Rebecca (00:01.77)
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Champagne Lounge podcast. Today I'm joined by the wonderful Clara Zeroui. Welcome to the show, Clara.
Clara ZAWAWI (00:10.959)
Thank you Rebecca, it's wonderful to be here.
Rebecca (00:14.346)
Now I'm very excited to have you on the show because we are in totally separate time zones and you're one of our handful of members that have joined as ex -Aussies is what I'm going to say, who still live regionally but in other countries in the world. So where are you today, Clara?
Clara ZAWAWI (00:32.846)
Okay, I'm in Saint -Pierre -Miquelon and if you talk about regional you don't get more regional than this. We're actually a French island, part of the EU, but we are off the coast of Canada. So I'm between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia and we... look, not even the French normally if you say I'm from Saint -Pierre -Miquelon have any idea of where that is, let alone the Canadians.
But yeah, it's basically the last remnant of the French territories in North America and this is where we are.
Rebecca (01:09.002)
Wow. And how long have you been there for and what took you there?
Clara ZAWAWI (01:13.069)
God, well I've been here nearly seven years, which is terrifying to think about actually. My husband is from here and we came here, we had a business together in Inowon and that kind of was not going in the right direction so we made the decision to close that up and we had some family stuff that needed to bring him here so we had, we had actually...
tourism business which was mostly on boat charter and we had a big 75 foot cat so we thought well we'll well he thought we'll just sail out across the Atlantic wouldn't that be a great adventure so that's what we did and that's how we arrived on this big fat boat through a big fat storm. It was a huge adventure.
Rebecca (01:57.226)
Amazing. That is a big adventure.
Rebecca (02:03.914)
That's fantastic. And so in terms of, you know, the businesses that you've, the business that you're doing now is, sounds very different to what you were doing in the past. So tell us a little bit about what the previous business looked like and what you've now moved into being in this wonderful new environment.
Clara ZAWAWI (02:20.747)
Yeah, right. Well, the previous, I mean, I kind of started my career in PR. So I was always in PR. I was a PR academic. Then I went back into the industry and so on and so forth. Then we left Australia to go back to, I should say, Oman, because that's where my father's family is from. And I ended up working with him in one of his businesses and then he passed away and we ended up staying there and moving into tourism. So we had this...
Yeah, this tourism business that was mostly sea tourism. We had charter yachts. We did do some sort of land tours and stuff like that as well. And we were there kind of at the beginning, I think, of the Omani tourism boom. And then things started to sort of go off quite badly with the rise of ISIS and all of that played very badly, particularly for...
for our business, we were very much in from the European market. So people didn't really, weren't really comfortable coming to the East, et cetera, et cetera. So as I said before, we decided that it would be better to kind of fold that business and we had reasons to come here. And I guess we landed up here and I was just exhausted and burnt out and done as so many of your other guests and fellow Champagne loungers have been in that space.
So I basically took a year to just chill and walk in the woods and try and learn French and do all that sort of stuff. And then we had the pandemic.
Rebecca (03:57.418)
So you didn't know French until you moved to the country. Okay.
Clara ZAWAWI (04:00.905)
Not really, no. I mean, I'd done it at school. I had, you know, la plume de ma tante reste sur la table de mon oncle and that was about it. So, not very useful stuff.
Rebecca (04:13.834)
That's a lot more than I've got.
Clara ZAWAWI (04:16.969)
wasn't very useful. But anyway, so and then the pandemic hit and what happened in the pandemic was that everyone went online. So it started to appear to me that I could actually have a business connected to the real world that I could do from sitting on the edge of the real world. And so,
long story short, I ended up training as a coach and I moved into this area of what I call or what we call transformational coaching which is really life coaching but it sounds so nice and it's true it's it's it's described it's a descriptor describes what it is yeah.
Rebecca (05:01.962)
Yeah.
Rebecca (05:06.89)
So before I dive into what transformational coaching is, I'm curious to know what you did in that year off. Because I've done my own year of burnt out, can't look at a computer screen anymore, like just physically can't do anything else. Were you at that point of burnout of just, I can't do it, or was it a, I've got a clean break, I need some space?
Clara ZAWAWI (05:29.703)
Look, honestly, it was everything. I mean, I didn't realize it at the time, but I was a complete and utter wreck. I'd had huge family issues. I'd had a horrible divorce. I mean, I ran away to see with the handsome French sea captain, so I guess they were good bits too, clearly. But it had been awful. And I don't think I realized how bad it was until I got to this space where,
there was space, you know. So honestly, I think for that first year, I did almost nothing. I mean, we had a lot of renovation and a lot of work to do in the house, so I did a lot of stuff here. We had the dogs, I took them for big walks. I got used to being cold instead of always being hot. I did a lot of cooking.
And I did, I had already started my Qigong journey. I did a lot of Qigong, I did a lot of Pilates.
Rebecca (06:28.49)
Yeah.
Clara ZAWAWI (06:38.341)
I did a lot of not working, basically. I did a lot of not thinking about what I could do next. I actually just wanted to let it empty so that I could think about maybe what I wanted to do next that was what I wanted to do rather than what other people thought I should do or what sounded like a good idea to somebody or being pushed into something.
and just working like a lunatic because I could and because it worked and because I was good at it and because all of those things that we all we all say the same things.
Rebecca (07:20.714)
Yeah, we all do. Yeah. Yeah. And so you always had to, you know, I found that I had to train myself to sit and do nothing. Like it was very, very hard process. Did you find it difficult to slow down?
Clara ZAWAWI (07:36.708)
Absolutely, absolutely. I mean in the beginning that was it, you know, I was up and doing projects and whatever and it was just literally one day I sort of thought to myself I think I was out with the dogs and looking at the ocean and just realised that...
Actually, I could stop.
and I wouldn't die and nobody else would die and the world would not end and that was a big deal for me, you know, to figure out that it was possible and the world wouldn't end and I wouldn't end.
Rebecca (08:17.802)
Yeah, it's just a shame that we push ourselves to the point of almost breaking point before we get to that point of realizing that we can stop and we can take a step back and we can take a breather and we can change direction if we want to.
Clara ZAWAWI (08:29.347)
Hahaha!
Clara ZAWAWI (08:33.507)
Absolutely, and you know I would just say thank God that people do and that we do get to that point that we actually stop ourselves and say no there is a better way I know I feel it I'm I I I
I feel it. I can see it. I can't see it. No, that's wrong. You can't see it at the time, but you feel it, you know it's there, and then you just go, okay, something's got to give. And then it does, and then everything flows.
Rebecca (09:06.41)
That's it, you've got to get past that tipping point and then enjoy the flow again and enjoy and embrace the new journey as scary as that sometimes can be, I think. We're always living on the edge.
Clara ZAWAWI (09:11.297)
Yeah.
Clara ZAWAWI (09:18.129)
terrifying you know absolutely because suddenly every step is new and you know dare I say it suddenly you've got to remember to live in trust and suddenly you've got to remember that if you're grateful for what you have then the other stuff comes and all of those things that sound so mumbo -jumbo ish but are actually true.
Rebecca (09:41.162)
Yeah. Yeah. And so, and so that leads into the track, the way of trans transformational coaching, doesn't it? It's, it's a very different way. I think correct me if I'm wrong, of, of thinking and being and doing. So for someone that doesn't know what that is and like, that sounds a bit woo woo. What is it? Like what, what is it that you, that you do? Because to some people it could be like that, that sounds very strange, but it works. Yeah.
Clara ZAWAWI (09:42.272)
Yeah.
Clara ZAWAWI (10:02.24)
Yeah.
Clara ZAWAWI (10:05.856)
What is that? What is that anyway? Okay. Well, I think the easiest way to explain it is also to explain that from the perspective of my training, we have what is called transactional coaching and then transformational coaching. So transactional coaching is business coaching and the kind of coaching that I imagine that you do and that people... Yeah, exactly. You have a thing that you...
you teach people how to do and you encourage them and you show them ways and you open their minds to possibilities that they have not thought of but that are tried and tested and so on and so forth. Transactional, transformational coaching is really about helping people to change in directions that they don't know, they do know themselves but they don't know how to get there. So they, I truly believe...
that you know what you want and you know what is good for you and you know where it is that you want to go but that you don't necessarily have the ability because you're so embedded in the old ways and the old systems and your life you literally don't see the wood for the trees and so what I do is I give you the space to think.
and I ask you the questions because I'm really listening to you. I ask you the questions that make you think further and take yourself further. So we walk together, you transform yourself in the way that you want to and in the way that is right for you. And I walk with you on the journey and I'm there for you because...
Let's face it, in our lives, you know, your friends of course are there for you, but the friendship adds a perspective, you know, a coach is there for you in a way that's almost more than a friendship. They're there for you to check you, they're there for you to challenge you.
Clara ZAWAWI (12:26.653)
but they're there for you, to cheerlead for you. They're there for you. I mean, in that time that I'm with you, I'm only there listening to you, giving you the space to speak, giving you the space to think.
with a person who might ask you a challenging question, you know, and that takes you through a breakthrough yourself.
You know, these are not answers I give people because I truly believe you know what you want, you know where you're going, you just need the space and the right questions to work it out.
Rebecca (13:05.866)
That's the key thing, isn't it? It comes back to that space and giving yourself permission to go, hold on, I'm going to take a breath here and look at things differently and give myself time to really feel and express what I really desire and I want to do. So, you know, in doing that, the probing questions I would say are probably some of those unlockings, you know, that they're the keys that help you unlock those true desires that you can then go and step forward into.
Clara ZAWAWI (13:32.987)
Absolutely, absolutely. I mean some of the best moments for me is when that client says, that's a really good question. Brilliant. And often people will message me and say, five or six days later and say, I just had a light bulb from something that happened in a session. So it's not always then because we're working, we're thinking, we're considering.
Rebecca (13:46.09)
Yeah, yeah.
Clara ZAWAWI (14:03.547)
subliminally, subconsciously, all the time about this stuff. So it's not always in the session, sometimes it's later. Yeah. Yeah.
Rebecca (14:15.466)
comes afterwards. It's just, and so for you, who would be your target person and target client in that space? Because is it someone who is, you know, starting out on a business journey perhaps and just wants to take it to that next level? Is it someone that's gone through divorce or changing life mid, like changing course mid life? Like who tends to come and ask you for this type of work?
Clara ZAWAWI (14:39.93)
Yeah, I mean it's really been a big mixed bag so far because it literally is...
the gamma of human experience, like what has happened, you know, has a partner died? Do you need to reinvent yourself? Is there a divorce?
suddenly you're 50, your kids are out of the house, you're in an entirely new space with your partner, your parents, your agent, I mean, there is all of that. So having said that, it sounds very broad and it kind of essentially is, but the funny thing too is that with the stuff that I do,
There's also always been this passion for horses and so now I'm getting into this space where I'm working with horsey people. So if you're a horsey person looking for change.
Rebecca (15:39.018)
Yeah.
Rebecca (15:42.858)
Well, there's a lot of energy in horses. I've done a couple of courses that I've been on have taken you into that space and the energy is so different around them. So is that something that you would bring in, potentially bring into your work? That's obviously an in -person thing rather than a virtual conversation, but do you find that energetically in that way?
Clara ZAWAWI (16:06.808)
I think you mean sort of actually into like bringing the horses into like working with horses in the state. I mean never say never but that's kind of not never say never. In fact I know a woman in the States who does exactly that she's a leadership coach and she uses her horses she takes people to her barn and she uses her horses to teach people about leadership so it's not entirely...
Rebecca (16:13.706)
Yeah.
Rebecca (16:18.058)
Yeah.
Clara ZAWAWI (16:34.231)
out of the question, you've experienced it yourself as you said. At the moment it's more about taking people who are working with equestrians, who are disconnected or lost or trying to get to another level, sometimes in competition, sometimes really just in their own sort of living with their horses, who don't have that...
balance who don't have the centering who.
who are kind of dissociated from the ground, even though they're connected to this animal, sometimes they're actually not connected to the animal. Sometimes there is that gap because as human beings we're so into being a human being. You know, sometimes you actually just need to be able to get out of your head, get into your body so you can connect to another body, you know, particularly a big animal like a horse. So there's a bit of that. This is all sounding a little bit...
Rebecca (17:37.13)
It does, it doesn't at all, because it all links back. It all really does link back to giving yourself space and time to have a big conversation, whether that's with yourself, whether that's being pro -ed by conversation, by your questions, whether it's just finding, you know, like what we do here in the Champagne Lounge, people that are like -minded, doing similar but different things that go, that's okay, we can talk that through. And sometimes just talking it through, 99 % of the time,
Clara ZAWAWI (17:37.333)
confused but I'm hoping it makes sense.
Rebecca (18:05.066)
you're talking it out loud yourself. You just need people around you to listen and ask the right probing questions to make that next breakthrough. Yeah.
Clara ZAWAWI (18:12.789)
Exactly, exactly and sometimes you know as I say you live so much in your own head that you kind of you know it goes round and round and round and round and you sometimes just need somebody to say well what about you're right that's all I needed yeah which is great.
Rebecca (18:31.946)
Yeah, there's so much power in a conversation.
Clara ZAWAWI (18:35.828)
So much power in the conversation. I mean, and I think this is the lovely thing about, you know, getting back to the remote nature of the membership. I mean, the fact that now we can actually have these conversations with other people who are not living probably even remotely similar lives in many ways, but very similar in others, that you can reach out through the technology that we have today and have this connection and this.
the feedback and the spark that happens from the collection. It's wonderful.
Rebecca (19:12.042)
Yeah, I think it's absolutely amazing. And I love that you've found us and embraced the community and you're part of it and sharing your wisdom. And we're just a part of having powerful conversations. I think it's just incredible.
Clara ZAWAWI (19:25.235)
I just love it, I'm just really glad that you have that one 8pm meet that I can actually get to at 8am my time. One of these days I will actually turn up with a glass of champagne at age, why not?
Rebecca (19:36.17)
Hahaha!
Rebecca (19:41.13)
You should, you should, you know, that's why we do the 8 a and the 8 p .s every few weeks because as much as I'm not a person that enjoys sitting in front of a computer at eight o 'clock at night, I know that there are members out there in different time zones that do want to sit and have a chat at that time. So I love that we've got that flexibility of meetups. Yeah. You should come with champagne because it's a breakfast drink and an evening drink. So why not?
Clara ZAWAWI (20:00.179)
Yeah, absolutely. I'm very grateful. I'm very excited.
Yeah.
Rebecca (20:07.914)
Clara, thank you so much for joining me on the show today. I'm going to link all your details in the show notes. It's been a wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for joining me.
Clara ZAWAWI (20:16.05)
look I've really loved talking to you too. Thank you so much and thank you so much for the Champagne Lounge. I'm loving it. Really. Thank you Rebecca.
Rebecca (20:25.514)
Thank you.
