About Maggie
Maggie started her professional life as a teacher. Amazingly, due to a mixture of luck and talent, by her third year of teaching she was running In-Service Training courses at a county level. After completing her M.Ed. she discovered that she had several more letters after her name than in it and figured this probably qualified her to be an expert. At the age of thirty she managed to convince others this was so and was appointed to head the Drama Department in a college of Higher Education.
Then, of course, there was her sideline. Fascinated in the power of group work and personal growth she trained extensively in Humanistic Psychology and Gestalt Therapy. She developed a small and thriving business doing one on one counselling, personal development groups and consultancy for voluntary agencies.
It will be of no surprise to you that at 36 she hit her first burnout and decided to give up the day job and concentrate on growing her own business. To punctuate this career change she went to Spain for 6 months to work as chief dish and bottle washer at one of Europe’s most well known and well respected Alternative Holiday Centres, Cortijo Romero. (This is a workaholic’s idea of a rest, by the way!)
Within five weeks of arriving she was, needless to say, managing the whole place and six months slid into five years. She took responsibility for everything. This Lone Ranger approach gave her a unique, comprehensive and sometimes alarming crash course in management skills and business administration. Sadly, it also gave her a second experience of burnout, the only time in her life she has had to do re-take.
Thankfully, Maggie has learnt how to create a more measured and peaceful approach to life. (Phew!) She graduated from Coach U, one of America’s leading coach training schools and has done further coach training in Positive Psychology.
Over the past fifteen years, whilst living a spacious life based in inner peace and contentment, Maggie has grown a thriving international coaching practise, as well as being the resident coach at Cortijo Romero. She continues to run personal and business development workshops.
Maggie’s clients tend to be (or want to be) Agents of Change. They want to make a positive difference through meaningful contribution to the world. A woman who walks her talk, she coaches people towards creating a truly fulfilling life, not just an impressive lifestyle.
Although she regularly visits the UK, Maggie is still based in Spain where most of her business is conducted over the internet and phone. She offers individual coaching sessions, groups, classes and bespoke professional development programs.
Her home is a restored farmhouse in rural Andalucia overlooking a fertile valley that winds down to the glittering Meditteranean Sea. She lives there simply, in awe of Nature with an absurd number of rescued cats and dogs.
Maggie’s Top Ten Maxims
Pain is an essential part of life; suffering is not only optional, but actually rather boring.- In any situation, looking for the learning is more profitable than being right… even when being right is very, very tempting!
- The more you forgive, the easier it becomes.
- The more you bear grudges, they heavier they get.
- People’s creativity, courage and wisdom are mind blowing.
- Everyone is rooted in goodness, even if they are momentarily behaving badly.
- People are hungry to be the best they can be, but don’t always know how.
- Laughter, playfulness, delight and self-acceptance are great ways to grow.
- Go for the truth but remember that criticism shuts down our ability to learn.
- Love is always more powerful than fear and you have to choose one or the other.
