WHy we started…
AutonoMe was born to address a moment that we have all experienced: when life demands more of us than we feel we could possibly deliver, when our energy is low yet our emotions are high, when our focus is devastated yet our obligations persist.
It grew from the recurring onsets of life’s uphill battle, the unlucky hand of cards, the unlevel playing field, the unknowable optimal path, and the responsibility we have to respond to these challenges.
It solidified into a practical curriculum that enhances human performance, not only in response to life’s setbacks, but alongside the lifelong pursuits of our purpose, goals and ambitions as well.
It passionately attempts to hone an answer to the question of what our ultimate potential really is…
What we seek…
AutonoMe’s purpose is to empower all humans to internally create the conditions for maximisation and realisation of their fullest potential. We seek to improve human experience, individual self-efficacy, team capability, and organisational performance by providing education, tools and protocols from peer-reviewed science that optimise the mental and physical health of individuals’ around-the-clock daily lives.
Who we are…
The Origin of AutonoMe
Despite all the ambitions in the world and the knowledge of how to fulfill them, AutonoMe Founder Kelly Swart always found himself lagging behind his peers, starting lightly at a young age, but worsening over time.
His genuine best, hard-fought, intentional efforts usually yielded performance well short of the minimum to fulfill those ambitions. Inevitably, one-by-one, over half a lifetime and regardless of deeply rooted passions, he saw his dreams disappear in front of him, as he watched others achieve theirs. He did his best to repeatedly reject the conclusion that he was perhaps lazy, or unintelligent, or “just not cut out”.
Following each disappointment, he would try new career ideas and approaches, but they invariably fell short. One 100% commission sales job actually cost him money. Slowly, his mental health suffered, his warmth became coldness, and his passions became resentments. Every result felt like a failure, and every newfound purpose quietly, and consistently, languished to demoralisation…
…except for his search for what could possibly explain the chasm of difference between his passions, goals, and outcomes.
Finally, after decades of searching, Kelly stumbled on a random recording of a psychological conference speech. The clue had found him. Two months later, at age 39, he requested an assessment and was soon thereafter medically diagnosed with ADHD, answering many longstanding internal questions that previously compelled self-eroding answers. As medicinal and psychotherapeutic treatments significantly improved his condition, he gained a vivid appreciation for human mental capability, and he became fascinated with the underlying neuroscientific mechanics of motivation, executive functioning, and overall mental health.
He discovered myriad neuropsychological developments that vastly improve multiple dimensions of mental performance in non-ADHD minds, their two-way relationship with dimensions of physical performance, and that these powerful lessons could be implemented with simple human behaviors.
Intensely motivated by curiosity, he tried every single one he found. They worked, and they improved his mental performance so well that Kelly was able to reduce his high-dose amphetamine-based ADHD medication regimen by 90%, while simultaneously improving emotional health and holistic quality of life.
He found himself naturally lucid, empowered with control of his mental state, newly capable of mental execution, and the most physically fit of his life.
His repeated discoveries and elations drove him to share the techniques with others. Immediately he noticed that he was capturing his audiences’ attention, and many were trying the techniques out themselves.
They begin to report back. Their lives had significantly improved. The techniques had worked again.
Kelly’s gratification erupted, and AutonoMe was born.
The first-ever AutonoMe course session, shown below, was hosted on 12 April 2023 via videoconference between London and Houston, Texas, with Partners Group, a world-class private equity firm.
