Turning my own personal development into a coaching career

Discovering coaching through self-change

There were a few things that played important roles at the time I discovered a world of coaching industry. However, my values and passion for personal development, alongside the curiosity, brought me to coaching almost a decade ago.

If you like to change the world and others, start that process by changing yourself first. Unlike the majority of my colleagues, the focus of change was myself. Self-coaching is a form of a mastering process. Plenty has really changed, my mindset, the limiting - toxic beliefs has disappeared, the confidence improved and the whole new identity was created.

For a couple of months, I was looking at the reviews and feedback on the internet of coaching training providers.  I came across the advertisement about The Coaching Academy's Introduction to Life Coaching free webinar. That was a great opportunity to learn and discover more about the coaching industry in general. By all means that was a turning point.

Building habits and momentum

To stay on track with completing my studies I ensured I created productive habits by setting and achieving a mini task each day and every week. It takes a long time to form that habit, but after sometimes it became automatic.  The most rewarding experience was getting my Life Coaching diploma at the same time I had first paid clients…“The moment you start learning is the moment you start earning” was my mantra from the very beginning of my studies.

The Coaching Academy offers many valuable and powerful resources. The new and updated online The Coaching Academy platform was great and I used it daily. However, full credit goes to The Coaching Academy tutors and mentors, they made such a difference and I can’t thank them enough for all the knowledge gained.

Coaching skills and mindset shifts

It is so important to remind ourselves of the best coaching skills. Daily making sure that I build up great rapport and become even more attentive listener is essential. The goal forming is the daily omen as well.

If I had to choose a favourite coaching question, it would be:  Imagine for a moment your goal is achieved and everything is as you wanted it to be. What would be different? What else?

I feel blessed and honoured with the positive reviews and feedback I get from  my clients, most of them highlighted the mind shifting and the self-esteem improvement as the main impacts.

Undoubtably building up and maintaining growth mindset is the huge area of interest to me. When you shift your mindset, the whole new word is created. The answer is so simple: “mindset is everything”!

Growth, vision and client impact

My coaching practice will be upscaled in next year or two. Predominately will be focused on building lasting resilience, growth mindset, forming habits and getting rid of addictive behaviours. Three to six new associates will join the team, so we can be ready for international extension.

Definitely one of the great ‘A-ha’ moment in my career was when my client achieved her goal. She always wanted to buy a small house in the countryside near to the big city and use it for workshops and as the art centre. She faced many obstacles during the coaching conversations, including financial one, lack of time, lack of support and other resources. Despite all odds, she managed to draw a realistic and manageable plan for her. One day, almost a year after the last coaching session, my client shared the photos from her first Art Retreat and the house looked exactly like she wanted it to be. She only said: “Many thanks - I wish you were here today…”  - what to say, the dreams come true! I was so proud of her, and I learned a lot from my client too.

My tip for those looking to pursue a career in coaching would be to first start with the end in mind. Start to visualise your coaching practice and how your ideal client or clients should look like. Write some great reflective questions that you would like to ask. Become a ‘global listener’ is the key. Being proactive, determined and committed as much as you could and should. Of course, also to choose a niche if you could and to practice, practice, practice!

I would highly recommend to all the students to join some of the The Coaching Academy coaching groups across UK. It’s a place where we learn and grow together. Staying in a coaching community -it's of paramount importance for us all.

The world is changing rapidly like never in the past. What impacts human behaviour the most is defiantly the technology. No doubts this will soon have an even greater impact on how we live work and learn. Therefore, my goal is to come up with some game changer platform that can help and improve coaching process in the future.  

Thank you Pred for sharing your journey and commitment to coaching and growth!