Twenty-Three Years of Coaching. Not All of It Was Easy. All of It Mattered.

Twenty-three years ago this week, I became a coach, unofficially and officially.

Back in 2003, after losing 65 pounds and working for Weight Watchers for about six months, I was invited to attend BLS (Basic Leader Skills) training. It was the first formal step into what would become a 20+ year coaching career.

I became a Leader, working as a meeting facilitator, one of many titles over the years. I later trained as a Leader Mentor and then a Leader Coach. Along the way, I held several other roles including Recruiter, Territory Manager Assistant, Ambassador, One-on-One Coach, and Chat Representative.

There aren't many pictures of me in front of a group despite having done it nearly 10 thousand times.

I found this one scrolling through facebook recently. It's from 12 years ago.

It was more than 20 years of learning, doing, and growing.
Of mastering behavior change theory.
Of being held to a high standard of coaching excellence and performance.

And I am not going to lie.

For the level of training we received, the depth of knowledge we were expected to carry, and the results we were expected to produce, the compensation was pretty crappy. Like, really crappy.

That part of my experience still stings.

And yet, I would not change much.

Those years gave me some of my closest friends and the privilege of helping thousands of people lose tens of thousands of pounds. That work mattered. It was deeply rewarding.

But the most rewarding thing I have ever done is starting my own coaching business.

When I finally chose to help people outside the weight loss arena and began doing this work in a more elevated way, everything clicked. I now work with clients who are smart, ambitious, and self aware, yet still struggling to trust themselves fully.

Helping overwhelmed women, in the messy middle of it all, find clarity, calm, and confidence by removing the physical and mental clutter from their lives has been nothing short of incredible.

So yes, I have lingering complaints.
About the inadequate compensation.
About the lack of corporate empathy.
About how disposable so many talented coaches were made to feel.

And still, I am grateful.

Grateful for what I learned.
Grateful for how those years shaped me.
Grateful for the foundation they gave me.

In the coming months, I am going to start sharing my biggest lessons learned from that chapter of my life. These lessons shaped my journey and informed the work I do now as a transformational life coach and clutter expert.

Because, despite the economics of it all,  none of that experience was wasted.
And all of it led me here.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or surrounded by physical or mental clutter that is holding you back, you do not have to figure it out alone.

I help women in the messy middle create clarity, calm, and confidence by removing what no longer serves them.

If you are ready to take the next step (or just want to explore it), Schedule A Free Strategy Session and let’s talk.