Real Talks with Tamara Pflug of Personal Development Zone

What’s it like being an online life coach?

Thinking of starting your own podcast while traveling the world?

Wonder what it's like being an online life coach? Curious about hosting a podcast while traveling? Meet Tamara Pflug of Personal Development Zone, she's a traveling life coach. #Interview #BossBabe Click to Tweet

We’ve all thought about it at one time or another, quitting your job to travel the world.

Maybe your current career isn’t as impactful and meaningful as you thought it would be. 

You’ve even been wondering if you should follow your dreams or be realistic? Could you be your own boss?

If you’re interested in living a meaningful life that inspires others to be their best selves, then this is an interview for you. Especially if you’re curious about being a life coach, podcaster or blogger who travels the world.  Tamara Pflug is a certified life coach at Personal Development Zone, who helps her clients and readers build their self-confidence.

Not to mention that Tamara was a full-time primary teacher who transitioned to life coaching and now spends her time traveling the world. If you’ve been dreaming of maybe one day following your own passions across the globe, then you’ll learn so much from this interview as well.

Let’s get started. 

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from these links, I may earn a commission. You can read my full disclaimer here.

 

#1. Who are you and what’s your story?

Hi!! I’m Tamara and I am a certified life coach.

I’m originally from Geneva, Switzerland and I’m now living half of the year in Tel Aviv, Israel and half of the year abroad.

My partner and I are doing this thing called “slow travel” which means that you live in a city for a few weeks and you get to really discover how it is to live in this city! It’s amazing, I LOVE it!!

Back a few years ago, I became a primary teacher and I really loved working with kids. They are very authentic and very simple.

👉🏽 RELATED POST:  Real Talks with Mindset Coach Jen Winsor

On the side, I learned how to coach and discovered a real passion for personal development and especially self-confidence. I started doing 1 on 1 and group coaching sessions and loved helping people finding solutions to their problems.

I realized that I cannot help more people than I actually am right now because there just aren’t enough hours during the day! This is the reason why I’ve started my personal development/self-confidence website and my podcast. So that I can share with others what has helped me and my life coaching clients build their self-confidence.

 

#2. What’s your average day like?

I wake up in the morning and start my day by reading. I love personal development books and I love to start the day reading a few pages.

Then I’m having breakfast and I’m starting to work (on my website or with life coaching clients). I really love to eat, it’s a real hobby to me, so my partner and I are always having a very nice lunch at home or outside. Then, we come back and we watch a short episode of a TV show. When I’m abroad I also like exploring new places and meeting new people so I add it to my daily routine usually before or after lunch.

👉🏽 RELATED POST: Morning Routine Habits to Kick Start Your Day

At 4 I’m doing some more work (my website or my life coaching clients) and I finish my day around 6-7, sometimes 8.

 What I really like is that I can really organize my schedule the way I want it to! I’m taking a big break at noon and I really love it! Sometimes, I work until late at night, but this is happening only because I took a 3-hour break at lunch…!

 

#3. How do you stay motivated? What or who inspires you?

It’s not always easy to stay motivated, that’s for sure!

When it comes to my life coaching clients, seeing the sparkle in their eyes when they find answers to the questions that I’m asking is really inspiring!! By asking the right questions, you realize how a person has all the answers inside of them!

Also, I remember that I wanted to do everything “perfectly” and this really used to stop me. In fact, I prefer it “done than perfect” and to get better at something by doing it.

Plus, even if it’s a small task that will be done over a day, if you do this let’s say 20 days per month, it means that you got 20 small tasks done! That’s a lot! 😊

Also, I remember discovering the Pomodoro Technique which is amazing to keep on being productive and motivated. Basically, you are chunking every task in a 25’ time period. Then, you have a 5’ break. It really helps to get you to focus on a certain amount of time! I wrote a post about it, you can check it out here:  Increase Efficiency and Productivity with the Legendary Pomodoro Technique. 

 

#4. Let’s talk about goals. How do you slay yours?

I used Nadalie’s Slay Your Goals Planner to discover, plan and reach for my goals. It was an amazing experience because I’m a very visual person and I really liked that this planner has lots of charts and tables.

My tip number one is to take the time to think of “your intention” as presented in the planner. You need to think of the “why” behind every goal you set for yourself and for your life!

👉🏽 RELATED POST: The Best Printable Goals Planner

When it gets hard when I’m less motivated or I’m feeling down, I’m accepting these negative emotions in the first place and I’m trying to understand the positive intention of having them: they are the signs of what’s going on inside of me, it’s essential not to resist them! Then, I remember what is the “why” behind every goal that I have. This helps a lot!!!

 

#5. What’s one app or tool that you can’t do without?

I can’t think of anything that I absolutely need or use in my workspace. Maybe a bottle of water? 😊

I realized actually that all of these “tools” can help when it comes to working, but they are just tools. All that we need in the end, in my opinion, is to sit down and work.

This is why I have a very clean table to work on, there’s nothing on it, nothing besides my computer and maybe a paper with a pen to take some notes.

When I started traveling, I discovered that it wasn’t easy finding a very clean and organized office/table everywhere, from a coffee shop to a co-working space. This is the moment that I realized that no matter where you are, what you do, if you work from a computer, you just need a computer to get some work done! The rest is just tools you can use to help, but the first tool you ever have and need is yourself! 😊

 

#6. What’s your favorite and least favorite part of being an entrepreneur?

My favorite part is definitely the fact that I can organize my schedule and time exactly the way that I want to!

For example, if I want to go to Geneva to visit my family, I don’t need to ask anyone for permission!

Also, when it comes to lunch, I really like having the possibility to take the time to eat and relax! It’s really something that makes me super happy and I’m glad I can do something that makes me happy once per day, every day!

The part that I like the least is for sure the uncertainty. You never know what will happen the next month, the next year! You’re not covered! I would also say that not having a “real vacation” is also something that can be hard. I don’t remember a day that I really stopped worrying/thinking of something about my business. It’s not something that is necessarily hard or annoying, but you really always have something on your mind…

 

#7. What advice would you give to someone just starting out?

I saw many people (including myself!) having impostor syndrome, which is: having the fear of not being good enough, not being legitimate in a domain.

 

 

I really had it 7 years ago when I started working with my life-coaching clients. But I realized that everyone has something to offer! Everyone can help someone else! It’s related to what I said before about doing something perfectly.

Just start doing something! It doesn’t have to be perfect! You can improve anything in the long run, for now, you’ve just got to get started!

 

#8. What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?

I really loved the book “Start With Why, How great leaders inspire everyone to take actions” from Simon Sinek. I think that everyone who wants to start their own business needs to read this book. It’s fascinating!

He wants you to discover the “WHY” behind your business’s idea. He says that Steve Jobs for example, became so successful with Apple because he had a clear “WHY” and boldly stated it. People got inspired by it and deeply connected with him!

He’s helping you find the “Why”, the reason for you to inspire others, then the “How” you’re going to do it and the “What”, what you’re going to do exactly.

For my business, I took the time after reading this book and came up with this:

• WHY: I believe that each and every one of us has the ability to feel great about who we really are! (Self-Confidence is a skill to develop and ANYONE can become more self-confident if they want it to.)
• HOW: People will build their self-confidence by practicing and using the shortcuts that I found, has helped me or my life coaching clients to be more self-confident.
• WHAT: My self-confident tips/tricks and information to help them build this skill. 

There is also a TED Talk video if you’re interested:

 

#9. What books do you think every entrepreneur should read?

The first book that I would recommend is the one from Simon Sinek “Start With Why, How great leaders inspire everyone to take actions”.

Then, I would recommend the famous “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss.

Even if you’re planning on working more than 4 hours per week because you enjoy it 😉, I truly liked the part about productivity and how we say that we are “working hard”, when we should instead “work smarter”. He’s saying that productivity shouldn’t be measured in the number of hours you work but by what you achieved. For example, you should write “finish this blog post” instead of writing “working on the blog post” in your agenda.

 

#10. Do you have a favorite quote or saying?

Sometimes, I’m not comfortable having negative thoughts or negative feelings.

When this happens, I’m reminding myself that they are part of my life! I should not resist them and accept them! They won’t last. It’s just nice to give legitimacy to this negativity.

This is why I like this quote: 

👉🏽 RELATED POST: Quotes that Motivate You to Start

“A certain darkness is needed to see the stars.” – Osho
 

#11. Can we talk about money?

Currently, I’m making money doing 1 on 1 and group sessions coaching.

I had savings before, even if I didn’t need to touch it yet. 

I have huge money plans for my business and one of the ways to get there is to offer affordable self-confidence online courses. Since I cannot add more hours during a day and I cannot double myself, I think that’s a great way to help more and more people!

 

#12. What’s your strategy for finding clients or readers?

I’m using Pinterest to get traffic to my website and since I have opt-ins in my articles (where people are giving me their emails in exchange for a free PDF document), they get on my email list.

Then, they receive every Saturday my “personal development tip of the week” that helps them improve themselves and their lives. I then receive emails such as “I forwarded your email to a friend…” so I would say Pinterest is a great way for me and also word of mouth.

Also, I’m currently working on getting better at SEO so people can find me through their inquiries on Google.

 

#13. What role does social media play for you?

I really like Pinterest! I used it a lot in the past to find great articles, beautiful hairstyles/haircuts… Except that now I’m the one creating the content and sharing it with others!😊

 

Honestly so far, it’s the only platform I’m really active on. I’m planning on using Youtube pretty soon.

👉🏽 RELATED POST: How to Create a Social Media Strategy

 

#14. Do you have a special offer you’d like us to know about?

First, you can listen to my podcast (and my accent!), Get Confident, Get Happy Podcast!

Then, I offer a lot of free PDFS on my blog, Personal Development Zone, such as “12 powerful ways to overcome self-doubt” or “9 tips to boost your self-esteem”! These are the 2 PDFS that people LOVE the most!!

Then, if you really want to build your self-confidence and take control of your life, I created a special coupon just for you, reader of It’s All You Boo!! You get 25% OFF my online course called “Self-Confidence 24/7” that will teach you how to be more self-confident in ALL the situations of your life!

Use the code ITSALLYOUBOO25 to get this unique opportunity! 😊

 

Bonus Questions! 

Quickly tell us about yourself and what you’re currently:

• Reading? “Storyworthy” from Matthew Dicks, it’s a book about storytelling! In my professional and my personal life, I want to be a great storyteller! 
• Watching? I’m currently watching “The Office”, it’s short, light and very funny. Perfect for a quick relax-moment!
• Listening to? When I’m commuting or walking, I’m listening to the “Life Coach School Podcast” of Brooke Castillo. It’s a really great podcast! Oh, were you talking about music? For music, since I watched the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody”, I just love listening to Queen’s songs. They are so talented!!
• Eating? I LOVE eating!! Currently, I’m not eating anything but I’m (as always!) planning my next meal which will be a nice dish of pasta!! I love every kind of food… It’s kind of a problem!!
• Obsessed with? Self-Confidence. I really think that everyone can be more self-confident and that it’s a skill to develop!! I’m trying to find a way to make my friends that are teachers to include it in their curriculum. We NEED to learn how to develop this skill at school already!!  
• My current mood? Some days aren’t easy! And I’m all into being more positive and everything, but I think that we should also accept negative thoughts and negative feelings. If you are determined, just keep on going and as I said before, “one step at a time”, get organized and start with a small task!   

Last Updated on July 23, 2024