June Topic: Share a moment when your business met the need of a client.
By Jamie Allen Bishop with Jamie Allen Bishop Coaching
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“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” #RalphWaldoEmersonQuote
This quote beautifully sums up the experience of a transformation journey.
What do you say when someone you adore comes to you for help? You say, “Yes.”
When you realize this help involves an intensive trip to the emotional core of your being, you might question why you’ve willingly agreed. Because when you start to examine your life with the intention of wanting a deep and permanent change, you do not often grasp the idea that to change your life, you must first change yourself. And personal change can be messy, scary, and brutal to face. As such, it is not advisable to change alone.
When asked to provide “intensive transformation coaching” to an actor friend, there was a sense of excitement and wonder for us both.
What could we accomplish in one week of intensive transformation? I thought to myself.
This actor’s life was in hellish chaos – extreme depression, overwhelming anxiety, and relationship turmoil. After a few personal conversations over a couple of months, she reached out to me in an official capacity.
“I am hiring you to help me stop losing sleep, get out of my own damn way, and get back to work… NOW!”
But I didn’t feel ready.
Listener? My pleasure.
Opinion provider? Definitely.
Action suggester? Certainly.
But being someone’s life coach? I didn’t know if I could do that.
And that’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks: my purpose in this coach-client relationship wasn’t about me.
She felt trapped and was wise enough to know she needed to hire a helper, a guide, a coach. Having a client with intelligence enough to get out of her own way is rare and absolutely necessary to get through to the other side of transformation.
As my first official, paying client, her willingness to allow me to be her guide, to honor my coaching, to bear witness to her vulnerable and extraordinarily fast transformation, it was awe-inspiring and truly magnificent.
Since our work together (in 2020), she has received a starring role in a major motion picture; she has done several TV specials (one of which she is currently starring in); she has led a life of gratitude and happiness; and, she has rekindled a romance with her twin flame.
Being the observer, the holder of space, the cheerleader, the guide, and the accountability mistress of such a dramatic life change ended up feeling natural, beautiful, and honorable. I knew this coaching thing was my calling. It was her faith in me that led to receiving my Master Life Coach certification.
Working with her felt (and still feels) amazing.
A quote made by my own transformation coach comes to mind when I think of my role in someone else’s transformation, “I am perfect for your pleasure or perfect for your pain. Either way, I am perfect.” #MichelleLeeQuotes
She has transformed her life, and I am honored to have been part of the journey.
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready, the teacher will disappear.” #BuddhaQuotes
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yes!! being the guide or helper is a wonderful place to be!! love it!
Wil: Thank you for reading, my friend. Honestly, the role of “guide” is such a place of humble power. When someone has that much faith in you, the inevitable will occur, and I am so grateful she did… have faith in me!