Success Story | Action Coach Claire Hardy

Hello everyone, this has been so long to do a live. I've been really trying to do and I'm so, so happy and so much pumped up today because I've got somebody who's really, really special. I'm so happy and I don't want to give too much about her because I want her to tell her story. But I want to tell you, I'm going to talk about Claire Hardy. And today we have Claire. Claire has been working with me for some time and it took a long time to come here, but yes, she's here today. I'm so excited for her. As I was just telling her, you don't have to be a celebrity to be celebrated. So today we're going to celebrate Claire, her journey, her growth, and the kind of things she has done. So welcome, Claire. So good to have you here.

Thank you so much. It's good to be here.

Lovely, lovely. So Claire, why don't you start off with, uh, talking about yourself? What has been your journey? What all kind of things you have done? In past before you started working, we started working together.

So I had the kind of typical upbringing really, and I was very fortunate. I went to university and it led me into like the financial corporate world. With the hit of coronavirus and everything, I was able to then have the courage to listen to my inner voice and my inner voice was telling me that I was meant for something bigger, something better. And despite the fact that I've always been branded as the shy girl, um, speaking and coaching and helping others, uh, has been what has come to me. And so I thought, well, now's as good a time as any, so why not give it a try? Why not give it a go? Um, I gave myself a time limit so that I did have, in a way, a get-out-of-free card, um, that if I didn't feel it was going anywhere or I wasn't enjoying it, that I would then be like, that's okay, I can go back to the financial world, which I knew is one of my strengths. Um, so yeah, I think Toastmasters, along with that journey, has significantly increased my confidence to be able to go for it.

Lovely, lovely. As I said, Toastmasters changed my life, and there's been so many people who have been completely transformed through Toastmasters. You had some, uh, and I'm— I— we didn't discuss about that, I'm just putting it, and feel free to say no if you're not comfortable, but you had some of those experiences which really shook your confidence, which really made you, uh, not taking action. Would you like to talk about one or two of those?

Yeah, so I hit a dark patch in my teen years, and it wasn't the typical teenage tantrums or anything. It was, um, sexual abuse that I went through, um, that really hit every fiber part of me to the point that I actually started blaming myself, uh, and coming across that I felt like I deserved it despite the fact that they were either my age for some of the instances, but one was a significantly older man. But I can now see that I have strength because of that, um, and I feel proud of myself for getting through that, um, from what was a very difficult time for not only just me personally dealing with that but also my family because it significantly affected my relationship particularly with my mother. And my mum is my absolute rock, so I'm glad to now report that We are back on really good, strong terms. Like, I, you know, I love her to pieces. But yeah, that was a rocky time that we went through. Wow.

I mean, thank you so much for sharing that. That takes a lot of courage. And I'm pretty sure anyone who's watching this right now or who will watch the recording will really deeply appreciate the courage that you have shown. Appreciate the, the long way that you have come so far. And coming here out, uh, sharing your story is not an easy thing. It takes a lot of courage, it takes a lot of guts. And so thank you for sharing that. And I, I believe that we all come here with a reason in the world. I think this is your calling, and you're doing great job. So tell us a bit about your experience, because we started working somewhere near January. And yeah, not to, you know, belt my own truth or something, but I want to know your honest opinion about, you know, what has been your experience, what did you learn, and what has been the things that you have gone through.

So it started off with you as our president of our Toastmasters club just encouraging me, uh, to go for the competition, I believe, uh, to which we then found out we had to do 5 within like 2 weeks. So I did them all within a week. Absolutely, absolutely. Um, and then from there I then signed up to your masterclass and your workshops and, and now to, to one-on-one coaching. Um, like, I've always had a drive, but it was always a drive to the things I felt comfortable with and the things that I already had the knowledge and the belief that I could do. For example, like finances, like helping others. I've always had a natural desire for both of those. But when it came to speaking, I was plagued by the fact that when I, in my first year at uni, when I had to do my first speech, I did the introduction and then ran out the room, passed out, and never went back to do another single presentation since.

Lovely, lovely. So thank you for sharing that. Now tell us a bit about what you're doing, because you've gone through a transformation. You yourself is, uh, you yourself are a coach now. So tell us a little bit about what you do and what's your vision for future.

Yeah, so from the, uh, from my being made redundant, I then made the conscious decision to launch my own business called Poppy Dreams. And my hope and desire with that is to take someone from being a dreamer to an action taker. Um, I also do have experience within mental health as well, um, but I'm not restricted just to that. Um, and like my— in the last, well, I'd say 2 months, my life has completely shifted. I've hosted now, uh, 3 webinars, a workshop And I now have 2 paying clients. I doubled my April target. So it's been a complete shift.

Thank you. Thank you, Claire. So there's a comment from Deepak through LinkedIn. And thank you, Deepak, for tuning in that, how to overcome stage fear. I can answer that, but I would like you to answer what has been your mantra to overcome stage fear. And I know you're doing so much amazing, you're doing webinars, you're doing presentation, you did within a week, I think you did 5 or 6 talks, which was so amazing. So how did you overcome stage fear? And then I will probably add on a few things on top of that.

So yeah, so stage fear is something that I'm still working on and still learning. But definitely being online has helped me, but also having my coach. So you pushed me, you didn't give me a choice. You were like, you're doing it. And what's become my mantra, as you probably know, is say yes and figure it out.

Lovely.

And that really has been like putting in the work, putting in the practice, then getting feedback at each stage, and then implementing that feedback. Each— with each little bit, I'm growing more and more confidence. And when I first started, like, my first webinar, I made sure I had some friends on my call, um, because that was key to me, because I know that there would be like, I'd have a smiling face staring back at me. Um, so yeah, they— there's been the, the key things that have helped me when I now approach like talks and things.

Lovely, lovely. So if I add to that, and I love that, your perspective, like first of all, you need to have a mentor, a coach, or somebody who's holding you accountable. You don't have to meet them every every day, every hour, every week, but there should be somebody who's accountable to you, who's holding your hand. And most importantly, you have to understand that, no, everybody has stage fear. I mean, if even if you are the first-time speaker going, talking in front of 3 people, or you are a TEDx speaker, TED Talk speaker, you know, addressing hundreds and thousands of people, you all, we all have stage fear. What's most important, understanding the psychology behind that. No, you see, if I say you, you are excited versus you are nervous, it is the same feeling that we have inside. So if you change the way you talk to yourself, instead of saying, oh, I'm feeling fearful, I'm feeling nervous, you say that I'm feeling excited, this is great, and I can feel that in my, in my body, in my mind, in my hands, in my legs, you will change your physiology, you will change your things. So understanding that you will feel fear, and if I had a pill or a potion to give you that, oh, take this pill and you'll be fearless, probably that's not yet, unless you want to go into alcohol and all, not recommended. But knowing that, that everybody feels fear gives you enough confidence. And the second thing is the audience wants you more or less, the audience wants you to succeed. They don't want to— have you ever been to a presentation where somebody was struggling? Did you feel that, okay, this guy is stupid and it shouldn't be there? Or you felt more connected to that person, like, no, let me help him, let me soothe her, let me tell her you're doing great. So knowing that the audience is with you, not against you, that also helps you overcome stage fear. And then there are other things. You have to practice as many times, you have to get feedback and keep going on.

Another thing, if I could just quickly add to that as well, as you were talking, I was thinking my, uh, my initial time before I come on has shifted as well. Like, I don't just kind of, you know, feel really sick and then all of a sudden come to the stage, whether it's virtual or physical. Now I make sure that I don't eat heavy I listen to music that literally puts me in such a high energy state that I don't feel it as much, especially not immediately as I'm going on. And, uh, yeah, so my, my prep work, um, leading up to the event has also changed.

Thank you, thank you, Claire. And Muhammad Musa is wondering what is that we are discussing about. So, uh Muhammad, we are celebrating the great success that Claire has been working on, great job she has been doing. Uh, she has gone through a transformation in last 3 months, and I wanted her to offer a platform where she can come and talk about her journey and talk about the amazing things she has done and what's her plan for the future. So let's segue into the last part, which I just said, that what's your plan for future? What do you want to do and how you want to help people?

Mm, so I have created like, um, in a way it's a revenue wheel because I am an advocate to creating multiple income streams. There's also like my goals and my desires. So on there is things like doing consistent webinars. I like doing a TEDx talk. I'd love to be able to host that stage one day. Um, hosting a mental health retreat is also something that's deep within me. And it doesn't have to be for people with what could be called, you know, mental health issues. It could just be those that need a breather, need a break. Um, another of my coaches is trying to, uh, persuade me to write a book this year. Um, yeah, so it's, uh, it's all about promoting positivity and promoting like from those that make New Year's resolutions, only 8% actually achieve them. And getting like people who dream— because there's— we will dream, near enough, many people dream— and it's then getting them to shift from that state to then moving them into action, because there's enough for everyone to be successful.

Absolutely, absolutely. The universe has abundance and It's abundant with all the things that you want to achieve. So lovely, lovely. Uh, if somebody wants to, uh, if somebody wants to— thank you, Deepak. Deepak is saying thank you to you, thank you to you for guidance. So if somebody wants to get in touch with you, uh, want to know more about you, want to work with you, how can they reach out to you?

So there's a few different ways. I am on Instagram at poppydreams1. I am on YouTube at Poppy Dreams, or there is my email which is poppydreams1@gmail.com. I would say that those 3 ways are possibly the closest way, or if they, you know, have access to Haritosh Srivastav, then I'm more than happy to have my number be passed along as well, because, you know, when one of us goes to the next level, we all raise.

Absolutely agree. I love, I love that phrase that one of us goes to the next level, we all raise. So lovely. That shows the growth mindset that you have. So yeah, anyone who's in my connect, he's in my network, if he wants, he or she wants to connect with Claire, to reach out to me, DM me, or on Facebook, Instagram. And if you already are, you know, my contact, you can reach out to me. That would be great to share the details with you. Uh, Claire, we are coming towards the end of this interview, and I have to ask this, that if you have to give one message, one line to anyone who's going through what you went through a few weeks, a few months, a few years ago, and is looking up to you, what would you say to that person?

Take the leap of faith. But also give yourself grace, because when you're taking that leap, when you're taking that step, it's scary. And I think giving yourself grace while you're doing it is very, very important. But also find yourself a community like Poppy Dreams. Um, I did forget to mention that I'm, uh, there is a Poppy Dreams Facebook group as well. Like find yourself a community that like encourages you when you're doing well, that supports you when you're struggling. But what's different about mine is we challenge you, that when your words and when your actions are not meeting up, are not congruent, we politely go, hey, you've been saying this for a while now, how can we help you get into action?

Lovely, lovely. Thank you so much, Claire, for coming online. I know it took a lot of courage for you, and this is not easy, but I really, really appreciate you. And I said, you have been one of my greatest mentees who's an action taker. If anytime I ask Claire to do something, she'll be like, yeah, you asked me to do one thing, I'll do one and a half, or I'll do two, I'll do three. So you always surprise me, and most importantly, you surprise yourself. With the kind of progress and growth that you get. So I'm so really proud of you. I'm— I have told you so many times in private, but I'm telling you once again, uh, in, in public platform that I'm really, really proud of you. And I wish you all the success. No, great job. And yeah, keep up the excellent work. So anybody who wants to get in touch with Claire, please reach out to her. I will tag her or whatever is there on the social media. And if you're not able to get hold of you can reach out to me and I, I'll help you get connected with her. So thank you so much everyone who are watching it live or who will watch it later. And as I say every time, until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and keep going out of your comfort zone. I hope to see you also getting transformed and see you with me in another interview soon. Take care, have a wonderful weekend ahead.