- Michelle McLean-Bailey and Gary Bailey had plenty in common long before they started showing businesses how to reduce stress and increase profits. They were both international superstars. She was a bona fide beauty queen, Miss Universe 1992, and the first from Namibia to win the title. She was 19. He was born in Ipswich, England, but grew up in South Africa. In 1978, at age 20, he signed professionally with one of the worldโs best soccer teams, Manchester United. He appeared in 375 matches during his nine-season career with Manchester, and the team captured two Football Association Challenge Cups during his tenure.They met around the time that Michelle and Gary were hosting separate television shows during South Africaโs run in the FIFA World Cup. โIt was 2010 when we officially became acquainted, but weโd worked at the same television station for years before that,โ Gary says.
- They found that the characteristics they had individually developed to help them deal with the pressure of celebrity were similar. โWeโre naturally positive people, and Iโve always questioned, why,โ Gary says. โWhat is it that helped me be positive?โ
- With her background as a public speaker and appearing on television, and his comfort on the world stage as an athlete and as a TV sports announcer, the two decided to start their own business in 2011โa motivational speaking program and workshop, โSuccess Under Pressure.โ (In 2010, Gary had co-written Succeedย Under Pressure with Rakesh Sondhi, who was a faculty member of Henley Business School at the University of Reading, where Gary received his masterโs degree in business administration.)
- โDuring my year as Miss Universe, I had no idea that I was going to have to deal with the type of pressure I had to,โ Michelle says. โTraveling to two continents a week. Visiting three cities a day. Needing to deal with the media and the press at a very young age. Luckily, I had techniques in my life to be able to deal with that.โ
- Gary not only had to follow in the footsteps of his father, Roy Bailey, a well-known goalkeeper for Englandโs Ipswich Town, but his professional career started when he took over for Alex Stepney, a Manchester United mainstay for 12 years. โThe worst position ever is that of goalkeeper,โ Gary says. โMake one mistake, and see how the world hates you. Thatโs the pressure I had to learn to live with. If I didnโt develop techniques to cope, I would have never survived.โ
- The โSuccess Under Pressureโ workshop uses what Gary and Michelle call the five GREAT principlesโGratitude, Reframing, Energy, Advancement and Team. โWe had developed these each in our own ways, but when we got married, we agreed that this is how we live our lives, then we started to see medical science that backed it up,โ Gary says.
- They had been using techniques that led to success under pressure, but they didnโt know there were hormones being released that were helping them to outperform others. โHereโs an example,โ Michelle says. โWell-chosen words, whether you tell yourself something positive, or someone else [tells you], produces oxytocin, which is called the โcuddle hormone.โ โ Practicing gratitude is more than having an โOprah moment,โ they agree. It releases another positive hormoneโdopamine, which can result in being more optimistic.
- In order to move to the United States, Gary applied for a green card on a special-skills visa. โI put the whole soccer thing forward as a speaker, and they said soccer in [the United States] is a growing sport. The moment we had the option to come here, (A) we grabbed it, and (B) we could pick anywhere in the States to live. We picked here.โ They immigrated in 2013 (the same year they were married) to Boca Raton, a city that Gary had become familiar with after visiting often during various coaching expeditions.
- Helping people is in their DNA. Michelle founded the Michelle McLean Childrenโs Trust the year she became Miss Universe when she declared, โMy priority is with the children of Namibia.โ The Michelle McLean Primary School opened in South Africa in 2000.
- While they love motivating people, they say their speaking business has personal perks. โOur careers could have continued to take us in opposite directions. But we are getting older, so we decided, โWouldnโt it be nice to travel together?โ Weโve seen more of the United States in three years than most Americans see in a lifetime,โ Gary says.
You May Also Like
Kelly Gordon Creates a Sea Change
September 25, 2023
Nikki Spoelstra Shares Inspiring and Impactful Journey
September 22, 2023
The Art of Coworking Spaces
September 13, 2023
Editorโs Letter: Inside the September Issue
August 30, 2023
