I'm a middle-aged professional carrying a couple of chronic conditions around with me on my life journey. They're hard work at times, a bit like kids. Hmm. Sometimes you'd like to give them away, but nobody'll take them.
I've spent a lot of time being inspected, injected, selected, neglected and rejected, and after losing a large section of bowel during one stay in hospital I thought about playing the "poor me" card. There are battalions of good people making a living out of offering sympathy and feel-good support programs, but I have places to be that don't include hospitals, doctors' clinics and community services centres.
I have goals and ambitions that don't fit with being told what NOT to do. I grew up in the '70s and I'm still a proud non-conformist.
I quit my teaching job in 2022 partly because my poorly managed Crohn's was becoming embarrassing and partly because I wanted to write and publish a book. I drew on my experiences in the '70s and how they shaped my values, beliefs and most importantly, my sense of humour.
The work titled Runaway Retiree came to fruition after 7 months thanks to a positive mindset and a structured plan. It consists of stories and strategies to help potential retirees recapture their '70s invincibility and apply it to kicking ass in their golden years.
The tagline is, "We achieved great things in the '70s now let's do our best work in our 70s."
That's my mantra.
In 2023 at the age of 68 I achieved one of my passionate goals, to become a qualified NLP practitioner. So many amazing learnings!
Coaching isn't about diagnosing, advising or patting on the back with, "You're doing as well as can be expected, Dear." it's about creating a non-judgemental environment where clients realize they have everything inside them they need to achieve goals that surprise most commentators.
I use my coaching skills every day to get me through shit days and share the good days with my family and friends.
I'm here to share my experiences and the strategies I've developed that allow me to not just survive but to thrive with chronic disease.
My wife will tell you I'm a complex person, but I do have simple yet empowering values.
Authenticity makes for consistent choices with predictable results.
Honesty is my best policy.
My Professionalism, Integrity, Respect, Non-judgementalism, Equity and Responsibility are born from Authenticity and Honesty.
As explained earlier I believe that Empathy is much more positive and constructive than sympathy and I'm proud to have this in abundance. I am curious, respectful, grateful and compassionate thanks to my empathetic core value.
I couldn't be a successful coach without all the above plus my innate desire to be helpful.
I love the ancient Chinese proverb that goes something like, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and he'll feed his family for a lifetime."
I see similarities to the distinction between sympathetic and empathetic.
It's nice to hold the hand of someone who's doing it tough, offer words of encouragement and pat them on the back when they make some positive progress.
That's sympathetic and prone to dependency. As with all dependencies, if the fix isn't available at a crucial time, the shit hits the fan.
If the person who needs help learns how to help themself, there's no need for a "fix". The only "dependency" is to keep learning and growing, moving from chronic to iconic. That's empathetic.
My C2I program provides a blueprint on "how to fish."
I am a qualified Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner, certified by The Life Coaching College (TLCC) in Australia.
I also have Coach Mastery and Advance Coach Mastery certification with TLCC.
I am a qualified TAFE teacher with extensive experience with Zoom and other online learning platforms.
My working life CV is long and diverse. I speak fluent Tradie, Sales Professional, Consultant, Teacher and Coach, and I'm conversant in Tech, Authorship and most recently, Web Development.
Above all, I get the chronic disease conundrum. I don't want to see anyone waste their hard-earned skills just because some microscopic bug has got under their skin.
I insist on chatting with potential clients before they sign up, to make sure we are all on the same page. Since my expected reach is global, I do this by telephone or online meetings, usually with Zoom.
I offer a FREE membership to our C2I Facebook support group.
I'm proud of my "Client for life" offer that entitles registered clients to unconditional access to all resources and relevant information as it comes to light.
Clients who miss a session through illness or treatment are able to catch up in a future program.
I can't wait to chat with you and share our journeys together.
