About Beverley Courtney

Just like you – I have an interesting story!

But you should know that I wasn’t always at the top of my game – a writer, a leader, inspiring people to reach ever higher in their lives. There was a time when I found I had drifted down the wrong fork in the road. I had thought I was headed the right way, but those continual little adjustments I made to accommodate other people – to fit in – gradually eroded my freedom until I was trapped. 

Trapped in a place I didn’t want to be. Working 80 hours a week to line someone else’s pockets, always feeling guilty that I was neglecting the people and things that were important to me. Trapped in work that was unfulfilling, stultifying, and didn’t align with my highest value: integrity.

Things had to change if I wasn’t going to stay on this downward slope for the rest of my days, unproductive, not giving what I knew - deep down - I had to offer. Dying with my music still in me. 

At first it was hard. After so many years of feeling insufficient I struggled to believe in myself. Everything I would love to do, I felt was out of my reach. That I’d never be able to achieve anything worthwhile. That no-one would ever be interested in what I had to say …

But I persevered! Through small victories I gradually began to build my confidence – re-build it from the floor where it had landed! And I found that yes, people did want to hear what I thought, the things I said. I discovered I did have an individual voice. That my opinions were different, relatable, worth listening to. People wanted to learn from me! I could help people!

I thought back to the time when I had a good job earning steady money but wanted to chuck it in to do a four-year degree at Art School, at a later age than usual. The desire was so strong that I just went for it! Never mind that my income went to less than half. Never mind that people thought I was mad. In fact the commonest response from others was “Oh, you’re so brave! I could never do that.”

And yet it didn’t seem to me to be anything to do with bravery. It was something I passionately wanted to do. So … I just did it!

It made me realise that the only thing I needed now to succeed was a firm desire, and a determination to get it. I asked myself some searching questions. And I’d like to ask you those same questions. I want to share with you three questions that I made myself answer (though it was hard!), that I believe can help you to move forward: I want you to gain a little insight from my story, so you may make your own story better.

The background story

I have lived a varied life! Always tending to art and music, a lot of my life has been spent caring for those I chose to surround myself with.

I spent a happy few years working in the Music Department at BBC Radio 3, before leaving for four years at Camberwell School of Art and Crafts, where I specialised in carved lettering and fine art.

There followed an idyllic period in rural Ireland, drawing, fulfilling large stonecarving commissions, tending my pedigree sheep and my prizewinning cheese-producing dairy goats plus hens, donkey, cats, dogs, and children. And this is the time when I enjoyed a lot of dog sports, making up my first dog a Working Trials Champion.

Back in England, I studied dog behaviour (always force-free) and started my dog training school Good for Dogs in Worcestershire. This soon branched into a series of popular dog training how-to books, alongside my online programs at brilliantfamilydog.com, where I’ve become known for my accessible, jargon-free, force-free, blame-free, training (and results!).

Finding that I was coaching the owner as much as training the dog, I embarked on a full coaching certification with iPEC (Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching) and I’m now able to help people in every aspect of their life - not just with their dog! And I have a special empathy for dog professionals who are struggling with making a business from their passion, and helping them forward.

My first novel, Keeping Tabs, charting a woman’s struggle with her destiny, is published by Quilisma Books.

You can see there are two things I’ve done in my life: followed my passion, and kept moving! This is why I can help you do the same.

Always a country-lover at heart, I gaze from my desk across the thousands of acres of National Park which start at my garden fence. Walking in nature feeds my soul. And seeing people’s lives change with a little guidance, is always enthralling.

Beverley Courtney

BA (Hons), CPC, ELI-MP, CBATI, CAP2, MAPDTUK, ABTC (Registered Animal Trainer)