General Coaching Topics

Goals shape our future, but not all goals lead to success. The difference lies in clarity, structure, and awareness of unintended consequences. Set the wrong goal, and you may stall before you start. Learn how small shifts in how you define your goals can lead to real progress without the hidden trade-offs.

A strange dream left me thinking about the future of work in a way I could not ignore. In it, a client was told he had to share part of his salary with AI, not because of underperformance and not because of cost-cutting, but because the AI itself had filed a request for more resources. What began as a bizarre scene quickly became a mirror for the questions many of us are already asking: if technology is treated as a colleague, where does that leave human dignity, value, and worth? In this piece I explore what that dream revealed about the shifting workplace and the choices leaders face in shaping it.

We live in a world that rewards titles, roles, and results. But when those shift or disappear, many of us feel lost, because we have tied our sense of self to things outside of us. The Core Identity Model offers a way back to the part of ourselves that does not crumble when life changes. It moves us from defining ourselves by what we do or the stories we carry, to knowing who we are at our core. This is where growth has no ceiling, and resilience has no end.

We tend to think grief belongs only to death, but it shows up every time a part of our identity breaks apart. A marriage ends. A business collapses. A dream dissolves. And sometimes, it all happens at once. This is a story about walking beside someone through that kind of storm, and about what I learned when I faced my own. It is about the difference between sorrow and despair, and how Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s Change Curve can guide us not only through loss, but also through growth. Most of all, it is about why healing is less about fixing and more about walking together until light appears again.

There’s a moment many of us recognize, even if we rarely name it. You care deeply about someone you love, about what you see on the news but the pain feels too big, and the ways to help feel too small. So you freeze. Not because you don’t care, but because you don’t know where to put all that care. This blog is about that moment. And about how we can move from feeling overwhelmed by empathy to something steadier. Something more sustainable. Compassion that stays.

In a world without clear instructions for how to face hardship, we often turn to stories that reflect something true. Nightbirde’s unforgettable performance on America’s Got Talent in 2021 did exactly that. Battling cancer, she sang a song called It’s OK and left the world with a message that still resonates: You don’t have to wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy. This post explores the meaning behind her words and how they speak to the heart of coaching. It is about agency, emotional permission, and the quiet strength of choosing who we want to be when life is anything but easy. True happiness is not about escaping difficulty. It is about how we relate to it, and the decisions we make in the middle of it all.

Conflict doesn’t always come in loud. Sometimes it is quiet. A look. A pause. A sharp reaction to something small. What feels like overreaction is often something unresolved resurfacing. These moments are rarely about the trigger. They point to deeper patterns such as old wounds, inherited roles, and trust that never fully healed. The goal is not to avoid conflict, but to understand what it is really about. If you are seeing flashpoints in your team or family, ask yourself: What is the real conversation we are not having?

The stories we tell ourselves shape our identity, our choices, and our relationships. Some are empowering. Others quietly limit us. Often these stories are driven by inner saboteurs like the Judge, the Avoider, or the Hyper-Achiever. Once we recognize these patterns, we can begin to shift from self-criticism to self-awareness. This blog offers insights and practical steps to help you recognize the story you are in and choose a new way forward.

We often think of intelligence as a function of the mind. But modern science and ancient wisdom agree: the heart plays a central role in how we think, feel, and lead. This article explores how heart-brain coherence affects everything from emotional regulation to decision-making and even immune response. Drawing from personal stories, Ayurvedic practice, and the work of Gregg Braden and HeartMath, it offers a simple, science-backed practice to help you access clarity, intuition, and calm in everyday life and why that’s not just helpful, but essential, for modern leadership.

Feedback is rarely easy, but it’s always revealing. This piece breaks down why feedback often triggers our defenses, and how we can build the capacity to respond with curiosity instead of resistance. It offers a shift from judging feedback to learning from it, and from looking back to moving forward with feedforward. For leaders especially, the way you receive feedback shapes the culture around you.

Adversity will come—that’s inevitable. But how we meet it? That’s where our power lives. This piece explores what it means to respond instead of react, to face setbacks without losing our center. Drawing from lived experience, client stories, and the wisdom of Stoic and Buddhist thought, it offers practical tools and a quiet philosophy for building inner strength when it matters most.

We live in a culture fixated on scores, labels, and standardized tests—but intelligence is so much more. It's about how uniquely we think, create, and connect with the world around us. Drawing inspiration from Howard Gardner's powerful theory of Multiple Intelligences, this blog challenges traditional views, revealing how embracing diverse intelligences—from spatial awareness to emotional insight—can unlock hidden strengths, deepen our relationships, and fundamentally redefine what it means to be brilliant

Coaching, like walking, is a powerful yet often underestimated habit. This blog explores how regular coaching sessions can serve as a mental reset, helping you clear distractions, focus your energy, and build lasting emotional strength. Just as we walk to stay physically fit, we coach to stay mentally agile. You don't need a problem to start; just the intention to grow.

This blog explores the universal pressure on young people to achieve perfection in academics and careers, driven by cultural and societal expectations across continents. Highlighting the profound costs of avoiding failure, it emphasizes the necessity of safe spaces for setbacks as a means to foster resilience and growth. Through global examples and actionable steps, it invites readers to rethink how we view failure and recognize it as a powerful tool for learning and thriving.

Why do so many young people struggle with resilience, confidence, and perseverance? During a walk along the stunning coast of Punta del Este, a friend shared his frustrations working with today’s youth, who often give up too quickly when faced with challenges. This reflection explores the roots of the problem—and what it means for all of us as parents, leaders, and a society.

This blog examines how mindset influences our leadership, relationships, and responses to challenges. It moves beyond the fixed vs. growth binary to show how our mindset shifts depending on the situation, and what those shifts reveal. Emotion and environment influence belief, and even a fixed mindset can offer strength when grounded in values. This isn’t about choosing a mindset. It’s about noticing the one you’re in—and growing from there.

Your beliefs aren't merely passive thoughts—they actively shape your experiences and achievements through the power of self-fulfilling prophecy. This article explores the science behind self-belief power, illustrating how what you think profoundly impacts your confidence, resilience, and ability to succeed. By rewriting the stories you tell yourself, you can break through limitations, embrace new opportunities, and create a reality aligned with your highest potential.

Mistakes are not the opposite of success, they're essential to it. In this post, I explore how embracing failure can drive growth, sharpen performance, and build resilience. Whether in sports, leadership, or life, learning to work with mistakes instead of fearing them is a mindset shift that changes everything.

In a world that rewards nonstop action, the ability to step back has become a hidden advantage. This blog unpacks the discipline of switching off, not as a sign of weakness, but as a foundation for long-term performance. Drawing from personal experience, leadership insights, and examples from figures like Arianna Huffington and Richard Branson, it explores how rest, recovery, and presence are key to showing up fully when it matters most.

In this personal reflection on adversity, I explore how our internal response—not the external challenge—shapes our experience. Drawing from my coaching journey and the timeless wisdom of Stoic philosopher Epictetus, I share how perspective, daily practices, and emotional honesty can help us reclaim agency in the face of disruption. This isn’t about bypassing pain—it’s about learning to meet difficulty without losing ourselves. The blog offers practical tools, insights from lived experience, and a reminder that resilience isn’t found. It’s built—one grounded choice at a time.

Procrastination isn’t about laziness—it’s fear wearing a mask, and we’ve all been there: staring at a looming task while finding every excuse to avoid it. This article dives into the emotional roots of procrastination, showing how it affects even the most capable leaders. The key to breaking free? Start small. A single sentence, a five-minute timer, or one manageable step can shatter the inertia and build momentum. Procrastination thrives on perfectionism and fear, but progress begins the moment you take action, however imperfect. So, what’s one thing you’ve been avoiding? Start now—because the first step changes everything.

Confidence isn’t just a trait; it’s a skill that shapes how we navigate challenges, transform failures into opportunities, and strive for success. Drawing insights from athletes who push their physical limits and executives who thrive in high-stakes environments, this article explores the building blocks of self-confidence, from preparation and resilience to mentorship and growth. Through personal reflections and practical examples, discover how confidence can be cultivated as a powerful tool to bridge the gap between intention and achievement.

Our mental models and perspectives are like the roadmaps that help us to navigate the world. They help us to make sense of our surroundings and experiences. But what happens when those maps are outdated or incomplete without us realizing this? Imagine using that inadequate map when hiking a vast forest. The path behind you is worn and familiar, while ahead lies an expanse of uncharted territory. In this article, we share Sofia's story, a young woman escaping the limits of her mental models and perspectives. Her journey was filled with uncertainty yet illuminated by the promise of discovery and transformation. Maybe her story will resonate with some of your own experiences.

Learning occurs in stages. It takes patience and time to acquire new skills. Gaining proficiency takes practice. The Learning Matrix, also called the Four Stages of Competence, is a four-stage model that can help to understand the different steps involved in learning and where an individual is in his learning journey.

Coaching, mentoring, teaching, counseling, and consulting all share some key characteristics and skills. All these five approaches can enhance performance in a developmental process based on a working relationship. Nonetheless, they are each quite different, and it's essential to be aware of the differences.

As a coach, I often find myself working with clients dealing with setbacks and challenges in their lives. It can be easy to fall into a mindset of despair, hopelessness, and even destruction. But as Bruny's story reminds us, we always have a choice in how we react to adversity.

Belonging is an innate human need deeply woven into the fabric of our existence. When our need for inclusion within a team or cohort is fulfilled, our energy and focus are channeled toward the shared mission. Acknowledging and addressing the fundamental human need of belonging presents a valuable opportunity for any organization or team to foster connection and cultivate a high-performing work environment.

Survivorship Bias refers to drawing conclusions based on a limited set of successful examples while ignoring or overlooking the failures, as their stories are often not shared or acknowledged.

In a perfection-obsessed world, we forget that imperfections are desirable. They make us unique and add personality to our lives. Embracing imperfections builds resilience and fosters connections with others. Let's explore this concept.

Conscious capitalism can be described as a “way of thinking about capitalism and business that better reflects where we are in the human journey, the state of our world today, and the innate potential of business to make a positive impact on the world.”

Curiosity is one of the most powerful tools to help us grow, develop relationships with others, adapt to change, and create innovative solutions. While the literature suggests that we are born with some natural level of curiosity, our life experiences and, paradoxically, our education can make us less curious. The good news perspective is that curiosity is a mental muscle that can be trained like any other muscle.

This month I started a one-year study to become a certified Conscious Capitalism consultant. I have unconsciously embraced this philosophy for a long time but never could put a word to it.

On a daily visit to Starbucks to get my fix of Venti Chai Latte, I observed a disturbing behavior with other customers. As they were waiting at the counter to get their cuppa, most of them had their eyes stuck to their mobile phones. Only a few looked up and said "thank you" when being served by the friendly barista. They acted as if he did not exist, and their phone was more important. 

Whether asking for a raise or negotiating for a salary with a potential employer, talking about money remains difficult for many people. Often this is because they don't realize their worth. The big "ask" is all about timing, confidence, and self-awareness. “Think Big,…….! No, Much Bigger!!”, I often advise my clients, “Think in abundance, beyond limits”. In this blog, I am sharing with you my ten commandments of the art of negotiating for a higher salary.

One of the recurring goals in coaching sessions is to live a happier life. My clients sometimes doubt if happiness exists or if it is a utopia, impossible to attain. The truth is that it exists and is measured all over the world. 

The different parts of the brain are interconnected and communicate through a neural network. Neurons communicate with other neurons through a connection called synapsis. Modern science has proven that "rewiring" neural networks and enhancing neuroplasticity is possible. By helping clients reflect and become more self-aware, we can change internal brain processes and create different neural pathways. 

Have you ever wondered why so many business books have been written about how to negotiate for 'yes' and so few books about how to get to a 'no'? By learning how to say 'no', we can reclaim control over our lives.