23/05/2026
Why Jodie is Mad About Life! 😊
It was December 2001, I was the young and enthusiastic age of 17 and had my first life choice to make.
After a lot of household debate, I decided the city would provide the most opportunities for me. Dad handed me $100 and said: “Good luck. See you when the money runs out.” 🤯🙌👍
So I moved to Sydney from a small town Kyogle in the Northern Rivers with no plan and no safety net. Just my stubborn and optimistic mindset to succeed.
My first job was at a pizza place. Then a newsagency, a veterinary clinic, and an ice cream shop where I dislocated my knee slipping on a broom.
The physio told me, “You’ll need to work in a sit-down role now. Long days on your feet won’t work.”
In hindsight that one comment changed my path for the better.
I secured a role as a receptionist for a finance broker. From there I worked at a car yard on Parramatta Rd, then I found myself at Australia's largest life insurer Tower Australia and asked for a job in life insurance. They said yes.
What felt like a setback at the time enabled me to pivot and redirected my entire career.
It taught me that risk isn’t abstract. It shows up in unexpected moments, and how prepared you are determines what happens next.
Growing up on a 200-acre cattle farm in Kyogle reinforced that. You don’t wait for someone to fix things for you. You figure it out, and you build systems that hold when life doesn’t.
That’s the thinking behind Mad About LIFE.
We work with everyday Australians to bring clarity and awareness of risk, create peace of mind with a plan, and protect the lifestyle you’re building.
What does your risk management plan look like?
