Coaching

I have been working on my personal growth intensively over the last year. I have been working to lose weight, recover my energy and inner strength, build my character, reconnect with friends, and love my family. Although I cannot say it has not been without its bumps, difficulties and moments of pain, I am pleased to celebrate that I am in a better place as a person. I have lost weight. I have maintained connections with friends. I have reinvested in my family. I am more actively engaged.

I set about this task because I had lost so much and was continuing to do so. I felt out of control in my ability to affect change and stay the tide. I had buried myself in work as a refuge. I looked on my future as something that would one day correct itself. I told myself that I was a strong and intelligent person and that I would be able to make it right.

COACH CAREY

Then, I was humbled. I had a seizure. I had a brain tumor removed and a year of chemotherapy and radiation. I lost what energy I had. My short-term memory was struck down. My wife and family rallied around me. I returned to work and had to learn memory strategies to stay productive and connected. I was given a second chance at life.

Then, I was humbled. The programs and teams at I directed at work were attacked by new leadership. I stood up for them. I stood up for myself. I left on a sick leave. When I returned, I was ambushed and framed. I left to find work elsewhere. I have found a temporary job and casual guest teaching, for both of which I am grateful. Despite attempts, I have been unsuccessful at gaining full-time employment with the benefits needed to support my family. Financial hardships have hit my family and the stress has torn us apart.

Then, I was humbled. My daughter collapsed from a severe headache. She had a ventricle in her brain blocked by a rare tumor. She had surgery. I remember my family and I worrying that she would not make it. Like the angel she is, Christina recovered and struggles with memory loss with her effervescent smile. I draw inspiration from her and wish some day to be as strong as her.

Then, I was humbled. My grandfather passed. He was a hard-working man who was given little, did so much, and put family first. He never complained. He was one of my heroes. I wrote a speech for his funeral but  I caught a chest infection that laid me low. I was unable to attend his funeral. I cried that day.

There are people that are worse off, I know. However, I sometimes cannot see that when I am in my tunnel. When I disengage, I can see this and remind myself. I have kept moving on. At times, I am not sure I know how. But in my moments of clarity, I know that it is because of others.

COACH.ME

I am strong, but I have needed friends and family to pull me up when I am weak. I needed advice, encouragement and even admonishment to keep me walking. I thank my psychologist greatly as she has kept me positive and hopeful. She has been a great coach. I thank my friends and colleagues who meet me for coffee to keep me grounded. I thank my family for their help when there was nothing left. 

I was afraid that asking for help meant that I was weak or needy or that people would see me that way.  I have always strived to earn respect and not sympathy. Now, I realize that helping each other is essential to the meaning and purpose of life. None of my family or friends have judged me and I have never judged them when they needed help.

LOSEIT.COM

I have had so many coaches and mentors in my life. At work and at home, I have always adopted a coaching style: one where I meet a person where they are and we work together towards new personal goals. We hold hands when things get rough. We celebrate when we reach milestones. I have learned to replace bad habits with new healthy ones. I have used coach.me and loseit.com to track and share my progress.I wish to give back. I have launched a coaching site. I wish to make it part of my personal and work life so that I can feel integrity and passion in what I do - and squeeze out a living.


I stand at the base of the fifth mountain. I hope you will join me.