With the kind of glowing energy you only see in health magazines, an infectious happy yet grounded energy and a multiple six-figure coaching business behind her, Lydia Kimmerling from Richmond, UK seriously walks her talk.
Tipped to be an emerging leading voice on the subject of ‘happiness’, Lydia has plans to share with the World what she knows to be true for a truly happy life.
An International Coaching Federation certified Master Coach, TEDx Speaker and educator. Lydia is also recognised for being the only ICF master coach registered in the U.K. delivering an accredited, 12-month coach training and business mentorship programme. Today she is best known for teaching ‘normal people’ to live extraordinarily happy lives by helping them to get to know their true selves and disconnect with searching for shiny things outside of themselves.
From being the daughter of a Christian pastor and learning about finding happiness in Christianity, to studying at the infamous BRIT Performing Arts School to follow her dream of becoming a TV Presenter, to standing in the spotlight on stages sharing what she’s learnt on her own happiness journey – Lydia Kimmerling’s own search for ‘more’ has seen many twists and turns. It was her own happiness rock bottom in 2012 after leaving her job as cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic, she found herself sobbing on her wine stained carpet begging for the answer to “what will make me truly happy?”, that she made the commitment to herself to find the answer. This led to following her true calling to help thousands of people live their happiest lives and eventually moving to Ibiza.
Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role
I am the Founder and CEO of The Happiness Explorer™, master life and business coach and motivational speaker. I left school (The BRIT performing arts school) at 16 to ‘find myself’, which led to changing careers and locations multiple times, including becoming an assistant television producer for channel 4 at the age of 20 and opening my own restaurant in Panama at the age of 21. It was at 28 that I hit a huge crossroad asking “What will make me truly happy?” that I realised what I was searching for was not outside of myself. I hadn’t been taking full responsibility for my happiness, instead I had been saying “I’ll be happy when… I get the job, move location, lose weight etc…”. This is when I made a commitment to myself to discover what it means to be truly happy. I found coaching and have been sharing what I explore for myself and learn from my clients ever since – ten years in the industry now.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
Yes! I was the queen of planning. I have been planning my life since I was 16. What I have learnt however is that you can’t ever really plan everything. Discover your passion, work hard and also surrender to a bigger goal that maybe your limited self can’t actually even imagine for herself.
Have you faced any challenges along the way?
Having my own business means I am challenged almost daily. I am the kind of person who has an idea and acts on it. I don’t wait to be sure it will work out, which means I am figuring everything out as I go and that I run before I can walk. But I enjoy challenges and many of them are the reason behind my success.
What has been your biggest achievement to date?
I have many achievements that I am proud of but I think becoming a master coach and creating a six figure business from nothing. From zero to six figures is the most personal growth work you will ever have to do. Your business is a vessel for your own growth and I love that.
What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?
Not having fear around failure. I am not a perfectionist. I am a visionary so I just go for it because I can see the bigger picture and don’t get caught up in the details of what can go wrong. And I have never given up, no matter how hard it’s been
How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?
I am a mentor and I have been mentored. It is crucial to one’s development especially as a coach. Too many people are doing short fast track courses to train as a coach without anyone mentoring them and listening to their sessions. It’s so important that you don’t try and do everything on your own.
If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Equality, what would it be?
I actually think that what is needed now is support for men. Having done a lot of work on my own definitions around what it means to be a woman, I realised that growing up there was a subliminal message and path for me to follow. I loved the Spice Girls and they talked about girl power and Destiny’s Child talked about ‘independent woman’… and I feel lucky that I am a strong woman, surrounded by strong women and that we feel we have a path to follow. This movement is moving… What I notice now is that men are lost in what it means to be a man now. So this is what I would change – I would help men connect more to their feminime and teach them how to be in touch with their emotions. I believe this would help.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?
Don’t drink so much – you won’t find yourself in alcohol, you will lose yourself. The only things I have ever regretted have been when I have been drunk. Also keep up your dancing because you love it.
What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?
I have a lot bubbling away… I can’t stay still because I value progression so highly. So I am currently writing my book. Next year my goal is to turnover half a million. We are working to get Happiness Explorer talks into schools and then my big goal is to create an uplifting talk show that creates transformation in people’s lives. When I was 19 I worked on Kilroy and Dirty Laundry which were both talk shows that I felt used people’s problems as entertainment, instead of actually creating change. I would love to change this model.
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