Stop Winning on Paper and Start Living in Alignment
You built the career. Hit the targets. Ticked every box. And still find yourself asking — is this it?
This book is for the person behind the performance.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Not a comeback story. A becoming story.
Abandoned at three. Building and losing a £25M business. Standing on a train platform at the edge of everything.
And then choosing to rebuild, differently. Becoming the CEO of Your Life weaves Chris O'Connell's unfiltered story with the practical tools, frameworks, and reflections that helped him lead himself back to alignment.
It's not theory. It's scars, lessons, and a playbook for anyone ready to stop outsourcing their power.
INSIDE THE BOOK
- A manual for self-leadership in the aftermath of collapse
- The CEO Compass: a six-domain system for lasting alignment
- Cinematic storytelling from the Maldives to Kilimanjaro
- Reflection prompts and ownership exercises throughout
- The 90-Day CEO Plan to apply it immediately
- A Final Manifesto to put your name on
THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU IF...
- You've achieved external success but feel misaligned inside
- You've been through a reset, burnout, or collapse
- You want to stop building a business at the cost of your life
- You're ready to own your decisions, not just your results
- You know that real leadership starts with leading yourself
- You want to build a life you don't need to escape from
THE JOURNEY
Three acts. One transformation.
The book follows the arc of a life broken open and rebuilt on purpose.
THE FALL
From a dream holiday to a phone call that ended everything. The story of how success on the outside masked fractures that had been building since childhood.
THE CLIMB
Building a £25M business from scratch, climbing Kilimanjaro, and winning awards, then watching it all collapse again. The cost of chasing achievement without alignment.
THE SUMMIT
The rebuild. The frameworks that stuck. How Chris found lasting alignment across every area of his life and the tools to help you do the same.
THE FRAMEWORK
The CEO Compass
Freedom isn't doing whatever you want. It's when all six domains of your life reinforce each other. Neglect one and the structure weakens.
BUSINESS
Your craft, your enterprise, your impact. Without the other five, it becomes a prison.
FINANCES
Not just numbers. Freedom in numerical form. A mirror of discipline and choice.
HEALTH & FITNESS
Mind and body as one system. Burn them out, and everything else burns with them.
PURPOSE
The why that carries you when the applause is gone and the metrics don't matter.
RELATIONSHIPS
Oxygen. Without real connection, success tastes like dust regardless of the accolades.
GROWTH
The daily choice to evolve. Without it, you stagnate, no matter the trophies on the shelf.
WHAT LEADERS ARE SAYING
Praise for The Book
"A powerful reminder that real leadership starts with self-mastery. This book is as relevant in the boardroom as it is in your personal life."
— Daniel Priestley
Award Winning Entrepreneur, Author & Founder
"This book gives unfiltered insight into a very real personal story. A great example of how our past can unhelpfully inform our future — unless we choose to take control of it."
— Sarah Farmer
Award Winning Coach, Bestselling Author
"Raw, honest and deeply human. A reminder that real leadership begins with emotional regulation, alignment and the courage to rebuild."
— Subina Kiani
Tech & Games Recruitment Founder
"This book dismantles the myth of success-at-all-costs and replaces it with alignment, ownership, and self-leadership — it will meet you where you are.
— Chris Ducker
Bestselling Author of The Long-Haul Leader
"I found myself resonating with more parts of this book than perhaps I would like. Raw, real, deeply personal... powerful testimony to the challenges of life by Chris O’Connell."
— Hung Lee
Recruitment Entrepreneur
"This isn't theory — it's lived experience. Chris offers practical wisdom for anyone looking to stay firmly in the driving seat of Life, rocketing both their fulfilment and performance."
— Anna Mosley
High Performance Leadership Coach
"Chris reminds us that real success comes from aligning with our inner selves, rather than just pushing harder. This book inspired me to embrace my journey with authenticity."
— Celestia Barby
Leadership Coach
"Everyone wants big wins without fixing the basics first. This book has no fluff and gets you focused on what actually matters.
— Dodge Woodhall
Great Britain Entrepreneur Hall of Fame
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris O'Connell
Ex-global top biller at SThree, a £1.4bn business, and founder of a £25M recruitment business, Chris O'Connell knows firsthand that almost all business problems are people problems.
Why? Because people without purpose have no centralised reason driving them to perform.
After losing everything and rebuilding from truth rather than performance, Chris founded BaseMindset, built on a single belief: Value beats volume. Peace outperforms pressure. Congruence compounds faster than hustle.
£1M
ANNUAL BILLER
£25M
BUSINESS BUILT
70+
BUSINESSES ADVISED
14
INDUSTRY AWARDS
Everything You Need to Lead Yourself First
- A raw, unfiltered story of collapse and the rebuild that followed
- The CEO Compass: a six-domain framework for lasting alignment
- Practical tools to break free from patterns you didn't know were holding you back
- Reflection prompts and ownership exercises throughout every chapter
- The 90-Day CEO Plan to put it into action immediately
- A Final Manifesto to put your name on
Chris shows you how to stop outsourcing your power and start leading with clarity, alignment, and sovereignty.
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Choose Your Book Bundle
All copies are personally signed by Chris and ship internationally from 21st July, 2026.
*Bulk orders include exclusive coaching bonuses.
1 COPY
£25
✓ One signed copy
✓ Shipped directly to you
5 COPIES
£125
✓ Five signed copies
✓ Shipped directly to you
+ One private coaching session with Chris (RRP £497)
*MOST POPULAR
10 COPIES
£250
✓ Ten signed copies
✓ Shipped directly to you
+ One private coaching session with Chris (RRP £497)
+ 90-Day Action Plan (RRP £997)
50 COPIES
£1,200
✓ Fifty signed copies
✓ Shipped directly to you
+ One private coaching session with Chris (RRP £497)
+ 90-Day Action Plan (RRP £997)
+ Access to Chris '10 Go-To Market Ready Products (RRP £1,497)
100 COPIES
£2,500
✓ 100 signed copies
✓ Shipped directly to you
+ One private coaching session with Chris (RRP £497)
+ 90-Day Action Plan (RRP £997)
+ Access to Chris '10 Go-To Market Ready Products (RRP £1,497)
+ Access to Chris' Leadership Development Programme (RRP £2,997)
FROM THE FINAL MANIFESTO
Nobody is coming to save you. You are both the problem and the solution. Stop outsourcing your power. Start leading from alignment. Build a life you don't need to escape from. Lead yourself first. The rest will follow.
— CHRIS O'CONNELL
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