I started the 4-week programme at a bit of a low ebb, unemployed for 8 months and I'd just been turned down after an interview for what had been my old job. I don’t appear to lack confidence, but we all have insecurities so when I came across the coaching although I wasn't sure how it would help, I didn’t think it would hurt. Right away Lydia got to the heart of what I want to achieve and why, and what was holding me back... and then she started setting me goals and holding me accountable. I realise now how much I’d missed that and how valuable it is to me. I fully engaged and within the 4weeks I was able to achieve every personal goal we set, and best of all I start a new job on Monday! I'd definitely recommend this kind of investment in yourself as ultimately its paid me back entirely as I now have a salary again plus I really do feel more confident!

I started talking to Lydia at a time where I was just out of university and started my first job. I had a poor idea on how to manage time, was procrastinating a lot and far from being healthy. Through the sessions I have had with Lydia, I was challenged to find the answers for all the problems, MYSELF. Which made me realize that I simply need to change the way I look at life and be more accountable of the things I do. I love the fact that she was well planned for the sessions, sends follow-up emails so that I know what I have accomplished and the points I needed to work on more. She always makes sure to check if I am following the action steps as well. She never forgets to end a session on a positive note. I remember feeling motivated one day so much so that I started one of the action steps right away. Additionally, Lydia gives the best advice out of all, the one that I keep remembering whenever I find myself in a difficult situation is that "People are gonna judge anyway, Put yourself out there, your opinions matter!"
I have accomplished so much since I met Lydia, I have gotten on a routine, I am on my way for a healthy lifestyle, and I am way more confident about both my social life and work life than I was before. Because of the positive experience I had with Lydia and as she holds the qualities and the skills to guide someone to the right path, I would highly recommend Lydia as your life coach.

You never really know what to expect when signing up for a life coach, but it's been a great and positive experience. I started this session with my main goal being one thing, but through each session and follow up emails, it became apparently clear there were other areas I needed to work on other than what I thought to be my main goal. When this started to become apparent, I was not feeling so good within myself, Lydia identified this, and so ended these sessions asking how I am feeling, and by the end of it, I would be feeling much more upbeat because of the feedback. A life coach provides you with support and advice on areas that you need to change in your life. Any advice or suggestions they give come from the things you outline in the sessions. Each session starts with things you want to talk about, not what the Life coach has suggested. To get the full experience with this, you need to be prepared to be open and honest, if not, you will not get the full benefits of what a Life coach has to offer you. It is not everyone that is able to be in such a profession. To be certified and qualified is one thing, but having the people skills and natural ability to identify needs, and push someone forward is another. Lydia holds these qualities and attributes, and for these reasons, I would highly recommend Lydia as a life coach.

Hi Lydia just wanted to thank you for the telephone coaching you gave me recently to improve the times that I go to sleep so I can get good rest for the next day. We had worked through my issues and bad habits. We were able to discuss how we can improve my routine so that I had more time to work on my plans for future, as without good rest this will be unachievable. My job is demanding so I was finding it hard to plan to have time to focus on my future goals and dreams to have a self-employed business one day. So, following our telephone call I feel one step closer to my goals. Thanks for all the support and encouragement!

Lydia has really helped me. She's been coaching me on a weekly basis going through action points for my business as a dance teacher and founder of Tonte Dance. What I found really useful is having somebody else to bounce ideas off, listen to and bring a different angle to things, and I think she's really done that. There are some really poignant changes that came out of having worked with Lydia over this time, so I just want to say thank you for your help and long may it continue! If anyone is thinking of going for some kind of coaching for business or any kind of life experience, it's a really useful tool and I would recommend Lydia highly. Get involved, find out what it's about, and you will find it beneficial, just like I did.

Before my sessions with Lydia I didn’t have much confidence in speaking English as it is my second language. I loved working with Lydia to achieve my future goals. The action plans we created were very useful in achieving this and I will also use them in the future. I can now manage my goals well and have gained much more confidence in myself. I had no doubts about working with Lydia and sharing what I was going through with her, speaking with her actually helped me to improve my spoken English too. The accountability I received was very worthwhile. I am now able to work on my goals and plan them effectively. Coaching even helped me realize how important a simple thing like sleep is to give me a fresh start for each day. I would recommend Lydia because she helps you to find the answers within you and guides you with an active plan to achieve your life goals. I am feeling much more confident about my future after having these sessions. Thank you Lydia!

I’m thankful for Lydia for this great coaching program. After 5 coaching sessions I realized that the answers for our questions are within ourselves. Lydia helps us to find them. She guided me toward specific goals, which helped me to improve both personal and professional life. To be precise, I had some challenges with how I was communicating myself at work. I used to have reservations about speaking up during meetings and asking questions. Lydia helped me to change my mindset, so I have made a significant progress which helped me to engage more at work. Moreover, Lydia is a great listener. Thanks to her I grew in the area of sharing with others about personal challenges I’m going through. “It’s okay not to be okay” that’s what she told me when things get rough. She’s a friend who can count on. Talking with her just made my day and it is enough to recommend her to anyone. Thank you again for all the great advice Lydia. I wish I had more coaching sessions with you 😊

When I first started coaching sessions, I had a lot of things in mind: new goals, plans, things to do, things to achieve and changes to make. But I had no plan on how to do any of it and my to-do list was a lot longer than it should have been. But during the coaching sessions Lydia showed me a way of taking small steps at a time. We wrote down power actions and because of them after each session a few of my tasks were ticked off. She helped me to see the same things from a different angle which eventually led to a way solve problems more easily. I appreciate it very much as I wasn’t able to do so on my own with the huge set of tasks I had in mind. My confidence in my ability to manage all these tasks has really grown during this time.

After the session, I felt a lot lighter, free and motivated! I realised that some of my insecurities come from within me and around my own thought processes. I understand that during the last few years I have created a negative image of myself in my mind, which has impacted my personal self-esteem. BUT I feel more optimistic and positive that my confidence can grow. I have to work on my personal opinion of myself and optimise my self-belief. I can reach my true potential. Just to let you know...my assertiveness and confidence has really been building up in the last two weeks...feel so good! Thank you!

Before joining Lydia's coaching programme, I struggled with managing my time, achieving goals and my self-confidence. In her sessions, she talked with me in depth and helped me identify where I was going wrong. We came up with actions that I could take to overcome those things - especially with my self-confidence. Before the sessions I had some difficulties when socialising and speaking with new people. With the help of Lydia's exercises and actions steps, I was able to greatly improve my self-confidence. I highly recommend Lydia's programme because her sessions have had a positive impact in both my personal and professional life.

I would like to begin with thanking you for your time and efforts. Since beginning our mentoring scheme this opportunity gave much more than you might realise. My intention with signing up for this scheme was to gain the confidence to go out there and meet people and build a network here in London since I recently moved here. I lacked the capability to do that previously. Since the beginning of our talks back in October 2013 I started a job at Photobox and now have had 1 interview with another big company and awaiting two other interviews, (one tomorrow Friday); something that I just could dream of. Thanks to you and Kingston University I have overcome a difficulty that I was facing for a long time. Stepping up and acknowledging these difficulties I think was the most important step that I had to take in order to seek help and fortunately I found this opportunity through the university.

Yesterday I nervously launched a blog. 1-2 previously I didn't believe I could accomplish that. I rarely finished things I started. However, I have been working with a coach Lydia McDowall who has been phenomenal. With her skill, support and encouragement I found the courage to dream and complete a task. She's also started me on celebrating my achievements - so bought my favourite flowers to spark joy in my life (and kitchen). #thankyou #grateful #familyforever

Thank you Lydia for pushing me forward, I would have never thought about making the Humorous contest without your support. Now it has become more and more important to me. Lydia you have been a blessing in my life. My prayer is that our God give the good desire of your heart and bless you always. Love. Xx

Lydia was my mentor while I was studying for my Masters Degree at Kingston University. Through her support I improved my time management and was able to set clear goals for my professional as well as private life. Lydia is positive, non judgmental and enthusiastic individual. She is a good listener and encouraged me several times to go new ways. Likewise she has great ideas to solve problems. I have no hesitation in recommending her.

You may have tried the rest, now try the best. In my experience, Lydia is the three P’s of mentorship and Life Coaching: precise, purposeful, and pointed. At the onset of the Beyond Barriers Student Mentoring Scheme at Kingston University, London, I was lost, majorly because I was an international student who felt like a fish out of water. From the first stage, - meeting your mentor and through to working on human interrelationships, Lydia’s support and guidance proved invaluable overall. Simply put, Lydia helped me through the emotional stress I needed to succeed in my Master’s degree programme with grace and finesse for which I will forever be grateful.

I have just completed coaching sessions with Lydia McDowall and have found the experience nothing but positive. I came with no idea what to expect and I had some reservations on whether it would be useful for me. Lydia made the process extremely stress free and uplifting. She is extremely easy to talk to and clearly pinpoints issues and cuts through them to give useful suggestions for moving forward. She cleverly judged my own limitations in terms of what changes I could manage in my current situation and helped me accept my reality and see what I could do to help myself. She also allowed me the space to try and think about what I wanted to improve in my life and what was causing me unhappiness. It was invaluable to have this opportunity to talk through worries and issues in a non-judgmental environment. I came away with a better understanding of what an impact small changes could have on me. Her follow up emails were particularly helpful in summarising what we had discussed and clearly outlining what actions we had agreed so that I felt I was making process. I would have no hesitation in recommending Lydia. I am very grateful that I had this experience.

My experience of being coached by Lydia has been brilliant. After only three sessions, I feel more organised and more proactive in both my professional life and at home. She's helped me identify the negative behaviours that were holding me back and suggested strategies for overcoming them. She has a brilliant knack of encouraging you to talk about your problems and then leading you to discover possible solutions yourself. I now feel so much more positive about my plans for the future. I know that, whatever 'wobbles' or setbacks I encounter now, I can go back to the plans and strategies Lydia helped me create and reset myself back on course. I'm so grateful to Lydia and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending her coaching to anyone.

Having Lydia as my coach, kept me accountable, it was great to have a regular touchpoint with someone who knows the process to keep you moving forward! I really enjoyed and appreciated Lydia's support and belief in me and my business, definitely invaluable at times of doubt! I am now running my Spiritual Coaching and Healing business in this transformational time, which I don't think I would have grown as quickly as I have without Lydia's support - she really encouraged me every step of the way! I would recommend Lydia because she genuinely cares about your success and pushes you forward when you feeling stuck and doubting yourself! Thank you Lydia, you're a diamond!!

Lydia really helped me to find a solution to my procrastination. She listened, really listened, to what I was saying and suggested things that I was too close to see – allowing me to come up with a solution and because she guided me to arrive at the solution myself – it works. Lydia knows how to listen and identify what the underlying problem is and help you to find ways to overcome it. Thank you so much.

Before I started the programme with Lydia I was quite unclear about how to proceed with my goal. What I loved working with the Be Confident and Courageous programme was the sense of sisterhood with my peers and from Lydia who held me accountable with kind and gentle support using her dynamic coaching skills. Lydia gave me the space to talk and express how I was feeling without judgement. I feel I have gained more clarity and patience with my goal and more of an understanding of myself.This programme has been very valuable and I would recommend this programme as Lydia is a fantastic coach.

I felt stuck in my career and lacked confidence in my abilities, therefore I decided some coaching would be beneficial in helping me to regain some confidence and discover what career paths might suit me. I was looking for someone to guide my thoughts along this path, to help me with new ways of thinking, manage my goals and someone for me to account to in order to make progress. At the start I could not identify any skills that I had and felt unfocused. I have been able to identify some skills and my values which have helped me to think more about what careers would be suitable to for me. By making small steps I feel hope and have found a development strategy that I think will work for me. Small manageable steps are the best way forward and it helps to have someone to hold you to account. The Power of 3 is a good idea to understand the power of small actions. Lydia is an understanding, caring and encouraging coach who is able to successfully get the best out of you so that you finish each session feeling confident, enabled and motivated. She is patient and willing to listen to whatever you have to say and has a great sense of humour. She is dedicated to your development and puts in time and effort to help you progress, demonstrated by her attention to detail and follow up emails.

Lydia is a caring and impactful coach, coming into my life when external and impartial guidance was needed. Accurately assessing the situation and quickly pointing me more confidently towards making better choices, for my own personal growth. As such, it is safe to say that applying for coaching with Lydia was one of the most immediate returns on investment I have made for myself in a long time. Even after the sessions are over Lydia will regularly check in to see how you are doing and to make sure you are keeping steady progress in your short and long-term goals.