Michael Tabirade’s Story so far…

Hey, I’m Michael Tabirade and I help ambitious self-starters develop a life of mastery!

I’m passionate about empowering, educating and elevating those with an ambitious mindset, giving them the tools and know-how for creating a ‘success’ lifestyle. I do this predominantly via online content, events, books, mentorship and coaching.

I took an interest in personal development back in 2009, when I started university, initially binge-watching motivational YouTube videos. In summer 2010, I was challenged by my manager to start reading books, as I hated reading. Not one to shy from a challenge, I began reading the Alchemist and my world was transformed… Since then, I have read over 300 books.

Soon after this, my journey online started in 2011. I used Tumblr to create my first website, which you can find here. I was passionate about writing on relationships, emotional and social intelligence, motivation and success. This stemmed from having many deep conversations with friends, and helping them solve some of their deepest issues; I kind of enjoyed it.

My entrepreneurial streak kicked in back in 2014 when I read the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, recommended by a work colleague. My enthusiasm for the book allowed me to read it in just 3 days! I knew straight away I wanted to start my own business (if you want to you can watch my entrepreneurial journey here).

I began to delve deeper into property investing and signed up for a 2-year mentorship program from Tigrent UK (now called: Legacy Education Alliance). This was the first time I had spent thousands on anything. I learned everything from how to purchase a buy-2-let, to how to get commercial property.

Hungry for success I also signed up for an international mentorship program with the Rich Dad Poor Dad Institute, a 12-week coaching program. Although all these investments were valuable, I was pushing above my weight financially.

If that wasn’t enough, at the tail end of 2014, I got persuaded to sign up for a network marketing company. Reluctant at first, I decided to join up 2 months later.

I didn’t realize it would teach me so much about recruiting, sales, team development, management, and presenting skills. I had only spent a year in this business, yet it had so many damaging effects on my personal life which took time to heal (some things still haven’t healed).

I would never do network marketing again, however, I do love the idea of a genuine referral and commissioning programs. Remember at this point I’m still learning how to be a property investor…

Side note: Before 2015, I had dreams of becoming a doctor. I believed it would give me wealth, status, power, and meaning. After working alongside doctors as a project manager in the NHS, and spending almost a decade trying to become one, I soon realized it was not for me. Letting this dream go in summer 2015 opened up doors for entrepreneurship.

At the beginning of April 2015, I was finally ready to invest in a property. I had the team formed and I was ready to go. Yet some freakish things started to happen…

I had developed a sharp attack to my chest known as pericarditis which is an infection to the heart wall creating intermittent and sharp chest contractions. This pain went on for 3 weeks solid and I was in agony! I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.

To make things worse, I was scheduled for surgery, as 3 months earlier my orthopedic doctor noticed I had developed a cyst in my right shoulder. This was all happening just after I had left my project management role which was a 12-month contract. Basically, I had nothing to go back too…

Twiddling my thumbs for 6 months, relying upon my last savings, and gaining a top-up from my pension I was forced to think about life.

As much as I wanted to be active, I couldn’t do much physically.

Naturally, I started to think about what I really wanted to do. Earlier in the year, I went to a Success Resources event, where all the top speakers in business came to address a large crowd at the Excel London. I had signed up for a few programs, and one of them was on Public Speaking, by Andy Harrington.

In my half-damaged state, I went to this 4-day masterclass (which was pricey) and learned so much about how to sell on stage.

One thing that stuck with me was that Andy said “You can make money from your ideas” i.e. intellectual property.

My mind was ticking. I knew I wanted to make money from consulting, mentorship, coaching, speaking, all things branded around me. But most importantly be recognized as a true educator and provide value to those who needed it.

I had a plan, I needed a job fast, so I called every recruiting agency in south London for 3 months as I had bills to pay and money was tight!

Luckily I secured a job with 10 days to spare before my next bill. I used this money to build my business and assets along the way.

At the end of 2015, I attended a Les Brown event as a VIP (I still haven’t got my picture with him in the post yet!), and upon asking him a question he said to me “You have a great speaking voice, you should use it.” I was ecstatic, as one of my favourite speakers of all time said: “…. you have a GREAT speaking voice.”

I decided to practice on YouTube and Facebook. Through this practice, I started to get recognized by people in my circle on Facebook. This attracted my first coaching client and my first speaking engagement in 2015/16.

This encouragement motivated me to write my first series of books, under the brand Understand Reach Expand.

I was invited to attend a Gerry Roberts masterclass that revealed the whole process of self-publishing. I was lucky to go, as I was a +1 from someone I had met at the Tigrent UK property classes.

Inevitably Gerry Roberts was charging a huge amount for his services, but he said one line that gave me enough motivation to start writing. He said: “You can do this yourself. Look, here’s an example.” And on the screen, he displayed a testimonial of someone who had done it himself.

I was like “Right, I’m writing and publishing this book myself!”

I officially started writing at the end of January 2016 and gave myself 30 days to finish the book. I thought “piece of cake…”

In the usual Michael Tabirade style, I ran into some issues. My Mac laptop I had for 5 years stopped working and I had no funds to refix it. I resorted to writing the book on Google Docs. This inevitably caused RSI (repetitive strain injury) in my right hand. So what did I do, I used my left hand to write on my phone.

It took me 11 months to write the book and writing happened to and from work.

I soon realized I didn’t know how big I wanted the book to be i.e. 5.5″ x 8.5″ inches. All I knew is that I had written about 900 pages of A3, no wonder I had RSI!

I made the executive decision to split the manuscript into 10 draft books i.e. the chapters of the original book.

I then focused on getting the first book ready for launch!

Understand Reach Expand, as a philosophy and value system is broken down like this:

1. Understand: Get to know yourself and others better in order to develop the soft skills for achievements. This will inevitably involve enhancing your self-awareness, confidence, communication and emotional and social intelligence
2. Reach: Use the power of imagination to ignite the development of research, strategy, and planning. These alone will empower you to take action get you closer to your goals
3. Expand: Evaluate and review your challenges, and use these lessons for growth and development. In addition, fortify your systems and networks to reach every facet of your goal

Not realizing it at the time I had written 10 mini books in draft form. I then went on to host events, talk at universities, churches, schools and events, and create my own digital assets.

I began teaching people on how to build a profitable and reputable brand, as well as the mindset required for business and leadership success. I have helped numerous amounts of people start their business, as well as overcome mindset hurdles that have set them back in the past.

Here’s just one testimonial from one of my clients:

As I was pursuing this journey of becoming a business coach essentially, something didn’t feel right. I wasn’t catching my audience the way I wanted to. Being frustrated, and quite frankly pissed off triggered by people not attending two of my events in consecutive rows, I stopped EVERYTHING. People thought I was ill, but really I had hit an “existential crisis” – that is to say, I a quarter-life (plus 3) crisis!

I decided to do nothing. I wasn’t motivated by anything. I didn’t want to hear another Gary Vee post or see anything from Grant Cardone or Tai Lopez. I only did things that my mood pushed me to do. This could be anything from eating to watching Netflix. Family members and friends thought there was something seriously wrong with me, but I began to see that everything was completely right.

I didn’t feel imprisoned anymore, and I began to come to the conclusion after 5 months of “doing nothing” that living a life of AUTHENTICITY is so important. That is to say, when you are honest to yourself you are more likely to make an impact. This perfectly with my theme for the year “Honest Impact.”

At the end of that month, I had got onto a professional coaching course, through the NHS, that would make me accredited with the professional governing bodies: the European Coaching Council (EMCC), and the International Coaching Federation (ICF). I was also getting a Level 5 qualification in Coaching and Mentoring from the Institute for Leadership and Management (ILM).

I began to go back to basics and build my portfolio again, but this time, properly and professionally. I had racked up 100+ hours steadily across 9 months, totally 250+ hours of 1-to-1 coaching, and built a strong evidence-based and self-reflective portfolio that was quality assured by these governing bodies. I got my certificate and became recognised as an EMCC Coach Practitioner. I also liaised this nicely at work, being a registered coach and mentor for the NHS. I also became a certified Healthcare Leadership 360 Facilitator, and currently training to be a professional and certified Graduate Action Learning Set Facilitator. This meant I was helping the next leaders within the NHS have the best start in their careers.

During the pandemic in 2020 I got a huge increase in 1-to-1 coaching clientele! I was still working in the NHS at the time as a senior digital expert, and I began to feel overwhelmed and burnt out. Sticking closely to my values I decided to quit my permanent role and become a full-time independent consultant and coach.

As we speak, I am contracting for the UK government and building my coaching practice, helping professionals, self-starters and university students become better leaders.

As you can see, I have racked up a lot of experience and backed it with professional qualifications that have been quality assured by the best in the industry. I’m deeply passionate about coaching, mentoring, and anything at allowing people to be their absolute best!

So that’s my story… In a nutshell!

Hopefully, it can give you an idea of the sort of person I am and what I have been through.

But if there is one thing that you could get from this website it’s CONSOLIDATED ACTION.

The content on this site is aimed to be educational (step-by-step) or empowering giving you new insights to take action and get RESULTS.

Aim to be a valuable person, that truly wants to help their audience. Cultivate a strong community and grow a strong personal brand that makes an IMPACT!

And finally, don’t be scared to be the person you were called to be… You know EXACTLY what I mean.

Have a great day!

Your Mindset Mentor, Michael Tabirade
Professional High Performance Coach
Understand Reach Expand