professional mastery

Oh The Places We’ll Go

2015 is the year when I discovered that Coaching was my calling, not just my profession. In 2016, I received the huge honour to co-facilitate a program, that I considered my Home Coming, with my teacher and mentor Peter J Reding, from Coach For Life, USA, in India.

Peter has been visiting India for the last 12 years, teaching and training what he calls his ‘life’s work’ – the Fulfilment Coaching Model – that supports individuals and organizations to derive greater meaning and fulfillment by Coaching the Human Spirit.

An entrepreneur at heart, I launched my venture called Back to Source Coaching in 2018, and I opened myself to receive the baton of building a legacy for Coach for Life in India under my independent banner which was like a gift from the Divine. With the conviction that coaching was a powerful tool and discovery of facilitation as a newfound strength, I engaged in several conversations to enrol participants in our program, sharing our offering. We managed to certify and bring to the world 50 new Coaches in year 1 and had another 50 signed up for our March 2020 Program.

As COVID 19 clouded the world, Peter and I took a conscious decision to accept the virus and energize our life’s work. With 4 hours to take the flight, the Governments in India & the US froze international travel, banning all visas. Peter and I decided with a heavy heart to reschedule the program for a future unknown date and prayed that the virus would soon go away. The emails poured in and a decision had to be made: Do we dare to take it virtual or play it safe? Do we trust our abilities and curiosity to learn and step into the unknown with a leap of faith?

The external lockdown is a temporary phase; the Journey Back to Source, is a gratifying space. The unconditional love and support from my family and friends, made me take the decision t to offer the work I love so much. “It would be a pity”, I felt, “to have 50 people wait to embrace their authenticity and engage with the world with their re-discovery !!”

Honouring my spirit to treat everyone like I would like to be treated, I offered a refund, a rollover or a special treat to join me on a ride that would be remembered as my first virtual feat.

Trusting my courage to take this step ahead, a team that supported my cause showered me with blessings to convert a program, that was delivered live for 26 years, to an online offering where 24 participants would come alive !!!

We spent nights understanding the features of Zoom – from breakouts to polling and security and to spotlight. From the balancing act using a flip chart and whiteboard, with our limited resources we created a virtual classroom preview and offered it to the 50 to exercise their point of view. With a commitment to start off with a single cohort, we set an intention to have a full batch.

With a week to make a decision, the questions began to flow, and our honest responses with excitement, enthusiasm, and concerns seemed to take their own energetic flow. As we continued to learn, we reworked the design to have it best serve our participants. This allowed them to be inspired to learn and receive the tenants of Coaching that the Master had received and offered so many with effortless ease.

Sitting in his home in Orlando, Peter started adjusting to IST time, while I created a space with a dupatta and some twine. My children and husband supported the creation of a virtual classroom with books to make a stand for a phone to record the flip chart so that I could step into my element from the very start and deliver a program that was so close to my heart. My friends, Monica & Nidhi, my Back to Source Team worked hand in hand to manage the backend and created a virtual band.

It was a symphony that was incredibly well-received with a full batch of 24 participants who trusted the energy we shared and opened up to receive, what they considered on Day 5, an internal release.

The new normal, they say, is here to stay. Stock up the essentials of love, positivity, and trust that the lockdown has the potential to set you free.

I was a channel, an instrument of Her Grace, and was able to offer space for fellow travellers to tread across continents, countries, and cities I have never seen and connect virtually across a Zoom screen.

The normal for me will always be a connection with the Source and the vision to see the divinity in every human being.