Being the REAL Me!
Since selling my Estate Agency, Strawberry Lettings and Sales Ltd last year and January 2020 launching my new business Clementine Business Coaching, I am enjoying taking time to reflect. So, as I continue on my coaching journey and the recent completion of my training course with Barefoot Coaching, I am thinking to myself and also being asked by others - have I changed as a person?
The answer to this is a great big fat yes! Who changes their career at the age of 50, well actually as I am hearing from others a lot do in fact? We ask ourselves why this is and I believe a large part of this choice, we now have so much more choice, confidence and freedom to go for it!
When we are younger we have many more responsibilities, and may well take a good career path but do we ever question 'is it really what we want to do'? Do we know in our twenties and thirties what we REALLY want to do, maybe we think it is at the time but things naturally do change and that is ok.
When I was in my early 20’s, I fell into property due to helping out in a family business and not really having a clear direction. I was very interested in the business and wanted to be involved in the continued success. After two years of me pretty much running the business while the business owner took a back seat, the business was sold along with me and I was lucky enough to experience the corporate world. I was lucky as I know this is not now the world for me, but did 17 years of it!
I then decided to take the plunge and go it alone into the big wide world of self-employment. My career so far had been in the world of property and I loved it. I loved looking at peoples houses (still do in fact!), I loved learning, completing the relevant qualifications along the way and providing a great service to my clients. However I look back now and think, yes it was right for me at the time and being able to build my own business, in a sector I knew very well, from the ground up is something I will always be very proud of, offering my own version of a high quality service to people - we did what we said on the tin!
However, reflecting upon it now, I don’t believe I was ever truly the real me. Instead, I was trying to provide a good income for my family and there was no time to be the real me as I was putting all my efforts into developing this new business. When I sold my business last year, I really felt ready for a change. I was not a high academic at school and had got by with ‘the gift of the gab’ so when I began to feel ready to learn about coaching, this was a strange feeling for me. Whilst my career had been successful, I felt so passionately about coaching that I wanted to complete a qualification in it. I felt it would be a different kind of achievement (and prove the buggers wrong at school) to gain a professional qualification in what I now love to call my career, personal and business coaching.
I am on my way to a Post Graduate Degree and depending on how successful this is maybe the ultimate and gain a Masters by the time I am 55!
My family have always been extremely supportive and always believe I will make the best of every situation. I feel so lucky that I have had their continued support, which has really allowed me to thrive during my coaching course. Even though my family have always said it, my coaching course has confirmed to me: it’s okay to be me! “Estate Agent Nicola” was fairly real. She was always polite, knowledgeable and provided a great service to her clients. However, my coaching journey has allowed me to flourish and be the real me!
I believe with my understanding who I truly am, I will be able to successfully help and inspire others to be themselves too.
Is there a burning desire in your heart to try something new but you fear it’s too late? It’s never too late. Be true to yourself, follow your dreams so you’re not sat thinking “what if” in 30 years’ time.
