That was who Phil Anthony was a couple of years ago; burnt out and wanting more from life, he quit corporate and became Director of Thailand’s leading health and fitness retreat. Today he coaches clients on how to feel good again! If you want things kept practical, logical, and systematic, he may be the guy for you…
WORDS: VIKI SHAH
WHAT MADE YOU WHO YOU ARE?
I’m just your average guy with a few interesting experiences that have influenced how I choose to live life. Things started off pretty normal; born and raised in North London, UK and one of five kids. But after losing my mum at 15, I had to grow up very quickly. Throughout school and college I worked as a rubbish collector and a waiter. This, combined with watching my family struggle to make ends meet, motivated me to work hard and make the most of every opportunity. I really wanted to live a different kind of life. One full of adventure, freedom and security.
Aged 18 I managed to get into one of the most prestigious universities in the UK, and graduate with a First Class Masters Degree in Engineering and Architecture. The profession opened many doors, and I was able to travel the world, earn a good living and work on some of the world’s most prestigious projects such as the London 2012 Olympic Stadium. My career was going really well, I am very blessed to have won prizes, awards and praise, but 5 years ago I wanted to try something new. I wanted to challenge myself and see what else was possible.
I left the corporate world and entered the health and wellness industry as Director of Thailand’s leading health retreat. Helping people live their best lives is an awesome job and very rewarding. I now combine coaching with launching my own startup projects and businesses. I think variety really is the spice of life. All these experiences, good and bad, challenging and rewarding, have made me who I am. I am not extraordinary, I’ve just been exposed to lots of extra ordinary experiences.
ARE YOU A COACH OR A THERAPIST? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
To be honest there’s been a surge in coaches and therapists working in wellness. I’m not your typical coach. Essentially, I’ve brought my background of engineering consulting to the health and wellness industry. As with any engineering problem, I help clients work out the best solution for any given problem by considering many factors and offering a workable strategy and action plan for implementing that solution. This approach works equally well with buildings as it does with people.
I keep things simple and if you want things kept practical, logical and systematic, I may be the coach for you.
HOW DO WE KNOW WE NEED IMPROVEMENT OR CHANGE IN OUR LIVES?
Although I don’t think anyone needs to improve or change, I do think that being in a state of improvement can benefit everyone. I mean life can always be even better, right?
We’re never the finished article. When we’re in a state of growth and improvement you can’t help but be excited for what the next day has in store for you, right? If you’re not feeling motivated, inspired or excited about life right now, I’d suggest doing a mini life audit.
Look at your life and identify where you’re wasting time and energy, and consider the areas you’re perhaps neglecting or simply would like to invest more effort into. Then go about shifting attention away from anything that isn’t really working for you, and instead focusing on growing the areas of your life that will bring you more happiness and fulfillment. Just a few small changes and you’ll see huge changes in your overall happiness, I promise!
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN TRYING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THEIR LIFE?
It’s great to want to live your best life but trying to change and fix everything at the same time, and worse still, in a short space of time, often leads to overwhelm. Big goals can be intimidating and often you’ll end up not doing anything. Trying to action too much, too quickly, can actually lead to being quite cruel to yourself. Think of when we try and lose weight… we often starve ourselves, restrict and deprive.
That’s no fun, right? Instead, try this simple trick… break the goal down into micro missions that are easy, simple and doable. Action these daily and eventually you’ll hit your goal. Be patient, be kind, enjoy the journey, because we often overestimate what we can do in a month, but underestimate what is possible in a few years with consistency. This approach is how I helped one lady shift over 20kg in 33 weeks. Small changes to her sleep, nutrition, mindset, week in week out, when done consistently, led to big changes over time. It was amazing that she didn’t have to be on a diet throughout the process, that she didn’t have to obsessed with counting calories, or restrict any foods. This was all about an abundance of healthier choices that worked for her, and her lifestyle. This is why it worked.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE SUCCESS FOR AN INDIVIDUAL?
Success can be seen in two ways. Neither wrong, neither right. The first is achievement based success. The job title, the salary, the qualifications, the house, the family etc. Often this is conforming to societal norms, and on the surface, you can appear successful. But, something deep inside, is perhaps not feeling all that good.
This is where the second form of success comes in… fulfillment based success. Fulfillment based success is about satisfying the things you as an individual hold dear. Perhaps it is, creativity, relationships, freedom, truth, exploration. These feelings and values are often not the kind of things we write on a CV. Instead, they’re the kinds of things that when done, light you up, make you feel good, and get you in flow. So how would I define success? The answer is, being aware of the feeling of success comes from both achievement and fulfillment. Satisfy both, and you’ll feel an overwhelming sense of success.
TOP 5 REASONS YOU APPROACH A COACH AND TOP 5 BENEFITS.
As a coach I get approached from many clients who have either stumbled upon my ebooks, my TEDx Talk, attended one of my workshops or perhaps been recommended to me by another client. I’d say most clients approach me looking to:
1. LOSE WEIGHT AND GAIN HEALTH.
2. SLEEP QUICKER, DEEPER AND LONGER.
3. DEVELOP SELF CONFIDENCE AND SELF LOVE.
4. GAIN CLARITY ON THEIR FUTURE CAREER OR STARTUP BUSINESS.
5. OVERCOME FEARS, LIMITING BELIEFS AND NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES IN THE PAST.
Even as a coach, I have coaches and mentors who support me. From personal experience, the main benefits clients gain from working with a coach or a mentor are:
1. CONTINUOUS GUIDANCE.
2. REGULAR ACCOUNTABILITY.
3. LONG TERM SYSTEMS, STRATEGIES AND TOOLS.
4. AN IMPARTIAL AND UNBIASED VIEW ON ISSUES.
5. A SAFE SPACE TO OPENLY SHARE EXPERIENCES AND THOUGHTS.
WHAT ARE SOME TIPS YOU CAN GIVE PEOPLE?
Two of the best golden wisdom nuggets I can give clients who are entrepreneurs or business owners is to:
1. “STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST”.
You don’t necessarily need a groundbreaking idea to start your business. Instead, one of my mentors, @AustinKleon, suggests you can “steal like an artist” by taking inspiration from what’s been done before, modifying that business or brand, and creating a new and different masterpiece. The best bit? It’s been done before, so you know there’s a market for it, meaning you’ve de-risked your startup from the get-go and given yourself a better chance of success. We used this approach for our health retreat @PhuketCleanse when we added a familial vibe to a conventional retreat experience. This blindsided the industry, made us different and give us our unique selling point.
2. “CONSTANTLY ADD VALUE TO BUILD YOUR TRIBE”.
I believe in constantly adding value to our clients and customers, giving away information, and sharing the startup journey. It makes you and your brand authentic, relatable and engages your audience before you even launch if you’re considering launching a startup. Adding value is how in just 18 months our smoothie bowl company, @NanaBowls, won two international business awards, become the most popular food brand in Phuket and has been profitable from day one. The masters of adding value to their tribe are @GaryVee, @ JayShetty and @PrinceEa — they’ve inspired me for years.
Q12. WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT THINGS THAT ARE MISSING IN OUR LIVES?
Not that these are necessarily needed in abundance, but I really do believe the world would be an even better place if more of us were standing in our passion, living our purpose and being in a state of fulfillment.
Much of our stress stems from our jobs and careers, and so If you’re feeling unmotivated, uninspired and in need of a change, but don’t know what to do, then please don’t quit your day job just yet. Instead use your evenings and weekends to explore your curiosities, start passion projects and do the things that have always interested you. Start doing as much as possible, because the more you do, the higher the chance you’ll have of stumbling upon what lights you up.
Look back on your past and ask yourself what has made you feel “in flow”, what has been your biggest pain points, what could you talk or read about non-stop simply because you love it? Chances are you’ll find a seed of an idea that could be nurtured into a passion project, job, side business or full on startup. When you’re vibing high, you’ll attract a tribe of loyal followers who’ll support whatever it is you’re passionate about.
Q13. HOW CAN WE MANIFEST LOVE, PEACE, AND JOY IN OUR LIVES?
The toughest part of any life change is committing to the process and all its challenges. It’s important to ask yourself if you’re actually ready for the long hours, hard graft and ups and downs required in order to find love, peace and joy in your life. There’s going to be times you’ll ask yourself “what’s the point?”, “should I quit?, “why did I bother?”. The question you need to ask yourself is “why did I start?”.
It’s super important you create a powerful vision of what life looks like with more of the good stuff in it. By remembering why you started, your vision, you’ll get through the inevitable challenges. Then it’s all about taking small steps towards increasing the stuff that lights you up, and decreasing and removing anything that steals your light!
Q14. TO ACHIEVE A HEALTHY STATUS, WE NEED TO HAVE A BALANCE IN OUR PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL STATE. WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO ACHIEVE THIS BALANCE?
The best way to achieve balance is to do a mini life audit.
1. TAKE A PIECE OF PAPER, WRITE DOWN THE FOLLOWING 10 TITLES: PERSONAL GROWTH, SPIRITUAL GROWTH, MINDSET, RELATIONSHIPS, FRIENDSHIPS, FAMILY, CAREER, CONTRIBUTION, MONEY, HEALTH.
2. FOR EACH TITLE WRITE DOWN THREE THINGS THAT ARE STEALING YOUR ENERGY AND TIME, AND THREE THINGS YOU’D LIKE TO FOCUS MORE ATTENTION UPON.
3. FOR THE NEXT WEEK SIMPLY TRY AND SHIFT YOUR EFFORTS AWAY FROM THE NEGATIVES AND INSTEAD ONTO THE POSITIVES.
4. EVERY WEEK, REPEAT AND TRY TO DO A LITTLE BETTER.