TCI is one of those places I grew up dreaming about

I began my intake in January this year... but I first discovered TCI around November the year before

Nick Knowles

Credentialed Master Practitioner of Coaching

Before I started the journey, I was pretty unhappy. I had, about half a year ago, become obsessed with being a better person in every sense of the word. But I got too caught up with a group that was too money-oriented, and not at all concerned with actual development. It was a network-marketing group, but.. anyway. I decided to leave but I still wanted to have my own business, and so the term 'life coach' was introduced to me by someone close to me, and I investigated three schools in Melbourne. I found TCI and knew straight away it was where I was going to study.

Currently, I've realised that lifelong learning doesn't peak or end. And that's given me a lot of (grounded) excitement for my journey into developing into the 'best' me, because I've realised thats a journey, not a destination. To be more specific though, I'm currently niching in Leadership Coaching/Training, and working with a nonprofit mental health network for youth, and a wellbeing/martial arts gym.

I just love the concept of 'the leader.' I feel like its who I am, its a space I love to step into, and I love to share that with others.

“It's early days, but it's showing a lot of promise! I'm very curious to see what obstacles/character-building events are thrown in the way, because I think people's dedication to what they do is definitely defined by what they've overcome, not just the smooth sailing. So things are great, but theres always room for more.”

I would say that my first paying client was enormous - given the space I had come from, I was still carrying a negative mindset, and had a lot of questions like "will this work," "is this real?" things like that. That totally solidified it for me, especially because it happened so quickly. I still remember walking back to my car from my first paid session and thinking 'This is what its about, I can see myself doing this every day'.

I remember when I first wrote in for TCI about my experience at intake and getting my first paid client, I said "Give, give, give, then you'll recieve." This is still true, but you also need to find the definitive balance between giving all the value you can, but asking for what you're worth. If you have negative values or beliefs surrounding money, getting paid, or selling your service in a way you're comfortable with, get it sorted out. This journey will go too quickly if you can't ask for what you're worth. Don't wait for the confidence, do it FOR the confidence. It comes secondary and there's just no point waiting if you're already delivering great value.

The Coaching Institute has been the foundation, one hundred percent. Having a training and a certification behind has really provided some extra confidence behind what I can deliver, and the content so far has just been incredible. In fact, whenever I want to give value, I ask myself what the team at TCI would be doing in this situation. I just think that TCI is one of those places I grew up dreaming about, and when I found it, I was like "Ohhh. This is what it feels like, in the flesh, in reality." It's really hard to language!

My parting advice? Just commit to doing something every day, and you'll never stop moving forward. Be honest with yourself - and it really helps to have an accountability buddy and a mentor. These are some of the things that I've found have really impacted me well.