Life does not come with a road map; each one of us has to experience it, learn and grow.

I pursued a degree in education at the university and looked forward to a long career as a teacher, like both my parents. It was not to be.

I was posted to a school hundreds of kilometers from home. I traveled there only to discover that all the teachers’ houses were full.

The school was in a rural set up and getting a house to rent nearby was an uphill task. I was accommodated by my fellow teachers for some time. I finally traveled to Nairobi to appeal my case at the Teachers Service Commission.

I applied for a change in posting. The process became long and winding. At that moment, I went through newspapers daily looking for job openings. I applied for relevant jobs and before long I was attending interviews.

I landed a good job in the city and never looked back. I got married soon after that. Three years into the job and my husband got a job in Coast.

I applied for jobs at the Coast and got a job in Mombasa. We relocated as a young family.

I worked for a Rwandese company in Mombasa. It did not take long before political upheavals in Rwanda affected the company negatively, forcing the company to send some staff on unpaid leave as the situation was monitored.

I was expecting our second born at the time. My baby was born with complications and needed close monitoring the entire first year of life. She had poor health and was often on treatment.

I could not go back to work when my employer recalled the staff who were on leave. Therein began my 12 years as a stay-at-home mom, which changed my life forever.

I raised 6 kids during that period and we battled health challenges, with 2 of the boys undergoing major surgeries at a young age.

The health challenges of the children was very tough for me and I ended up with depression. Read more about my struggles here.

The journey to recovery from depression gave me insights that I would never have had. I addressed so many issues in my life ranging from childhood issues to adulthood disappointments.

By the time I had healed from depression, I was no longer the person I was before I went down with depression.

I found myself learning a lot about mental health. I researched widely on the topic and ended up attending some specialized trainings both at home and abroad.

I undertook training in public speaking and was able to address audiences and capture their attention.

I presented papers in international conferences in different parts of the world and attended high caliber forums globally.

It was while I was working on recovery from depression that I discovered a passion for transforming lives. Different people would bring their problems to me and I would help them to work through them.

I decided to pursue training in life coaching and I have never looked back.

Everyone has huge potential but majority go through life living to a very small fraction of their potential. Coaching transforms lives and changes their results.

The journey to self discovery can take years and without someone to hold one’s hand, in most cases that discovery does not happen at all. One needs a teacher, a guide, a journey mate, an accountability partner.

The number one reason why many people go through life without achieving their full potential is because of their programming. An individual’s programming is a combination of 3 critical things:

1. Genetic programming; people inherit certain genes from their parents.

2. Environmental conditioning; children are shaped by their upbringing environment.

3. School conditioning; formal training through the school system.

It is almost impossible to reprogram one’s mind without getting the insight of someone else.

Reading/watching or listening to personal development material does help in a big way in the process of reprogramming.

This normally needs a spark to ignite it and cause lasting change and that is what hand holding or coaching does.

A coach is someone who has studied the mind and how it works and who is able to package the reprogramming journey into a program or an action plan.

A coach also holds the coachee accountable for following through on the program.

Do you want to bring about change in your life? Do you want to change your results?

Do you want to get away from the cycle of starting something only to get distracted along the way and jump to something else?

Do you want to rebuild your self-esteem?

When you face challenges and feel like quitting, coaching keeps you grounded. To win big, get yourself a coach.

To discover your life’s purpose, what you were born to do, your reason for living; get a coach to walk the journey to self discovery with you. Book your free coaching session here.

Financial Independence Africa

The concept of a mentor might be unfamiliar to you. Take a moment to evaluate the different skills you possess. How did you learn those skills? The most common way people acquire skills is by being taught by someone who is more knowledgeable than them.

You learned how to write or to speak a certain language because someone taught you, probably in a classroom session. The teacher most probably followed a set curriculum that was put together by experts in that field, and that is tested and proven.

Had you decided to teach yourself, you would probably have found yourself lost in a jungle of information, with no idea where to begin or end.

A mentor is someone who has walked the journey and knows the way. By having an experienced person hold your hand and show you the way, you avoid unnecessary mistakes and shorten your learning curve.

A mentor is a teacher, a guide and an adviser as you navigate your journey towards specific goals. They could be career, relationship, financial or some other goals.

1. A truth teller whether the truth is pleasant or not. You are traveling on a road you have not traveled before. A mentor alerts you about dangers and inconveniences ahead so that you can avoid them.

2. Ability to build rapport quickly and build relationships. A mentor is skilled in engaging people, asks the right questions at the right time and listens without judging.

A mentor is not like an unprofessional friend or family member, who judges you based on their own life experiences, opinions, and prejudices.

3. Is an expert in a particular field and possesses the skills necessary to pass on those skills to others.

4. Has a genuine concern for people and their situations and has a track record of developing people.

5. Has good networks and is able to liaise people with different professionals and services they need on their growth journey.

6. Is a good communicator. A mentor is a good listener; is attentive, empathizes with people’s situations, does not judge and has mastery of the right language to use in different situations.

7. Has the ability to win the trust of the mentee. This requires confidentiality, focus, encouragement, and empowerment.

8. Ability to inspire, motivate and hold the mentee accountable. Venting and complaining as a way of seeking sympathy rarely lead to any growth.

A mentor does not simply listen and feel sorry for the mentee but asks the mentee what he plans to do in order to get out of that situation, allowing space to reflect and grow.

9. Counseling skills. Mentoring has an aspect of counseling, enabling mentees to gain insight into their circumstances.

10. Commitment to continuous growth. New insights and ways of doing things are continuously being discovered.

A mentor is aware that knowledge is constantly changing and is committed to continuous learning.

Are you living life to your full potential? Book a free mentorship session here.

Financial Independence Africa