I first met Ellen when I joined the Richmond Symphony Chorus. I immediately knew she was very cool and down to earth, because she was an alto (like me đ). Singing with another person connects your soul to theirs in a certain way, and I was pleased that Ellen and I fostered our connection outside of the group as well. I felt I had found a kindred spirit: a smart, driven, hard-working woman!
A year later, Ellen left for graduate school, but Facebook kept us connected and I enjoyed seeing what she was up to in life. A few years after that, I found myself really drawn to her content and where she was going in life. Seeing a reformed people-pleaser who was setting goals, crushing them, and being vulnerable about it; I was floored. I wanted whatever she had! I joined Ellen as she coached for Beachbody, but found that I wasnât truly invested in the programs and shakes. I wrote it off as yet another thing I couldnât stick with, and kept on with my daily grind.
Then, I started seeing Ellen post about a new type of coaching that she was pursuing for her own life and as a career. It made a lot of sense to me, as Ellen now seemed focused on the big-picture of life, and less on the details of how life âshouldâ be. After following along for a bit, I got a spark of inspiration to call Ellen in response to one of her Facebook posts. After we chatted a bit, I found myself hiring her!
This was in 2017, and I knew for sure it was the year that my life would get fixed and then I would live out of the rest of my days as the enlightened/happiest version of myself.
HA! Every coach reading this is for sure laughing out loud, and I hope the rest of you will laugh along with us as I recount my journey as Ellenâs client. The way I thought coaching would go is that Ellen would tell me her secret solution to how she fixed her life, and then she would guide me in how to fix my own life.
Instead, I found a partner who was messy, learning, and failing-forward right alongside me. We spent many calls where I was in tears as Ellen assured me I had the answers inside myself. Although I first wrote it off as utter hogwash, the paradigm shifts Ellen introduced slowly became the new (and kinder) voices in my head, and I tentatively started to look inside myself more.
If you can relate to being a personal development junkie, youâll know my next desire was for MORE!
I wanted more transformation, more education, and more of that self-trust that Ellen encouraged from me. So, I entered the coach training program where Ellen had joined the leadership team.
[Let me pause for a moment to self-identify as the person Ellen has written about who loathes travel. Truly, I would be happy to spend the rest of my days in my hometown, and preferably within walking distance of my house]
So, here I am, flying from Roanoke, VA to San Diego, CA every other month to train as an ontological coach. And it was so uncomfortable. Stretching my homebody self to fly cross-country was the least of my worries. I stressed often about affording the program, as well as worrying that I would outgrow my marriage and close friendships.
Plus, I wouldnât yet allow myself to lean into my desire to be a coach. I kept showing up, practicing coaching clients, and doing a slightly more elevated version of âwhat I was supposed to do.â (Remember back in the first paragraph where I described Ellen and I as âsmart, driven, hard-working wom[e]n?â Turns out that it was going to take a little longer for both of us to continue unraveling our people-pleasing tendencies and continually recommit to living in aligned integrity).
Thankfully, Ellen has always reminded me to give myself compassion as I grew out of my old stories and patterns.
As the 10-month program came to a close, I kept taking baby steps toward becoming a coach, and I declared aloud to Ellen that I would quit my job as a pharmacist within the year (by December of 2020)!
Well, you might relate to my experience that 2020 didnât go as intended. I was still working with a one-on-one coach, but I felt even further away from the idea of leaving pharmacy to pursue being a full-time coach. Meanwhile, from the outside looking in, it seemed like Ellen was nailing it in business with another launch of the Powerhouse Program. Iâm pretty sure I unsubscribed from this very newsletter for a time as it felt painful to watch Ellen wins when I felt very untethered.
Gratefully, I remained (and still do) committed to this work, and my experience of Ellen is that she does too! When I took a medical leave from my pharmacist job last March, it was easy to reconnect with Ellen and lean into how her presence in the world. I slowly started building connections and re-tethering myself to folks who would stand for me to create wins in my own life. In my time of illness, I knew I could no longer ignore my calling to bring my unique brand of coaching to the world.
I said ânoâ to the Powerhouse Entrepreneur Program at least twice before I agonized over saying âYES!â but thinking I couldnât make it work.
(Isnât it funny how we rarely feel we have the time and money to get what we want?!).
But my attraction to working with Ellen again outweighed the fears. At the end of our first group call in June, my teammates acknowledgements reflected to me how much I had transformed already. And that was just the tip of the iceberg that is still revealing itself to me as I gain more clarity as to what I want in business, relationships, and LIFE!
Throughout the Powerhouse Program, my experience of Ellen (and of myself!) has been totally different than the partnership we had prior. And this is exactly what Iâd expect from two women dedicated to creating congruence in life.
The lessons flow freely as I embrace the ways I change and give myself grace as I embrace the ways others change around me. Just as I could not have predicted what my life would look like after I first hired Ellen, I cannot predict what more is yet to come. But I eagerly anticipate knowing and loving this woman for the rest of my life!
Keep following along as she up-levels herself and her business, because I am a testament to the beauty of how her skills and level of coaching has evolved over the years!
AND, for bonus up-leveling, follow along with me too as I harness the power Iâm unlocking after my time as a Powerhouse Entrepreneur! I work with coaching clients 1-on-1, and especially enjoy working with those who want to stop using prescription medications. I also co-lead a group coaching program for folks who self-identify as having ADHD.
Find me on Instagram @TinaKay248 or e-mail me at TinaKbrockman@gmail.com to start the conversation! As my story has demonstrated, you can start anytime with anyone and trust that the universe is ever-aligning in your favor!
And, for the tl;dr folks:
- Never underestimate the ways your life changes when you cross paths with another human.
- Stay grateful for the ways you change and the ways others change too (dare I say, âEMBRACE IT!â)
- Increase the amount of support youâre getting in life. Hiring a coach is one way to do that! It could be Ellen when sheâs back from maternity leave, or it could also be me!