Living a Self-Empowered Life

Last night was amazing.  I stepped on stage at the home of the San Diego Repertory Theater in front of 400 or more people that I did not know and performed a monologue telling everyone how I came to love my vagina.   I was nervously excited as I stood in place waiting for the curtain to open.  As the curtain drew back and I looked out upon the audience I felt proud and honored to be on stage.  I had a sense of confidence and comfort in my own skin I had never experienced before in my entire life.  I was nervous and anxious and at the same time I realized there was none of the self-doubt I had anticipated.  I knew I could stand up and perform and that whatever happened would be great.  After the show, I was acknowledge and affirmed by many of the people who had been in the audience and it felt good.

Today I woke up feeling completely in control of my life.  I feel empowered to pursue my passions and go after my dreams.  I am excited, energized, and eager to live life to the fullest.  I am living a self-empowered life.  According to Wikipedia, empowerment means to gain confidence in one's abilities.  Self-empowerment implies that the confidence is internally driven.  I think self-empowerment should be called I'mpowerment since the power comes from inside me.

   

What examples of self-empowerment do you see in your own life?  What if you woke up each day completely satisfied with you?  What kind of day would you have?  How would your life change?  I think good days are a guarantee when you wake up I'mpowered.

If you want to learn more about living a self-empowered life or if you want to share examples of self-empowerment in your own life, please visit our website at www.spathways.com or e-mail me directly at donnaL@spathways.com.

Talk Soon

~Coach Donna

The Long Wait

Last year at this time I quit my full-time job with the intention of building a coaching practice.  I had everything I needed.  I had knowledge, skills, certifications, and experience.  I had computers, phones, PDAs, and websites.   I had all the tools I needed to be a coach.  I had the support of family, friends, and colleagues.  I had money in the bank and I was debt free.  So I set up my office and I was ready, willing, and waiting for the phone to ring.  I mean who wouldn't want to coach with me?  So I waited, waited, and waited.  

Ten months later I realized that I had been waiting for the better part of a year and things were not happening the way I envisioned them.  The phone was not ringing.  What went wrong?  I was prepared, I was motivated, I was eager, I was LinkedIn, and I even had 100 contacts in FaceBook.  All of this and the phone was NOT RINGING.   Then one day the phone finally rang!  I answered and it was a former client who called to say that he was feeling bummed out and burned out.  He shared that he had not been able to create the success he desired on his own and he wanted to get back into coaching.  He was calling me to see if I knew a coach who could help him.   I was floored.  After I found my voice, I asked him why he had not considered coaching with me again and he said "I did not know you were coaching.  I guess you never told me that you had a coaching practice."

In that moment I realized the reason I did not have any clients is because no one knew I was looking for any.  The difference between me and all the other helping professionals with thriving practices was they told people what they do and they asked for business. They did not sit at home waiting for the phone to ring.   What a realization.  Waiting was getting me nowhere fast.  Right then and there I decided not to wait any longer. That very day I vowed to inform everyone I knew that I was a Family & Life Coach and I was looking to serve them or anyone they knew who could benefit from the support of a coach.

The last two months of the year I worked instead of waiting.  I dialed the phone instead of waiting for it to ring.  I worked diligently to refine my business and as 2009 gets off to a quick start, I am coaching clients on a daily basis.  Who knew?  Success comes from action not patience.  It comes from working not waiting.  It comes from asking not answering.  It comes from letting others know what you do, what you need, and how you can help them.  

What have you been waiting on?  What do you need to do to create the success you seek?  If you need help answering these questions, don't wait.  Check out my new website at www.spathways.com to discover how Steppingstone Pathways Family Life Services can support you on your journey of success.  

Talk Soon!

~coach donna