Born in the country town of Donald, Victoria, his father died of Tuberculosis when he was three, leaving his 22-year-old mother to bring up three small boys under four by herself. Social circumstance, two lonely stints in boy’s homes, and a crippling fear of maths, had Laurie leave school at 13 and held him back for years.

He spent the next 28 years drifting from menial job to menial job in search of success, stability, and happiness. These wanderings took him from junkyard rouse-about to camping-tour leader in Scandinavia specializing in the Vikings. On his return to Australia in 1981 he led two trips exploring the wonders of the Australian Outback.

While all this was going on he began a passionate career as a racing cyclist when he was 15, which ended abruptly four years later with a spectacular crash high up on the Olympic Velodrome in one of the finals of the 1966 Austral Wheel Race.

Then there was his fascinating showbiz career from age 19 to his late 30s. From MC and all-round performer with The Top Hat Review, where he entertained the elderly and those in need, to three television appearances on the prestigious Crawford Productions Showcase, the forerunner of talent shows such as The Voice and Australian Idol. His speaking career is a natural extension of the confidence gained from these experiences.

In 1984 he found the stability and happiness he’d been searching for in his loving wife and their three children. With their support he was able to face his greatest fear and went back to school from scratch and graduated from Melbourne University four years later with his B.A. Dip. Ed. Degree, majoring in Italian and Australian History. His eight-year stint as an emergency Secondary School teacher is a book in itself! Sadly his wife and mother to his children succumbed to breast cancer in 2012. Seven years later, he found another soul mate to share his life.

The main thing Laurie has learned from the paths he’s travelled is that it’s no longer all about his hopes and his fears – it’s now about others and theirs. What enthuses him nowadays is helping people to see the true value in the journey they’ve travelled and make the most of who they are.