I’m always so curious how other people have ended up in a particular job or career choice. It seems the way that happens is almost as limitless as the number of job/career choices that are out there.
For myself, transitioning from the Marine Corps to being a youth pastor to a school counselor and now a college advisor has been seamless in many ways, easily accessing repeated skills under a new, different context each time. The primary goal after serving my country has been to help other people attain their goals!
While my current day job still lets me do that, it just doesn’t hit the spot of deep, meaningful conversations that can really impact lives. What I do as a college advisor is meaningful and helpful to so many, at least I hope so or I wouldn’t be doing it, but I love to dig deeper and help people overcome other types of challenges too, especially when the tables have turned on them or they are going through a particularly challenging stage of life.
Sometimes, just talking to someone, using them as a sounding board can be enough to get some tough things off your chest or help you discern things swirling around in your head. I know I have a few of my closest buddies I love to bounce ideas off, which I even did multiple times with this idea of life coaching itself. We all need people that can help us do that.
Sometimes though, we need more than a friend. We may need a more trained or skilled listener, someone outside of our normal circle, or maybe most importantly, someone who’s been there before. Someone who’s had similar struggles or experiences.
What excites me about the potential of life coaching is seeing life change for someone in a way they’ve only been able to dream about or imagine. I love the idea of being that person who can help them flesh out an idea or put rubber to the road and begin to make the changes necessary to SEE the change they want become reality in their life.
Now that excites me to no end!
If need to talk to someone like me, I would love to hear from you! If you don’t need this for yourself, will you please take a few moments to think or pray about whom you might share my life coaching page with?
It could make all the difference for them.
Shawn D. Congleton ~ author & life coach 