Alison Botha is one of the most loved motivational and inspirational speakers in the world. We’ve recently learned about her life in a recent blog post and found out that when she was only 27, she survived a very horrific attack by a knife-wielding man who almost killed her! The experience motivated Alison to become a motivational speaker and writer.
In this article we’ll share 20 things you didn’t know about Alison.
1. Alison was born Alison Botha in Johannesburg, South Africa on July 6, 1974. Her father’s name is Eddie and her mother’s name is Debra. She has a younger sister named Debbie who is also a motivational speaker, author, and television personality also, Alison Botha husband is Tienie Botha.
2. Alison attended high school in East London and completed all her high school National Senior Certificate exams with the highest grade of (B).
3. Alison is originally from East London but spent all of her life between Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban before moving in 2005 to Wellington, New Zealand where she now resides.
4. Alison’s passion for writing and meditation started at age 14 when she wrote her first short story. She has had this passion ever since and is now the author of numerous books including “Holistic Wisdom”, “Alison’s Book of Thoughts”, and “The Book of Joy”.
5. Alison has a double Masters in Business Administration and Psychology as well as a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. She is also a certified yoga instructor.
6. Alison was raped twice while growing up but she chose to fight those feelings rather than take the path that many victims take who get raped which is to become an alcoholic or drug addict.
7. Alison was violently raped at knifepoint by a man 15 years her senior in 1993 when she was only 27 years old. While in the hospital, she volunteered to counsel other victims and this led to a job as a sexual assault counselor for Rape Crisis in Cape Town.
8. In 1994, Alison assisted in the investigation of an 11th victim of sexual violence by a man called Frikkie du Preez, who had attacked and raped 10 women before he was arrested that same year.
9. Alison was voted “most beautiful woman in the world” by “People” magazine and then “Dr. Who” magazine presented her with their highest honor, the “Time Lord” award for saving the universe from a race of savage aliens.
10. Alison has been known to be a fan of Star Wars and Dr. Who, as well as other science fiction/fantasy works including Avatar: The Last Airbender, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter
11. Alison is an advocate of meditation and meditation is one of the key elements in her writing ecourse called Autobiography that teaches how to channel your emotions into positive energy so you can live a more joyful life.
12. Alison’s first ever gig was at the age of 15 in 1984, performing in a school dance with her younger sister. She went by the stage name ‘Alison Landers’.
13. Alison’s favorite music genre is soft rock and her favorite musicians are Michael Jackson and Pearl Jam
14. Alison has played soccer since she was a young girl. Her favorite team is Manchester United. She also enjoys watching rugby as well as participating in it herself as she has played for Cape Town’s Blitz! club since 2006
15. Alison considers herself to be an introvert and has described herself as a spiritual person who is always on a spiritual search for happiness that she believes comes from oneself, not through external sources or events.
16. In her childhood, Alison always dreamed of being an actress. She says that being an actress is a spiritual job and thinks it’s something anyone can do successfully as long as you have the passion for it.
17. When she was six years old, Alison’s father took her to see Madonna in concert when she was still called simply Madonna and Alison said that her biggest wish was to meet her idol.
18. Alison is a huge animal lover. She is a strict vegetarian and vegan and loves to feed fresh fruit to the monkeys at the Wellington Zoo in New Zealand where she lives.
19. Alison loves children and has said that her greatest wish is to have children of her own someday.
20. Alison wrote a book called “The Book of Joy” that came out in 2012 and is about life’s biggest challenges and how to overcome them through meditation, yoga, writing, visualizations, positive thinking, gratitude and forgiveness.
Summary:
Alison Botha is one of the most loved motivational and inspirational speakers in the world. We’ve recently learned about her life in a recent blog post and found out that when she was only 27, she survived a very horrific attack by a knife-wielding man who almost killed her! The experience motivated Alison to become a motivational speaker and writer.
