I often get asked about the origins of Emotiquo. What was my inspiration? Why did I create it? How did it all start?
Quite honestly, I struggle for an answer because it’s not a simple one. There was no single event or light bulb moment that inspired the idea. Rather, it was a ‘convergence of passions’. And to explain how it all came about, I need to take you back to 2003. A time when I seemingly had it all. A thriving business, beautiful home, cars, boat, the works.
My mother had just driven me home from the airport after a relaxing two-week getaway on Australia’s spectacular Sunshine Coast. She’d noticed my forlorn demeanour, but simply put it down to the disappointment of seeing a holiday come to an end. I’m sure I’d put it down to the same … that is, until I opened the front door.
Suddenly, I was hit with a feeling of overwhelming sadness. I fell to my knees and started sobbing uncontrollably, while Mum stirred herself into a panic thinking something terrible had happened while I was away. But, no. That wasn’t it at all. I’d just come to the terrifying realisation that despite all my success, my life of thirty-something years felt completely empty and meaningless. But why?
A Passion for Creativity
It seemed so selfish. I mean, what right did I have to feel this way? I’d accomplished so much. Over 15 years, I’d turned a micro-sized business operating from my bedroom into one of my home city’s top graphic/web design studios. I had an international client list, several employees, owned a stunning office in a highly sought-after location, and after years of hard work I was finally enjoying the fruits of my success.
Now don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t just about achievement. I loved contributing and helping individuals and businesses thrive and flourish. Service brought me immense joy. But, something had changed …
I’d lost touch with why I started the business in the first place. My passion for design and creativity. In shifting my role from designer to manager, from working ‘in’ the business to ‘on’ the business, I’d slowly detached from what I loved most. Applying my gift. And now there seemed to be nothing holding up the tower I’d built. Nothing compelling me forward. I didn’t have a wife. No children. I was empty, alone and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a condition I’d suffered early in life and vowed I’d never go through again.
But later that night, something life-changing happened …
A Passion for Life Coaching
As a workaholic and insomniac (which usually go hand in hand), I had seen those late-night infomercials for years. Anthony Robbins, with his monstrous hands and jaw, rabbeting on ad nauseum about your bloody personal power and inner giant. His convictions made me curious, but I was skeptical (or gutless), and it was far easier to delude myself into thinking, “Ha! I’m doing great! I don’t need that stuff.”
But, this time it was different. I was open to almost anything that would dull the pain. So, with eyes still reddened from my earlier sob-session, I made the call and ordered the program.
Now, this isn’t a commercial for Tony Robbins. However, his materials definitely triggered some major life changes and sparked my passion for coaching. I sold my house and business and high-tailed it to the Sunshine Coast; where I expanded my creative career into film and continued to soak in the coaching principles of Robbins and other great coaches, mentors and teachers. I was totally hooked.
What engaged me most was the speed and sustainability of results. As a younger man, I had seen psychiatrists and therapists for bouts of anxiety and depression, and I remembered the methods to be frustratingly passive. It certainly helped, but the sessions often seemed futile, like I was exploring the darker recesses of my mind fumbling around for a light switch. But, life coaching was different. By comparison, it was more direct, active, challenging and confronting. It provided practical tools and methods, and sustainable results were often achieved in just a few sessions, sometimes even minutes.
A Passion for Health & Wellness
In 2008, my mother’s health took a terrible turn. She had fought off breast cancer once before, however the treatments had left her with serious heart ailments and the dreaded disease had returned. I moved back to Adelaide soon after her diagnosis, and six months later my mother passed away. She was an amazing lady. My light. I was devastated, and also angry. But, coaching had taught me to find a greater meaning and that’s exactly what I set out to do.
I’d been studying the benefits of alternative therapies since my mother’s original diagnosis. Researching nutrition, meditation, Ayurvedic and other Eastern health principles, and the undeniable link between body and mind when it came to health and wellness. It was easy to recognise how coaching and emotional fitness could add value. And so, I stepped up my coaching journey and enrolled in a double-certificate course with Robbins-Madanes Training (co-founded by Tony Robbins).
Professional coach training is, without a doubt, one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. It not only armed me with the skills and knowledge to enrich my own life, but empowered me to help others do the same. It was a wonderful gift and filled me with a burning desire to pay it forward and spread the word.
I had the will and I had the goal. All I needed was the platform. And, what happened next not only took me full circle, but charted the final leg to my biggest venture yet ….
The Birth of an Idea
I journeyed to Los Angeles to work as an editor on two documentaries produced by award-winning filmmaker Eric Merola. Eric’s films reached millions of people worldwide and I continually marvelled at the power of documentary and online media to deliver information and inspiration across the globe.
While working with Eric, he was contacted by a small Australian company called Food Matters. And as fate would have it, guess where it was based? The Sunshine Coast, about ten minutes from where I used to live. I couldn’t believe it. The company’s director James Colquhoun had contacted Eric in the hope of listing his films on Food Matters FMTV subscription channel, part of its online hub of health and nutrition-related documentaries, interviews, recipes, articles and more.
By now, my mental melting pot was bubbling with ideas …
The Food Matters initiative was brilliant. In fact, today Food Matters is the world’s largest online hub for nutrition and alternative health resources, and boasts nearly 2.5 million followers on Facebook. Its contribution to the world in the areas of health and wellness is staggering.
So, here I am, some 15 years after that day I broke down inside my front door; inspired by new passions, armed with new skills, equipped with new resources and contacts, and looking for a way to serve others in a more profound and meaningful way than ever before. And then it hit me …
Build an online community of life coaches and an easy-to-access hub of coaching resources, available to anyone in the world with a phone, tablet or computer.
Introducing Emotiquo
Research, planning and development commenced in October, 2016 and production on the site and social platforms started roughly three months later.
The project was originally named Happy Matters, but rebranded Emotiquo only a few weeks before the official launch in early 2018. The name is derived from the term ‘Emotional Quotient’, also referred to as ‘Emotional Intelligence’, which Wikipedia describes as “the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal(s).”
How does Emotiquo work?
Emotiquo combines an interactive life coach directory with an online environment similar to the Food Matters model, whereby general visitors are drawn to the site’s content via social networking, online referral, search engines and internet strategies. Life coaches create individual profiles to promote their services, but also contribute articles, videos, comments and other resources to encourage engagement and attract referrals from the Emotiquo community.
Let’s look at a couple of examples of how this might work …
Imagine you’re having some problems in your relationship. One morning, you’re on Facebook and you come across an advertisement that relates to your issue! You click the link and it takes you to an article on the Emotiquo website. The article’s content resonates with you and you’d like to know more, so you click on the author’s bio which takes you to their profile. The coach has written several related articles and also added some videos to their playlist. You check them out and really connect with the coach’s perspectives. It’s time to get in touch! You send a message via their contact form. The coach replies. And a dialogue starts which may or may not lead to a coach/client relationship.
Or, perhaps you’re a career coach and looking for more clients. You’ve noticed Emotiquo’s social activity and engagement on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and conclude its community may offer good opportunities to connect with potential clients. You register a free profile but also recognise the benefits of membership and subscribe. After building your profile page and adding some posts, you see a comment on one of your articles and reply. Moments later, you receive an email from the same user via Emotiquo. You reply and commence a dialogue which may or may not lead to a new client.
These are just two examples. There are many other ways in which users can locate resources and connect with coaches on Emotiquo, and even more ways to come!
The Vision
Emotiquo is still in its infancy. There is a slate of new features and functions to be rolled out over the coming year, including private forums, messaging systems, vendor stores, event calendars, advanced memberships and more. Click here to check out the development schedule.
But, the longer term vision is even more exciting! Our goal is to build a loyal community of qualified and committed coaches who not only contribute their skills and knowledge to Emotiquo’s user community, but also benefit from its affiliated service providers and suppliers, training institutions and programs, and engagement within the coaching community itself.
Similarly, we aim to build an active and enthusiastic community of worldwide users, by using Emotiquo’s website, social platforms and online strategies to deliver coach articles, videos, interviews, forums and events which can help maximise opportunities for personal growth, happiness and success.
Philanthropy
Emotiquo aims to foster a culture of contribution and care which is far beyond its own community of coaches and users. As part of its financial plan, a significant portion of profitable revenue will be donated to humanitarian world charities.
Join Us
Thank you for taking an interest in my journey and the origins of Emotiquo. The future is incredibly exciting and I’d love you to join us. If you have any questions, please feel free to write me via my profile contact form. Or, simply jump in and get your feet wet!
If you’re a coach, you can register a free profile on our directory in just a few minutes and perhaps take the next step and subscribe to membership. Or, if you’re interested in self-development and making life a little better, I invite you to browse the website, join our mailing list and/or follow our social pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
I can’t wait to meet you!!!
