One-on-One Coaching

I have been actively engaged in my personal growth for most of my adult life and though there have been so many things that have facilitated that growth for me throughout the years, I don’t know if I can say anything has been as effective so quickly as working with Javan on Holistic Life Design.

Many authors, speakers and ‘gurus’ offer broad concepts, and many offer very specific structures.

The Holistic Life Design Process is so effective because it takes a very broad view of something, namely yourself, and applies a framework. It isn’t a rigid thing that says do this or that different practice, in fact it works on an order of magnitude higher than that because it helps you make certain that this or that practice, or decision is a sound one.

After going through this process I am now equipped with a tool-kit that I can apply to any decision I make, and all of life is really a sequence of decisions. As novice to the process I can see how my continued use of this tool increases its potency as it is constantly refined and sharpened. What’s more, just as in life, this work does not seem to be just about the destination.

I am excited for to have the Holistic Life Design framework to apply to my decision making, but I was excited each week when I opened up the next module and got a chance to do some seriously deep looking inward, in some cases to places I had been very much avoiding even if subconsciously.

The process was set at a pace and in a sequence that kept me engaged and inspired to do more. At the end of the hard work, and it isn’t easy by any means, there is the reward of a tool you can carry with you for the rest of your life, and through the use of this tool you can enrich your life and the lives of those around you by showing up in your power and authenticity.

Don’t take up this work if you’re just looking for some easy means of making problems go away, that isn’t really realistic. However if you are ready to commit to yourself, and go through a process of discovery, transformation and integration of a powerful new way of making decisions, then get in touch with Javan Bernakavitch and prepare to do some homework.

Javan’s contribution to our Permaculture Design Courses in Cuba has been critical for our Cuban and Canadian participants alike. His offering of a ‘Life Design’ workshop as part of the course provides students the unique and very valuable opportunity to consider how they might systemically integrate all they are learning more fully into their lives and their livelihoods – a wonderful innovation and addition to the usual PDC.”

Javan’s impact on my professional life has been critical to my success. He has a unique ability to perceive opportunities and to provide sound feedback. It’s a pleasure working with such a down-to-earth mentor and friend.

When I need someone to make sense out of chaos and despair and give me purpose and a roadmap for how to move forward, Javan is the guy. We all know what being in a funk does to productivity levels and as a small business owner, those hours, days, and even weeks spent spinning my wheels means a lot of money, which for me translates to missed leisure time and freedom. When I look at my books and see what a good day of work can bring financially, I am thankful I have a mentor like Javan to make those difficult times short, manageable, and most importantly understandable, so I can get back to doing what I love!”

Javan’s innate ability to help others cut through the mystery and confusion of their life’s purpose is incredible. His process helps others generate a business plan that integrates their individual passions and skills, then directs that focused energy towards problems in the world that they were literally born to solve. For me, Javan has been a much needed voice of reason in my life. His insights around marketing, in particular, have given me the clarity I needed to create a marketing strategy that has me spending less time herding people, and more time herding cows.

Javan helped prevent me from potentially making a $50,000 business mistake in a mere 15 minute phone conversation – not from sharing his own opinion on the situation but from asking the right questions, that illuminated my own needs and weak links, making the decision obvious. I am so very thankful to have access to his guiding influence when needed.

I am honoured to say that I am Javan’s longest running client. (I’ve always been a bit of a slow learner).

In this case my ‘slowness’ might have been because I was unaware that the collection of small steps towards a new direction would eventually have such impact at a core level. Like a spaceship changing course by a mm and ending up on Mars instead of the Moon.

I can best describe the totality of my experience with Javan as a slow blooming lotus.

At first I was cranky to be digging up old patterns, and laying a new foundation for what felt like an impossible fantasy. But by trusting Javan’s process, and progressively zeroing in on my life design, I started gaining a surprising momentum.

I see now that the things that are most crucial to me have come out of the rafters and taken centre stage, and the things I thought that mattered, or mattered to other people, have sloughed off.

I was very much a believer that I didn’t have time to do yoga or practice ‘less is more’, or develop a self-appointed profession based on my passions. But really that’s ridiculous, of course I have the time to do these things! What I do not have time for are the things, unnecessary commitments and distractions that take me away from my passions (as much as I love Netflix).

Javan’s patient and persistent guidance made me accountable to creating and pursuing my unique path in a way that now feels potently simple.

We called Javan after listening to Permaculture Voices podcasts about creating a Holistic Context. His ideas, depth of knowledge and candid approach resonated with us both. As parents of young kids trying to start a diverse small farm using permaculture principles, but struggling with overwhelm, lack of clarity and with our relationship, Javan seemed to be a good fit. We were in a space where planning was difficult if not impossible because of conflict. We were hoping for direction and clarity about our farming enterprises thinking that the clarity would help settle the overwhelm and the relationship issues.

From the first call, Javan gave us tools to begin strengthening our relationship so that we could work effectively together. Incredibly, we began shifting immediately as Javan helped us define and commit to a single common purpose. With Javan’s guidance, we continued to strengthen our relationship and to open the lines of communication as we began to develop our Holistic Context.

We often felt that Javan’s knowledge, skills and gifts were perfectly suited to the needs of our situation. He is highly intelligent, widely experienced, perceptive, intuitive, inspired, compassionate, and well grounded.
The result of our work together is a living document and decision making tool that we can use for any decision to create clarity, to simplify and to move forward in a mutually beneficial direction. We now have a stronger and healthier relationship with each other, our children and ourselves. We now have the tools to continue to take charge of our lives and create our own ideal lifestyle.

The time and money we invested in this process has had an incredible amount of impact on our lives, more than we could have imagined or hoped. We would highly recommend working with Javan to anyone who has a great desire to take charge of their life and embody their full potential.

Deep gratitude to you, Javan, for sharing your gifts with us.

Recent life changes had left me lacking a clear path forward in my life. I had ideas of where I wanted to go but was having a hard time identifying how to take the next step. I now have a process and tool that helps me clear away undergrowth and continue forward. This is a result of my experience working with Javan to develop my Holistic Life Context.

I had a general idea of what to expect out of my work with Javan due to a three hour seminar he led during the Permaculture Voices II conference in 2015. I found his application of Holistic Management to the personal side of life revolutionary. What I did not foresee was how difficult it would be to develop my personal keyline plow needed to break through my A horizon which was compacted hardpan.

Post a session with Javan
“I realize I haven’t done enough work on learning how I work and it’s been a detriment to my community and myself. I feel like I’m digging through my own soil A horizon and it’s f*cking hard work. Probably some of the hardest work I’ve done. I spent a whole day working on this and my mind is blown. Using this work helped me to stay focused and I was able to say no easily to opportunities. It’s a great win to easily say no and check myself. I love doing this before the busy [land design] season. Feels like I’m getting jacked for making decisions. Thanks again. I’m on the ridge ongoing towards the high point. These hours with you are f*cking awesome.”

While this was the toughest work I have ever done in my life, it was invaluable. I unearthed the importance of balancing self-care with care for others and our natural systems by using a process that helped me identify what I need in life to thrive.

This is just the beginning of a life-long process which will grow with me. I now have a tangible tool that helps me decide whether opportunities which present themselves align with what I want out of life socially, ecologically and financially. We all have well-built tools we rely on for regenerative land management, but do you have a well-built tool for self-management?