“What kind of work do you do?” the comedian asked me at the tarot comedy show (a brilliant combo for a night out). My name had been drawn from the bucket so I was on the comedy stage in a new capacity: asking the tarot reader about my potential in pivoting to full time Soul Coaching before the obvious question was posed by the comic.
“I’m a coach,” I replied quickly, watching the tarot reader shuffle the deck just as swiftly.
“What do you coach?” the comedian probed.
“Uh, people,” I stuttered.
The tarot reader raised her eyebrows. “Are you trying to get Orion to make fun of you?” she quipped. Orion Levine was doing his job. A good bit of the magic of this tarot-comedy show is watching the hilarious Orion roast each and every person who asks a question.
This question, What do you do, has haunted me for decades. First as an intercultural consultant and trainer. Intercult-a-who? Then I got my coaching certification. I’m an interculturalist and a coach!
Orion replied, “So, you’re a life coach?”
I personally don’t love that title but yep I’m a life coach. I coach many business people on life and many people who come to me for life coaching on their work. Plus I’m an interculturalist. However most of my workweek is spent doing corporate training work, so maybe I’m a corporate trainer who’s an interculturalist and a coach?
That’s all confusing enough, but then in the past ten years I’ve also explored the world of spirituality and healing — from psychic mediumship, to Usui and Shamanic reiki healing, to the realms of the Akashic Records. Say that all ten times fast! I’m painfully aware that all of this sounds pretty f*in weird. So I’ve summed up my mystical work in an even weirder job title, Soul Coach.
When meeting people for the first time at parties I’d rather just tell folks I’m a dentist. I imagine there’d be far fewer follow up questions.
Now on the comedy stage I was awkwardly attempting to boil down what I do into one crisp job title: Coach.
In truth my work includes being an interculturalist, corporate trainer, coach, speaker, writer, teacher, blogger and vlogger, comedian, healer, Akashic Records consultant, intuitive, mom, short order cook, and taxi driver for my kids. I only get paid to do a few of those jobs.
Simon Sinek reminds us it’s now WHAT you do, it’s WHY you do it.
My why for most of these things I do is simply because I love doing them. I’m a lifelong learner and interested in so many things. At the heart of all of those things is helping people understand themselves and each other. The term Soul Coach came from a visioning exercise I did many years ago which spurred me to write a list of dreams for my future. I wasn’t sure what Soul Coach actually meant, but I liked how it sounded. I’ve come to understand no matter what work I’m doing I want to be working on a deeper, soul-to-soul level, whether with an executive who is moving to a new country, in a group leadership development training, or in an Akashic Records session. My soul coaching work is about empowerment, encouragement, and authenticity.
In a recent Akashic Insights session I led a young person came with the question, “Who am I at a deeper level, and what’s my purpose?” I love this question. I believe we are so much more than meets the eye — more than what we get paid for or the sum of what we do all day. I described this visual to the group:
Our purpose can be explored by looking at what are our gifts: what comes naturally to us and what we enjoy doing. Plus what we want to do (will), and what we have a way to do (way). Who we are is more than our jobs or even the identities we take on. Who we are at a deeper level is why we’re here, and this exploration is lifelong journey.
If you’re also pondering who you are and why you’re here, explore these reflection questions:
- What lights you up? What seems like fun to you even if it seems like work to others?
- What activities make you lose track of time? What do you enjoy doing?
- What things come naturally to you? Think back to your childhood, what did you enjoy doing then that you still like doing now?
- Imagine you were on a stage in front of thousands of people (without stage fright!), what would be the message you’d want to share with the masses? If you had a billboard that thousands of people would pass every day, what would you write on the billboard?
- Ask people who know and love you what do they see as you gifts? This question can help uncover aspects of your gifts that you may be overlooking.
The sweet spot may be consistent over time or may evolve. It may culminate in an image, word, phrase, or be a mix of many ingredients. I’d love to hear what comes up for you: post a comment on the blog.
Back to the tarot-comedy show. Although I didn’t evade Orion’s jokes about me being a life coach, I did successfully avoid spending the four minutes on stage trying to explain what I really do for work and why I do it (because it would’ve taken forty minutes). The tarot reader laid out the cards on the table and assured me, “You’re doing a good job, you do have the skills and the experience, and I feel like you have the confidence. If you don’t, if there’s ever a time you doubt yourself, just give yourself a pep talk that you do have what it takes and are very capable.”
The cards were reassuring. In case you need to read this today I’ll say the same to you, my friend. You’re doing a good job and are very capable. Keep moving in the direction of your gifts, your curiosities, and your enjoyment. Maybe the world won’t understand what you do and why you do it (especially if you’re also a Soul Coach or a dentist) and that’s ok. Discovering, embracing, and becoming your true self is the journey of a lifetime, and it’s a trip worth taking.
