The Thin Story I believe my most important coaching credential is that I love nothing more than working with people to achieve their best lives; lives that honour their dreams and talents and in doing so lead to deep delight and happiness.
The Thick Story
Long before the term "life coach" ever entered the lexicon, I was encouraging people to follow their dreams. I would plead with the high school students I taught to follow their passion, not enroll in med school just because that's what their parents wanted them to do. I would feel frustrated watching people stay in dead end jobs that were sapping their souls. I loved listening to people express their heart's desire and I hated to see anyone selling themselves short. I have always been genuinely curious about people's lives, their motivations and the stories they tell.
When I began studying yoga,I became interested in the power of our thoughts to shape our reality. In a workshop with Ramanada Patel I was introduced to The Work of Byron Katie when he asked us to bring to mind the thought that was causing us the most stress in our lives at that point, and then asked us who would we be without that thought. It seems so simple, but it was an epiphany for me. Shortly after, one of my friends from Yogalila, Kim, gave me the audiobook of Byron Katie's Loving What Is and I listened to it over and over in my car, walking to school and home everyday, and whenever I was stressed or worrried. I practically absorbed the book into my pores and I can say without reservation that it made a profound difference in my life and I believe it also saved my marriage.
Somewhere in there I also began working on my Master of Education degree and I focused on counselling and psychology as much as possible throughout the process. I did a major group project on conversations and communication and my thesis was entitled "Improving Teacher Well-Being through Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction."
A few years later I started to get an improbable number of people saying to me, "Have you ever thought about being a life coach?" Since Dr.Phil was the only thing that came to mind when the question was asked, I was understandably confused. Then I met Karen Dawson and learned that coaching was about having powerful conversations that would lead people to find their own answers, their own heart truth. I loved how coaching had the potential to move people from a place of pain to a place of possibility. I began to feel the stirrings that this was something I would like to pursue. I investigated the various training schools, hired a life coach myself and subsequently began training with The Coaches Training Institute, one of the oldest and most respected coach training organizations. After completing my training with them I began coaching within my school - working specifically with other teachers on their professional growth plans. I loved this, but I also knew that I wanted to go further, deeper and work with people outside of an institution. After working with Christine Kane through one of her e-seminars, I decided to take a leave from my job and enrolled in Life Coach Training with Martha Beck. I had read all of Martha's books (some many times over) and loved her articles in O Magazine. She was the kind of life coach I could see myself being.
So here I am, loving my coaching practice and loving watching my clients fly!
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