Before I moved into my current office, I was working from a serviced space in a Regus building. It was affordable, flexible, and at the time, it worked well for me, especially as I had no one in the office either side. That meant peace and quiet for my hypnotherapy sessions. Until, of course, it didn’t.
One day, a new neighbour moved in.
The Roaring Man Next Door
He was lovely, genuinely. A warm smile, friendly demeanour… but also the loudest human being I have ever encountered.
I never discovered exactly what his business was, but I can say with confidence that it involved either hardcore telesales or impersonating a freight train. His voice thundered through the walls. But the most unforgettable thing wasn’t the talking, it was the snoring.
Twice a day, without fail, he would fall asleep at his desk and proceed to snore like an enraged dinosaur. I’m not exaggerating when I say his snores sounded like a Tyrannosaurus rex mid-tantrum. He would even wake himself up with the sheer volume of it.
Now, under normal circumstances, this was frustrating but survivable.
But then came that day. The day I was sent a referral client with serious anger issues.
You never forget the sound of a snoring salesman when you’re trying to hypnotise a man who wants to punch the universe.
The Hypnosis Session That Nearly Exploded
This client had zero tolerance for anything. People. Delays. Noise. Life.
During our consultation, I could tell he was already on edge, and I knew it wouldn’t take much to tip him. Meanwhile, my neighbour had clearly just landed a new client himself, or perhaps a megaphone, because his sales pitch was echoing through the wall like a motivational speaker on caffeine.
I explained the situation as gently as I could. The client seemed understanding… at first.
But as I moved into the hypnosis, the tension built. You could feel it pulsing under his skin. Then, miraculously, the noise stopped. Silence. For a glorious 90 seconds, the room calmed, and so did he.
He was regulating himself. His face softened. His breath slowed. For someone with rage issues, this was a breakthrough moment.
And then… the T-Rex woke up.
The snoring came back in full prehistoric force.
He turned the same shade as his ginger hair. Slowly. Deliberately. And I knew we were back on the edge of eruption.
But something surprising happened.
Despite the interruption, he stayed. He endured. He gritted his teeth and let me finish the session.
When we ended, I braced myself for impact. And sure enough, he launched into a tirade, until I interrupted with one quiet observation:
“You just spent 40 minutes, lying still, being quiet, and holding it together… even while being audibly assaulted. That’s what regulation looks like.”
It was like I’d doused him in ice water.
He didn’t like that I was right. But he knew I was. He left. He never came back. But not, I think, because he was angry anymore.
He left because he met the part of himself he never thought existed.
Your Business Will Test You – But So Will Your Clients
Running a private practice, or joining a coaching franchise like People Building, means you’ll face all kinds of unpredictability. But sometimes, the very messiness you want to avoid is the exact environment where the magic happens.
That session was a disaster… and it was a success.
I showed up. I stayed calm. And so did he, longer than he ever had before.
That’s what makes this work so real.
If you’re thinking about joining our coaching franchise, don’t wait for perfect silence or perfect clients. The world is noisy. People are messy. But what we do? It matters.
And if you can hold space for transformation, even with a snoring T-Rex in the next room, you’re already more capable than you realise.
by Gemma Bailey (with the help of Ai)
