I’m just a husband, a dad, a grandpa, a career salesman, and an entrepreneur. What makes me a little different is my childhood, and my desire to overcome it. It sometimes surprises me how much time I’ve spent trying to prove myself wrong. 

I was raised in a very challenging home. I was told I was no good, and I believed it. After all, I heard it from my parents. They had a problem—alcoholism. It ruined both of them, and it tried to ruin me. It didn’t.

Being a husband, a dad, and a grandpa has defined my adult life. I was always driven to create and live in a “normal” family.

Thank God He placed the right people in my life at the right times: the family next door who modeled normal behavior, my friends, teachers, and coaches; my wife of nearly fifty years; my boys and their wives; my grandkids; co-workers, supervisors and the customers and vendors I’ve known over the years. Great people, and a pretty wonderful list for a kid who was told he wouldn’t amount to anything. 

After building the life I had invested in, I suddenly found myself living in an empty nest. It was challenging, but in a different way than for most. I had, in many ways, reparented myself through raising my boys—giving them a strong foundation, confidence, encouragement, and wind beneath their wings. By God’s grace, they are all sober, successful family men. More than I could have hoped for.

But it left a space to fill as they went out on their own. I had built a successful career in the industrial sector, but retirement loomed, and I began thinking about becoming a psychologist to help people who grew up like me. While exploring that possibility, life coaching presented itself as another path, and I pursued that instead. I believe my years in sales and management (relationship building) fit naturally, and it allowed me to begin sooner and help more people.

I love coaching. My favorite moment is when a client suddenly realizes they’ve been looking at something one way, and in the quiet, a new thought comes forward and brings them more clarity. Coaches call this a shift, and it is a wonderful thing to witness.

Recently, I’ve begun to see my practice differently. I think of meeting with clients as an experience—a quiet moment to listen, to be still, and to hear something the noise of life has drowned out. A chance to hear what they’re really thinking, feeling, and needing.

If you’re struggling with a decision, battling an inner voice, dealing with a workplace or relationship issue, feeling stress or anxiety, or simply finding it difficult to be still, I invite you to reserve your free session. I look forward to meeting you!

Shaun