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Pathways Newsletter :1 December 07 Pathways for Life: The Birth of a Motivational Training Enterprise My life stood still then catapulted this year! After having moved to Cambridgeshire in 06 after being widowed, to be near to family, I couldn’t find any work which engaged me emotionally and what I could find was so badly paid. I’d decorated the house and had my beautiful bathroom fitted, done the garden and got to know my neighbours, and restored my rocking chair at woodwork night school! I needed something substantial to take me forward. I decided then and there to stop compromising, stop working to achieve other people’s goals and to have the courage to go freelance - probably as a small business consultant in my new community. So, in February, I went open-minded with good friend, Susan Hayward, to a Law of Attraction workshop (run by the impressive brothers, Mark & Ian Foster) to understand what self-coaching was all about, and was blown away by the realisation that this was something I would enjoy, and could possibly earn a living from. I’ve always enjoyed the buzz of learning but it was only after my father died in 2005 and I inherited all his hypnopaedia and psychotherapy research – which he’d asked me to publish – that I realised how interesting it all was, and how relevant it still is for us in contemporary life. During a long career in family support and student services in different London boroughs, I often observed that a lack of confidence held many children and adults back from achieving what they wanted for themselves, which increased their levels of self- frustration. Dad’s materials sowed some small seeds of an idea about using my business management skills to develop his research – to create an online academy to inspire the pursuit of personal excellence through bringing together motivational coaching, accelerated learning programmes and a professional forum to promote inspirational teaching methods. So, in the Spring, I set up a coaching company, Pathways for Life, with the aim of working with schools, community groups and families. Life suddenly became exciting – and almost daily I was searching for free/cheap training courses in coaching, nlp or counselling and, boy, there’s so much interesting stuff out there I could probably be training permanently for years if I didn’t also need to create some income! I completed a parent coaching course with the Coaching Academy in London (which gave me my first coaching certificate), then went on to the Introduction to Personal Coaching Diploma course. Following that I passed the higher level Personal Coaching Diploma. Thankfully, the Coaching Academy also awarded me a bursary for their Business Coaching Diploma – without which I couldn’t have afforded to do it yet. Very flatteringly, they are following my new coaching career in their monthly magazine Personal Success (check out www.thecoachingacademy) It’s energising and uplifting to be part of such a respected teaching organisation, and the vast amount of information and support they make available to us as new practitioners is awesome. In June, Susan suggested we combine our two personal development businesses and, overnight, Pathways became part of her Phoenix-CAN (check out www.phoenix-can.org.uk, and click on Pathways for details of our coaching programmes). Currently I’m completing a NLP Practitioners Diploma (an inspiring course run by John Cassidy-Rice at NLP Excellence). I love it, it’s the study of how we think, learn and change behaviour. It provides me with a very experienced coach whose work with teens and children is awesome, and I am so looking forward to her mentoring me. I also found 3 guinea-pig coaching clients so I could start practicing my new skills, and 3 months later I am grateful I still have them, so I must be doing something right! I hire meeting space in a local therapy centre for the children’s coaching, and do telephone coaching from home. Because my background is in Social Services and I’ve run a parenting charity before, plus a student society, preschool playgroups, kids dance clubs, been a childminder and had my own family – I draw on all this for my coaching. Added to my MBA and preschool qualifications I hope it’ll provide the edge I need in the marketplace – starting as I am, a totally new career in my third age! I’m thinking of specialising in Contemporary Grandparenting, Retirement with Attitude coaching, and confidence building for Under 8s – tho I’m willing to try other areas of coaching which are attracted into my life. During this time, I’ve met some excellent practitioners – and fortunately for me are willing to work jointly with me on larger projects than we could do singly. Imagine every child, family and business in the region having a team of the best and brightest coaches, experts and trainers available to improve every aspect of their lives! Everyone should try it. It gives you energy and make you boom! . Between us, we coach across many disciplines: MMLifecoach is a teen coach and Responsible Adult, Clarity Coaching explores spirituality in business settings, Rise corporate consultancy coaches a national ballet company amongst others, NoFear Ltd offers conflict resolution and personal protection training, Dynamic Transformations offers corporate and personal motivational training, Think It! is a confidence building programme for young children, and ParentingPeople offers valuable parenting skills. So Pathways for Life coaching consortium is looking for projects to develop, for new partners and project sponsors, to offer their impressive range of coaching expertise to To launch the service, Pathways is offering 35 places to adults for their January confidence building seminar, and half-price places for all children’s classes between January and March.
35 free places
Pathways is also offering free coaching support to voluntary organisations in the St Neots area, and would like to hear from anyone currently working in a project where coaching could enrich the service already offered, or help shape a new project . To book places for either course or for further information about how Pathways could help you contact pathways@phoenix-can.org.uk or ring 01480 385788
Pathways for Life 27 East St, St Neots, Cambs PE19 1JU
Tel: 01480 385788 www.phoenix-can.org.uk / pathways
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