Session 1: Reflection - Coaching & Development

“Reflection” - My first coaching and development session with Dr. Rakish Rana - The Clear Coach 

It was a Monday morning and I woke up at 6am, firstly with the feeling that I had so much to do, instantly thoughts were running through my mind of my schedule and what I had to achieve this week and also what I had to catch up on from previous weeks.

I went about my normal morning rituals, which include sitting on the edge of my bed, giving thanks for all I have, followed by a quick shower, getting dressed, prayers / meditation and then breakfast. 

I knew in the back of my mind that it was my first coaching and development sessions with Dr.Rakish and that I should really get there early and mentally prepare myself. 

I arrived at the destination which was a lovely coffee shop on the outskirts of London, slightly late! Dr.Rakish was smiling and gave me a warm handshake and greeted me well. 

Sitting down, It immediately started to dawn on me that I was going to have to open up, and actually speak about who I am, what I stand for, my history, failures and achievements. 

Usually this kind of behaviour and emotional openness only occurs with a few friends in a swanky bar after 5 or 6 cocktails on a Saturday night to be frank, but I was willing to give this a try. Rakish also seemed to be able to create the environment for me to easily open up to him.

I decided if I wanted to take VAYYU to the next level, I had to be open, I had to take myself to the next level, had to be open about my challenges, be honest about my successes and most importantly, be clear with where I wanted to go in life and what I thought was holding me back.

Everyone that knows me, know that I put 250% into everything I do, 20 hour days have never been a chore for me, I’ve thrived of it, I feel satisfied from it. Although, this leaves me emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted which eventually catches up with me every few months.

After 30 minutes of explaining my life, Dr.Rakish stopped me and said, okay perfect, “I have two things I would like you to consider.”

 I was shocked, in my mind, I was thinking, you have only heard half of my life story, let alone the business, let alone the challenges, what possibly could you have realised already? 

He said “ Firstly, you need to change the language that you use with yourself?” I asked him to explain further. He went on to say “You opened the conversation, with apologies, I hit traffic and just had so much to do this morning" your always so ‘busy’ he went on to explain. The only thing I had to do, was the schedule I had mentally set for myself, which is obviously too much and was burning me out, I thought about it and as obvious as it was, to me, I had no idea I was doing this. 

It was hard for the first few moments to comprehend what he had said but after a while, I processed it and thought, I will ease up on myself, be more strategic and less “busy” which is a word I use a lot. He then also said that busy doesn’t necessarily mean successful.

Secondly he mentioned, I need to break the part 2 of this being ‘busy mentality, which I had developed from previous employers. I was conditioned into believing the longer hours I work, the longer amount of time I was seen at my desk, the more I will earn. This was a completely false economy, as I soon realised I was being paid less than the people that were only doing 36 hours and had no experience, whilst I was working 75 hour weeks and earning the company hundreds of thousands of pounds every week, with half the income. 

The two topics I have learnt from my first coaching and development session is: 

1: Change the language I use about myself 

2: Break the bond between, Time = Money, Time doesn’t necessarily equate to money, most of the richest people in the world only work few hours, and the poorest exert themselves to exhaustion. 

The session left me thinking a lot about who I had become in these last 10 years and to take control of my life, to be kinder to myself, fairer to myself.

It’s about breaking down habits which have become a part of my character willingly or unwillingly. Ultimately it’s about refining who you are as a being. 

Let’s see how next week will go, I’m feeling positive. 

Thank you for reading this and being intrigued in my journey as an entrepreneur.

Chris  -

Founder & CEO of VAYYU