Ep. 28: Sometimes helping is not the best thing

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to episode 28 of the Two Coach Confidence podcast. Our aim with this podcast is to bring fun and interesting guests from all areas and walks of life to share their knowledge, stories, and experiences of this mystical and subjective topic we refer to as confidence.

In today's episode, we have the absolute privilege of being joined by Rowena Birch. As an international judo player, Rowena competed in the Olympic Games in Atlanta and held the title of European Judo Champion. After retiring from competition, she went on to coach/manage the national judo squad (U18 years), helping to develop athletes including Sally Conway and Gemma Gibbons, who went on to win Olympic medals. She then spent 10 years coaching high-performance coaches and managers, helping them create environments that support development, motivation, and learning. 

At the age of 50, Rowena decided it was time for something new and retrained as a financial adviser. Here she still uses her coaching skills to help individuals and businesses to develop financial plans and make decisions, which fit their unique needs. Rowena is also Vice president of British Judo, and a trustee for the charity Gaddum, who supported her family after the sudden death of her husband. A mother of two, Rowena now enjoys gardening, cooking, and the occasional visit back onto the judo mat.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The misconception that confident people are confident all of the time 
• How Rowena felt to competing against a former Olympic Champion who just so happened to be one of her idols
• The idea that if you want to become more confident, you have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone
• Rowena kindly shares how suddenly losing her husband in a car accident significantly affected her confidence
• Building confidence through stress and adaptation, and what that means practically 
• What it’s like to be surrounded by four world champions and how that impacted Rowena’s mindset and confidence
• Being mindful about not taking over when you’re helping someone develop and grow their confidence
• How to make the process of developing your confidence joyful and fun
• Allowing yourself time when it comes to growing your confidence, it’s not an instant process
• How big goals can be dangerous!
• Realising that you’re not alone when it comes to feeling a certain way, especially when it comes to how you feel about your confidence 
• Having a system of building confidence through success

Rowena has a wonderfully warm energy and shares some incredibly personal experiences all with the intention of supporting you, our listeners. It’s fair to say this is one of our favourite episodes to date. The content and value provided are outstanding, listening to a former Olympic athlete share their stories, experiences and knowledge so generously was a genuine privilege. 

Please enjoy!

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For more information on Rowena visit,
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rowenabirch

For more information about Kerry's work visit,
Website: https://www.kerryhearsey.com   

For more information about Adams work visit,
Website: My Coach For Life | Life beyond limits