We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lyda Michopoulou a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lyda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

It was 2014 when I was first introduced to coaching and what it is. At the time I was working as a soft-skills trainer with companies and non-profit organizations, and during the summers donating my time pro-bono at training summer schools. It was at one of those summer schools where I came in contact with other coaches and got into the world of coaching.

The first time I dipped my toe into coaching, I felt being pulled. Something was calling me to explore and learn more. I started reading books about coaching, joining webinars, experimenting with coaching models, and offering pro-bono business coaching to startups, usually through hackathons. I have never felt more excitement in my life than when I am coaching others.

It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that I had both time and money to take a leap and enroll in coaching school. I entered thinking business coaching was my jam. By the time I graduated, I had realized that my niche (my direction) was life transitions coaching.

Unwrapped Evolutions is an online life coaching practice for individuals navigating through a life or identity transition. I work with individuals who are in an identity or life transition to peel back layers of societal opinions and judgment, so they unearth their identity and reconnect with who they really are.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a queer, non-binary, nomadic, ADHD-er, speaker, and professional life coach that helps people in identity and life transition unearth their identity so they can feel in control of their lives.

In my free time, I write about my life as a nonbinary person in a fully binary world on my blog on Medium and I am working on a book.

I got into coaching through my work as a soft-skills trainer. I was taken aback by the power of coaching and how it shapes one’s life. Learning to coach others felt like finally finding my calling. In the past, I’ve always abhorred the idea that people are here for a reason, that we have a purpose. Getting into coaching felt right for me and I stopped struggling with what my purpose is.

My clients are aware that who people perceive them to be doesn’t “fit them”. Something feels “off” like they are being boxed into an identity that isn’t theirs but they feel forced to take on. It feels fake like they are wearing a costume and trying to be something they are not. These mismatched identities and perceptions of who they are, are draining their energy, confidence, and self-expression.

Through my coaching practice, Unwrapped Evolutions, I support them in unearthing their radical truth, intuition, and radiance. So they can exist among everyone AND show up at their fullest expression; confidently be seen by friends, family, and others around them; and be themselves without feeling like they need to hide, even when the world tells them to do so.

What sets me apart from others is my passion for change which has allowed me to transform both personally and professionally and gives me a unique perspective to support individuals in identity transition with compassion, love, and acceptance.

I am most proud of the non-binary individual I am today, a person I love, look up to, and adore with all my being.
The main thing I would like potential clients to remember is that identity transition isn’t about before and after. You decide when is the right time to explore and unearth your truest self-expression.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In November 2022, while present at a training event in Lithuania, I was verbally attacked by a transphobic participant. That was the first time something like that ever happened to me after socially transitioning, and it shocked me to my core. I entered a fight, flight, freeze, or fawn situation where I froze and then fawned and tried to appease my attacker while fearing for my life.

The team I was part of at that event was split. A few of them supported me in finishing my tasks at the event and going home, while others offered their “I’m sorries” and went on with their lives and work.

I thought that coming home, getting back to a routine, and tending to my wounds would help me get over this experience. Little did I know that that was just the tip of the iceberg. On Christmas day, I woke up feeling dread and helplessness, experiencing flashbacks and vivid dreams. I was lucky to have watched countless movies and series with army veterans and special ops, which clued me into what I was experiencing – PTSD.

After understanding what I’ve been going through, I found a trauma therapist certified in methods dealing with PTSD, and I started a journey to heal and learn how to handle PTSD triggers. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s shown me I have the drive and will to get to the other side of the tunnel. Through healing, I found my voice, unearthed hidden parts of myself, and became more outspoken than I used to be. What happened to me might have put me off track for a while, but I am still here and moving ahead!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

“Wait until you retire to travel, spend your hard-earned $$, do all the things you want.”

I’ve been raised in a culture where we have to finish high school with good grades, go to university, get a good job, work hard, go up the career ladder, get married, have a family, and when we retire, we can travel and see the world and enjoy all the things that we’ve set aside for later.

My journey was nothing like that, and not for lack of trying.
I’ve seen early on that when you plan your life, it never really follows the plan you made.

When I finished high school with okay grades and got into university, the Department of Agronomy, I started understanding that my path in life doesn’t have to be what I was taught it should. I could forge my path, and so I did.

This meant joining a student non-governmental organization called IAAS (International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences) while in university, traveling to events, congresses, and seminars within IAAS, getting certified as a soft-skills trainer, and leading the national chapter. I was elected in 2011 to lead the Association as the IAAS World President for a year in Brussels and was unanimously re-elected for one more year.

When my mandate was over, I got the agronomy degree and decided to focus on non-formal education and training to get more experience and figure out if that was the work I liked. I always loved traveling, so when the opportunity arose, I left everything behind and chose to go on the road as a digital nomad, combining my love for traveling with my newfound love for training. Since then, I am not waiting more to arrive at a moment in life where I could retire to live and enjoy all the things I want to. That moment is now!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://unwrappedevolutions.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unwrappedevolutions/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydamichopoulou/
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unwrapped-evolutions/

Image Credits

Brand photos by Laura Quintero Photography