Are you at a crossroads?

Life fully loved
07 January 2024

I’m at a crossroads. I’m debating whether to continue the road I’m on or to take a different one.

Have you been here?

It’s an uncomfortable feeling. I want to get out of this situation. I don’t like being here. But I can’t move forward until I decide what’s next.

Here’s what’s going on.

Current State

I’m starting Year 3 of my business. I absolutely love coaching. It’s all I want to do. My angst isn’t about my career path. It’s about all the adjunct items associated with it.

Do I persist with lead magnets so I can add subscribers to Life fully loved?
Should I keep responding to HARO (“Help a Reporter Out”) requests to gain more press coverage?
What strategy should I pursue with LinkedIn?
How should I evolve my blog?
Is it worthwhile to develop another course, write a new (or expand upon my current) eBook, or design another workshop?

Payoff

Because all of the work I do apart from coaching takes time away from doing what I really love. I enjoy my tasks but at the cusp of a new year, it’s time to re-examine them by asking,

What’s the payoff for the work I’ve done?

Am I “making work” because I like being busy and productive and, perhaps, because I’m avoiding the inevitable (more on that last point in next week’s edition)?

Or am I performing “necessary work” as I establish myself in the marketplace as a resource for those interested in nurturing self-awareness, greater insight, and growth?

Maybe it’s neither extreme but somewhere in the middle. My work has helped me gain clarity on who I am and what I represent. As it serves others, it has also served me.

Let the examination begin.

Evaluating Choices

With my blogs, I’ve established the key points around the coaching I do. Now it’s really about colouring in the canvas. ✅

Posting 5x per week on LinkedIn has consumed much time but it has taught me how to shape my content to the medium. The LinkedIn audience skims quickly. They want easy-to-read bullet points, pictures that support the content, and, frankly, they don’t watch the videos.❓

HARO responses are a crapshoot. While I’ve been published 33 times since I started Laura Barker Coaching, I have responded to many more without success. Nevertheless, even when I didn’t get published, I found submitting the responses valuable because I could re-work that content into a LinkedIn post. ✅

Lead magnets are definitely a bust. I don’t think my audience – Canadians – like providing their email addresses in exchange for a PDF or video. I’ve created 11 lead magnets in the past few years with very little success. 🚫

Finally, courses, books, and workshops are ultimately supporting characters to the star of the show – coaching. They have diffused my attention by taking time and energy away from what I want to do most. 🛑

The results: two checks, one question mark, one no, one stop.

Crossroads Method

How would this process play out in your own life? Think of where you’re at a crossroads about a person, event, or circumstance.

Describe your current state.
Identify the payoff(s).
Evaluate the choice(s) associated with the current state.
Assign values to those choices.

Einstein

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. It’s clear to me that doing the same thing will result in the same results.

If I want to coach, then I need to do something differently.

And that’s where I leave you today, my friends. More on this topic next week.

in my heart. It keeps me whole by connecting my mind, body, heart, and spirit.

Header Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash

You have to be open minded in order to grow. The coaching that Laura gave me opened my eyes to what and how I was doing things and allowed me to see the bigger picture. I am not done yet but I already see the changes in my everyday life.
MM

I think coaching is a great way to help you clear your mind when you get stuck with overwhelming situations or when stepping into changes in your life.
MO

Coaching is life changing. It pushes you outside your comfort zone and challenges your perspectives. It is highly motivating and the exercises and techniques used are both fun and informative. I think the main benefits of coaching are to see yourself, others and the world more clearly. I think coaching is valuable to anyone regardless of where you are in your life or career.
LE

I honestly never thought I’d need a coach. I thought coaching was for CEOs and industry VIPs. I didn’t think it was for the “little guys” (i.e. me). Now, I’m of the belief that everyone – yes, EVERYONE – needs a coach. Coaching has really benefitted me and I’m so grateful to have had that time with Laura. It’s changed my life!
VB

Laura is very patient. She took the time to understand what was causing me to be stuck where I am today and help me build a better vision so I can continue to grow.
MM

I think Laura’s coaching was what I had been waiting for. Laura was so approachable, kind, and open. Her willingness to help and support made a difference for me. I found in her coaching new strategies, ideas, and perspectives that I could incorporate into my goals and objectives that I didn’t see before.
MO

Laura is an incredibly intuitive, positive and caring coach. Her techniques helped me recognize both my strengths and areas I might want to explore as I embark on the next chapter of my career. The exercises she employed were instrumental in providing self perspective and challenging my frames of reference.
LE

Laura is a natural coach. Her probing and compassionate questions helped me learn about myself: my value system, interests, goals and strengths.
LM

Coaching sessions with Laura gave me new perspectives on how to process specific feelings and situations in life. She showed me how to sit with my emotions, acknowledge them, and then use visualization strategies to move through them. I now feel more confident and in control of how I choose to walk through life.
CP

From the beginning, Laura put me at ease, creating a safe, open space for me to talk and share freely without fear of judgement. I loved the variety of approaches she used depending on the topic we were working on and it was fun being able to try out things I wouldn’t have considered before! With Laura’s coaching, I substantially grew my confidence in the workplace, overcame fears, dealt with issues I’d been carrying around for many years and, most importantly, learned to value myself and define a path forward into the future.
AG

Laura’s coaching was a breath of fresh air and EXACTLY what I needed at that point of my life. I didn’t realize how impactful coaching was going to be, but by the end of the sessions together, I left feeling refreshed, inspired and genuinely curious about what my future held for me. Because of Laura and her coaching, I believe I became a better person – someone who is more open-minded, someone with a clearer focus, and someone who is willing to explore opportunities and possibilities far more than I ever did before.
VB

I engaged Laura for coaching as I took on an expanded role leading an asset management company in Canada. As a female, I knew I would be a role model and had high expectations of myself. I was feeling overwhelmed and anxious.

In our first few coaching sessions we worked through exercises that allowed me to reflect on my purpose, leadership style and what mattered most to me. I continue to be grounded by the clarity I achieve in my coaching sessions – allowing me to be resilient and confident when challenges came my way.
OS