Background.
Throughout my twenties, I thought I was checking all the right boxes to be successful:
It only took me a decade since graduating college to realize that I wasn't happy! I hated my job and the thought of rising through the ranks didn't excite me at all.
Get knocked down. Get back up.
My performance slowly began to decline and I stopped caring all together, which eventually led to me getting fired. I was simultaneously relieved that I no longer had to work at that office and also scared since I had no idea what I was going to do next.
I decided to take a break and move back home to D.C. (and yes, to live with my parents). My mom had this uncanny ability to make me lose my mind, so I began tutoring part time to get out of the house. It was a good way to make some extra money and a billion times better than working in the corporate world.
Tutoring came easily to me and both my students and their parents took notice. When I informed one student's father that tutoring was just temporary, he encouraged me to reconsider:
I decided to take a break and move back home to D.C. (and yes, to live with my parents). My mom had this uncanny ability to make me lose my mind, so I began tutoring part time to get out of the house. It was a good way to make some extra money and a billion times better than working in the corporate world.
Tutoring came easily to me and both my students and their parents took notice. When I informed one student's father that tutoring was just temporary, he encouraged me to reconsider:
"Why temporary? You have a gift.
Start your own tutoring business!"
Start your own tutoring business!"
As much as I enjoyed tutoring, the father's advice fell on deaf ears. I was too concerned with what other people would think...
...that I had squandered a great corporate job.
...that I wasn't meant to do anything important.
...that I was a failure.
However, in my search for something more "respectable," I couldn't catch a break. I applied to business school, interviewed for multiple jobs and even teamed up with a friend to try and get a start-up off the ground. Nothing panned out.
Strangely enough, I wasn't all that dejected. I'd lost count of how many times I'd been knocked down, and getting back up was second nature to me by now.
I also began to care less and less about what my friends, family or anybody else thought. My mindset was pretty simple: I was going to make the tutoring gig permanent.
If starting my own tutoring company ended up working out, then great. If not, then I would just get back up again and figure something else out.
...that I had squandered a great corporate job.
...that I wasn't meant to do anything important.
...that I was a failure.
However, in my search for something more "respectable," I couldn't catch a break. I applied to business school, interviewed for multiple jobs and even teamed up with a friend to try and get a start-up off the ground. Nothing panned out.
Strangely enough, I wasn't all that dejected. I'd lost count of how many times I'd been knocked down, and getting back up was second nature to me by now.
I also began to care less and less about what my friends, family or anybody else thought. My mindset was pretty simple: I was going to make the tutoring gig permanent.
If starting my own tutoring company ended up working out, then great. If not, then I would just get back up again and figure something else out.
A Welcome Change.
That was almost 10 years ago. The tutoring company is still going strong, generating revenues rivaling Amazon (kidding). It has, however, done very well and is consistently ranked as one of the top test prep services in the Washington D.C. area. That success later gave me the inspiration to create a non-profit, which provides free web-based SAT prep for students unable to afford the cost of test preparation.
As incredible as it was to work with hundreds of amazing students, I still felt something was missing...
Coaching...
I realized the most rewarding part of tutoring wasn't teaching students concepts or strategies, but coaching them to ultimately reach their college dreams.
On the advice of a friend who thought coaching would be great fit for me, I took a leap of faith and enrolled in a one-year Accredited Coach Training Program through Accomplishment Coaching.
In addition to training to become a professional coach, I was also paired with an experienced coach to work on my own personal and professional growth.
My coach Selena not only met but exceeded all my expectations. With her partnership, I came to realize that, though highly fulfilling, my work had consumed my life and I since stopped pursuing the things that made me happy.
Slowly but surely, I began to get back into my passions. (photo taken in Kathmandu, Nepal).
On the advice of a friend who thought coaching would be great fit for me, I took a leap of faith and enrolled in a one-year Accredited Coach Training Program through Accomplishment Coaching.
In addition to training to become a professional coach, I was also paired with an experienced coach to work on my own personal and professional growth.
My coach Selena not only met but exceeded all my expectations. With her partnership, I came to realize that, though highly fulfilling, my work had consumed my life and I since stopped pursuing the things that made me happy.
Slowly but surely, I began to get back into my passions. (photo taken in Kathmandu, Nepal).
Not only did the program give me the tools to build my own coaching business, but it also taught me to be more authentic and remove the barriers in the way of connecting with others and, ultimately, myself.
That's it! Fast forward to right now:
I'm pretty much the greatest life coach in the history of the world.
Well, one of the greatest... definitely in the top ten.
See how humble I am?
That's it! Fast forward to right now:
I'm pretty much the greatest life coach in the history of the world.
Well, one of the greatest... definitely in the top ten.
See how humble I am?