Hi, I'm Joey Ra.
A coach for creatives seeking true authentic expression.

I spent the first half of my life living as I was "supposed to", largely coasting through and never really committing to anything. I studied hard, but not too hard, I went to church and ended up reading Biochemistry at Imperial College London, for the sole reason that I scored top of my year in Biology and Chemistry despite my real interest being in Psychology.

 

After graduating with a decent but not spectacular 2.1 honours degree, I drifted between some entry-level jobs living in financial difficulty before finding a "lifeline" in Deloitte's graduate scheme and training as a Consultant. I got married at the young age of 22 and, what seemed like for the first time in my life, started to apply myself in this new profession.

 

A few years and a few promotions later, I left Deloitte as a result of burnout from the long hours, poor pay, the famously toxic work culture, and a lack of meaning in my work. A few more years at Prudential followed, during which time I experienced a huge tragedy in my life - my younger brother unexpectedly died. What followed were years of unprocessed grief, untreated depression and seeking wholeness in places that weren't going to provide it. A lot of soul searching also took place, diving deeper into questions about life, and exploring spirituality and religion in a deeper way. I did stay in the corporate world, by this time at Nomura which provided a much better working culture, hours, and decent pay.

 

Eventually, “the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom". I could not ignore the (barely) repressed depression and I realised that I needed a more drastic change in my life. I took my first coaching course with CTI back in London in 2017, quit my job, and took a journey around the world - a long journey of death and resurrection (including a divorce) which eventually led me to Cambodia.

 

Several years of healing, training and growing later, I am now living a life aligned with my purpose in Cambodia as a transformation coach (life coach, executive coach, team coach), and as the trainer of the first generations of professional coaches in Cambodia. I feel blessed to be able to do what I love, with and for people I love, and create lasting impact that contributes to the well-being of my clients, their loved ones and their businesses, and society as a whole.

 

I find myself being drawn to work with creatives and artists, in the diverse forms that they come in - performance artists (acting, singing, dancing), writers, entrepreneurs, teachers, and even pioneering government officials. I am inspired by their ability to channel something greater than themselves and birth it through their work to impact the world around them. My role is to help them to connect more authentically to themselves, more free from conditioning, inner barriers, and inner "shoulds" and "should nots". Often, creatives are highly sensitive, leading to overwhelm or emotional suppression. By working with me, they increase their ability to be with their deep emotions, and get to bring all of their sensitivity to their work, adding a whole new dimension and power.