INSPIRED

EP #30



“Do I need a life coach?” You’re listening to Episode 30, with Rhiannon Bush



Welcome to the Do I need a life coach? Podcast. We’re here to discuss the ins- and outs- of the life coaching industry and give you tools to use, to see for yourself. I’m your host, Rhiannon Bush. Mother, management consultant and a passionate, certified life coach.



You’re the constant in your life. Through seasons, shifts, job changes, relationships, breakups, travel, it’s you. You’re THE constant. And as you go through life you learn things, you fail at things, you grow. You upskill, you diversify, you adapt. All of this adds immense value to YOU, even if sometimes it feels terrible. Sometimes it will feel good.



I find I end up reading a lot of books halfway through and I stop. I’ve often wondered and gotten a little frustrated over why I struggle to finish and also why it takes me, sometimes, so long to read one book.



And after discussing this with my coach, I realise that I love reading books that I feel will add value to me, and if I get to a point where I believe they stop becoming relevant to what it is that I’m doing, and when I can’t use them on what I’m currently doing in my life, I can’t see the point and I stop. I also find books and new information exciting and enlightening in the beginning and by the end of the book, even though that information is valid and probably more important in terms of practical application and implementation than the introduction to the information at the beginning of the book, I struggle to get it read.



When it comes to coaching and personal and professional development, professionally, I’ve got a very diverse skill set. I can serve businesses in multiple ways so I’ve never become a very clear specialist in what I do necessarily. And I also think that happens early in careers because as an assistant or associate, you’re used as a body to just do whatever anybody needs you to do which can comprise of a range of tasks that have no specific synergy of skill. It’s very generic work. When it comes to working on something that is constant and across the course of your life, I believe you’ll gravitate to something you love.



I was always out to find that thing. That thing, skill, industry, that I was truly passionate about, and also very good at. There was a diagram somebody once showed me which had passion, purpose and profit and then labelled it with things like competency. Moral o the story is that what you love will find you, and keep coming back to you. You’ll know it when you see it because energetically, it will fuel you and keep you focused. No matter what job you’re doing, with what skill set it requires, keep learning about that thing. Keep exposing yourself and growing in that area because chances are, what you’re doing that generates your income will benefit from the thing that keeps finding you and that you’re passionate about, anyway.



When you do this, you are growing value because you are growing your capability, your knowledge base and your skill set in the thing you care about. And this growth in your ability will enable to contribute and this is what will determine how successful you are or aren’t. Even if for some reason I can’t think of, it doesn’t make you more successful (and to be clear – I can’t see how it wouldn’t), it will at the very least make you happier and more inspired. When you do what you love and grow your skill base, you’ll find you’re more focused, more innovative and inspired. This will make you a more productive employee, even if at work you get to do very little or none of the thing you love to do.



Coaching was something that when I found I knew I loved and I became a student of that work for life. Not because I wanted to be the best at it, not because it was a goal I’d set or a commitment I’d made. But because I truly love it. I love the way it helps people, I love understanding more about my own mind and how I can use it to work with me, I love using my skills to help give others insight and clarity.



I flicked on this show on Netflix called From Scratch the other day. There’s an actress in it that I love and so I thought I’d give it a try. The first episode is about a young American girl who’s on the path to study law at an Ivy League school and as a gap year (what we’d call it in Australia) she studies an art program in Florence, Italy. One of the things I’m loving about TV series whether they’re scripted or reality is that the places they’re filmed in show the most spectacular scenery of that country – Emily in Paris, Below Deck, and now From Scratch. I love that part of the show. Anyway this girl is floating around Florence and you see some beautiful imagery of Florence. She’s walking around inspired and wowed at architecture, art, people, food, culture. I know exactly what that feeling feels like. To be awe-inspired, to be wowed, to have your breath taken away.



Then she says this line. She says “I want beauty in my life.” And it struck me that we paint the possibility of that feeling for younger people – late teens, early to mid-twenties. But why not feel that at any age. I haven’t seen the book or movie Eat-Pray-Love but I’ve seen the Julia Roberts trailer and think it’s talking about the same thing. I had a bit of a crisis after having my kids. My whole life that had been the pointy bit. The thing I was working towards and while I have so much of my life left to live and so many more reasons to want it to feel fulfilled and joyous and there are things I want to accomplish, I couldn’t recall seeing on TV or popularized, women in this time of their lives.



But I think that’s the other part of it. As we get older, some of us settle a bit. Whether we have kids or not, that part’s irrelevant but we have jobs we’ve scaled into, we have our lives, we often have financial responsibilities and obligations in the way of parents, or mortgages, or ownership in businesses, and life becomes less about discovering what it is we want to do with our lives, when we grow up, and more about defending or conserving the life we’ve started but haven’t quite finished building. We sit in this no-mans-land and I feel, we lose a lot of that inspiration and hunger to explore and discover all the possibilities this world has to offer us, and who we want to be in this world.



Coming back to our work life and productivity and being content and gracious in today’s moments, I feel everything is much more seamless when we’re inspired and excited about the possibilities of what our lives could become. And I can’t see any reason that feeling that way, or having the opportunity to re-write our story, or reinvent ourselves should stop because we’re older.



No matter what path you choose to take in life, you’re adding value to you. It’s banking up and whether you twist and turn, pack up and move away, drop out of something, take a course you never thought you’d take, it is all adding to your already vast wealth of knowledge. It’s the combination of knowledge, experiences and the way you’ve pieced things together to innovate and come up with creative solutions, that adds value to an employer and enables you to add value and contribute.



By making yourself happy first, by satisfying your needs, by feeling inspired, you will always win, you will always grow and you will always be able to use your lessons to contribute to those around you.



When was the last time you felt truly, soul-enlightening, inspired?



See you next week!





Hey! Before you go, I always find reviews really helpful when looking for new information or insights…



I you’ve found this podcast valuable, please take a minute to write a quick review about what you’ve found most beneficial for you, so other people can benefit from your insights, and listen in too. I would LOVE that!

Also, if there are any topics you’d like me to cover specifically about life coaching or the life coaching industry, visit rhiannonbush.com to contact me. Thanks for joining and I’ll see you in the next episode of Do I Need A Life Coach?!


Please note, this transcription may not be exact.