10 Dec Turning a Flaw into a SUPERPOWER at Brisbane South State Secondary College
I had the privilege of speaking to the Year 8, 9 and 10 students at Brisbane South State Secondary College, and the energy in the room was something special from the very first moment.
We kicked things off with my favourite icebreaker the Secret Signal Snake. A simple signal passed through a line of students quickly transformed into something completely different by the end. It always gets laughs, but more importantly, it sets up a powerful truth: small changes, small misunderstandings or small beliefs can completely alter our direction over time.
That idea sat perfectly within the culture of Brisbane South State Secondary College, a modern inner-city school intentionally built around innovation, student voice and real-world learning. This is a school full of “firsts”: a vertical campus, cutting-edge programs in science, STEM and leadership, and students who already understand they are building something new from the ground up. The culture here truly feels hand-picked staff and students who have chosen not just to attend a school, but to help shape it.
From there, I shared my own story. I spoke about living with Tourette Syndrome and ADHD, and what it truly feels like to live inside a brain that sends constant unwanted signals. I explained that Tourette’s is a neurological condition made up of tics, not personality traits and that while suppression feels like the answer, redirection is what builds control.
Through plenty of humour, I showed the students some of my own tics and how strangers often misinterpret them. But I also spoke honestly about the harder moments, being bullied, being singled out, and feeling like my differences made me a target. I shared what it was like to grow up feeling embarrassed by something I never chose.
As a teenager, I wanted more than anything to be on television. Yet everything about me on paper said it shouldn’t be possible: I struggled academically, I couldn’t sit still, and I lived with visible tics. When I finally landed my first national TV job fresh out of school, I was almost fired in my first week simply because of my Tourette’s.
That moment forced a choice: quit – or take ownership.
I chose to study my triggers, redirect my tics one per cent at a time, and accept how I was wired instead of fighting it. That decision led to a seven-year national television career and, later, a 13-year career in breakfast radio across Australia.
I also shared the part of the story that doesn’t always make the highlight reel, being rejected, slipping into depression, rebuilding confidence, and learning how powerful self-talk really is. I spoke about the “good tomato vs bad tomato” lesson and how the way we speak to ourselves shapes the pathways in our brain just as surely as repetition shapes paths on a grass field.
To finish, I challenged the students to step physically into confidence, using power stance and power language. Together, we stood tall and declared:
“YES.”
“I am capable.”
“I am enough.”
The most meaningful moment for me, though, was sharing the yellow hat story, a reminder that legacy is built by ordinary students who choose to show up with consistency and heart. At Brisbane South State Secondary College, a school still writing its early chapters, that message landed deeply. These students are not just attending a school – they are defining what it will become.
I closed with the reminder I live by:
You can’t choose your setbacks.
You can’t choose your diagnosis.
But you are always in control of what you do next.
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