testimonials
When I reached out to Mary initially I was completely stalled out after many years of frustration and “failures” in the music business.
I felt pretty hopeless about ever being able to do music professionally again. I felt discouraged by my inner critic and by the cultural messaging that art is “impractical” and a huge waste of energy that will never make anyone a living.
Mary was like a sweet breath of fresh air immediately, and our sessions just kept deepening and moving me forward towards clarity and inspiration.
By the end of the three months I felt deeply connected with my purpose and desire as a songwriter and have been working joyfully and steadily on a body of new music since then.
Thank you Mary for your clarity and precision, your depth, and your openness to all kinds of possibilities that I had lost in the cynicism that can creep in and stop us from pursuing our dreams.
Mary Toolan has her finger on the pulse of music makers – what drives them, what holds them back, and the shades of grey that fall between.
Not a preacher but rather she’s got a gift for guiding her clients past their own bullsh*t and helping them to illuminate their own answers.
With my own venture, KiKu, Mary was instrumental in arriving at a decision that has saved my company more than £20,000 and I can’t wait to connect her with my clients in the future.
After only a few sessions with Mary and using her methodology, I’ve more than doubled my mailing list – by 141%!
Her approach to working through mindset blocks is completely unique and unlike anything I’ve tried before.
She’s helped me to reframe the blocks that have kept me playing small in the past, and most importantly, it’s translated into tangible progress in my career as a singer-songwriter!
I can highly recommend Mary as a coach for a musician.
She’s helped me to manage the stress and fears of someone who has a dream and wants to reach for it.
After few sessions it became possible for me to act with more confidence and to actually take the steps towards my career development.
What I liked most is that on top of thinking more positively, the coaching sessions have improved the amount of opportunities I reach for and my online presence.
So working at the root of the issues, with a visible and measurable result in the reality.
That is what I expect from a great coach!
(transcribed from video)
Hello, my name is Bisola Atinmo. I’m a DJ, my DJ name is Beejoux. I’ve been working with Mary for about 3 months now and I can honestly say that it’s one of the best things that I’ve done for my career.
When I think about where I was when I started and where I am right now, there’s just such a huge difference – there’s a huge shift in the way that I think and operate. I’d never had a mentor or a coach before so I didn’t know what to expect. I thought it would be the kind of situation where you know you get talking to someone and they tell you – do this, do that – more like concrete things.
I’m not saying that we didn’t do concrete things but what I love about working with Mary is we fixed my mindset before anything else, and that’s kind of like the basis of where you operate from, it’s the foundation for everything that you do.
My favourite thing about her is that she really just made me realise that I was working from a place of fear, a place of want and just comparing myself to other people and saying okay well this was their experience, and this should be my experience but she helped me understand that I’m an individual and she helped me really realize my dreams, like – what they actually are.
I felt like I was scared of going for what I actually wanted, but she was able to get it out of me, things that I didn’t even know that I wanted that I didn’t know were possible, she was able to get it out of me and set me on the right path that’s true to me and everything that I stand for.
I’d say the best thing that I’ve gotten from Mary is this self discovery and empowerment. I like her approach because she pushes you, not to a point where it’s too uncomfortable but she kind of won’t let go if she realizes that you are just giving a bullshit explanation and she also helped me stay in alignment with my truest dreams.
No doubt about it you should work with Mary because she will help you discover who you are and she will empower you to actually get those things.
My whole career has changed, I’ve stopped operating from a place of fear but actually believe that I can do and get what I want, and she will help you do it.
From our first meeting, I noticed I felt safe to just pour my heart out and it was refreshing to have someone just listen without judgement. I didn’t know I had been carrying so much weight.
Mary challenged me with questions that got my mind buzzing with possibilities. The biggest question she hit me with was, ‘what would my ideal career look like?’
The answer: I have a new team, I am currently working on a bunch of music, staying prepared for opportunities coming my way, making the difficult calls and music is the priority once again.
This lady is the real deal.
Wow. The coaching I’ve received from Mary has been such a breath of fresh air – she’s helped me reclaim that child-like part that was first-inspired to pursue music as a way of life.
I have so much clarity now about which aspects of my career I ought to pursue – but beyond that, she’s helped me unlock how to pursue those things in a way that excites me, fuels me, and makes the process enjoyable. She asks questions that peel back the things keeping me down as a musician, and is able to point out when I’m getting too caught up in the details of things that wouldn’t matter in the long run – the third-person perspective she’s able to offer is always enlightening.
I can’t recommend her highly enough!!!
My coaching session with Mary was brilliant. I immedately felt comfortable and open and was able to really trust the process of our call with her.
Through asking me the right questions, she was able to help me tap into the deep truths around my goals.
And she was able to guide me to access the energies that I needed to move forward with them. Mary is more than a coach, she is a healer. I am so grateful for my session with her.
I found the session with Mary very enlightening.
We spoke about a range of topics and focussed in on the areas I was particularly keen to explore. During the session she gave tips and different view points which I found very beneficial and which, I’ll be exploring further moving forward.
I came away feeling very positive, more focused and even more determined.
I’d definitely recommend her sessions.
(transcribed from video)
I can highly recommend Mary as a coach. I’m Rebecca and I have a creative business which I started in April this year and I started working with Mary around two months after.
Mary has been the most amazing mentor. She has adapted her mentor teaching style to my values and principles which are listening to my gut and making sure I have balance with work and life.
The best thing was that I would start a session with a lot of thoughts in my head, not really knowing how to direct those – anxious thoughts of ‘how should I charge for what I do?’, ‘how should I say no to people?’ and by the end of the session I would feel motivated, I would have a clear sense of how to go about those things and also know how to do them.
Mary never told me explicitly how to…. never explicitly gave me advice but helped me to come up with solutions by giving prompts which I thought was amazing because I could take ownership of the sorts of direction I was taking.
I also really enjoyed working with Mary because alongside that kind of intuitive practice, she gave me advice on how to write a business plan to create price points around my business and also as I mentioned the ability to say no, to know what my true values are around my business and what I really want out of it and what I want to do to help people and make sure every single action I make, whether little or big aligns with that, and that has been absolutely invaluable.
It’s now November and my business is going very well and I am absolutely indebted to Mary for that so thank you.
I just had my complimentary session with Mary and it was amazing.
I had a big breakthrough and received clarity on how my creative process works best.
Plus, her accent is a delight to listen to. Thanks, Mary!
Big thank you to Mary Toolan, for my coaching session this past weekend.
I was able to look at my business and art from perspectives I hadn’t really considered, and got very pumped up about it!
Working with Mary as my coach has been incredibly useful. Mary has a way of making you see things differently. She has so many tips and tools up her sleeve to help you achieve what you want to and more.
She always pushes you that one step further and it is so nice to share the wins with her. She is genuinely pleased for you and it is so nice to know that somebody gets you and has your back.
Since working with Mary I turned what was going to be a very quiet month into one of my best yet!
I loved Mary’s coaching. It allowed me to really find out not only what my passion is but how I plan to help others and how I plan to go about achieving my dreams as a coach.
She allowed me room to dig deep and really map together exactly what I would like to make out of my life.
I am so thankful for her sessions. She was caring, showed compassion and allowed me to actually explore my future and picture it.
I couldn’t have started this journey without her.
Participant feedback from life coaching workshop
in collaboration with UpRising UK, the youth leadership development organisation.
London, 2016.
‘wonderful session and very insightful. Provided me with the ability and clarity to reflect on my goals in life’.
‘great insight into a new area I didn’t know about, and a new way of gaining more self awareness’
‘I found it very motivational and it made me think more about my personal values’.
‘It’s interesting and inspiring. Thanks!’
‘well organised’
‘It was interesting to realise how different our values are and how they shape what we want to do in life’.
‘really enjoyed the time to have guided reflection and consider my career holistically – ‘how will work impact my life?’
‘loved the planet (guided) exercise!’
Having Mary as a coach has been incredibly useful in terms of motivation, strategizing and encouragement.
Through meeting Mary via skype regularly I have far more confidence in my capabilities as a writer and now know new ways to get the best out of myself and where I want to go.
She has a range of methods and has excellent perception so if you need someone to help you get on track with a project or generally need someone as a motivator or an inspiration in your life, Mary would make an excellent addition to your general routine and great assistance in helping you get to where you want to go.
Despite only having had two sessions with Mary so far, she has already helped me change my ways of thinking.
I found Mary very easy to talk with and she asked the right kind of questions to help me find my own answers.
This is my first meetup and what a lovely evening. It was great meeting new people, where we shared ideas and experiences.
This was very refreshing as it opened up my mind to new ideas and approaches.
Mary’s a wonderful host, thank you for organizing this meetup.
This Artists & Creative social evening was very inspiring.
Mary is highly skillful in her craft of life coaching and definitely asks the right kind of questions.
The fact that Mary is from an artistic background herself really aids in conversing on creative issues. I look forward to joining another one of her Meetup groups in future.
I started receiving sessions from Mary on the back of my path on UpRising as a leadership scheme for 18-25 year olds in Birmingham City Centre.
Beginning our sessions I was excited and a little bit confused as to what benefits a ‘Life Coach’ could provide me. But over our time Mary has become more than just a life coach, she has become a spiritual advisor, a voice of reason and enabled me to guide and shape my own future with ease.
Mary is a kind and attentive listener. She makes an effort in each session for it to be led by me. This can sometimes be hard but so much more worthwhile as by leading your own session she simply moves you in the direction so you can find out more about yourself and begin asking yourself questions and finding the right answers along the way.
Often I can feel confident about an issue but it only takes a moment of thinking and then I begin to delve deeper into issues I have previously overlooked.
Mary is complimentary and supportive. For my own personal journey I have learnt a lot about myself; her knowledge of meditation has aided this.
Her power lies in the partnership she has created between her and I; of mutual respect and understanding. That we listen to each other and share the time on Skype keeps me grounded and has helped me achieve my aims these last few months.
I owe a lot of my sanity to Mary and understand she will always be there if I need her.
Thank you!