As he sits in the bar of the Westbury Hotel in Dublin, Neil O'Brien could be any 43-year-old banker. He did work in a bank, in fact, for 23 years. He is gentle and softly spoken, and his business card reads: "Time to Fly Ltd".
He's been mistaken, even in jest, for a travel agent. "If someone asks, 'Are you a travel agent?' I reply, 'Yes I am'," he says. "Tell me where you want to go and I'll take you there!"
If he could change his life after 23 years in the bank, you can, too - the fact to which he owes his pulling power.
Since O'Brien became a motivational expert last February, companies such as IBM and AIB have called upon his services. "This is a gift to their employees," says O'Neill.
Reassuringly, he kick-started his business with a list of high-profile clients. But even he must do battle with self-doubt. Before meeting one successful Irish golfer, he thought: "I'll have to split the atom with this person." But he soon realised that "there was a person there before he became famous".
O'Neill specialises in such areas as motivation, confidence, creativity and life balance. Many financial institutions are looking for ways to motivate and hold on to employees.
"They want to send a strong message to their staff, but not to improve their customer-service skills or answer the phone sweetly," he says.
He usually covers eight topics in separate sessions: communication, destination (figuratively, not literally), personal values, motivation, potential, dreams (literally, not figuratively) and happiness.
Each week, he gives delegates "homework". It could be as simple as taking a five-minute break or complementing three people - including your boss. "When I see smokers take a break, I smile and say to myself, 'Well done, guys'," says O'Neill, referring to the fact that they are taking time out rather than smoking.
"Being busy doesn't equate with being a success. When I started my business, people constantly asked me: 'Are you busy?' I replied: 'No. Thank God.' "
People in the corporate world, he says, equate their self-worth with the number of e-mails or voicemails they receive.
"They're having a warm, loving relationship with their e-mail. You may have 281 today. But what if you get only 140 tomorrow? And how many of them are actually worthwhile?"
To illustrate his philosophy, he whips out a piece of white paper with black shapes on it. The spaces between the shapes form a word if you look hard enough: "fly".
You could mistake the paper for some kind of psychological test. But O'Neill is the first to declare he is no psychologist. "You don't need qualifications to be a life coach," he claims, "which is why it's increasingly popular." (The rising number of multinationals shedding their formerly cherished high-flyers also helps.)
"Once your heart is in the right place, you can make a difference," he says. He says he has "a qualification in happiness" - and he's not kidding. A friend, the Oxford-based psychologist Robert Holden, runs the Happiness Project. Now they are working together on conferences and courses.
"People think you have to be sick to see a counsellor, or you have to need fixing to see a life coach. I think everyone should see a counsellor," says O'Brien. Has he? "Yes, I have. And I proved I had the resources within myself to help myself."
He doesn't advise looking into the past. "Most people say they learn from their failures rather than their successes. You will always remember experiences that will make you think of things you can't achieve."
That's why, like many psychologists, O'Neill works in the here and now. He recently coached a group of bankers and asked them to stand like Superman, chests puffed out and hands on hips.
"Physiology and state of mind go together," he says. "It's impossible to feel depressed when you're giggling. They leave the room feeling 10 feet tall. Obviously, this is just part of the exercise. You must do other things in your life to make it last.
"While it's important to be responsible and professional, it's dangerous to take it too seriously."
It's not uncommon for delegates who first attend as guests of their companies to quietly book a one-to-one session, at £55 an hour. O'Neill recommends at least three, at regular intervals.
At school, O'Neill believes, people are tested on what they don't know. But in life we must all go beyond our IQ.
"When I was in school I got no help with my emotional intelligence, or EQ, even though I need that for life. In corporate life, there's usually a formula for everything. I tell people they've two choices: the Western philosophy of going faster or the Eastern philosophy of slowing down."
At conferences, he's aware that sometimes he is "wheeled in for the entertainment after the financial director delivers bad news".
O'Neill's message is also a wake-up call. "In 10 years' time, your organisation won't need you. Organisations are shrinking. Plan for that now."
He draws a circle on a piece of paper with a dot in the middle. "That's your comfort zone," he says. "To make a change, you frequently need to leave it. It's OK to experience fear or stress. It's how you deal with it that counts."