You’ve built a life that looks successful on the outside, but deep down, you know there’s something more. Not just more doing—but more being. More ease, more confidence, more joy in the success you’ve already created.

That’s where I come in.

I’m Heidi Marke, and I help big-hearted, driven professionals expand their capacity for success, joy, and ease. Through my unique Deep Heartfelt Success methodology, I guide my clients to step out of the loop of constant striving and into a space where they can fully embody their current success in a way that expands their capacity for more—more ease, more joy, more effortless achievement.

The Gentle Rebel’s Journey: The Courage to Keep Saying Yes to More

I have never followed the conventional path.
From the start, I questioned everything.
I turned down a career in banking to go to university—because I wanted something more than just a “good job.”
I studied psychology because I’ve always been fascinated by human behaviour. I wasn’t chasing a high-status degree—I was chasing understanding.
And much to my own surprise, I graduated with first-class honours.

Then I found coaching.
Even back then, I knew this was it—this was what I was meant to do.
But at the time, coaching wasn’t really seen as a career path. It was too new, too unrecognised.
I set up my first coaching business anyway.

And then—the financial crash hit.
Suddenly, I was stuck in the horrible in-between place—where I knew what I wanted, but I had no idea how to make it work.
And then, teaching appeared.

The Teaching Years: Trying to Force a Square Peg into a Round Hole

I didn’t go into teaching reluctantly—I entered it with joy and gusto.
At the time, it felt like a clear, solid career path. A real answer to the dreaded, “So, what do you do?”
I wasn’t just looking for a job—I was looking for a fulfilling career.
And so, I threw myself into it completely.
I studied even more, converted to maths, and entered the traditional career route.
And for a while, it was good.

I was successful. I pushed every boundary.
I insisted that every teacher needed a coach. I challenged how things were done. And despite being a complete maverick in a rigid system, I kept getting promotion after promotion.
For a while, I had just enough freedom to bring my unconventional style into the classroom.
But no matter how much I tried to reshape it, teaching was never going to be what I wanted it to be.
It was square peg, round hole.
I could push against the system, challenge the rules, innovate in my own classroom—but at the end of the day, I was still trapped inside a system that wasn’t built for people like me.

And then, management changed. The freedom disappeared. The system cracked down.
I had entered with excitement—but I was leaving through burnout and huge disillusionment.
Thank goodness.

The First Big Choice: Freedom or Success?

Because, by then, I finally understood the truth.
Teaching had felt like the perfect answer—because I had been searching for a clear career path, a sense of security, a way to be successful.
But this wasn’t my first attempt at choosing between freedom and success.

The truth is, I had been wrestling with these two forces my entire life.
At first, I had chosen freedom.
I raised my children as my first career. I built a life that prioritised adventure. I windsurfed, travelled, and—when my kids were old enough—I took them out of school for three months and backpacked around the world.
I wasn’t anti-success—I just didn’t see a version of success that looked appealing to me.
I didn’t want to climb the ladder—not because I wasn’t capable, but because when I looked around, the people ahead of me weren’t living in a way that appealed to me.
Their version of success looked restrictive, exhausting, uninspiring.

So I kept saying yes to life.
And then, something shifted.
I agreed to run a half marathon after a glass (or two) of wine.
At first, it was just a fun, slightly ridiculous challenge.
But then, I trained and trained and trained.
I overtrained. I wrecked my body. I ran injured.
It was the first time I had fully shifted into pushing through at all costs.
Not just resilience—but sacrificing my own well-being in the name of proving something to myself.
That was right before I made the decision to finish my psychology degree.
It was the first time I had chosen "traditional success" over full freedom.
And teaching? That was the next, bigger step in that direction.
For the first time in my life, I tried to make the traditional path work.
And when it didn’t?
I finally saw what I had been searching for all along.

Where I Am Now: The Evolution of Deep Heartfelt Success

Leaving teaching wasn’t just about escaping burnout.
It was about refusing to accept that exhaustion was the price of success.
I still wanted more—but I was determined that this time, I would find a way to have success that actually felt as good on the inside as it looked on the outside.
And so, I began experimenting.

Stage One: Overwhelm to Ease

At first, the goal was simple: Get my life back.
I had been stuck in the overwhelm-to-exhaustion cycle for so long that ease felt like an impossible luxury.
So, I focused on learning how to meet overwhelm differently.
I stopped pushing through. I stopped seeing my emotions as something to fix and instead started using them as guidance.
Slowly, things shifted. I found my way out of burnout. I rebuilt my energy, my clarity, my life.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Once I had ease, I started wanting more.

Stage Two: Overwhelm to Joy

I had spent so long fighting my way out of overwhelm that the thought of expanding again felt risky.
I didn’t want to go back into the cycle of pushing myself to exhaustion.
But staying where I was? That wasn’t the answer either.
And so, I learned the next skill—the one that would change everything.
Instead of trying to avoid overwhelm, I learned to turn it into joy.
This was a major uplevel.

Stage Three: Deep Heartfelt Success

Now, I am evolving beyond the overwhelm conversation entirely.
The work is no longer about managing overwhelm—it’s about deepening my trust in myself, embracing my success, and expanding my ability to meet whatever life brings with confidence.

💡 Success isn’t something I chase—it’s something I grow into, layer by layer.
💡 I am learning to fully experience my success—not just achieving more, but truly feeling and owning it.
💡 I meet life with a growing trust and self-belief, knowing that whatever shows up is here to guide me into even greater alignment. (Inspired by Rumi’s Guesthouse—welcoming all experiences as part of the journey.)

And this is what I help my clients step into now.
For the first time ever, I no longer feel like I have to choose between success and freedom. I have both.
And this isn’t the end of the journey—it’s just the latest evolution of the Gentle Rebellion.