Tory Archbold is known world-wide for what she’s achieved as a publicist when she started her own agency called TORSTAR in 2000. Now she’s running her new company called Powerful Steps where she inspires, empowers and encourages others to find their true power and potential by connecting with others and working with their passion. As part of all of this, Tory is about to release her first book called Self-Belief Is Your Superpower.
Tory’s book will be available in early April and here today, the editor of Women Love Tech is talking with Tory about her book and why she was inspired to write it.
Robyn: Firstly, Tory, I’d like to say congratulations – it must have been a lot of work to put everything into writing and get this book published. I’ve read the first two chapters and I have to say – it’s a great read and very inspiring. Did you enjoy writing it and how do you feel about the fact you have your first book coming onto the market very soon?
Tory: Excited – it’s not often a woman from Australia secures a global book deal! I knew I had a book to write and trusted the timing. It was about creating space and partnering with the right people to ensure that we could tap into the power of what I had experienced to empower others. From there everything fell into place including an accountability partner while I wrote the book in Kamalaya.
Your book has been called a “step-by-step guide where you share your proven principles for success in building entrepreneurial empires.” You’ve achieved this yourself with your company – Powerful Steps. So, now you’re helping others to achieve it. Why is it important for you to pass on what you know to others?
Tory: One of life’s greatest gifts is to share what you have learnt. It’s important to pay it forward and allow others to shine because we all deserve to rise.. I knew when I shut the doors to my agency TORSTAR it was time to pass the baton to the next generation. I had achieved everything I wanted to achieve in that business and it was because of the people and the brands we represented, placed their trust and loyalty into what we could create for them that it worked so well, attracting global success.
What gives me the greatest joy is people reaching out and asking – can you teach me what you learnt? I love what you created. I always say – let me teach you how to do it better, because there are key learnings and I can save you the heartache of making mistakes. Let’s navigate how you can propel forward.
In Self-Belief Is Your Superpower, you inspire people to “create a happy heart and attract the life they truly deserve.” You also state that we need to “use self-belief to break free of judgment and give ourselves permission to shine.” Especially in the case of women, would you say we can we sometimes be our own worst enemy with our thoughts? Can we really break free of this trap?
Tory: After a near death experience a decade ago, I was given advice by the surgeon who saved my life. After 12 rounds of antibiotics my body was not responding and he just looked at me and said ‘a happy heart is a magnet for miracles.’ No drug was going to save my life – I had to want to save it and that meant facing the hard facts of what was holding me back.
It meant stripping out the ‘takers’, the ones who were holding me back, judging me for being a single mum, judging me from working too hard, judging me for not being able to ‘attract’ a husband and have a ‘normal family’ yet were willing to be on the ‘train of life with me’ because it provided them with access to parties, celebrities and experiences they wanted to be part of.
I had to stand in my power and start saying ‘no’ to what made me feel out of alignment with who I was and yes to what set my heart on fire. I said goodbye to 80% of my life and it was a game changer.
You mention in your book – “To create success, we must understand our soul’s purpose and align our frequency with the direction we wish to pursue.” Is this possible for anyone to do or are there only some of us who can achieve this?
Tory: Our body whispers to us everyday – we just need to slow down and listen to what it needs to fuel us to live a fulfilled and happy life. Anyone can listen to their soul, they just need to slow down, remove the toxicity that may be surrounding them in bad workplaces, relationships or friendships, to create space for themselves. Once you create the space you have time to listen.
The best advice I was given was from a Buddhist monk in Thailand who asked me what time I spent investing in myself. The answer at the time was zero. He changed my mindset and my life as he asked me who I had a shower with each day and I said – ‘myself’. He then said – this will become your sacred place to nurture your soul, tap into your intuition and rise so you can create value for others. He was 100% right and every day I walk into my shower, inhale, exhale 3 times and place 3 drops of lavender oil on my decolletage and just listen to what my body tells me.
It empowers you to see the runway of your life very clearly and shift out old energy to be in the right energy that is meant for you. Each evening I repeat the process only to switch it out with gratitude, saying thank you for all of the wonderful opportunities and connections made throughout the day. In the book I share stories of women who I have shared this technique with and they explain their own game changing experiences and it is truly extraordinary.
The best advice I was given was from a Buddhist monk in Thailand who asked me what time I spent investing in myself.
The answer at the time was zero. He changed my mindset and my life.
You also say – “Make a difference in the lives of those around you.” If we want to start doing this, what are some of the small things we can do to begin?
Tory: One of the easiest ways to pay it forward and meet new people is to buy the person who’s next in line their morning coffee without them knowing you did it. To give someone a smile in the morning to start their day off with positivity and happiness means they’re going to walk differently into whatever circumstance they are facing.
I also recommend investing in yourself. Become your #1 priority. Learn to love who you face in the mirror each day. When you’re happy you will find very quickly that the people around you want to tap into that magnetic energy and they in turn, will become happier. It goes back to that same daily mantra of ‘a happy heart is a magnet for miracles’.
You say in your book: “I have learnt that relationships are built because of the magic of miracles and synchronicity, and there is a reason why the universe brings us together.” You add there are no coincidences and what happens is meant to be. But what do we need to do to get the right coincidences happening for us? We know you tell us in the book but can you outline how you achieved this?
Tory: By becoming aware of who we are, what we stand for, and what we stand against, life becomes clear. By removing what no longer serves us to create space for what does, is powerful. This takes investment in YOU to find what lights you up and what brings you down. If you start focusing and only placing yourself into experiences that light you up, you will become aware of everyday miracles.
Lean into the power of this simple exercise and see what reveals itself for you.
- Why do I do the things I do?
- What drives me?
- What am I missing?
- What kind of impact do my choices have on the life I want?
You also say in your book that failure can be seen as “life’s greatest teacher.” Are we all too worried about failure and so we let this fear stop us from trying new things?
Tory: I love failing, simply because I know that the lesson that needs to be learnt empowers us to step up and into the next level of life. Stepping outside of our comfort zone is one of the hardest things we can do BUT it is also the BEST – simply because without trying we will never know, we will always have the ‘what if’ keeping us up at night. Sleep is our greatest asset because our health is our wealth. Nobody wants to die with regrets and let’s face it, we want to live a long life with a happy heart that attracts those everyday miracles available to us all. Rather than viewing failure with fear, embrace it, knowing that you are leveling up.
The women who come into our Business Attraction Program often fear change but they know they’re ready to level up. They lean into the power of your community which empowers them to take those powerful steps forward, face their fear and do it anyway. That’s WHY we are able to build a community of like minded women, adding value to the everyday lives of others.
You have called “self-belief” a superpower and you tell us a great story about how your teenage daughter achieved what she wanted to in her final years at school by believing in herself. But what can we do if our thoughts always seem to be gloomy and negative?
Tory: Thoughts being gloomy and negative are a choice. You can either lean into them or aim higher. My daughter chose to aim higher. When everybody told her she shouldn’t give up perfectly good marks in other subjects to sing with no proven track record, she backed herself and said: “I can and I will.”
She made the right choice despite judgement from others – it was about tapping into her passion and purpose. She did well, simply because she backed and believed in herself and I always say when people aim low, you aim high. One girl used to laugh out loud at her or walk out of a class when she sang – of course she was upset about that behaviour but we re-framed her thinking by saying – look at where you will be in ten years time because you backed yourself versus being the one who laughed at others because she wasn’t confident in herself.
You tell us about your hilarious experiences when you decided to do some online dating. This is great fun and you give us the details of why you ended up with your husband. This is helpful and gives us a lot of insight into this area. Have you included this so people can see how their personal lives are very much intertwined with their business lives?
Tory: I included this because life is not picture perfect and I felt my experience would empower others to view their dating experiences to attract ‘the one’ differently. When you know who you are, you also know what you want but you are not going to find out what the ‘energy match’ is unless you are willing to step out of your comfort zone.
For me that was online dating. That’s how I met my husband. It was a willingness to try something new and allow myself not to overthink each experience, just navigate what felt right. It’s the same in business – you grow when the ‘energy match’ is right with the brand, product or service you represent…. If it feels ‘off’ you don’t take it any further and instead experience another opportunity better matched to your values, intent and purpose.
Reading through your book, it’s a very interesting read and it rings true because a lot of it is about your life and how you’ve dealt with fame, failure, success – you name it. Can you tell us Tory – now that you’ve written this book what’s next on your agenda?
Tory: To create a global movement for women to own their power through connection, community and storytelling. We have created an online platform to help them navigate the transformational phase they are seeking to rise with confidence, grace and ease, so that they are seen and heard by the right people.
They can start this process by pre-ordering our book Self Belief is Your Superpower which will show them how to trust their intuition, step into their power, break free of judgment, and ignite self-belief.
For more information or to pre-order Tory’s book, visit here.
For more from Women Love Tech on career women, visit here.
