Tell us about before you became a coach.
Before getting into coaching I worked part-time in the service industry as a server and was pursuing a career as a writer. I began a blog called The Brolog back in 2012, which was sort of like a Cosmo for men. We had a full North American wide writing staff that I managed, and I also contributed a weekly column on dating and relationships.
This then transferred into a professional freelance writing career, writing about sex, dating, relationships and other entertainment topics for various virtual publications across Canada, the US and the UK.
Eventually I got into comedy writing, sketch writing, and directing and performing in comedy sketches for YouTube. Then I started to make my own short movies and began writing screenplays.
All the while I was writing and blogging about relationships on social media and my personal website and had this real interest in the personal growth space, but didn't know how to actually begin working in the industry. Some things started to go south in my life, and I also began dating a woman who worked as a professional relationship coach.
Through her guidance, I was basically introduced to the world of coaching, which eventually led me to Lumia.
I'd always had this idea in my head that I would become a big shot in the entertainment industry and then become a life coach at age 35, after I'd made my mark in the entertainment industry. I never became a big shot in the entertainment industry, but I did become a life coach sooner than I'd anticipated. Funny how things work out like that!
What happened in your life to push you to FINALLY become a coach?
My life was falling apart. I couldn't find steady work as a server in the service industry. I was broke. Nothing was going right in my life. My apartment floor was filled with black mold and my physical health was suffering. All this while I was beginning to date someone who was a professional relationship coach.
I also was getting TONS of messages through email and over social media from people who were reading my articles and blogs, telling me how much my words and articles were literally changing their lives and helping them through a dark time. All this while, I was beginning to go through a spiritual awakening.
I honestly felt called to the world of coaching at this time in a way I could have never anticipated.
It was wild and serendipitous how all these events were colliding together. I realized there was something much deeper and more impactful I was here to do, and that path was through becoming a coach and teacher in this space.
There weren't really any other life coaching schools I was looking at before Lumia. I was already working as a coach before signing up with Lumia, but I knew I wanted to get a formal life coaching certification at some point.
I had this idea the right fit would present itself organically somehow. Sure enough, my partner tells me one day that John Kim, The Angry Therapist, has a life coaching school where he trains life coaches and she sends me the link.
I was obsessed with John's content at this point, and so naturally, looked into it immediately and it felt like a CLEAR YES in my body. I was a huge fan of John's and his raw, authentic and unique approach to coaching. How he was bringing this give no f*cks OWN YOUR STORY approach to coaching, which was so in resonance with me and who I am.
I also loved how the curriculum covered side a wide variety of topics, a lot of things I was curious to learn more about. It was also much more affordable and could be completed in a much shorter time frame than other life coaching certifications I'd heard about prior.
What other options or pathways did you consider before signing up for Lumia?
There weren't really any other life coaching schools I was looking at before Lumia. I was already working as a coach before signing up with Lumia, but I knew I wanted to get a formal life coaching certification at some point.
I had this idea the right fit would present itself organically somehow. Sure enough, my partner tells me one day that John Kim, The Angry Therapist, has a life coaching school where he trains life coaches and she sends me the link.
I was obsessed with John's content at this point, and so naturally, looked into it immediately and it felt like a CLEAR YES in my body. I was a huge fan of John's and his raw, authentic and unique approach to coaching. How he was bringing this give no f*cks OWN YOUR STORY approach to coaching, which was so in resonance with me and who I am.
I also loved how the curriculum covered side a wide variety of topics, a lot of things I was curious to learn more about. It was also much more affordable and could be completed in a much shorter time frame than other life coaching certifications I'd heard about prior.
Why did you choose coach training with Lumia?
Because Lumia is about owning and claiming what is weird about you. It's not about trying to fit you into this box of what a life coach "should be" or "should look like".
It's about building a practice around who you are, what brings you to life, what makes you tick, what makes you flawed, imperfect, and unique.
It's about owning your story and letting the most authentic you shine through. The best way we can inspire people is by being so unapologetically ourselves.
Lumia gives its life coaches this gift, and in turn, this is the gift Lumia coaches give to their clients and those who they serve.
What would have happened if you did not go through the Lumia program?
I would have never found my swagger as a coach. Lumia gave me my swagger. In other words, Lumia was my life coaching SWAG SCHOOL. I was working as a coach before this, but Lumia is what gave me the confidence, courage and belief that I could actually do this for a living in a very expansive way.
What risks did you consider when thinking of becoming a coach?
That I would fail. That I wouldn't get clients. That I'd put myself out there and nobody would want to work with me. That I wasn't "together" enough in my life to lead and guide people in their own journeys. That I wasn't evolved or developed enough to actually help people, which I was so wrong about.
There is so much gold in the paths and stories we've walked.
Once we begin to ground ourselves in that truth, we realize how much power we actually have. More power than we ever realized. But once we begin to realize that power, hello SWAGGER.
What fears did you have before joining Lumia?
I'd fail. I wouldn't actually like coaching. I wouldn't be good at coaching. Everybody would be so much better and smarter than I was. There were parts of me and my past I was afraid people would see, and those parts would make me unworthy to do a job such as this for a living. My friends and family would see me fail. Imposter Syndrome - who am I to think they could be a coach? Who am I to think I was evolved enough to be a guide for people? I'd never be able to sell online and I don't know enough about social media and business to actually start my own online practice. That I don't complete anything. I feared I'd quit halfway and this story in my life would continue to replay and I'd never fully maximize on my potential.
What measurable benefits have you seen as a result of becoming a coach with Lumia?
Going from working with 1-2 clients to having a STACKED FULL coaching practice with clients stretching across the globe with most of my clients coming from referrals and word of mouth from creating so much impact.
Before Lumia: hard time getting any clients.
After Lumia: having to turn away clients because I have too many.
Creating life changing, mind blowing breakthroughs for many of my clients. The lives of my clients are literally transforming and changing before my eyes in the most magical and expansive way. Being insecure about my ability as a coach to being swagger sure of my ability to create massive, life-altering breakthroughs in 30 minutes or less.
No podcast before starting Lumia to now having a top relationship podcast with 100,000 downloads in 1 year.
Now I have a speaking career and am being interviewed on many of the top podcasts in the personal growth space.
Before Lumia: barely making money as a coach.
After Lumia: I am making a good living working as a full-time professional coach.
My own life also feels so much more abundant and expansive ever since I completed the Intensive.
How have you changed since coach training with Lumia? How has your business changed?
I am so much more expansive and abundant. No longer feel like an imposter in this industry. I feel like I belong. My inner image has completely shifted - before the intensive I saw myself as someone who wasn't successful but had the potential to be successful, and now, I actually see myself as successful. I would look at people in this industry and marvel at how brilliant and wise they were, but now I actually feel like one of them, I actually feel like I belong with the heavy hitters in this industry.
Before the intensive, I was only making a bit of money, working with a couple of clients. Now I have a full client roster of 15 clients with many on a waitlist to work with me.
Before Lumia, I was nervous to ask for the sale and promote my coaching. Now I feel completely comfortable and my DM is always full of people wanting to work with me and friends of current clients are constantly reaching out saying they'd like to work with me.
Before Lumia, I was all over the place in my sessions and didn't really know what I was doing. Now I have a lot more structure, more worksheets and modalities I use for integration, and actually create a really tangible arc with my clients that I'm able to track for longer-term coaching clients. At the beginning, I didn't really know where to take clients who would buy longer-term packages, but now I have a lot more capacity and more tools to be able to take my clients on a longer-term growth journey.
I've just continued to go deeper and deeper with where I take my clients. I've gone much deeper in my own healing work, and continue to expand my capacity for how far I can take my clients, and how deep of an impact I can truly make in their lives.
Before Lumia, I was a more basic dating, relationship and life coach. But now I feel I've moved into the space of a healing and transformational coach. I continually have my clients telling me that working with me has been more impactful and helpful than any therapy or counseling they've ever done.
It's normal to feel like an imposter at first. Everyone feels like this when they're first starting out. But you have so much wisdom just from the story and path you've walked so far. Own your story. Everything you've been through. The areas of your life that have historically been the most challenging for you are the areas you're the most primed to guide and lead people. But first you must transform this area of your life for yourself. In order to be integrity as a coach, we must guide people to places we have been before. So I would recommend working with a therapist or a coach, or at least doing a lot of your own inner work before becoming a coach.
Also, create a social media account and/or blog and just begin creating content before even promoting yourself as a coach. I think the first step to becoming a coach is finding your voice. So practice creating content for a while first and learn to cultivate your voice.
So if you have an interest in becoming a coach first figure out what area you're most interested in coaching people in, and begin creating content for your website and social media for a while before even signing up for a certification program.
Also work with a coach in that particular area yourself so you can learn what that job is like and how they go about it. This is crucial for your education and becoming integrated and embodied in how you lead your clients.
What advice would you give to someone considering becoming a coach?
It's normal to feel like an imposter at first. Everyone feels like this when they're first starting out. But you have so much wisdom just from the story and path you've walked so far. Own your story. Everything you've been through. The areas of your life that have historically been the most challenging for you are the areas you're the most primed to guide and lead people. But first you must transform this area of your life for yourself. In order to be integrity as a coach, we must guide people to places we have been before. So I would recommend working with a therapist or a coach, or at least doing a lot of your own inner work before becoming a coach.
Also, create a social media account and/or blog and just begin creating content before even promoting yourself as a coach. I think the first step to becoming a coach is finding your voice. So practice creating content for a while first and learn to cultivate your voice.
So if you have an interest in becoming a coach first figure out what area you're most interested in coaching people in, and begin creating content for your website and social media for a while before even signing up for a certification program.
Also work with a coach in that particular area yourself so you can learn what that job is like and how they go about it. This is crucial for your education and becoming integrated and embodied in how you lead your clients.