When was the last time you took a professional development course that felt deeply personal?  For our course participants, the answer is likely “my last Graydin course”.

Recently, at a quite café near bustling Brighton Beach, one of our co-founders, McKenzie, listened closely as her friend shared a poignant story about her father’s wisdom.

Overwhelmed by the impending loss of her 18-year-old cat, the friend had found herself crying to her father, only to apologise for breaking down. Her father, ever patient, gently replied, "One more tear is one less tear."

As an educator and leader who has been spearheading coaching into the Wellington College family of schools, Iain Henderson has gained invaluable insights along the way.

One of the most significant barriers for many is not external challenges but the internal dialogue they carry—the automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) that shape their worldview. This limiting self-talk is often referred to as the ‘Gremlin,’ a term coined by Rick Carson in his book Taming Your Gremlin. These Gremlins arise whenever someone is on the verge of stepping outside their comfort zone, flooding their mind with fears and doubts like, “I can’t do this,” “I’m not good enough,” or “I will fail.”

Take a look at this guest blog from one of our Certified Start With Heart Facilitators.

Chris Kellaway details the journey Woldingham School went on to become a coaching school

Picture this: You reach for your phone to check one thing, and suddenly, 30 minutes have vanished. You're deep in a scroll, and the original purpose is long forgotten. Sound too familiar? You're not alone. This isn't just absent-mindedness—it's by design. As Johann Hari points out in his latest book, today's apps are engineered to "steal our focus."