My Story: Going Deeper
How Embracing Life’s Pivotal Moments Awakened Purpose, Mastery, and Innate Well-Being
Your Story Matters
I was speaking with a transformative coach a few months back, and he said, “You should share that story.”
I’ve been with my wife for six years, and although she has always been an extraordinary human being, she has also become an extraordinary coach.
This week, she attended a workshop with expert coaches, and at the start of the workshop, the leader said, “I’m not going to bore you with my story.”
My wife said to me, “The part I really wanted to know was their story.”
She explained, “Their story means I can learn about their journey, understand the challenges they’ve overcome, the insights they’ve gained, and whether they can guide me to where I want to go.
It shows me the depth of their experience and how I can learn from them.”
She said to me, “Your story matters.”
So here is mine.
The Turning Points
For context, I am going to share pivotal moments and insights. When you are reading, don’t read for agreement, like “I agree” or “I don’t agree.” Instead, read for insights for yourself.
Many years ago, I took over as an Area Sales Director. My manager went on leave for six months, and I stepped in. I built relationships with the teams, brought them together, coached, mentored, and motivated them. And sales performance started to go up.
Funny that, lol.
When my manager got back, they felt I was making them look bad, and simply put, they had a bad attitude, and I didn’t want to be led by them. A week later, I handed in my notice and left.
As I sat there at home, I thought, “What am I going to do with my life?”
I realized that I had been a great sales coach for many years. That very day, an email came in about a networking event, so I attended. On my name badge, it said: Adrian Hales, Sales Coach.
A guy next to me asked, “What do you do?” I said, “I’m a sales coach.”
He responded, “We need one of those. Can I book you to come into my company?” I said yes. That one conversation led to a six-month contract worth over £30k
Sometimes in life, you’ve got to back yourself and be willing to embrace uncertainty.
Are you willing to embrace uncertainty?
Early Awakening & the Journey to Menorca
Over those years of running my sales and leadership coaching business, I went through my first awakening. It became overwhelming.
My business came to a grinding halt.
I moved back to Birmingham with limited cash in the bank, lost direction, and needed help from God.
So I just said, “God, I could do with some help right now.”
Five minutes later, the phone rang. A friend from England, living in Spain, called me and said,
“Do you want to come over to Spain to coach this rugby team? We’ve got you a free flat to live in and will pay you 1,500 euros a month.”
I said, “Yes.” A week later, I was living in Menorca.
For me, this was a time to make a difference in the community, continue my coaching dream, and escape my awakening.
While in Menorca, we took the team from being out of the league for over a year to beating the second-place team within the first few games.
Coaching was going well, but outside of that, the awakening started again, so I spent a lot of time in contemplation and meditation, trying to work out my higher purpose.
It became clear - it was in coaching, transformation, entrepreneurship, and awakening.
What's your purpose?
Going Pro
So I came back to England, signed on the dole with no money but quickly picked up a temporary consulting role with my business, while interviewing for other positions.
I lived in a spare room on a mattress, bought a Primark suit and some polish for my shoes, and luckily, I had years of experience in sales and leadership roles and as a coach and consultant.
I worked with a coach at the time and started interviewing for coaching and leadership roles, showing up at FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies in my Primark suit, delivering A1 performances on leadership and sales.
I landed a job with a FTSE 100 company. Before I knew it, I went from being on the dole to a temporary consulting role to working with an amazing manager…
…traveling the world in business class, coaching, mentoring, and delivering world-class workshops to extraordinary managers, leaders, and executives.
When I was going through my first stages of awakening, it brought up a lot of childhood challenges and trauma.
I was introduced to a top therapist, and every weekend, I traveled to the south coast of England for deep healing sessions. This profoundly impacted me in so many positive ways.
Are you an amateur or professional?
The Big Decision: Leaving the Corporate World
Fast forward two years. I had just left my Head of Learning and Development role after a year and a half. My extraordinary manager focused on people and performance, whereas this new manager and company was just about performance.
This new role was in conflict with my values, and my soul wanted me to follow my higher purpose.
It still surprises me now, how many company cultures and high level executives are incompetent, and completely out of touch with reality, yet are leading people.
Leadership is about a relationship you have with people, not solely performance.
I remember an independent consultant working with me who did a psychometric test and said,
“Based on the results, I’ve only seen a small amount of people with the skills and talents you’ve got. That also includes you, the reader. No one has your skills or talents. You’re completely unique.”
He said, “You either stay here and tone it down a little - don’t be too good - or you leave and turn it up!”
So a week later, I took responsibility, handed in my notice, left and followed my soul higher purpose.
I told this story briefly in another article, but simply put, I was in Waterloo Station, with all my life experience, years of learning, development, consulting, and coaching I’d also spent four years immersing myself in mastering NLP.
I got on the train and never looked back!
Is it time for you to turn it up?
Finding True Purpose & Love
After I left, I secured my first leadership coaching contract with a large corporate company, delivered talks to large audiences, and started transformative coaching with private clients.
Then the phone rang. A spiritual mentor of mine invited me to a neuroscience and ancient wisdom-based coaching certification. I said yes.
During the workshop, I connected with my deeper wisdom and realized I was still single and struggling to find love because I didn’t love myself.
In that moment, I felt a sense of completion and, for the first time, love for myself.
Two weeks later, I met my now-wife, and we’ve been together for over six years.
While I was working with my extraordinary manager in Learning and Development, I started to go through self-realization, which is the first stage of awakening.
I began to become aware of the voice in my mind and the observer and realized that I’m not the voice in my mind; I’m the one who notices it.
Do you love yourself?
The Decision to Go All In
Over the next few years, there were many other pivotal moments. I remember sitting on the curb eating a Tesco meal deal and saying to my wife, “I think I might go back to corporate.”
She looked at me and said, “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
I paused for a moment and heard a voice inside me say, “It’s time to go pro.”
So, I invested my last £2.5k in a coaching program. This was the turning point that set my future in motion.
Are you all in?
Transformation and Success
After completing the program, my fortune changed. That company invited me to be a leading coach. I collaborated with a talented team of coaches and leaders, and served a large community of coaches.
My focus shifted to inner work, coaching mastery, and helping other coaches build their practices.
I was able to build a great income and create the lifestyle of freedom and impact I’d always dreamed of. I helped my wife build her own coaching business, and together, we achieved the success and a great lifestyle.
We had created a life that we wanted to live, with time to enjoy the things we loved.
As I continued to evolve, a deeper calling emerged. I decided to leave the company and answer the call to create my own deeper path.
What are you creating?
Becoming a Deeper Coach
Since then, I’ve fully embraced my role as a professional coach, focused on deep coaching and transformative work…
…I’ve worked with incredible clients, including actors, TED speakers, pro fighters, executives, coaches, speakers, founders, directors, and managers.
I’ve honed a deeper approach to coaching, guiding my clients to discover their own innate well-being, wisdom, and insights.
It’s not about fixing problems. It's about helping them awaken to their innate wellbeing and showing up to live, lead, and create from there.
Are you living life with effort, or effortlessly?
The Awakening: A Deeper Truth
A year ago, I hit another breaking point. Despite everything I had achieved, something still felt like it was missing.
That’s when “the egg” broke. I refer to this in my article Cracking Open to a Deeper Truth.
What replaced the cracking was deep peace, well-being, love, joy, and wisdom. It was as though I had come full circle. The search was over.
I realized that my true purpose wasn’t to be constantly achieving, accumulating, or performing. It was about being in tune with my true self and showing up in the world from that place of peace and wholeness.
My work is no longer about pushing or striving for success. It’s about allowing success to flow naturally from a place of clarity, peace, and alignment.
Have you seen a deeper truth?
Going Deeper: As I Continued to Evolve
Through all of this, I’ve learned that success doesn’t come from constantly pushing for more, but from coming from a place of well-being first - success from within.
We still have things to achieve and challenges to solve, but now you’re coming from well-being and your own insights, rather than relying on endless how-to strategies and practical approaches that often lead to confusion and exhaustion.
This conversation isn’t about busy success - it’s about aligned success.
It’s about outer success that stems from an inner sense of well-being, so that you’re not waiting until the moment of success to feel joy, love, happiness, enthusiasm, and engagement.
You’re coming from that place. It’s a completely different world.
Where are you coming from?
The Journey So Far
In total, I’ve spent over a decade coaching, diving deep into NLP, ontological coaching, spiritual development, neuroscience, and learning the Three Principles.
Along the way, I’ve had countless transformative coaching conversations, been featured on many podcasts, experienced both failures and successes, and spoken at large events.
I’ve coached remarkable individuals who have transformed their lives from all industries and backgrounds, each time learning and evolving along the way.
I’ve invested in my own coaches and mentors, and they’ve been instrumental in my own journey of personal transformation, self mastery and creating the life I want to live.
I’ve failed, a lot, I’ve boldly served, I’ve loved, I’ve succeeded, I’ve committed, I’ve created freedom, and I’ve learned - I’ve awakened, and it’s all been part of the journey.
What's your journey?
Gratitude to My Mentors
Thank you to all of my coaches and mentors - Greg, Peter, Melissa, David, Sally, Leon, Edward, Tim, Michael, Linda, Lillia, Suzanne, Albert, and Henrietta. I have learned a lot from your guidance, wisdom, and support.
I have also learned one important thing: I am a force of nature. And so are you!
Your Story Matters
What’s your story?
What are your pivotal moments?
What insights have you gained from reading this?
I’d love to hear your story. What pivotal moments have shaped your journey?
Because your story matters.
Thanks for being here today.
Adrian
What am I up to?
I sit with people, and their lives change. They reconnect with their true selves, their innate wisdom, and their wellbeing, leading to deeper peace, joy, and purpose. They find their authentic direction in life and or business, transcending the personal mind and connecting with the deeper mind. Coaches build their practices, experience deeper grounding, and become better at what they do. When you're ready to do the work, and change your life get in touch - I’d love to hear from you! My coaching packages range from £1,500 to £10,000.
Want to change your life? Let’s have a deeper conversation. Email me at: adrian.hales11@gmail.com.