Zaid Ismail

Therapists focus on the past, while coaches focus on the future. I bring the two together in a powerful way that allows you to connect with who you are through the unique approach that I developed during my time coaching and mentoring people from all levels of society. The short answer is that I am neither. But I go by the title of ‘Life Coach’ or ‘Coach for Life’ because we need a point of reference.

Therapy or counselling focuses on analysing and defining the impact of past traumatic events or experiences, in the hope that it will create a stable platform for a brighter future. For the most part, therapy focuses on improving our ability to cope with such experiences. Coaching focuses on embracing the present, and working towards taking control of achieving goals in the future. However, it rarely resolves the impact of the past, and therefore relies on our commitment to push ahead despite how we feel. It’s the equivalent of growing stronger to drag the weight of the past with greater ease, but it doesn’t rid you of that weight from the past. Hence my approach in combining the two for greater impact.

Most often, we don’t have a problem identifying what we want to achieve in life, or what kind of relationships will be good for us. What we struggle with most is understanding why we find it difficult to achieve what is important to us. The more we understand why we find it difficult to do the things that we know we should be doing for ourselves, or for others, the easier it becomes to consciously connect with doing it. I help you to achieve that understanding so that you can finally be at peace with who you are.

I focus on creating awareness and understanding for you about what you may have been assuming incorrectly, or why your expectations from those around you may have been well-intentioned, but misplaced. It’s like those a-ha moments that we have in life when trying to solve a problem. We struggle and struggle until eventually something simple but important suddenly clicks, and we get the answer. That’s in essence the experiences that you’ll have when working with me. Simple, but profound a-ha moments that just leaves you feeling at peace with who you are, while wondering why you didn’t realise it sooner.

While I am a certified NLP practitioner, I don’t actively use NLP to achieve coaching outcomes. NLP and CBT have fundamental shortcomings in their approach which reduces the sustainability of the results achieved. My focus is more on sustainability of the shifts that you experience, rather than quick fixes to your problems. Please read my books The Egosystem, or Own Your Life if you wish to gain more insight about my philosophy. My books are available on Amazon, Kindle, and Book Depository. If you’re in SA, you can order it directly from my website by clicking here.

I don’t. You do. You just don’t realise it yet. Everyone knows what’s right or wrong for them, or for those around them. But knowing what’s right or wrong, or good or bad, is not where we struggle. Understanding how we may be sabotaging our own efforts to achieve those outcomes is where we fall short because we often get in our own way without realising it. That’s when we need a fresh perspective, or deeper insights into what we may be missing in our efforts to achieve the life that we want. I provide such perspective to you.

My life experiences, my emotional make-up, my support structure, and even my resources are all different from yours. That’s why me telling you how to do things in your life will be problematic because it assumes that you must react or deal with things the way that I would if I were in your place. That is not sustainable because the moment your circumstances change, those instructions will become redundant, and you’ll need to come back for more advice. I want you to be able to live your life with your convictions, in a way that is sustainable without needing long-term coaching or therapy to cope with life.

Please complete the contact form to discuss pricing options. Secure online payment facilities are available, including EFT, Cash, or in-person card payments. Reminder: A free 30 minute consultation is offered for new clients to determine if this is an approach that they are comfortable with, before committing to the coaching process.

Unfortunately not. Medical aid does not fund life coaching practices due to there being insufficient regulation in the industry.

The number of sessions that you need are based on various factors. These include your readiness to shift your perspective based on the new information that we uncover during our conversations, and the complexity of the issues being addressed. I’ve had clients that experienced a massive positive shift in the first session, and others that experienced it after three or more sessions. It is rare that a single issue requires more than 2 or 3 sessions.

P.S. Many clients experience a-ha moments even in that first 30 minute connect session. So go ahead and schedule yours now. You’ve got nothing to lose.

The pace is determined by you, with input from me. Depending on the development areas that we identify, it could require frequent consultations until the approach is solidified, or it could require a weekly or fortnightly session to track progress and realign based on the progress at that point.

Each session is 60 minutes, with the exception of the first session. If you haven’t had a free 30 minute connect session before starting your coaching process, your first session will be 90 minutes long to allow for us to establish a rapport and understanding about the approach and focus of the coaching.

In-person sessions are conducted at the consulting room in Johannesburg South. Address details will be provided on request, or can be viewed here. Social distancing and sanitisation guidelines for Covid-19 are applied in the coaching room.

Yes, I do. I support Zoom, Skype and WhatsApp. We will try to accommodate other platforms where feasible.

Yes, voice calls are supported. However, video calls are more effective, with face-to-face interactions allowing for richer discussions. Body language is also important in the coaching process.

Sessions are scheduled against Central African Time or GMT+2 during the following periods:

Mondays to Fridays from 08h00 to 19h00

Saturdays from 08h00 o 15h00

Closed on Sundays and South African public holidays, and on Fridays between 12h00 and 14h00.

Special arrangements can be made for clients adversely affected by timezone differences.