Tell us about yourself and your background
I am a compulsive creator with a desire to empower people to know they can change any area of their life that they think is not working for them. I’m originally from Sydney, Australia but I consider myself a citizen of the world.
Growing up, I always knew I was different, but I tried my best to ‘fit in.’ As soon as I could, I left Australia to explore the world. This took me on a 3-year adventure around our beautiful planet. To me, traveling immediately felt like home, and it inspired me to always choose for me – no matter how little sense it made to others who seemed content with staying in one spot and working one job.
At a moment in my life when I was seeking something more, knowing there must be more than what I was surrounded by, I met Gary Douglas, founder of Access Consciousness®. I was already an entrepreneur with several small businesses, and Gary literally changed the direction of my life. I will always remember our first conversation when he said to me ‘Don’t trust me, trust you’. Access Consciousness was what I had been looking for.
24 years later, I am an integral part of this business and as Worldwide Business Development Manager, am responsible for expanding it from just 4 countries to over 180. The Middle East in particular, has shown a massive interest in consciousness and choosing more.
I am also the founder of Joy of Business, a program that mentors entrepreneurs worldwide to create greater wealth, success, happiness, and well-being.
My invitation to everyone through the books I have authored, and classes and events I host, is that life is not about ticking boxes. Rather, it is to enjoy abundant living and to know that in life – you always have a choice The key is to be fully engaged with all choices and to live.
How did you turn your life around from being $187,000 in debt to co-owning a castle in Italy, a huge eco-retreat in Costa Rica, a fitness franchise in Tasmania, and an Antique store in Queensland? Did you have a pivotal moment where you decided to turn your life around?
I’d been living in denial for a long time, enjoying life and totally ignoring my finances. One day I sat down and went through my expenses, line by line, and that’s when I realized the enormity of it – $187,000 AU in debt! I finally realized that no one was going to fix this debt for me. It was up to me to change it. I knew I had to take action if I wanted my life to change and expand. Some of my biggest learnings from this experience were:
1. Taking action is the biggest part, which starts with choosing.
2. Keep creating – just because you are in debt does not mean you should not keep adding things to your life. I continued to create: writing a book, doing seminars, and investing.
3. Put away 10% of everything you earn – and don’t touch it. The lesson here is that you are honoring yourself by ‘having’ money, not just spending it. Understanding this is crucial for reshaping your financial life.
4. “Money follows joy. Joy does not follow money.” If you’d like to have more joy, start doing what you love. People decide that what they love doing will not bring them money. That’s a conclusion, not a question.
Tell us about Access Consciousness.
Access Consciousness is an international authority on consciousness and well-being. We deliver personal development seminars all over the world and work with companies to implement well-being programs in their organization.
Discovered in the United States in 1988 by Gary Douglas and further developed with Dr. Dain Heer in 2002, this method is used to rapidly discover and remove limiting beliefs, mindsets, and patterns of behavior that lock people up and limit their overall abilities. The tools of Access are used by many people including teachers, therapists, business owners, and very influential people in the Middle East. The demand for all Access Consciousness classes including our leadership master classes has been growing with people asking to improve their management qualities and successfully thrive into greater possibilities.
You have experienced phenomenal success in growing your company’s reach from 4 to 180 countries, what do you attribute this success to?
The answer is not logical as there has been no formula but I do attribute it to a few things:
1. I asked to be aware of the entirety of the world. Every day I would expand this muscle of awareness by asking to have my energy all over the planet and ask who can I talk to today? Who is asking for something different? Asking: where is my energy required today? It’s not linear, it’s about being in question
2. Asking questions is another major contribution to changing and choosing more, and then listening not concluding. From here, you have more ease in sensing the possibilities. Most people tend to get more frantic which is the opposite of what is required. Relaxation, questioning, and choosing are the keys.
3. Following the energy. As above, listen, ask questions, and choose. It’s not logical. Logically you would think the next country after Australia and the US we would expand into would be another English-speaking country and yet it was Korea and Italy that grew next. Following the energy is a lot easier than trying to work everything out.
What makes Access Consciousness unique?
Unlike many other self-improvement practices that focus on affirmations or solutions, Access Consciousness asks open-ended questions so you can get to your own awareness of what is true for you.
Questions like “What else is possible®?” and “How does it get any better than this®?” bypass the logical mind and open up potential for new perspectives and possibilities. When you ask questions, you open doors to possibilities that you could not have seen before which plays into the theme of ask and receive. The Universe desires to contribute more to you and your business, more than you can possibly imagine. Are you asking for it? Are you asking for greater possibilities? Success, profitability, and joy beyond anything you can imagine is available, you just have to ask.
The tagline of Access is “Empowering people to know that they know®.” Access invites you to trust you. We don’t have the answers, we don’t give you answers. We ask questions so you can get to your own awareness of what is true for you. There is a tremendous amount of freedom in this.
How did the Covid pandemic impact your business?
We actually didn’t take a hit. Prior to Covid, we were already set up and using Zoom more than most other businesses in the world – to broadcast our classes and workshops online. Zoom themselves actually called us to learn more about how we utilize their service, so they could educate other businesses on its potential.
Throughout the pandemic, Access expanded so much, particularly in the Middle East, due to our online business model. When businesses across the world were faced with having to let staff go and seek government grants – we didn’t have to do either. In fact, we even started new projects with new hires – such as the construction of our eco-resort in Costa Rica.
You have multiple successful business ventures, including the Joy of Business. Tell us more about this.
Joy of Business is a program that mentors entrepreneurs globally to create greater wealth, success, and happiness. It’s a very different approach to business coaching. It is a set of pragmatic tools, tips, and processes that assist you in having a business that not only brings you revenue, but also JOY. (Yes, business and joy were just used in the same sentence.)
We are taught that business has to be hard and challenging, with long hours of blood, sweat, and tears. But what if it didn’t? I believe that business can come with ease, joy, and glory.
I also wrote the book, The Joy of Business. It’s not a “how-to” book. It doesn’t set out to give you answers to your business problems or dilemmas. Instead, it opens up the space for you to do business in an entirely different way. It contains questions, exercises, tools, and processes you can use that will give you another perspective on how you can create your business and your life that is joyful. My point of view has always been that if you are not enjoying what you are currently choosing, what if you could choose something different?
What is your leadership philosophy?
Choice, change and taking action!
As a leader in business , you can be the inspiration for change by being willing to go outside the box of what everyone else is choosing. When you choose something that no one else has chosen, you open the doors to others being able to choose as well.
The world changes all the time, businesses change, economies change, and technology changes.
The ability to change and choose what has never been chosen before and go beyond what everyone thinks is possible will be the most effective quality of leaders moving into the future.
When leading staff, leading a company, or leading your life, a true leader can function from the space of constant creation, constant innovation, and constant possibilities. But you have to be willing to change, to be different, and not wait for anyone.
Business of the future will be a willingness to receive, not based on a need for money or anything other than what contribution will this be to create the future. Everything we do should be about creating the future that the planet is asking us for.
What are your top tips for hiring and recruitment?
1. Hire people who are ‘better’ than you: Don’t make the mistake of hiring employees who you feel are ‘less’ than you, or less experienced than you. Instead, hire them for the awareness they have and the energy they contribute – which is only going to elevate your business.
2. Invite brilliance: Ask questions like “Who can I add to the business for growth?” to attract the right talent and skill sets.
3. Hire for Awareness: Focus on candidates’ awareness and energy alignment with the business vision, not just their skills and qualifications.
4. Acknowledge your strengths: Recognize and acknowledge what you’re great at to identify areas where others’ unique skills can add value.
5. Compatibility over liking: Don’t just hire people you like; instead, ask if they’ll contribute value and create opportunities.
6. Let go of having to do it alone. Doing everything on your own means that your business only receives contributions from you. You need to delegate to grow! Allowing others to take on tasks will expand your business with diverse contributions.
You have also written a book, Getting Out of Debt Joyfully. Tell us more about this.
Getting Out of Debt Joyfully is my story of how I got out of $187,000 in debt. It’s a practical and empowering guide of the tools I used to not only clear this debt but be financially free and thriving.
Importantly, it’s not just another book about money that is difficult to apply. It is all about empowering readers to change their debt and finances right now and to actually create a financial future that keeps growing – in a way that works for you.
This book is not just for people in debt, this book is if you wish to change where you currently are financially and actualize more.
Tell us about your work with business and leadership?
With stress on the increase and the importance of mental wellness for employees we have developed a series of workshops to help with stress and time management, also we conduct leadership training and strategic planning for expansion and growth of your organization. We incorporate the empowering tools for time management and regular “mind breaks” with the help of the Access Bars® – a powerful stress relief management that takes 30 minutes a day.
Can you tell us a bit more about the Access Bars® in business?
Access Bars in Business® is a powerful tool we offer for businesses eager to prioritize employee wellness. It is a series of wellness programs designed to promote deep relaxation and prevent employee burnout, using Access Bars – a gentle head-touch technique with effects similar to meditation. A 30-45 minute session quiets a racing mind, reduces stress, and fosters a mental space that supports creativity, productivity, and a positive mindset, all critical for performance optimization. With 66% of UAE workers reporting mental health challenges including anxiety, depression, burnout, and distress – the Access Bars is a great way to help combat this.
During a session, clients sit or lie comfortably as a facilitator lightly touches points on their head, triggering a neurological response that facilitates relaxation and well-being. Access Bars can enhance mental clarity, reduce stress, improve productivity, and support better mental health.
What is next for you in the Middle East?
I regularly travel to the Middle East to conduct live classes. I have a Business Done Different class in Saudi Arabia from 12th – 14th December followed by Relationships Done Different in Abu Dhabi from December 19-21st 2024.
Where can readers find out more about you?
Visit my website: https://www.simonemilasas.com