Untold and Retold: Abigail Barnes on resilience and inspiration to begin again

Stories have the power to reach us in places that logical arguments cannot. They remind us that we are not alone, that someone else has stood where we stand and found a way forward. For Abigail Barnes, she has seen firsthand how a plot twist can completely change the direction of your life. She was inspired to join in with the collaboration book because, as she explains, “The premise that stories heal connects deeply with my core belief that books change lives. Stories are the hope, the proof, the confirmation we all need that we're not alone and that there is always another way to think about our career, life, and relationships.”

Her chapter, Inspiring, reflects that belief. It is a story which explores how resilience can kick in when you most need it, and the quiet determination to rebuild when life shifts without warning. “In Untold and Retold, I fictionalised and shared the pivotal moment that life as I knew it ended, and my new chapter began. I share this story to be the proof that when the thing you fear the most happens, dying before you're ready, that there is life after trauma and that step by step, day by day your new beginning becomes the solid foundation to build your new life on.”

Finding resilience when life as you knew it ends

As Abigail discovered, an ending can also be an invitation to throw all the plans and expectations away and start again. Before this transformation, Abigail had built a successful career in financial services marketing, working across investment and asset management, hedge funds and banking. Today, through her business Success by Design Training, she brings more than a decade of commercial experience to entrepreneurs and professionals who want to perform at a high level without sacrificing their wellbeing. Yet she combines it with her powerful intuition, neuroscience and awareness of the natural energy flows which sustain us all.

She understands demanding environments because she has been through them and survived. Now she helps others redefine their priorities and intentionally design sustainable work–life plans. As an author, speaker, trainer and coach, Abigail shares The 888 Formula — a practical framework for creating a successful, meaningful and joyful life by balancing productivity with wellbeing, a concept she calls Productive Wellbeing.

Her readers — much like her clients — are often busy, ambitious people quietly wondering whether there might be another way to live.

“As I wrote the chapter I saw them wondering if there was another way of doing life, whether there was more, a new goal, plan, approach and what that might look like.”

Life after a near-death experience

Abigail describes her chapter simply: resilience, new beginnings and life after near death. Yet the implications run far deeper than survival alone.

“When you read my chapter, it will become apparent that the version of me who you meet at the start metaphorically died,” she reflects. “How I live my life today is the polar opposite of life before. It's been a gradual rebuilding from ground zero, asking myself how I want to live, who I want to be and what I am willing to experiment with.”

That rebuilding has required courage — and a willingness to stay open even when it feels uncomfortable. She shares live videos and records podcasts with inspiring guests, all to help others move towards a lifestyle that challenges and engages them.

“I live at the edge of my comfort zone which is exciting and confronting all rolled into one because the stories from my past still sometimes come up to be heard, rewritten, healed and moved on from. Healing will set you free...but first you'll have to feel it to heal it!”

Her perspective challenges one of the most persistent myths about personal growth — that understanding or self-awareness alone creates change.

“People have been sold the ‘all you have to do dream’...which appeases the intellectual brain because now it knows what to do — but it doesn't change anyone's life because knowledge isn't power, it's potential. Nothing in life changes until you do something with what you know.”

The work she guides clients through is therefore very action-oriented. 

“It requires a client to move from knowing to doing, from asking to understand to experiencing to evolving — experiencing meaningful change.”

Writing your way forward

For Abigail, the connection between storytelling and healing has always felt instinctive and obvious. Her love of books began early, listening as her parents read to her and her siblings each night. Stories by Roald Dahl — from The BFG to Matilda — sparked imagination and possibility long before she understood their deeper influence on her beliefs.

“I don't think it was a single moment, as much as a lifelong knowing that books change lives, that books are an escape from your current reality and your circumstances. Books are the proof, the hope, the message, the roadmap to a new chapter.”

Today, writing remains central to her daily life.

“I write daily, I don't overthink it — some days it's part of my morning routine, others it's a note on my phone at any time of the day — I have well over 10k.”

Completing Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way gave her a framework that still supports her through writer’s block, self-doubt and imposter syndrome. Morning pages reinforced a simple but powerful idea: showing up daily is how a writer becomes. For those wanting to begin their own healing journey, her advice is both practical and liberating: “Start, start imperfect, start uncertain, start confused and trust the process.”

Her journaling practice lasts just eight minutes. “I set a timer and tell myself I'll write whatever comes to mind and stop when the timer goes off. Invariably I'll keep writing until I am done… I trust the process. I know that getting it out of my head improves my mental health, I know it's cathartic… but most of all I go on how I feel — I always feel better when I get the fears, worries, thoughts and doubts washing around in my head down onto paper.”

Outside her professional work, Abigail continues to prioritise practices that sustain both body and spirit. A daily yoga practice, breathwork, EFT tapping, sound healing and walks in nature anchor her week, alongside time in the kitchen preparing nourishing food. She remains deeply inspired by stories of adversity — by people who grant themselves permission to take the road less travelled — and by documentaries that reveal what it truly takes to achieve meaningful goals.

Looking back, the advice Abigail says she would give her younger self carries so many poignant thoughts:

“No one has it all worked out. The journey is the destination, and experimentation and failure is all part of the story. Back yourself, believe in yourself and understand that your perspective of life is yours — you don't need anyone else to understand it or accept it. You should pick a path, find your way, make your way and never ever quit. Life is long, but it's also short and the experiences are what add the flavour to the story she is living.”

Her words echo the deeper message running through Inspiring: life may change in an instant, but so can the direction of your story.

Connect with Abigail

To find out more, readers can find Abigail at:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailrbarnes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamabigailbarnes

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abarnesauthor/

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamabigailbarnes

Website: www.successbydesigntraining.com

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