Prison sentences, mental illness diagnoses, substance misue, sexual abuse, and bereavement would rarely been seen by many as valuable or useful. In fact, many who have experienced these things in life often hide their stories away and, if provided the opportunity, try to leave them in the past. But Lewis Raymond Taylor, founder and CEO of the multiple seven-figure top online coaching academy, The Coaching Masters, is changing how people view their adversity and is a leading example of how it can be used as an asset in life and business.
Lewis is known as a widely acclaimed global speaker, 7-figure business owner, senior coach and was recently named by Yahoo Finance as one of ten top coaches in the world helping people succeed during the global pandemic.
The turning point that changed everything
Just 5 years ago, Lewis was serving his third prison sentence as a convicted criminal suffering from substance misuse, trauma, mental illness, debt. As he reflects back now, he recalls a specific moment where he was perched on the edge of his prison bed and said out loud “I can’t keep doing this to myself; I can’t keep blaming everything and everyone around me for why my life seems so hard.”
This turning point in his life led him into a period of deep self development and personal transformation. He began taking responsibility for his life and finally understood that if he wanted his life to change, first he needed to change himself. After engaging with counsellors, psychotherapists, psychiatrist, reading countless books, admitting himself into a 6 month, fully intensive, live-in rehabilitation treatment center, and attending 12-step recovery meetings Lewis began making major headway into a new life for himself.
Everything Lewis endured, set him up for his success today
While volunteering for local charities, Lewis realized how his unique life experiences had prepared him to support others in their life journey. He found incredible power in sharing his story with others and recognizes that by sharing the details of where he was at and what he had to overcome to get to where he is now, he is able to inspire others. But he did not want to just inspire others, he wanted to support them in transforming their lives too.
“Everything I had ever been through had been the world's best life coaching training” Lewis shares.
So Lewis became a qualified coach and within just one year of being in business he was fully booked, earning a 6-figure income, traveling South-East Asia, and had built a community of thousands. Just five years into his journey, Lewis has become a world-renowned international speaker, 7-figure entrepreneur, senior accredited coaching trainer, business coach, and founder and CEO of The Coaching Masters.
“I’m a big believer in adversity being a lesson that can be turned into an asset Once you make the shift between ‘Why is this happening to me?’ and turn it into ‘Why is this happening for me?’ - it allows you to take control of the situation and use it to drive you forward.”
Lewis’ biggest tip: use a ‘Significant Life Point’
For those confronting misfortune, it's typically encouraged by successful and famous pioneers to see opportunity rather than misfortune, and to draw a line in the sand and say "from this second, I will roll out an immense improvement in my life to improve things".
Lewis speaks about this often, even on stage in Barcelona, where he shares how appreciative he is for all the tough situations he experienced in his life up until today, as he now can now use his lessons to help others.
He acknowledges that he was ‘chosen’ to experience the difficult stretches, in light of the fact that he could deal with it.
Disrupting the coaching industry
Since that moment, in what felt like a flicker of an eye, Lewis wound up on the opposite side of the world, solid, cheerful, and having an effect on many others' lives. He thinks of it as a genuine wonder that he is honored to have gotten.
Not only is Lewis determined to disrupt the coaching industry, it is clear that he was able to see how his life happened for him.
Through his hardships he learned valuable lessons that he is continuously able to share with his network of thousands from around the world who look up to him as a leader in the online coaching industry.
He now encourages coaches, especially those in The Coaching Masters, to lean into the power of their story and recognize how it has provided key lessons which will support them in both their coaching and entrepreneurial journeys.
The Coaching Masters helps aspiring coaches build their online businesses. Once certified, they will be able to set up an impactful online remote coaching business. They will know which tools and resources there are and can use them with confidence.