Along The Path To Holistic Success – An Interview With Anna Letitia Cook

Anna Letitia Cook is an international career development and wellness coach, author, speaker, radio/tv presenter, passionate about helping clients find clarity, energy and fulfilment in their life choices ‒ their holistic success.

She created her first company in the entertainment industry at age 32 before switching industry and moving into international real estate. Midlife approaching, hungry for a dynamic change, she refocused her experience, founding her current business to help professionals shape and energise their own future.

Creator of the 'SCOPE' and '4Fs' processes for career, fulfilment and holistic success and author of ‘Unstoppable Goddess: Every Women’s Guide to Freedom, Fulfilment and Success’, Anna was awarded United Nations Women's 2016-2017 Global Champion for Change @ Empower Women.

Anna is the presenter of the radio tv shows WomenUP 'Inspired Women' and 'Beyond the Bottomline.

Her motto: Living life holistically – Career and wellness together!

Anna Letitia Cook, Career Development & Holistic Success Coach

Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.

Hi, I’m Anna Cook and I’m the extremely proud mum of 2 grown up children (who are obviously the best children in the world) and an incredibly active 6-year-old grandson.

I love nature, flatties (flatcoated retrievers) horses, ballet, hiking, gardening, scuba-diving, sailing.

Normally I have umpteen pets, at one time I actually had 7 horses, 5 dogs and 4 cats but now I only have one cat and I regularly ‘steal’ my ‘grandog’ (my son’s crazy Samoyed) for 2 or 3 days per week.

I am also a lifelong yoga enthusiast and deeply interested in nutrition and wellness and particularly its impact on our brain function, emotions, resilience and creativity ‒ so much so that I have incorporated that into part of my business much to my clients’ delight (and at their request) …

My career history is fun (and nomadic – lol) including living/working in 7 countries and 4 languages which I loved. In every country I integrated fully in the culture, I wasn’t the ex-pat type at all. I wanted to experience and become part of the country, make friends, understand and really ‘live’ the life of that country.

I am now an international career development and wellness coach, author, speaker, radio/tv presenter, passionate about helping clients find clarity, energy and fulfilment in their life choices – with a strong emphasis on their holistic success. Having started work in the ‘City’ (press industry, followed by oil/shipping, import/export and jumping around a few countries while doing so) I then went on to create my first company in the entertainment industry at age 32 (being married to a rock musician at the time it seemed logical – lol) before switching industry and moving into international real estate and more countries.

Midlife approaching, hungry for a dynamic change, I refocussed my experience, founding my current business to help professionals shape and energise their own future. I am the creator of the 'SCOPE' and '4Fs' processes for career, fulfilment and holistic success and author of ‘Unstoppable Goddess: Every Women’s Guide to Freedom, Fulfilment and Success’. I also had the great honour to be awarded United Nations Women's 2016-2017 Global Champion for Change @ Empower Women.

As well as coaching, I am presenter of the podcast tv shows WomenUP 'Inspired Women' and 'Beyond the Bottomline.

What is your business focus and how do you help your clients?

My business is about looking ‘Beyond the Bottomline’ and focussing on career and wellness together to achieve the best of holistic success – so as I call it – Living your Zing Zen Life! It gives clients a chance to relax, chill out and enjoy following their own holistic success journey to better career, mindset, fitness and nutrition. I’m passionate about helping clients find clarity, energy and fulfilment in their life choices – their holistic success – so I created a variety of programs specifically aimed at designing their own best ways to define, create, achieve and enjoy!

So often people think you either have to choose career or to have fun and family. Obviously, life isn’t a perfect wave of permanent happiness but by achieving real clarity in our goals, being totally honest with ourselves and optimising our health and fitness we can get a lot closer to what really energises us and brings that bouncy happy smile to our faces! What kind of audience do you target your business towards?

Business professionals! This combination of career and wellbeing developed from the many conversations I have had with my current clients — Leaders, CEOs, directors, managers and businessmen and women — who feel there isn’t enough focus on the ‘better’ things in their life amidst all the pressure on them to achieve a traditional vision of success and damn the consequences on what you are interested in, your health or your enjoyment of life! What are your current goals for your business?

For next year ‒ To launch the (covid-postponed) retreats that were planned to start 2 years ago. These different retreats – International Leadership, Executive, Elite and Wellness/Wellbeing ‒ will take place in 4 different countries, UK, France, Peru and Bermuda, 5 or 6 times per year in total together with some 3 day workshops (Inspiring Holistic Leaders and Corporate Wellness Workshops).

What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future?

For me: To live a continuously improving Zing Zen life so I really am in the flow most of the time and continue learning more about my passions as well as exploring more parts of the world and introducing them to my children... I would like to do some challenging hikes and even maybe take part in some ‘explorer’ type trips to discover more wild nature. To me these personal aims fit very much into the ethos of holistic success and living a zing zen life so I really would be practising what I preach.

For business: To raise awareness of what holistic success really is so people (and particularly companies) really do understand how to achieve it. There is a lot of talk out there about work life balance, stress, mental health issues etc and pressure seems to be increasing at all levels – Life is far from perfect and we need to rethink our reactions and actions, maybe even opening our minds to how it was ‘back in the day’ and looking at other, simpler and more dynamic ways of coping on several fronts so we keep our zest for life and work, maintain our productivity and increase our levels of enjoyment. That’s why our retreats take a different approach to most so not only are these leaders inspired to improve their own way of life for themselves, but they really become ‘inspiring holistic leaders’ to those around them – the combination of inspiration and the focus on health, dynamism, creativity and positive energy completely changes the outlook and environment for all.

To become the ‘go-to virtuoso’ for leadership, corporate and wellness retreats. The concepts offered give such a fundamental opportunity for participants to remove the blinkers, peel back the layers, go deep into themselves, open their minds, discover new reactions and recharge their levels of nutrition, fitness, serenity and energy. Who inspires you to be the best that you can be?

My children! I want them to be happy, healthy and enjoy their life but be fully aware that life isn’t perfect and that there will always be ups and downs – so that they develop a sense of reality and resilience as well as looking for the positive, enjoying what they do, being filled with enthusiasm and zest for what is around them. I have made so many mistakes during my life and experienced high highs and low lows but I am a survivor because I choose to survive and the idea of them understanding that nothing is perfect but that we can choose to say no, to look for freedom in our thoughts, to follow the positive path, to enjoy discovering and exploring new things, to be independent and open to what inspires us, what makes us grow – that is what inspires me. I want them to see that they can make the choices they want for themselves, understanding the balance of reality and dreams...

My parents, particularly my father, set me a wonderful example – although I frequently failed to follow it. My father was a farmer who totally changed the focus of the farm when he took it over, a big risk and challenge in itself. He volunteered and fought during the war, experiencing some of the worst fighting, being quite badly wounded but going back again, and never speaking about any of it afterwards. During his whole life, he never complained, never moaned, always stayed active and always had the attitude that whatever happens, you look at the options and adjust your path accordingly, you never stop trying and you face what happens with as much calm, reality and open-mindedness as possible and help those around you no matter what. What is your work inspired by?

My desire to raise awareness on the importance of holistic values regarding health and mindset in enjoyment of life and productivity/positivity at work. They aren’t mutually exclusive and they can totally change the energy of the person, the team and the environment. When used well, the whole dynamic changes for the better and to everyone’s advantage.

I see my clients and their desire to do their best for their teams and their companies. I have some truly wonderful clients who want to progress, grow and develop both themselves and their teams and they want to do it in the best possible way for everyone (and for the bottomline). Introducing them to a more holistic way of working and a more holistic version of success and seeing their positive reaction, their increased pleasure and inspiration in what they do as well as the improved results is the absolute best reward!

Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Anna!