I grew up surrounded by innovative thinkers and entrepreneurs who forged their own paths. Most people around me followed their hearts and interests, creating flexible lives that seemed to have it all together. However, despite this wealth of knowledge, no one shared their wisdom with me directly. They simply lived their lives.

This left me to navigate my own path. I spent nearly 20 years stumbling from living by “shoulds”—other people’s expectations—to living a life that made sense for me. I followed “spaghetti on the wall” and “stab in the dark” methodologies, knowing only what I didn’t want and sensing there was more out there for me.

I ran in circles for years, reacting to life’s challenges. While I don’t recommend this approach to my clients, I learned a valuable lesson: life isn’t as hard as we sometimes make it. If someone else has achieved what we want, there’s no reason we can’t succeed as well.

As a coach, I guide my clients down their chosen paths, asking tough questions, helping set action plans, and supporting them through implementation. Together, we tweak and move forward until they reach their goals. Having a coach in their corner is priceless to this process.