What the Coaching Industry Doesn’t Tell You | Akilesh on Money, AI & Inner Work

A coaching certification can teach you the craft.

But can it teach you how to build trust, ask for money, create visibility, attract clients, and stay aligned with who you are?

In this conversation, Shailja Saraswati sits down with Akilesh Narayanan to explore what the coaching industry often leaves unsaid.

From leaving behind traditional career paths to working unpaid just to enter the industry, Akilesh shares how he built his authority step by step—not through titles alone, but through demonstrated value, conviction, relationships, and a willingness to keep evolving.

The conversation moves beyond the usual coaching success story. It looks at:

why experienced professionals struggle when corporate titles fall away why certification does not automatically create a livelihood the fear many coaches carry around visibility and asking for money exaggerated income promises in the coaching space what AI may replace—and what it never can why inner work is becoming more important than frameworks how coaches build real authority without losing their humanity

Shailja also brings her own perspective as a coach, challenging some of the assumptions around authority, monetisation, self-reflection, and the future of coaching.

This is not a conversation about becoming a coach overnight. It is a conversation about what it actually takes to become credible, sustainable, and deeply human in this work.

Watch if you are: a coach trying to build a real practice a corporate leader transitioning into coaching curious about the business side of coaching questioning the role of AI in human transformation interested in the relationship between inner work and outer success

Chapters:

00:00 – Why Certifications Alone Don't Create Success

02:20 – Breaking Limiting Beliefs & Finding Confidence

09:02 – Following Purpose Instead of Society's Expectations

17:57 – Teaching in Thailand & Discovering a Calling

27:28 – From Teacher to Professional Coach

34:03 – The Internship That Launched His Coaching Career

42:40 – Building a Business Helping Coaches Get Clients

50:29 – The Biggest Challenges Coaches Face Today

53:41 – What Coaching Really Means & Why It Matters

1:04:01 – AI, Inner Work & The Future of Coaching

Watch the full conversation and share your perspective: Does certification make someone a coach—or does the real work begin after it?

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