Jan Gromadzki

At the start of the year, I took an honest look at my life and realised that my relationships were dysfunctional, codependent and not bringing me fulfilment and happiness. My bank account was not a very attractive sight to behold and I realised that I wasn't pursuing the goal which I've had for about 10 years now. Having no money was probably one of my biggest problems and that meant that I was living in a place that I didn't actually want to be and that was reflecting in other areas of my life.

I heard about Michael through my brother, Alex. They used to work together in retail and in his interview, legend has it that Michael was asked, ‘How do you see your future in this company?’ Michael looked at the man interviewing him and said, ‘I want your job, as soon as possible’. I love the balls that takes, to say what you really want. Then Michael's book appeared, I loved what I saw and I reached out. I chose to work with him over anybody else because I needed somebody who would not let me get away with my own bullshit. And Michael is the no-bullshit coach, right?

The goals that I had with him were in two different areas, massage therapy and acting. I wanted to increase my client base with massage therapy as a way to earn a living and also to explore life which feeds into a creative expression, which is the acting. I hadn't really pursued this dream which had been lingering around for about 10 years. I'd gone in and out but I hadn't committed and Michael shone a light on why I was maybe doing that and that it had something to do with low self-esteem and low confidence. I didn't want to admit that because I feel like I'm quite a brave person, but he helped me to see that sometimes when we want to do a job well, it stops us from doing it at all. So Michael got me to make a little lottery ticket of things which I would tick off each day. When I started to do these things it started to become a win-win process. I would do a little bit, I would feel better about myself and before I knew it, the identity started to shift from someone who's avoidant, to someone who was actually pursuing what they want to do because they have a clear plan.

Looking back on where I started my journey with him and now, it feels like I'm a different person. I think I got quite used to living in a form of depression, or a form of not being satisfied, and now, because I am satisfying my needs and my wants, I am giving myself room to play and to spice up my life a bit.

I started to see results with Michael immediately after the initial consultation. I felt like I had an air of confidence again, like I had a gust of wind in my sails. My client base started growing and the massage work was earning the money to pay the bills so that I could focus on my acting work and the acting work came.

I got a few unexpected results out of coaching as well including an improved relationship with my sister. I started to notice that as my life situation got better, I was a little bit happier and as I got a little bit happier, I began to let go of my stubbornness and my ego and this allowed me to connect more with the people around me. Other unexpected result came in the form of earning more money than I've ever earned at any point in my life before working with Michael. I didn't see that coming quite so quickly, but it just naturally happened, it just started to flow in when I started to pursue the things which make me happy. It's so simple to just do the reps as Michael calls it, to do the work. I didn't think that I would be able to simplify my life and work by simply working on what needs to be achieved each day in order to get towards my goal. Something unexpected that I got as well was the permission to just be myself a little bit more.

Michael is one of the most expensive things I've ever invested in for myself but I definitely got a total return on investment. I was a little bit concerned, especially when lockdown kicked in and I just put all of this money into working with a coach, but it was only a few months later that I realised that I then earnt more than I'd ever earned before. That's the financial side of things. What's most important though is the fact that I've started to do the things which I wanted to be doing, started to love myself a little bit more and this manifested in me going out and enjoying my life.

Michael as a coach is quite a naughty guy and I love that about him. He worked with me to fan the flames of the mischievous side of my character, which I need to embrace. I found that I was pushing it down quite a lot and Michael decided to celebrate that side of me. By doing that I started to get this breath of fresh air, stopped beating myself up, just actually enjoyed the full spectrum of my character. So as a coach, Michael is a humanist. He doesn't suppress parts of yourself, he brings it all into the mix.

Michael as a person, despite the public image of being quite shiny and corporate, is very warm. He's playful, he's cheeky and he has a big heart. I know that he is quite outspoken out there in the world and I think some people might feel that he's somehow heartless or not considerate. This couldn't be further from the truth.

To anybody thinking of working with him, I'd suggest you go and do the initial consultation, get a feel for what he's all about. Don't go to Michael if you're looking to take shortcuts. He is an investment of your time and your money, he's not a cheap coach and the results that you get back reflect that. I'd say, read his book, watch some YouTube videos, and listen to people who've worked with him to see where they're at. And then if you're happy with where they're at, I think that's a clear indication that working with Michael is something you might want to consider.