I Wasn’t Always a Coach… Or Was I?

In 1990, I started my career as an apprentice instrument mechanic.

It was the well-known path where I lived, stable, respected, and mapped out.

Over the years, I climbed the ranks, took on leadership roles, worked across complex environments, and built a reputation as someone who could solve problems, lead people, and deliver results.

I became the go-to person, as a manager, a consultant, and a fixer of hard things.

On paper, I had built a solid, successful career, looking back probably more coaching than managing.

But underneath?

I felt disconnected.

The roles, the status, the money, it all looked great from the outside, but something didn’t feel right inside.


I wasn’t lost in the work, I was lost in myself.


I’d given everything to building “success,” but I no longer knew what success meant to me.

And if I’m honest, I didn’t always like who I was while doing the work.

I carried a lot with me, personally, emotionally, for years.


Eventually, it caught up with me.

I burned out.


Overweight.


Overwhelmed.


Relationships falling apart.


Disconnected from joy, from purpose, from myself.

From the outside, things still looked “fine.” at a level, but inside.

I was really struggling.

I was using unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with life, and they were just making things worse.

I’d ticked all the boxes of “having it together” and yet, I felt the most unfulfilled I’d ever felt.

I was disconnected, lost, and waiting for some imaginary finish line to finally “sort things out.”

So… Why Coaching?

Because before I helped anyone else, I had to help myself.

I had been studying human behaviour for years, trying to understand my patterns.

I’d read the books, taken the courses, understood the theory. But I hadn’t fully applied it.

Something was holding me back, expectations, fear, identity, who knows.

Until one day, it didn’t.

In 2020, I hired a coach. And everything started to shift.

Since then, I’ve worked with multiple coaches. Not just one, but the right ones for who I was becoming at each stage.

They helped me heal, rebuild, and reconnect with myself, I was applying the knowledge I was learning and had previously learned in real life.

Coaching gave me something I hadn’t felt in years, alignment.

Not just clarity or motivation, but deep connection.


To myself.


To my values.


To my truth.

And over time, it became more than personal.


It became a calling.

Why I Almost Didn’t Do It

Because walking away from everything I’d built was terrifying.

What if I failed?

What if I couldn’t make it work?

What would people say?

I had built a reputation.

I had financial security.

I had an identity that people recognised.

Starting over in my 40s felt reckless.

But staying stuck?

That felt worse.

Eventually, I realised my biggest fear wouldn’t be failure, it would be regret.

I didn’t want to wake up in 10 years still wondering, “What if I’d trusted myself?”

The Truth About Change

The moment I stopped pretending everything was okay was the moment everything started to change.

I made the decision to trust myself, to go with the thought, “Whatever happens, I’ll be okay.”

And I was, I am.

Because at that point in my life, I had myself together, better than ever before.


Physically.


Emotionally.


Psychologically.

I could see clearly.

And I didn’t want to help people change careers.


I wanted to help them change their lives.

To see their own potential.


To step out from behind the mask.


To live a balanced, honest, fulfilling life, with all the parts of their lives getting the right levels of attention.

You don’t have to choose between success and peace, you can live a life where all the parts get what they need.

Now…

I coach leaders, business owners and high-performers who feel stuck, tired of playing a role, and ready to reconnect with who they really are. The Balanced Leader.

It’s not just about work.


It’s about real alignment.

Many of them are exactly where I was

High-performing but drained


Successful but unfulfilled


Busy but stuck in autopilot

Unbalanced life.

Waiting for things to be different.

I get it, because I’ve lived it.

I also run events, community gatherings, and I’ve founded a community interest company to give everyone a chance to thrive.

The products I offer are designed for people at different levels and different stages, because there’s no single path to wholeness.

But whatever your starting point, there’s one thing I know for sure:

There is a way forward.

From noise to clarity.


From burnout to purpose.


From “this isn’t working” to “I know exactly what to do next.”

Have You Ever Had to Make a Big Change?

Have you ever stood at a crossroads in your life
knowing something had to change, but terrified to make the move?

Maybe you’re there right now.

Or maybe… you’ve already made a big shift.


You’ve already changed direction.


And you know how brave it is to start again
how hard, how honest, and how worth it, it can be.

Either way, I’d love to hear your story.

Because here’s the truth:


You’re not stuck.


You’ve just evolved.


And maybe now’s the moment you start listening.

A few last things

It hasn’t been easy.


But it’s been so worth it.

Surviving to thriving

and I want to guide people see that for themselves.

You have everything inside you to achieve all that you desire,

trust it,

act on it,

and watch your world change.

David Barnes