and downs, and like a frog in a frying pan, I was slowly but assuredly cooked; I knew I was seriously ill and in too deep to wake up and start again for the workday. Everything had just become out of control. I had fully hit a breakdown. I had no choice but to stop.

Stop and finally think about what I had in my control, my choices. This process took a long three months before I stepped foot into the office again. Since then, I have completely changed my life. It took some serious thinking time to figure out what had gone wrong and what I needed to do to rebuild myself; I quit.

It has taken me a lot of time to find my stride and regain my confidence.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Lives don’t have to reach this point. People can be supported more effectively through these moments.

I had to understand who I was to move onwards and out of this state of “unwell”—to my life's calling. I eventually learned to embrace and understand my uniqueness, what my brain craves to process the world more profoundly, and how to communicate effectively so that people can gain a deeper understanding of it all. Understanding of themselves and the people and world around them.

In this process, I explored the world of neuroplasticity with the limited brainpower I had, and it was through understanding the power of thought, creativity, and faith that I was able to restore myself. These realisations changed my life and enabled me to create universal, pragmatic, and effective education and training.

In life, it is said that mistakes are lessons; I have made numerous mistakes and learned a wealth of lessons. In retrospect, these mistakes and lessons have taught me the ability to see, question and the courage to stand up for myself and the people around me.

Since then, I've begun consolidating all my lessons and creating newer, far less painful, and more engaging ways to teach valuable, life-changing, and future-proofing lessons. By developing a fun, creative, and practical approach to Emotional Intelligence (EI) education, I am creating a lasting impact that empowers individuals.

Training and events that:

·       takes into account individual needs and approaches

·       incorporates dynamic teaching/event methods that make boring subjects more approachable with a practical call to actions

·       offers compassion and well-being through mentorship and coaching

·       brings people together to support one another so you can benefit from everyone in the space and feel less alone

·       nudges you out of your comfort zone and builds your confidence

·       includes consistency and accountability

·       makes you feel valued as an individual and as part of teams that we work in

That is how the Donna Preece Academy was born, built and operates. And we are here to support your development.

My facilitation environments are about unintimidating interactivity, openness and honesty. We tap into your inner realisations with a "can do" and "don't overthink it" attitude.

We achieve self-sustainable life-changing results, within an atmosphere of fun and creativity; inspiring even the most complex or apathetic student.

These results are achieved not through spoon-feeding you information; (the internet is excellent for that already). Instead, we curate your learning experience to achieve sustainable results for you. We hold you accountable and gently encourage you out of your comfort zone.

“Facilitating is about hearing the knowledge and questions from participant's mouths. Allowing them to get answers wrong and challenge perceptions. To contribute without fear or shame. It’s not about telling them what they should think.”