Nolene, you have such an incredible gift. And I am so glad that you are pursuing it further and changing so many lives. You have sure changed mine and I will always remember you and the lessons that you have taught me about myself. I am humble. I am worthy. I am capable of achieving my wildest dreams. I can be myself, Thobeka Ethel Shibe from kwaMadlala, weird, wonderful and unique … and it’s because of you that I am starting to believe in myself and feel brave enough to close this chapter and start the next one. Thank you so much.

I had to unlearn A LOT of new mom expectations that I had set for myself and it was nice to see that I wasn’t alone in the journey. I learnt to understand my partners’ blind spots better and not to expect him to just know things. We communicate better now because I share my feelings and difficulties surrounding motherhood, a lot more. I had people to speak to, who understood and felt what I was going through in their personal capacity. I also realized that there are other moms going through tougher times than me, so I appreciated my position. Nolene you’re such a great listener! Your nurturing ability is comforting and it makes someone feel heard and understood. Thank you for helping us through the journey – the sessions were greatly beneficial.

The retreat was Super amazing! What I like about Nolene and her retreats or just coaching with her is I always bring my all to it because I know the transformation that happens when I speak my truth. I like how she holds room for that. She meets you where you are whether you’re starting on your coaching journey or you’ve been with her for a long time. She meets you where you are, and she remembers that stuff about you. I love the relationships I formed over the weekend. A lot of the times you think you’re going through it alone or the way you’re handling stuff is weird. But people go through similar things and we’re all here to learn and grow. It’s been a really, really, really good experience. I’ve been with Nolene since I started at Allan Gray in 2016. She’s helped me navigate my 20’s into adulthood, like officially. I love her for her intuition, I love her for her preciseness in simplifying – sometimes you just say words – and then she summarises it well for you and you’re like yes that’s what I meant to say. It becomes a little clearer when someone is saying this is what I’m hearing from you. She makes me feel heard, which makes me feel like yes, this is a valid issue. She’s very knowledgeable in the range of human emotions and human experiences and how different people experience trauma or how different people experience relationships and all those dynamics. There’s no judgement, it’s a judgement-free zone. She doesn’t tell you what to do, she asks you questions so it’s very empowering. I also love that there is accountability – She’ll ask you what steps you’ve taken and hears you out.

Very often, our closest relatives or friends, struggle to relate to the challenges that moms’ face in these days – at times all one needed was a listening and sympathetic ear, and to not get shrugged off with comparison to what life was like back then. I can honestly say that the maternity support circle has provided me a safe space to speak out and feel heard, not only as a mom but also as a woman. To remember to be intentional about requesting help when it is needed, and to not feel guilty for requesting the help. I can truly say that it was through the support circle that I have built up the courage to set certain work and life boundaries in place which positively affected me both pre- and post- baby.

Coming into my first coaching session I underestimated the value I would gain and the growth I would attain both in my career and personally. I thought that there would be one or two things, at most which I would benefit from. I quickly learnt that each coaching session enlightened my thinking, gave better perspective on my biases, taught me feelings of acceptance, self-belief, built my confidence and ultimately vanished my false thoughts. Nolene provided great insight and resources which have been instrumental in my growth and which I still continuously refer to. Nolene is a true professional in the coaching community. A specialist, with great depth of knowledge, extensive experience and know-how. She is always calm, collective, well spoken, and has the innate ability to tap into your thoughts, connect with you on your level allowing growth to come from within. Nolene is authentic, genuine, sincere and a humble soul. Through her extensive experience, she is able to adapt to your pace, your style of learning and through this make you feel comfortable enough to open up and allow yourself to be coached. I honestly feel that Nolene has so much value to offer, and I was honoured and privileged to have the opportunity to share in her company and learn from her wisdom. #Brilliant! #WonderWoman

Nolene, thank you so much. These sessions have been life changing for me and I can’t thank you enough. My daughter is 2 now, I am happy to move on and make space for the newcomers. I will move ahead with the tools you have equipped me with.

I came to the RETREAT to relax and spend some time thinking through my known knowledge in a more structured way as I was feeling stuck in my business. I found so much value in coming to the retreat and thinking strategically and also determine what is my next move is. I’m a person who is always striving to do better and getting tools to do that. This served the purpose in that regard. And also helped me to think wholistically around…although you are focusing on your career – how to integrate your spiritual, intellectual aspects of your life to support your goal. WE often assign too much value to being there for others and not being there for yourself.

I love Nolene’s holistic and organic coaching style instead of just focusing on one aspect of achieving your goals. I really liked the way in which she provides very tangible tools and asks the right question for me to get to the answer and always just has this level of “I’m here for you” – it’s super encouraging & comforting. She creates a space where you feel fully supported with zero judgement and comes from a place of “I want the best for you”. It was amazing to see people transform throughout the weekend. She must just continue to spread her stardust. It is magical.

Nolene is a great balance of being fun, sometimes tough and I have always enjoyed our sessions. It always went by so quickly and I felt like I accomplished so much during that time. Nolene is always present and hangs on to each word you say, you can’t slip anything past her.
Nolene is incredibly knowledgeable and so passionate about coaching, that you can only benefit from such an amazing programme. I have gained amazing tools and learnt so much about myself and I’m excited to discover more with the plans I have put in place.

Nolene, thank you so much for all the support you have given me through these circles. They got me through some tough times and being able to share with the other ladies (now even outside of the circle) is a wonderful place to be. The maternity coaching circles made the transition from maternity leave to being back at work a lot easier – I would have been a lot more stressed and anxious if it weren’t for the circles. The most important things I’ve learned from attending maternity support circles are:
1) EVERYONE (working moms) is going through the same thing / having the same thoughts
2) Nolene is great at distilling a jumble of thoughts down to one clear issue and then making you see that issue in a different light & opens up different ways of addressing a problem (which after a circle, may not even seem like a problem anymore)
3) The importance of communication in this transition period is crucial – be it with spouse, colleagues, boss, etc.

Nolene managed to connect with me on a level no one else has and challenged me around my thoughts and current reality. My experience of coaching with her was nothing short of enlightening – it helped me work out exactly what it is I wanted and set me along the path with solid action steps. I always looked forward to our sessions and I would come away from the session feeling confident and excited about learning more about me.
I cannot thank Nolene enough for what she has done for me. I am very happy that I found her and really appreciate her style of coaching! It has been a great journey and I look forward to continuing it.

Nolene is very relatable. She is also very vulnerable about the challenges she also faces. I really love that about her, because she doesn’t want us to think she is perfect but that she is also on this journey with us. It makes it easier to trust her and to be vulnerable in these sessions.

I have been going through a phase of questioning where am I in my life, what do I want out of it & who am I. So a lot of my expectations for attending the retreat was to gain clarity about what I need to focus and work on and how to implement that in my daily life. The retreat went way beyond meeting my expectations.
Many people are hesitant to do this work even though they know they should. I want to ensure others that the environment and the kind of people that Nolene’s work attracts is so welcoming. Nothing feels like hard work. This is such an important investment in yourself and will help you lay the foundation for what you want to achieve with your life. If for nothing else, just see it as weekend away with good food, great people and some spontaneous dancing.
Nolene is an amazing coach. I have many colleagues whom have been coached by her and I’ve seen how they come out on the other side with great tools and an understanding of what it is that they want out of life. What I love about Nolene is her relatability and the manner in which she asks questions – and the questions that she asks is so amazing – it really gets you thinking. And just her calm, serene nature and loving presence. She is just nurturing and you feel safe. She sees the good in everyone and has this fire that radiates what she believes is possible for a person.

Wow, I don’t know if I can put it in words. I was expecting to feel a lot coming into this retreat and I must say it really opened or broadened my understanding of manifestation and just like believing in general again. I really connected with myself in a way that I haven’t done in a very long time, and I’ve rekindled that importance of connecting with yourself, loving yourself and just being there for other people. How that also generates energy and self-love again seeing other people have aha moments and care for themselves and the importance of also seeing it for yourself. I also love the time we get to envision and practically walk around and feel the energy. Nolene is so all-encompassing because she feels like a friend that you can trust with your deepest, darkest secrets and it’s not even daunting to tell her and she’s so open. She listens and she doesn’t judge, and she really cares for people. She cares for your development. She wants to know more, and she wants the best for you at the end of it. I always recommend her, she’s your girl.