You don’t need to be in crisis to benefit from coaching. You do, however, need clarity, curiosity, and a desire to grow. Whether you’re navigating a career pivot, leading a team, getting your finances in order, or simply longing for a more grounded life, the type of coaching I offer creates the space to pause, reflect, and move forward with purpose.
So how do you know if coaching with me is right for you?
Let’s take a look.
You Want to Grow, Not Just Survive
You may feel capable, but also stuck. You’ve read the books, listened to the podcasts, made the lists, and still aren’t moving the needle the way you hoped. Coaching helps you break out of survival mode and step into strategic, intentional growth.
You’re Ready to Get Clear and Take Action
Many of my clients come to coaching with vague goals. They express a desire such as “I want a better job.” Some say, “I need to stop overspending.” Others mention, “I just want to feel more at peace.” Coaching helps define what “better,” “stop,” and “peace” actually look like, and then map a path to get there.
You’re Open to Support and Feedback
Coaching is not consulting or therapy; it’s a collaborative process. I’ll ask the questions you may not have thought to ask. I’ll notice patterns, challenge assumptions, and offer frameworks to help you see and move differently. That works best when you’re open to honest reflection, feedback, and practical support.
You Want to Lead, Communicate, and Live with Integrity
Whether you’re leading a team or leading your own life, how you show up matters. I help you improve communication with peers, teams, and senior leaders. We work on presence, empathy, clarity, and confidence…not as buzzwords, but as daily practices.
You’re Done Hustling Without a Plan
You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through life. If you’re tired of feeling busy but ineffective, you’re in the right place. If you want to shift from spinning your wheels to seeing real progress, this is where you belong. We’ll use proven tools to help you slow down, set intentional goals, and make peace a priority.
What You Bring to the Table: The Client’s Role
Great coaching is a two-way relationship. If you’re considering coaching with me, here’s what I ask of you:
Have a goal in mind that you want to achieve.
Recognize that you haven’t been successful reaching it on your own.
Be curious about what’s missing and open to support.
Show up prepared to discuss your progress and challenges.
Be ready to apply the resources and tools we discuss.
Be open to transformational change and the work required to get there.
Be willing to experiment with new strategies.
Be committed to your goals, and persistent in pursuing them.
If that sounds like you, coaching can be a powerful catalyst. Let’s get started!
If you’re not quite there yet — that’s okay too. Sometimes readiness is the first step.
Let’s Talk
Curious if coaching is right for this season of your life? I’d love to hear your story and explore how we might work together.
Let’s connect and start mapping your next step with purpose, clarity, and momentum.
Maybe your New Year’s Goals are thriving. Or, maybe they’re MIA?
Either way, you’re halfway through the year.
Most of us set ambitious goals in January and then quietly abandon them month by month. Not because we’re lazy, but because we focus on what we want… not how we’ll get there.
Let’s explore a better way to achieve our goals.
Start With the Goal
What goal (or goals) did you set?
Defining your goal is a great start. What makes the difference between goal setting and accomplishing your goals is strategy. Strategy is how you will accomplish your goals. This year, I’ve been studying for the Psychology of Leadership certificate program with Cornell University. Part of this program includes diving into the psychology of getting things done.
What I’ve learned has helped me approach goals differently. It’s less about pressure and stress, and not about relying on motivation and momentum. It’s about progress, not perfection.
1. Make Your Goals Stretch…Just Enough
Goals should feel like a challenge. They need to stretch you beyond your comfort zone. Far enough to spark focus, but not so far they leave you overwhelmed.
For example, my workout routine already consists of 4 days of workouts each week. One of my goals is to add a 5th cardio day to my weekly workouts. It’s not a total overhaul — just enough to push me physically without burning me out.
2. Stack New Habits Onto Old Ones
One of my favorite strategies? Habit stacking. It’s the idea of anchoring a new habit to something you already do.
If you already make coffee every morning, you could pair that moment with a review of your top three tasks. Or if you already set your phone on the charger at night, use that moment to write down one thing you’re grateful for.
This takes effort out of your system, and lets routine do the work.
It’s important to note that often we think we should push ourselves into accomplishing a goal. This will lead to burnout! You can’t rely on motivation because life happens and our motivation muscles get fatigued. Use your routine to add on or tweak here and there. This strategy is so much more sustainable long term.
3. Use If-Then Planning (a.k.a. Implementation Intentions)
Want to follow through on your goals more consistently? Implementation intentions can help. It’s about creating a trigger-based plan: *”If X happens, then I will do Y.”
For example: “If it’s Monday between 5-6 pm, then I will workout.” Or “If it’s bedtime, I will read my daily Bible reading through Bible Recap.”
These small, specific cues reduce the need for motivation, and increase follow-through.
4. Break It Down with Mini Goals
Big goals can feel overwhelming. That’s why it’s helpful to break them down into weekly or monthly mini-goals. These smaller wins build momentum and give you natural check-in points to see what’s working or what needs to shift.
For example, instead of “Payoff $10,000 in debt this year,” maybe I track:
Pay $833.33 toward debt each month
Earn an extra $208.33 each week
Now the goal isn’t a vague aspiration — it’s a system with checkpoints.
5. Build in Feedback Loops
The best goals aren’t fixed — they evolve. Ask: “Is this working?”“Is this still meaningful?”“What’s getting in the way?”
Goals should talk back. If they’re not moving you forward, it’s not a failure — it’s feedback in the form of data points. Use that data to refine the process.
Evaluation of My 2025 Goals
These are goals I set in January of this year. I’ll give you an evaluation of how it’s going below. I will also show how I can tweak the goals to make them more attainable if they are lagging behind. Alternatively, I may decide to remove a goal altogether.
Here are the categories of my goals.
Reduce Mental Stress
Simplify meal prep planning — Create monthly menus. Evaluation: This one progressed through February and now it’s no longer important to continue this year. I took on too many goals and this one will remain on the list for the future!
Boundaries on phone and distractions. Evaluation: This one has been hit and miss which tells me I need to define it more. I can make this one more robust by using an “if-then” strategy. If it’s 8:00 pm, my phone is put away until the next morning.
Physical
Continue 4 days/week workouts. Evaluation: This one has been a success. I attribute the success because I decided early on that my workout days are Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The time I workout on those days are between 5:00 and 6:00 pm. This is part of my routine and it’s a habit. (Hint: Success of this goal is due to implementation intentions)
Add 5th day of cardio (interval running). Evaluation: Due to shin splints, I have not been able to run. I’ve shifted to include additional interval cardio after weight training. I usually watch a fun or interesting YouTube video while I’m getting my cardio in. This is an example of Habit Stacking.
Spiritual
Attend Silent Retreat in April. Evaluation: This one has been completed.
Begin Bible Recap. Evaluation: This one is going well. I have begun reading through the Bible using the Bible Recap. I have consistently been reading for 100 days. (Hint: the success of this goal is due to breaking it down to mini-goals or a daily reading plan)
Social
Attend 1 Girls House Church event every other month. Evaluation: This one is going well.
Marriage
Monthly date night experiences. Evaluation: My hubby purchased a set of scratch off date cards. These cards tell you what to do for a date night. We followed through with this through March. This goal needs more definition using implementation intentions. If it’s the third Saturday of the month, we will go on a date night experience.
Professional
1 blog post every Friday. Evaluation: Success! Posting a blog post every Friday!
1 article submission to Tish Co News each month. Evaluation: I’ve submitted 5 articles so far and will turn in another article this week. Turning in articles monthly has built accountability. This habit has helped me write not only for Tish Co News, but also my blog. *Ahem* this is habit stacking!
Looking at this list, I know I won’t hit every target perfectly. And that’s not the point.
The point is to design goals that fit real life. To stretch, but not snap. To evolve, not obsess.
So if you’re halfway through the year and wondering if it’s too late to get back on track — it’s not.
You don’t need more motivation. You just need better methods and a strategy!
Here’s to a second half that’s more intentional, more grounded, and more aligned with who you’re becoming.
If you’re looking for someone to help you with your goals. Help you create implementation intentions, habit stack, define stretch goal, and/or hold accountability for those goals. I’m here for that! That’s what a coach does, after all. Use the submission form below and let’s get after those goals!
Think of a coach you’ve had in your life or maybe your kids’ life. What did they do that was so effective? Coaches do many things, like:
Encourage
Teach techniques
Improve Performance
Identify gaps in performance
Challenge
Inspire
Hold you Accountable
Create a plan (or playbook) to reach your goals
Build trust
Unlock the next level
What else would you add to this list?
I am not a sports type of coach, although coaching for me started in the fitness industry. Read more about that here. While coaching began for me in fitness, it has evolved into Financial Coaching, Career Coaching, Leadership Coaching, and coaching on Personal Wellness. Most people would attribute the bulleted list above to a sports coach…these descriptors also describe what I do in coaching clients about their finances, careers, leadership, and personal wellness.
This type of coaching is a one-on-one conversation with a purpose. I don’t use equipment outside on a field in my coaching. Although I do have different sets of tools and resources to help you achieve your goals. I teach you what the tools are and how to apply them.
Financial, Career, Leadership, and Personal Wellness coaching focuses on the individual. I coach the whole person. What does that mean? It means that I aim to not only help find solutions to problems, but to facilitate transformational change. Focusing only on finding solutions would limit the depth of change for clients. Humans are complex beings made up of emotions, values, systems of beliefs, etc. These parts must be considered in the foundation of how we make decisions and take action. Otherwise, real change may be limited.
How does it work? If you decided you wanted to be coached, we would first meet to discuss your goals. Then, we would get very specific on what that goal is, and determine how we would measure progress. From there, we would map out a plan to get you to your goal. This plan would let us know how many coaching sessions would be needed.
As Your Coach, You Can Expect…
My job as a coach is to identify gaps and equip you with tools and resources. Educate you on how to apply the tools and resources. I ask you powerful questions to unlock self-discovery and insight. I hold you accountable and shift your mindset. I listen and build trust with you. I walk alongside you and give you feedback on what’s working well and what isn’t. I inject hope, encourage you, and challenge you. I inspire you to get out of your comfort zone and achieve your goals!
Expectations of the Client…
Your job as the client is to:
come to the coaching session prepared to discuss progress and challenges
apply the resources and tools
be open to transformational change and the work to get there
be open to experimenting with new strategies
put in the hard work
be committed to your goals
persistent in achieving your goals
Are you ready to get after your goals? Fill out the form below and let me know how I can best coach you. Let’s go!
This article was originally published in Tishomingo County News. See link for published article.
Early in 2022, I visited my alma mater, Tishomingo County High School, to speak to the Career and College Readiness classes and to the football team. The football coach during that time had created a wonderful program to bring back alumni of Tishomingo County High School to speak to students, share their career journey, work skills, and life tidbits. It was called Wednesday #ROW Above the Line Character Education and Real Talk. It was an absolute honor to be invited to participate.
I had lots to share being a shy girl that moved to the big city. And let me tell you, I did not have a career trajectory when I moved to the big city. Nope, not at all. I wanted to share my story with students at Tish County. I wanted to share my messy path to the career I have now. If I’d had someone share with me back when I was in high school that life doesn’t always look the way you think it will, that it’s ok to make mistakes, to figure it out one step at a time; then maybe I wouldn’t have been so hard on myself. Spoiler alert, I wouldn’t change anything about my messy path because it got me to where I am now.
In fact, in 2006 I moved to Houston the day after graduating from Mississippi State University with an undergraduate degree in Finance. I was not recruited by a company in Houston and the real reason I moved so suddenly was because I was married to someone that had a job offer in Houston. I followed, obviously, however his success with a career did not measure up to the opportunities I had. Nope, in fact, I STRUGGLED mightily to find my way, or to even find a job. I stopped counting the job applications after I surpassed 100. No calls, no emails…crickets. I knew no one, had no contacts, nothing. I think a lot of people might find themselves in a similar place. You have a college degree or experience and yet no job offer, not real leads, nada.
So what did I do? I started with what I could find…a temp job which was a receptionist in downtown Houston in one of those gigantic skyscrapers. I remember it so vividly and don’t even know how I had the gumption and fortitude to ride a metro bus into downtown, walk to the right building, and then find my way to the appropriate floor. I remember my job was to answer the phone and connect the calls to the right people. The calls that came in were from people that had foreign accents, asking for people that I didn’t know how to pronounce their names. I asked the people on the phone to repeat themselves quite often and prayed as I connected the calls. I began to sweat at the front desk from the pressure of the phone ringing. I survived, though, even if the temp job only lasted a couple of days. If I could go back and tell my younger self anything, it would be, “there’s no pressure with a temp job that’s only 2 days in length. Relax! You are doing great!”
I found another job shortly thereafter, this time working at a staffing agency. I worked closely with a girl named Courtney. We were about the same age, our birthdays were both in April, and she attended Ole Miss for about a year. Small world and I was so glad to find someone with a Mississippi connection. I made it about 2 weeks in that job. I didn’t get fired, I quit. Why would I do such a thing? I struggled so much after I moved. I began having what I now know were anxiety attacks. Not being able to breath, crying uncontrollably, unable to calm myself. It was horrible and I quit my job. I was incredibly embarrassed and my already fragile self esteem took a major hit. The worst of it all was I felt like I let down my new friend, Courtney. I couldn’t find the words to tell her what was going on and I left without an explanation. I still feel terrible about it to this day. I felt like something was wrong with me and like I was a failure which only pushed me further into the anxiety.
Context is everything and so is hindsight. Looking back and reflecting has helped me understand that the only way I was going to get through that horrible time was to walk through it as hard as it was and as much as I felt like I wasn’t going to make it. Putting one foot in front of the other and yes, sometimes taking two or three steps backward. I needed to give myself some time to adjust to the big life change of uprooting myself from everything I’d ever known. And yet I needed to work and make money. Life doesn’t stop and neither do the bills! They weren’t going to pay for themselves. What did I do next? Stay tuned and I’ll unfold the story as this is the first part in a career series from a small town girl in the big city.
In 2022, I wrote a series about my career journey for Tish County News. The series was inspired by an invitation. I was invited to speak to the Career and College Readiness classes and to the football team at my alma mater, Tishomingo County High School. The message I wanted to convey to those high school students wasn’t about my job and current life. It was about the journey that it had taken to get there. I was not and still do not have a high profile job or career. My life after high school took some ups and downs and winding roads. I wish someone could have given me the 30,000 foot view when I was in high school because I was experiencing it all at ground zero. It would have been helpful to have insights and perspectives along my journey after high school. The invitation to speak to high school students was a chance to fill in the gap I wish I’d had. Writing this series was another opportunity. I hope you will follow along for the next several weeks as the story unfolds. There will be tips and tidbits shared as I look back with the wisdom that only hindsight can bring. I’ll share what I would tell my younger self. Back then, I struggled with extreme anxiety. I had low self-esteem and low confidence. At times, I felt altogether lost. I walked through big life events like my mom’s passing, divorce, and multiple job changes. Now is a great time to subscribe if you haven’t done so yet. Don’t miss this series! It’s packed full of actionable insight no matter where you are along your career journey.
In a recent post, I wrote about using “pocket money” for a special treat during the week. What is pocket money and why is it important? Pocket money is an amount of fun money set aside each month to use for special treats throughout the month. Pocket money can be in the form of cash you literally keep in your pocket or wallet to use for the month. Or it can be a line item in your money plan that you track to insure you spend the appropriate amount.
Do you enjoy a Starbucks coffee treat? Or maybe lunch with a friend? What about that pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing? Maybe there’s a gadget you’ve been thinking about that you’d like to try. Pocket money included in your monthly budget gives you permission to treat yourself to some fun during the month. Why is this important?
Utilizing intentional discipline with a money plan is hard. It’s intentionally flexing money muscles that may not be super strong yet. When you are working hard to save or pay off debt, it’s important to build in rewards along the way. Setting aside pocket money is a great reward system.
My husband and I set aside $100 for each of us every month. We get to spend $100 each on anything we want, no questions asked. Most of the time my $100 usually goes toward a Chick-fil-a run for an unsweetened tea with lemon. The Chick-fil-a run started during the pandemic as a way to intentionally get out of the house and see other humans. And it just kind of stuck. Here’s an example of what our pocket money looks like in our budget. We track ours electronically, however, there was a time where we used cash only for our fun money. The nice thing about cash, once it’s gone, it’s gone. You don’t have to question if you spent too much.
Pocket money has no strings attached with no guilt associated with however you choose to spend it. There are some guidelines to consider when figuring out how much pocket money you can afford.
1. Do you have a money plan in place for the month? If you do, then you will know how much income you have minus all your expenses, bills, etc. When you know how much you are spending each month, you can determine what you can afford for pocket money.
2. Pocket money is not a free for all spend category. It’s an intentional amount of fun money set aside determined by your money plan.
3. Maybe you can only afford $10 of fun money for the month. That’s ok. Get creative with how you will make that money stretch! Be intentional. Hello, thrift store!
If you have money goals to pay off debt or to save; your fun money amount might be small for a time until you pay off that debt or meet your savings goal. The key is to keep going! And rewarding yourself is absolutely necessary to help you continue moving forward. Savor the fun that you can afford for now and keep your dream in mind of what your fun, pocket money will be once you meet your money goals. Be intentional!
This week, I witnessed an intentional act to save money. On Monday around lunchtime, I was waiting in the Chick-fil-a (CFA) drive thru for an unsweetened iced tea and noticed a CenterPoint Energy truck. Side note: My husband and I set aside pocket money each month. Pocket money is intentional money set aside to spend on whatever we would like. Mine is usually spent on unsweetened tea with lemon from CFA as a treat. I make unsweetened tea at home but sometimes it’s nice to have someone else make it! Back to the story. As I was waiting in line, I noticed a young man get out of the passenger side of the work truck and walk around to the opposite side. These work trucks have so many different compartments that house all kinds of tools. I watched him as he opened one of the compartments, removed a large bag, place it on top of the truck, and then proceed to pull out a microwave! A microwave? Yes, a microwave. This certainly piqued my curiosity! What was he doing with a microwave in a work truck? I watched him as he carried it to the tailgate of the truck and place it there. Next, he brought out a portable power station bank that he used to plug in the microwave.
It’s not everyday you see a plugged-in microwave on the back of a truck. But It wasn’t just the sight of it. It was an intentional act to save money. Did I mention I was in a Chick-fil-a drive thru line? The driver of the CenterPoint Energy truck walked inside the Chick-fil-a to get his lunch while his workmate dragged out a microwave and portable power station to heat up his lunch.
I might also mention that the street the work truck was parked on was positioned by not only the CFA, but also a Burger King, a Chipotle, and a Taco Bell. He could have walked to so many options, but instead he chose to make the extra effort with his microwaved lunch.
These are EXACTLY the actions it takes to win with your money.
1. Have a strategy, such as your budget or money plan for the month.
2. Know where your gaps are, such as spending too much on eating out
3. Enable your defenders, such as bringing your lunch to work.
This young man was intentional with his time, energy, and effort. It will all pay off for the young man, especially if he continues these actions each day.
Eating out can be one of our biggest money gaps. Let’s compare a prepared meal at home to take for lunch versus eating out.
Let’s use an example of a pot of chili made at home. I’ve used this recipe many times and it is so good! It makes 6 servings. Plus, I’m adding in Jiffy Cornbread. Each ingredient I’ve included in my breakdown are all organic. Please note that this meal could be more cost effective if you source non-organic ingredients.
4 strips bacon, sliced ½-inch thick – Aldi – $2.20
1 ½ pounds ground beef – Aldi – grass fed beef – $9.86
1 medium yellow onion, diced – $0.37
1 green bell pepper, diced – $1.81
3 garlic cloves, minced – $0.18
2 tablespoon chili powder – $1.00
1 tablespoon cumin powder – $0.85
2 teaspoon paprika – $0.25
1 teaspoon dried oregano – $0.10
1 teaspoon salt – $0.02
2 tablespoon tomato paste – $0.73
1 (28-ounce can) fire roasted diced tomatoes – $3.10
1 (15-ounce can) black beans – $1.55
1 (15-ounce can) red kidney beans – $1.55
2 cups chicken bone broth – $2.59
1 bay leaf – $0.40
Jiffy Cornbread mix – $0.64
1 Egg – $0.57
½ cup milk – $0.30
Grand total: $28.07
Divided by 6 servings = $28.07/6 =$4.67 per servingof chili and cornbread
Given the quality ingredients used in the above recipe, let’s cost compare to a Chicken Burrito Bowl from Chipotle with a drink. See screenshot order below. $15.20 total for one meal
$15.20 – $4.67 = $10.53 in savings by making your food at home
If you change your behavior to making your lunch at home versus buying, you could save $10.53 per day or more. Weekly, that would be a savings of $52.65. Monthly, that would be a savings of $210.60. Yearly, that’s a savings of $2,527.20.
What would $2,527.20 extra this year do for your household? What would it pay off? What goal would that help you save toward?
How are you being intentional today with your money?
Do you have a financial or money goal for 2025? Pay off a credit card? Save for a vacation? Save for a car? Save for a medical procedure? Something else? Do you wonder why your money disappears so quickly? Do you have more month than money? It’s disheartening to work so hard for our paychecks and feel like there’s never enough money. Did you know in the 1970’s people were exposed to 500-1,600 marketing ads per day? Today, the average is estimated between 6,000-10,000 marketing ads per day. We see more than 12x more ads each day than we did 50 years ago. 🤯 That’s one indicator of why we can’t keep our money for very long and why we lose track of it. The reality is every ad you see is vying for your hard-earned dollar. Marketers are smart and they want to separate you from your money. They know how to play into your emotions and how to make you think and feel like you can’t live without a product or service. Not to mention all the data our phones collect about what we click on, how many seconds we watch or stop scrolling to see an ad. With this data, marketers can put even more pinpointed products and services in front of you in the form of ads. What do we do about it?
1. Game Plan and Defensive Strategy
When you play a game, the goal is to win. Think of this as money goals = winning. Next, to win, you need a solid defense strategy. In its basic meaning, defense means having a defender for every gap. Where are your money gaps? How do you know what they are? Once you know, you can enable your defenders.
2. Money Plan vs Actual Spending
The best tool to identify where your money gaps are is going to be…wait for it…a budget. Yes, I know! The horrible “B” word. 😉 If it feels better for you, refer to it as your money plan instead! You’re going to take a little time, set out a money plan for the month and then track what you actually spend. Then compare what your plan was versus your actual spending. This exercise will identify your gaps. Where are you overspending? Do you have enough income to cover your basics expenses?
3. Mind your Gaps
Once you know where you are overspending, then you can enable your defenders. Are you shopping too much? Defense: consider deleting your shopping apps or unsubscribing to email lists. Take away the temptation. Are you spending a lot of money on fast food? Defense: consider making sandwiches at home to take for lunch. Are you finding that you aren’t able to cover your basic expenses: housing, food, clothes, transportation? Defense: What are ways you could make more money either by side hustle or finding a job that will pay more?
It’s great to have money goals. That’s step one, establish your goal because that’s how you’ll know if you are winning. Money goal = winning. How are you going to move forward toward accomplishing your money goal? Define your game plan, identify your gaps and enable your defenders to fill in the gaps. You’ve worked hard for your money and you should keep it or at least tell it where to go instead of wondering where it went.
Our modern world 🌎 is so fast paced. The expectations are right here, right now, and on demand. Today’s modern life depicts that we can have anything and everything at the touch of a button 🔘. Consider Netflix with endless streaming options; or Amazon with a conveyor belt of products to your front door 🚪 with what your heart desires. Consider DoorDash making food options seem endless and easy. What’s wrong with having options at the touch of a button? On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with it. However, there’s a better question to ask instead: What are we missing?
How much time ⏱️ do you spend deciding what to watch on your streaming service? So. Many. Options. Anxiety creeps in about picking the wrong show or movie to watch because there might be something better if I just keep looking 👀. How much time do you spend binge watching a series? Has that box popped up on the screen asking “Are you still watching?” because the same show is still playing after watching 3 episodes. What are we missing?
Time. ⌛️
Time scrolling through too many options. Hours spent watching episode after episode. What else could you do with that time? Read a book, learn a new skill, study for a class, practice a hobby, pray, hang out with a friend or your spouse, volunteer. Are we intentionally making the decision of how we want to spend our time? Or are we allowing our time to slip away? ⌛️
What about shopping online with a business like Amazon? What are we missing?
Delayed gratification. Money. Social interactions.
Amazon is like a genie in a bottle. Make a wish for a product and it arrives lickity split except for that whole exchange of money 💵 thing. 2️⃣0️⃣ years ago, if I wanted a new shirt, I would have to plan when I would drive to the nearest mall. The next thought would be checking to see if there was a sale happening soon so my hard-earned money 💵 stretched further. I might have planned to go with a friend to make it a more enjoyable experience. 2️⃣0️⃣ years ago, I would intentionally plan when I would shop, how I would spend my money, and who I would bring along with me. All the planning and thought also meant I was delaying my gratification of getting a shirt right away. We say “no” to our children because it’s not healthy to have a piece of candy anytime they want it. Are we saying “n”o to ourselves often enough to ensure we have a healthy delayed gratification muscle? 💪
What about a service like DoorDash? What are we missing?
Cooking skills. Health. Money. Family heritage.
Beyond the excessive expense of the service, fast and processed food 🍕has eroded our health. Our bodies need nutrient dense foods 🥗. If we cooked more often at home, we would have better control of the ingredients we are putting in our bodies to nourish them well. Developing cooking skills are being limited by allowing restaurants to do it instead. Cooking is a major life and survival skill. There’s no need to be a Chef, however, everyone needs to know their way around a kitchen, how to plan a meal, and know where ingredients are in the grocery 🛒 store. What about your grandmother’s recipes 📝, something your mom or aunt always made? Is it possible that family heritage is slipping away without the knowledge, practice, and cooking skills to keep them going? Regardless, you are paying a hefty price 💲 for convenience.
Don’t get me wrong. I have a Netflix subscription, an Amazon Prime account, and I have DoorDashed on a rare occasion. These options aren’t wrong, however, it is VERY easy to slip into living your life on auto pilot. The endless scrolling, buying, and eating out because it’s easy. There’s a price 💲 to pay for convenience. There’s always a price!
One very valid argument is our busy, hectic schedules demand that we continue moving at lightening ⚡️ speed. I agree, our schedules aren’t slowing down and I would suggest using these options as measured 📏 conveniences. Measure them by being intentionally aware. Be intentional when you need to use them. Be intentional in the money 💵 you spend on convenience. Be intentional in what you are trading for your time ⌛️. Be intentional of how your decisions are impacting your health 🩺. Don’t lose yourself in the haze of busy and put your brain 🧠 on autopilot. Live the life you have to the fullest and intentionally choose what works best for you. Let’s be aware of what modern conveniences provide, how they can make our lives easier, and let’s also consider what we are missing or giving up by using them. Be intentionally intentional with your time ⌛️, money 💵, and health 🩺.
Coaching started for me when I became a fitness 💪 instructor in my late 20’s. I fell in love with fitness classes, and one of the fitness instructors I fangirled over encouraged me to get certified to teach 👩🏻🏫.
So, I did.
I LOVED ♥️ every minute of teaching, coaching, encouraging others to push past their limits, and achieve their goals 🎯. There’s something addicting about watching someone have a “light bulb💡 moment”. A moment they completed an exercise, lifted heavier weights, completed an entire class, lost the weight, got stronger, etc. All things they had told themselves they could not do.
And then…they did. I got to witness this over and over and it never got old!
Fast forward to the year 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣0️⃣, the start of the pandemic. I wasn’t instructing fitness classes anymore. Instead, I found myself working from home full time. As with many industries and corporations, 2020 was a challenging year. The oil and gas industry was no different and my corporation went through a major headcount reduction starting with executive level all the way down to hourly employees. So much was out of my control with the uncertainty of my job and with the virus. To help pass the time ⏰ and focus on something that was in my control, I completed Financial Coach Master Training, earned my certificate 📜, and became a Financial Coach.
Many may not know that I’m a nerd 🤓 when it comes to money 💵 . My undergrad degree from Mississippi State University is in Finance so you’d think that’s when the nerd came out, but it wasn’t. I’ve always been into saving money, even from my youth. It wasn’t odd for me to put on a jacket and find money in it. Money that someone gave me and I put in a pocket to save for later.
In my Junior year of college I read the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. After reading his book 📕, I would occasionally listen to his radio 📻 talk show. It made sense. I loved that there were baby steps and I could understand it. Now, mind you, I did not follow the baby steps to a “T”. When I graduated college, I had student loans, a credit card, and a car 🚘 note.
Fast forward through a lot of life and getting remarried in my mid 30’s. We found ourselves in debt. Between tax debt, car 🚘 loan, and student loans; we owed just shy of $30,000. We followed the baby steps and got out of debt within a year’s time. Now we continue to work to pay off our house early and are aggressively saving for retirement. With the 1️⃣1️⃣ year age difference between my husband and me, I hope to retire when he does. That cuts off about 10 years of retirement contributions and savings for me, so it’s hustle time! 👊🏼 #goals
In 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣, I became a Leadership Coach in my corporate oil and gas job. I work one-on-one with leaders with direct reports and influential leaders. Influential leaders are ones that may not have a team reporting to them, but they have many people that they must influence to deliver results and progress projects. In reality, we are all influential leaders in our jobs. During coaching sessions I help clients develop goals that we will work on together. During sessions, we talk through challenges, progress, tools 🛠️ , and potentially even new or refreshed goals. My role as a leadership coach is not to solve the problem for my clients, rather to ask ❓ the right questions , give feedback, reframe, and offer perspective that helps the client find their solution.
Anyone starting to see 👀 a theme here?
Coaching.
Regardless if it’s fitness 💪 coaching, leadership coaching, or financial 💵coaching similar skills apply. I’ve always had in inner coach within me. Especially if you’ve read my writings very much, you’ll see 👀 or read 📖 it. I’m frequently asking questions, encouraging improvement and progress, etc. What goals do you have? What are you willing to do differently to achieve them? Who is holding you accountable? What’s holding you back? What is your plan to achieve your goals?
Coaching is all about finding the answers to those questions, creating a plan to execute, and having accountability along the way.
Stay tuned, I’ll have an opening for financial coaching soon! Details to come!
