Reinvention:  Escaping the Statistics

I was raised by a single mother in a small town. We had no money. And no one on either side of my family had ever gone to a four-year college. It's not so easy to coach yourself. But I seemed to have a real knack for manifesting my dreams into reality -- even when my dreams were, uncoached, sometimes off-target.

Goal-Setting, Self-Discipline, Time Management, Laser Focus -- But No Direction

Most of those in my small town went to work in jobs in the oil fields.  I was on a different road.  At the age of six, after listening to adults speak breathlessly of something called a "scholar ship," I somehow decided that I, too, wanted a boat like that.  Fast-forward twelve years: goals set, goals achieved.  I graduated first in my class with a 4.0. I was all-conference in football and wrestling (and a state freestyle champion) and set records in track.  And having locked it in my sights early on, I was the first person from my rural high school ever to receive the state's most competitive full-ride scholarship.

Four more years:  I graduated first in my college class, 3.97.  Yet I am not a genius by any stretch; I simply had self-discipline and study methods that really worked.  I set a goal of getting into a top ten law school, and got into Harvard Law School.  I was elected Class Marshal and Commencement Speaker.  Got a prestigious clerkship job with a chief federal judge. Et cetera.  I do not suggest all this is what I ought to have been doing for life and employment.  Indeed, I did much of it because I did not know myself yet.  (That would have led me immediately to coaching, had it existed then).  See a short summary of my education and careers.

Career Changes - Law, Business, Starting Companies

In the world of careers I had to continue to reinvent myself -- for the same reason you are seeking to do so:  though I got paid well and had prestigious positions, I didn't feel what I was doing was quite the right fit.  Didn't feel my jobs were the fullest expression of who I was.  Didn't want to continue to live a life in which what I did for gainful employment ten hours a day did not even begin to express my life's purpose.  At the U.S. Justice Department, I made myself a trial lawyer and began daily use of negotiation skills I'd learned in law school.  But I had been writing for years -- how to get closer to that?  At a large private law firm in Washington, D.C., I refashioned myself into an expert on areas of intellectual property, finagled a job teaching law, and started up a literary agency as a night job.  (More on my true loves in my longer bio).

I'd tried several careers in law.  It was time to try out the greater creative freedom of being a businessman. I first transformed myself into a public speaker and trainer, educating Fortune 1000 executives all over the world on best practices.  Then I jumped aboard the Internet train and inhaled venture capital, start-ups, marketing, search engines, evaluating business models.  I was asked to testify before Congress, twice, as an expert on domain name issues and intellectual property.  I then moved closer to coaching, becoming a consultant to businesses and even friends. And through a process I'm happy to share with you, I decided what I wanted to do once and for all.  Coaching.

And when I decided on that career-and-lifestyle-in-one, I did what I'll help you to do:  I zeroed in on that goal with every bit of talent and energy at my disposal.  I'd always studied psychology and human behavior.  I threw myself into it all the more.  I strategized, built, talked, wrote, marketed, listened, learned.  I know how one embarks on the start-up of one's self, because the hard part is in our minds and hearts, not in the details of the particular type of goal.

I will support and strengthen your mind and heart.  I will bolster you, walk with you when necessary, stand behind you when that's best.  See if we're a good fit.  Email me for a free coaching consultation and let's talk for a half an hour, free.  Because my work speaks for itself, you'll not feel any pressure.  (I might even refer you to someone who may be better suited for your particular issue.)  Or you can leave our site to look over other career coaches, see what they've done, where they've been, how insightful they seem.