I was introduced to coaching in 2008 when I met my wife, Jessica Austin; we talked about coaching, but it never got my full interest. That changed in 2017 when I followed a program to find my purpose in life. During that program I discovered that the most rewarding part of my job was coaching and motivating my team. That was a big surprise for me. I was working as an Engineer and Project Manager in the technical field; I thought that solving challenging technical problems would have been my response.
After the purpose in life program I wrote a plan that I named “from Project Manager to Coach.” The first step in that plan was to follow an ICF certified coach training. In 2018 when I wanted to fulfill the first step of my plan, life decided differently. I had the hardest period of my life. Within 16 months I lost my twin brother, my older brother, and my mother. The losses were unbelievable. At the end of 2019, I closed that dark chapter of my life and I started to live my plan.
I registered for the MMS Coach Training in the Netherlands that started in February 2020. Then right before the training was about to begin, COVID took control over our world and our lives. The face- to-face Coach training was cancelled. I started to lose faith since it felt as if it was not destined for me to become a coach.
At the end of May Dr. Chérie emailed me and invited me to join her online coaching program that she and Michael were launching in June. I had serious doubts because it was a virtual program and I didn’t have any experience with online training. Given the fact that it was something I had been planning to do for so long, I agreed. I signed up for the first online MMS Coach Training during COVID.
It was the best decision I had made in years! It was a life changing journey of personal development, self-discovery, and transformation. The bonus that now I was sharing a passion with my wife! During the program I was introduced to sub-personalities (inner voices), which at first I rejected. After a while, something resonated, and I started to document my journey, and my process of discovering my own sub-personalities. It turned out to be helpful for my clients as well. In terms of decision-making, recognizing who was advocating for which option was very helpful. I decided to write and self-publish my very first book in 2021.
During my MMS Coach Training I made efforts to have coaching brought into the technical building company where I worked. It took me more than two years to accomplish this, however, I finally succeeded! Last year I coached more than 30 employees in my organization, and I proved that coaching is really effective. I did this along-side of my day job.
At the beginning of 2023, I achieved my 500 coaching hours. I applied for my PCC, and at the end of this month I will take the exam to become an official Professional Certified Coach. I am in the last quarter of a year-long neuroscience coaching program that I will complete in September of this year.
All of this is part of my plan that I created in 2017. At this point I am at a crossroad: do I keep my job as a Project Manager or do I leave and become a full-time coach?
I handed in my notice a few weeks ago and I will leave the technical field this year. I’ve worked in this profession for 35 plus. It is time to start a new chapter of my life since I have fulfilled my plan. It was a difficult decision, leaving a life where I am respected as a specialist for what I know and do. However, I made my plan, and I did this for a reason, to live my purpose! It is now time to write a new plan.
After I wrote my book A journey of Self-discovery, are your inner voices helping you, or getting in your way, I became a licensee for MMS to teach the course on Sub-personalities. Because of my intense work schedule, I never had the time to launch this course. The time has come for me to do this! These last years I grew tremendously as a coach. I gained a huge amount of knowledge about Sub-personalities, and for that reason I’m going to rewrite my book. I intend for that to be done in January 2024.
I am working on the rest of my plan, but I noticed that the universe is already writing it for me…
As I close one door, the universe is opening other doors for me……
If you want more information about my program on Sub-personalities, please reach out to me.
Anton de Ruiter, ACC (en route to PCC)
deruiter.ant@gmail.com
