In my journey in business and life, one of the things I valued most along that journey was the input from the coaches I engaged with over that time.  Given this, a message popped up on my social media in the past week informing the reader it was National Coaches Day and encouraging us to honour the coaches and mentors who guided us along the journey to create the life and business to which we truly aspired.

In reflecting on this, one of the most influential people in my life was my Mum.  She was the one who, in moments of self-doubt or in a crisis of self-confidence, was always there gently encouraging me to keep going forward.  She gave me the confidence to take risks and to believe in myself.  This laid the foundation for so much of what I have achieved in business and life.

As I started my journey as a business coach and mentor, I took to heart the following advice from one of my early coaches:

“A coach without a coach is like a doctor who won’t see a doctor.  Invest in a coach who will help you build your practice and change your life, both professionally and personally”

 Given this, I share the following story to express my gratitude to the coach who started me on the journey to create my own coaching practice.

Over several months, I worked with my coach to gain clarity about defining the coaching business I was striving to create. At the end of one conversation, he said something that stopped me cold:

“I believe there’s a simple question you need to answer.”

I looked at him, confused. “What question is that?”

He smiled. “That’s your homework until our next conversation. Find out what the question is, then answer it.”

I walked away completely confused and more than a little daunted.

As it turned out, finding the question was the easy part: “Does the coaching business which AltusQ was asking me to create align with the coaching business I had created?”

In simple terms, the answer came quickly – there was no alignment.  What took the time was taking the actions required to create that alignment.

Over the coming months, my coach was there gently encouraging and supporting me through the struggles of having the courage to take a leap of faith to fly solo by creating my own coaching business.

When I reflect on that coach’s approach – it was about making me find my own questions and answers rather than just giving me both – I see how it shaped the way I approach working with clients today. The leap of faith led to creating Dare to Dream, a coaching practice that genuinely aligns with who I am and what I believe.

On National Coaches Day, I encourage you to reach out to the coaches and mentors who challenged you, supported you, and helped you create the business and life you truly wanted. Share your gratitude and tell them how they changed your journey.