Manuel Giudice

Before working with Michael, I had worked with a coach for 12 months, so I understood the possible impact already. I had set up my business a year before working with Michael and it was successful, but I wasn’t satisfied and wanted to take it to the next level. Because I focused so much on my business, I had isolated myself. I was single and wasn’t spending time with my friends and family. I rejected and left aside a lot of important people in my life. I wanted to rebalance my life.

I have an entrepreneurial mindset, so unless I feel I'm growing, I suffer. I was working really hard; I spent all of one Christmas period working, getting ready for a new client. Looking back, I remember feeling lonely. I thought "I’ve achieved a lot, I can charge high fees, but I feel empty. What’s the point in it all?" I also knew I was being arrogant, which affected my relationships. And lastly, I wanted to create more opportunities in my life and business.

I had a good idea of what I wanted from Michael before I met him; a coach and mentor who would be able to help me resolve similar challenges that he’d experienced first-hand. That was important to me. Compared to other coaches, he really cared; it was clear from the beginning that he would support me all the way, and that’s what I was after.

Through working with him, I started paying attention to an area of my life that I hadn’t looked at previously - dating. I’m single because I had spent my whole life focusing on building my business and professional profile. I wanted to have a family in my life, but I had been neglecting this. The awareness of this was the first result. The second was actually finding myself going on dates as often as every week, which I've never done before. Seeing myself able to approach women and have fun dates was amazing. I gained so much confidence, even in my business, through dating.

After only one session with Michael, I felt there was someone who ‘had my back’. If you’re an entrepreneur, you’ll know the loneliness of it. So, to have someone say it and you know they mean it - it feels fucking amazing! This feeling was already a result, and because I had this support, I felt much more able to take action, to date, to take risks in my business and I felt ready to go headfirst into any challenge.

What I didn’t expect was to get some perspective on things I had neglected - my relationships especially. I started speaking to my mother weekly. I reconnected with old friends who I had isolated myself from, having called them “toxic” previously. Whilst this might seem small to some, this was huge for me. I didn’t set out to do this work, but I’m so very happy that I did.

When I thought about working with Michael, I had to consider the investment. Whilst I could afford it, it was still very significant. I thought about it from two perspectives: return on investment from a business perspective, and how am I going to feel as a result of working with him. Financially speaking, the ROI is on its way because I’m taking more risks and getting out of my comfort zone. The emotional return has been more than compensated. There were times when I was really low and felt like giving up. It was in these moments that Michael would reach out and tell me exactly what I needed to hear. This in itself has been priceless.

As a coach, Michael is extremely caring. I was surprised to hear some people call him arrogant. Yes, he asks direct questions, but that’s what I needed. He never holds back. He is sensitive to what I was trying to hide. He would always figure out what work needed to be done and could then help me discover it for myself. Having worked with a few coaches, I haven’t experienced this before. I felt like I wasn’t just one of many clients, but like I was someone he really valued.

I chose Michael because I knew that he knew what he was talking about. He had gone through it all himself, having real life experience. This let me trust him deeply, which made the work that much deeper.