Shane Horsburgh

Author, Personal Development, Inspirational Speaker

Shane Horsburgh is a former counter terrorism operator who has turned his hand to developing inner peace and productivity in people of all ages, especially young men. His inspirational story Fighting Blind highlights the perils of pursuing an ego driven life. It provides an entertaining and colourful background to his programs which deal with issues such as harassment/bullying, self-awareness and achieving high performance.

Where were you born?

Batemans Bay, Australia

What other jobs have you had?

Like most people my age I have held many different jobs in my working life. I began as a bank teller in a small country town (where I worked with a young guy named Glenn McGrath) and then joined the NSW Police. After a few years in different roles I ended up in tactical operations/counterterrorism and these experiences lead to a role with the US Department of Defense in Iraq. In 2006, in stark contrast to my previous jobs, I returned to Australia where I began facilitating programs which centred on developing human potential.

What themes are recurring in your work?

Allowing people of all ages to develop new pathways of thinking instead of being stuck in the accepted method or practice. With young men the theme centres on examining their own perspective of manhood, how this view has been formed and strategies to overcome any negative aspects of this perception.

What have been the highlights of your career?

Working in Iraq and seeing that my perception of what was going on there was different to the reality. This deployment enabled me to meet and converse with an elderly Iraqi gentleman whose wisdom became the inspiration for me to write the book.

What are you passionate about?

Being able to use the experience I have gathered in working in very ego driven environments to show others a new way of thinking and being. To use this experience to talk to young men and develop new pathways for them so that issues like bullying, harassment and suicide are not as prevalent for their age group.

Haven’t I seen you before?

Perhaps. While writing Fighting Blind I did a few TV ads and a couple of movies, the most recent being A Few Best Men. A bit of fun but not a serious career choice!

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

My experience has allowed me to develop simple strategies for guys (and girls) of all ages to cut through some of life’s grey areas; releasing some of the stress of being human. A simple message that will enable anyone (especially teenagers) to develop their self esteem, increase their positive mindset and foster their relationships. This approach has proven to be a fantastic tool for athletes to remove some of the barriers to achieving high performance in their chosen field of endeavour.