How to move on and chase your dream

Life has taught Reggie Aquilina to listen to the signs it dishes out and seize those opportunities that could lead to self-fulfilment.

"I would like to share what I've learnt," he says, as he scrolls down his life coaching website where he outlines the insights he compiled through research and experience.

An orthopaedic nurse by profession, Mr Aquilina always felt he wanted to do more with his life and craved some form of tool that would help him understand what he wanted so he could work towards achieving it. As he searched through books, he discovered life coaching and became enthralled by the idea of helping others reach their potential and life goals - in so doing, he reached his.

After studying life coaching, Mr Aquilina, 47, recently founded the Insight Zone, a website he developed to share, for free, the 10 keys to life success, which he compiled over the years.

"I believe everyone has traits that need to be discovered if they are to tap into their full potential... Achieving this personal success is very subjective. For me it may be developing my life coaching website, for someone else it may be getting a job promotion," says Mr Aquilina, who is also the chairman of the Orthopaedic Nurses' Association.

"There is no effortless success. However, self-limiting beliefs will hold you back... I must stress that life coaching is not therapy or counselling. But if people feel stuck in life or are procrastinating on chasing their big dream, it can help provide a structure to move on," Mr Aquilina adds.

People who join his website, www.insightzonecoach.com, will receive his 10 life success points for free and a weekly e-newsletter.

Those who wish to delve further into the subject may opt to buy Mr Aquilina's e-book and a 14-module coaching course that offers a range of self-discovery exercises.

One exercise, for example, encourages readers to examine how satisfied they are in different parts of their life such as work, family and friends and health.

Another exercise questions how many labels people can put on themselves. One woman, for example, could carry the labels mother, company manager, wife, runner, writer and so on. "The more labels, the greater the chance for a rich life. Once you stop giving new labels to yourself, you risk stagnating in routine," Mr Aquilina says.

Coaching, he adds, can help people tackle issues related to self-limiting thoughts, clarify values and understand what is important to them and why. As people learn more about themselves and what they want, they move closer towards identifying and achieving their dreams.

"I think this is something that can tap into people's potential and I'd like to share what I've learnt. I also feel employers can reap benefits from life coaching by tapping into their employees' potential," Mr Aquilina says.

For the past decade, the father-of-four has been channelling his work in practice and staff development at Mater Dei Hospital's orthopaedic department.

He is also involved in the development of anti-fall prevention guidelines aimed at helping the elderly take precautions to maintain a good quality of life.

After discovering life coaching, he obtained a diploma in adult training and development from the University of Malta and a diploma in life skills coaching from the UK's Stonebridge Associated Colleges.

In the meantime, about 10 years ago, the post for practice development coach was created in hospital and he was one of the first to apply.

Throughout these years he started gathering material he collected through reading books, studying and his personal everyday experiences.

Last summer, while relaxing by a pool, he decided the time had come to concentrate on publishing a book. He ended up taking an internet marketing course and his book evolved into the website.

"I believe life speaks to you through the things that happen to you. You have to listen to what life is telling you to be able to see opportunities," he says.