Hi everyone… my client, colleague, and friend, Fred, wrote this awesome testimonial for me on our life/executive coaching relationship (he gave me the green-light to share, obviously). Feel slightly shy personally about it, you know, that feeling of not-wanting-to-toot-your-own-horn type of thing, but that’s why he wrote it for me, so here we are, and here I am, out of my comfort zone. Sweet.  So anyway,

Fred and I have been working together for one year as of this month, and it is truly incredible to see how far he has come,

and know we’re still en route right now to even more awesomeness through awareness and action.  And the truth is, HE does the work… I merely challenge him in conversation, in goal-setting, in perseverance, and then hold him accountable on making what he wants to make happen, happen.  The more we all are willing to challenge ourselves, step out of our fears and limiting beliefs and through a little bit of fire, the more we’re rewarded with the experience and proof that we really can do whatever we want, and not just be happy, but ecstatic.  No joke.

For me personally and professionally, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing my clients aligned and empowered, knowing they’re the sh*t.  Cause they are.  We all are.

This horn will never stop tootin’ that. Thank you, Fred, and everyone!

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“I remember on my first call when I was still exploring the idea of coaching that Melanie offered, “what would life feel like if we were able to take this worry off the table?” I remember giving her a negative reaction and thinking to myself that there was no way.  Indeed a few short weeks later, that worry that was causing crisis in my life on a daily basis was seriously reduced.  So mission accomplished….all set, right? No, once we’d blown away the first goal and it was off the plate, in fact, bigger challenges appeared that I hadn’t been seeing.

Even then, this new team of ours was so effective that in fact, some of my primary goals were significantly impacted less than three weeks after we started!  It was crazy!

After this initial success though is when we really buckled down and started to make some big progress.  The “what if” statements got bigger, the goals got more audacious and I was more willing and prepared to take on larger, more structural issues.

Over the last year we’ve tackled communication issues, relationship issues, life goals, time management, along with a host of other areas.  What’s really been amazing is how often I use the skills.  Yesterday, for example, I practiced three different times a new communication technique we’ve been working on.

Now, you would have thought that in a year I would have had all of these nailed: like any new endeavor, though, you start with the novice exercises and then work to build the skill set.  We continue to try more and more advanced exercises and yes, there’s regression that happens. Always vigilant, we try to be aware when I’m slipping back to past behaviors and identify why the regression is happening.  Consequently I continue to fine tune my skills and see opportunities to make even more improvements.

Certainly one of the tougher issues to come to grips was, “how long is this going to last?”  With a year of experience I can now say for as long as it can.  I see the results not only in my productivity but in my attitude as well.  Being in a far better place at work has made my whole life a happier place.  It is amazing to think back to that first conversation when Melanie said, “What if…”  When she says that, dare to think that she can make that come true!*”

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*He made all that stuff happen.. he did the work.. and don’t ever let him tell you different! 😉

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