How Spark Became Spark.
We have been fortunate to work together on some fabulous projects over a number of years; building a friendship and partnership that is creative, fun and exciting to be part of. The thread that ties our collaboration and the projects we have worked on together has been our shared passion for empowering others, and ourselves, to really explore their own potential and open up choices that might not have felt available previously, basically, to live the life you want to live and be what you want to be.
It was during a walk and chat that we came up with the idea for Spark.
Read our stories below to find out what Spark means to us.
​
Michelle & Helen x
​
​
MICHELLE
I feel like I'm living proof that making sure you look after yourself and get what you want out of life is definitely not an easy road to travel, but one that, even if you only tweak it a little, is well worth the effort!
I trained as a coach many years ago and put my coaching skills to great use when I finally landed the job I had worked really hard to get. I told myself how lucky I was to be leading a large team across 4 different countries, travelling a lot, raising a young family and yes I was working crazy hours but …. Look, I’ve got it all!
As the only woman on the team, I also felt like I had to work harder and be smarter because all eyes were on me, but the lifestyle this created just wasn’t sustainable and all of this real and ‘imagined’ pressure left me exhausted and sad and meant no-one was getting the best from me (well maybe work was).
I knew I needed to do something different and treating the symptoms just wouldn’t cut it, long walks and spa days are lovely and everything but this needed some proper work!
I was lucky, as a trained coach, I had everything I needed to help me figure out what I wanted to do, I just needed to do it! So using the skills, tools and experiences I had amassed over the previous 15 years as a professional coach, I ‘coached’ myself into making a change and it’s this exact same process that we have captured and mapped out in the Ignite the Spark Coaching booklet.
I know the process works, I’ve used it successfully for many years and have personally worked with over 700 people, using these elements to help them think about what they want to change in their lives and then make that all important plan to make it happen.
I know this journey may be hard, it was for me too, but it’s worth the effort to live the life you want to live.
.jpeg)
HELEN
A few years ago I realised I was heading down a path that didn't motivate me in any way; I needed to find some creativity in my work and make my own rules as I never seem to manage to fit into anyone else's. I was also craving a better work/life balance with a young family and zero flexible working options. It made me realise time was so precious and I didn't want to waste any of it.
It felt daunting to figure out how, and looking outwards didn't give me the answer. I had to find the how within me; and that took some finding!
We seem to live in a world where it's hard to distinguish between what you want and what you think you want. That takes some deep digging! But i did it and began to carve out the life I needed.
I'm still a work in progress, but I see too many people going through the same journey and not finding their way. And that's why Spark was born. To say "you know what, you can do it, you can create your own path and there's tools out there to help you".