Alison Weihe- a Woman Who is Finally Unapologetically Herself

In a world that often feels fragmented and divided, cultivating a sense of belonging is more important than ever. It requires to be intentional about your choices and making a commitment to open the one door that will never close again: the door to your own heart. It is never easy to see yourself with a fresh pair of eyes but if you want to build a fairer society, where people feel valued and respected, you need to start with yourself. Ultimately, belonging it’s what makes us feel truly alive, connected and part of something greater than ourselves.

We have the privilege of sitting down with Alison Weihe, an accomplished author and a remarkable woman whose journey from self-doubt to self- awareness is nothing short of inspiration. Five years ago, Alison found herself standing outside a global summit, surrounded by posters urging attendees to “Be Extraordinary!” Yet, in that moment, she couldn’t help but feel utterly ordinary. Little did she know, those two words would ignite a profound transformation within her.

Today, she stands fearless on the stage of her own life, wielding her voice as a vibrant instrument for change, a violin touching the lives of total strangers, including herself. If you are on a journey of self-discovery yourself, keep reading, as Alison’s story continues to inspire us all.

Who is Alison Weihe?

Five years ago I did not think I had a story to tell. I posed outside a global summit alongside a poster that said ”Be Extraordinary!” Looking back, I could not have felt more ordinary. But something profound happened during the course of that two week summit. Global speakers changed my life from a stage. They whispered into my soul that maybe I too had a story to tell. So began a journey of understanding the power of stories to change lives. 

Reading my book “Belonging” you might wonder why I didn’t think I had a story to tell – it’s a roller coaster read. But the truth is I had diminished and dismissed so much of what I had achieved because I always compared my life to those who had built up larger corporations. I did not realize how much the lessons I had learned mattered. From building up a small company from a shed on a field to an award-winning company of 150 employees.

A journey of 25 years. I did not realize how much my journey as a political activist in my youth had shaped the values in my life. I had not owned the massive personal transformation I had gone through, from anxiety and depression and extreme yo-yo dieting to living an athletic dietless life in my 60s. Now I focus on speaking and writing about Identity Intelligence. I live in grace. Now I write and speak without armour, my vulnerable voice as an elegant storyteller seems to reach inside people, to touch their core. Now I stand on stage and change other people’s lives, their self-perception. That’s how we change the world, one conversation at a time, one story at a time. 

Can you share a pivotal moment from your journey to wholeness that transformed your understanding of identity and mindset? 

At the age of 60 I attended a Mindvalley Personal Development Summit in Croatia. A delightful older woman strode onto the stage. She did not mention one of her 27 books she had written. She did not have a single slide. Her name was Sonia Choquette. She was a storyteller. She spoke about the barking dog in your head. The barking dog that robs you of your confidence, that robs you of your clarity, that robs you of your courage. There were a thousand people in the auditorium that day from 53 different countries. My husband who sat beside me, looked intently at me and shrugged his shoulders. He knew that that barking dog had dominated my entire life for the past 60 years.

One week later we were enjoying a brief holiday after the summit. Walking in a hilltop village, I came across a necklace in a shop was full of recycled unusual creations. The necklace that caught my eye was the symbol of a barking dog. On the back of the necklace was an ancient time piece.

I looked at the necklace and I asked myself: “Am I going to spend the rest of my life listening to the cacophony of the barking dog? Or am I going to use my time here on earth to make a difference? So began a journey of speaking and writing, of owning my story so that others could step into the courage of owning theirs. 

How has understanding your identity impacted your ability to inspire and motivate yourself and how it changed the dynamics within your old relationships, your close circle of family and friends ? 

Claiming a new identity has been at the cornerstone of my transformation. That is why I am so passionate about what I call Identity Intelligence. I have walked such a long road to learn to just be myself. I used to battle social anxiety. I used to battle depression and emotional eating. Now I am finally whole. Now I am able to speak and write from a position of wholeness. But change brings with it other challenges. Sometimes when you undergo a massive transformation such as I have done, some people battle with the new version of who you are.

You have to be compassionate to those whose perception of you is locked in the past. You have to consciously surround yourself with those who believe – not blindly in you because they truly know your blind spots – but who love you anyway. When you surround yourself with those people – people who love fiercely, who live passionately, who are not afraid to fall but they are also not afraid to fly. That’s when you are carried on the thermals of manifestation, the science of prospection, living as your future self. 

What strategies do you use to cultivate authenticity in your interactions and connections with others? 

I live in authenticity. I am a soul speaker. I am a vulnerable storyteller, that has become my trade mark, my soul brand. But it was not always so. When I was younger I was told I was too dramatic in a school play. I was told my writing was melodramatic. I was told I was too flamboyant. So I dampened my identity to fit in like a constant chameleon. I flattened my flamboyance. I shrank into invisibility. The voices of the barking dog became my own voice, trying so hard to “fit in”.

We all have pivotal moments in our lives where people highlight who we should not be rather than who we are. I have spent the last five years undoing the knots of my “notness”. I have built my authenticity by being honest about who I am, not hiding my vulnerability or my scary moments, not portraying my life as perfect. That is the neuroscience of trust. Allowing others to see who I truly am, allowed me to step into the power of who I was truly meant to be. So that I could inspire others to step into their power. That has become my life’s mission. 

In what ways does self-awareness contribute to resilience? 

Self-awareness is the cornerstone of resilience because self awareness leads you to courage and courage is the fulcrum of all higher frequencies. Now when I become aware of a Trigger or what I call a “protector that I know longer need” I embark on a process of distillation. I dissect the message. I analyze its value in my life. I embrace its learning, but then I let it go. I no longer mire in it. That is where the barking dog lives. I live in transcendence, taking 100% accountability and responsibility for all my actions in my life.

For those I might have disappointed, for those I might have inadvertently hurt through my lack of consciousness. That’s how I grow in courage. Through being willing to look at my blind spots. By being curious and not defensive in getting feedback. That’s how I live in peace. 

Renowned psychologist Dr Benjamin Hardy says if you want to have a different life you have to become a different person. Numerous research studies show that 94 percent of our actions are unconscious. If we do not become more self-aware, our unconscious patterning and our past programming drive us. We become the passengers of our past. 

Could you elaborate on how effective communication is linked to understanding one’s identity, and how it has empowered you in your transformation? 

The more you own your unique style of communication, the more you own your energy, the greater clarity you live in. For example, once I understood that I was an ambivert, it allowed me to appreciate why I need periods of solitude for reflection. And at other times why people energise me. The more you own your story, the more you claim your life. I am an elegant vulnerable storyteller.

I am a writer that speaks. I am a proud mother and a passionate wife. I am an ambassador for an athletic dietless life in my sixties. When you own who you are, it sets you up for living an intentional life, surrounded by tribes of people, who mirror living an intentional life. That fuels both my courage and my collaboration. Ask yourself “ Who am I?” and ask yourself “Who do I want to be?”. Then start to live in that identity. If you want to be more athletic, make it part of your life. Just start. Baby steps. Not setting distant unattainable goals and falling off the wagon like a relentless diet of goals but rather living in the identity of a lifestyle. It will shift everything. 

As a purposeful leader you ensure that your actions align with your values, emotions, beliefs and vision. How does this alignment influence your decisions? 

Alignment is the neuroscience of intuition. When all your values are aligned and you feel a deep sense of rightness in your soul, it feels intuitive. The science of manifestation is tapping into your powerful inner voice. When you sense a degree of discomfort in decision-making, it is often because your values are not aligned. I try and live my life as a purposeful leader being constantly aligned with the values that I live by. It fuels my intuition, my courage, my faith. It also automatically diminishes distractions and increases boundaries that do not serve me. Alignment clarifies my life and it sculpts my mission. 

How do you identify and leverage your unique strengths to make a positive impact in your community/ business? 

When you identify your unique strengths, you are putting your superpowers out into the world. I am a networker, a collaborator, a storyteller, a creative, a visionary. When you own your identity, your work no longer becomes separate from who you are, but you live in greater harmony, as one person straddling work and your private life. Identity Intelligence harnesses how you impact the world. It makes you crystal clear about how you can contribute and how you show up. You can either live in a negative self-fulfilling prophecy or a positive spiral of your evolving identity. 

What role does identity and social change play in your life? What is the connection between identity and social change? 

I am a sociologist at heart. I love looking at unfolding trends, at models of understanding. In this increasingly complex world, so many people seem to be crying out for connection and acceptance. It has taken me my whole life to truly understand that we are all just souls on a journey, finding our way, dressed in this earth suit. Once we understand the fullness of that, we can be more compassionate in how we understand others in their search for meaning, for identity, for acceptance. The world has changed from a world of physical survival to a world of mental survival. That is why the coaching profession has exponentially exploded.

So many young people are searching for purpose. But purpose and success are contextual to each one of us. Often it is the barking dog of comparison that dulls our shine, that dims our light. And often we find our purpose on our way by just stepping into the courage to be ourselves, to learn to fall, to grow. I used to be the eternal student of other people’s wisdom until I decided to live a less cerebral life by doing life, by being, by risking judgment, by risking visibility, by living more in my body and less in my head. That changed the very fabric of my life, the texture of my friendships and the joy of my sensuality. 

Embracing your identity fuels innovation in your work and lifestyle. What advice would you give to our readers who are seeking to harness their unique role in society? 

Celebrate your difference but do so with elegance, with peace, with kindness. The world needs to hear more kind stories if we want to build a world of greater kindness. Don’t diminish how far you have come. Your story could change somebody else’s life. 

You advocate for the importance of lifelong learning in understanding and evolving one’s identity. How has it contributed to your ongoing personal growth? 

My personal development journey really started at the age of 32. I attended countless courses trying to find my way. My life used to be sitting in seminars listening to other people’s wisdom. It protected me from really stepping into my own life. It was only really when I was willing to become a vulnerable speaker and writer that my life truly changed.Now they are creating a documentary about my life. It feels surreal. But it’s all because I had the courage to step into living an intentional life.

To reframe my past. To lovingly document my learnings and to finally learn to love myself. I had battled such severe self-esteem issues when I was younger that it crippled my entire existence. It crippled relationships, it crippled my confidence, it crippled my soul. Now I fly free. I live a life worth writing for, worth writing about, a life to inspire others that it is never too late to change your identity. 

What ripple effects have you observed from navigating the contextual nature of purposeful living ( ikigai) and success? 

The Ikigai model looks at what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for. When you arrive at the intersection of all four circles you arrive at what I call Congruence. I have never felt such congruence in my life before, all because I had the courage to step into my unique and vulnerable voice. To embrace a creativity I used to dismiss and thought leadership I did not think I was qualified to write about. But writing about real stories and real life has been what people are desperate to hear, to feel less alone, to give them a roadmap to move forward. 

And so finding my Ikigai changed the trajectory of my life. Imagine what it could do for yours. It might not happen overnight but stepping into a direction rather than an endless procrastination of perfectionism is what grows us. Life is a marathon not a sprint. Be kind to yourself. All the extreme athletes who achieve the impossible will always tell you progression is the imperceptible one kilometer at a time, its inching forward sometimes feeling like you are treading water. 

After we suffered a devastating internal fraud at our company a third of the way through our 25 year entrepreneurial journey, I just had to put one foot in front of the other just to get to the office. I had to look into the eyes of our staff whose derisive unspoken message was ‘what stupid bosses do we work for? How could you have lost millions to a trusted bookkeeper with a gambling addiction?” A woman who came through an established recruitment agency, who already had a suspended sentence for fraud. Our marriage took a huge strain. But it was the making of us in many ways. 

We rebuilt the company with exacting and scientific systems. We proceeded to win more awards and be featured on television, on radio and in magazines. One foot in front of the other got us there. Now I write and speak about the human face of entrepreneurship, the human face of transformation. That’s my Ikigai. 

What are your plans for the future and what is the one thing that you want to be remembered for? 

My plans for the future are multifaceted. I am speaking in Las Vegas in May at a global gathering of writers who are changing the world one story at a time. The enormity of this journey is not lost on me. It is both a privilege and a responsibility. A pilot documentary of the message of Belonging, has just been released.

Do you want to share your story and inspire our readers ? Know that  YOUR EXPERTISE is paving the way for a brighter, happier future.