After I had my first child and experienced taking care of some of his illnesses, I thought I had found my calling to be a nurse. I started researching ways to finance my dream to go to school to become a nurse. I probably completed two classes, and after taking them one at a time, the reality of life kicked in and I lost the desire and energy to complete my dream. If I am being honest, I allowed those temporary thoughts to become fuel for my underlying fears to take over and allow me to escape from doing something hard.

This takes me back to when I was still in high school and I allowed my fear of going to college consume me. I didn’t even think I was smart back then, let alone capable of becoming a college student – never mind completing a degree. I remember telling everyone as a senior that I was going to be an accountant and will be attending the University of California in Sacramento because I knew we were relocating to Sacramento. I picked accounting because I took a record keeping class that taught us some basic finances, and I enjoyed it. I did NO MORE RESEARCH other than putting those two thoughts together. In truth, I was just making it all up to just keep the questions at bay. I didn’t even think of seeking out assistance to find a way into a school or even find what may interest me.

For the next decade, I struggled with jobs and qualifying for anything. Let alone, finding anyone who believed in me. Even those I considered friends couldn’t and wouldn’t be of any help to my career. Honestly, I didn’t even have what most would consider a career. I simply was in a position or industry that allowed me to stay so long as I was good at being of some sort of support. Honestly, there were those that were comfortable with me being where I was because I was good at that position. I mean who wouldn’t be after so many years of repetition and lack of change. There were some technology improvements, but it wasn’t anything that would enhance my position or create avenues for improving my skills. I dug into a deeper hole and told myself this is my career – THIS is what I was meant to do even though I had no desire to ever be the person I was. It was where the “universe” led me and that HAD to be enough. At least that’s what my inner voice told me because what else was I going to do? I had no degree, no additional skills, no one else believed I could potentially do anything else. I just started to fill my life with other things. I taught fitness classes, I tried to find different events to attend, anything and everything else other than put my energy towards the very thing I thought would move me forward.

I got married, had two more children, then our daughter passed away due to a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and a year later we decided to relocate our family to Colorado. Over those ten years, I along with the family we built endured so much sadness and struggle. When we settled into Colorado, I attended a college to become a medical assistant. It was supposed to be a step towards becoming a nurse. The education I received was enough to get me into the industry I longed to be in, but I soon came to another limitation of knowledge. Again, I had no plan other than to just be satisfied with what I had in front of me. Five years after accomplishing a college diploma, I found myself just as frustrated and in need of EVEN more direction than I started with. With that college diploma, I was able to become a Clinic Manager for a hospital system and while that was a short stint it was eye opening because I saw the same patterns I had even without a diploma and without a real career strategy. I decided to return to school to complete my college degree in a field that I hoped would merge my administrative and clinical skills I collected.

Four years after the decision to stay home with my two sons so I could finally enroll and accomplish a college degree, I found myself with a degree in Organizational Management and Leadership studies with a specialization in Public and Non-Profit Management.

The Moment Everything Changed

But even with my degree in hand, I realized something profound – my greatest transformation hadn’t happened in a classroom. It happened when I finally stopped running from my fears and started facing them head-on. For the first time in my life, I had broken through a pattern that had held me captive for decades: the pattern of letting fear dictate my choices, of settling for “good enough,” of believing I wasn’t capable of more.

What I learned wasn’t just organizational management – I learned how to manage my own self-limiting beliefs. I discovered that every excuse I’d made, every time I’d talked myself out of pursuing something challenging, every moment I’d let fear win – those weren’t character flaws. They were learned behaviors that could be unlearned.

I began to see that my story wasn’t unique. Around me were countless people who felt exactly like I had for so many years: unfulfilled, underestimating their potential, unsupported, and convinced that their current reality was all they deserved. People who were filling their lives with distractions rather than pursuing what would actually move them forward. People who had convinced themselves that where they were was where the “universe” meant for them to stay.

From Personal Breakthrough to Purpose

That’s when I discovered my true calling wasn’t just in organizational leadership, but in helping others break through their own barriers. Everything I’d overcome – the fear of not being smart enough, the decade of feeling unqualified, the cycle of settling for less than I wanted – became the foundation for understanding exactly what keeps people spinning their wheels and how to help them gain real momentum.

My journey from making up career plans in high school to finally achieving my educational goals taught me something powerful: transformation isn’t about having the perfect plan or never feeling afraid. It’s about learning to move forward despite the fear, to recognize when you’re making excuses, and to develop the courage to pursue what you want instead of what feels safe.

Today, I work with people who see themselves in my story – those who feel trapped in careers that don’t fulfill them, who have dreams they’ve talked themselves out of pursuing, who believe they’re not smart enough or qualified enough to create the life they want. Because I’ve been exactly where they are, I can help them see what I couldn’t see for so many years: that their current circumstances don’t define their future possibilities.

If you’re reading this and thinking “that sounds like me,” know that your story isn’t over. The same courage that eventually led me to face my fears and complete my degree is already inside you. Sometimes we just need someone who’s walked that path to show us it’s possible.

Ready to stop settling and start pursuing what you want? Let’s talk about how coaching can help you break through the patterns that have been keeping you from moving forward. All you need now is to CONTACT me to schedule a discovery call. Do it for the you that you want to become!