Patrick Lim is a coach at MindFi and provides financial coaching to help people starting in their career as well as those in a financial “mess” develop the mindset and new money habits so that they can move from financial debt to a surplus. He himself has experienced getting out of a debt situation and achieved financial freedom more than two decades ago with several sources of passive income.
Our team at MindFi found that Patrick has astounding ways of helping his clients through coaching especially in the area of finance. We’d like to take this opportunity to get a little up-close and personal with Patrick to gather more insights on what inspired him to be a finance coach.
Please tell us more about your professional background.
I am a public speaker, corporate trainer, and professional coach. Meanwhile, I also own several businesses and manage my real estate. I was in corporate and executive coaching, and have moved to personal finance coaching in my “Minus to Plus” programme.
How did you get into the field of coaching?
It started in 1999 when I was in a direct-selling organisation and a leader for over 10,000 distributors. The company introduced a coaching system which I found very helpful for my team. I used it successfully. So in 2008, I attended a course in coaching to be certified and since then, I have not looked back.
What inspired you to be a finance coach?
About 40 years ago, I was in a financial mess. So I went to a friend, thinking I could borrow some cash to tide me over. His remarks were, “you have to earn money, not borrow”. What he said was so profound to me that from then on, I was able to pull myself together, manage my finances and went from having financial debt to a surplus. Today, it is more than a plus, plus. I am very grateful that I could leverage on my personal experiences to help other people manage their personal finance optimally. I want to help people to have more money at the end of every month, live a lifestyle of their choice, and gain extra cash for investments.
What excites you about your work as a coach?
Coaching is very different from training. In coaching, you can relate to the client and help them achieve their dreams and goals according to their needs. It is very personalised. We don’t advise the client or teach them what to do per se. Instead, a coach looks at the clients’ strengths, builds on their resources, and allows autonomy. The best thing for the coach is when the client is self-regulated and able to move forward independently.
What do you think is the common misconception people have about coaching?
Many people think it is the same as training. Coaching is not training or giving advice. Coaching aims to help clients achieve their goals based on their strengths, discover their talents, and find their confidence to take action in the direction of their dreams. The coach’s role is to evoke, collaborate and allow autonomy for the client to think deeply about what they can do, what resources they have, who to ask for help, and how to do it. The coach is a facilitator and sounding board, guiding them to think, brainstorm, reflect, and summarise.
What is one advice you would give your clients that you would also use for yourself?
Life is an adventure. You will never come back the same way again. So if you have missed it, move on. Ahead are more adventures to experience. Do not be afraid of the unknown. Instead, be afraid of the known. The known has nothing new to offer. It is the “unknown” that will give a million possibilities.
Do not be afraid. Live.
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Patrick has extensive experience with over 30 years in business across several industries and ranging from different capacities in finance, marketing, sales and management. He has since coached countless people in the areas of finance, property investment and life. Patrick’s philosophy is, “Success is not what you know; success is what you do with what you know.”
If you’d like to receive professional guidance from Patrick – whether in areas of finance, property investment, or life – connect with him on the MindFi platform by clicking on the button or scanning the QR code below.
