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I would describe my experience as a complete three-dimensional shift in who I am as a person entirely – as a coach, a family man & a businessman. I feel like I am not only changing my life, but also the lives of those I come in contact with. I am now more present, objective and unassuming.

You know, I was especially moved when the people I hold dearest acknowledged my growth.

My partner said: “You are such a great coach. Can you always be a coach? It’s so good for me, for the children.”

My son said, “You are so different now. You are really listening so much more.”

That went straight to my heart. I am grateful.

I think I really understood why it is so important for a coach to both coach and get coached. Practising what you learn during any program is so very powerful and important, especially if a program builds that element into the entire experience.

I feel like I am still figuring out what ‘type’ of coach I want to be. Also, it does get a little lonely at times as I am trying to build up my business. However, I find that I am able to coach myself and apply what I have learned on myself. Self-coaching, if you would call it.

Be very clear why you are doing it. Learn and practise, learn and practise, learn and practise. I cannot stress that enough. There’s really no excuse, because the content is only as good as your follow-up. If you don’t do it, it gets lost.

I really love being an executive coach because we get a chance to enable people to clearly see themselves and tap into their hidden potentials and strengths. This impacts not only their professional lives, but it’s the transformation is in its totality – mind and body. I started Pepperminted three years ago – it is a concierge spa service and what’s interesting is our pool of clients include enterprises who are consciously encouraging self-care in their corporate philosophy.

People can also learn more about our executive coaching services www.thejohnnielsen.com and if you are keen to foster self-care and integrate wellness into your personal and corporate life, contact us at www.pepperminted.com.sg.

I would say the biggest change was both a professional and personal one – becoming a business owner. Grabbing hold of that momentum during and after the course to fuel my building of my coaching practice has been a very exciting, insightful and fulfilling process.

It’s hard to say what was ‘biggest’ or ‘most important’. I think if I had to highlight something, it would have to be my personal level of self-awareness, which increased so much. I see how I have stopped second-guessing others and I am now more objective and calmer when I interact with people.

Right now, I would say it’s about increasing the marketing efforts of my coaching practice. I have signed up for a marketing program that should be able to support me as I roll out my different strategies.

I would say you should take stock and then take advantage of the resources you have to support you; especially if you are planning to start a business. For example, I made sure I used the drive naturally generated by being part of the PCD program back then to really push me to register and launch my business.

I will be focussing on my ‘expat coaching’ service to help expatriates and/or partners who might need support settling into a new country.

I would say the most significant change is my leaving my job and starting my own business – The Peace Catcher. Prior to PCD, I was already interested in art therapy, but PCD provided a means for me to obtain practical skills that complemented my art therapy knowledge. I would say this business is the manifestation of both my artistic/creative side and my desire to help people through art and coaching.

I know a lot of people have said this, but I truly feel that one big lesson was about believing in myself. I actually learned that for a good part of my life, I was suffering from something called ‘selective mutism’, but I always brushed it off and chalked it up to my being introverted. Through coaching, I actually gained the self-awareness to recognise my situation and learned how to externalise my ‘inner voice’ in a way to help others. I saw the value of what I could bring to the table, especially when I see clients connect their ‘dots’ for themselves and create their own ‘ah ha’ moments.

Since starting the business, I realise that it’s challenging to get people to be open-minded about art. A lot of people actually limit themselves – I hear things like ‘I can’t draw’ or ‘I have no talent’ or ‘my drawing is so ugly’ all the time. What I have found is that coaching combines well with art therapy because it gives a structure that make the experience less intimidating. My knowledge of both art therapy and coaching actually helps bridge the self-limiting conversations people have around art.

I would say to trust your intuition. I knew I needed to change something in my life, but I was sitting on the fence for the longest time. Signing up for PCD actually opened up a lot of opportunities and possibilities for me. I would even go as far to say that I found my life purpose through coaching. If you are already thinking about it, your intuition is probably telling you something.

Haha, I am hard at work trying to build my dream of becoming a digital nomad. The Peace Catcher is just the first step. I am still creating art as well as conducting consultations for clients who are looking to art therapy as a way to help them unlock their hidden potential.