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Meet the speaker – Julie New

Julie New, an experienced personal recovery coach, will present a breakout talk at the IFW Conference taking place at the Bristol Hotel on 23rd May 2023.

Buy your IFW Conference ticket with the special IFW member discount here.

Non-member tickets are available here.

Book your spot at the social & networking evening on 22nd May.

Julie specialises in helping people after difficult and sometimes traumatic life change. Prior to starting her coaching Julie spent 20 years in the NHS as a senior nurse and midwife, she also worked on various pioneering NHS community projects. Since becoming a professional coach in 2006 she has developed a unique recovery program which has helped many people to reach new fulfilling phases in their lives, which they hadn’t thought possible. Julie is an author of popular unique personal growth gift books and is a well-known inspirational and motivational wellbeing conference speaker.

At the IFW Conference, Julie will lead the the breakout talk and discussion ‘Change is forever but the pain doesn’t have to be.’

Your key learning points will be:

  • Understand the possible process someone might be feeling personally after difficult and sometimes traumatic life change, and how that might influence their ability to make informed decisions
  • Know where to signpost a client and do so with confidence
  • Create your own tools to use to help your client

What are you looking forward to most about the IFW Conference?

For me it’s always about the people. Conferences bring people together and I see it as my job to motivate and inspire those people during my time with them. I’m guessing I will also gain some useful knowledge and inspiration personally listening to others speak and during the breakout discussions.

What can delegates expect from your breakout discussion ‘Change is forever but the pain doesn’t have to be’?

The one thing in life we are ALL 100% guaranteed is change. Some change can be wonderful and some not so much. As a financial advisor and planner you’re on a life journey with your clients. It’s my goal to bring some of my 17 years’ worth of experience to equip delegates to contribute even more to their clients’ journey as well as prompting some deeper thinking about what they AND their clients experience when life gets a bit tough, and how they can help.

What led you to become a personal recovery coach?

After 20 years in the NHS, I had no plans for a career change, but I started having coaching in the late 1990s and one day my coach asked me whether I’d ever considered becoming a coach. I had always actually coached my teams and loved helping people grow. Three years later I made the huge decision to leave nursing and train as a coach. I always knew I wanted to work with people personally. The personal recovery coaching I’ve developed is quite unique.

How would you summarise your passions, both in and out of work?

I’m passionate about helping the people I work with to prepare for their next chapter, reconnect with themselves and help them feel the sunshine on their faces and solid ground under their feet again. Ultimately, I provide comfort, support and the motivation and inspiration to find harmony within themselves and their own home again.

What’s your happiest memory?

Gosh, this is a really tough question – there are so many! If you asked me what was my saddest memory that would have been easier. That would be the day I had to tell my two beautiful girls that their dad had died suddenly 14 years ago. Many people think I started doing the work I do because of the challenges we have faced as a family but it isn’t at all.

My most recent happiest memory was sitting listening to them laughing at my eldest daughter’s ‘hen do’ in North Somerset. It was genuinely music to my ears and made me so happy I could cry because we are ALL living and loving life once more – change is, of course, forever but the pain really doesn’t have to be…

What’s your understanding of financial wellbeing and why it matters?

When my girls’ father died we were divorced and living with their stepdad-to-be. He also passed away over 10 years ago. I’ve always been careful with money but when tough times strike it can actually be very difficult to concentrate on work. In my case, my children had money in trust and effectively had more disposable money than I did.

It was tough but I worked hard at ensuring we kept a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs and food on the table. I also say that benefits are there to benefit us when we need them and the child pension did help along with tax credits while I concentrated on supporting the girls and recovering personally. I use this as an example of what financial wellbeing brings us. If we have those things we can rest easy can’t we? Any more is a bonus and gives us the nice things in life like I enjoy more now.

What do you wish you’d been told about finance when you were 15?

Don’t use credit cards! In my early years as an adult I would buy a holiday for example with my credit card, and THEN pay for it AFTER the holiday. I ironically tackled that when I started having coaching and do have a credit card but never use it.

Who or what is your favourite wellbeing guru, podcast or book? 

Currently I’m really enjoying listening to Steven Bartlett’s podcast The Diary of a CEO when out walking my baby grandson for his nap (I have him on a Tuesday while my daughter works). The first one I listened to was with Stephen Fry. It blew me away with an insight into my younger brother’s battle with bipolar disorder. My brother died suddenly in 2020 and I have never seen him look so at peace.

Steven Bartlett’s insightful questions always bring out incredible answers. A good coach will ask good questions that make you think more deeply about your life, and that is what he does with his guests.

 I’m currently reading is ‘Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times’ by Katherine May.

What are you doing to advance your own financial wellbeing? 

My husband (I am very happily married again) has recently lost his mum and he is going to gift me a small sum of money from her estate to start investing in stocks and shares. If anyone at the conference has some top tips for me, that would be fab as I’ve never done it before!

I have an analogy that life is very much like a garden. If you don’t look after your garden, what happens to it? I LOVE tending the special flowers in my garden, aka my family, our thatched cottage and garden in Bedfordshire, and walking with my dogs. We’ve just bought a very old VW camper van to combine walking, meals out in nice country pubs and generally travelling around the UK and beyond. I love writing and am in the process of bringing together my third ‘life gardening’ gift book.

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