J immy Jimmy

You might know the man behind the legendary Salty Rooster: while his burgers are nothing short of droolworthy, his latest venture is thoughtful, wholesome, and a testament to the shining, lively man that is Jimmy Sagiotis.

Having lost his wife two years ago, left with two young children, Jimmy has in this time learned volumes about grief, moving on, and what it means to truly live… and Jimmy is now here to weigh in on your questions.

Dear Jimmy...

I broke up with my missus two years ago and honestly at the time it broke me. We thought we were each other’s forever. I’ve got two little ones, and I think I’ve finally met someone I really like, but I’m too scared of what the kids might think, what should I do?

Scared Lover

Well, Scared Lover, you can’t be scared. You just can’t. I know that’s easier said than done, but the fear you’re choosing to hold on to is only making it harder to receive love. For one reason: YOU. Receiving love is one of the biggest gifts life has to offer. You see, your kids love you tremendously. You are a reflection of their happiness and joy. So seeing you in love and happy mirrors a possibility for themselves. You have to honour the love you once had and allow room for the new love. I lost my own wife and recently I met someone. So, I’m in love again. She truly is a remarkable person. She makes me happy every day that goes by.

And you know the best part? My kids love her too. The kids just want two things; they want to be loved, and have fun. And if you’re happy, they’ll see that.

And you know what, they want part of that love. Love hurts, but you can’t be scared of it. You have to have skin in the game, to score a big win. Good luck!

Dear Jimmy...

I’ve had a lot of things go wrong in my life. It’s starting to feel impossible to just feel happy, when everything in the past has gone so wrong. I know this baggage isn’t good for me or my kids... how do I drop all of this and start living a good life?

Jordan, Freshwater Jordan, you said it yourself, baggage! As we move through life, things happen to us. You pick up emotional attachments to events where things didn’t work out the way you had hoped. These are called suitcases. ‘The girl of your dreams breaks up with you’. Suitcase. ‘Your old man passes’. Suitcase. ‘You lose your job’. Another suitcase. Lots of suitcases get really hard to hold. What happens next is, a recurring situation pops up. As you picked up all these suitcases you also bought yourself a new pair of sunglasses. Sunglasses that protect you from it happening again. Protecting yourself from the next encounter after a while isn’t sustainable. Sure, you’ll develop some awesome biceps. But man, that sounds tiring! There’s an easy solution to this, drop the baggage and take off the sunglasses. Learn from experiences, but don’t carry it around with you for the rest of your life. A new and exciting beginning is what you are after. If not for yourself, do it for your kids. Kids just want to have fun. So drop the baggage, sunglasses and you’ll have not one, but two free hands to throw a footy with your kids at the beach. Life can be simple, if you let it.

Jimmy has learnt this all first-hand; after losing his wife, he took his kids on a holiday to Miami. Recording everything and editing it later, he quickly realised how miserable he looked in the videos, and began to think about the impact it would have on his kids if he kept on like this. Thinking about what he wanted his legacy to be, he realised how truly amazing kids can be.

what kids can do.”

He found himself at a crossroads. He was sick of the “poor me” culture many of us are guilty of indulging in and wanted to turn the tables and redeem himself for his kids’ sake. Jimmy plans to link local “heroes” in the community, professionals in their fields, with kids, to help them realise their own true capacity.

“If you believe it, it’s possible,” said Jimmy, with light dancing passionately in his eyes.

Watch this space. Truly a community spirit, and we can’t wait to see what Jimmy does next. •

m.au