Fiona Harrold, from Lurgan in Co Armagh, charges £230 an hour for her work as a life coach and numbers British government ministers among her clients. The 37-year-old, who gives seminars in Ireland as well as in the UK, where she now lives, states her role simply: "I look at it as being in the business of making dreams come true. I was brought up to believe there was nothing I couldn't do, have or be, but most people aren't like that. They will look only for the obstacles, for reasons why they can't do things - reasons which usually stem back to their own view of themselves.

"I teach my clients to be more optimistic and expansive in what they think they can achieve. I give them huge amounts of moral support, which is very important in this day and age where, although we may be surrounded by people, we can often still be quite isolated.

"I believe in them and, for many, it may be the first time someone has believed in them in their whole life."

The Fiona Harrold Consultancy is at tel: 0044 (0)1491- 874222.

Be Your Own Life Coach, by Fiona Harrold, is published by Hodder and Stoughton, priced £10 in UK.