6 minute read
EMPOWER YOURSELF
STEP INTO Your Power
HOW A DEVASTATING DECADE-LONG PRIVATE ORDEAL INSPIRED A DYNAMIC BUSINESSWOMAN TO HANG UP HER CORPORATE HAT AND DEVOTE HERSELF TO INSPIRING AND EMPOWERING OTHERS TO BE THEIR BEST SELVES
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By JENNI GILBERT
After nearly 20 years, in April 2019 powerhouse PR Tory Archbold staged her last big-name brand event, launching actress Drew Barrymore’s Flower Beauty makeup range. She decided literally that day – surveying the star-studded success of the scene at Icebergs restaurant, overlooking Bondi Beach on a spectacular sunny day – that it was time to step onto a new path.
The very next day, after dropping Drew at the airport, Tory put moves in motion to start winding up her business, Torstar Communications, and make plans for her next incarnation, Powerful Steps.
“Working with some of the world’s top brands, celebrities and influencers throughout my Torstar career, I preferred to be the girl in the little black dress who made things happen behind the scenes,” Tory tells Thrive.
“But my gut had been telling me for a couple of years, after the experience I had been through in my personal life [more of that shortly], I had another career in me, to help other people empower themselves; to become who they’re
truly meant to be.
“A few weeks after Drew’s visit, I launched a mentoring and public speaking business, Powerful Steps, and a new life journey began.”
Tory brings her skills as an inspiring yet grounded speaker to empower audiences to be and present their best selves.
Her first piece of advice: “Believe in yourself. Once you hold the key to your inner belief, it unlocks everything.”
It’s a lesson she has lived by – and one she’s teaching daughter Bella, 15.
“Mum’s determination to never give up has inspired me,” says Bella, who wants to be an actress (like Margot Robbie) or a publicist (like her mother) when she leaves school.
“Everything we’ve been through has brought us together. Mum’s my sidekick!”
Powerful Steps is about “stepping into your power and learning to let go. Your struggles challenge you, develop your strengths and define who you are,” says Tory.
A key facet of Powerful Steps is the power of connection, and after two decades working alongside CEOs, media personalities and celebrities, it meant that Tory was able to launch Powerful Steps in a big way.
In early October, Tory took it to the next step the in her quest: launching the Powerful Steps podcast series at an all-star event at Sydney’s chic Chiswick restaurant. Within a week it had already had 5000 downloads.
In the compelling series, Tory connects with the likes of entrepreneurs and CEOs, celebrities and influencers, who open up to her about the powerful steps they’ve taken, and the sacrifices they’ve made to achieve their life and business goals - their highs and lows, near misses and great wins. Women such as Candice Warner, Chelsea Pottinger, Jo Gaines, Sally Obermeder, Elle Halliwell, and Elka Graham. These stories aren’t just great listening but invite viewers to step up and take hold of their power. But stepping back to where it all began … Tory founded her namesake publicity agency Torstar Communications in 2000, for the next two decades the agency attracting Australian brands wanting to launch internationally, and international brands launching into Australia.
When Torstar opened the doors to Australia’s first Zara store in Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall in 2011, there was a stampede. More than 22,000 customers queued around the block (some from 3am) to be the first into the three-level emporium. Within three minutes, 80 per cent of the stock was sold. It remains the biggest fashion launch in Australia’s history.
The agency represented some of the world’s biggest retailers, including Neiman Marcus, Next UK, Shopbop and Nespresso, and iconic brands such as Victoria’s Secret (lingerie) and Steve Madden (shoes).
But in private Tory was the victim of severe stalking and harassment by her ex-partner. She had left him in 2004, when their daughter, Bella, was nine months old.
For the ensuing decade, no-one in Tory’s professional or work social circle guessed what she was dealing with. But it all came to a head in February 2013 when her appendix burst and she was rushed to hospital, drifting in and out of consciousness, and had emergency surgery.
During the five days in hospital on life support, Tory contracted septicaemia and her family was told to expect the worse. When she was finally discharged from hospital, the doctor told her she was lucky to be alive and gave her a six-month recovery period.
“I couldn’t do anything for the first few months; I couldn’t walk upstairs or go to the bathroom by myself,” she says.
The health scare forced Tory to re-evaluate her life and priorities. On a flight from New York to LA, she had her first realisation she needed to invest more in herself and happiness.
“Staring out the plane window I thought about all the things I’d missed while I was growing a business and dealing with my personal situation. I felt like I’d hit rock bottom, and for the first time I cried about everything that had happened. Tory took Bec Judd to attend a Victoria's Secret event in the US Following that epiphany, Tory drastically downsized her business, focusing on eight high-profile core clients and special projects and started working part-time. And ultimately, of course, came Powerful Steps.
“I stepped into my power and found my internal fire,” says Tory, who is now in a “loving relationship with my life partner. I’m a survivor. My daughter’s a survivor.”
www.powerful-steps.com
Find Your Fearlessness
Tory’s advice for stepping into your power – at work and in life:
PUT YOURSELF FIRST “No” is a very powerful word – don’t be afraid to use it. Creating boundaries brings true alignment to your personal journey, and gives you power and purpose. Placing myself first has set me free on multiple levels.
FIND FORGIVENESS I love the concept of sitting in your pain, owning it and letting it go. I have a Buddhist monk in Thailand to thank for teaching me the practice. We all have #WTF moments that are easy to overcome by
finding forgiveness.
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ISSUE 3 | OCTOBER 2020
