Love of Coaching

In this episode of The Love of Coaching, Sam sits down with her ANZCAL business partner Sharn Rayner - Master Trainer Coach, strategist, and now published author - for a conversation that moves between the tender and the tactical. Sharn walks us through the pinnacle moments that shaped her: a lifelong pull toward curiosity, a career built across sports coaching, strategy and leadership, and a breast cancer diagnosis she met not with panic, but with a plan.
She opens up about what reframing actually looks like when it's not performative - the quiet, deliberate work of choosing growth over dwelling, milestone by milestone, even when life throws the biggest curveballs.
The conversation also traces the friendship that's grown alongside Sam and Sharn's business partnership, and dives into Sharn's brand-new book, Behind The Coaching Breakthroughs - What Master Business Coaches Do Differently written to help talented coaches stop being invisible in their market and start building sustainable, differentiated businesses.
From the frameworks Sharn brings into her client work to her belief that the world simply needs more coaches, this episode is a masterclass in resilience, strategy, and staying true to your own path, even when you can't always see where it's leading.
5 Key Points
The cancer diagnosis, met with a plan, not panic. When her surgeon delivered the diagnosis, Sharn's first instinct was strategy. She reverse-engineered milestones (surgery, treatment, recovery, even a holiday on the other side) so she could stay grounded in the present, and in doing so, she ended up steadying her husband and family through it too.
Reframing is a lived skill, not a personality trait. Sharn shares that her ability to find opportunity in hardship - from a difficult childhood to breast cancer - isn't a "pretend" positivity. It's a conscious practice she's built and continues to actively work at, even admitting she has to talk herself through moments of overwhelm (like her book hitting #1 on Amazon).
The friendship behind the business partnership. Sam and Sharn open up about how their working relationship at ANZCAL evolved into a genuine friendship - built on complementary strengths (Sam's big-picture vision, Sharn's strategic execution) and a shared commitment to legacy and meaningful impact in the coaching industry.
Why she wrote Behind The Coaching Breakthroughs. Sharn didn't set out to be an author - the book grew out of years of working with coaches who were brilliant at their craft but invisible in their market, unsure how to differentiate themselves or charge what they're worth. Her mission: the world needs more coaches, and fewer of them should be leaving the industry because it doesn't feel viable.
Frameworks as a coaching superpower. Sharn encourages coaches to build their own frameworks rather than borrow someone else's - arguing that original thought leadership (like her own "PROMISE" framework) is one of the clearest ways coaches can stand out and create client breakthroughs.

To learn from Sharn you can head to her website twotidesconsulting.co.nz or reach out to Sharn on Linkedin
If you're a coach interested in becoming accreditated with ANZCAL - head to our website www.anzcal.org - we'd love to hear from you.

In this episode, I sit down with Nikhil - a teacher, healer, and self-described mad scientist who was raised in a culture that never separated science from spirituality, and it shows in how he thinks about performance.
We go deep into flow, but we also explore its lesser-known counterpart: the clutch state, where you perform your best despite pressure rather than by floating into the zone. Along the way, we get into the neurochemistry behind flow, why leaders need to protect their decision-making bandwidth, and how far your nervous system actually extends beyond your body. This conversation blends hard science with ancient wisdom in a way that riffing off each other in a way where we lost track of time.
5 Key Takeaways

1. Flow follows focus - it doesn't come first.
Nikhil breaks the myth that you meditate or relax your way into flow. There's always a "ramp-up" period of discomfort and mental noise first. Flow arrives afterward, in a state neuroscientists call transient hypofrontality - when the inner voice in your brain finally goes quiet.
2. Flow isn't the only peak performance state - meet "clutch."
When pressure is high and you need to perform right now, flow isn't the goal. Clutch state is. Short, intense, and intentional - think the last quarter of a game or the final minute of a big pitch. It's an under-researched area Nikhil is actively studying.
3. The five neurotransmitters behind flow.
Dopamine, adrenaline, serotonin, anandamide, and endorphins all need to align for flow to happen. Nikhil unpacks what each one contributes, and why flow is only sustainable for about 90 minutes before your brain needs genuine recovery.
4. Attention architecture: why leaders need to protect their decision-making bandwidth.
The average leader makes 35,000–60,000 decisions a day. Nikhil explains why high performers like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg simplified everyday choices (like their wardrobe) to preserve mental capacity for the decisions that actually matter.
5. Your nervous system doesn't stop at your skin.
Drawing on the theory of social conformity, Nikhil explains that your nervous system extends roughly three metres beyond your body, which is part of why the people closest to you shape your habits and state so strongly. He ties this into the quantum physics observer effect and the idea that we're active creators of our own reality.
Connect with Nikhil and learn more from on: LinkedIn | NikhilRughani.com | ShotOfCopy.com
If you are a coach who would like to learn about becoming an ANZCAL accredited coach, contact us here: www.anzcal.org | LinkedIn | Instagram

July is not a quiet month. Chey and I unpack one of the most significant astrological configurations in recorded history - four outer planets aligning at 4 degrees - alongside Mercury retrograde in Cancer, a powerful full moon in Capricorn, and a nodal axis shift that changes the emotional field entirely. Woven through it all are the Human Design gate transits for July, offering coaches a week-by-week lens for their own practice and their client work. If July feels big, there's a reason. This episode helps you navigate it.
5 KEY TAKEAWAYS
A once-in-recorded-history astrological event is happening now — Four outer planets (Neptune, Pluto, Uranus and Jupiter) are aligning at 4 degrees in their respective signs simultaneously. French astrologer André Barbeau predicted this configuration would change the trajectory of humanity — and it's just beginning, with effects through to 2029.
Mercury retrograde in Cancer runs almost the entire month (until July 23) — an invitation to pause, feel, and respond from the body rather than the head. Old emotional patterns and stories may resurface — use them as a chance to assess what's still yours to carry.
The North Node sits in Gate 55 — the gate Ra Uru Hu identified as central to humanity's next evolutionary shift — pointing toward the 2027 Cross of Planning transition, where the emotional centre begins to function as sovereign navigation rather than reactive patterning.
On July 26, the nodal axis shifts — astrologically moving from Pisces/Virgo into Aquarius/Leo, and in Human Design from Gate 55/59 into Gate 30/29. The invitation deepens: release over-commitment made from obligation or fear, and move toward what genuinely lights you up.
July's overarching theme is intuition, self-trust and authentic expression — the month asks us to stop waiting for permission and recognise that authenticity is the permission. As Chey put it: "Stop waiting for permission — authenticity is the permission."

If you would like to connect with Chey for an chart reading, you can message her on Instagram - Two Moons
If you would like to learn more about your Human Design head to www.samanthahannah.co.nz
If you're a coach who like to join ANZCAL, we'd love to hear from you. Head to www.anzcal.org

Michelle Dalley is someone whose work genuinely makes me lean in and listen. In this conversation, we explore Havening - a psychosensory technique that uses the science of touch to shift the brain into a state where stress dissolves, performance unlocks, and lasting change becomes possible.
What I love most about Michelle's approach is how she brings this into the heart of leadership coaching - helping high performers regulate their nervous systems, clear what's blocking them, and step into high-pressure moments with real confidence. If you've ever wanted to understand the neuroscience behind why some people thrive under pressure and others freeze, this one's for you.
5 Key Points
1. Havening works by creating delta wave states through soothing touch.
Three specific touch points — the face, upper arms, and palms — activate specialised skin receptors that shift the brain into delta wave state, the same state associated with deep sleep. This heightened neuroplasticity creates the conditions to release trauma encoding and re-encode new, resourceful states. It can be done in any moment, including discreetly in public, making it a genuinely accessible self-regulation tool.
2. Trauma encoding is at the root of much of what blocks high-performing leaders.
Michelle found consistently through leadership coaching that anxiety, imposter syndrome, and performance fears often trace back to earlier distressing experiences — frequently from school — that have been encoded in the brain as threat responses. Havening depotentiates that encoding, clearing the path for genuine growth rather than managing symptoms indefinitely.
3. A regulated coach or leader regulates the people around them.
Co-regulation is not soft language — it's neuroscience. Gallup research shows a person's direct leader accounts for 70% of their engagement at work. When leaders are dysregulated, their teams feel it and mirror it. When coaches are dysregulated, their clients feel that too. Self-regulation is not a personal luxury; it's a professional responsibility.
4. Havening and NLP combine to create rapid, deep-level state change.
Michelle has developed her own confidence-encoding process that layers Havening touch with NLP visualisation — anchoring peak performance states into the nervous system in a single session. She uses it to prepare clients for job interviews, high-stakes presentations, and critical conversations, with results she describes as immediate and lasting.
5. Investing in your own development is non-negotiable at master level.
Every year without exception, Michelle allocates significant resources to her own learning. She began her career technically-focused and emotionally closed. Every modality she now brings to clients — NLP, Havening, trauma-informed coaching — she first put herself through. Her breadth isn't a collection of credentials; it's a lived practice of becoming.
If you would like to get in touch with Michelle, you can find her here: website | Linkedin

This month, our resident astrologer Chey and I reunite to unpack the cosmic and energetic weather of June 2026 - and it's one of the most significant months of the year. From Uranus shifting into Gemini for the first time since the 1940s, to Jupiter moving into Leo at month's end, June is asking us to move from processing and preparation into courageous, heart-led action. With human design and astrology weaving together beautifully as always, this conversation is rich with practical coaching insights for navigating a month full of revelations, decisions, and new beginnings.
5 KEY TAKEAWAYS
June is a turning point — from reflection to action. The first half of 2026 has been about planting seeds and gathering information. June marks the shift into making decisions, backing yourself, and moving forward with what you've been quietly preparing for.
Lead from the heart, not just the head. With Mercury and Venus both in Cancer, June is calling for decisions that are felt, not just analysed. For coaches, this means creating space for emotionally honest, intuitive conversations — with clients and with yourself.
Uranus in Gemini is disrupting old mental patterns. For the first time since the 1940s, Uranus enters Gemini — bringing sudden insight, unexpected opportunities, and an invitation to release mental frameworks you've outgrown but are still clinging to.
Chiron entering Taurus begins a collective healing journey around worth. On June 19, an eight-year healing cycle begins around self-value, resources, and what truly sustains us. Expect themes of worthiness, scarcity, and redefining success to surface — in your clients and in yourself.
Jupiter enters Leo on June 29 — it's time to shine. After a year of emotional processing in Cancer, Jupiter's move into Leo is a cosmic green light for courageous self-expression, visibility, and joy. For coaches, this is the energy to launch, pitch, begin new client relationships, and step forward — not from pressure, but from genuine readiness.

If you would like to learn more from Chey, and have your chart read, you can message her on her instagram - Under Two Moons
Are you a coach wanting to stand out in the world? Becoming accredited gives you the edge! To learn more about ANZCAL and how to become an Accreditated ANZCAL coach, head to www.anzcal.org