Meet Lior Vaknin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lior Vaknin.

Lior, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The way I became a Life Coach was somewhat accidental. Though I always had an interest in other people’s views and outlook on life, and a strong desire to share my understandings and thoughts of the situation, it wasn’t until I reached Hawaii (state 47/50 in my 22 months 50 States Journey), when a close relative of mine persuaded me to take him as a Life Coach client and assist him professionally with personal things he was struggling with. This really opened a brand new world for me, that gave me a sense of fulfillment and meaning, unlike anything else. I come from a strong tech and marketing background, which a lot of times help me combine life and business coaching elements in my sessions. Today, I work most of the year remotely as I travel extensively around the world and thanks to Skype and WhatsApp, I am able to combine these two passions pretty well.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think that the main difficulty for me at the beginning was to attract new clients, there’s a fair share of life coaches out there and you have to stand out from the rest, but today, I rely mostly on word of mouth referrals, which I find the most amazing mean of marketing available.

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
The official title is a “Life Coach”, which really means helping people go through some of life’s challenging moments (divorce/loss of a loved one/starting a new business/etc.) in a healthy and productive way, by viewing all situation from a slightly different point of view. My philosophy is based on some eastern wisdom which combines Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism, but not in the ceremonial or ritualistic way one might think, rather in the practical and basic understanding that you are perfect exactly as you are, you don’t need to improve or change yourself, just accept the fact that this is a divine game we’re playing and each of us is doing his role in this cosmic act. For Eastern people and indigenous groups around the world these basic facts might seem trivial, but a lot of us in West who grew up Jewish/Christian/Muslim, these are mind-boggling concepts and at the beginning it’s hard to really understand it, but at the core of my work this is what I do, help people get to this realization as soon as possible so all the seemingly “bad” things that happen to us suddenly viewed in a different light. And not a lot of coachers hold this line of thought.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I would say that aside from my mom who raised me in a way that “Everything is Possible” and is really my biggest mentor, the work of Alan Watts have made such an impact on my life that I feel like I’ll be forever indebted to him and his teachings, and see him as a co-partner in my success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vakninli.wixsite.com/sandiegolifecoach
• Phone: 6194941131
• Email: amamtak@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/vakninlior
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vakninliordotcom/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lior-vaknin-life-coach-san-diego

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