I’d been to TCA’s free 2-Day event 18 months before I booked Part 1 of my NLP course with The Coaching Academy, but you know life just happened and it ended up that way. On my first day of NLP training, I was nervous, excited and wondering what to expect as I made my way to the De Vere Hotel in Crewe.
I soon found my way and got chatting to a couple of other people waiting by the coffee machines. Then Ann Skidmore came in, settled us in and started teaching us all about NLP and I was reminded of all the reasons why I’d signed up in the first place – understanding why we do what we do and that it’s possible to change how we do what we do to get different, better results. For me, choosing the emotional state we want to be in at any given time was the key. It’s magic!
A few weeks later in Part 2, we started to practise the skills and theory that we’d been learning about. Being a highly pragmatic person, this was the part I was looking forward to the most as I wanted to try out my new-found skills and measure how it felt, see first-hand how the tools and techniques could help someone but also to experience the results of the techniques for myself. After all, I didn’t want to ask my future clients to go through an exercise without having experienced it first for myself.
In just 3 months, I’d followed the programme set by The Coaching Academy including 9 days live training, a practical assessment, written assessment and several hours watching supporting DVDs and listening to audio classes as well as reading a couple of the recommended books. On Part 3, I successfully passed the assessment and qualified as an NLP Practitioner!
A month before I’d finished my NLP course, I booked on to my first Accelerator Day for the Life Coaching Diploma and got on with the studying and training for that as well. What I really liked about it was that it all just fitted in with everything else I had going on and there was a clear, structured programme to follow. All the Accelerator Days were fantastic – learning new and very tangible skills, meeting other like-minded people, practical advice on how to set up and get started, not to mention lots of great coaching. Now, this was an area that hadn’t occurred to me when I signed up, that I’d also get lots of coaching as part of the course. Yes, you’re assigned a mentor who is really supportive and helpful, but at every Accelerator Day you get to meet all the other coaches and get some free coaching too! That really helped me to get my vision and goals clear for the business that I wanted to set up and how I was going to set it up, as well as being able to practise my coaching skills.
After just 8 months, I’d managed to complete and qualify as an NLP Practitioner and Personal Performance Coach with a Distinction! Not bad at all really – from Senior Brand Manager to a re-trained and qualified coach in 8 months!
With my new skills and previous experience, I set about creating my website, business plan, marketing plan (all with the help from The Coaching Academy and support from my coaching colleagues) and launched my coaching business, Revitalise Coaching in November 2016. In just 6 months, I now have a successful coaching business. I help a wide range of clients on a variety of issues and goals and genuinely love my job. It sounds odd calling it a job now, it doesn’t feel like work!
It has been scary at times and I have questioned leaving my 20-year marketing career more than once along the way, but the coaching process and journey that you go through with The Coaching Academy is exactly what helps you to overcome those fears and questions. There’s help and support from them the whole way whether that’s in person at one of the Accelerator Days, or speaking with your mentor on the phone, using the website for endless resources and of course, all the people you meet along the way.
I’m in regular contact with the people I met on my courses and I still use The Coaching Academy website as a resource to help keep my skills polished and fresh, and will continue to do so for many years to come, I’m sure.
It’s been an incredible journey over the past year and I’ve learnt a bucket load about myself, as well as how to continually set goals for my business and for myself to get the best out of life. I’m currently working on my goals for the next 3, 6 and 12 months, so this time next year….!
Where will YOU be in 12 months' time?
If Jenny’s words have inspired you and you feel that Coaching could be a potential full or part time opportunity for you, or if you would just like to know a little more about what Coaching is and how it can benefit you and the lives of others, please contact our Specialist Course Advisor, Jamil on 0208 996 4830 or email: Jamil@the-coaching-academy.com
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