The Missing Piece: How I Went From Finance to Coaching (And Why It Took So Long)
This is a throwback post. A while back, I sat down with Authority Magazine for an interview about mindset, self-doubt, and the path that led me to this work. It's a longer read, but if you've ever wondered how someone ends up building a business around Human Design and Projector energy after years in finance, this is it.
I got my first job at 16. I didn't stop working after that.
Not because I had to. Not because I was afraid. It's just who I was. Go, go, go. What's the next level? How do I up-level? Get the promotion. Strive. Push.
I graduated with a Psychology degree and immediately moved into finance because they hired me first. I kept volunteering at domestic violence shelters on the side, working in call centers because that was closer to the work I actually wanted to do. But it wasn't my career. I was paying bills and moving fast.
Then I moved to Canada. Followed love. Literally cold, figuratively a reset.
I had to start over. And for the first time in a long time, I had to ask: what do I actually want to do with this?
The answer I kept circling back to was the same one I'd been ignoring since I was a kid reading Psychology books years above my level. I was always the person people came to. For answers, for support, for guidance. My friends, my family, even strangers somehow. It had always been that.
COVID made the decision obvious. I couldn't keep working for someone else, making them money, while the thing I'd been called to do my whole life sat on the shelf.
So I went into coaching.
"That's Not a Real Job"
I'd actually heard of coaching about 20 years before I became a coach. And my reaction? "That's not a real job." Like, you hire someone to help you do what you already know you need to do? Seemed unnecessary.
(I say this now with full awareness of the irony.)
What changed my mind wasn't a big revelation. It was a YouTube video. A friend suggested I try EFT tapping during a stretch where I felt stuck and out of alignment. I watched one video, the coach mentioned a workshop at the end, and that led me to a certification that changed everything.
That program was the best training I've ever had. NLP, somatic work, EFT, hypnosis, and the science behind why the mind works the way it does. I was absorbing all of it. And somewhere in there, almost as an afterthought, they mentioned Human Design.
One video. A throwaway pre-lesson. I almost skipped it.
Glad I didn't.
The Throwaway Lesson That Changed Everything
I'd barely even thought about astrology at the time. I wasn't someone who was deep in the esoteric world. But when they described Human Design as a system, something clicked. I like systems. Give me something grounded, something I can apply, and I'm in.
After I finished my certification, I still didn't know exactly how to put it all together. I had the tools. I had the training. But something was missing.
Human Design was the missing piece.
I went out and found a mentor. Got certified. And then everything I'd been learning started to make sense in a way it hadn't before. It wasn't just about coaching someone through their mindset blocks. It was about understanding why the blocks were there. What someone's energy was designed to do. Where they were wise. Where they'd been working against themselves their whole life.
That last one hit home.
What My Design Was Actually Telling Me
I'm a Projector. Specifically, a 1/3 Projector. The 1 means I have to learn everything, investigate everything, and understand the foundations before I can move. Hence, the multiple certifications. Hence, going back for a master coach certification. The 3 means I figure things out by trial and error. There was never going to be a straight path for me. That's just not how my design works.
And the Projector thing? Projectors are non-energy beings. We're not designed to go all day. Optimal output is something like three hours of focused work. We're meant to sit back, guide, wait for the invitation, let things come to us.
For most of my adult life, I was living like a Manifesting Generator.
Go, go, go. Push, push, push. Next level. Always striving. The burnout was real. I just didn't have the language for it until Human Design gave it to me.
The 2008 financial crash was the first time I'd stopped working in years. Not by choice. And even then, I mostly used it for rest. A taste of what my life was actually supposed to look like, and I still didn't recognize it.
Now I do.
Every Step Was the Road
When I think about the path, I can trace every single step. The YouTube video that led to the certification. The certification that mentioned Human Design in passing. The choice to follow up on it. The move to Canada that forced me to start over. The COVID moment that made staying in the wrong lane impossible.
Every "detour" was actually just the road.
And that's what I want for every woman I work with. Not just a business that looks aligned on the outside. But a real understanding of how your energy works, what you're actually here to do, and the trust to build from there instead of against yourself.
That's what Human Design gave me. And it's what this work is built on.
Read the Full Article
In this Authority Magazine interview, I talk about:
My winding path from Psychology to finance to coaching, and why it made sense in hindsight
What EFT tapping is, how I found it, and why it led me to Human Design
The five Human Design types and what each is designed to do in the world
What it actually means to be a Projector and how living against that design burned me out
Why Human Design was the missing piece that made everything else click
What it looks like to trust yourself when the world is full of confident voices
Rather watch? Watch the Interview here.
What's Next?
If this resonated and you're ready to understand your own design and use it to build something real:
If you're still figuring out who you are and what you're here to do, Living on Purpose is my 10-week clarity and embodiment experience designed to help you get clear on your direction.
Not sure where to start? Pull your Human Design chart for free and see what your design is actually telling you.
About the Author:
Matalya Onuoha is a Human Design Strategist, Founder of Rewrite Coaching, and creator of The CLARITY to PROSPERITY Framework™. She helps women turn their purpose into profitable businesses using Human Design, NLP, and somatic techniques. Host of the Worthy of Wealth podcast.
