Republica to talk about his passion for his vocation, his work over the years and his career goals for 2016.Who is a life coach?
A life coach is someone with a passion to support other people. He has to be a good listener with non judgmental observation skills. The art of asking powerful questions is required of a good life coach. These questions should be able to generate a new vision in people. The desire to do social good is undoubtedly important, especially in Nepal.
To be a life coach is not only a matter of literacy or training. It could be a mother who inspires her children every day, or a leader at work.
What interested you in this profession?
I've always been inclined toward coaching. There's this famous line by French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau: 'Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.' It's a very sad state to be in and I'm against it. In case people are living in chains, they can always break free. I've been working in the development sector as a trainer since 1999. I heard about the term 'life coach' which greatly interested me so I did some research before enrolling at the Academy for Coaching Excellence in California. That was in 2009. It's my goal in life to help end the unnecessary suffering that people go through. The experience I had gathered through my work as a trainer also helped me.
What have you been doing in your role as a life coach?
Through my work, I've been able to help people who were considering suicide, a divorce, or to run away from home, quit their jobs, etc. It gives me a great feeling of satisfaction to see them happy and with their dignity restored. I have worked with 200,000 people around the country and have traveled to around 65 districts. I work with organizations and speak to employees about their personal goals and development. I also work with individuals. Apart from this, I have spent five years from 2006 researching on the mortality rate of new mothers. For every 100,000 new mothers, 539 lose their lives due to a number of reasons. My research included how we could help set up birthing centers in places like Humla, Darchula and Ramechhap. We mobilized the local communities. We started with Nawalparasi and today there are 1,800 birthing centers. In 2011, I also worked on a campaign through which we accomplished full immunization in 16 districts. A huge number of children, 13% to be exact, were not enjoying the rights to be vaccinated. Our goal was to inspire people to declare their VDCs as fully immunized.
How are the duties of a life coach in this part of the world different from the more developed regions?
In the west or the more developed parts of the world, coaching is focused on counseling alone. I can't expect the same here. I can't assume that a lady from Jumla will visit my clinic in Kathmandu. My beliefs on coaching are different. I believe that coaching is a process of social change. Other coaches from around the world envy the work I've been able to do and the difference it makes. They don't have the scope to leave the same kind of impact because their government takes care of everything and they have minimum duties to perform. My work is all about generating a unique model that is society and country specific.
What is your work mantra?
I'm a very positive person and I almost never have a bad day. I'm a firm believer of celebrating life. I don't consider what I do to be 'work.' Everything I do is my way of celebrating life. If 'celebration' sounds irresponsible then I believe that we might have to redefine the word.
What are your career plans for this year?
Well, I'm going to be in Afghanistan for the next three months working with UNICEF Afghanistan. We'll be working to establish the 'Golden Village' campaign where we will be covering five different indicators which include education for girls, full immunization, and safe maternal health practices. My other goal is to set up a Nepal chapter of the International Coach Federation. It is an ethical governance body and all life coaches have to be a member. I want to train 40 people. I hope to have many young people in this group.
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