Integrated Life Design

I had been a trailblazing female executive for several years at various Fortune 500 companies. When I felt I hit “the glass ceiling”, I started my own business. I was making a living at it using my “up by the bootstraps” methods that had gotten me through life up to that point. I thought I was doing well considering the background I came from.

Being coached was not something I was seeking. I stumbled into it through a “back door” about 27 years ago after a friend told me I must have an astrology reading with an incredible woman who was psychic and consulted by phone! It all sounded a little “woo woo” to me but the wise woman that suggested I do this was someone I trusted and she had never steered me wrong before, so I made the appointment.

I was blown away by the astrology readings and intuitions this person shared about me and how I was living my life. She then let me know that it would be possible for me to consult with her further on how to make the most of the predicted opportunities that would come my way in the future.

Remember, this was prior to business and life coaching being a profession-before CoachU, corporate coaching, personal trainers and the like existed. The only coaches around were athletic coaches for sports teams and “jocks”. Unbeknownst to me at the time, by making a commitment to use this psychic astrologer for regular counseling phone sessions, I was allowing myself to be “coached”. I found out through her that many ways I approached things were not necessarily aligned with what I wanted in my life.

Eventually, my “coach” visited New York City with an associate she had trained and I got to meet her in person at a seminar she gave for business professionals. The two of them working together were an impressive team and a group of their New York clients, including myself, asked them if we could hire them to train us to do the kind of “coaching” they did.

That was the beginning of the grand adventure I took that included periodically flying out to Phoenix for long weekend workshops they structured for us at a resort. Approximately six hours a day were spent in formal training in conference rooms using materials from Leadership Management, Inc. as a jumping off point. In the afternoons the entire group went on horseback rides. (You can learn a lot from horses!) After dinner we rejuvenated in beautiful lighted outdoor hot tubs surrounded by lush vegetation and starry nights.

Being coached and training to be a coach have been the best investments I ever made in myself, aside from therapy.

All my life people had come to me for business and life advice. It was not long after my training sessions in Phoenix seemed to be concluded, that I knew I was officially ready to declare myself a coach. The first client that I created was a diplomat I casually met at a club I belonged to and we exchanged information about our careers and lives as one does socially. The next time I saw the diplomat, that person told me about a specific business situation they were dealing with. I explained that I did consulting in that area and would they be interested in meeting with me? Without further questioning, that person asked me how much I charged, I stated a figure I had in my mind and the diplomat asked me when could they have their first session.

Becoming a coach was as simple and as complicated as all of that!