In 2017 I decided to turn my life upside down. After living in New York for 20 years, I moved to Los Angeles (for love), got married (in my 40s), and pivoted my career (after the gift of being laid off). I have learned that it is possible to fully live the life you want and become fiercely committed to your ultimate life. My own path started over a decade before 2017 and has gone through many seasons, transitions, plateaus, and growth. As I reflect on my life, I can see the patterns and moments I felt as the truest version of myself. This week I’m sharing my personal journey to becoming a certified coach.
In the past, when people asked me how did I got into operations (my first career), I struggled to answer the question, because I ‘fell’ into the work and 20 years later it was my career. But this career felt so disconnected from my vision of my life. In 2018, I was laid off from the career ‘I fell into’ and, with the gift of time, I started to get clear about the most authentic parts of myself, and ultimately decided on my next career step (see: What I Learned on the Beach in Maui). The only thing that I was extremely clear on then was that I wanted to live a purposeful life that was guided by my biggest ‘why’: to live an intentional life that supports others as they grow and step into their biggest dreams. It took me some time to get to my biggest ‘why’, but when I got clearer and looked back at my life, I saw the pattern. As a child, I would get so excited when classmates had success; in college, I loved to see my friends become the best in academics, sports, or their art, and in my volunteer work with youth, I was excited as they have grown in their education, careers and families. My whole life, I knew that when I was witness to people around me finding peace, happiness, and living their life fully, I was my truest self.
The first time I learned about coaching was back in 2006 when a friend of mine told me they were starting school to become a coach. I felt like my eyes were opened wide when she spoke of her training, practiced what she was learning with me, and I started to have some clarity in areas of work, love and life. Then in 2009 I started to work with my first executive coach. The experience blew my mind. The coach was the perfect balance between holding space for me to navigate tricky situations, celebrating when I achieved goals and wins, and calling me out when I was avoiding risks and holding myself back. I grew tremendously that year, both professionally and personally.
In 2018, when I had the opportunity to really ask “What do I want to be when I grow up?” becoming a coach was very clear. To choose a career that would enable me to live my biggest ‘WHY’ was exactly the right decision. After an intensive nine-month program that included completing over 100 hours of coaching, an exam, and doing my own intense work with a coach, I was fully certified as a coach in 2019.
I started my coaching practice right away and over time, I’ve worked with women who go from that single stirring sense of feeling out of alignment to moving through the stages of gaining clarity, setting goals, creating strategies, and driving results that create for them the life they want to live. My coaching practice brings together my love for seeing others achieve wins with strategies and systems I’ve developed that will help them achieve results.
I’m so grateful for my journey to where I am now, and also for being able to show up daily for my clients who are working towards stepping into their biggest and most wildest dreams.
You can learn more about my one-on-one coaching programs by visiting One on One Coaching with Jen.