Why did I become a Life Coach ?

The truth is, I wanted to become a Life Coach for many reasons, but I think that one of the biggest factors was the fact that I love supporting others as they develop themselves, helping them to use their unique gifts and talents. This is something that has always come naturally to me. I am a great believer in using the gifts you were blessed to be given and, more importantly, getting out into the world using them in service to the development of all. But I believe my own life experiences and challenges  have made me the type of life coach I am today.

From a young age I was brought up in a home of mostly business and self development books. To be honest the business books weren’t really of any interest to me, but I always had a strong interest in self help and holistic wellbeing. This has become a major interest in my life over the past 25 years, a long period in which I have faced and dealt with debiltating health challenges.

Being a very sensitive and shy child, I wasn’t always the most confident at school  but I was brought up in a family business background that was threaded with resourcefulness, a hard work ethic, determination and the encouragement  that I could do or be anything I wanted to. Now I am in a fortunate position to share my life’s teaching with you.

From my late teens I suffered various health challenges that put a halt to a few career choices I made. I was predominately housebound in my twenties suffering from severe M.E. and other serious health complications. But at 30, I managed after a lot of home study, and through tenacity and determination I started my own complementary health mail order and advertising business which quickly grew into something that I had been dreaming of: a stress management and personal development service.

Don’t get me wrong. It certainly wasn’t easy and at times the challenges of business and ill-health affected my wellbeing. I had huge financial and physical barriers to overcome and had a lot of what what you could say was just business bad luck. And although my business survived and more importantly I survived…miraculously over the years… I found myself often giving my therapies and skills away,  not really valuing myself. This was a huge learning curve and from these life trials I have gained a wealth of skills and experience that I would never had been fortunate to learn in any other job, as well as a multitude of invaluable life and business lessons.

To be honest it wasn’t exactly easy for me to get a normal 9-5 job. Who would employ someone who required at least 12 hours of sleep a day, a 3 hour afternoon nap, had serious stamina, energy,  focus and mobility challenges?  

So for me, self employment really was the the only practical option. Fortunately for me I knew I had gained a lot of business knowledge and wisdom from my father. However, please don’t get me wrong, I ended up being fortunate to have several interesting part time and occasional jobs whilst running my business. And although my job was mostly teaching holistic wellbeing and stress management, ironically running it at times was more than slightly stressful. Running a business can be CHALLENGING, running it around serious health challenges and physical limitations that the external world doesn’t accomodate for is even harder. But I LEARNT A LOT, a LOT what NOT TO DO, a LOT of what I CAN DO, a LOT what you DONT HAVE TO DO and lots of what you should NEVER DO..

But still I envisaged, in my mind’s eye, a day when I would be empowering people in a more direct way. I wanted to be a Life Coach for many years but someone close to me suggested that I wasn’t, perhaps, the ideal candidate, commenting  that Life Coaches needed bags of energy and vitality ..but I wasn’t was always there. And you know, I was actually doing the work of a life coach anyway personally and through my personal development work, helping people build their confidence and self esteem, inspiring them to draw out their natural skills and abilities for employment, as well as motivating them to set clear goals and intentions for a much better life.

I also received the opportunities to work with so many different sectors and ages, nursery kids, schools both children and teenagers, mental health, disability, addiction, ethnic minority groups..all of these unique experiences which left me with more understanding and awareness of barriers, discrimination and most importantly the daily life challenges many people face that no one ever sees.

I have  always been lucky to  have had a natural tendency at helping support others, especially my friends, in moving forward, helping them make changes they were scared to do, motivating them, inspiring  them to set goals and basically go for it. Now I am so lucky, so blessed that I get to do that in my job, every day.

Like so many of you reading this, I have had various types of loss, severe financial hardship, a lot of bad luck, various health challenges. But do you know what? I have moved on from this. I have learned to attract more opportunities for growth and expansion in my life,  not the day to day drama that burdened me and zapped my energy. I have learnt a lot of invaluable lessons along the way.. and particularly over the last 6 months…Now, that is a story for the my workshop.

I didn’t always make the easiest decisions. I think I took the most difficult route at times. But I have always worked ethically from a place of high values, and from the desire to assist, motivate and inspire. I am much more wiser and stronger physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Clients comment on how relaxed, supported and motivated they feel working with me. I believe I can offer you the client not just the tools and support but compassion and understanding. We all get  stuck in life, disempowered, lost, even confused. I believe I come from a place of the heart, not just the head and actually more from a place of trust and wisdom, not fear which I would say was one of my biggest downfalls before. I believe I have the experience to help guide you from a place of what not to be and guide you to a place of doing what is supportive and empowering, for you, your health and wellbeing and YOUR LIFE.

I have been teaching personal development and stress management for over 10 years. I now specialise in life coaching from a more spiritual and heart based approach, bringing you a wealth of very invaluable experience, lots of mistakes, but lots of amazing experiences and life lessons that I could not have imagined. I have a wide range of qualifications including Stress Management, Life Coaching & CBT at university level.

You can experience some of this guided support, simple but effective tools and drive in my sessions or workshops. 

So, now that I have shown you a little of who I am, join me on Sunday August 4th at The Shawlands Hotel, for my new workshop, RELEASE YOUR POTENTIAL, a day of support and simple tools to help you MOVE FORWARD in YOUR LIFE with inspiration, passion and, most importantly, a sense of FUN.

Book NOW as places are limited   Tel:01698 355138.   Investment includes workbook, lunch  & refreshment.

Or why not book a 1-2-1 online coaching sessions https://www.stress-coach.co.uk/shop/initial-assessment-life-coaching-session.html

Special August offer

Buy your 1st Initial Coaching Pre-Assessment Questionnaire + 45 Min Session for £40
 and get your 2nd and 3rd 45 min session half price only £20 each