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My story

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My Story New

the power of “yes”

One concept underpins the journey of every successful human being on the planet; so much more is achieved if we engage the help of others. We must find people that will accelerate our journey, be honest, vulnerable, courageous and persistent. 

 the beginning …and all that jazz

Me August 2007 BW

My passion for self development has taken me on quite a journey. I had a very British upbringing with a solid Grammar school education and a few corporate jobs before deciding to follow my father’s footsteps and become a musician in my early 20s.

In 1996, proudly armed with a degree in Jazz Guitar I was faced with a problem. How the hell was I to make a living!? I had started teaching in my late teens and already had a fascination for the way we learn, so I found myself some students and built a thriving practice, simultaneously playing professionally. 

When I was 27 years old my Father suddenly passed away. Maybe it was that, combined with my teaching that really lit a fire under my passion for self development. How can we all make the very most of the time we have? I’d already taught hundreds of students and was becoming more interested by the art of communication than the music itself. A few long-term clients used our sessions to share a great deal about their lives and I wanted learn some tools that would, at the very least, allow them to feel heard. 

Coaching and the corporate ladder

So, in the late 90’s I formally studied Counseling, solidifying a self development path that I was to follow from that point on. Skip forward 10 years and I was done with the Music Industry. The successful Events Management business I had run for about 10 years had consumed every ounce of creativity that a musical path had originally promised and I was ready for a change. I moved back to my home town, took some time off, then found a “real” job while I figured out what to do next. For a year I worked for the Facilities Management Team in a large government organization, enjoying a relatively stress-free existence and a wonderful sense of freedom. When my boss asked me to apply for a job in Strategic Procurement I said yes (and thought “what the hell is Strategic Procurement!??”).

It turns out that I was rather good at it! Five years and 3 jobs later I had learned a very valuable lesson. A creative mindset, courage and persistence had catapulted me from the bottom of the organization to somewhere quite near the top! I was leading a team of Project Managers, Technical Architects and Developers in a large IT department, responsible for the IT security of about 10,000 people, creating strategy, policy and due diligence documents, European Union compliance submissions, overseeing a network that was connected to the Secret Services and Armed Forces, and spear-heading large scale, complex, multi-stakeholder efficiency projects on impossibly low budgets. It was stressful, exhilarating, frightening and wonderful. 

Throughout that journey I had one secret weapon! Deborah, an English Executive-turned-Coach who had created her dream life, living and working in a small town on Lake Geneva, Switzerland. With her help I rocketed up a corporate ladder and, once again, decided to take a leap of faith, albeit a strategic one! The Coaching, 7 years in Government, my thirst for knowledge, fool-hardy “say yes” approach and a lot of study had brought me to a realization. I had choices. I could do anything!

The next big leap & the artist

A three-week US road trip and a my dwindling enthusiasm for a high stress job led to the biggest decision yet. I would move to California. A year later, having hunkered down, saved, soul-searched and researched I moved and became a student again, studying Business and Psychology at San Diego State University. A few wonderful clients, some sunshine and a little space to think helped me realize that I had found my purpose. I found Professional Coaching rewarding beyond belief. 

In 2015 I moved to New York, where I stayed for nearly 4 years. I now live a bi-coastal life between NYC and San Diego. 

In May 2018 I took a 6 week road trip across the States. The picture at the top of the page was taken at the point of a significant realization for me. Coaching from a forest at the edge of the Grand Canyon, with the freedom to work from anywhere, a great deal of recognition from my peers and clients, I knew I had achieved the goals I had set over 10 years before. I was elated, and still am!

I know this for certain; whatever your version of my crazy journey is, you can do it! I have no special powers. Just a willingness to say yes, ask for help, do things that scare me and occasionally look foolish. 

David. 2019

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