Cushi Ming thought he had reached the height of his career in 2012.

The 29-year-old had climbed the ranks as an event promoter, organising some of the Island’s most talked-about parties with Fantastic 5 Entertainment Group.

Then things started to crumble around him. He lost his day job working as a visual coordinator at Gibbons Company; the party business was also no longer as lucrative as it once was.

“I felt really lost,” Mr Ming explained. “I was really attached to doing parties and felt really proud of what I had created over those six years, but it seemed to be slipping from my grasp.

“Around that time there was violence so fewer people were coming out; and with the recession people weren’t willing to spend as much on ticket prices. The nail in the coffin for us was the trap music. When that music became popular our crowd shifted as well.

“We tried to stick to what we were doing by throwing more classy parties, but those costed a lot of money to put on. After a while I couldn’t afford to put on parties like I had in the past. I had also lost my job organising all the displays at Gibbons Home Store, so it was an all-around tough time.”

Mr Ming sunk into a depression and started questioning why those business ventures hadn’t worked out.

Then he finally decided to look on the bright side.

“I sat down and asked myself the question: ‘How come I can get success, but not keep it?’ Instead of taking it like ‘what’s wrong with you?’ I decided to actually answer the question.”

He started studying influential businessmen like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to find out what factors led to their success.

“There were books, tapes, CDs, seminars and webinars with information about them,” Mr Ming said. “Everything was so easy to access, but if you don’t know it exists then you don’t go there.

“I found all the self-help information really interesting and fell in love with everything it was about — empowering people, stretching their limits and creating and pursuing goals, structuring your life, perfecting your habits and those kinds of things.”

He decided to make that his next career move — by becoming a motivational speaker and life coach.

Mr Ming has recently launched The Elevated Lifestyle, which offers online resources and one-on-one coaching for people looking to transform their lives.

Although he’s just starting out he has big dreams for where it could go.

“We’re looking to offer video-recorded coaching programmes, blog posts on different areas of lifestyle like health, fitness, fashion, career and relationships, as well as webinars and in-person seminars,” Mr Ming explained.

“There will be coaching as well so you can sign up for one-on-one coaching sessions with me. I’m also eventually looking to get other coaches trained in this as well.”

He’s been preparing for this new venture over the past two years.

The first step was working on his public speaking ability with a local Toastmasters branch. Next he made the bold move of speaking in front of a packed hotel conference room at the Trent Shelton “Dream Big” event last year.

His presentation on the three p’s of success — purpose, passion and persistence — brought him “a good bit of exposure”.

Since then he’s signed up for a life coaching course with US-based Accomplishment Coaching.

Each month he flies up to New York City to take part in an intensive training programme. He’s currently seven months through the 12-month scheme.

It has been a huge learning curve, but overall well worth it.

Mr Ming has discovered a lot about himself, as well as how he can help others reach their full potential.

“Honestly, the biggest blessing about coaching has to be the ability to sit there and connect with someone from a place that isn’t guarded,” he said.

“At the root of everything is either love or fear. Every decision we take, every thought we have and every word we speak is rooted in one of those.

“Generally, people are out to protect themselves from anything that makes them vulnerable and the process of coaching can be a very vulnerable one. But the connection that happens in that space is so powerful and beautiful and that’s a reward in itself.”

He believes it was serendipity that led him to this new career.

“I look back on my life and at those failures and successes and can see how every one of those instances was relevant and brought me to where I am now,” he said.

“I’m in a really settling place. It’s peaceful and beautiful for sure.

“I do coaching right now in the mornings and do graphic design in the afternoons, so to wake up, meditate and then go right into a coaching call is incredible.”

•Visit Facebook page: The Elevated Lifestyle or e-mail cushi@theelevated

lifestyle.com.