Life is nothing more than a collection of experiences and collectively they make up our story…we all have one..this is mine !

For almost 25 years I have been a student, teacher, trainer, counsellor and mentor in the field of business, marketing and personal development, and I've been an entrepreneur all my life.

I first started when I was 6 years old, helping the local milkman deliver bottled milk door-to-door in my neighbourhood. By the time I was 10, I was delivering newspapers, and by the time I was 13 I was building bicycles from used parts to sell to the kids at school who didn't live on the bus route.

However, by the time I left school at 16, I was delightfully conditioned to get "a proper job, with a secure future" - so I went to work for the government, ….at the tax office! Can you believe that?

That was when my non-conformist, rebellious attitude to society's 'conditioned life' really started to blossom! I disliked all the rules, rigidity and unnecessary authoritarianism, so I did everything I could to buck the system - now THAT was fun!

Don't get me wrong, I was good at my job, and had a good work ethic - but the rest? Nah! Juniors, like me were always called by their last name only and you were marked down as insubordinate if you ever dare refer to anyone further up the totem pole by their first name!

Can you imagine?

I had dozens of jobs between the ages of 16 and 26, but when marriage summoned, I really rebelled! I quit my last proper job right after the wedding and opted to go self-employed in sales. I tried a couple of different things before I found advertising…but that was where I first found excitement, fascination and REAL entrepreneurs.

I got to meet and talk to hundreds of men and women who had put their passion and creativity into ideas that worked (And plenty that didn't!) and I loved being in a position to help them turn their ideas into a real business.

I designed and sold ads for newspapers, directories, magazines, brochures, posters, flyers, billboards, and vehicles. I got to spend thousands of dollars of other peoples money finding out what worked and what didn't…..I enjoyed it, and I was good at it, I made good money and had fun..but it wasn't enough..I just wasn't happy. Something was missing, but I didn't know what.

Eventually, I got some great ideas for my own business and branched out into other areas, like commercial lighting, health foods, perfume, cosmetics, marketing consultancy and eventually importing North American companies into Europe.

Almost inevitably, I got lured into Corporate Europe, and then into Corporate America. I had earned a reputation as 'The Spin Doctor' - the one guy who could turn any situation or company around, and I specialized in pioneering new companies into their chosen market, or saving companies who were in trouble from certain disaster either from rapid growth, or rapid demise.

My life was always 'on the edge' - sometimes even over it!

Yes! It was exciting, and yes, I was good at it too. I developed a very non-conformist, non-corporate, unorthodox way of running a company…the employees loved it, the 'conventional suits' hated it, because it showed that their ego and inflated superiority only magnified the problems and caused conflict, but I did produce results, it was a whole lot of fun for those involved and I noticed that the shareholders didn't care as long as their stock went up!

But here was my dilemma..I had an outstandingly optimistic attitude to life…truck loads of self confidence..perfect health and wonderful friends and family. I'd had a tremendous amount of fun. At times made an obscene amount of money, sometimes with very little work, achieved a great deal of recognition and material success….and at the same time I felt totally unfulfilled…What a paradox!

Crunch time came when I was hired as President of a California company that was in an almost impossible financial nose-dive, and at best 60 days away from bankruptcy.

My aim was to save jobs, pay creditors and create hope for the future for the employees, the customers and the shareholders, but all the while there were two rival groups of shareholders locked in an acrimonious battle to gain control of the company.

….Of course the better job I did, the more there was to fight for. The irony was that, no matter which group won, I knew I would get fired because both had made it clear that they wanted a subservient 'yes-man' as President once the dust had settled. I hadn't spent one single minute of my entire life being subservient up to that point and I had no intention of starting!

It was the classic lose-lose situation. If I saved the company I would certainly lose my job, and if I didn't save the company I wouldn't have a job to lose!

It's tough, lonely place sitting in the Presidents chair making decisions, even in the good times. You can't find anyone to talk to, confide in or to use as a sounding board that didn't have their own agenda, egotistical opinion, or attachment to the outcome of the situation. But when you KNOW you can't win…and the clock is ticking ever faster and louder, it's just about impossible!

Well, my sense of commitment and my rebellious spirit sealed my fate..I saved the company and got fired!

But here's the good news! I hadn't really lost at all ! I had WON…and BIG TIME! I'll explain…...

To preserve my sanity and clarify my thinking and sense of purpose, I hired a Life Coach….and THAT was the most valuable decision I have ever made in my entire life! THAT was where I had WON..and it had more value to me than winning the lottery

I'm sure you've heard the saying..,,'When the pupil is ready, the teacher appears,' right? Well, in my estimation that's totally TRUE!

Enter stage left……Jim Bunch!

I had known Jim for about 6 months. I knew of his impressive background as an entrepreneur, but I had no idea that he was a Life Coach…at that time I had never even heard of a 'Life Coach.'

Thirty minutes talking with Jim changed all that…and my life will never be the same again! I hired Jim as my Personal Coach, and almost immediately, all the pieces of my 'life puzzle' that had accumulated over the previous 25 years suddenly started to click into place!

At last, I 'GOT IT'….Things that had made no sense to me at all suddenly became obvious..and sometimes painfully so!

New business contacts, new friends, and even old friends 'showed up' as if on cue.

Things that in the past hadn't worked started to come together. It was as if my life was unfolding 'on purpose' instead of by accident.

I discovered that stress just evaporated.
I discovered enjoyment every day in just being me.
I discovered peace and fulfilment in everything I did.
I discovered, at last that I understood me, my life, and my
place in it!

I really was having 'The Time Of My Life!'

It's been a very enlightening experience indeed!

I have spent a lifetime mentoring and counselling individuals in both business and personal matters..But Life Coaching IS different!

I was so impressed by what had happened to me, I wanted to inspire as many people as possible to discover Life Coaching sooner, rather than later…so my own Life Coaching practice was born!