The Stimulus Package and Me

Thanks to the stimulus package, there is room in the budget to extend my contract and give me more work hours! With the extra money, I should be able to afford subsidized COBRA payments! I cannot tell you what a relief this is to me. So, it's not a full time job yet but it will keep me from filing for unemployment benefits for some time. It will also allow me to provide my family with health insurance. The stimulus was supposed to create jobs and I think this counts as one.

In the meantime, I am still offering web presence development to small businesses. I'm also venturing in another direction. I've decided that I am, by my very nature, a life coach. I recently took a Strengths Finder assessment and it confirmed what people who know me already know. My strengths are:

Adaptibility - I'm a here and now, go with the flow person
Relator - I'm genuine and authentic, friends value my advice
Connectedness - I believe there is an inherent, invisible unity among us
Developer - I get satisfaction from the growth of others
Maximizer - I focus on strengths and manage around weaknesses

Add a degree in Social Work, a minor in Sociology, a career dedicated to helping others, and I think you end up with a Life Coach. To prepare for working with clients, I've purchased professional liability insurance and I am studying a variety of coaching techniques. I'm learning that coaching and social work have a lot of common themes; both focus largely on what is possible.

I am also developing my own ideas on coaching. A theme that keeps coming up for me in my studies is that, so often people make decisions based on doing what is "smart". As some of my friends and family have heard me say from time to time, "Doing what is smart isn't always the right thing for you".

I've not lost my mind and started thinking I can immediately support myself working as a life coach. I'll continue to search out reasonable opportunities for a full time job. I know building a client list takes time. After all, I've spent the last year helping Dennis launch his practice.

I also know that I cannot wait for a good time to get this started. There are some things you do because you want to, not because the timing is perfect (like buying a house or having a baby). If I wait for the "right" time, it might never come.