HELLO!
As a life coach, I help people from many differing walks of life in making major life transitions with ease, grace and humour.
We work together, and I help you replace anxiety and fear with laughter, with enthusiasm and excitement, and that being stuck with lots and lots of action!
I help you move through challenges which you maybe are not able to move through on your own. I guide you through significant transitions by helping you figure out where you’d rather be and providing accountability until you get there. We will identify your destination, then create the path to get you there.
We are paving the street as we walk it, setting stones on the path as we design it. Each coaching session is filled with new insights which lead to creative actions to take, and the week (or weeks) between sessions involve you taking action to move toward that goal.
As an online life coach, I can help you virtually through Zoom or phone calls and email.
I’ve been a life coach for 25 years and I’ve helped thousands of clients to;
find the right job (identify and pursue it)
Create the start in life
Moving to another career
Being the best they can be
rethink middle age (40s, 50s)
pivot in middle age
rebuild a better life post-divorce
find a partner / start a family
navigate a dual-career family with young children
move to a different country
complete and total life reset
SIGN UP FOR YOUR INTRODUCTION SESSION NOW!
As Your Personal Life Coach, I Provide Partnership and Accountability!
We’re not in a “see you at the next session” relationship; we’re in an “Email me several times a week, check in with me -- I want to hear from you between sessions” relationship.
When we work together, we work together for the entirety of our time, not just during our sessions. Don’t save your questions (or challenges) for the in-office/video call visits, let’s work together while you’re taking action between sessions. I’ll review cover letters, celebrate fantastic meetings you have had, ease your nerves before the big interview. I. AM. HERE. That's what I do.
How does a sports coach motivate her athletes? We see the best in them, we know their potential -- often potential they don’t realize they have. They see that you’re an incredible sprinter, but your ball skills are lacking, so they boost your weaknesses while playing to your strengths.
As your coach, it's also my job to see, and boost your weaknesses, while playing to your strengths.
I get to know my clients really well. And more importantly, I’ll help you get to know yourself better. I see the patterns you’re repeating, the stories you're telling yourself, and I'll share with you what I see. Just like your track coach will show you your running times and give you the tools to do better, I’ll show you the thought patterns that you may or may not be aware of and give you the tools to shift them.
There is plenty (plenty!) of homework between sessions, to have insights, take action, which leads to new insights...actions. Insight...action. That’s the steady drumbeat of my coaching for you, and the drumbeat of change.
And remember, this isn't just about you and me, your life has other people in it! Your parents, your partner, therapists, friends, your kids — I work with you as part of your team to help you be the best you, you can be. We have one cohesive plan so that you will have the support you need to achieve your objective.
So yes, that means if you just graduated college and are in your mid-20s and your parents aren’t sure how to support you; we'll have a session with them.
Or, if your partner is very nervous about money since you’re the primary breadwinner and have been out of work for 3 months; we'll connect with him or her, with your blessing of course.
We are one team, supporting you as you pursue your goal.
ABOUT MY APPROACH
Since 1996, I’ve been helping my clients find their optimal wellness through developing a deeper understanding of their habits and lifestyle choices. As a certified Coach, I aim to create a life balance that prioritises your well-being and celebrates all aspects of your true self and life.
QUALIFICATIONS?
What Qualifications does a Life Coach need?
None. Isn’t that crazy!? You don’t need any qualifications to be a life coach. All you need to do is to say that you’re a life coach, print out a business card and voila!
In the United Kingdom, life coaching is not a regulated industry like therapy or psychiatry. Life coaches do not need to pass tests, they’re not covered by insurance.
That said, there are lots of life coach training programs. But you don’t *have* to take any of them to be a life coach.
I hold myself to a different and high standard. I received a certificate in life coaching and business coaching from New Insights global Coaching, and trained with one of the best coach trainers in the world.
I am also a member of a number of Coaching federations and associations.
I continue to improve, grow and hone my skills through continuing education, in psychology also and an arm full of degrees in related topics such as NLP and CBT and life coaching.
I’ve completed several career transitions myself: from executive to retail consultant, Hotel and Catering teacher, and even author to business, spiritual and life coach. I married late in life and have two children. I have personal experience with significant career and life transitions, as well as extensive coach training, continuing education, and 25 years’ experience working with thousands of coaching clients and training many, many coaches.
I am also fully insured!
AM I THE RIGHT COACH FOR YOU?
Are you ready to get to work? My clients experience change because they work for it. In addition to our regular coaching sessions, where we set strategy, reframe old ways of thinking and shift stress. And the meat of our work happens between sessions. It’s where the rubber hits the road, where all those insights turn into action and why I am in touch with you (a lot) between sessions.
Outside of our coaching sessions you can expect 5-15 hours of additional work per week. Reading, watching videos, connecting with old friends and colleagues (aka ‘networking’), and researching. There’s work to do. Change isn’t going to happen while you sit on my couch.
Don’t start coaching because your parents or spouse want you to be coached. Come because you want to. I’ll help you realize what you need to do -- and it’s on you to do it. I’ll provide the support and accountability, for sure, but you’re going to send the emails, set up the meetings, fly to Florida for those auditions and put the pieces together to change your life.
I can’t do it for you, but I can (and will) support you as you do it.
DO I NEED A LIFE COACH OR THERAPIST?
Good question. And an important one.
I recently had a client come into my office for an introductory session and tell me how reluctant he was to be there. I was happy that within the first 10 minutes of our session he was able to be that direct. He felt uncomfortable with the whole “life coach” thing. It seemed mumbo jumbo and weird, ethereal and…”what are your qualifications, anyway? He had a friend who was all jazzed about her life coach, who had her creating gargoyle images for her fears.
(I assured him there would be no gargoyles.)
I had the same hesitation when I became a life coach. I was concerned the field would be filled with people who wanted to be therapists but not invest in the schooling that would be required in that field. It felt like hack therapy to me, and I’m no hack.
And yet, the more I learned about coaching, the more I realized that coaching filled an unmet need.
A therapist helps you when you’re “below baseline”. When you’re not feeling like yourself, something is off and you want to get back to stasis. When you’ve experienced trauma and have developed maladaptive coping mechanisms that are negatively impacting areas of your life. When you’re a couple seeking tools to restructure the way you interact.
As a coach, I can help you when you’re at baseline and you want more. I also work with people who are in therapy, receiving that support, and looking to grow in a new way. There is, of course, some overlap, and some of the magic is in the relationship you have with the practitioner you choose.
Where do new parents go when they’re struggling trying to balance kids and work? Is this a therapy question or a coaching question? Where can you go when something isn’t right about your job or your relationship, but you’re not sure what that is. You feel stuck, you’re experiencing all kinds of cognitive dissonance, you want something different and aren’t sure how to achieve it.
Where can you go when you want to think clearly and take action? Where do you go when:
Change is needed and you don’t know where to start.
You’ve tapped out your friends and family and want to talk with an impartial third party who can help you bounce ideas around and think things through.
You want an accountability partner to support you as you make a big change.
You want to level-up your game.
You and your partner are making big changes and you are too busy to support one another; you need a third party to support you each independently, and support your couple-ness as well
These are needs, real needs. And this is where a life coach fits in.
As your personal life coach, I ask you the right questions so that you can come to their own solutions. I’m not a consultant, I’m not going to analyse you and tell you what you need to do (despite clients asking me to do this!). I’m going to help you figure it out for yourself.
And when you figure it out for yourself, when you own the thought process, you are more likely to take action. Insight, action, change. That’s my process. I help you have insight by asking the right questions. Based on your insight you are more likely to take action, which leads to more insights -- which leads to more action. This insight/action cycle leads to the inevitable change you seek.
ARE YOU THE RIGHT CLIENT FOR ME?
I don’t have a specific niche like “new moms” or “middle managers”. I coach people through transition. That can be someone graduating from college, having a baby at 42, or preparing to retire at 50.
The one thing my clients all have in common is that they zag when others zig. They do not take the well-trodden path. My clients want more out of their life; they don’t accept comments like, “Well, that’s why it’s called work; you’re not supposed to like it!”. My clients want to turn off the highway of expectations and onto the back country roads of their own design.
My clients are intentional about the life choices they make. (Even if they don’t know it straight away) And to make those big pivots with ease, grace and humour, they choose a partner who can support them down that Ziggy zaggy path.
Maybe you want to leave your corporate job and teach. Maybe you want to leave teaching and be a learning and development executive. Maybe you want to design submarines for the military; maybe you want to stop being a surgeon and work in sustainable horticulture. Maybe you want to leave college, fly to New Zealand, and learn how to run Kayaking courses. Maybe you want to stop being a corporate lawyer. Maybe you want to travel around the world as a sought after writer, living in a new country every month. Maybe you are a single parent wanting to take the world by storm for your kids. (I’m not actually making these up; these are actual examples!)
This is career coach, transition coach, personal coach, life coach country. This is where I live.
Let’s figure out how to get you where you want to go.
My clients live, lives of their own design. And I help them create the vision and execute the plan.
HOW MUCH?
Here’s how much my coaching programs cost. (My coaching isn’t cheap.)
I charge a price because I limit my practice to 20 clients at a time. When the slots are full, I have a waiting list. I limit my practice so that I can give the highest levels of support to my current clients while having some availability to work with coaching single sessions.
In fact, after I recognised that the expense of coaching made my coaching prohibitive for some clients, I wrote a successful coaching guide for coaches.
There are plenty of coaches who will give away free introductory sessions and offer lower priced coaching than I do. If you are looking for less expensive coaching, I recommend noomii.com as a resource to find a coach who better meets your needs.
I’ve been coaching for over 25 years. I’ve helped thousands of people do the thing they’ve always wanted to do. But don’t take it from me; read reviews.
“James is such an amazing positive person to be around. He helped me see that I can achieve anything I put my mind to, in all areas of my life. He helped me plan goals and motivated me towards my achievements and goals. I’m so thankful to him and I had a truly amazing experience. I highly recommend him for anyone looking to excel in life.”
FINAL WORD
You don’t need a coach. Let’s face it, coaching is a luxury. That said, you might be in a situation where you’ve been stagnant and coaching no longer feels like a luxury, it’s a necessity. Like when a vacation feels like a necessity -- you don't want to recharge, you need to recharge. Coaching is an investment in you, your life today, and your future.
I am not going to light incense and talk about manifesting your reality. I am going to help you clarify what you want and pursue it. There’s a lot of mental blocks we’ll get through -- some you’re aware of and some you’re not. I’ll help you address them.
You’re hiring me for a finite period of time to help you move from here to there. During that time, you’ll achieve your goal, develop new skills and have a good time doing it. I’m a transition expert; the more significant and meaningful the better. You’d hire a guide to help you climb an actual mountain; I’ll help you climb (or blast through) this mental mountain.
Let’s do this. I look forward to supporting you through this important change.