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Success Stories

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Kim Hindocha : From school teacher to teaching expert...

Where were you in your life and work when you joined the programme?

I had been teaching for many years, and had accumulated experiences as a teacher mentor, Senior Manager and Performance Manager. I have worked in Inner City London, in both primary and special schools, including five years in a school for teenage boys with social, emotional and behavioral difficulties; and another three years in with students who had profound learning difficulties. I have also worked with students of above average ability, and have reared five children of my own.

I had come to believe that the single most important factor which affected whether children reached their full potential, or not, was motivation. Those children who showed an inner drive to succeed did better than expected, regardless of all the factors that would be traditionally associated with students doing less well. I was aware too, that many parents and carers were desperate to encourage their children to do well, but were not sure how to go about it.

For some time I had considered writing an ecourse on procrastination, and other factors which impact success. However, at this stage (January 08) I had obviously acquired organization and presentation skills, I was not sufficiently sure that my ideas and approaches had marketable value. In fact, I had done little more than write notes and pass them onto friends and colleagues for perusal.

What was your dream?

My dream was to develop my own educationally based business, enabling parents and carers to access information which would provide practical strategies and techniques for them to motivate their children to succeed at school.

Where are you now?

With a lot of thought and a great deal of guidance I have now reached the stage where my ideas are almost ready for presentation. I am in the process of developing a website, and have plans for a series of talks, and seminars. In am in almost completed the second draft of an ecourse.

What have been the greatest milestones of your progress so far?

• My first milestone was to recognize that my expertise could be used to create a practical product.
• The second was to identify a means of fulfilling the need parents and carers felt to motivate their children to learn.
• The third was overcoming my own self-doubts.
• The fourth milestone was to discuss my plans at the group courses. There is something powerful about announcing your dream in front of others. The fact that people reacted with interest and encouragement was a great confidence boost. Knowing that when people meet you again they will be asking you how far you have got, is also a powerful impetus.
• The fifth has been getting the material organized and ready for presentation, and finding a forum.
• The sixth will be launching my first talk, sometime very soon.

What have you learned about yourself?

I have learned that I can be very confident in one area of my life’s work and yet totally unconfident in another, to the point of self-sabotaging my own dreams. Breaking through the obstacles in an area where I initially felt confused and daunted has given me a sense of achievement, different to anything I have felt before. I have a way to go, but I am learning to love the process.

Perhaps because this meant so much to me, I had a strong fear of failure: When I chose to work towards my own dream, it felt very different to working as part of an educational organization. I was totally responsible for the outcome of events. For some time I also lacked insight into how useful my own ability to build rapport and motivate disaffected young people might be. My initial ideas reflected this. To begin with my ecourse drew surprisingly little from my own personal experiences, and was much more theoretically based. Nick helped me to see that the practical skills I took for granted, were the very strengths which made me credibile.

What has helped from the individual coaching?

There is real strength gained in being interdependent. That is, having someone to encourage me, when things felt too difficult; work through my anxieties step by step, and help me build the self belief that I really could do this. I think it is so easy for us to talk ourselves out of our dreams, in the name of ‘reality,’ especially in the early stages. There are many people out there, who will suggest you are aiming for the stars, and are going to be disappointed. In fact, creating a basis for the work I would love to do, and working through the process of defining my own path, has been exhilarating and fearsome.

What has helped from the events you attended?

The courses that I attended introduced essential new insights, and skills. I was taught techniques which would enable me to present my material in as ‘user friendly’ a manner as possible. Nick and Niki’s research assessing which aspects of marketing produced the best results, taught me essential strategies for successfully marketing myself. These business directed facets were invaluable to me, as I had little awareness of the strategies I would need to use to get my material a sales base.

Confidence within the group fostered creativity in me. I was able to cover a lot of ground in a very short time. Each time I left a group at the end of the day, I felt I was another step closer to having my material in published form.

The individual coaching had worked to develop my personal skills as an entrepreneur. The courses expanded on this, by providing a forum to discuss shared experience. Though our expertise and business ideas were very different, it was inspiring to work with different groups of people who were all developing practical measures to ensure they fulfilled their dreams. Many of the issues I had faced, they had contended with also. None of us had let them beat us. The impact of that alone was transformative.

Have you had any resistance operating and how have you recognized it and then overcome it?

Strangely enough, despite my years of experience, I initially lacked the self-belief that I could achieve this dream. Even though it was extremely important to me. The fear of failure, led me to procrastinate. It was easier to tell myself that I was too busy working and caring for the family, to the find time and energy to achieve my dream. Nick helped me reflect on these feelings. We worked through issues together. Nick was firm, and would not let me give way to procrastination. At the same time he was non-judgmental and showed enormous empathy. In addition Nick taught me strategies for approaching internal and external obstacles, as they arose. It was as if he knew the route, and was there to show the way – but not carry me. I read The War of Art. I am now aware of the challenging thoughts and emotions which arise each time I need to take a new step up. I am not in complete control of them yet, but the awareness that we often fear the thing we most need to learn, has helped me recognize even these are part of the process.

How has your progress impacted your wider life?

I am more energized. I feel challenged and inspired to do even more. On a practical level, I have been promoted to Performance Management, which I am sure has come from my proactive approach to inspiring and motivating others. My family and friends have also been inspired by the changes in me, and so far four other people have begun to make positive far-reaching career changes in their own lives.

What results are you proud of so far?

I am proud of the way that my material is coming together. It is no longer a set of ideas, but something tangible I can pick up and read. Others are becoming interested in the process. Already, I have used my material to encourage others and have seen it have positive practical impact. Great!

What are your next steps?

To provide talks and seminars to a range of audiences. Also to create a website that defines who I am, my experience and expertise, and what I have to contribute.

What sense of possibility has opened up for you?

I believe this may lead to life changing experiences I only dared imagine even a year ago. At present I hardly dare think this far.