35 Years on the Tools, and the Pattern He Didn't Know He Had

Steve Nelson spent three and a half decades in the building industry before losing his son changed the direction of his life. Today he co-runs a mental wellness company built on short audio sessions people can use at home.

When you think of someone in the mental wellness space, Steve Nelson might not be the first person who comes to mind. "I started out driving taxis at 18, then moved into the building industry and stayed there for 35 years," says Steve. In November of 2025, he went all in on MindShift Mentors.

The Reason Behind The Work

Steve Nelson is married with three children. In 2017, he and his wife suddenly and tragically lost their son, Sam, to an undiagnosed heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Through their grief, they set out to create a charity in his name.

Kickstart for Sam "gives disadvantaged children the chance to do things they otherwise would miss out on," including fitness, music, and confidence programs. A portion of what MindShift Mentors earns goes back to the charity.

He Came In As A Client, Not A Founder

Nelson has ADHD, which means his mind is busier than most and doesn't switch off as easily, a fact that has become incredibly relevant to his work. He first came to MindShift Mentors as a client. He was, in his words, "carrying a lot of stress and anxiety from work and from some other things going on," when he met Rob Edmonds about two years ago. "Rob helped me with it, and the change was significant enough that I could not ignore it," says Nelson.

Sleep was the specific thing. "I have always struggled with sleep. With an ADHD mind, switching off at night was never easy." From the outside, nothing looked wrong. "From outside, I was fine. That's usually how it goes," he says. But he was waking repeatedly through the night, and eventually decided something had to change.

He had tried other approaches to his sleep before without much success, so he went in skeptical. "The turning point was realizing Rob had worked on the patterns underneath it, not just helped me relax for an evening. He gave me tools that let me sleep longer and deeper than I had managed before." The method was the difference, he says. "Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming, the CPR method, is a different thing, and for me it worked far more effectively."

Once he had experienced firsthand what Rob's work could do for him, the two realized how many other people needed the same help, and how many of them couldn't access it.

"That conversation turned into MindShift Mentors,” says Nelson.

What MindShift Mentors Actually Is

Nelson describes it as "a group of like-minded people with one purpose, which is to improve people's lives."

The programs are short audio sessions, around 15 to 20 minutes, that you listen to at home through an app. They are built on Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming, the method created by Nelson's co-founder Rob Edmonds, a Strategic Psychotherapist whose work integrates clinical hypnosis, with more than a decade of one-to-one practice behind him.

There is a library people can subscribe to, deeper programs built alongside specialists in particular fields, and a workplace version for employers who want to support their teams properly.

Nelson is direct about the limits. "We are clear about what we are not. We are not therapy and we do not claim to be. We work alongside medical and psychological care, not in place of it."

The Gap They are Trying to Fill

MindShift Mentors was designed around two barriers to getting help: availability and cost. "Therapists, specialists and clinicians are so heavily booked that people cannot get help when they actually need it," Nelson says, and "not everyone can afford ongoing appointments." That leaves a lot of people who know they need support and can't get to it in a timely or affordable way.

Getting started is a handful of simple questions, and the answers point you toward the program most likely to suit you. Sessions are designed to support sleep, stress, anxiety, ADHD across all ages, and the general trials and tribulations that come with being alive. Results vary from person to person, and you can read about other people's experiences on the MindShift Mentors website.

For the Skeptics

"You have nothing to lose. We run a seven-night free trial on the programs, so you can try it before you spend anything." He is just as quick to say it isn't for everybody. "I would also say it is not going to work for everyone. You need to come at it willing to give something new a try, and if you are not there yet, that is fair enough."

Two Free Programs for Artem Vale Readers

Nelson is opening up two programs from the MindShift Mentors library for anyone reading this. Each one is a seven-night free trial, and no card is required.

Deep Restful Sleep for the nights your mind won't switch off.

Calm the Overthinking Mind for the days that get on top of you.

Have a listen tonight and see how you go.

About Steve Nelson

Steve Nelson is the co-founder of MindShift Mentors, based in Forster Tuncurry on the mid north coast of New South Wales, Australia. He handles partnerships and business development. His co-founder Rob Edmonds creates the CPR programs and runs the one-to-one clinical work.

Website: mindshiftmentors.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenelson-mindshift/

Charity: kickstartforsam.com.au

MindShift Mentors programs are designed to work alongside medical and psychological care, not in place of it. If you are struggling, please speak with your doctor or a mental health professional.