The Thriving Coaches Podcast

In this episode of the podcast, you’re going to be hearing a conversation I had with a good friend and colleague, Nick Bottini. Over the past couple of years he’s gone from being the music teacher in a school to being a bestselling author, speaker and coach who’s passionate about sharing the inside-out understanding with musicians. And while hundreds of thousands of people are now exploring and having insights into this understanding, there are relatively few people who are managing to share this understanding effectively. Nick’s an example of someone who’s been proactive in navigating that journey from having his OWN insights into the inside-out nature of life, to helping other people to have THEIR own realisations, but that’s not where he started. In the beginning, Nick experienced what people often call ‘impostor syndrome’ when it came to sharing the principles with musicians. He said, “I did hold off sharing with musicians because I felt like ‘Who am I to share it at all’ and sharing it on my home territory is the scariest thing to do because it's like I've got real credibility to lose. I could be ‘that guy that's always talking about that thing’ you know, and and how will people react to that?” And here’s one of the reasons I’m really excited to be sharing this conversation with you. As you may already know, at our company, we believe the most valuable things you can discover are how experience is created and who you really are. Our mission is to inspire and educate a generation to experience lives of clarity, resilience and wellbeing. And one of the things we’ve realised is that the world needs more people who can share the inside-out understanding with others. While Nick’s story is going to be an inspiration for people who want to ‘get this understanding out there’, there’s an important message for all of us in it: That the most important place to share what you’ve seen is on your ‘home turf’; in the way you’re living your life, and connecting with the people around you. By the way - whether you have an audience you’d like to reach, like Nick, or you just want to share what you’ve realised with the people already in your world, we’ve just launched a new membership site called Clarity Pro. It’s designed for you to have everything you need to share the principles like a pro, with anybody, on any topic and in any situation. To find out more, go to www.JamieSmart.com/claritypro

A simple solution to stress, pressure and burnout in the NHS. this episode is one we’ve been trying to organise for a while, because it’s with Louise O’Dalaigh, a woman who’s been working to introduce the principles behind clarity into he National Health Service (NHS).    As you may know, the issue of stress and burnout is pretty much an epidemic in the world of healthcare, so it’s one of the places where subtractive psychology has so much to offer. Why? Because in a domain where people are insanely busy, and have crucial, life and death decisions to make,  subtractive psychology is the only thing you can learn that takes things off your mind automatically and uncovers your true potential. Louise went into the NHS because she’s passionate about helping people and caring for others. She started out as a nurse, and rose through the ranks to become a senior manager leading services.    In the process, she experienced a huge amount of stress and pressure, to the point where she was really struggling at work. Her doctor had put her on anti-depressant medication and even advised her to find a different career.  That looked like a last resort to her, so she started exploring the principles behind clarity. During the first workshop she attended, she had an insight into where her experience was coming from, and who she really is.    She suddenly realised that no matter what happened, she’d be OK; that she could never be a victim of circumstance, and there was nothing she couldn’t handle. Within weeks, she was off medication, and living with a knowledge of her innate resilience and wellbeing that is with her to this day. Once she saw the power of this understanding for herself, it was a no-brainer to see how it could benefit her colleagues. And you may be able to relate to this. Have you had a realisation into some aspect of these principles, then wondered “Why doesn’t everyone know this?” or “How can I get this out there?”   That’s what happened to me when I first saw this, and it’s also what Louise experienced. Of course, knowing these principles can make a huge difference is one thing, but it’s quite another thing to answer the question, “How do you share this understanding with the people in your workplace? How do you share it with your colleagues? With your friends? With your loved ones?”  Louise is a mum to four children, so you can imagine how important this last one is to her.  In this episode, you’re going to hear how Louise is answering that question, and is now sharing this understanding with senior health professionals from all around the world. You may also get your own insights and realisations about how to ‘get these principles out there’, and share them with the people who matter to you.   To watch the original video this show was taken from click here: https://youtu.be/P-ADDLE0_FU

A conversation with a good friend and Clarity Coach Christine Mitchell.  In this episode of The Thriving Coaches podcast, you’re going to be hearing a conversation I had with a good friend and colleague, Clarity Coach Christine Mitchell. Christine works with people who arrive with a variety of challenges and objectives, particularly around anxiety, stress and OCD. And one of the interesting things about Christine is she’s working more and more with nurses and first-responders. And here’s one of the reasons I’m really excited to be sharing this conversation with you. As you may already know, at our company, we’re passionate about what we call subtractive psychology: the only thing you can learn that takes things off your mind automatically and uncovers your true potential.  It works on the basis that human psychology functions perfectly; that every person is born with innate resilience, clarity, natural motivation, the capacity to enjoy life, and navigate its ups and downs with ease.  So what does that actually mean, in rough going? What it means is that there’s something very simple a person can discover for themselves that makes the difference between stress and freedom, between a lifetime of mental health challenges, and complete recovery. And in this interview, you’re going to hear about an extraordinary example of how that happened for Christine and her family.  You see, when you discover the truth about how your mind works and who you really are, it sets you free. And once you know the truth about this, your very *presence* can set others free.    Christine saw the truth of this so clearly that those around her saw it too.  Two of her closest family members recovered spontaneously from lifelong depression and OCD after a single conversation.     Here she shares in her own words what she realised, how she shared it with her loved ones, and the dramatic difference it made to them. She also talks about the differences it’s making with her other clients.   Christine didn’t have years of training or the so-called “right way” of talking about it,  she had two things: certainty and the willingness to share what she’d seen so far, that:   - Clarity, resilience & wellbeing are pre-existing capacities rather than things to be achieved - People aren’t broken and they don’t need fixing    And this episode was first aired back in 2017, but I’m re-publishing it because I want it to be heard by so many people who missed it the first time around. So sit back, relax and prepare to discover just what a difference it’s possible to make when you’re sharing what you’ve seen for yourself. To find out more about Christine and her work you can visit her Facebook page here

Are formless principles too 'woo-woo' for a corporate lawyer? In this episode of the get clarity podcast, we’re going to be answering this question about subtractive psychology: are formless principles too 'woo-woo' for a corporate lawyer? Here’s the back story. You may recall that I conducted a 3-day Clarity 1:1 Coaching Intensive with a corporate lawyer named Andy, in front of a live audience of coaches, therapists and trainers. A year later, I did a live follow-up interview with Andy in front of an audience, to find out how the experience changed his world and give people the chance to ask us BOTH questions. There were some real surprises – for instance someone asked Andy whether he would have been prepared to pay full price for the intensive, knowing what he knows now (Andy paid £4,000 instead of the usual fee of £30,000, in return for letting an audience watch and listen as he went through the entire experience). As you can imagine, I was waiting with baited breath to hear his answer in front of an audience of over 100 people! I’ve decided to share the whole interview with you, because it’s so aligned with the purpose my team and I are working to. As you may know, we believe the most valuable things a person can discover are how their mind works, and who they really are. Well, this interview demonstrates why they're so valuable– the immeasurable, practical, real-world benefits of learning just these two things, specifically. And when I say learning, I mean realising them insightfully – not just as concepts, beliefs or ideas, but as bedrock facts that make a go-forward difference in your life. These two facts (how your mind works and who you really are) are what Andy realised insightfully during his intensive, and what you’re going to hear is the difference those two discoveries have made in his work, and in his life as a whole. In the interview he reports on the changes in: - His sense of trust in himself and his decision-making - His levels of relaxation - His productivity - His parenting and family life - Starting his own coaching practice - His deep-down knowing about whether he can handle anything that comes his way, including a company shakeup following the intensive, that took the team of nine senior executives down to just two people (one of which was Andy) Here are some of the questions Andy gave answers to: - How did how you operate in the world before VS after the intensive? What changed for you? - How did things change around your career transition and your ability to take action and be productive? - Knowing what you know now, would you have been prepared to pay the full price (£30,000) for your intensive? - What was the biggest new belief that you gained about yourself in the intensive that you felt was most transformative? (Andy’s answer to this was particularly interesting, because of the ‘subtractive’ nature of this work) - How did you go about building your coaching practice alongside your corporate lawyer role? - What impact has the intensive have had on your relationships - for instance work colleagues, family etc? - What do you think the difference would have been if you'd had regular coaching in hourly sessions rather than an intensive? I was also asked some technical questions (E.g. do you ever do Intensives remotely? The answer is “yes”), as well as what I’d learned personally from the intensive, so it was great to share my insights from the session. If you'd like to contact Andy to find out more about his coaching services, you can reach him on andyjsmith101 at gmail dot com or at his "Business Success Made Simple" Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/130424981156517/

A keynote I did at the Popup Business School in Westminster. In November of 2018, I was invited to speak to 100 students at the PopUp Business School in Westminster, London. The founders of Popup created it as a response to traditional startup advice, because they felt that stuff was completely inaccessible to some of the people they wanted to inspire... - Unemployed people - People doing jobs they hated - People who were trapped in the benefit system - People who were struggling with addiction, mental health and other issues Basically, people who were traditionally excluded from the kind of support that helps when you're starting up. Not only that, but they’re people who often don’t get to experience the kind of work I do. They run their programmes in partnership with Housing Associations and Local Authorities, to help their constituents get a handle on their financial situations by creating their own income streams. Popup help people start their own business, fast! I was talking with one of the founders, Simon Paine, (Simon was personally impacted after reading my books and listening to this podcast, and we’ve ended up becoming friends), so we were having lunch and I asked him this question: "What's the number one thing that stops people taking action and creating the business they want to?" He thought about it, then he said "It's the psychological stuff"; confidence, motivation, resilience. - Believing they were broken - that past experiences had damaged them - Thinking that they couldn't change - that their lives couldn't transform - Feeling like they lacked the qualities they would need to deal with the ups and downs of doing their own thing When he asked if I could do a talk to help his students with that stuff, I instantly said "YES". You see, my team and I believe the most valuable thing a person can discover is how their mind works and who they really are. We want to share this far and wide and reach people in every walk of life. We want to inspire and educate a generation about what they've got going for them, so this means reaching the kinds of people who would rarely get the chance to hear about this sort of thing, in fact one of the audiences we want to be reaching is the very people that popup business school are working with. As you can imagine, I was really excited to see how the simple message of the principles behind clarity landed with the Popup audience. It was a big experiment for me AND for Popup. So in this recording, you’re going to hear what happened when I shared this understanding with a group of people who were hearing about it for the first time. Enjoy!

Last weekend was module 3 of the 10-month Clarity Coach Training programme. On the very first module, back in September, I did a 1:1 coaching session with Anna Foakes. Anna is a therapist who’s passionate about making a difference to her clients, but who experienced stress and “social anxiety” when she was in larger groups of people. She volunteered to do a coaching demo with me, and it turned it to be fascinating for a number of reasons:   - Anna felt quite distressed at certain points in the session, so it was a great opportunity for me to demonstrate how I work with people who are caught up in anxious feelings   - Despite her distress, I felt a really deep connection with Anna, and pointed her in the direction of her ‘true self’ (the most powerful thing a person can realise)   - At the end of the session, I was happy that Anna had realised something valuable at a deep level, but it wasn’t clear to me (or the audience) that Anna was consciously aware of it yet (in fact, she seemed relieved that the demo was over). However…   - The next day, Anna reported something extraordinary. We’ve included her talking about it the next day, and it’s truly mind-blowing.   These changes have continued to unfold for Anna, and this makes total sense to me. Why? Because I believe that the most valuable thing a person can discover is the truth of who they really are, and you’re going to hear what that can sound like!   All of this is part of our vision, to inspire and educate a generation to experience lives of clarity, resilience and wellbeing. The 2018 Clarity coach training programme is now closed, but we’ll be opening the doors for the 2020 programme very soon.  so if you’d like to find out more about the programme, and see what’s involved in bringing an understanding of these principles into every aspect of your life go to http://www.jamiesmart.com/coach

In this episode, you’re going to hear the introduction to a session that I did at the Realising Potential conference. The introduction was to a set of coaching demonstrations that I did. The reason I’m sharing the introduction is because I got a lot of feedback from people saying how powerful it was because what you’ll hear me do is lay out my approach to coaching people from a principles-based understanding. What I also explain is why coaching from a principles understanding is so different to how I used to coach (when I was an NLP coach) and to how a lot of people approach coaching. So if you’re interested in moving to coaching from a principles understanding this might be particularly interesting to you. By the way later this year (or early next year) we’re going to be running The Thriving Coaches Blueprint program and a lot of people on that program have come to it from other modalities such as NLP, hypnosis, therapy etc. and they have found that the programme was a great way of starting that transition into working with people from a principles-based understanding. If you want more details about The Thriving Coaches Blueprint go to jamiesmart.com/thriving (we haven’t opened the doors yet but you can put your name down to so you will be alerted when we do).

In this episode we are doing something a little different. This past Sunday (Sep 30th) was international Podcast Day and so to celebrate it we are re-releasing the most popular episode of any of our podcasts. The original episode went out on the Results Mindset Podcast a year ago and it's a keynote that I did at the unlimited conference in Finland called 'The Search is Over (except when it isn't)... by far our most listened to show. Enjoy!

This week’s episode is a coaching demo I did during the first module of this year’s Clarity Coach Training programme which kicked off a couple of weeks ago. We record all the modules so we can give the footage to the participants to review, as well as share it with the people who had to miss the first module, and this coaching demo was a shocker for everyone who saw it. Here’s why: The client, Karen, was struggling to be productive, take action and make progress on growing her coaching practice. She said she knew what she should be doing but just wasn’t doing it. Can you relate to that? As you’re going to hear, all of us were shocked when she discovered the true reason for her procrastination (I really didn’t expect the coaching session to take the turn that it took), but this is often the way with coaching. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is thinking you know what the client should do, and the best thing you’ve got going for you as a coach is really seeing that your client has all the answers you need, and you’re really going to get that in this session. Since the demo, Karen told me she’s feeling much lighter, and taking action. She said things that felt impossible or really hard suddenly are really light and easy. You’re going to be experiencing the whole thing for yourself!

In this episode you’re going to hear me answer a question from a coach called Max, who asked what is it that has people hire you as a coach? Max had always been told that you need to “blow a client’s mind” during your enrolment conversation, and he’d noticed that I seemed to be taking a completely different approach (this was during one of my coach training programmes where I’d just been demonstrating an enrolment session with a client called Sarah).  This session is sponsored by the clarity coach training programme, and we’re taking final bookings for the programme now, and if you’re interested it’s worth knowing that we’re not running the programme next year so the intake that’s starting this September (2018) is the last chance you’ll get to join us until 2020 at the very earliest. So if you want to find out how to become a Clarity Coach and see what’s involved in bringing an understanding of these principles into every aspect of your life go to jamiesmart.com/coach