250-ish Hours in 3 Minutes or Less

I’ve given a year of my life to a Coaching for Transformation program at Leadership That Works. A series of events opened up space and possibility for me to question “What’s Next?” and lead me to this program. I knew that I wanted to help people find their inner leaders, their voices, their bliss. I had no concept of to what degree this experience would help me find mine. Graduation was last week and we were each gifted with three minutes to honor our experience in the program. I opted to enter with a written reflection and my speech follows. If you have noticed a subtle or less than subtle shift in me this year and you were curious about the cause, this is it. 

I’d like to open with a quote. “Even Superheroes need Sidekicks. And butlers.” (This is a Suzie Bichovsky original!)

I’m no superhero with a capital S on my chest. I’m Suzie with a lowercase z in the middle of my shoulder blades. 

Have you ever looked at Zs? They have a beginning and an end. Zs have two acute angles. So adorable- less than 90 degrees, polished to the point, but chock full of good stuff in-between. 

A Z has a slanted line connecting the parallel lines above and below it. The top parallel line represents the beginning of the journey, my past, my needs, my values, my shadows. The bottom represents the end, my future- the imagined, the unimagined, the unknown. 

The slanted line? That’s the current ride, this moment, and all of its possibility. 

Before Coaching for Transformation? I was consumed by my inherited past and my ability to view the future was clouded by fear. Now? My past does not control me, my future excites me, and the present moment is a privilege in all its anger, fear, sadness and joy. 

In closing, I’d like to revise my opening quote.“Superheroes, who have received transformational coaching and trust their intuition, may choose to collaborate with a sidekick if working with said sidekick honors their values and may choose to employ a butler or other support staff if said support staff fulfills a role on the superhero’s dream team, enabling her to fully step into who she was always meant to be.” 

Thank you for listening and for giving of yourselves this year.