Welcome to our blog series profiling the winners of the 2021-2022 Beautiful You Coaching Academy Awards. The awards aim to uplift and honour our worldwide community of coaches and the incredible work they are doing through their coaching, events, programs, books, products, podcasts and more. Get ready to have your mind and heart blown wide open and be inspired by an incredible round-up of coaches.

Today we’d love to introduce you to one of our 2021-2022 Trainee of the Year Award winners, Misty Johnson. The Trainee of the Year Awards is a personal award given to the trainee that Lead and Senior Trainers Julie Parker and Jo Parker judge as the most outstanding trainee of the year.. 

Misty Johnson is a Confidence Coach for passion-fueled, gut-guided, Soul-led women.

Through her signature program, Your Sacred Self, she supports her clients to ditch the “shoulds” and who they’re “supposed” to be, so they can own their strengths, elevate their energy and dance to their own beat. 

She was awarded Trainee of the Year at the 2021-2022 Beautiful You Coaching Academy Awards, and has completed training in DEI work and Trauma-Informed Space Holding.

Misty is from Wellington, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and currently lives on Wurundjeri Country with her husband and daughter.

What inspired you to become a Beautiful You coach and how did you feel when you graduated? 

It’s not so much what inspired me, but rather who inspired me. 

Quite a few years ago I came across this incredible woman on social media speaking to and sharing about a topic that, at the time, wasn’t spoken about much. Her energy, truth, courage and compassion captivated me on a level that I’d never experienced before. That woman was Julie Parker…and she happened to be the founder and CEO of a coaching academy. I’d looked into coaching courses before but none spoke to me the way Beautiful You did, and with a formidable leader at its helm I knew in my heart that I wanted to be a Beautiful You Life Coach. 

When I graduated I felt complete. Like a chapter in my story had come to an end and with it all the emotions and feelings bubbled to the surface. Pride, excitement, joy, nervousness, certainty and uncertainty, gratitude – they were all very present on graduation day. If I wasn’t such a chicken I would’ve shouted and celebrated from my balcony across Melbourne, instead I gave my heart a thumbs-up and high-5. We’d done it. I’d done it. 

I was also mindful that the REAL work, the putting-the-training-into-practice-in-real-life work was also about to begin, and I was so ready for it.

How did you make the very most of your time in training as a life coach and how do you think that is benefiting you now? 

Before training commenced I’d decided to make a deep commitment to bring ALL of myself to this course. Training with Beautiful You was something I’ve had on my “dream list” for some time and I wanted to make the most of it. 

There were expectations I’d set for myself, which to me were the bare minimum:

1. I completed the modules and put in the work to ensure I was prepared for the coaching calls; and I was active and engaged in our Facebook group and online learning portal.

However, there were much deeper and focused actions I took too:

2. I asked a question on every call which absolutely petrified me, and pushed me way out of my comfort zone. 

To get through this I asked myself:

“If I can’t take stretchy, uncomfortable actions how could I expect and encourage my clients to do the same”. 

I also approached my questions from the view of “How is this question going to support me to be an incredible coach for my clients, and for my business”. 

This one action alone cultivated growth, self-trust, and confidence;

3. I allowed myself to be vulnerable, and leaned into new experiences, learnings, and teachings with curiosity and a beginners mind;
4. I welcomed feedback with an openness I’d never witnessed in myself before; and
5. I observed how the training was conducted by Beautiful You from a trainee perspective. 

From the very first interaction, to the emails, the guidelines, structure, right through to receiving our graduation certificates. I took in how boundaries were set around holding space and how the trainers showed-up on calls and in our online spaces.  I watched and learnt how to connect and establish deep rapport via Zoom, and how to lean into and allow uncomfortable conversation to arise. For me the experience was seamless and what it showed me as a trainee is that every single touch point you have with clients creates an experience for them and you want to ensure their experience reflects your values and intentions as a business. 

Honestly, words escape me as I try to describe how all of this is benefitting me now, there’s truly so much. However, what instantly comes to mind: Walk your talk, don’t just think about it, be about it. What I mean by this is that I had to take responsibility for my actions (or inaction). I knew that if I wanted to be an incredible coach I had to embody that energy before, during and after the training. This is now reflected in how I approach my business, show-up for my clients, and most importantly the lens in which I take action in my own life.

What amazing tips do you have for anyone who is about to begin studying in the Beautiful You Life Coaching Course or may be doing it right now? 

1. Bring all of yourself to the table and use this coaching container as your training ground. 

Use it to alleviate your fears about becoming a coach, ask those deep, burning questions, connect with like-hearted people, share what’s on your heart, and try new things, different things. As Laura Banks would say: “There’s no such thing as failure, only feedback”. There is no better place to get that feedback than in your training. Make the most of it.

2. Honour yourself by being Yourself

If you’ve never been in a space that truly and fully supports You and your uniqueness it might feel strange at first. I encourage you to lean into being supported and see it as an invitation to finally allow yourself to shine. I often had moments of “This is too good to be true. Is this space for real?” – because truly it can feel like that if you’ve never experienced it before. But here’s the thing, it is real and it is true, and it is your permission slip to bring your realness and be in your truth.

3. Trust the process and then add your personality to the mix.

There’s a reason for every step of the training, trust that it will all come together and you’ll be prepared to go out into the world and coach. Hone in on the basics and then add your own flare.

4. For trainees who identify as Black, Brown, Indigenous or Women of Colour this is a space for you too.

Please bring your stories, and your lived experiences. They are welcome, you are welcome, and you deserve to be here. Be brave, use your voice, share, speak up, lean into it and also be gentle on yourself. 

As an indigenous woman, wahine M?ori, I have never felt so seen, heard, witnessed, held and supported in a space, anywhere, than I have within this beautiful community. 

5. You will experience personal development way beyond any self-help book.

Welcome it all with open arms, because if you do your growth will blow you away.

What’s been the most unexpected benefit or take-away from your training with Beautiful You?

The deep, lasting friendships I’ve formed and the connections I’ve made will be my nearest and dearest take-away and unexpected benefit.

I’d seen Beautiful You coaches supporting each other online, appearing on each other’s podcasts, speaking highly of each other, and once again I thought “Is this for real? Are they really that connected?”

And I can confirm that yes, it’s for real, and yes they are really connected. 

I didn’t know that when I started training with Beautiful You I would be woven into this divine tapestry of a community. 

What’s on the horizon for Misty Johnson? We’d love to hear about any upcoming goals you have for your business!

I have my daughter at home with me full-time so I’d always planned my business goals as small, sustainable steps, ones that can be achieved in the 10-hours per week I have. Let me tell you, I love and cherish every single one of those 10-hours too. 

In 2022 my focus is to build a connected and engaged community, create solid business strategies, and continue to hone my craft as coach. Thankfully I’ll be working with a coach to support me on my journey.

Another goal…keeping things simple, not overthinking, and working to my strengths.

I had dreams that I’d be impacting thousands, but in my heart I know my strength lies in working with a smaller number of clients and going deep, rather than a large number of clients and spreading myself too thin.  

My clients and business deserve to have me at my best, doing my best work, and honouring my energy – that’s the most important thing. If I can close my eyes at night knowing I’ve shown up in this way, it’s been a successful day.

Find out more about Misty’s work at Misty Johnson

Photography Pikitia Co