Rob Rances
Rob Rances, our Featured Coach for October, was 11 years old when he first felt a sense of yearning to discover more about science, knowledge, and the human experience.
He came from humble beginnings, crossing a footbridge to go to school every day and passing by a large concrete wall marking a perimeter. One day, he was running his hands through the wall when he noticed a crack in it. The crack was caused by a seedling, which against all odds, pushed against the concrete in order to live. It occurred to Rob that there is so much power in life, and he made the analogy that knowledge is power.
As a child, he wanted to become a scientist, but entrepreneurship took precedence instead, as he set up businesses that grew and became successful. This allowed him to pursue further studies, impressing prestigious international universities so much that he was given a grant to pursue a Ph.D. in Organizational Neuroscience and a Doctorate degree in Leadership, overriding the need for a Master’s or Bachelor’s Degree.
Rob was also actively involved in church ministry for young people, and that was his first exposure to coaching. He realized that by asking questions, he could initiate a more profound change in people, and this was a way to overcome our natural addiction as humans to telling people what to do.
In 2015, he underwent Benchmark Consulting’s Accelerated Coach Training Program and officially started practicing as a coach to complement his work in accelerating peak performance among executives. “Neuroscience comes into play here, when you examine how to balance peak performance with personal sustainability, when you see that a person’s spiritual wellbeing has a physiological effect on their cellular energy, which in turn has an effect on the brain and how it works,” he explained. As part of research for this theory, Coach Rob has also studied epigenetics, the effects of stress, and even quantum mechanics.
“The bottom line is that spiritual wellbeing, defined by a sense of connection with one’s creator, a deep sense of purpose and peak experience- when your thoughts and actions align with the person you want to become- definitely has an effect on your physical wellbeing, which of course then nourishes your brain, how you think and process things.” He experienced this shift himself after contracting long Covid, and after being medicated for several months, he was able to biohack himself back into peak health and performance.
When asked where he gets his inspiration to continuously learn, research, and discover new things, he says – “I simply don’t want to get bored! Learning is like entertainment for me. Everything is always changing so there is a need to keep learning and to have an entrepreneurial mindset to find opportunities in different things.”
Despite being an expert in several fields, Coach Rob’s favorite thing about coaching is listening. “I love it when I ask questions and my coachees surprise me with their answers. It is truly interesting to observe their mental models, their thought processes, and how they see the world. This reflective inquiry allows me to detach from my own emotions and develops in me a greater sense of awareness that, the more you know, the more you don’t know.”
For new and developing coaches, his advice is to cultivate curiosity, to keep observing and growing, because, as Tony Robbins said, “life happens for us, not to us.” It’s also important to keep polishing the basics of our coaching skills, and to really be there 100% for our coachees in order to create a deeper and more lasting impact in their lives.
Always Learning Session
Join Coach Rob in a very interesting Always Learning webinar on Neuroscience in Coaching on Friday, October 27, 2023 at 6PM-7PM PH Time via Zoom.
