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XRachel Smith E-mail: spot245@btinternet.com Web Site: Info: Posts by the author (1)

A remarkable journey in 11 months – from lost to passionate

As I stepped off the tube at Olympia last Saturday morning on a bright sunny day, full of nervous excitement for the day ahead, I took a moment to reflect back to a similar bright and sunny Saturday morning less than a year earlier when I visited the Mind Body Soul exhibition at Olympia.   Full of excitement that day too, but little did I know just how life changing that day would prove to be.   Had my good friend told me that in less than a year I would standing on stage in front of 120 delegates at the Smart School Authentic Happiness Summit sharing the story of my journey to happiness and my tips to help them do the same, I’d have said “you gotta be kidding me!”.

As it was, she didn’t, so she doesn’t have the satisfaction of telling me “I told you so!”

That day changed my life as it was the day I met Paul Kensett from the Smart School.  I’d gone searching for something, I wasn’t sure what, but something that would fill the gap created by a job that no longer existed.  I was drawn to the Smart School stand as we passed, maybe it was the genuine warmth in Paul’s smile or maybe the very professional look of the stand.  Paul spent some time chatting with us and before long we’d signed up for the free Power Day the following weekend.

As it happened my friend couldn’t make it, so I had to go alone.  I texted her in the morning ‘I really can’t be bothered, it’s going to be all hard sell, I’m not sure I want it’.  Her wise words came back ‘just remember it’s you they are trying to impress, if they don’t then leave at the coffee break’.  With reluctance I agreed and off I went.

Within minutes of meeting the bubbly and wonderfully welcoming Claire Beegan, tutor at the Smart School, I knew I’d made the right choice and instead of leaving at the coffee break I was texting my friend letting her know what a great day she was missing out on!  The day was all about coaching skills, and we even practiced some of our newly acquired skills, leaving only 30 mins at the end for the not so ‘hard’ sale!  And it wasn’t hard at all, because I’d already made my mind up – I was joining!

Since that weekend I’ve been on a rollercoaster.  Not only does the Smart School offer fantastic coaching learning, the business support is amazing with monthly Smart Mind meetings with other coaches at a similar point in developing their business. Not to mention the additional courses on offer – the Spiritual and Intuitive Coaching course with Jayne Morris was transformational!   It’s not all been easy though, some tough questions asked, and I’ve needed space at time to reflect and check that I’m following the right path.  It was during one of those tough periods when the opportunity to pitch for a speaking slot at the first ever Smart School conference came along.  I dismissed it initially, but my same good friend gave me a push and again reluctantly I put myself forward on the very last day.   To my surprise (and partial horror – gulp) I was selected and it proved to be the best thing to have happened.  In the ensuing weeks preparing for the big day it made me focus on what my message was, it made me reflect back on my own journey, it made me to believe in what I was doing.

And so in little over eleven months my life has transformed, from being a little lost and certainly without direction, to speaking at a conference in front of 120 delegates, with clear purpose and vision for an exciting future.

Go on…seize the moment, seize the Smart School!  You won’t regret it!

Filed Under A Day in a Coaching Life

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