WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
"Coaching can be funny, you start off in one direction and with guidance and time, sometimes end up in a totally unexpected place. Kate has assisted me in finding out what really is important to me, my priorities/goals list was turned on its head...and I feel more balanced and happy than I have for many years. The time invested was invaluable and at 43 I'm feeling very happy with my life and my future... thanks Kate."
Jonathon Roberts, Managing Director, DDG

"When I began coaching sessions with Kate, I was at a very low point in both my personal and professional life. Kate’s thoughtful guidance has proved to be a turning point. She creates an environment of complete trust that allowed me to provide the information that was at the heart of the matter. In response, Kate was both kind and firm, as required. Her personal follow ups created a clear set of practical action items, without losing sight of longer term life goals. I have now emerged from my darkness, and Kate’s advice continues to guide me towards a more positive future. I strongly recommend Kate James to join your own personal team."
Business Professional, Melbourne

"Kate has helped me a lot to firstly see my goals more clearly and secondly achieve them by breaking them down into manageable chunks.  She is very talented at 'listening' between the lines and gives easy to follow advice on how to move forward in life.  Her positive feedback and constructive criticism have helped me stay on track when I was lacking motivation.  Thank you, Kate, for helping me to see areas of my life in a different perspective and showing me how to work on my goals in order to feel more in control of my life."
WK, Melbourne

"The greatest benefit a coach can have is to build self confidence and assurance, these are important because to achieve our life objectives we frequently need to take personal risks. Working with Kate this starts from the first minute, you then work together to devise a plan to achieve the desired objective. Kate brings a unique confidence, calmness and clarity to the situation, plan and solution."    
PR, Manager, Melbourne

“I have been working with Kate for approximately six months and I cannot put into words what an inspiration and impact Kate has had on my life, decisions and outlook in general. I have been going through some very major changes in my life including personal and career paths and the guidance I have received from Kate has given me the courage and insight to make the best decisions I could make. Whilst Kate is very encouraging and advising, the other positive aspect is that the decisions and overall direction I have taken have been my own but the guidance and information I have received from Kate has reinforced my confidence in the choices I have made and enabled me to trust my intuition. Kate has a very positive, unique and gentle approach and her outlook is very refreshing whilst motivating, enabling me to focus on my future goals and put in place actions to achieve these goals and continually monitor my progress. I recommend Kate to anyone who is ready to take the challenge, follow their heart, live their dream and succeed."
RF,  Melbourne

"I had decided to see Kate for coaching during a stage when I was unhappy with the way my life was progressing. I was stuck in a job I no longer cared for and had lost direction with what I wanted and in fact liked about myself and my career. I had become anxious and full of self doubt. By slowly breaking down what I wanted to achieve in long and short term goals I was able to tackle ( and continue to) each point. After two months of coaching I have found a job in an area that has more career prospects and I am now tackling larger issues of friendships and relationships. My anxiety dissipated and my self esteem improved. Kate doesn't provide the answers for you, just the skills to help you build the blocks to taking control of your life."
KM, Melbourne

"Working with Kate was an absolute pleasure. She helped me to focus on where I want to go with my career. Kate also worked with me on balancing all the other areas of my life. She taught me tools of how to take small steps to achieve my goals so that I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed. Working with Kate is liking having a best friend who actually does have the right answers. I look forward to the newsletter every month and I feel so inspired by the "Revive" quotations each week. Thanks Kate!"
Kel-Anne Brandt, Singer

"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, Indigo Media Group

"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 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 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 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 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 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, four 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

'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 ‘coach’ search on the internet. Up popped lots of websites, and as I scrolled through I noticed a professional looking site called ‘Total Balance’. 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 five weeks or so I have had weekly phone calls with Kate, and completed agreed tasks in the days in between. Having a 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.

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