Coaching

My letter to my client who’s studying to become a judge

Elena, my dear, what a beautiful question. I loved your question. I thought about it. I will address this when we start the group coaching calls next month but here’s what I see right now.

I know you’re studying hard to become a judge. Right now the only thing you see in front of you is the exams that you have to pass to become a judge. I know there is no way you can become a judge unless you pass these exams. But can we create a bigger vision than just passing a few exams?

Can we focus on the person you want to be by walking this path towards becoming a judge? You are not studying to pass the exams. No no no! You’re studying so you better serve justice, society, people, tomorrow! Isn’t that more exciting than the exams you have to pass?

Can you spend every minute of your studying as if you’re a judge already? Imagine you are a judge and you’re now reading all these beautiful books, you’re going to classes, you’re probably speaking to other judges, mentors, you learn from others who have gone through the same journey, how beautiful that can be, and, is!!!

Can we shift your perspective here so studying for the exams becomes self-development and professional development? Can you see every minute you spend on exam preparation as a step towards becoming a better judge and a better person? Because if you manage to do that everything else will fall into place including exam success.

You will not just pass the exams. You will shine! The person who will mark your writings or interview you will be inspired by you. They will probably see themselves in you. They will see your light. They will see an exceptional future judge in you! How beautiful, how relaxing, how uplifting all this is! I have a big smile on my face right now. What a vision!

If you follow this approach, every minute spent on “exam prep” will be a minute worth spent. I know that it usually takes more than a year to prepare for these exams… but even if you don’t pass these exams on the first try, trust me, by following this approach you will have gone a lot further than someone who was there just to pass the exams and secure the most high-paying public servant job.

Can you shift your perspective by 180 degrees? How can you love this “exam prep” process irrespective of the outcome? You see I put it in quotes again because this is not exam prep; it’s a journey. It’s 100 times bigger than just exams!

Because at the end of the day, it will be a year or more of your life. How do you want to spend this year of your life?

You mentioned that you now have limited time to spend on reading books, self-development, etc. because you’re studying for the exams. But there’s self-development in this process as I see it. That’s self-development in practice when you change your perspective on this process.

And coming back to the “lack of time for reading books”…, remember this is a journey. A long term journey. A life journey. Tomorrow you will say to me… I have so many cases to go through because you will be a busy judge. But I’ll tell you that you can still make time to read, to create, to get inspired, to do your yoga, to have your quiet time, to go for a walk, to play with your kids. That’s going to make you a better judge. You will see that the most insightful answers will come to you during that time you allocate for recreation. How can someone be the best judge if they don’t allocate time for taking care of their mind, body, creative thinking, no?

I hope this is helpful. I’m so inspired by what you want to create. I’m writing these words and I have so much love for your vision. Angelos.

Read More

I’m blessed to be coaching people like Yazan

I’m blessed to be coaching people like Yazan.

He launched his online business a few months ago and he just got his first big client. A dream client!

It took him 4 months to build a relationship with his client and get their trust.

We worked on building a serving mindset, on giving unconditional value, on forgetting ourselves and our wants while being professional.

Our work was a meditation into the world of Yazan’s client. This is what it was.

We came up with outside the box ideas! We turned every stone upside down to find solutions and we did!

Yazan forgot that he needed to get clients ASAP. We only focused on solving the riddle for his potential client.

Building a business becomes easy when you forget yourself and focus only on your client’s problem.

I remember Yazan coming back worried one day… “I don’t know what’s going on. She is not responsive any more.”

“Keep providing value”, I said. “She’s just busy with the wrong things. Bring her attention to what matters, to what she really needs to do for her business. You’re here to show her the way, to lead her.”

And this is what Yazan did. He took action. He owned the game.

And one day the dream client called Yazan and asked him: “When are we going to start then?”🎉🎉🎉

Success.

Exciting times. I’m just so proud of my people. So passionate about my people.

These are my lovely, brilliant and powerful people.

What is your role then, Angelos?

I’m there for them to remind them how brilliant they are.

I’m there for them to kill any self-limiting thoughts that may interrupt their creative work.

I’m just there for them.

And they can feel I’m there for them.

And they keep going.

And they get what they deserve.

To all the people who let me be there for them while they’re climbing their mountains,

Angelos ❤️

Read More

How to Approach Clients for your Business

I just got off the phone with a coaching client of mine who’s launching his own business.

He asked me: “𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨?”.

He had been overthinking this question in his head.

Is it better to email them first and call them later? Or maybe visit them? How do you start the conversation? Is cold-calling still effective? Or cold-emailing is better? And what’s the best answer if the say x? And if they say y, what do you say next?

I asked my client a rhetorical question:

– Do you genuinely want to help your clients and serve them from your heart?

– Yes, I do.

– Then, you know very well how to approach them. You don’t need me to tell you. You just approach them. You say hello and you build a relationship with them. You offer a solution to their problem. You relax. You listen to them carefully and you serve them.

People who overthink the question “How do I approach clients?” usually do so because they’re in a war with their potential clients. It’s all about persuasion theory, selling, closing, and manipulation.

People who are in service mode, ie. in peace mode, approach their clients like a dove with an olive branch (an ancient symbol of peace).

A dove with an olive branch is on a mission to serve. It’s there to make the first step and give first.

It’s vulnerable, humble.

But also strong and confident because it’s bringing peace.

And if your potential clients are not ready yet to welcome the dove in their hands, they will always remember that you were a dove with an olive branch.

And if they didn’t see straight away that you were a dove,
you can fly back to them (follow-up, or reach out later)
as many times as you want as soon as you’re bringing an olive branch (value, service).

dove with olive branch

Read More

Achieving a goal should be like a bubble rising up to the surface

GOALS – Working towards a goal should feel like a bubble coming up to the surface.

Slowly. Steadily. Effortlessly. Gracefully.

You can’t achieve a goal if your whole identity is invested in a future expectation of yourself. Forcing the bubble to go up faster will only break the bubble and sabotage your entire mission.

When you are unattached, you know in the core of your being that you are sufficient without any changes, additions, or deletions. You allow the object of your desire to come to you without any force, pressure, or control. Unattachment means that it is acceptable for the goal to manifest, and it is equally okay for the bubble to split into hundreds of little bubbles before reaching the surface. Unattachment means that you’re living in the present while working towards your goal.

You can be free, sufficient and fulfilled without the manifestation of the goal. And it’s then when the goal manifests. It’s a paradox, isn’t it? The paradox of wanting something too much and not wanting it simultaneously. And it’s the role of a coach to make sure you’re always at the right spot of wanting it and not wanting it enough.

Do you have a big goal you want to achieve?

Let’s work together and see the bubble reach the surface.

Angelos

water bubbles rising up

Read More

On suffering and … the Power of Deep Listening.

** This is a fascinating story by Elsie Spittle, a great coach and spiritual teacher **

A client of mine was really suffering on behalf of her sister who was suffering on behalf of her son who was going through a contentious divorce. The mother of the son was struggling because of the pain her son was going through and shared this pain with her sister who took on the suffering.

I said to my client that there are many people who are going through the same suffering. I’ve gone through the same pain with my son and his contentious divorce but that suffering didn’t serve me well. That suffering doesn’t serve humanity well! I generalised to show that we’re all the same and suffering doesn’t serve us well. There is another way to find answers and help things resolve!

So, while my client was sharing her struggles with me, I asked her: “Is your suffering serving you well?”

And she paused.

And I listened to the pause.

There was so much in the pause.

In the past, I probably would have overwritten the pause and carried on teaching and sharing my understanding about why suffering doesn’t serve us well.

But for some reason, at that moment, I heard the pause. I saw the value in that pause. I saw that pause was her wisdom. And after the pause, she said: “No. I don’t get any relief from my suffering…”.

And she paused again.

Only then we were able to explore that pause and see what it meant and have a soul-to-soul conversation.

That pause, that soul-to-soul connection softened her beliefs without me saying to her: “Look, you have this belief and that belief, and we need to look at them…” It wasn’t that kind of education! It was more the soul-to-soul education based on listening…

Sometimes listening may not even have words!

Words get in the way…

sad woman

PS: I was going to share my interpretation of this story, my takeaways, the way I see it! I don’t have to. I shouldn’t do it. I must not do it. I’ll pause and let you think for yourself. Angelos.

Read More

There is still a beautiful garden in front of you… can you see it?

silence-garden

I just finished a 3-hour coaching call with my client, a brilliant individual who has really high standards for herself!

She was so frustrated today because she thinks she’s not good enough, she’s not doing enough, and not well enough, and not confident enough and not enough, and enough enough!!!

I was having such a hard time trying to slow her down and convince her that her “not enough” was actually “so much”!

At one moment I interrupted her and said:

– I’ve got such a beautiful garden in front of me. Can you hear the wind? Can you hear the leaves? Can you hear the cicadas?

– Yes… I can… I’ve got a beautiful garden in front of me too! Let me switch on my camera!

And then silence… And more silence… <3

Read More

Coaching is inherently disruptive

lovingdisruption1

Coaching is inherently disruptive.

It deconstructs your “realities”.

A form of loving disruption though ❤️⚡… because if a coach doesn’t care about you, if you can’t feel their care, you’re not gonna let them f*** with the stories you tell yourself in the way that this requires them to.

A coach isn’t trying to disrupt your realities on purpose!

It’s just disruptive to see that everything you thought was true… isn’t. It’s disruptive to see that your experience is not … the reality.

Read More

I’m learning from this man!

I’m learning from this man so much every single day working next to him.

He is the one who taught me what relationship means, not just in business, but in life.

The word relationship doesn’t need any adjectives next to it such as deep, strong, meaningful, etc. The word relationship is what it is.

I will not try to give any definition of the word relationship because any definition wouldn’t be enough to explain the word.

Let me give you a few examples instead.

A father or mother has a relationship with their son.

A business owner has a relationship with his client.

A coach has a relationship with the coachee.

It’s the same relationship.

What’s relationship for you?

Love, Angelos

Read More

Shall I keep hustling or not?

rockfeller

This guy’s net worth would be $660 bn in today’s money (yes, richer than Bezos).

I’m wondering then how “Keep Hustling” has got to become the new motto for success?

Anyone got an idea???

P.S. I’m not assessing this man’s ethics, how he made his fortune, etc. I’m only assessing his words per se.

P.P.S I don’t personally pair success with net worth but I mentioned net worth for those of you who do. I’m OK with that and I believe people use their money for different purposes.

#moneymaking #moneymindset #successtips #productivitytips #motivationalpost #successhabits

Read More

You are Genius and you’ll find YOUR OWN success formula

We’re all looking for the secret formula.

A magic recipe with particular steps x, y, z which will take us from 0 to 6 figures, from unhappy to happy, from 9-5 to successful entrepreneurs, from lonely to loved.

We are convinced that the formula is hidden in a New York Times bestseller, or in ONE course and if we follow the steps explained there in a holy manner we’ll get where we want to get.

We’re all looking for the secret formula.

A magic recipe with particular steps x, y, z which will take us from 0 to 6 figures, from unhappy to happy, from 9-5 to successful entrepreneurs, from lonely to loved.

We are convinced that the formula is hidden in a New York Times bestseller, or in ONE course and if we follow the steps explained there in a holy manner we’ll get where we want to get.

It doesn’t work like that and, thanks to God, it doesn’t, because otherwise, life would be so boring!

What separates those who succeed from those who fail is the ability to do things differently.

If there was ONE formula that everybody could follow to get success, the 9-5 problem or unhappiness would have been solved. We wouldn’t be having chats here on LinkedIn, bestsellers wouldn’t being written every single day, I wouldn’t be filming the video below, and no one would be talking about success stories because everybody would be a success!

Remember, you’re not the same person as the author who wrote that bestselling book on how to get success. You have different values, personality, interests, passions.

The author of the bestseller is a genius, that formula worked for him, he did it and helped others to do it but, still, that doesn’t mean that his formula will work for you.

Be OK with that and I promise you that when you stop looking for the secret recipe, you will get more curious, more open and you’ll see your secret formula surface from deep inside you. Because this is where it’s hidden.

I’m not saying “Don’t listen to the author of the book”! Get insights, try stuff but do also your own experiments, go crazy!

You’re a genius yourself and every genius in life will have to find his own way to his own truth.

When I coach people, million secret formulas are coming to my head. I want to help my clients and shout “Hey, try this, try that, that’s what you have to do!”. Still, I keep silent. I shut my mouth.

My role is to ask the right questions, the deep questions so the genius I’m coaching finds the answers themselves, the answers that nobody else has given before…

 

Read More