“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Wayne Dyer said it, but these are words Paige Royal lives by. 

Paige is an NLP mindset coach for business owners and entrepreneurs as well as a certified master practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Mental and Emotional Release® (MER) and hypnotherapy.

She is on a mission to help entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals create clarity, confidence and freedom in their business so they can move forward, be seen and take action to bring their success to a reality.

“Often, there is a belief or value working against you that needs to change. Our beliefs and emotions run the show,” she said. “When it comes to entrepreneurs, it’s really about self worth.”

From as young as 15-years-old, Paige knew a positive attitude was important. But it wasn’t until much later in life that she realized just how important it was. Born and raised on a beef farm in Creemore, ON, Paige left small-town living and headed to college in the big city of Niagara. After graduation, she moved downtown Toronto and began a 20-year career in corporate securities as a legal assistant and then paralegal. 

She realized pretty early on that she didn’t want to work for anybody, she wanted to work for herself, but she didn’t know where to begin. So instead, she tried for many years to “follow the rules” and “live a life of status quo” because she thought it would be easier that way. 

It wasn’t.

“It led me to feeling stuck, lost and scared, knowing deep down I was meant for more, not knowing how to get from where I was to where I wanted to be and looking and asking for validation from all the people in my world because I didn't know or trust myself,” she said.

Eventually, she couldn’t do it anymore. With a nod to Tony Robbins, Paige said, “Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”

So she quit her job, sold everything she owned, and moved to London, England for two years. She continued to work in law, but also used it as an opportunity to travel the world. When it was time to move back to Canada she went straight to Whistler, temporarily choosing lifestyle over legal while falling in love with mountain biking and the cycling community. 

She moved to Vancouver and got back into securities, and simultaneously decided to go back to school. Cycling was the catalyst for her to live a healthier lifestyle, so she went back to become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist out of pure interest. 

She never meant to turn it into anything, but when she moved to Barrie in 2012 and began riding with one of the local clubs, she saw a number of accidents and injuries happen that were easily preventable. So, Paige founded Pura Vida Performance to offer cycling and nutrition coaching for women, and for a number of years she hosted cycling clinics and retreats in Southern Ontario as well as a weekly women's road cycling group. 

“That was kind of my introduction into entrepreneurship,” Paige said. 

But all the while she was still commuting to the city for her day job, and ultimately, she calls that period of her life her “pressure cooker years.” 

“Family relationships… health… I was barely holding on,” she said. “This isn’t it.”

So once again, she decided to sell everything she owned and make a change. She bought a teardrop trailer, which she affectionately named Foxy Cleopatra, and took off to North Carolina to do some riding and ended up in Arizona. 

“That was when things started to turn around,” Paige said. “I quit my job and went all in on my business, but I knew it wasn’t sustainable.”

Around the same time, a close friend invited her to a four-day Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) workshop in Phoenix. 

“It blew my mind,” she said. 

Paige had always been a deep thinker, the kid who was told to “lighten up” and “not take life so seriously.” It was at this workshop that she finally realized it was always a part of who she was, and it didn’t have to be a bad thing. 

“It really is a super power,” she said. “That’s when I finally started to get it.”

She became obsessed with how the mind works and how people communicate, and moreover, how we all experience the world differently. 

“You have two million bits of information coming at you every second, and you can only consciously take in 126 bits,” she said. What someone focuses their attention on can differ greatly from another person sharing the same experience, which is why setting an intention is so important, she said.

“It’s like if you watch a movie two different times and you pick up on something totally different the second time,” she said. 

Needless to say, she was fascinated. The investment to become a master practitioner in this area is no small sum, and Paige was scared, but she did it anyway.  

“It was the best fucking money I ever spent and the best thing I ever did. There has been no looking back,” Paige smiled. 

She became certified in the summer of 2019 and facilitated her first “Breakthrough” with a client from her Pura Vida days a week later, and she’s never looked back. Until that point, she realized she really only ever felt like she was floating through life, putting up a front for the world regardless of what she felt inside. 

“Now I can confidently say that how I am is truly who I am,” she said. 

She started thinking about who it was she really wanted to help, and the answer came easy: entrepreneurs. 

“In entrepreneurship, you are always coming up against yourself. You are that upper limit,” she said. “You can have problems in your business, but it’s a humbling thing to realize you are your biggest obstacle.”

She offers both private and group coaching that all begin with a half-day intensive “Breakthrough” session and she has since helped dozens of entrepreneurs get out of their own way to create clarity, confidence and get the results they desire in their business and life. 

Her most successful clients know they are stuck and are finally ready to uncover what’s been stopping them from taking the necessary action to move their business and life forward. And more often than not, she said it’s usually their belief system or something they’ve been holding onto that is getting in the way. 

“I encourage people to really step into who they are authentically. I truly believe it’s your life, so live it on your terms,” she said. “That’s been the most empowering thing for me, watching someone else transform.”

Everything came full circle for Paige when she moved back to the Collingwood area about a year and a half ago. She was nervous about moving back to where she grew up, but quickly realized that was an unnecessary fear she was holding onto from her past as well.  

She found the Foundry shortly after, and said it couldn’t have been more aligned. Her mission is stronger than ever: To help all entrepreneurs create a deeply connected relationship with themselves so they can look for the answers within, versus looking out.

“It doesn’t work unless you do,” Paige said.