I recently began the journey of becoming a professional certified coach.
It's been an unexpected blessing to be able to focus on this new endeavor during this era of social distancing/ shelter in place. Talk about a silver lining!
For some time now I’ve had a gut feeling that my dream career would be one that centers wellness and self-development. Those phrases are overused so maybe the best way I can put it is like this: I believe in and am deeply fascinated by our innate human potential. I've seen how lives can change (including my own) when we delve into what's possible and examine the beliefs, limitations, rules, and intuitions that have been holding us back and running our lives on autopilot.
I decided to become a coach to help others make sense of the subconscious elements that are holding them back, and in doing so create space for greater possibility.
I am reminded of a quote from angel kyodo williams, a writer and Zen priest, that speaks to what intrigues me about offering coaching to others: "Love is space. It is developing our own capacity for spaciousness within ourselves to allow others to be as they are. And that doesn’t mean that we don’t have hopes or wishes that things are changed or shifted, but that to come from a place of love is to be in acceptance of what is, even in the face of moving it towards something that is more whole and more spacious."
As a coach I offer, what I love to refer to as, sacred (safe) space for you to evaluate the situations you are grappling with, from a place of non-judgement, patience and acceptance, while holding the vision that you can have more.
While my path to coaching began long ago, here's a brief overview of what’s prepared me to coach:
- Over the past ten years I've delved deeply into studying everything I possibly can about the mind, spirit and their interconnections with the body and our material world. My curiosity and delight in learning about the infinite vastness of our inner world is unparalleled. Nothing else energizes me as much as making sense of, and aligning with, the potential that's within us.
- In parallel, I've been cultivating a complimentary skill set in strategy. I have an MBA and have been a strategist for about 6 years (9 if you include my years as a teacher, the master strategists!). It is literally my job to make sense of complicated problems, often in domains that I have no specific “content expertise”. My value add is my ability to confidently deconstruct any messy problem, make sense of it relative to the context, help my clients think bigger and envision new possibilities, and set ambitious goals, paired with a plan to achieve them. I’ve engaged in strategic advising with large and small nonprofits and for profit companies, C-suite executives, and philanthropists.
- I am now in month 3 of a 9 month coach training program. I’ve already conducted a number of coaching sessions, with other peer coaches and a few clients. I have experience coaching across multiple lines of difference (e.g., gender, age, race, career path, educational background) within my growing clientele.
- In essence, as coach, I offer skills as a strategist, my ever growing knowledge of mind & spirit, and formal coach training.
If you’re interested in working with me see logistics below.