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Up Close. Personal. In Depth.

Rachel Hall

Rachel Hall shares
the key to success

Poor To Porsche

1980’s Britain, a country under Margaret Thatcher, the decade of the Falklands war, Charles and Diana, IRA bombings, yuppies, the mobile phone, BMX bikes, New Romantics, U2 and Band Aid. A nation torn apart by economic divide and whilst the South ‘never had it so good’; the North was besieged by unemployment, miners strikes, poverty and ever increasing political unrest. 

Growing up in Birmingham my family had always struggled financially. We couldn’t afford a car or a telephone and I think we were one of the last families on our estate to get colour TV, and even then it was rented. Our house was furnished and decorated with things that had been given to us. I remember threadbare carpets and the sofa that was so old the arm rests were worn thin. When Thatcher came to power she made great promises of economic reform, home ownership for all, reduced control for the Unions, and getting Britain back on its feet. She was going to bring the Great back to Great Britain,’ says Rachel Hall as she reflects on her childhood. ‘ I was 11 years old and at High School when my Father was one of the 3 million who lost their jobs, he was unemployed for 8 years. At first we thought it was great as Dad got his redundancy money, suddenly we had new carpets, modern furniture and a used car. The shine soon wore off; we did it tough, living off the dole, government handouts and subsidies including vouchers for free school uniforms and tokens for school dinners. It was hard times and quite a social stigma to deal with.’

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Rachel explains,

I was a bright young girl, academically intelligent
​but street smart too, school for me was easy. I was very sensitive and during my teenage years I was very angry and rebellious, anti-establishment, hated Thatcher and defied authority, which regularly saw me in trouble during my school and University years!

It was during High School that Rachel realised her flare for science and a fascination for the workings of the human body. Though she was gifted at Chemistry, at aged 13 she surprised everyone when she announced she was going to be a dentist:

‘Even I didn’t really fully understand “why dentistry”, but I had this feeling it is what I was here to do. No one in my family had stayed on at school, let alone gone to University, so nobody really thought I was serious. But if you tell me I can’t do something I am always going to show you I can’, said with a cheeky smile and rebellious glint in her eyes.

Despite her wayward tendencies Rachel was a focused and dedicated student, driven to get the grades to make it into Dental School and get away from the hand to mouth existence she had grown up with.

‘I remember if I ever complained about lack of money my parents would tell me “well you’ve got a brain between your ears – work hard and don’t end up like us with dead end jobs.” So that is what I did, but I also calculated precisely how much study I needed to do to get the required marks and still be able to hang out with my friends as well. At the time I was desperate to make money so I’d babysit, clean cars, deliver newspapers, and walk people’s dogs. I was constantly teased for not having the latest fashion and being a “pove”, the local slang for someone who’s family got the dole.’

After graduation Rachel took up practice in a local NHS dental office where she quickly learned that the only way to make a semi-decent living was to see as many patients a day as possible and be very effective at time management.

‘Fortunately in the 1980’s a University education in Britain was still free and for low income families there were Government grants to support with students living expenses. Despite this many left University with more than their degrees, they also had massive debt. Without the Government grant I would not have been able to do my degree, my parents couldn’t support me and even with the grant I constantly had to go cap in hand to the Bank asking for loans as it barely covered my weekly rent. I learnt how to be very thrifty, shopping at second hand stores and even going the barbers for a haircut, as it was cheaper than the hairdressers. I think by the time I graduated I was in debt for around £20,000 which in todays money would be more like £60-70,000.’

‘It was conveyor belt dentistry, get them in get them out, next please. It was extremely stressful and despite the fact I was seeing up to 40 people a day I was only making enough to cover my rent and pay back my student debts. At 23 I was already showing signs of burnout and resentment to how I was working. Ironically I couldn’t get a job in a private practice. At the time being a woman and having a working class accent wasn’t an entry pass to that type of dental office and my chip on the shoulder attitude probably didn’t help either. However, after 8 months in practice I got a home loan and bought a tiny 3-bed semi new built home. I had to use the money that I was supposed to pay my tax bill with as my deposit! When we moved in we had a fridge on interest free credit, an awful sofa bed and a plastic patio set as our dining table. There was no carpets or curtains but at least it was ours.’

Working NHS dentistry for 8 years and living frugally to slowly be able to pay off debts as a graduate of a 5-year dental degree Rachel’s income was only just above the National average.

​‘It wasn’t a lot to show for all the hours of study and effort I put in and I wasn’t what you could describe as successful. I recall from a young age I would tell people that when I grew up I would have a big house with a swimming pool and a fast car. This would be met with laughter and quite a lot of derision as can you imagine how wealthy you would have to be to own a swimming pool in the UK?’

By 1999, 8 years of constant grind had taken their toll, this was a tipping point in Rachel’s life where she realised that – 

‘I couldn’t push myself anymore, I was exhausted, living on caffeine and sugar, drinking too much and the only thing that kept me going was taking cheap package holidays twice a year, something had to give. I hated my job, despised my patients and was ever increasingly frustrated about the way I had to work. I would cry getting ready to go into the office only managing to stop as I pulled up in the car park where I would put on my happy face to get through the day.’

2000 saw the move to Australia in search of a better life and a less stressful way of working with a role in a private practice in Brisbane.

‘I was now seeing between 12-15 patients a day but somehow I couldn’t slow down, that push to work hard, to succeed was still there and I made sure I didn’t waste a minute of my treatment time, I could always squeeze in just one more filling. The difference now was I was being paid well and within 18 months of emigrating had bought a lovely big home, put in a pool and had a pretty nice car too.

‘So here I was having fulfilled my childhood dream when in 2004 the world came crashing down around my ears . . . I had it all and yet I was miserable, empty and felt totally alone. This wasn’t it, I had been sold a lie! My life was better but I wasn’t – I was as full of rage and angst as I was as a teenager, how can this be success when it left such a hollow sensation and bitter taste in my mouth?’

And so began the year of deep soul searching, looking for answers and trying to find her purpose. Seeking what was missing in her life Rachel turned to self-help books (which fell short) and the practitioners she saw seemed just as messed up and devoid of answers as she was.

In August 2004 just after my 35th birthday I met Serge Benhayon at a workshop he was giving. He was a quiet, unassuming man who had such a steady presence and loving quality to him that I was lost for words. That was a pivotal moment in my life where through a few simple gentle breaths I was able to reconnect to how I felt as a young child and know I had come home, home to myself. In that instant
​I knew that the missing piece of the puzzle was me.

Today Rachel Hall is now a successful dentist and business owner who loves her work and her life but she doesn’t measure her success based on her possessions and monetary wealth.

‘My success comes from having been able to let go of and heal my issues, to resolve my poverty mentality and my need to drive myself to prove my self-worth. Success for me is about how loving and true I have been each day. It is about my relationships, and how I am with people and the quality I live with. My business flourishes because I have made it about people first – about service, integrity and true care. I am successful because I know who I am.’

‘Through dentistry and the teachings of Universal Medicine, the support of Serge Benhayon, my friends, and most of all my incredible family, I run my own dental office where I have been able to combine my passions for science, health, teaching and caring for people with my love for attention to detail, precision and order. I find when I take care of the finest detail it allows the bigger picture to flow. I delight in holding or placing my dental instruments in a specific way that I know supports me to provide excellent service and be fully engaged with my patients and my team, as everything is in the right place and has a sense of harmony that I find exquisite.’ 

Living in a riverside home in a semi-rural area of Brisbane with her partner of 30 years and young son, Rachel is every bit the picture of success as she roars up the street in her sleek and powerful black Porsche 911. Yet when you speak with her she is down to earth and very humble.​

I may have gone from poor to Porsche but the keys ​
​to it all were always inside me I had simply forgotten where I had left them until Serge Benhayon reminded me they were only ever a choice of a gentle breath away.

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