[00:00:00] Hi everyone, it's Judith Bowtell. I'm the host of Aligned and Thriving, the podcast, which is here to support you, to bring your life into alignment with your values and well at least your working life, and to have your life thriving in all the areas that are important to you.
[00:00:26] Welcome back to another episode of Aligned and Thriving, where I'm pleased to introduce you to our new online coaching program. As I said last week, I'm thrilled to be able to bring you this program in a more accessible form and price point as I've seen it change people's lives for the better over and over again over the past 10 years.
[00:00:48] I've run this program one on one in groups and enters a foundation for leadership and professional development programs. And I've had it evaluated independently for its impact on confidence, the clarity of long and short term goals, expansion of career aspirations, and success. And the ability to recruit support and overall for self advocacy. I've run the program for people who identify as disabled, neurodivergent, dealing with mental and physical health issues, and are deaf. I've run the program for women, members of the LGBTQI community, including people who identify as gender diverse or trans, people from culturally diverse backgrounds and people who are living overseas or internationally. I'll be going into more of the success stories of my career coaching individually and in groups in one of the next episodes. But I wanted today to explain why our program is unique in the career coaching and self development landscape.
[00:01:48] Now, unique is a word that gets thrown around a lot, along with innovation or life changing or transformational. Unfortunately, that is not always true. When you unpack these programs, that it is same content, just repackaged a bit. And it's more about telling you what to do than developing something new about yourself. Often they include a mindset piece, which is based on Tony Robbins or other successful life coaches that tell you to basically cheer the fuck up. Or get over your trauma, don't have a disability, don't be neurodivergent, don't be culturally diverse or anything different than white, able bodied, and really preferably a man. You need to have a great backstory of what you overcame to be where you are today, but no record of external support, inherited wealth, or other privilege to explain how you got to where you are today. That is normally where I say, no thanks, and move on from the sales pitch or offer to change my life. I'm saying this not to dump on other career coaches out there who are doing a fantastic job with their clients, but to point out the types of unprincipled and inauthentic materials that are presented for hugely elevated prices to give you confidence to make changes in your life. Okay. I am dumping on Tony Robbins, but he's a misogynist and a bully, so he can take it.
[00:03:20] So there are many red flags to these programs and offers, but here are a few of the biggest. There's normally a person at the head who has all the answers and is seen as infallible. They are deferred to and not to be questioned because of their unique story of overcoming difficulties and barriers through personal grit and determination. Another is that these programs never really have an exit. That is, there is always a new program, a book, a coaching class, a seminar, a retreat, or a subscription that you must have to ensure your ongoing success. They have cookie cutter testimonials from people who learned X that changed their life to Y and generally made them massive amounts of money. And if they seem more like cults or scams and genuine professional and personal development programs, or like diets or well being programs that promise the world in exchange for your cash and a promise to adhere to impractical practices and unsustainable change. These are programs that promise hope, but then create anxiety if you don't achieve the same results as those promised.
[00:04:35] The problem always comes back to you, not the program or the economic or biological, psychological and social barriers we may face to success as it is defined. For more on this topic of bootstrapping stories of success and the programs that have been sold to reinforce the paradigm, I recommend you listen to the podcast, If Books Could Kill, especially on the book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad about how grifters have infiltrated the personal development landscape. We'll have the link in the show notes.
[00:05:11] So how do we differ from these programs and how do we get the results that we do? So after dumping on large parts of the self help movement, why am I working in it? And in, in this area and selling programs that may look just like others out there? As I said at the outset, this program works, this career development program delivers the results that people want. And it doesn't work because you are white, straight and middle class. It works even if you identify completely differently. And I have the independent evaluations to prove it. This program does not rely on you having some sort of inherited privilege to be successful. It is all about supporting you to have a working life that gives you greater happiness and greater satisfaction.
[00:06:08] These evaluations are more than testimonials from a selected sample. They have been done by independent social impact evaluators, the pattern makers. And they have been done with rigor and with a independent of me. I don't see the results except in aggregation. So I know. That my program works for a diverse group of people, a very diverse group of people. And I'm incredibly proud about that. The real difference between my program, my career development program and others is how the program has been developed and in its delivery.
[00:06:54] What is most important is that this program could be run by anyone. That is, it can be run by anyone who is trained in practice in both transpersonal coaching, which is quite rare here in Australia, and positive psychology. They also need to have experience and an ongoing practice of self compassion or an equivalence. There is nothing unique in my life experiences. Besides my training and education and this practice that qualifies me to run this program. I'm not here to tell you about my transformational life experiences and suggest that if you do what I do, you can have a life like mine because I've made many mistakes in my career and running my business. And whilst I am more confident and comfortable in it these days, I would not recommend my path or strategy to anyone because I don't know your life. You are the expert in that. But what I do know and am highly experienced in is that With a very strong track record is how to support people through change, how to find direction and motivations for your working life that has you feel supported, valued and confident in your skills and experience. I know how to work with you to create challenges that are doable and teach you new skills. We might go to the end of your comfort zone, but I do not encourage people to become overly anxious. As they commit to unsustainable change. I know how to help people get the support they need to make change. Acknowledging that we all come from different backgrounds and have different levels of privilege. I'm not a job guru or a change wizard. I'm not the fairy godmother with the magic wand. I am a skilled professional in adult learning, career coaching, and professional development. And I should also clarify, I'm not a health or mental health professional. Coaching is not therapy. It may benefit you in many ways, but it is not a healing profession.
[00:09:01] So what is also important though, is that the program has been developed in line with my values of authenticity, trust, courage, and compassion. These values have motivated me to connect different methodologies and frameworks for personal and professional development into a cohesive whole with proven results. All the elements of the program have foundation and scientific research with evidence that has been tested and peer reviewed. All of the exercises have a purpose to support the development of internal skills and development. I guess you could say that's the mindset stuff that is long lasting and sustainable. The external challenges and strategies are developed by the participants themselves. with the support and sometimes suggestions of the program leader or coach. They are assessed and confirmed to be achievable without disturbing large parts of the participant's lives and causing additional anxiety. Basically, we work on strategies that you can do within the next couple of weeks without any major expenditure or, as I said, life disruption. It's something that you can do right away. right away with what you have. This evidence based approach aligns the program more with adult learning and development best practice. It is not a six week training program based on the evidence of one person's experience or even that of subjects selected for their likelihood of short term success. It is the deep dive you may have been looking for to support lasting it. and sustainable change. One of the unique elements of this program is that the outcomes are long lasting and sustainable.
[00:10:50] You don't need to totally restructure your life and make massive changes, at least not all at once. However, you will learn the skills that allow you to work consistently towards long term goals with motivation and confidence, feeling like you are in control of your choices and decisions. Because you are. I stay in contact with many of my clients, some of who I worked with 10 or more years ago. Some of these clients have returned as long term clients as their lives get more challenging, as their careers took off in new directions. We'd work together on strategies and planning, communication skills, negotiation, and other leadership skills. Others have stayed in touch and updated me on their careers, especially how their new perspectives and insights have supported them to achieve their goals. Many refer to exercises like the values self assessment we do, as it is still supporting them years down the track. I sometimes find it quite amusing, but also really heartwarming when clients and participants quote back things I said to them that they recall and use in daily life. And I'm always thrilled to hear when participants achieve their big goals, that at the time we worked together seemed so far away and were only dreams when we started our work together. I've seen films and series developed and produced, shown at festivals and major streaming channels. They've been celebrated and put the creator in line for even more challenging work and opportunities. I've been invited to book launches and exhibition openings. I've seen my clients take on more leadership responsibilities and be headhunted to incredible roles here and overseas. I've seen babies born, people move in and out of cities, and individuals deal with ongoing health conditions with courage and self compassion. Our testimonials are not cookie cutter and transactional, but statements of heartfelt, felt gratitude for having the opportunity and support to start the process of change to a life in line with your values and as a basis for thriving.
[00:13:11] The reason why the outcomes of the program are long lasting is due to the underlying skills of development that is consistent throughout the program. That is that each exercise and self reflection opportunity support the development of emotional intelligence, as defined by Daniel Goleman in the book of the same name. That is the ability to recognise and manage your own emotions and to use your self awareness to influence others. There is more to emotional intelligence than that, though. What we focus on is learning how to use the information or the data your emotions provide to guide decision making.
[00:13:55] That is the program has several exercises to develop our ability and capacities. We learned how to recognise and name our emotional responses to different situations and stimuli. We create and visualise scenarios that encourage positive emotions like harmony, balance, kindness, and compassion. We distinguish between external notions of success and internalised feelings of satisfaction and achievement. We encourage neutral responses to emotional experiences, allowing us to be present to the information that sits within the experience. We learn how to stay connected to ourselves and to others as we negotiate difficult and confronting emotions. That we may otherwise want to avoid or escape. I have a lot more to say about that, but you really do need to come into the program because it would take forever.
[00:14:52] Judith Bowtell: But overall, by expanding our emotional intelligence, we can find our authentic connection to the values that motivate us to keep moving forward towards our goals. Even when there are external difficulties and setbacks. We don't have to own these experiences as character building or even learning experiences. Sometimes shit just happens, but we can use our emotional intelligence to collect data that will inform our next steps.
[00:15:26] As I've said before, I'm skeptical of programs that are actually gateways or funnels to further sales. This is not always a bad thing, is people often have great shortcuts and insights to share. But I prefer people to be upfront about where this free consult or five day challenge or time limited webinar may lead. I try to be transparent in all my offers and even go so far as to put my prices on my website. Again, something that's a bit unique in this space. What I find to be a red flag is when after you've spent hundreds of thousands on a program, you are then invited to another program. Which you can only access after you've done the first one. And that will cost even more in money and time, but will be where you truly get the benefits and change you want. However you only find out about this after you've made the initial investment. That, to me, reads, I don't know, scam, and is also sometimes the practices of a cult. So I will be totally upfront and transparent. And if you don't have the information here, please get in contact and I will give it to you.
[00:16:40] Our online program contains all the content. you would get in one to one coaching. However, it takes longer to complete. It will take at least six months rather than the one to one coaching, which can be completed between six to 12 weeks. This is recognised in the costing of the online program, which is about a third of the one to one coaching price. Also note, these are minimum times for completing the program. Many people take longer and you will have access to the online program for up to 12 months including the monthly coaching sessions. These are live coaching sessions with me. The program is complete in itself. You do not need to do anything else to realise the expected benefits of the program. That is more confidence, more clarity, and broader aspirations. Our evaluation and constant feedback have proven the program delivers. Whether done in a group or one on one. There will be additional bonus elements to purchase if you want. That will support your career development, which you can access after the main program. These will be on topics like CVs and job applications, interview preparation, contract negotiation, networking, and developing your expertise. We may also have programs in the future and versions of this program as intensives or retreats. And you may want to engage me for individual coaching, which is usually a four figure commitment and multiple sessions. You will also eventually be able to subscribe to the podcast for bonus content, but you do not have to. You are more than welcome to stay as a subscriber to the podcast, to ask us questions via social media, to participate in community events at any level, you are welcome to do anything or nothing. It is completely up to you. For the podcast, you don't have to pay a cent. It is a free service and we'll be continuing to do that. And I'm just really thrilled that you want to come and spend time with me and my guests. So please don't feel that this is going to become a paid service in any way. However, there will be elements where you'll get more content and and more insights, but comes at a cost. So it's totally up to you.
[00:19:21] And so this brings me to the final element of what truly makes this program unique and unlike anything else I've seen in the personal development market in my time as a provider and as a consumer. At every step. In the program, you are in charge of your choices and decisions. If you do choose to enroll, we will have exercises we want you to complete. As we know, they support independent learning and positive outcomes. However, you get to choose. You are in control. We are here to support you, but we will never shame you for not completing a task or taking part in the program elements. And when you get into creating goals, developing strategies, trying out new things and taking small risks, we are there to support and maybe make a few suggestions, but the actions are yours. Which means the achievements are yours too. Participants have said that this program and coaching with me in Albany Lane has changed their life. And that makes me extremely happy to hear. But I know that for every change, achievement, promotion, job offer and creative project is due to the consistent work of the participant or client. Our participants may have changed goals and be working in new ways which they have developed with our support, but we do not own or take credit for that. That is your work and your working life.
[00:20:58] Please subscribe to Aligned and Thriving podcast for more information and follow us. That's either Judith Bowtell or Aligned and Thriving at Albany Lane on Instagram, LinkedIn or Facebook. Next week, I'll take you through some practical steps that show you how you can use your values and emotional intelligence to support better work life balance. Such as setting boundaries, time management tricky communications are just some of the areas where you gain new insights and something you can implement right away. I think it's really important that you take away something practical from these sessions. So please join us then to get some fresh and juicy strategies. And I look forward to speaking to you then.
[00:21:50] Take care. Bye.