If I was really going to tell my story, we’d need diagrams, pictures, and some of that red string to connect it all together. Life is not linear, so I will do my best to keep it simple. I want to tell you about my journey to becoming a coach.
In 2019, I left teaching to start my Life Coach business. I had finished my Whole Person Life Coach certification and was craving something more. Anything had to be better than the deep despair I was in. I was burned out and consistently overwhelmed. I’d come home from a day of attempting to teach future minds to read, write, and critically think and stare into space. I was irritable. I was not present with my family. I was a shell of the person I was meant to be. My now husband said he liked me better in the summers; I was nicer and more fun.
I pushed through each day because I needed a job. I needed to make money to live. So I’d wake up at the last possible moment, drag myself out of bed, throw on clothes, and go to work. I’d feel the life leave me when I walked through the door. (I just have to add this in case they see it—some of my students were great and we are still in touch. Some of them made my whole day. It wasn’t the students; it was the system). Anyway, life was tough. I was just surviving! Then I saw Steve Harvey’s Jump video and knew I had to take risks and actually live my life.
But his video wasn’t the turning point for me. The turning point is the fact I have heart disease. At age 34 I had Congestive Heart Failure. I had it again at age 39. We don’t know why this happened to me. So after the 2nd time, I was really concerned about my health. I wanted to live as long as I could. In 2018/2019, I went to the doctor for an illness. It was just a viral infection. It wasn’t strep (which was good), but any virus can damage the heart. The reality of a virus ending my life at any moment freaked me out. AND, since I worked in a school, I was sick a lot, and it was always viral.
In thinking about this, I realized life is too short to wake up and go to a job that was draining me. I had to JUMP! I had to take the risk and see where it landed. Things couldn’t get worse. AND with life being so short, what did I have to lose? If it didn’t work, then at least I knew I tried. I always had the option to go back to the classroom.
My business had so many iterations before it landed where it is right now. I started off wanting to be an Academic Coach to help teenagers with study habits and applying to college. Then I switched to GenX women and helping them rediscover their inner child. I think this could have worked with a better marketing strategy. We all need play and fun in our lives. Next I was going to coach busy moms, but I wasn’t feeling this. My son and step kids were close to grown, so it was difficult to relate to parenting issues that were slightly different than mine (the world changes fast and parenting toddlers was no longer the same).
I was drawn to women in midlife, those who are GenX like me. I was getting my shit together, and I wanted to help others. Maybe I could catch them at the beginning of burnout before things got as dark as they did for me. Maybe I could show them there was more to life before they had the scare of an illness. My story and why I am drawn to this audience is because I know what it’s like to be here.
I started to focus on time management and productivity because I love office supplies and think with simple systems we can get more done. Having simple systems can take us out of burnout and overwhelm because they give our brain time to reset and recover. I became known at “The Time Management Coach” in the Woodlands, TX Facebook groups. It was kinda cool because I did not give myself that name.
When I started to reopen my business after three years of being closed, I decided I wanted to take woman into a deeper transformation. I’m no longer simply a “time management coach.” I’m a Life Systems Coach who helps women create a live that supports them. My focus is on boundaries, planning with intention (your calendar should reflect your values), and stepping into the life you want to live.
Where did this pivot come from? Somewhere in my 40s I figured out that in order to be my best self and do my best work, whatever I am doing has to be aligned with my values and where I want to be in life. I know this realization started when I left the classroom in 2019, but it really cemented in the last couple of years. If it doesn’t serve me, it doesn’t need to be part of my life. I have never been a job hopper; I’m such a loyal person. But since I have been in MA, I have left two jobs because they were not aligned. Both took more than they gave. The last one had values not aligned with mine. We prioritized different things. That is fine to be different, but I get to choose where I work. No more staying at a job and letting it run me into the ground. I want to give women permission to move on and set boundaries. I think we don’t do that like we should when we are younger.
So, here is a Cliff Notes version of how I got here. There is probably more to these stories. Some details aren’t relevant. Some take us down a path to a whole other story.
I’m curious, do you relate to any of this? Which parts? Any questions?
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I love that you found your way through an illness to helping others. That is what I am doing with Beyond Migraine, Turning Pain into Purpose.