BILL BURRIDGE

Looking back, I realise that, like so many others, I had become a willing slave to the corporate rat race.

During weekdays, at 6am sharp, I would be jolted awake from a deep sleep by my dreaded alarm. In the UK at that time of the morning it would be pitch dark, at least for most of the year.

I would shower, change and venture out into the gloom to begin a two-hour commute. After stints spent in my car, on a train, on the tube, and on foot. I would finally arrive at the office and make a hasty beeline for the nearest coffee machine.

At around 6.15 pm, I'd check out and go through the entire process again in reverse. All going to plan (which it seldom did) I'd arrive home shortly after 8pm, by which time both my kids were already in bed and asleep.

I'd spend a few precious minutes exchanging experiences about the day with my wife, Jenni, Next, I'd warm up my dinner in the microwave and retreat to the lounge to goof out in front of some mindless TV for a couple of hours. Then I'd haul myself off to bed and get some much needed rest in preparation for the same arduous routine the next day.

Thankfully, my work was stimulating and the pay and benefits were good. But it was very demanding and there was more to get done than the hours in the work week allowed, so the overflow would gobble chunks out of my precious weekends.

On top of that, I had to deal with the typical corporate realities of internal politics, unrealistic deadlines, and frequent travel at short notice. That meant having to endure constant low-level stress.

The three precious weeks of annual leave just couldn't come round fast enough each year. This fleeting break allowed me just enough time to reconnect with my family and recharge my depleted batteries.

To cut a long story short, Neil and I agreed to meet for lunch in London. My expectation was that I would find out more about life coaching and come away with some advice on how best to help my family member.

But Neil somehow sensed my own anxiety. Being the consummate coach, he set out to ask me all manner of questions about my own life, my family, and the likely consequences of the impending end to my London assignment.

As the lunch engagement wound down, Neil shocked me.

"It's YOU who stands to benefit most from life coaching" he told me. 

And with that he thrust a business card into my hand.

The card belonged to a young lady, and a New Insights certified coach, called Sharon, who was based in Manchester.

A week or two later, feeling a strange mix of scepticism and curiosity, I picked up the phone and called Sharon.

I made it my mission to take New Insights back to my adopted home country, South Africa.

New Insights Africa was born in 2007. Five years later, after Neil moved on to other fields of work, I had the privilege to take over New Insights in the UK and internationally.

During my time at the helm, New Insights has trained many hundreds of ordinary people to become extraordinary life coaches, helping clients to achieve their goals and dreams and lead their best lives.

I've made it my purpose over the years to refine and develop New Insights Life Coach Training Programme into the best of its kind on the market today.

Quite simply, I want New Insights trained coaches to maintain a reputation for excellence and to enjoy an advantage over others in the market.

The New Insights approach to training is a simple one.

We provide world-class, in-depth, bang up-to-date training in a format that offers unrivalled convenience with caring, responsive support.

We know full well that you are likely living a busy, time-starved life. Perhaps you are currently in employment, running a small businesses or looking after your family or community?

That's why we have structured our certification training programme to suit your lifestyle, not our agenda.

You study and complete the practicals in your own time and at your own pace when it suits you best. We do not require you to travel anywhere, attend any events or be available at fixed times.

New Insights certified life coaches are trained for success by delivering outstanding results for their clients.