We are inspired by Keshav Bhatt, Qualified Protege Coach of The Coaching Academy, who is making waves in the youth coaching industry. We interviewed Keshav about his fantastic work helping young people. You can see his TED Talk at the end of his interview.
We are inspired by Keshav Bhatt, Qualified Protégé Coach of The Coaching Academy, who is making waves in the youth coaching industry. We interviewed Keshav about his fantastic work helping young people. You can see his TED Talk at the end of his interview.
My niche is youth coaching, typically focused on big life decisions & transitions as well as leadership & confidence. This could mean coaching students, entrepreneurs, or people who work for young people like teachers, youth organisations, parents etc.
What you do is an extension of who you are, and of who you want to become. And it has to be something which gives you meaning & significance. I knew I wanted to be an example of how exceptional and brilliant young people can be- I want to be a champion and ambassador of coaching and its benefits to and for young people.
I'm passionate because I've lived so many of their challenges too. I went through depression in my first year of university and really struggled. I was binge drinking, lacked motivation, and felt very lost and frustrated.
I believed I was a total failure because everything I had done was average and insignificant. As I started to try and rebuild and approach things differently, I started getting involved in things I simply enjoyed. I was reading books about coaching & NLP and applying the exercises like the wheel of life to create a stronger, better version of me. Too often we are belittled by the media (81% of young people feel they are unfairly represented in the media with 85% feeling this affects their chances of getting a job - Generation Change report) and I love what I do because I can be a catalyst in creating a brighter, more active generation. There are incredible opportunities out there and the world is truly yours. The question is simply, what do you want?
I've helped a dyslexic entrepreneur raise £6500 start up capital for his business app when he was completely new to business and hated jargon.
I've helped a young 17 year old struggling with her self esteem and image, and battle a perception repeatedly conditioned to her by her peers & the media.
I've helped a 12 year old footballing prodigy grow his confidence and self belief to reach the peak of his performance at the right time so he can join a Premier League Football team.
I've helped a young adult change jobs and take on a management role despite being young and having less experience than the people working for him.
The greatest thing is, my clients success' are down to them, and I'm extremely proud. This is the true power of coaching.
The same ones I faced. From lacking motivation and focus to write your dissertation or essay, but you're watching Game of Thrones and procrastinating instead. To figuring out what you really want to do in life, what your ideal job is and how to get it. And finally, becoming incredibly confident.
Coaching clients aren't found, they are created. Think about it...
I create weekly YouTube videos on my YouTube channel which has now reached over 180,000 views. I simply borrow my little brother’s camera, go for a walk in my local park, put up a tripod and speak to my audience. The best advice I've heard is to follow a simple formula - Connect with people, invite them to coaching if you can help, coach your socks and let them experience the benefits and then offer your services.
The social enterprise I set up delivers an education qualification which covers topics that prepare young people for real life, typically not found in the classroom. This provides a complete social & personal development of the individual helping them understand things like how to network & improve your employability, to how to save money and what good/bad debts are. I'm also often asked to deliver speeches to young people to share my story and my message and it's something I love doing.
1. Pay for a coach yourself before you expect others to pay you
2. Set goals for every day, quarter, year and 5 years
3. Go out and fail. It's ok.
Here is his TED Talk “Ditch The Degree - Create Your Curriculum” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5AgOGhI29Y
The Coaching Academy was established in 1999, and is now the world's largest coaching school.
In that time we have trained over 14,000 people to become life coaches.
We are accredited by the International Coach Federation and the Association for Coaching, and we're rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
