Hi! Well you know my name. Below is a little about me.

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I am a writer, trainer, producer and coach now. But like many others, I first started earning as a kid with leaflet dropping, newspapers, shopwork, etc. Then the serious stuff - a Computing and Business degree, which led to coding and systems auditing within technology, financial and banking institutions. At one of those, I was coding a graphics module and talked about doing that for a 3d animation film. I didn’t know about Pixar then and that can be the ‘sliding doors’ element in my story.

 

Coding’s great because it’s a lot about ideas and creative problem-solving, but at the time, it really didn’t have a cool status. There was no geek chic or nerds ruling the world. My work was in various serious consultancies and an investment bank before I got on to a fantastic graduate trainee scheme with a global news and financial information company. I am still in touch with my fellow grads, as well as a whole load of friends I made there. Life is all about the people and relationships.

 

At the news company, I inadvertently ended up leading critical, high-stakes global technology projects. It started off as filling gaps during restructures and ended up with permanent roles. That made me realise I could do much more than I thought. I later headed a trading subsidiary's Global Projects Group and implemented a transformation programme. The work was as much technical and management as it was coaching and mentoring. Long hours across America, Europe and Asia time zones, but also plenty of travel and a good social life. I really could have carried on. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened. After all, I'd had senior leadership sharing they thought I would stay and carry on up to Board level. 

 

However, I’d started having a nagging feeling that I ought to do something in the helping professions. At the same time, I was coming out of a toxic personal situation, and felt I could support others in similar situations.

 

So when an opportunity arose for exploring alternative passions, I took it up. I enjoyed writing and travel, so did some field research, did a Creative Writing MA, and started my novel, Lifewalla. It was inspired by survivors of the world's worst industrial disaster and raised funds for clinics at its launch. Now a Finalist in a Cinematic Book Competition, it may well see an adaptation yet!

 

My other writing includes a Penguin Decibel prize story, long-listings in international competitions and staged readings produced by theatre companies. I have also delivered a private biography for a HNWI Industrialist. Currently, I am writing a sitcom pilot and creating a collaborative novel. That’s the writing part of my life.

 

Alongside, I did a Masters level PgDip in Psychology, where my research project was on stress management and I trained in various complementary modalities, including co-active coaching, EFT, NLP, Theta, Emotrance, and Reiki. I applied my knowledge and experience to 1-2-1 coaching, talks and workshops with organisations. I am also developing a series of e-courses to make the experiential training more accessible and affordable globally. This is important to me because I truly believe the world would gain immense positive domino effects on wellbeing and relationships if people could easily manage their triggers and reactions. Imagine that world!

 

My impetus for this has strengthened from experience working with people across corporate, freelance and voluntary work - including global leadership roles, producing and hosting local events, teaching in desert villages, co-ordinating earthquake rescue efforts, helpline listening and prisoner training and more. People are broadly the same all over. We have the same emotional canvas and evolutionary responses. These techniques can work across the spectrum, broadly speaking.

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I hope you enjoy the various radio interviews, panel events, meditation recordings and my tribulations at standup.

Do send any feedback you have, or book an initial chat as suitable. I look forward either way  - NJR