Extraordinary life experiences become compelling coaching specialties
We are planning to add a new category to our CV profile system that will be powerful for our find a coach feature AND creating specialty communities.
Here are a baker’s dozen examples of Extraordinary Life experiences to give you a flavor of what we are looking for.
AND we need your help to make this a comprehensive – amazing list!
We are playing for a list of 100; in the profile you will be able to choose up to 3.
1) Hike,Bike,Motorcycle 1-month or longer trek
2) Peace Corp/ missionary/ significant volunteer time in 3rd World Country
3) Inherited a business after death of friend/family member
4) Lost a close friend/family member to a natural disaster
5) Lost a close friend/family member to war or act of terror
6) Elected to local political position
7) Elected to national political position
8) Scholorship athlete/musician at University
9) Party to a contentious legal battle
10) Inprisonment of close friend/family member/self
11) Extended recovery from life threatening illness close friend/family member/self
12) Won a lottery prize of over 1 years annual income
13) Promoted to a job/position WAY over current capabilities
Please share an extraordinary life experience from your own life or someone you know.
Even if you see someone put something similar, share yours in your own words
Even if you are not quite sure how extraordinary it is, please share it. It could trigger someone else to share something.
Thanks!
Play BIG!
Coach Dave
Taking a month off to enjoy a second honeymoon traveling around India with my husband, while my team kept my business running and revenue flowing in! And we had fun launching our blog on the trip too: http://www.EpicLifeTour.com
Said “yes” to a ‘job’ that had no description just the VP’s idea that he wanted promotions to supervisory and management positions to be fair and equitable. In other words ‘change how we’re doing things so we get better results’. I held that position for 8 years. Best ‘job’ I ever had!
I have just returned from my son’s destination wedding cruise – witnessed his beautiful marriage ceremony in Jamaica! Four of my five adult children and significant others were in attendance, and three of my 9 grandchildren were on this cruise with us!
Every time I look at my amazing family, I know that I’m living a dream and a miracle! I am the survivor of a life-threatening eating disorder – anorexia nervosa – and also the bereaved of the suicide of my mother when I was 20 years old! Thriving, not just surviving is my life message – which is an extraordinary life experience to see the legacy of my huge family!!!
I am still here! Survived: Homelessness, Husband’s shattered right wrist (T plate & 9 screws), foreclosure, repossession of two cars, Parents living with me & taking care of them after being married for only two years (Father brain cancer, Mother Leukemia), Fibromyalgia, Moving 30 times since I was 16, being a Step-Mother in 1983 when no one was one, oldest son with out of control ADHD. This year we have lost my Father-in-Law, best friend’s husband, two local friends and a next door neighbor. The list goes on but these are the ones I can think of this morning. And still I feel and know that I am blessed.
I have a severely disabled 8 year old daughter. The first five years of her life we spent a lot of time at multiple doctors appointment and the hospital due to her 18+ surgeries and illnesses. Three years ago she became very sick and her medical care was too intense for her to be at home. She now resides in a skilled nursing home 35 miles away from me. So I “commute” to see her.
My 10 year old son has ADHD and is also gifted (it’s a high maintenance combination, but it has its benefits).
My husband has prostate cancer.
I am the main care giver for all three.
Needless to say, I am not afraid to coach people that are experiencing some crisis in their lives.
I’ve been a Type I diabetic for over 30 years and have been on an insulin pump for 17 years. I have learned to listen to my intuition which has led me to many amazing connections. For instance, my husband has been disabled for the past 5 years and I met a man who is a master wood turner. I was able to connect them and he taught my husband how to make beautiful segmented bowls. I then met a woman whose art inspired me and I asked if she taught painting. I have been a student for over a year and I’m now painting for the first time in my life. I have an uncanny ability to win contests. This year, I won a trip for two through the Appalachian Mountain club and a seat at a writer’s workshop which I traded for 3 coaching calls with three best-selling authors. I once won a contest Thomas Leonard had and he sent me a check for $500.
On March 9, 2004, I died with David, my 24 year old son and my only child. I learn daily how to live this new life of mine without him physically in my life. Learning how to navigate this new life of mine and finding purpose took my stepping back and taking life . . . one breath at a time. I am thankful to have had Coachville and Dave Buck in my life during that time. Of all the “advise” I received it took my coach to tell me to take my new life . . . one breath at a time.
This is inspiring – I made a list of 14 extraordinary things I’ve done, and there are more.
The one I’ll share now, some years back I came out as gay which for me meant walking away from a visible career and extensive social network (in religious organizations) that I had spent more than a decade working hard to build. I have been so much happier because of it. Years later, I am still amazed and grateful I had the courage..
How blessed I am to be a part of this extraordinary life. My husband of 43 years lost his fabulous high paying job and we are in the process of starting over; I am encouraged this new beginning will happen in a bigger way than we could ever imagine.
It is not about the money it is about being together. You see my husband traveled the world for 26 years. I had the good fortune to travel with him a bit and see countries most only read about. The down side was I was home mostly raising the family, alone.
Whether we grow our income back to where it was before doesn’t matter, because you see I have my husband at home. That is the way marriage should be.
As I start my new career in coaching, I am delighted to have found CoachVille. I look at the possibilities for becoming a coach and it is the frosting on my cake of life..
My wife insisted I seek psychiatric help in September, 1997. I had recently quit a 20-year drinking binge, and she said my moods were up to the highest highs, and my lows were deep depression that left me in bed for days at a time, eating no food.
I found out that psychologists, aka therapists are PhD’s who use talk therapy, whereas psychiatrists are Medica Doctors with the power to prescribe meds.
My psychiatrist began treating me for depression.
If you have not been through med trials for depression, trust me, it’s hit or miss.
I had to start on low doses, then raise the dose each week until 4-6 weeks later I was up to a therapeutic level, and I went through three different three meds that made me feel worse that when I was off the drugs.
Just as I had to be “titrated” up with a higher dose each week, I had to be weaned-off the drugs, titrating down before I could start the next “crazy med”.
He also referred me to a therapist, and together, we explored my experiences over my life, beginning from my earliest memories at 2.5 years.
The fourth drug worked, and gave me minimal side-effects.
My wife was still concerned about my HIGHS, my elevated moods that made me over-spend, over-eat, hypersexual, and staying awake 2-3 days straight because I didn’t get tired.
My psychiatrist observed me for 2 years, including my wife in our sessions, and added meds to create a “cocktail” of meds.
One evening I came home from 3 hours at the driving range, bouncing around the house, thinking the world was a big party and life is super-joyful.
From my wife’s perspective, I was excessively HIGH. So in fear she called my psychiatrist, described my mood and behaviors. He asked her to put me on the phone.
Doc said, “Erick, you’re in a state right now that is called mania, and I’m talking to you because your excitement is scaring your wife. I’ve watched you for two years as I’ve treated you with a variety of medications and watched your moods.”
“Erick, you have manic-depressive disorder, also known in pop culture as Bipolar. I want to see you at my office tomorrow at 2 PM and get you started on meds that will keep you out of mania. Will you be there?”
“Yes,” I said.
The diagnosis was like a punch in the gut. I thought to myself, “I’m officially mentally ill.”
That was 1999.
Horrible med trials dragged into 2003 before we found a cocktail of meds that worked without horrible side-effects.
All through those years I was still able to find the fortitude to be a faculty member and coach with a national coaching company for lenders and owners of mortgage companies.
Thank goodness we have our own business that does not rely on my presence to work. My business worked despite my absence or short work days.
Today, my wife says I am normal to slightly hypo-manic… a good combination.
I stepped away from coaching and public speaking in 2003. I want to get back to it soon.
I wrote my first book in a burst of mania in 2007.
Now I understand how I was able to get two college degrees and three majors in four years, going days without sleep. Or falling into a state of misery that made me want to become invisible.
Today, I can identify my moods by observing how others respond/react to me. I don’t feel mood changes, but I can observe others and find out if I’m up, down, or in the middle.
The entire experience has changed me, but my perspective of the world has not changed. As Joe Walsch said, “Everybody’s so different, I haven’t changed.”
So what’s the point?
The point for me is that I have come to grips with a mood disorder that makes me a different person each day.
I’ve come to grips with the 9 meds I take every day.
I’ve recognized that, for me, as a person with a mood disorder, I had to remove all firearms from the house.
Best of all, there is effective treatment for persons like me who have manic-depression or it’s cousin, schizophrenia.
I keep my diagnosis to myself. My friends don’t know about my illness.
Why?
The stigma surrounding Bipolar is still to ugly, too scary for most folks.
So why “out” myself here?
Well, maybe someone will read my story and through their action, help prevent another tragedy like the one a week ago in Tucson.
Second Chance? Third Chance? I was raised in a cult-like, faith-healing church, had a breakdown at 23 and released all ties to church and religion. Built an auto-repair biz, then left family to pursue financial freedom and lifestyle. Landed in federal prison, served years, attempted to pay off debts and landed back in prison. This time I found 7 reasons, my 7 daughters, to become my best and a role model for my daughters. For the past 25 years I have been an auto repair business builder and consultant. Now I coach others using my story as related in my second book, “The Truth, Finding Your Own Truth.” The best result is a great relationship with my daughters and 22 grandchildren. Life is good.
I moved half-way across the country and starting a new life from scratch…. 10 years later here are a few of the extraordinary life experiences I contribute to my current state of loving my life.
1. I started with no job, no place to live, no friends and about a $1000. So far I have: started a family, bought a house, started a business, created a whole new network of amazing people that I call friends. Oh, and my net worth is significantly more than $1000.
2. I completely changed careers three times in six years.
3. Each career move I increased my salary significantly. The last salary increase was over 50% of my previous salary.
This is just the beginning of an extraordinary life.
I have raised three daughters, two of whom have special needs. One is 23 years old, autistic and bipolar. She is very low functioning and fully dependent. I have sought resources and advocated for her intensively since she was 5 years old. She had many police encounters, was missing many times, lived in two group homes and now lives with me, while she is on a complex cocktail of medications. We sought services from the Regional Center, were declined, appealed and found out last week that the appeal was denied. Also, my divorce was final on Dec. 30.
I have learned what is truly important, and struggled always to care for myself, my children, my ex-husband, my friends, my clients and others who I love. I am still learning and practicing self care and perseverance.