Best friends makeover: Month 9

Mind
•Tracy
Tracy finally feels “more in tune with who I am and what I want.” She’s excited about starting her own business in the environmental sector – a field in which her university degree in geography with a concentration in the environment will be useful. “I always wanted to do my own thing but never thought I was financially able,” she says.

Tracy hopes to participate in a program that helps women start their own businesses. However, since she needs an income and to get her foot in the door, Tracy is applying to relevant jobs in the environmental industry. She’s also trying to network to see if that will produce some job leads.

While she job hunts, Tracy is managing on an extremely tight budget. She receives unemployment insurance and had some savings, which she used to fix her car. Nevertheless, Tracy has managed to set up a plan of payments to eliminate credit-card debt.

Coach’s Comments:
Career coach Gimalle Crawford commends Tracy for making the all-important shift in her job search. Life coach Cathy Yost also congratulates Tracy for taking the time “to find the passion she knew was missing in her career,” and for letting go of old patterns that were keeping her stuck. “Today, Tracy is blissfully happy on the inside and looks happy on the outside, too,” she says.

Tracy’s happiness not only makes her feel good but also look good. About 85 per cent of image is attitude, says image coach Astrid DesLandes. “Looking good is about how you feel about yourself and your interaction with the world.”

•Tanya
Tanya worked with Yost to declutter physical and mental obstacles and “become ‘the me’ that has always been there but never had a voice.” For the first time ever, she’s willing to take risks – her successful workplace discussion group is a perfect case in point. “I would never have done a discussion group,” she says. “I didn’t think I could ever put something together that people would think was worthwhile attending.”

She’s also better at managing difficult relationships. Instead of focusing on the negatives that difficult people present, Tanya tries to see a positive quality in them. “I try to think of a difficult person as a gift with a big red bow – and then determine what his or her gift is to me.”

Coach’s Comments:
Yost applauds Tanya for putting herself first. “That was key,” she says. “Once you honour yourself and your choices, you see the world in a different way.”

With her Success Circle workshops, Tracy is experiencing the rewards of job satisfaction, says Crawford. “She has found excitement within her own workplace,” she says. Tanya’s finances were a huge worry, but by setting tangible short-term debt repayment and savings goals, she can see the larger goals more clearly, says financial coach Jennifer Kirby. “She now has the confidence to tackle her debt and has a clear vision of the future.”

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