What keeps you present in your life?

To keep me present in all areas of my life I have a slightly macabre mantra. ‘If I died to tonight, would I be happy with what I did today?’ – followed by, ‘would the people that count know I loved them’? Well, that part is definitely taken care of. 

Having had the odd health scare, friends die, watching my mother disappear into Dementia and a stark memory of holding my two day old baby and being told they couldn't guarantee he would survive, I have a strong sense of mortality and I want to make each day count.

Lots of my coaching and therapy clients have lost this sense of connection to themselves and to others, and that's why we end up meeting. It doesn’t matter whether they are struggling in their career or their home life, connection to self and in business speak, knowing, liking and trusting themselves is key to them being successful. I use a combination of coaching and therapy to help put them back in touch with themselves and from this trust in themself, grows the ability to communicate well, avoid conflict, feel fulfilled and make good decisions.

So what would your mantra be?

Cambridge, because of the amount of entrepreneurs that live here (we are the Silcon Fen and come 2nd after Silicon Valley for innovation), can sometimes feel like people are too connected to their work and not enough to themselves or their families. The impact on this when they aren’t present, is huge. Divorces, relationship difficulties and conflict ensue and of course it spreads to the workspace..

My aim of every day is to connect with others and, more importantly, to give back. This means, I'm the person dragging a stranger’s suitcases from one end of the tube line to the other, having a chat with someone while I give directions, or just wherever I'm in a shop, making sure I give time to the cashier. If I can connect and help others, then I can say yes to my mantra. I’d like to think I give back a lot more than that through my role as a leadership coach, mediator and therapist and inspiring others to do the same. 

I find the concept of #OutsideWork a little odd, as for me my work is so much part of who I am that I couldn't separate these areas of my life. I also believe that who we are in work is equally as important as the person we are out of work and therefore it saddens me to see people only really enjoying a section of their lives. Work related stresses need to be balanced with happiness in work also.

I use coaching, hypnotherapy, conflict management and leadership development, to help my clients find that balance, and redefine their motivation for their work and their lives.

However, when work is done, downtime is to be had and there’s nothing like sitting in a darkened cinema, chocolate in hand watching Bruce Willis say, ‘I'm just the wrong man, in the wrong place, three times!’

If you are interested in finding balance, motivation and feeling really connected to your passions, then do get in touch for a conversation about how we can create that together. No pressure, just dynamic change.