A beacon of multicultural coaching
The lovely Laura Rinnankoski did not become an International Life and Relationship Coach just by chance. It was the sum total of her global travels and life experiences that led her to a point where she could combine 3 things important to her – helping people, communicating with people in different languages, and being spiritual.
“I love helping people find their own answers and become empowered. Even as a little girl, I knew that I had a big mission in this life. Bringing awareness to people is my passion. I love the look on my clients’ faces when they get their AHA moments from big inner insights.”
A citizen of the world, Laura was born in Finland, grew up in Venezuela, studied in international American schools followed by Boston University, and lived and worked in Miami before making her way to Dublin, Ireland, where she continues to reside. She speaks 4 languages – English, Spanish, Finnish and Italian.
Laura was lucky to grow up in an international environment with friends from different countries and cultures. Once she began her career, she moved to Miami to work with well-known advertising agencies managing big clients such as Ericsson, Samsung and The Discovery Channel. In addition, she was involved in the advertising campaign of the International Space Station! Yet no matter what work she did, all her jobs involved managing relationships.
“My biggest strength is my people skills. I connect with people very easily and create rapport very fast. I am good at bringing groups of people together and getting everyone to work as a team. I have facilitated many group workshops and courses.”
One big challenge that Laura faced in her journey was finding stability. Armed with her extraordinary people skills + Life & Business Coach Diploma + NLP Practitioner Certificate, she thus launched ‘Laura Rinnankoski Coaching’ to provide personal life and relationship coaching to clients spread all across the globe. Her creative problem solving skills and ability to stay calm in challenging times found her quick global fame.
“Sometimes, people don’t take me seriously because I am a kind, empathic person and coach who likes to enjoy life and laugh a lot. Even though I am a happy and positive person, I also have a very strong will and determination which allows me to be an effective coach.”
Additionally, Laura is also a motivational speaker as well as a bestselling author, currently working on two new books. In 2022, she received the CREA Global Award from Brainz Magazine, and was featured in the ‘Top 10 Most Inspiring Transformational Coaches of 2022’ Special Edition Issue of CXO Outlook Magazine.
As no journey is ever one dimensional, Laura has faced her fair share of obstacles too, especially major health challenges. “I had four operations in two years, and it made me reevaluate everything in my life. Used to helping clients, all of a sudden I was in a situation where I had to heal myself on all levels… emotionally and physically. There were times where I didn’t know where I would find the strength to go on… but I always found the inner strength and never gave up. I got a lot stronger in the process and now I can help my clients on a new level.”
The path also proved to be one full of learnings. “When I worked with advertising agencies in Miami, I would work late every day, and that made me realize that it’s important to have balance and not just live to work. One of the reasons that I moved to Europe was to have a better balance between home and work. Now, I schedule my activities and leave time for family and friends.”
Laura believes in the power of self care. She makes time for her hobbies of writing, singing, dancing and traveling. On weekend mornings, she likes to go for walks in fresh air next to a river close to her house and listen to the birds. Besides finding it relaxing, these walks amidst the beauty of nature often give her new ideas for a talk, workshop or course.
As she shifts into a reflective mood, we ask Laura if she has a message for our readers, and she sums up: “Be kind, resilient, creative and resourceful. Always find the joy in life… especially in the little everyday things. Laugh and smile every day and count your blessings… have an attitude of gratitude. Make time for yourself and take care of yourself because the better you feel within, the better everything in your life will flow.”
