Before Dan Hancox enrolled in The Life Coaching College he never imagined he would one day feel confident enough to speak in front of a large crowd or lead a workshop.
Although Dan had run successful plumbing and promotions businesses for many years in the UK, deep down he doubted himself. This feeling was compounded by a move to Australia, which made him feel like a fish out of water.
“I was very self-conscious, very critical of myself,” says Dan, who moved to Perth in 2018.
“When I lived in the UK, I had this massive friend base, but when I came to Australia with my family it was difficult.”
He remembers standing in the corner at The Life Coaching College’s Open Day in 2018, only speaking to other people if they approached him, too shy to take the initiative himself.
“Not only did I not know anyone, I had my own insecurities that I was dealing with,” he says.
However, when Dan began his Master Practitioner in Coaching course at the college, he was introduced to the theory of NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) and how it can help change thoughts and patterns of behaviour.
Something in him shifted.
“NLP was my first training experience with the college, and the transformation within seven days — and the way I started thinking and feeling about myself — was incredible,” he says.
“I never thought I would be able to stand up and speak publically but this training enabled me to see things through a different lens, it has completely changed my life.”
The college quickly became a safe space where Dan could not only work toward his new career as a coach but grow as a person, as well.
“I entered a world I have never experienced before: there was no judgment, everyone was just being honest and open,” he says.
“In order to be the best coaches we could be, we had to first look at ourselves.”
The self-reflection was long overdue for Dan, who had worked hard most of his life to build his business up in the UK. By the time he decided to move to Australia with his family — chasing the sun and greater work-life balance — he was burnt out and stressed.
“I put an enormous amount of pressure on myself to do well,” he says.
“I was caught up in the rat race and all I did was work.”
Dan began the process of re-qualifying as a plumber in Australia, but it wasn’t long before he was searching for a more fulfilling career.
In particular, he found himself casting his mind back to a seminar he attended by US coach and motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, and he wondered if he, too, could do that kind of work. That was the moment he decided to study at The Life Coaching College.
“It still took a few months before I signed up before I could create enough belief in myself that I could transition and do something different,” he says.
While at the college he connected with fellow UK student, Davy Rowe, and, inspired by Rowe’s concept and passion for men’s circle work, they created the Authentic Men movement and ‘Seize your Power; coaching program to help men deal with past traumas, to develop a positive mindset, and reach their full potential.
Dan also works one-on-one with his own clients, both men and women, as part of his life and success coaching business.
For a long time, he lamented the time he had “wasted” in past careers: as a nightclub promoter in the UK and later as a business owner/plumber. But he now sees those roles as essential to his success.
“All of the things that I have done in the past, the skills I have learnt, have come into play,” he says.
“A lot of students are learning how to do the marketing and the promotions but because I have previously run my own businesses, I already have those skills.”
He hopes his transformation will act as an inspiration to others who may wonder if it’s even possible to make a mid-life career shift.
“I was successful and yet I just quit everything in the UK, I left my friends and family, and I moved myself to the middle of nowhere,” he says.
“Yet within a couple of years I have made a success of myself, and that ability is there within all of us.”
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This story was written by Johanna Leggatt. Johanna is an Australian journalist with more than 15 years’ experience in both print and online. She has worked across a wide range of subject areas, including health, property, finance, interiors, and arts.
