When I still worked in Corporate, I would imagine myself atop a cliff along the California coastline. I had clients in California but hadn't been to the place I envisioned. Twenty years later I visited Big Sur and my physical life caught up to that vision, which I had forgotten until I found myself standing in it.
Fearless & Free: Say Goodbye to Self Doubt and Step into Your Destiny
6 Month Group Coaching Program
Thank you for your interest in the Fearful to Free 6 Month Group Coaching Program.
As a result of what I do, people who are outgrowing their job or career, push past fear, uncover their current passion, and develop strategies to step into their new season professionally. I work with people who are ready to end the uncertainty, gain greater clarity, and break free from outdated parts of themselves, so that they jump out of bed, experience meaning and purpose, and have the joy they deserve at work.
If this sounds like you or someone you know, you are in the right place!
I understand how you feel.
Making A Leap Of Faith
Walking the footbridge alongside Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia, felt almost as scary as leaving Corporate.
For 13 years I had a well-paying career in Corporate America--clients in major cities, a generous expense account, marketing meetings in Palm Springs and Key Largo, and frequent promotions, bonuses and raises. From the outside everything looked great, but I started feeling unfulfilled.
You see, I'd always wanted to be a writer, but I'd been raised to believe that writers were "starving artists." Far from my family and financially on my own, I feared being broke more than I feared ignoring my dreams. Since I was doing well professionally, I took the safe route and pushed my dreams aside.
Well, the "safe route" turned out not to be so safe. Several years after giving up my desires, I started to feel lost. I was receiving accolades at work, but my work life was a lie. My spirit would drop during my commute to the office and I would feel blue until it was time to head home. I knew my career was unsustainable and my dissatisfaction was bleeding into my personal time.
During those years, I did deep spiritual work to try to identify why God had given me my particular mix of gifts and talents. I prayed for clarity about my purpose and to find a career that felt meaningful and reflected my passions and values -- while paying the bills, of course. I also began seeing a therapist. Separately, I discovered that several of my ancestors had participated in the Underground Railroad. As I considered their courage and sacrifice, I felt cowardly by comparison. I vowed that one day I'd overcome fear and live authentically then created a five-year plan to help me get there.
After two years, I took a leap of faith and resigned. At this point I had a vision but I did not have a job.
I Landed on My Feet
My worst fear when I left Corporate was that I'd end up broke. I'm not broke.
First, let me say this: Quitting when you don't know your next step is not something I recommend. But if you want to turn left, it helps to stop moving right. That's honestly the level that I was at.
Suddenly unemployed, I worried that I'd fall on my face, ruin my life, and regret that I hadn't stayed with my career. I feared that I wouldn't be able to provide for myself; that my utilities would get cut off; that I'd end up homeless. But none of these mental doom-and-gloom scenarios took place. Steadily, I began to find my footing, as God made a way out of no way.
Opportunities unfolded that I hadn't imaged before. An unexpected resignation left the door to publishing ajar; to my surprise, I was invited in. A highly placed magazine editor on maternity leave began to mentor me. A manuscript that had languished on an editor's desk showed up with a request for my assistance. I had met that editor once, years earlier, at the first writer's conference I'd ever attended. Timely "coincidences" like these became commonplace. Eventually, I discovered that there is a lane through the Universe with my name on it, as there is for you. There is no competition there, people are waiting for you to show up, and the job description requires you merely to be yourself.
Later I would learn that everyone has a lane of their own. But you can't get to it -- in fact you can't even see it -- from the perspective of being stuck and afraid. Though shifting your approach is challenging, it's but not always as hard as you might think. The Universe will conspire to help as you shift your mindset and engage with change.
My journey introduced me to the spiritual and emotional landscape along the road towards an authentic life. I shared what I was learning with my friends, in the process discovering my passion for helping to empower others. Over time, these groups grew in size from a handful to hundreds at a time.
I've learned from my own journey and the journeys of my clients that you can experience abundance in any career path you choose -- whether in a traditional work environment like the one I left behind, or by carving an unchartered path. It takes work, but you can thrive and follow your passions.
Though I now have been self employed for more than 20 years, I feel far more secure and prosper in many more ways than I did before I stepped out on faith. I've paid off my house, traveled extensively (to 6 countries in one year!), written award-winning books that transform lives, and work with incredible people engaged in life-affirming activities all over the planet -- experiences I'd once believed were possible only if I gave up on my dreams and sold my soul to work I didn't love. I can breathe easy, sleep peacefully, and take good care of myself now; I am more engaged with my loved ones and community; and am strengthening muscles that deepen my faith and empower me to access more of my destiny.
In fact, I've discovered that the more I allow my calling to unfold, the more pathways open that I could neither see nor access from earlier vantage points. Here, speaking at Friends Central School, a K-12 independent school in Philadelphia. When I was in Corporate, I'd envision myself speaking -- I occasionally presented in front of large groups at work -- but had no idea how (or whether) I would speak in a way that felt authentic.
The Challenge Of Getting Unstuck
Far too many people feel trapped in jobs that no longer fulfill them, as I once experienced. They're going through the motions, letting life slip away, afraid to really live because they are playing it safe. Afraid that if they really go for what they want, they'll fall short, make a fool of themselves, experience financial ruin, destroy their life, and jeopardize their loved ones' wellbeing. In the meantime problems in the world that need their exact gifts and talents, skills and abilities, go unaddressed, and wide-open lanes exist that are calling our names.
I Can Help You Break Free of Fear
I help people overcome fear so they can transform their life and engage in meaningful work that feels authentic and free.
There are a far greater number of satisfying ways to work than most people ever consider -- much less, explore. Lifestyles that allow you to feel fulfilled, thrive financially, and perhaps even design the life you desire. But you have to do something new to access these opportunities. And to do that you probably have to face your fear.
Conventional wisdom advises that you hunker down during uncertain times -- even if your Spirit calls you elsewhere; even if you're suffering. It also deceives you into believing that staying where you are is a more secure choice than growing and changing even as the world transforms itself around you and perhaps even passes you by.
But what if your unique gifts are vital to creating the better world that all of us desire? The chance you take by ignoring your instincts and staying stuck may be greater than the risk of exploring a new future.
You cannot access the new life you deserve if you keep repeating the same behaviors. What if you’re feeling stuck not because you must be but instead because you keep thinking, doing and creating the same things over and over.
I believe this era of tremendous change requires us to explore and express more of our Self, not less. We can create a world we want to live in but doing so requires that we be far more intentional about our choices than before.
The time has come to allow your inner wisdom -- whether you call it the Holy Spirit, Spirit, Indwelling God, Universe, or something else -- to lead you into new ways of living, working, relating, and being. Change can compel you to take your first steps into the meaningful and rewarding future you seek, and craft a world that reflects your values and your children can thrive in.
I’ve redesigned my life several times—first as I transitioned from Corporate manager to an independent writer and editor, then when I began to add speaking and training to that, and then again as I’ve built a practice as a personal-development coach. So I've reflected upon everything I learned from my own journey and my clients’ journeys and identified four essential steps to walking that path:
STEP 1: Get Clear About What You Want
STEP 2: Challenge The Fears And Beliefs That Keep You Stuck
STEP 3: Create a Strategy to Reach Your Next Stage of Life
STEP 4: Claim Your Freedom
When you follow these steps, you can:
Live on your own terms, securely and successfully.
Bring your vision alive more easily, as you connect with your higher self.
Strengthen the fearless part of yourself that can help you overcome inertia, triumph over uncertainty, and bring your goals to life.
Capitalize on opportunities and possibilities that you hadn’t considered before.
Create the step-by-step plan you will follow, leveraging your unique strengths, skill sets, and resources as you implement your vision.
Step into your future in a rewarding and spiritually authentic way.
I’ve created the Fearless & Free: Say Goodbye to Self-Doubt & Step into Your Destiny 6 Month Group Coaching Program to guide you through the steps towards greater meaning, security and freedom.
As a result of working with me, people who are outgrowing their job or career, push past fear, uncover their current passion, and develop strategies to step into their new season professionally. I support people ready to end the uncertainty, gain greater clarity, and break free from outdated parts of themselves so they can experience the joy, sense of fulfillment and impact on the world they deserve.
STEP 1: Get Clear About Your Vision
Build a supportive community of likeminded peers so you don’t have to go it alone.
Clarify your vision, align with your spiritual Purpose, explore the dreams and aspirations you’ve put off pursuing.
Redefine security so you can live on your terms.
Connect with the spiritual parts of yourself that will help you bring your vision alive.
STEP 2: Take Control Of The Fears And Beliefs That Keep You Stuck.
I'd always envisioned myself a world traveler and a global citizen, probably as a result of reading National Geographic when I was a child. But other than traveling for business, which didn't feel particularly authentic, I didn't know how that would happen -- or if it was perhaps just a fantasy. My intuition was right. Among other things, eventually I'd lead a team of volunteer journalists reporting from the International AIDS Conference, the world's largest health conference, every two years. It's very hard, but the best thing I do as a human being -- and I travel afterwards! Here, in the newsroom at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, in 2008.
Examine the mental filters, fears, blind spots, and unhelpful belief systems that undermine your desires and limit your joy.
Learn to distinguish between well-founded fears and the self-protective “fight, flight, or freeze” reactions the nervous system deploys instinctively.
Challenge your fears of failure, rejection, success, making a mistake, the unknown, and other stressors that hold you back.
Master at toolkit of anxiety-reducing techniques so you can become the courageous person you were born to be.
STEP 3: Create A Clear Strategy To Help You Navigate The Journey To Your Highly Inspired And Meaningful Life.
Examine your strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats that face you.
Identify untapped resources that you can leverage to optimize possibilities and reduce vulnerabilities.
Create a strategy that breaks your goals down into practical, unintimidating steps that you can implement, day by day.
Share your plans with your peers and get feedback and support from them.
Receive pointers from others who are further down the path.
Nor did I know that I'd one day be invited to teach journalism as part of a UNESCO program that helps cultivate a free press in emerging democracies. Some of my students (and my feet) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
STEP 4: Claim Your Freedom By Stepping Out Of Your (Dis)comfort Zone
Take exciting yet well-considered steps out of your (dis)comfort zone and begin to experience the joy and energy that come from living your dreams.
Share your results with your peers, and encourage and learn from each other.
Learn how to care for yourself during the natural stops, starts and relapses that occur as you progress—and get yourself moving again.
Step into your future in a spiritually authentic and satisfying way.
Here's What You Get
1, Fearless & Free Tell Me Your Dreams conversation where you share your vision for your life and we set goals for the results you will achieve during the program.
1, Online Energy Assessment to identify the thoughts, feelings, attitudes and beliefs that drain your energy, cause you to doubt yourself and interfere with your progress;
1, 3-day in-person retreat to kick off our work together and so you can meet and build relationships with a tribe of likeminded peers who will walk with and support you along your journey, so you don't have to go it alone;
6, 3-hour, group-coaching sessions (one per month) where you will learn and practice new skills and concepts, share your progress and challenges, and encourage and hold your classmates accountable.
6 individualized 30-minute, one-on-one coaching sessions to help you develop and begin to carry out your transition plan;
12, 60-minute, peer-to-peer Mastermind video-conference accountability calls (two per month), during which you and your tribe discuss your progress, share ideas and plans, troubleshoot challenges, and hold each other accountable;
1, secret Fearless & Free Facebook Group, where you can communicate, network, ask for help and share success stories the members of your tribe;
1, 3-day in-person retreat to close out our work together and to solidify your relationships with your peers;
1, personal, one-on-one, wrap-up session where we consolidate your learnings, finalize your plan, and identify what's next.
After teaching in Ethiopia I traveled. Here, I am sitting on the edge of the Simien National Park in Ethiopia, Africa's Grand Canyon and the edge of the great Rift Valley, the cradle of civilization. Ethiopia is gorgeous, has many World Heritage sites, and the people are extremely compassionate and humane. You should definitely visit!
Interested? Here's What To Do Next
If you'd like to speak with me about the Fearless & Free 6-Month Group Coaching Program, please fill out this form and I will reply with 48 hours.
For those desiring personalized attention and able to invest in one-on-one support, I also offer a limited number of individual coaching relationships. Click here to help me learn about you so we can schedule a Free, Fearless & Free Strategy Session.
Periodically, I offer coaching deep dives over long weekends, including the Fearless & Free 3-day Workshop and Your Abundant Destiny 3-Day Workshop. Feel free to inquire.