Your philosophy is important.
This is my philosophy about coaching.
Let’s talk…
There are a few things that I think are critically important for you to know, right now, as you’re deciding whether to invest in yourself in the very powerful way that coaching invites:
Coaching, like life, is not a journey toward perfection. Truth: I would run fast and hard away from any coach or consultant or therapist, etc., who told me otherwise. Instead, it’s a journey toward bigger and badder. It’s a journey toward living into more and more of your best self, career, and life.
Because there is no perfection at the end of any of this, there is always room for growth. The question, then, isn’t: Could you benefit from coaching? Instead, it’s: Are you ready for and open to the growth available to you? There are no right or wrong answers to that question; only honest ones.
Your whole self is not only okay to bring to the coaching relationship; it’s got a standing engraved invitation. That means all of your experiences, beliefs, and values. That means your excitement, your laughter, your tears, and your favorite swear words, too.
Finally, my job is not to be the guru on the mountain passing wisdom down to you. It’s to use what I’ve learned from some of the great thinkers and teachers, and from the many experiments I’ve run in my own life, to support your vision of your biggest life and baddest self. There’s no one way to build a fulfilling life or career; our work together is about finding the ways that honor you, your vision, and your values most fully. And while you’re discovering all that? I’m here to hold the vision of your potential and expertise in your own life until you can more comfortably carry it yourself.
I love a good story to illustrate a point, though. Three is even better, and each is based on a true story or phenomenon. Read on.
Should we talk?
Talk is cheap, and this time it’s free! We know a lot of people offer free consultations that are just long, painful sales presentations. That’s not what this is. Let’s just talk and test the fit, no strings attached.
The Thai Buddha Sculpture
I first heard author/teacher/therapist Tara Brach describe this centuries-old sculpture in Thailand. Sitting over nine feet tall, weighing in at over five tons, this sculpture is somehow able to describe you perfectly. It describes me perfectly, too, and pretty much everyone else I know. It’s become central to my philosophy of both coaching and life.
Birthing a View
I was hiking with one of my dearest friends up a mountain. We were at the feeling-the-burn point of the ascent and started talking about the pay-off at the top, when we’d get to the overlook. She called it “birthing a view” for all of the strenuous effort it was taking to what we knew we’d find gratifying enough to spur us to meet up to scale another peak, and another, the way the joy of a new child can overwhelm the memory of the challenge of the birthing process. Yup, this is relevant to my coaching philosophy, too.
“I am a pulsar!”
I’ve been a low-key space nerd for a good long chunk of time now and so it wasn’t that odd when, during a meditation years ago, I stumbled across pulsars as another image of what we humans are and can be. Early in my coaching career, I was describing these celestial bodies to a group I was facilitating and one man, swept up in the magic of the moment, yelled, “I am a pulsar!” And yes, he is. You might be, too. Read on to find out.
Community
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Meet SB...
Known equally for her laughter and her cogent questions, SB is the business coach who takes a holistic view and the empowerment coach who brings the work down to earth. While her psychology degree from UNC-Greensboro and coach training from the Coach Training Alliance shaped her understanding of human behavior, her innate abilities to create cohesive pictures out of seemingly disparate parts and see people from the intersection of what is and what could be are what makes coaching with SB a particularly unique experience. From the brick ranch on a creek in Southwest Virginia that she shares with her wife, Theresa, and their pit bull pup, SB collaborates with those seeking their bigger selves and badder lives across the country and around the world.
Here’s the latest from the blog.
A Rocky Part of Normal
I made you something, a free downloadable zine so that you have your own wise guidance on those days that are a rocky part of normal.
An Always-Available Choice
Sojourner Truth said, “Life is a hard battle anyway. If we laugh and sing a little as we fight the good fight of freedom, it makes it all go easier.” Let’s look at what it means to follow her guidance.
Rituals and Realities on The Teaching Journeys
Rituals are both woven into the fabric of my childhood and emerging in my life now, especially as I explore grief. In this interview, Dave Roberts and I explore it together more.