"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal,
not to people or things."
-Albert Einstein
Ever since the age of 8, I was driven to become an elementary school teacher. I loved the colors, activities, and joy of being in a classroom. I knew at that young age that I wanted someday to have my own students and my own beautifully decorated classroom. I would imagine being at the head of the room, magically inspiring my young students to love to learn. They would love being in my classroom; I just knew it with all my heart.
As a young child, I practiced teaching with my younger cousin and sister. I would create desks for them and I would give them homework. As I was 3 and 4 years their senior, respectively, I could teach them to read, write, and do math. As their teacher and motivator, I was in my finest hour, and I was on top of the world. This was my genius. I was meant to be an artist of children (and years later, of adults), and I was the sculptor. I was destined to become a teacher, and with that powerful vision in mind, nothing was going to stop me.
Having that one goal, a goal I could see myself doing was the single thing that kept me on track. You see, in high school, my counselor tried to talk me out of becoming a teacher. I knew very little about college and my grades were mediocre, so he tried to steer me toward becoming a secretary, due to my strong typing skills. Also, he predicted I would fail out of college during my first year due to my low academic performance. I remember sitting in his office with my mother, as he suggested a different future path for me, or at least he tried to plan it for me, however, I was unmoved. I was adamant...I had my dream of becoming a teacher and no one was going to stop me from achieving it. This singular focus helped me overcome the many roadblocks that lay ahead in reaching my goal.
Having my dream of becoming a teacher clearly imprinted in my mind's eye, allowed me to graduate from college with a degree in psychology and education. After completing my coursework and student teaching I accepted my first professional job as a Kindergarten teacher. I was living my dream and would go on to teach grades K-8, become an administrator, and later receive three college post-graduate degrees.
If my high school counselor could see me now!
Today, I coach women to help them find their passion; their one clear vision of something they would like to achieve in their lives. Through my own experience, that one clear and powerful goal helped me make it through the many hurdles and roadblocks I faced along the way. I look back and wonder how many of my high school classmates who didn't have a clear goal might have taken different paths if they had someone to mentor, guide, support, and challenge them to uncover their own unique desires and aspirations.
Not everyone knows what they want nor has a specific goal in mind and that is where a professionally trained coach can come in to help.
One of the first things I do with clients is to help them know who they are and what they are wanting in their lives; in their future. Together we use many tools of self-discovery to help find that treasure that may be hidden deep within. We work as a team to help find that nugget, that gem to focus upon, and then create an action plan on the best way to get there. For most students, having a plan helps them feel confident about the road ahead in achieving their goals. I've watched many a student suddenly experience their own sense of drive and determination once they settle on that one thing that excites and motivates them.
Once clients have clarity about what they want, they too, become driven and determined to reach their goals. Their road map becomes clear and doable.
Life/Career Coaching is a process that can help anyone at any age uncover their passion and purpose in life. It can help them see how they can get in their own way of taking the steps necessary to get where they ultimately want to go.
Working with a coach can help you close "the gap" of what you want in your life and the way your life is now.
