"Life coaching with Kate has really changed my life. I know many people say it and you wonder whether its true but nine months down the line from first contacting Kate I do feel so much more happy with all aspects of my life. There's some hard work involved and you have to be willing to push yourself and feel the fear, but Kate provides the all focus, support, enthusiasm and encouragement you need. Go for it :-)''
CD, Melbourne

"Like many small businesses, our growth was rapid and exciting. Working with Kate enabled us to put much needed systems and processes in place to effectively streamline and manage our business. Kate was also instrumental in helping us deal with competitive threats, not only on a strategic level, but also in dealing with the feelings of frustration and of being overwhelmed by the perceived competitors. She worked with us to clarify our business focus and the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead. Sometimes I couldn't see the forest for the trees, but Kate had a knack for giving things clarity and putting things into perspective in a succinct and professional way. Meeting with Kate was always an enjoyable experience and we hope to continue our relationship with her as we take the business to another level."
Kirsten MacKelden, Editorial Director and Publisher, Real Weddings magazine

"Kate James is an inspiration! She has the natural talent of being able to read a person like a book. During my time as a client of Kate's I found myself in a situation of blaming someone else for my problems and Kate was able to read both the situation and myself perfectly by gently prodding me to address the situation in a way that achieved the desired result for both parties. I want to thank her for her compassionate nature and her gift of understanding what was required by backing her intuition and her judgement. Kate truly knows people."
Mark Durkin, National Account Manager, Bolle Australia

“Coaching has helped me to identify what I really want out of life and to concentrate on my strengths rather than my weaknesses.  Every human being suffers from self-doubt at some point - coaching is the quickest way for me to discard such thoughts and simply just get on with it. Having regular coaching sessions makes me accountable to someone on a regular basis. Together we create a "To Do" list and assign realistic deadlines. Before coaching these deadlines were rarely met."
Lindy O'Halloran, SAP Regenerative Skin Care

"Whilst I originally thought that life-coaching was a bit of a desperate solution for people who have no friends to talk to, it has proven to be 100% more valuable to talking to my best friends, who cannot be objective and are also not equipped with the frameworks, insight and experience, that I needed to make some very positive changes and decisions.

I firmly believe that the decision of attending a few life coaching sessions has not only eased me through the difficult period after my divorce, it has saved a fledgling new relationship that I approached with insecurity and that I would have allowed to be damaged by my bitter experiences and resulting insecurities, had it not been for the very positive outlook and confidence that life coaching helped me gain.

The preparations for the sessions, which consisted of analysing your own goals, and your own perceptions of problems and opportunities in your life, were the key to the success of life coaching for me. I have previously been to a lot of relationship counselling, but that never used the same level of self-analysis. It allowed me to understand and implement the necessary changes much more than if they had been recommended by a therapist without me first having become aware of it myself.

I never felt that I had to “work” on any changes I made. Once I had insight in my current attitude, beliefs or behaviour, it came naturally to adjust the way I looked at the life decisions that I was facing.

The sessions with Kate have had an incredible impact, with little actual advice from Kate, but a lot of guiding and frameworks to help me think through things. By asking all the right questions, she helped me find all the answers myself, which were therefore immediately internalised.

I believe that as a result of life coaching, I’ve made the best decisions ever, however bold they may appear to the outside world, I’m happier than I’ve ever been, I feel more loved than I ever have, and I am more capable to truly love my partner because of a stronger confidence, trust and joy of life.  I have spent over $2500 on relationship counselling with people who claimed to be therapists, that led to my divorce and most depressed period in my life, whilst I spent around $400 on life coaching, which has allowed me to take the opportunities to become happier than I’ve ever been in my life.

As a bonus, I believe my partner also benefits a lot from the fact that I went to life coaching, as I’m more loving, more happy, more aware of his emotions and desires, and more relaxed about anything that crosses our path, which in return makes him also more loving, more happy etc etc. All this has had a huge impact on our time together, our sex life, and our shared vision of the future."
RR, Melbourne

“The main benefit of the coaching sessions for me has been: Being able to set goals, and to do that with someone that does not have a hidden agenda and is objective to those goals. After setting the goals, the next benefit is being accountable for your actions.

I started coaching four months ago because I was a bit lost and unfocused. Coaching has taught me lots of skills to apply to my everyday life such as: improving my personal relationships, breaking down my big goal into a series of smaller ones to be completed a little at a time a...Now, 4 months on, I feel so much more in control of my life, and my confidence is gaining daily!”
Renée Austin, Renée Austin The Wedding Planner, Melbourne

"I love having a life coach for a mum.  I learned how to solve my own problems without help."  
Meg James, daughter of Kate James, at age 11

'What do you do if you are a forty-something professional male and suddenly the loss of a job threatens your place in the world. At the very time when you need to be most determined and focused, you are feeling vulnerable and anxious.

It was more out of idle interest than anything else that I ran a ‘life coach’ search on the internet. Up popped lots of websites, and as I scrolled through I noticed a professional looking site called ‘Total Balance Coaching’. I read a bit about what service could be offered, and was interested in reading about the background of the business owner, Kate James. 

To cut a long story short I tentatively rang Kate. From that first phone call I felt I was dealing with not only someone skilled in helping me shape and clarify my thoughts, but also someone who had a genuine and passionate interest in the work she did. In other words, Kate was really interested in helping people, and had the skill to do so. It was the support I needed. 

Over the last 5 weeks or so I have had weekly phone calls with Kate, and completed agreed tasks in the days in between. Having a life coach in my corner has given me the structure to identify what I want in my life and take small, consistent steps towards my desires, both in the short term and the long term. I’ve been actively seeking work, and I’m clearer about my long-term direction and what I am prepared to do to get there. In support of my goals I’ve changed other aspects of my life like diet, and worked hard on not beating myself up if I stumble along the way…which I often do.

Life coaching costs money. Trust me, it’s a sound investment in your future, and Kate James is a skilled practitioner. I take the trouble to write this as I reckon I’m not the first bloke to experience these issues, and I wanted to alert others to a service that can help." 
SR - Hobart, Tasmania