Zineb Outnouna
Every once in a while you come across certain people with whom you immediately connect; people whose honesty and genuineness are simply radiant. This was my experience with Ilona. I met Ilona at a Toastmaster meeting. I had just started my business and knew that I needed to develop public speaking skills if I wanted to become successful in my business. The thought of speaking in front a crowd of strangers terrified me. Noticing my discomfort and fear, Ilona approached me and immediately made me feel at ease. She shared her experience with me and gave me pointers and advice that I still practice every time I am making a presentation.
Ilona and I developed a wonderful relationship after that. When she informed me that was launching her own wellness coaching and asked me to become a client, I was sort of hesitant at first, I did not think that I needed it, and I certainly was not excited about someone telling how to live my life. But knowing Ilona and her personality traits, I decided to give it a shot and boy was I wrong about my assumptions!!!
Ilona’s process and focus were completely different from what I had expected. She does instruct you on what you should do with your life, she does not order change, she does not work as a therapist where there is no end in sight, but rather, she helps you design the lifestyle that you want, and overcome the challenges that prevent you from reaching that lifestyle. She mostly focuses on the obstacles and teaches how to become less resistant to change. She does not create the change for you, but helps you create and carry on your own change through a series of questions. Each question has a metric value that helps you recognize your strength and helps you paint a realist picture of your assets, strong suits, as well as your weaknesses and areas of improvement. The process by which she operates is very well-organized. It starts with a questionnaire that provides a tremendous insight to your current life status. The questions deal with subjects related to confidence, mental health such as depression, coping, stress and emotional issues, as well as social issues such as personal loss, social activities, and of course physical struggles like energy, weight and health issues (the fact Ilona was a practicing MD for years, only adds credibility and exceptional knowledge in this particular area). Therapists usually take years to tackle a single issue, but Ilona’s approach is result-oriented and provides a timeframe and a deadline by which you can see positive outcome toward the change that you want to accomplish.
I very much appreciate the structure in her approach. Once the questionnaire is completed, the plan, based on your answers, is created and every other week, meetings are scheduled to evaluate the progress. She constantly checks on the challenges faced as well as the triumphs achieved. She keeps motivated and focused to create permanent change.
Ilona’s personal story is nothing short of inspirational. She, herself, has been in a dark place, she overcame adversity and regained a passion for her own life. It is very obvious to me that her life purpose now is dedicated to have people share the same passion and zest that she has for life. She wants people to be excited about their own lives, about the possibilities and what the future has to bring. I strongly recommend her services. We spend so much money on medications that only treat the symptoms; why not invest in treating the cause and create an everlasting change?!