“If I wouldn’t have hired you when I did, I probably wouldn’t still be alive”.

I will never forget the feeling of hearing that statement from one of my clients. It knocked me back in my seat. I remember crying when we got off the phone because of the impact he made on me during that conversation.

I didn’t know he was close to giving up on living when we started our work together.

I knew he had goals, he needed structure and we had a lot of mindset work to do, but I didn’t know suicidal thoughts were at play. During the first few months of working with a new client, we spend a lot of time going deep, like really deep into the dark shadows of self. We uncover fears and limiting patterns, unhealthy habits and space that needs room to breathe. Sometimes those are just around performance, professional growth, communication, self-worth, rebelling against structure, lacking a plan, etc.

But sometimes… sometimes it’s way deeper than that. Sometimes it’s going back to when they were a child, or a teenager when something happened that froze them up forever. Going into the shadows and shining the light into those corners is something I’m all too familiar with so when I client is willing to do that together, the experience we have is on a whole different level. I am equipped to be a guide, an outside voice, and a support in those situations and it’s something I’m so grateful for.

During my work with this particular client, we cleared a lot of dust and cobwebs out of a lot of deep places together. All while establishing new habits, creating professional growth, communicating better, having better boundaries, etc. Honestly, when you’re open to accepting that it’s all connected, then that’s when we’re able to truly rock the old reality and create a new one.

It was during a recap conversation that we had after a long period of our work that he reflected back and said, “If I wouldn’t have hired you when I did, I probably wouldn’t still be alive.” and I believe that was one of the most impactful moments of my career.

I think a lot of people can help others. But I believe it takes a very deep level of integrity to truly hold space for someone in that way, and from my experience there isn’t a lot of that going around these days.

This story has been on my mind for a few days and my point of sharing it is to show a level of personal coaching that I don’t think many know exist. To show the commitment a good Coach and client have to each other. It’s a dance. It’s a team. It’s a bond. And it’s a commitment both parties enter into with a common goal in mind… then look out, because you never know what you’re going to find along the way to that goal… That’s the fun part. And if you’re open to that journey, your life will never be the same.