Erica
“When you have hope, you still believe that there is light. That means I was never surrounded in complete darkness and always had a North Star to follow and stay alive for.”
Erica is a fighter. She fought through a childhood deprived of compassion, protection and basic necessities. She fought through hunger and fear. But even when she had nothing, Erica always had hope - she also had what she calls her “superpowers”. In the nineties, after watching the Olympics, Erica decided she would become an Olympic athlete. So she channeled her superpower strength and fought hard to become New Zealand’s top sprinter. This put unimaginable stress on her body, and she eventually had to stop. She set her mind to new goals, but she was constantly met with rejection - whether it was the Olympics or academia. But Erica is resilient and determined. She kept her head high and persevered. Now she is a wellness coach who has developed new superpowers - self love and leadership. Erica works to empower other women to uncover their own power, just like she did, and she is more invincible than ever. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
E: Hello to the beautiful souls that are reading this, my name is Erica Prescott, and my mission on this planet is to remind women of their unlimited worthiness, love, power & potential.
You are all creators of your life and the sooner we take our power back and stop running the bullshit stories that were given to us or that we made up…the quicker we can step into what we are here to do, be and have (Hint; it’s anything you want).
I grew up in Rakaia (Mid Canterbury) in the 80s, to me it was a desolate & desperate place but my lenses were quite skewed as an only child.
My Dad left before I was 2 years old, my Mum struggled to put food on the table and was a ‘functional’ binge alcoholic.
We never really talked, touched or connected unless it was through verbal or physical violence.
I lived in fear, anxiety and depression for my entire childhood. There was lots of partying at my house while I was in bed, too scared to go to the toilet, the boyfriends who moved in, the bankruptcies, the repossessions of all of our stuff and our car, all the alone time I spent when Mum was in jail, hospital, partying or working…not being able to pay school fees or trips etc wasn’t fun as a child but it wasn’t the worst thing…the worst thing was never having enough food and never having school lunch. You couldn’t think about anything else nor did you have energy to.
My saving Grace…..I was really lucky as I was born with superpowers that saved my life. I was physically a freak of nature, my strength, power and speed defied my gender, age and my lanky build….and my environment.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
E: Resilient, empathic, intuitive, strong, wise.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
E: My hope and vision. “The best is yet to come”.
When you have hope, you still believe that there is light. That means I was never surrounded in complete darkness and always had a North Star to follow and stay alive for.
I choose to believe everything happens out of love and I can often always see the bigger picture.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
E: Too many defining moments to tell, I will choose one which I believe makes me the coach I am today.
When I saw my first Olympics on TV in 1992, I couldn’t get enough of it. I stayed up all night for 2 weeks watching it all.
The interesting thing was, as an 8 year old, I didn’t see a difference between those athletes on TV and myself. I just had this knowing inside of me that I could do it. And so, there was my defining moment that saved my life.
I spent the next 20+ years driving myself to accomplish and beat who I was yesterday.
14 years into that quest, my life changed in the click of a finger. I was in the best mental & physical shape of my sprinting career and then I got sick.
And I never fully recovered. In fact I spent 10 years trying to heal myself.
Long story short - my body completely broke down, burnt out, shut down.
It had had enough of all the surviving, striving and pushing.
This happened because I needed to learn how to love and accept myself without all the achievements and physical performances.
I needed to learn that I was worthy, beautiful and loveable just for being here on this earth - not because of X, Y and because I wanted to strive for Z.
This is still a work in progress and it took me a looong time to let go of my sporting identity…I continued playing rugby after my sprinting career ended as team sport was a lot ‘easier’ than my individual sport.
I even had another shot at the Olympics for sevens rugby and I hit another familiar roadblock - I was judged as too old, even though I was the fastest in the country. I listened. I was defeated and the passion and the fight just left my veins and I retired not long after that.
Prior to that I had high school teachers tell me I was not academic enough to go to university - I listened. Until I remembered I am the creator of my life and that I am smart!! I decided to change that narrative at the age of 29 when I went and got my degree.
My point of this defining moment is….
We ALL have a knowing inside of us that knows what path we want to take.
However, It doesn’t mean that we need to stay on course or finish the path.
Our soul journey takes us on certain paths to learn, heal and grow for our next assignment. And that’s ok!
Am I gutted that I can’t say I went to the Olympics even though I knew I had the goods to get there? I was…
But now I realise that if I had of willed myself through that path, I would have got to the end and still been in the same place mentally and physically.
I finally realised that my only task is to love ALL of me and all that I bring to the table.
I don’t need the accolades or the affirmation to feel worthy and loveable
…because that love is already within me.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
E: To trust in the laws of the universe and that “Life always supports me”.
The universe always has your back and is always responding out of love no matter how I view it in the moment.
The other thing I tell my younger self regularly is that I am worthy & loveable and just as important as anyone else in this world - stop dimming your light because there are other people who are using it as a map to survive.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
E: It holds a great deal of responsibility, love and power.
It means using our voice for the greater good.
It means being unapologetic for who we are.
Knowing we do NOT have an expiry date. All women are worthy regardless of whether they have birthed children - NEVER question a woman and her clock.
It means knowing our worth - from pay checks to dating.
It means not settling.
Knowing we are powerful beyond measure just like my favourite quote out of Marianne Williamson’s book A Return to Love:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
P: Who is one woman that inspires you?
E: Any woman who serves herself first and lives within her top 3 values.
I believe that’s the key to having it all and making the world a better place simultaneously. It’s all interlinked in how we feel and how we show up.
Whether you are a Mum or an emergency worker, your mission, worthiness & power is no less to anyone else’s.
P: What would you say to her if she were here now?
E: You don’t need to feel bullied or shamed for looking after and investing in yourself. You also don’t need to feel bullied or shamed into watching the news, it will dim your light and take energy from you and what you’re here to do, remember what we focus on GROWS.