Story Time

It is time to somehow get into all this marketing stuff for business. And time to write my bio and About pages. I’ve been thinking this may be a good place to start with that. I already did an About, but it’s pretty long and boring. You know, kind of like from grade school and “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”.

 

So I think some practice here (this is a personal blog after all!) is in order, and here is what got me moving again. Just yesterday I listened to 2 very inspiring motivational speeches. I didn’t know quite what I was going to be listening to, but there they were, right at a time when I was starting to feel really down, and truthfully like giving up, again.

 

One speaker talked about her story. And so did the other. On the most superficial level, I realized that my About page is like a timeline and really isn’t a story. It has no voice.

 

These people also made me realize I need to keep on going.

 

The second speaker also talked about how we as health coaches need to think of transformation vs information. Our potential clients may or may not know much about nutrition, but they can always look it up. Then they become confused because of all of the conflicting information. And they aren’t getting what they need to look at a lifestyle change, not just another diet.

 

Clients need to see these things, but to tell them they need to see these things and then do something about them, doesn’t usually work. That is too static and I realized that how I was imagining coaching was a bit static also. As health coaches we need to guide and support our clients. That’s a given. But many people will simply have a hard time “believing” so we need examples. Not written examples, but personal ones.

 

We need to tell our story or stories in a truly authentic, from the heart way. Our stories of transformation are what will really drive their need and desire to bring about their own transformation.

 

So thank you Christine Hassler and Michael Ellsburg, for telling your stories of transformation. I learned how to own my story and drop that which doesn’t serve me; and also to find a way to bring those messages forth to my own clients.

 

Christine and Michael* are truly inspirational, so I encourage anyone to look them up and hear their stories. We will all grow together.

 

*At this point I’m not certain you will find Michael’s personal story other than in the lecture modules through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. So if you are an IIN graduate or student, you can hear it; if not, it’s worth some search time to find his story if possible.