When I look back on my life, I see all the decisions that have created a path that lead me to where and who I am today.
This path meanders through a vast landscape of career choices that were a direct result of personal successes and failures. At 19, I became a real estate broker. At 21, I graduated from the University of Florida and started a career in a family-owned wine and spirit chain as a stockman. At 40, I became the specialist CEO of that chain, and at 45 I became an entrepreneur who was growing an alcoholic beverage licensing and financing company as well as a boutique commercial real estate firm.
Today, I find myself in the world of executive coaching—my lifelong dream of creating a bond with another human to help that person transform their path has finally been attained! But the tragedy of it all is that I first had the desire to become a professional coach 25 years ago and I brushed it aside because of fear…
Fear that I would be scoffed at, fear that a profession of helping others was ridiculous when there existed an opportunity to create wealth, fear that I wouldn’t make enough money, fear that I wouldn’t be good enough, fear that it would take too much work.
And so the dream was pocketed and decisions were made to avoid the fear.
Reflecting back, it inspires me to ask: how many of us are not willing to ask the tough questions of ourselves? How many of us are willing to take the safer path that avoids the fear? Where will those paths take us? Will we end up in the same place, but with no fulfilment, no satisfaction, and no happiness?
And then I realize that my personal path and experience just might have created an executive coach who can help others by creating a space to dig deep and look fear in the face. When I work as an executive coach, I envision my client and I walking on their path together as fear approaches us. We calmly and courageously stand our ground, look fear in the face, proudly watch as fear turns and runs, then determinedly continue on the path towards achieving their dreams.