I’m Claudia Curran, and I am #YOURCOACHINGPRO

This week we are interviewing Claudia Curran, founder of The Inner Impact, executive and life coaching business. An accomplished Finance Executive with over 20 years in the industry, Claudia decided to become a certified Executive and Life Coach to help people to get the best of them.

Business description: helping people get results – drama-free and stress-free 

Current job: Executive & Life Coach

One word that best describes how you work: curiosity

My greatest success is: turning a life-controlling burden into a gift

My role model is: Sarah Blakely, CEO of Spanx

My favourite movie is: The Notebook

My comfort food is: Ben & Jerrys Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Best place to recharge: Kamalaya in Koh Samui, Thailand 

First of all, tell us a little about your background and how you got the idea to found The Inner Impact

12 years ago, my husband was diagnosed with leukaemia, and three months later our baby passed away on her due date. I didn’t know how to process the grief; I thought moving forward with life and being strong would be the way. Little did I know that I was actually avoiding pain and that it would eventually show up. And it did, through anxiety. It started with occasional panic attacks and grew into chronic anxiety over the next 8 years. 

There are so many different services and products out there for anxiety that I didn’t know where to start. I would try various ways, some of which might help for a short while before anxiety would return stronger than ever before. At first, I didn’t realise that I was combating the SYMPTOMS of anxiety, but not the ISSUE itself – which was my mind. I was extremely fortunate to come across an amazing life coach. She taught me the power of thought management and understanding how your brain works. It was life-changing. Our brain is arguably the most important asset we have, and yet we are never formally taught how to manage it. Whether it’s anxiety, relationship issues, or wanting to work on confidence, I then realised that once you learn the skills of supervising your mind, you can apply it to any aspect of your life. You then have this powerful life-changing skill with you always.

You have been able to transform your anxiety episodes not only in a strong resilience mindset but in a business, what were the challenges you faced in the first year of The Inner Impact?

Learning how to be comfortable with the fact that I am the product / and therefore the brand. I have always been rather shy about being in the public eye, so there was a bit of self-coaching to be done here! I had felt that if I didn’t share my story, then I wouldn’t be vulnerable. But now I know: When you are authentic, you are vulnerable. When you are authentic, people connect to you and trust you. When people trust you, the magic happens and you can help them.

We are living in an unusual time, how has the pandemic affected your business? 

I work with a great number of people in the corporate world who were normally having meetings in person.  The shift to Working From Home required some getting used to. Whilst a few were initially resistant to this idea, many today appreciate the benefits of this new style. It’s far more efficient in terms of time, but also, in some cases, it permits people to be more “vulnerable” (open) as they are in their familiar “safe” surroundings, so it’s easier for them to reflect inwards. The pandemic has taken my business almost 100% online now; previously all my clients were based where I was located, now my clients are GLOBAL. Now, people look for the right coach for them, rather than for a coach located near them.

How do you see The Inner Impact in 2 years?

Currently, all the coaching is done on a 1:1 basis. Next year I will be launching group coaching programmes. I envisage that in 2 years’ time, most of what I offer will be coaching on a group level. Group coaching allows people to uplevel themselves by being within a carefully curated group of like-minded peers. You get to access other people’s ways of thinking, expanding your limitations to what’s possible and causing you to grow yourself to new levels, all within a safe and confidential container. It is the most powerful thing ever. The first group will be launching in the middle of next year and the programme will be running every 6 months thereafter. I will still be offering 1:1 coaching, but to a far smaller, selected base.

What is the coaching service you would like to suggest to everyone and why? 

With my coaching programme, we zero-in on your strengths, change behaviours, and work to create a specific plan to actually get the results that you want. In just 6 months, 45 minutes per week, WE DIVE DEEP to get clear on what’s holding you back, what you really want, and make a plan for how to achieve it. I teach you proven techniques to manage your mind. You will leverage your problems to work for you and create new results. I help you become a person who achieves what you want.

How do you find the right work/free time balance in your day?

It all comes down to planning. A lot of people think planning your entire week out is very restrictive, but it’s actually the opposite. The key is to make sure you plan for all your free time in there FIRST. And from there, plan around it.

As #COACHINGPRO, what is your advice to maintain our mental wellbeing during this stressful period?

Be kind to yourself. We live in extraordinary times where there is so much uncertainty in all aspects of life.  Take this opportunity to get to know yourself, and really understand WHY you feel the way you do. Get into the habit of taking 5 minutes in the morning to write down everything that is on your mind, no filter, no edit and without judgment – a brain dump of what’s in your head. We have 65,000 thoughts a day, and most of them are subconscious. Writing is a good way of helping you bring them to the conscious surface. When this happens, you understand yourself a bit better. You are then able to consciously decide if you want to continue thinking this way, or whether you want to do something about it.

Now please fill the gap about your 5 pro tips: 

1. Your golden rule to stay positive: the opposite actually! I embrace that life is not always going to be positive, that it is normally going to be 50:50, and that this is ok. This is how you grow, learn and know to truly appreciate the times when they are glorious.
2. How to achieve your goals: Always understand WHY you want to achieve that goal, and HOW life will change for you once achieved. Let this be your motivator. Most important is spending time with yourself.
3. A good exercise for your mind: Asking yourself “Why is this an issue for me?” at least four times to get to the real underlying root of the matter.
4. A game for your brain: Taking the facts of the situation, and coming up with a completely different narrative to what you are currently telling yourself, to push yourself to see a different perspective.
5. A book for your soul: Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse. My most recent discovery that I am sharing with everyone, from children to adults.

You can follow @theinnerimpact