'A-Ha' Moment of Life Coach Kamil Shah
Coming from a professional background in design, Kamil previously practiced in both the Education & Corporate Sectors. One life-changing event in his 20s saw Kamil's life plummet from having a progressing career in design to living on $2 a day virtually overnight. This painful experience has taught him valuable lessons in Life, which he has used advantageously to regain his feet and ultimately achieve Personal and Professional Success. He now shares his experience and knowledge to help others achieve their own success by bringing on their own Personal Genius.
Who is Kamil?
Wow! Awesome question! It’s not often I get asked this, and I have to say that it’s not often any of us get asked this daily. It really puts things into perspective. It would go something like this…‘Kamil is a loving dad and husband to his brilliant kids and amazing wife. He has lived and worked in various continents across the globe, including North America, Europe, and South-East Asia. He is a Life Coach living in one of the inspiring places on the planet, Dubai. Kamil is also a Chartered Architect, and MasterPlanner and this journey has led him to discover his calling, which is to help people help themselves. Overcoming his struggle with chronic asthma during his childhood, Kamil managed to embrace his passion for all types of individual and group sports (football in particular), and one of his lifetime achievements was to complete the Dubai Marathon. He loves taking walks in nature, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, as well as meditation. Taking a cue from the lessons learned in overcoming his own personal struggles, Kamil believes in the unlimited potential of every individual and that everyone possesses their own Personal Genius. His mission is to guide people to understand their potential and, in doing so, bring forward the Personal Genius within them.’
Who should hire/work with you, and what do you do for them?
The global landscape has changed drastically over the last 12 months. More and more individuals and organizations are facing different types of challenges at varying degrees. These include elevated levels of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse (about 40% of U.S. adults reported struggling with mental health issues by June 2020). I provide coaching services to individuals in guiding them to achieve a particular goal they may have (for example, overcoming a particular block or installing a new habit) and companies and corporations in group staff coaching. Typically my role as a coach is to guide my client, at their own pace, towards their personal and professional goals by utilizing proven coaching techniques.
You just graduated as a Jay Shetty Coach. What did you learn during this course, and how can you apply this new knowledge to your daily work?
I have to say, the experience was somewhat unexpected. However, let me start at the beginning, and by that, I mean WHY I decided to become a Life Coach. I guess it all began one night, way back during my college days when I was a 1st-year Architecture student. It was just after midnight, and there were a few other souls in our Architecture studio, burning the midnight oil as we had to present our house designs for assessment in the morning. As I was working away at my drawing board, head down, eyes transfixed on my Rotring pen and the ink as it made its way across the tracing paper, I heard faint footsteps slowly shuffling their way towards me. Now, I’ve heard stories about paranormal activities happening previously in this studio, but I was pretty sure these were the footsteps of a person!
I looked up, and there was my friend, Patrick. I smiled and greeted him. He smiled back, but his response was a bit flat. Even though both our eyes were red from the lack of sleep, and we were both tired, I knew something was off with Patrick. He wasn’t his fun self. In fact, he looked a little distressed. Arms folded to one side and almost apologetic when he asked me how things were going with my work. We talked a little, and it wasn’t until I asked ‘How’s things with you?’ that he finally offered me a little insight into his struggle with his work. Naturally, I was inquisitive and actually wanted to know more about his project. I guess that’s the thing with me. I always want to talk and explore ideas! He explained his project, and we talked about concepts, windows, light, concrete, straight walls versus curved facades, and many other things that Patrick hadn’t realized before in his design. I merely asked him questions because I wanted to understand what he was trying to ‘say’ with his building. That was it. But I noticed that as we were talking, his mood changed. It was almost like the dimmer light switch was being slowly turned up, and his face started to beam again by the end of our chat. I felt his energy transform from being flat at the start to a new surge of energy that one gets when realizing the ‘A-Ha’ moment! He soon thanked me, and to be honest, I didn’t really know what for? I mean, I didn’t tell him what he needed to do to his project. I just asked inquisitive questions. And I felt good at the end of our conversation. I guess seeing him light up gave me a burst of renewed energy as well! Little did I know that this was the beginning of my journey to becoming a Life Coach.
Fast forward to 2020, and as we all know too well, everyone has been affected by the current pandemic. This year will go down in our life’s story as the year that everything changed. My heart and prayers go out to those who are adversely affected by the situation. However, this year was quite pivotal in many people’s lives as they saw themselves elevate their lives either by choice or by force. In a sense, some people are looking at ways to leverage their trauma by applying a ‘post-traumatic growth’ mindset. For me, I am grateful that this year has changed me for the better. I re-engaged with my calling to serve others, and enrolling myself into the Jay Shetty Certification Program could not have come at a better time. The course provided me with all the tools to finally be able to actively help others and help themselves.
Looking back at Patrick's conversation and the moment where it all began, I now realize that I subconsciously had been practicing some of the core coaching principles but did not have the structure and methodology to fully guide someone on their journey. This is what the Jay Shetty Certification School provided me with. The amount of research and resources made available to the students, including access to supervisors and a community of fellow students from across the globe, was phenomenal. The best part is that the School is growing as we speak. I’m grateful to be part of the journey towards, as Jay says, ‘Making Wisdom Go Viral, Together.’
What is your big goal? What does the 2030 Kamil look like?
Wow! This is quite timely. I really feel like I’m at the ‘half-time’ of my life and that the ‘second-half’ has just kicked off (bear with me as I use football as a reference!). Following through with that analogy, my ‘first-half’ can be described as a bit ‘patchy.’ I made progress, but there were some blunders along the way. I didn’t really have much possession, but I didn’t do bad either. Even though the scoreline was 0-0 at half-time, I’m very happy with the first-half performance and extremely optimistic for the second half. The half-time break really helped me re-group, re-focus, and take stock of what went well and where I should be improving. Like I said, I just kicked off the second half, and I’m already 1-0 up in getting myself certified! I’m progressing towards my big goal, which is to positively impact 5 million lives across the globe over the next 10 years through my coaching, writing, and public speaking.
If you had a billboard on Times Square, what would it say?
Super! Hmmm..let me see. I think it will be this. Simple but very profound, I think. As much as a reminder to myself as well as to others. 2 words. “YOU MATTER.”
