I have been exposed to coaching since 2012. Back then I saw coaching as a method, a tool, a way to communicate better with people and that was pretty much it. I was an Account Director for an Advertising agency. I coached people as a hobby. I started practicing coaching and saw a future of me actually becoming a coach. To me, Coaching was another option for my profession. Nothing more. Two years into all my part-time coaching and I felt something was missing. I was doubtful that simply sitting there asking questions would help people in a sustainable way. I looked all over Asia for a mentor, a coach teacher who would show me that coaching was more than what I assumed. Finally, I found Dr. Chérie Carter-Scott from MMS Worldwide Institute. Jan 2015 was the month that my life took a dramatic turn; the reason was that I got to know MMS Coaching: transformation from the inside out.
It turned out that the missing piece in my coaching practice was MYSELF. I coached people but I forgot to coach myself. I thought coaching was cool but I didn’t live life as a coach, or ‘live the process’ in MMS terms. It meant being there for myself when I needed me the most. It meant staying present with myself when I faced emotional obstacles. It meant listening to my inner voice, my messages, my authentic self rather than seeking anything external. It meant asking myself hard questions that I didn’t dare ask before. It meant being more mindful of my own health, love life, family, career, finances, relationships, actually everything. It meant I could do whatever it took to live my life to the fullest. And I chose to start focusing on me, my emotions, my behaviours, my reactions, my beliefs, my values. The more I did this, the clearer I saw what I really wanted.
I really wanted people in Vietnam to benefit from Coaching, especially MMS Coaching and Dr. Chérie’s lifestyle and energy. I applied for an ICF Professional Certified Coach and received it. I became the first Vietnamese ICF PCC. It took all of my courage to write to Dr. Chérie about bringing MMS to Vietnam. I might have been in luck or the universe just responded positively to my “Messages.” Dr Chérie and MMS accepted my proposal!
So in 5 years from 2015 to 2020 before the Covid breakout, we had nine MMS Coach Training programs in Vietnam with 150 graduates. Some of them applied for ICF ACC. That was the start of my coaching business. From 2012 to 2022, I created my own coaching centre in Vietnam (LCV) that offered MMS Coach Training and then LCV Coach Training, the first Vietnamese Coach Training in the world that had original content for specifically the Vietnamese people. We contributed 60% of ICF credentialed coaches in Vietnam. In late 2022, after taking the MMS Level 3 Coaching Mastery program, combined with the hours that I accumulated over the years, I became the first ICF Master Certified Coach in Vietnam. All thanks to the blessings that brought me to MMS in 2015.
What amazed me was the fact that I could have all the necessary strength that I thought I never had to pursue such a path: be the pioneer of Coaching in Vietnam. I never thought I would bring my own company to birth Vietnamese coaching. I never thought I would become a full time coach given the life that I had before coaching. I never thought I could have such a quality of life with my family, relationships, finances, career and especially, emotional journey, going from an impulsive woman to a mature and mindful leader, wife, mother and connecting to me. I never thought that one day, when the going gets tough, the first person I would turn to is myself, no one else. Once upon a time I would not want to be friends with somebody like me, who didn’t have so much self awareness or social awareness or was even inconsiderate at times. These days I have come to like and love myself more than ever. For the past 7 years, my days and weeks have been exciting with lots of activities that I enjoy. I can coach people. I can write poems. I can have quality time with my spouse and children. I can support the community with charity and donations to religious places as I want. I can have quality conversations with people I barely tolerated in the past. I can connect to my true self and be authentic without the fear of being judged.
We learn a lot from Dr. Chérie who fulfilled her dreams and supported people at the same time. We feel the energy of a true Master Certified Coach and a beautiful person. Besides Dr. Chérie, there are a lot of other coaches who live their lives to the fullest and are still an inspiration for us at LCV in Vietnam. There’s Coach Michael Pomije, coach Lynn U. Stewart who are both ICF MCC’s and still dedicating their lives to nurture more coaches into this world. Especially at this time, where mental health is something we talk about every day, we believe that each client deserves to be coached by a brilliant coach who lives the process daily.
Being an MMS licensee in Vietnam, I got the chance to spread and share the spirit of MMS Coaching, which is aiming for sustainable development by starting from our inner self. Leaders, managers, parents, coaches who came to our Coach Training all shared that they had never attended any program like ours. It was a profound experience for them. So for the past 10 years we (LCV) get lots of love and appreciation from our clients. All thanks to us being a part of MMS and growing ourselves from there.
It’s my honor to be taught by MMS, before I became the first Vietnamese ICF PCC and now as an ICF MCC. It’s my honor to be a partner with MMS in Vietnam, so we can spread the beauty and spirit of original coaching, from The Mother of Coaching to everyone, everywhere.
Doan Huynh Van Anh, ICF MCC
LCV Co-founder
