Step confidently
towards your goals knowing you are not alone in this race.
Specialties
College and Early Career Decisions
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
**Please ask about need-based rates for students and displaced workers*
Stress, anxiety, peer pressure, self doubt, confusion
The transition from teenage years, to college decisions, college life, and on to the working world isn’t easy. Not only are young people still learning about themselves, but social media increasingly has a way of making it seem that virtually everyone else on the planet has their act together when in fact, they don’t.
This often leads young people to quietly suffer, avoid decision making or make decisions that are not necessarily their own. Things like figuring out what to study, where they fit in as a student living away from home for the first time, or as a young employee embarking on a new career can be overwhelming, even paralyzing.
In addition to raising my own three children, I have counseled dozens of their classmates and hundreds of young people from youth ballfields to the workplace. Having coached first time workers from rough urban neighborhoods, to high income sales executives, I have a broad understanding of how to help you find your path and to find peace with your decisions, no matter where you are in your journey.
Stepping Stones Coaching can help, first by creating a safe, confidential space to be heard, by listening intently, and by working with you to uncover obstacles and identify action steps to progress, and ultimately to achieving your goals!
Dealing with a Critical Illness of a Child or Spouse
Shock, confusion, helplessness, fear
When dealing with the serious illness of a child or spouse, we experience the realization that life as we knew it has suddenly and horrifyingly changed. Everything we thought we knew and trusted, including our dreams for the future, our faith, our relationships, even our careers can be shaken. We become part of a club we never wanted to join. We have so many questions, so much uncertainty. And, the experience profoundly extends to all members of our family, our friends, our employers and coworkers, often our entire community.
As a young father of three, I faced these challenges firsthand when my eight year old son was diagnosed with leukemia. My wife and I and our two younger children had our lives forever altered and our worlds spun upside down. Living out of state, (with a 90 pound Labrador Retriever), we relocated back to our home state for treatment, and to be closer to family. In addition to hospitalizations, paralyzing side effects, the confusion and fear that our young family experienced, and the uncertainty surrounding my son’s survival, we faced temporary homelessness and job upheaval. While all we cared about was that my son got well, this completely altered my career trajectory and the financial security of my family. Having been lost in and emerged from that dark forest, I know there is a path to the other side.
There is hope, and help. Finding the right treatments, social resources, advocates, volunteer organizations, sibling and family therapies, and school re-entry programs are vital to healing during and hopefully, after illness.
While life may never be quite the same, working with a trained, qualified coach who has walked in your shoes can help you take steps back to a happy, balanced life. Let’s talk.
“Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity.”
Job Changes and Mid Career Transitions
Self worth, doubt, stress, confusion
Many of us start out hoping to be recruited, promoted, maybe starting a business that leads to the job of our dreams. The path to happiness, life balance, and financial security can be invigorating and rewarding.
Whether we become disillusioned, disappointed with our path, or worse, are let go from our jobs, the steps we take next aren’t always clear. Questions abound: Where do I want to go next? How do I avoid another toxic work environment? How do I know I’ll be happy? What if I make the wrong choice and have to start all over again? Am I even qualified to do this? Do I really want to go back to school now?
We may have to reinvent ourselves, as I have been forced to do more than once. I have spent hours and days tweaking resumes, submitting applications and hearing no response at all. Then rejections pour in, followed by doubts. We may face racism, ageism, sexism and other hiring discrimination for the first time, as I did when I was a 50 year old professional during a recession, working in a consolidating industry. We may lack the required skills to make the move we desire. We may not even know what to do next. If we do begin a new role in a new field, imposter syndrome knocks loudly in our minds. It can feel scary, lonely, depressing. I have been there, yet managed to forge a successful second career building businesses and managing teams in a completely new field - the high tech startup world of on-demand micro mobility.
If you are struggling in the midst of a career transition, working with me can help clear the noise, help you to begin to understand and clarify your goals, and to remove the obstacles that are in your way. Step towards clarity, happiness, and fulfillment with a free consultation.
“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step backward into safety.”