Go back in time with me. Picture rural farmland. Fields. Cows. A little white house and the iconic red barn. A family of 6 lived and loved a little piece of heaven for a time.
Here is a bit of my story.
As a young girl, raised in the country on a dairy farm, I was free. Free to do and be anything I wanted to be. I rarely wore shoes, climbed trees, built things with my dad, cooked with my mom, had adventures with my siblings and literally escaped with my sister into the woods with a sack lunch and a few necessary items to spend the day.
I was free. I was a kid. I was happy.
Fast forward through high school, college and my first job. The freedom was replaced by deadlines, expectations, worries and student loans. I choose my career path not because I absolutely felt pulled to it, but because I needed to do finish SOMETHING so I could graduate. Make money. Be responsible. Pay bills.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
I married, became a mother and found myself wrestling with the desire to build a career and stay home to raise my children. I did both. I left a great job with a local non-profit and started a business. A Mary Kay business. I thought it would give us the fun money we needed to cover, well, fun stuff. It turned into a full-time job, one I worked from home. I earned the use of company cars, diamond rings and tons of prizes. For 17 years, I earned an income and was home with my kids. I learned life skills, how to build a business from scratch, how to build a customer base, how to network and how to bounce back following one rejection after the next. I’ve trained other business owners, coached them through the above mentioned and flown all over the county to attend conferences to further my skill.
Isn’t that what you should do to be successful? Shouldn’t I be happy?
Well, kinda.
I developed my brand, Ami Lloyd, Independent Mary Kay Sales Director, with relative ease. I networked. I spoke. I attended workshops. One day I looked up and Ami Lloyd was the face of Mary Kay in my area. The problem? For about 5 years I knew it was time to move on. So I did some research. I talked to business owners, folks in my tribe and followed people I respected on social media. I asked TONS of questions. The uncertainty was overwhelming. Until I found it.
Insert Life Coaching.
What the heck is that anyway? Are you a Therapist? Why don’t you get a REAL job? Who will hire you? I know a Life Coach and____(insert some horrible end result).
Guess what, I know what transition looks like, smells like, feels like. A whole bunch of uncomfortable and self-doubt. As Seth Godin has said many times, you have to learn how to dance with the fear. Hey Mr. DJ turn the record on! The golden ring I’m stretching for? Authenticity. Freedom. Living a genuine life. This, my friends, is where it starts. Those words answer the what if’s and turns them into reality.
I’m DOING it!
As you are reading this I have graduated from the first phase of coach training. I have a website, with MY name on it! I am a blogger Y’All! A podcast is in the works and I am encouraging women on the daily in my coaching practice. Running with them to their goals. This is real. This is the stuff. I’m merely the guide with a flashlight.
It’s your path…light it up!