Being Coached by Ankush Jain…Take 5!
I have an important meeting on Friday.
It’s with my coach Ankush Jain.
The first session of our fifth coaching programme together.
Five years.
Even writing that feels a bit surreal.
Because when I first spoke to Ankush in October 2020, I barely had a coaching business at all. The pandemic had wiped out most of my in-person work as a coach and therapist and I probably had two or three clients at the time. Not exactly a thriving practice.
But I knew he was the right coach for me.
I didn’t figure it out logically. I just knew.
He had worked with Steve Chandler, whose work I loved. He’d done Jamie Smart’s Clarity Coach Training, which I was about to start. And he had built a coaching business that looked like the kind of life I thought I wanted.
My plan was sensible enough.
Try a few sessions. Six maybe. Twelve at the absolute most.
Then he told me about his apprenticeship programme.
Forty-eight weekly sessions. Time together in person. Powerful Men’s Immersions.
£19K plus VAT.
I remember the number landing like a thud in my stomach.
I didn’t say ‘Yes’ on the call.
But somewhere inside I already had.
I walked into the kitchen and told Jules about the conversation and the different options. She looked at me and said:
“You’re going to do the apprenticeship programme … aren’t you?”
She knew before I did.
Two weeks later I was signed up and paid up.
All in.
The early days weren’t glamorous.
After six months I had signed three clients.
Just under £3K earned.
Not exactly a great return on investment.
I’ve said to Ankush many times that if I’d only hired him for six months, I might have stopped working with him.
But I had paid for the whole year.
There were no refunds.
So quitting wasn’t an option.
I just kept going.
Week after week.
Listening carefully. Taking notes. Doing what I said I would do.
Slowly things began to move.
By the end of the year my practice was full, and I had just about earned back what I invested.
More importantly, I could see a future I hadn’t seen before.
So … I signed up again.
And again.
And again.
As I start this fifth programme, I’ve had close to 200 coaching sessions with Ankush.
Eight Powerful Men’s Immersions.
Three trips to Phoenix.
Three AJC coaching schools.
That might sound like a lot.
Maybe even a bit extreme.
But something important has been happening underneath all of that.
Every time I re-hired Ankush, I wasn’t working with the same person.
His commitment to his own growth is unlike anything I’ve seen.
The change in him over the last five years has been extraordinary.
Each new programme has felt like working with a more expanded version of him. And that has called forward a more expanded version of me.
As I start this fifth programme, I’ve had close to 200 coaching sessions with Ankush.
Eight Powerful Men’s Immersions.
Three trips to Phoenix.
Three AJC coaching schools.
That might sound like a lot.
Maybe even a bit extreme.
But something important has been happening underneath all of that.
Every time I re-hired Ankush, I wasn’t working with the same person.
His commitment to his own growth is unlike anything I’ve seen.
The change in him over the last five years has been extraordinary.
Each new programme has felt like working with a more expanded version of him. And that has called forward a more expanded version of me.
My relationship with Jules has deepened in ways I couldn’t have predicted.
The changes she saw in me opened the door for changes in her life too.
Self-care went from being almost non-existent to being non-negotiable.
Working with Ankush led me to hire Keren Rosenberg for a year just to learn how to look after my body better.
It led me to invest in my health and fitness with Jordan Stinson at EAC.
Five years ago, I struggled to do ten press-ups.
Last year I finished third in my age group at Hyrox Madrid.
That still feels a bit mad when I say it out loud.
And yes, my business has grown.
Over five years it has grown by about nine times.
I’ve worked with clients across the UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the US.
I get to spend time each week with four extraordinary coaches in our mastermind group, The Magic Five.
I’ve spoken on stages in Arizona and Spain.
I’ve spoken to rooms full of leaders in London and Dungannon.
I’m even an executive producer on a documentary that will change conversations around addiction and mental health.
None of that was part of the original plan.
But all of it traces back to one decision.
Saying yes.
When our last programme finished in January, we were already talking about what comes next.
That probably says everything.
I love the path I’m on.
And Ankush has played a huge part in making that possible.
Coaching really is a magical thing.
Not just because I get to be coached by one of the best in the business.
But because I get to pass that work on to my clients every day.
So … Friday starts year five.
I feel grateful.
I feel excited.
And I have absolutely no idea where this next year will take me.
But I know this much.
I’m staying on the path.
Much love