Find a Life Coach in Gaithersburg

Sometime, when we least expect it, control over our own lives is taken from us. Sometimes we give away our control - to others or to circumstances – by avoiding the things we don’t want to face or deal with. Either way - whether it’s your work, your relationships, your habits, your health, or your SELF - you ARE in the driver’s seat of your own life. It’s up to you to take the “keys to your car” and figure out where YOU want to go. As a coach, I help you get there by • understanding what is not working in your life; • identifying the obstacles that are preventing you from making that happen • creating (or changing) mindsets and behaviors that will make it possible to get where you want to go; • taking your first awkward steps you to find the right doors for you to open; • working through the discomfort of trying out new skill sets; • Getting yourself back up when you inevitably “fall down” and assist you through inescapable challenges; • advising you on skills to build, and • providing support while you practice those skills so you can proceed confidently and independently. I will show you how to move forward - as opposed to “letting go,” giving in, or giving up. Coaching is a partnership between you and me in which we each have a critical role and responsibility. • YOUR ROLE is to be an active participant; to show up for yourself, engage in our work, and to be accountable to yourself. • MY ROLE is to get you where you want to go; to facilitate your exploration efficiently, effectively, and responsibly in service to the future you. • TOGETHER we work as a team to identify the issues and priorities that will allow you to make important changes in your life - and then in partnership - create the you - YOU want to be. As it regards . . . YOUR WORK/CAREER, I will help you • Chart your path: Get where you want to be and understand how to get there • Understand your value • Address fear and self-doubt • Generate new, productive, inspiring momentum as a powerful force against the overwhelming abyss of inertia • Use the past as a place of reflection to inform how to go forward • Advocate for yourself • Refine your leadership skills • Manage your relationship with bosses and colleagues • Set boundaries • Address imposter syndrome • Prevent job stress from taking over your life • Start again after a termination YOUR FAMILY, I will help you • Understand your family dynamics • Navigate challenging family members and situations • Build new confidence in your ability to communicate confidently with parents, adult children, and siblings) • Reconcile what your family members are – and are not - capable of • Give family members your own way YOUR RELATIONSHIPS, I will help you • Distinguish a relationship that may be challenged from a relationship that cannot be fixed • Learn how to communicate with your partner or spouse in a new and mutually respectful way • Be transparent with your partner if you have not previously been entirely forthcoming • Encourage your partner to trust and be transparent with you when they have not previously been entirely forthcoming • Ensure you are heard and regarded • Implement the process to end a bad relationship (when alternatives have proven to be impossible) • Start over • Salvage friendships PERSONAL LOSS, I will help you • Comprehend what it is to mourn • Support your grief • Confront (rather than avoid) the maelstrom of emotions • See what life looks like going forward BETRAYAL, I will help you • Process your anger • Validate your experience • Empower you to reclaim the control that was taken from you – or that you gave away• Learn how to trust again YOUR HEALTH, I will help you • Adjust to the new normal of living with a serious health issue • Figure out next steps in your health care • Define how your situation impacts you – and how it does not impact you • Find strength in new places to help you go forward YOUR COMMUNICATION, I will help you • Understand the power of language and how you present yourself in any situation • Identify your message and your desired outcome • Frame what you say and how you say it • Listen actively • Manage conflict and confrontation • Differentiate reacting and responding YOUR SELF, I will help you • Understand old issues with self-esteem and rethink them in new ways • Recognize and reset old thoughts and behaviors • Understand the array of emotions and why you respond as you do • Get unstuck • Stop self-sabotaging • Take accountability • Manage procrastination • Implement change • Trust your decisions • Help you understand and realign your relationship with money • Get to know who you are • Realize your purpose • Recognize your great value You will be working with a coach who is uniquely qualified in all of these issues. Not only have I guided hundreds of others to successful resolutions, I have also experienced all of these situations personally. I am therefore able to provide guidance and support from a place of enormous empathy and compassion. HOW WE WORK TOGETHER In a supportive, judgement-free way . . . • We meet via Google Meet (video meeting platform) for either for one two-hour session or two one-hour sessions weekly • We identify what's not working in your life - and then consider all the alternatives • We break down every option into its granular parts • We pinpoint and address all the obstacles, reset old mindsets, and establish new ways to think about old problems • We create and implement a plan - step by step - to generate momentum . . .to get you going . . . to keep you going . . . .to keep you accountable to yourself . • We establish action items to expedite your progression and maintain your momentum between sessions • We get you to a place where you can and will thrive personally, professionally, and emotionally The time frame in which you progress towards and/or achieve your desired goals is entirely your decision. I am by your side, every step of the way. WHAT YOU WILL ALWAYS GET FROM ME • Respect and regard • Preservation of your pride • Accessibility - in all definitions • Understanding and empathy • Experience and expertise with regard to your specific need • Judgement-free support • Practical, applicable, adaptable guidance • Honesty, energy, humor, blunt talk, and encouragement • Comprehensive exploration to identify your goals • A specific game plan to achieve those goals • Customized resources, materials, tools, and techniques • New recipes for old problems • Perspective and guidance to break old habits and build new ones • Help getting unstuck • Virtual coaching sessions delivering tangible and applicable takeaways • Additional text and/or phone support to address timely issues between sessions • Total confidentiality • Progress in real time • A compendium of skills to continue to reference – and apply • An accountability partner • Substantial time and attention dedicated to you • Confidence that you are not alone; that you are supported; that you have an ally and advocate by your side honest and energetic, infusing our work with WHAT YOU WILL NEVER GET FROM ME • A hard sell • Push for long term obligations • Any restrictive contracts • Generic anything • Packages based on finite times in which to complete the work • Upselling or add-ons that cost more. • Video modules, webinars, or group work. The only program I offer is one-on-one coaching completely customized for you. • Harsh, demoralizing encounters • Requests to post reviews or star ratings about our confidential work together on any public platform or service MY STORY In 2014, in the midst of a long and productive career as President and CEO of an impactful nonprofit organization, an unanticipated health issue - caused at the hands of the doctor I trusted - brought that chapter of my life to a close. Shortly before that event, both of my parents died unexpectedly. Seven months after my parents died, my partner died unexpectedly. Control over my own life was taken from me. Admittedly, there were quite a few earlier chapters when l also lost or gave away control over my own life. This time, I was devastated and lost. Although my body and spirit were broken, after some time I came to realize that I had been provided with a precious opportunity to re-vision EVERY aspect of my life. I sought the critical support I needed. Unquestionably, I struggled. Yet over time, I healed in ways I could never have anticipated. Out of that tragedy, a new purpose was born. I trained, apprenticed, and became certified as a Professional Life Coach as well as a Professional Spiritual Coach (non-religious). During the last eight years, I have had the privilege to help women and men across the country (and beyond) take (or take back) and maintain control of their own lives; to ensure that circumstances do not take control of them; to live a life better than they could have imagined possible. My clients are women and men, in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. They come from myriad backgrounds and professions. Generally, my clients are referred by other clients or clinicians. Depending on the circumstances, some clients have worked with me for three to five years, consistently or intermittently; many have worked with me for at least a year or more. Customarily, most clients work on specific issues for three to six months and then return as needed. COST Understandably, cost may determine your ability to work with a coach or not, especially because coaching practices are unable to accept insurance. My fee structure is somewhat unconventional in that • it is NOT based by the session or by the hour • It is NOT project-based or based on an arbitrary amount of time • It is NOT based on a program that you purchase in advance • It IS payable as you go • It IS free of any restrictive contracts, long term obligations, or upselling • Discounts are available when your sessions for the month are paid on the first of the month When considered in terms of the total focused time provided on your behalf, you can be assured the cost is on par with - or less than - traditional coaching packages offering much less. Please reach out so we can discuss how we might be able to work together. NEXT STEPS Step 1 – You’ve taken the most important step: you recognized a coach could provide you with needed assistance. Step 2 – Make an informed decision. Consider your options. Respond to coaches who reached out to you to determine who meets your needs and has an approach or vibe that is right for you. Step 3 – Let's talk, text, or email just to get acquainted. I appreciate your consideration to work with me. If I've responded to your Bark post, please answer back. You are promised a judgement-free, relaxed, confidential conversation. There is no obligation to continue. Step 4 - ONLY IF you're comfortable with me - and ONLY IF I'm reasonably certain I can meet your expectations, together we figure out how we go forward.