Burn the Boat — One Step at a Time, No Way Back

Part of the All-In 35 Week Challenge

I haven’t been posting blogs lately not because I didn’t have anything to say, but because I didn’t know where to put them. Truth is, I’ve been too cheap to spend $500 just to remove the "Wix" branding from my website. So I figured it was offline. Turns out it was still running ... just on a different link. So here I am, catching up. I have blogs that have been sitting in my docs, and now it’s time to slightly rewrite and share them.

Right now, I’m six weeks and four days into my All-In 35 Week Challenge and it’s different from anything I’ve done before. This time, I’m going all in like never before with my eyes open wide and consciously aware of every decision I’m making. I’m learning from every step I take: how I lead, the choices I make, how I show up, how I treat people. It’s not easy but I’m curious to see how much I’ll grow in 35 weeks.

This challenge isn’t about ticking off a to-do list or trying something new. It’s about burning the boat. It’s about executing, restructuring, realigning, and resetting. It’s about being braver in what I’m attempting to do, and being okay with the fact that at times I'll be right in the thick of the mess. It’s about learning to stop burning out, stop people-pleasing, and start saying no to anything that doesn’t align with the future I’m building.

And I’ve also realised something else: I can’t keep on top of everything by trying to do it all myself. I’m still learning how to delegate, how to trust others with the vision I carry, and how to stop micromanaging every part of my world. That’s a lesson I didn’t expect but it’s been eye opening and a big one. So as I go deeper into this 35-week challenge, burning the boat and challenging myself to execute my biggest dreams, I know I’ll keep learning these kinds of lessons. Some will be hard. Some will be surprising. But I’ve decided to share as I always do in my weekly blogs about what I'm learning along the way and the real stuff that’s shaping me behind the scenes.

One of the decisions I made in the beginning of my 35 week challenge was to restructure and grow Maia Dreams Charitable Trust. That meant:

✅️ Moving into a proper office space which we did

✅️ Stepping back from delivering in schools myself

✅️ Rebuilding the team

✅️ Reworking our programs

✅️ Training new facilitators

✅️ Getting clear on our strategic goals

✅️ Delegating tasks

It hasn’t been clean or perfect but it’s been necessary. Yes people can judge my steps all along the way but that's how you learn and grow. I have failed a lot but I've also achieved massive things.

At the same time, I’m clearing the decks in every other part of my life:

✅️ I’m going all in on my production company Wahanui Productions, expanding what we do and bringing on new team members

✅️ Strengthening our strategic goals

✅️ Launching my online programs that have sat untouched for five years because I kept waiting until they were “perfect”

✅️ Progressing my short film, even though it scares me.

✅️ Getting order in my home to reflect the clarity I want to live in.

✅️ Spending more quality time with my girl.

✅️ Changing my style to align with the woman I’m becoming strong, bold, and ready

Let’s talk health. I’m on day 166 of giving up sugar, junk food, and sticking to low carbs. I’ve got 30 kilos to lose over the next 21 weeks before my surgery. This isn’t just physical it’s emotional, mental, spiritual. I still have a lot to learn but I'm at least trying. I need to build up my fitness, not just lose the weight. That’s the next level of this.

And on top of everything, I’m preparing for a national tour of my one-woman solo show, Tangihanga. That means long rehearsals, refining my performance, and being emotionally, creatively, and physically ready to deliver at the highest level.

Behind the scenes, I’ve been doing deep work on my money mindset and manifestation...letting go of fear, rewiring my beliefs, and choosing to think and act like the future version of myself. The one who’s already thriving. I'm making it my top priority not to allow thoughts in my head or the words that I say or the things I listen to contradict my journey. The results have been mind boggling. I actually wish I knew this sooner.

And then there’s God. Our relationship used to be fiery unstable, raw, full of questions and unmet expectations. But I’m rebuilding that, too. I’m learning how to trust Him. How to obey without needing all the answers. How to stop fighting and start surrendering. In 7 weeks I haven't once got frustrated at him because I put my full trust in him and that's been so peaceful.

This challenge isn’t about doing it all at once. It’s about choosing alignment over perfection, action over waiting, and courage over fear. It’s about becoming the woman I’ve never met but always knew I was meant to be.

I’ve burned the boat. And I’m not going back.