When something shattering happens in your life you have two choices: give up or be resilient. Roxie Bennett chose resilience.
From the outside her life looked wonderful. Roxie had her own successful PR and Marketing agency. She was married to a wealthy man and their home was impressive. But few people knew that Roxie was living in physical and emotional pain and taking large amounts of anti-depressants, reflux and pain medication. She was significantly overweight and knew these aspects of her life had to change.
When her husband became very ill, leading to the collapse of his business, life became even more complicated. He had to declare bankruptcy. Suddenly many aspects of Roxie’s privileged lifestyle changed dramatically.
Roxie’s existing business was not affected by the bankruptcy, but she was affected emotionally and started questioning what more she could do with her life. Her recent life experiences had made her very aware of how important resilience is in overcoming problems. She knew she wanted to help people but was unsure how she could do this.
Around that time she watched a television story of a couple in Canada who had moved to an island to set up a life coaching business. She calls this moment her epiphany! Immediately she knew that her future involved life coaching, a business in which she could help people improve and even reinvent their lives. Roxie is now completing her Master Coach Accreditation and has added Life Coaching to her business services.
How to lose 20 kg in 12 weeks
Roxie describes herself at that time as feeling like a “big, fat, old moth”. Wellness coaching was part of her life coach training, and it was while doing this part of her training that she made the decision to lose weight. She set an audacious goal – 20 kg in 12 weeks.
From “big fat old moth” to The Butterfly Plan 
She researched some of the most popular and successful weight loss strategies, experimented and adapted, and this led to her own program.
There are five pillars of this plan, all essential to success
- Mind
- Movement
- Gut
- Mouth
- Joy
Clearly her plan was very successful, as those 20 kgs disappeared in 12 weeks, followed soon after by another 5kg.
Transformation and reinvention
Roxie’s life changed as a result of this weight loss. As the kilograms disappeared she regained wellness and vitality, and was able to stop taking most of her medications. She felt and looked 20 years younger. From this transformation came an inner sense of deep joy that she had never experienced before.
People had noticed how different she was looking and feeling, and the idea of sharing her successful holistic weight loss system in a book was born. That book is now published and Roxie is changing people’s lives through The Butterfly Plan. She has combined her own personal experience and life coaching strategies to help people overcome their problems with determination and resilience.
Honesty and vulnerability
Telling her story of change required Roxie to take the brave decision of sharing the challenging and potentially embarrassing aspects of her life. The over-use of prescribed medication, and losing everything through bankruptcy, are very difficult tales to share with anyone. It is particularly difficult to share them with the general public through radio, television, and social media. And yet it had to be done. It is Roxie’s raw honesty and vulnerability that entice you to listen to her story, learn from what she has achieved, and take action. This was evident from the response she has received since appearing on .
Resilience
Roxie has been overwhelmed by the emails and messages she has received from women who have felt like ‘fat old moths’, who have needed to reduce prescription medication, or who have been through something as devastating as losing everything. These women have recognised her resilience, and have shared with her their own stories of resilience and reinvention.
Make the most of the life you have
Roxie doesn’t plan to retire. She loves that she can use her life experience to help others change their lives for the better. She made the point that 50s and 60s are not old. Many people of our generation will live healthily into their 80s and 90s. This means that whatever changes you make now to enhance your life could be part of your life for many years ahead.
Roxie’s tips for making changes in your life
- Draw a line in the sand and just do it!
- Set goals, from simple to audacious. Roxie found that audacious goals worked best for her.
- Make the decision that you are going to do whatever it takes.
- Back yourself and believe in your own strength and resilience.
- Trust your intuition and knowledge.
Click here to view and read stories shared by other Silver Sages. 
