A couple of weeks ago, I came across a book called Awakening the Coach Within by coach and business mentor Ankush Jain.

The book charts Ankush’s leap from his corporate job to coach. It weaves in countless insights on topics like career change, personal transformation and business building.

In fact, I enjoyed the book so much that I dropped Ankush a line and asked if he’d be up for sharing his wisdom in an interview for this very newsletter.

Graciously, Ankush said yes.

And I have to say, this interview really is the bees’ knees.

Yes, it will fascinate people interested in coaching. But more than that, if you've ever wondered what fulfilling work actually looks like and how to build a career, business or life that feels like your own, I have the feeling you’ll love this interview too.

Without further ado, let’s get into it.

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Tom: Could you tell us a bit about who you are and what you do?

Ankush: My name is Ankush Jain. I'm a coach and business consultant. I guess you could use many words to describe me but ultimately I'm on a mission to change the coaching profession into one that is as well respected and as well paid as any other profession, including being a doctor, lawyer, judge or top CEO.

Tom: You didn’t leave your corporate job because you were fed up or burnt out. In fact, right up until the moment you quit, you were performing well and getting various job offers. So what made quitting your job look like your next step?

Ankush: I’d always performed well in my career. Every couple of years I’d get a promotion and things kept moving in the right direction. But as you rise through the ranks, the opportunities naturally get fewer, and by that point I was the youngest and least experienced person at that level. When the next promotion cycle came around in 2012, I didn’t get a role I really wanted. So I started to consider my options and whether it was time to change companies, careers or even countries.

I’d always been interested in personal development too though. By 2012, I’d been a personal development junkie for over a decade. I’d hired my first coach in 2007 and when a friend of mine described how he was also working with a coach, a small lightbulb went off in my head. It was the first time I’d ever considered that coaching could be a viable career option for me too. I started exploring it and slowly began coaching on the side of my day job.

In 2013, I got a job offer at a global oil and gas company. Many people would've considered this a dream job offer and it forced a real crossroads. I could either dive deeper into the corporate path or follow this growing pull towards coaching.

Ultimately, it came down to an insight I describe in my new book. It was a deep sense that it was simply the right time. My heart was being drawn towards coaching in a way nothing else had been. After almost two years of building my coaching quietly on the side of my day job, it felt obvious that this was the next step.

Tom: A lot of people feel pulled between security and meaning at work. What helped you navigate that tension?

Ankush: For most of my life, especially when it came to money, I prioritised security. I grew up around families who were much wealthier than we were and from a young age it really looked to me like money was scarce. So I chased security because I thought that was what would keep me safe.

But over years of personal development, something shifted. I realised I didn’t want to spend my life working just for money. It wasn’t the be-all and end-all. When I started exploring coaching, I was genuinely willing to earn less if it meant doing something meaningful. At the same time, I had this quiet confidence that if I followed a career I loved, I’d probably end up doing well anyway. That’s exactly what happened.

I’ve been far more dedicated to this work than I ever was in my corporate career. I love it, it’s deeply rewarding and that’s part of why I wrote the book: to show that it doesn’t have to be a choice between meaningful work and financial security. Coaches can have both.

I’m not pretending it’s easy or that there isn’t a price to pay. If I’d put this level of commitment into my old corporate job, I’m sure I’d be earning a lot of money by now. But it is possible to build a career that’s both fulfilling and financially sustainable and that’s the tension I learned to navigate.

***

That’s a wrap for Part 1 of the interview.

Stay tuned for Part 2...

If you can’t wait for that and you’d like some more pearls of wisdom from Ankush, his new book Awakening the Coach Within comes with my highest recommendation.

For my UK friends, you’ll find the book here

Your local Amazon branch will have the goods too.

To fulfilment,

Tom

p.s. if you pick up a copy of Ankush’s new book Awakening The Coach Within and send me your receipt (a screenshot is fine) by 7pm UK Time on Friday 12th December, I’ll send you a one-time discount code.

You can use that code on Ankush’s training The Secret to Radical Transformation.

This training usually costs £19.99.

But with the discount code?

Squadoosh!

That’s right. You can get it for free.

You can read all about this training right here.

To recap:

Buy Ankush’s new book Awakening The Coach Within and send me your receipt by 7pm UK Time on Friday 12th December. In return, I’ll send you a discount code that lets you grab Ankush’s training The Secret to Radical Transformation for free.