About 10 months ago I wrote about “the new job.” In that post I talked about going back to work after consulting part time for over a year and a half following my husband’s death. I said, “this time around my quality of life was most important. I wanted a sane boss, a realistic commute, and the flexibility I now needed as a single parent of a teenager. And I wanted to continue to pursue my new coaching interest – and I wanted to fundraise for a mission I could be passionate about! ”
Going back to work last year, I felt, was a necessity…for financial reasons. In addition to a steady paycheck, I enjoyed being back in an office and part of a team. I enjoyed meeting donors and listening to why our agency’s mission helped them honor their values. I had a really easy going boss and a staff of one who’s company I enjoyed and who worked really well independently requiring very little “management” effort on my part. The nature of our mission created a culture that gave me the flexibility to be available when my daughter needed me and I was only a half hour drive from home. If I had to work full-time outside the home, it was the ideal situation. So why on the 6th of January did I suddenly want to resign?
The Cause Coach blog was born at the beginning of 2016 out of my desire to shift my consulting business to more of a coaching practice and blend my knowledge of fundraising and non-profit management with a knack I had for executive coaching. To do this I decided I wanted to be certified as a coach. After researching options, I enrolled in the Coaches Training Institute (CTI) training and certification process. The first of the courses was scheduled for the last week in March, a week before I was committed to go back to work full-time. I had no idea just how deeply I was going to embrace the coaching life! For the next 10 months I would juggle coaching classes and clients, the full-time fundraising job, and my most important role as a mom, while I also maintained my home. It was a lot. Professionally, I knew I was ready to close the door on my fundraising career; personally, I needed to make a living.
When I wrote and then re-read my blog post from January 4th, the sentence that didn’t sit well with me was, “professionally, I’m still a fundraiser.” I felt “stuck” in fundraising, when what I wanted to do was coaching. Walking the dog that Friday evening I reflected on how I help my coaching clients get “unstuck” and here I was feeling stuck. I proceeded to have a conversation with myself in which I changed my perspective from feeling that I needed my job, to I want to be a coach. When you feel you “need” something you come from a perspective of no flexibility, no choice. “Wanting” something on the other hand is a choice, a new perspective!
As soon as I realized what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be, I figured out a way to make it work. Not that I don’t have to make some sacrifices and say “no” to some things as I change my financial plan. But I am making a conscious choice to change my priorities so I can have what I want.
Thursday was my last day as a fundraiser. Effective Tuesday, I am a full-time coach – The Cause Coach LLC.
Oh, and in between? A destination race. Surf City Half Marathon. Because a bad day at the beach is still better than a good day at any job.
Huntington Beach, California. February 2017.
Thanks for the example vulnerability and courage. Rock, Mary!
Thank you so much, Ron!