Cinderella's Secrets: The Untold Story of Ella

By George Helou

This new view on the classic story of Cinderella shows how we can move beyond exploitation, bullying and disillusionment by becoming aware of the personal need for respect and dignity. Cinderella’s Secrets is a remarkable journey of a girl who learns the art of reinventing oneself to reclaim self-worth.  She becomes empowered to

• Language: English
• Publisher: Light Heart Productions
• Release date: Dec 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9780994466112

George Helou

Born in Sydney, Australia in 1971 George Helou became obsessed with personal development in his late teens when he discovered that his perspective and choices were narrowed by his education and upbringing. He went on to study Mass Communications at Macquarie University, began a media career in Sydney's 2Day FM and then started his consulting and coaching practice business. In 2001, he authored 2 books that became Australian best sellers. Around this time he also worked with and was mentored by Dr Deepak Chopra, and BMW and Johnson & Johnson consultant Dr Michael Hewitt-Gleeson. George has since written the book 'Cinderella's Secrets', launched by the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of the City of Perth, who said his book would be a powerful legacy that would inspire future generations of young women long after he was gone.In 2011 he further distilled his personal development work into a 7 step process he would eventually call EP7 (Empowered for Purpose in 7 Steps), helping individuals and groups reinvent themselves; this would eventually lead to the launch of the EP7 Life Coach Academy. In 2018, George was asked to represent Australia on the International Council of the World Kindness Movement and to create Workshops and Facilitation Training in 22 countries.

Book preview

The Tragedy Begins

a charming little girl by the name of Ella enjoyed a very privileged life in a magnificent home, surrounded by beautiful things. Ella had two loving parents, who adored and indulged her, and faithful servants who willingly did almost everything for her. Naturally kind, she had been taught from birth to be considerate to others, and gracious in her manner. Her parents remained humble in spite of their elegant surroundings, always thanking others for their actions and making requests with a smile. They knew every servant by name, and always looked directly at each one when speaking.

Remember, Ella, advised her mother. You must treat everyone with respect and honour. They work for us; we are grateful for that but we must never take it for granted. Ella’s mother worked busily each day keeping the house and grounds beautiful and providing for her husband and daughter.

Ella enjoyed countless carefree days playing as much as she pleased. She was particularly fond of spending time in the large, beautiful garden surrounding their home. To her eyes it was an ever-changing magical wonderland. She would spend hours at a time enchanted with the mysterious workings of nature, revelling in the beautiful spring and early summer new growth, when the vegetables were thriving and the wildflowers were in full bloom. During the summer the garden would be covered with fragrant flowers. Tall, elegant trees would cast refreshing dappled shade as the bright, clear sunlight shone through on to the beauty below.

Ella was enthralled to watch this flow of nature playing out right in front of her. She was ever-fascinated with its changing cycles, and delighted by the many adventures and discoveries that awaited her in her very own magical garden each day. She would crawl, walk, run, skip and dance through the established pathways and in between the shrubs and trees. And as she did, she noticed that the insects, birds and small animals would pause as she passed. Ella always smiled, her heart full of joy and happiness at the wonderful privilege of sharing the garden with them.

The vegetable gardens and orchards were full of flourishing plants that kept the kitchen rich with tasty supplies. Each day the servants and gardeners would work there; tilling soil, preparing garden beds, and pruning trees and vines.

A daily miracle that always fascinated Ella was watching the vegetables in the garden grow from tiny seeds into delicious food. On one particular day she was down on her knees watching the bright green sprouts poking their noses through the soil. Suddenly, with a gasp of surprise, she realised how very clever the little plants were to grow straight towards the surface to find the air and sunshine! She watched with a newfound understanding. How amazing it was for her to see that the seeds planted in the darkness of the soil knew exactly where they needed to go to find the sunshine.

Oh! How do you do it? How do you find the light from the darkness? Ella marvelled. She suddenly sprang to her feet and looked on in awe at all the other plants around her.

You all found the light from the darkness! Oh my goodness! she danced with sheer delight. The gardeners smiled and looked on fondly, delighted by her enthusiasm and clever insights. From that point on, Ella enjoyed the careful process of planting all the vegetable seeds in neat little rows. She loved the smell and coolness of the soil as she carefully watered them, waiting with excited anticipation for the pumpkin seeds to start sprouting first.

Summer was also the time when the orchards were full of colourful, ripened fruits. Ella loved watching the gnarled branches of the fruit trees start to get heavy and sag from the weight of the succulent fruits. They seemed to start out like tiny balloons, miraculously being blown up little by little each day by the tree itself.

At the front of the house, overlooking the gardens she loved so much was the dining room where Ella would join her parents, Peter and Louise, in the evenings. The table was always set for four places even though there were only the three of them. It seemed very normal for Ella to sit next to the empty place because as her father explained you should always be prepared to share what you have.

Ella knew other children ate their meals in their rooms but her parents always shared meals with her. She would excitedly tell them of her garden adventures and describe where the paths had taken her and what animals she had