Every once in a while someone asks me, "What makes you think you can coach people? You don't even have your life all together."
You know what? They're right.
I don't have it all together, and I don't pretend that I do. None of us do. Coaching isn't about having a perfect life. It's about helping someone else navigate a road you've already walked.
What makes me think I can coach someone is experience.
I've been through a lot in my life.
I joined the Army full time at age 32. I had smoked for close to 22 years, suffered from bronchitis most of my life, and the only time I had really run was when I was in the Army Reserves at 18. Needless to say, I struggled.
But I kept running.
I made myself do it because I wanted to get better. I wanted to be a leader, and I knew if I was going to lead soldiers, I had to be willing to push myself first.
Let me tell you something else.
For much of my life, I didn't have much confidence in myself. I never thought I was as good as everyone else. Even when I was deployed, I felt like I wasn't as good as the other leaders who held the same rank. I constantly compared myself and always came up short.
When I transitioned out of the Army and became a Realtor, something started to change. As I gained experience, I finally began to feel like I belonged. I felt like I was just as capable as the other Realtors in my office.
Then I moved back to Kansas... and those old feelings of not being good enough started creeping back in again.
Yesterday I shared how I began discovering my purpose. That journey led me to earn my coaching certifications, start networking, and eventually begin speaking on Zoom. Looking back now, I can see that every season of my life was preparing me for what I do today. Every challenge taught me something I can now use to help someone else.
I didn't become a coach because life was easy.
I became a coach because I learned what it takes to keep getting back up.
I know what it's like to doubt yourself. I know what it's like to start over. I know what it's like to wonder if you're enough.
And I also know what it feels like to keep moving forward anyway.
That's why I coach.
Not because I've arrived, but because I've learned that growth never stops. If my journey can help someone else find hope, confidence, purpose, or the courage to take one more step, then every struggle I've been through has been worth it.