Meet Zovig Garboushian | Keynote Speaker, Executive Coach & Self-Awareness Champion

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zovig Garboushian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zovig, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
The most important habit I have is intentionally building self-awareness, which means cultivating an honest and loving relationship with myself. I’m forever in pursuit of knowing myself as deeply as I can to stay connected with what I know to be true.

Sure, I’m a morning person, and I do my best thinking in the quiet and my best work before 11 am. I’ve consistently journaled since I was seven, and that’s been endlessly beneficial. I also exercise three or four times a week, and I eat most of my meals from home since that’s where I work (and my husband is an extraordinary cook!). Self-care is important, of course. But my most important habit—far beyond any tactical routine—is prioritizing a relationship with myself. That means:

• Self-reflection through journaling, meditation, or planned quiet time early in the morning
• Real feedback from clients or peers who don’t pull punches and aren’t going to spare my feelings
• Consistently prioritizing and investing in my own development—a coach, a therapist, a spiritual guide—so that I can have the mirror put in my face. I can’t very well ask my clients and audiences to dig deep and take risks if I’m playing a surface-level game
• Being in some sort of tactical learning program, whether that’s to uplevel me as a speaker or as a coach
• Practicing self-curiosity, self-compassion, and self-acceptance even when I screw up

If I don’t know myself, I will get carried away by the whims and wishes of others. I need to stay steady and be able to hear my own inner voice, my intuition, my wisdom. If I don’t have that, my business—and my dream—is dead in the water. And nothing I do has a foundation.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

I lived in New York for 17 years and for much of that, I worked as a marketer in corporate America. I ran myself into the ground always trying to do more, be more, keep up and prove that I was good enough. It was a losing battle. I was not maximizing my talents and gifts as a leader. I felt like I like I was vibrating in my own skin, like something bigger was trying to get out. I got laid off twice and then spent a couple years freelancing, and then made a sharp pivot into a new world of training and professional development; work that spoke to my heart. For the next five years, I kept pivoting, feeling like I was getting closer to what I really wanted and then I faced my truth – I didn’t want to work for anyone. I was meant to work for myself which meant taking a risk.

I took everything I learned from my years in New York business as a marketer along with my decades of personal development work and studies and started Boldness Ablaze Coaching—a boutique professional services firm that offers executive coaching, keynote speaking, and training at work.

How I would describe what I do is: I help people do the inner work that creates outer success. I do it on stage. I do it one-on-one. I do it in a group setting. I help my clients find ways to feel more internally unified, ease their extremes, and focus on their core essence so they can grow and go after what matters to them, and only them. My clients and audiences are typically in some level of management or leadership. They’re high achievers, they take risks, and they are interested in finding ways to work and lead with less stress and more ease. Less worry and more confidence. Less rumination and more self-trust.

What I know sets me apart is that I don’t propose to have the answers. Instead, what I propose is that I’m going to do whatever I can to help you sort out your own answers. Since I’m a lifelong learner, I bring a multitude of frameworks, principles, ideas, and tools into my work and offer them up to see what a person grabs onto. I’m certified in several different methodologies and assessments and have spent years in my own studies. I bring all of that to my work. I always start any engagement or project by saying: I’m going to give you one way to look at this. It’s not the only way. Take what I give you, try it on, see what works, and leave the rest behind. You know you best.

I had a client say to me, “Your tenacity for truth-telling shocked my system and put me on a quest to get out of my own head.” Another one said, “Working with Zovig sent a lightning bolt through me.” Those are some of the highest compliments I could receive because it means people are waking up to their own greatness. I have had my amazing coaches do the same for me—shock my senses to help me see the unique gifts I have to offer the world. I continue that through my work. To be able to work with people at that level and depth is an absolute gift and honor and I don’t take it lightly.

What I want people to know is that the more self-aware we are, the more access we have to change the things that aren’t working. Fear is an emotion, it’s not a directive. My former coach said to me, “Whatever life gives you, turn toward it.” So, I want to compel others to turn toward everything.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d first acknowledge my husband. He’s the single wisest person I know. He shows me new ways of seeing the world and myself every day and he’s shown me what loving myself really means. Plus, he’s got many years on me in business ownership and so his advice and knowledge are a source of excellent perspective. What I’ve learned from him that is so important is that often the things that feel like a big deal just aren’t a big deal! He models thoughtfulness and intelligent decision-making and I admire his ability to have such a successful business on his own.

Someone else who has had a profound impact on me is a former coach and someone I studied under named Robert Ellis. He is kind and loving and brilliant. His body of work is called Coaching From Essence, which is about discovering and re-connecting to our core essence–the part of us that is so innate and so natural that we often don’t know it’s there. It’s the way we show up in the world that adds value without any effort. We can get so caught up in titles and labels and identities that we forget that who we are is not attached to our jobs or our circumstances. Who we are is more powerful and special than that, and that idea is a core pillar of how I work and build my business. What I’ve learned through him has made me a smarter businesswoman and wise risk-taker.

I have also become very intentional about building a small community of entrepreneurs around me who are on similar journeys. Some are at the same place I am, in the first five years of business. Others are further along. But we all learn from each other, we workshop ideas and challenges, and we celebrate one another’s wins. Having just a few people who really get what I do and what I’m after has made a profound difference in me feeling like I’m on the right path.

Website: www.boldnessablazecoaching.com AND www.zovig.com (two websites)

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoviggarboushian/

Image Credits
Holli Margell, Native Light Photo