KATE JAMES IS AN AUTHOR, COACH & SPEAKER
Kate James is an author, coach and speaker. She founded Total Balance in early 2002. She works with her clients to create clarity, confidence and calm.
Who Kate works with
Kate works with emerging and current female leaders and business owners who want to build confidence and clarity about their direction. You can read about her typical client here.
Corporate clients include The Body Shop, University of Melbourne, Freehills, Middletons, Mallesons, Bolle, IBM, Aviva, Coles Myer, CSIRO, Macquarie Bank, ANZ, Clemenger, Ogilvy, Department of Transport, Department of Sustainability & Environment and Brotherhood of St Laurence (amongst many others).
Her coaching style is supportive, insightful and practical
Kate is a low-key kind of coach. She’ll help you feel motivated but not in a high-fiving ‘ra-ra’ kind of way. Her approach is often described by clients as kind, intuitive, transformative, and sometimes even spiritual. She draws on philosophies from positive psychology, ACT, mindfulness, creativity, and neuropsychology. Some of the authors she enjoys are noted here.
ENQUIRE NOW »How Kate can help you
Kate believes that everyone has a unique set of gifts. She will work with you to:
- discover your unique strengths
- identify your values
- feel more confident and grounded
- gain clarity about your direction
- find your purpose
- create your own version of a meaningful life.
She is passionate about sharing how positive psychology and the practical aspects of mindfulness can be used to help us live and work with greater awareness. For details about how Kate has helped other clients read a few case studies here.
In her personal life
Five years ago, Kate and her husband made a tree change to a small acreage on the Mornington Peninsula where they’re working to live more sustainably. When she’s not coaching, teaching or writing, Kate spends her time meditating, walking the local bush tracks, practising yoga, gardening, cooking, paddle boarding, reading or with her adult daughters and grandchildren, Oscar and Milla.
Kate’s top personal values are inner harmony, kindness and generosity, connection, freedom, creativity and simplicity.
Giving back
As well as caring for the natural environment and supporting organisations that value diversity and inclusion, Kate contributes time and a percentage of income to a range of not-for-profits that focus on the wellbeing of women and children. Read more about current causes here.
Kate’s work
- Coaching: confidence coaching, career coaching, business coaching and leadership coaching.
- Join Kate James at her home for a deep-dive half-day discovery session.
- The Confidence Course: Kate hosts this popular small-group coaching program for women several times each year.
- For over twelve years, Kate has been hosting retreats for women in Byron Bay and Bali.
- Speaking: Kate’s corporate keynotes include The Confidence Course, Overcome Imposter Syndrome, Live & Work Mindfully and Finding Better Balance.
- Free meditations: Kate’s guided meditations have been listened to over five million times on the world’s leading meditation app, Insight Timer.
- Ten-day course: Build Self-Belief through Mindful Action is available on Insight Timer.
- Writing: Kate is the author of six best-selling personal development books. Her latest book is Change Your Thinking to Change Your Life.
In the press
Kate is often invited to speak in the press, on radio, on tv. You’ll find some examples of press here.
You can listen to Kate’s meditations online
Kate shares a mainstream form of meditation and mindfulness on the incredibly popular Insight Timer meditation app, home to over 24 million meditators around the world. Kate has had a daily meditation practice for the past 30 years.
Kate’s books
In 2014 Kate fulfilled a lifelong dream of writing her first book, Believe in Yourself and Do What You Love. Since then, she has written several other titles including Be Mindful and Simplify Your Life, Change How You Think and Be Happier Now and Create Calm Two of her books were listed in the top-ten best-selling personal development books in 2017. Believe in Yourself and Be Mindful were released in the US.
Her latest title, Change Your Thinking to Change Your Life came out in January 2021 and her upcoming title, Quietly Confident is due to be published in early 2024.
Kate’s credentials
Kate has gathered more than 8,000 hours of career, business, leadership and personal coaching experience and many hours of meditation teaching over the past 20 years. She was one of the first Australian coaches to achieve PCC accreditation with the International Coach Federation (ICF) in 2005 and one of the early teachers of ‘mainstream’ meditation in Melbourne.
What people say about Kate James
Read what people say about Kate and her work here.
‘I absolutely adore Kate. She is a highly skilled, generous and enormously gifted business coach, especially for those who don’t traditionally consider themselves “business people”. I discovered her through sheer luck (thanks Google), and I remain sincerely grateful for the counsel she offered me back in 2010 when I was first fleshing out the bones for what would become Big Hearted Business. Thanks Kate!’
‘Like many small businesses, our growth was rapid and exciting. Working with Kate as our business coach enabled us to put much-needed systems and processes in place to effectively streamline and manage our business. Kate worked with us to clarify our business focus and the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead. Sometimes I couldn’t see the forest for the trees, but Kate had a knack for giving things clarity and putting things into perspective in a succinct and professional way. Meeting with Kate was always an enjoyable experience and we hope to continue our relationship with her as we take the business to another level.’
Reading Be Mindful & Simplify Your Life was like a meditation. Written in Kate’s signature style, there is no judgement; no exhortations that you MUST do this or that. Rather, it is an invitation to make room for mindfulness in your life backed by generous tips for how to do just that. For anyone who is finding life a bit too overwhelming at the moment, this book will centre you, inspire you and equip you to make room in your life for less ‘doing’ and more ‘being’. Kelly Exeter, Editor of flyingsolo.com.au and author of Your Best Year Ever
Kate’s words in Be Mindful & Simplify Your Life so perfectly capture what every creative entrepreneur needs to hear, all packaged up in a beautiful keepsake to treasure. Her words are authentic, honest and advice the kind I keep referring back to again and again. An absolute must read. Jaclyn Carlson, Blog Society
Be Mindful & Simplify Your Life is a beautiful and very practical book. It will open your heart and your life in unexpected ways. Jono Fisher, Founder of the Wake Up Project and Mindful Leadership Forum
Still have questions?
If you still have questions about the way that Kate works, or about coaching in general, you might find the answers on our frequently asked questions page.
