Hi, I am Ilona Duda
and I help people to find fulfillment at work, connection in relationships and purpose in life
Before becoming a certified life coach, I had a successful career in digital advertising. I had a high-paying job in New York City and a very comfortable lifestyle. I was also very good at what I did.
There was only one problem. It wasn’t passionate about.
I would come home after a long day and ask myself, “Why am I doing this?” It just didn’t feel right.
I knew I had to do something. So I did what many people do when they are looking for answers… I went to the self-help section!
I read, what felt like, gazillions books. Some of them made a huge impact on me – books by the pioneer of humanistic psychology, Carl Roger, and especially his “On Becoming a Person,” the psychology textbook, “Self-Directed Behavior: Self-Modification for Personal Adjustment” and the famous memoir, “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Vikotr Frankl.
Of course, I did more than just bury my head in books.
I started meditating. I did yoga. I went on a 3-day silence retreat. I attended Tony Robbins’ “Unleash The Power Within” training.
All this helped. I gained knowledge, increased my awareness and opened my mind.
But it wasn’t enough.
Everything changed when I sought out help. With a guidance of a professional practitioner I was able to finally see the invisible block inside of it. Removing it helped me to re-connect to myself and discover my true passion – helping others. But I knew I needed to put my passion to test. So I did the hardest thing I’ve done in my life: I enrolled in 7-week crisis intervention training. I was among 26 people who were selected out of 300 applicants and among 10 who made it till the end. The training was harsh but I stuck to it and never was more grateful. For a year then, I volunteered at the 24-hour crisis prevention hotline. The experience of picking up the phone and connecting to more than 1,000 people in crisis was truly life-changing.
When a young guy told me that a 15-minute conversation was the longest he had ever talked about his struggles, I knew I need to continue on this path. But I wanted to not only help people in crisis. I wanted to prevent crisis. I wanted to help people understand how their emotions, thought patterns, and old beliefs get them stuck on a hopeless path. So I enrolled in Achology, the Academy of Modern Applied Psychology and got certified as a life coach. Now I work with the clients to help them remove inner blocks and gain new perspectives, so they go after what they want in life.
If I am not working with clients or immersed into continuous self-improvement, you can find me training for a marathon, planning my next trip abroad or spending time with my tribe mates.
I am originally from Ukraine, and provide coaching services in English, Ukrainian or Russian.
