Orestis Vasilakis, PhD
Orestis Vasilakis on stage, mid-sentence, lit in deep blue

Executive Coaching & Experiential Changework

Restore Creative Agency & Lead From Choice

For problems that survive understanding.
When more effort, more advice and more analysis have stopped working.

Apply for an orientation sessionMy approach to change

A path spanning

  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Southern California
  • University of Oviedo
  • Czech Academy of Sciences
  • Brno Planetarium

Reasons clients choose to work together:

  1. Built around you

    You deserve more than a generic script or predetermined template. We focus exclusively on your situation and your goals, while we adapt to what emerges as we work.

  2. Straight to what matters

    We work with attention, imagination, emotion and what emerges in real time to address the hidden patterns running the show.

  3. Physics thinking for the human mind

    A PhD-trained analytical mind applied to the human work of finding what is actually keeping something in place.

In their own words

It's the first time I notice myself like that.
It's like the Bruce Lee way of doing change-work.Lee KeslerReclaiming Confidence
I love the clarity, how you guided me to come up with my own solutions.Jeannine ChrzanowskiFrom Fear to Courage & Business Clarity
It was just amazing how quickly I could resolve that piece that was really bothering me.Jennifer JohnstonClarity with a Major Life Decision

More information
is not
what you're missing.

You've thought it through, maybe for years. You know what you should do.

And something keeps the same pattern in place.

That's where our work begins.

Experience as structure

Pick an example.

Different labels yet the same moving parts. Your experience may be built differently, and that's where we start.

the labelProcrastinationthe structure around it ↻

The missing perspective

  1. AttentionHow big and unfinished the task looks.
  2. Meaning“If I finish it, it will be judged, and so will I.”
  3. Emotion & bodyA heaviness in the chest when you picture completing it.
  4. ActionTidy the inbox, research a little more, start tomorrow.
  5. CircumstancesThe deadline comes closer, the stakes rise, the task looks even bigger.
the labelA decision I can't makethe structure around it ↻

The missing perspective

  1. AttentionThe downside of every option, in high resolution.
  2. MeaningChoosing one future feels like betraying another part of you.
  3. Emotion & bodyA tightness that returns each time you get close to deciding.
  4. ActionGather more information. Ask one more person.
  5. CircumstancesTime decides for you, and that seems to prove you can't trust yourself to choose.
the labelConfidence that disappearsthe structure around it ↻

The missing perspective

  1. AttentionThe faces in the room, scanning for judgement.
  2. Meaning“This moment will show what I really am.”
  3. Emotion & bodyBreath rises, the voice thins.
  4. ActionPlay it safe. Say less than you know.
  5. CircumstancesYou're seen as less than you are, which seems to confirm the fear.
the labelOverthinkingthe structure around it ↻

The missing perspective

  1. AttentionEvery way it could go wrong.
  2. Meaning“If I think it through enough, I'll be safe.”
  3. Emotion & bodyA busy head in a body that never quite settles.
  4. ActionReplay, rehearse, analyse. Act late, or not at all.
  5. CircumstancesLife moves on without you, and there's even more to think about.
the labelNot letting gothe structure around it ↻

The missing perspective

  1. AttentionEverything that could go wrong if someone else does it.
  2. Meaning“If I let go, the standard drops, and it's on me.”
  3. Emotion & bodyA low restlessness whenever work leaves your hands.
  4. ActionRedo it yourself, late at night.
  5. CircumstancesThe team doesn't grow, and even more lands on your desk.

Beyond the sessions

Interview · Shenanigans

From black holes to the human mind

How a Greek physicist who came to Prague to study black holes ended up working with the human mind instead. A conversation about starting over, leaving academic science, breaking cultural expectations of success, and what clarity feels like when you finally get there.

All talks & conversations

Framework

The Photon Way

Operating in uncertainty, with ideas from physics: the three categories of uncertainty, why different goals need different approaches, and how to stay true to yourself when the ground moves. Turn uncertainty into your degrees of freedom.

Writing

Essays

On human change, science and spirituality, inspired by lived experience.

“This is like scientific sorcery.”

Orestis Vasilakis smiling, hands on hips

Hi, I'm Orestis.

From the structures of the universe to human connection.

I originally trained as a theoretical physicist, with a Master's at Cambridge and a PhD at USC on black holes in string theory. I spent years exploring the structures of the world we live in.

Until one day I realised there was a whole other part of the world I had been missing: human experience, and deeper intimacy with myself and others.

Chronic pain taught me that understanding something perfectly doesn't mean you can change it. So I started exploring across diverse fields, including hypnosis, mind-body work and improvisational theatre.

Today I bring those worlds together to help others lead with creative agency and build through choice.

More about me

Client stories

Now it's a full circle. Now it's complete.Mohammed Al MoussawiFocus & Productivity with ADHD
Recently I had the opportunity to do some work with Orestis - and if you get the chance I would highly recommend that you seize it when you can. It was a very transformative experience. Orestis helped me to recognise when I was avoiding certain thoughts or patterns... gently encouraging me to come back and explore them leading to real breakthroughs. The quality I admired most was the way in which he held the space for my realisation rather than imposing his interpretation on things. If you are looking for someone who can help you shift your mindset with ease and clarity .. Orestis is the person to guide you there.
Sunita KoshalGoogle review · March 2025
Orestis was able to strip away years of distractions and focus my attention on my real challenges- and real solutions- in a matter of minutes. Thanks, Orestis!
Rob MunroGoogle review · February 2025
Working with Orestis was a powerful experience. His approach isn’t just about surface-level solutions - he has a way of guiding you to uncover the deeper, often hidden, patterns that are quietly running the show. Through our work together, I was able to detach from emotional reactions that weren’t serving me and instead move into a space of clarity, calm, and conscious choice. There was a physical sensation - like a burden I didn’t even know I was carrying - and through his intuitive process, I felt it release. What stood out most is how effortlessly he helped me shift from emotional entanglement to logical, grounded thinking. Orestis is deeply skilled at helping you access what you didn’t even know was blocking you. If you're looking for someone who can guide you into deeper awareness and real freedom, he’s the one. I’m truly grateful for the work we did together.
Dakota SutcliffeGoogle review · April 2025

All client stories

Working together

Let's find out how this fits.

If you are someone who wants to be an active participant in their process of change, let's talk. The first step is an orientation session, where we find out how working together fits.

Sessions are online, or in person in Prague.

Apply for an orientation sessionHow the work is organised