Meet Coach Carolyn Hidalgo

LEAVE A COMMENT 2014 April 14

Carolyn Hidalgo, CPCC

Tell us about your background.

As a teen, I loved reading Ann Landers’ advice column fascinated by how one person seemed to have the ‘right answer’ to solve life’s problems. I believed in a ‘right and wrong’ out there, but I was mistaken—the real answers are buried within us.

My parents, both physicians, taught me kindness, respect, and a secret to happiness: self-esteem. I became a Chartered Accountant, am happily married to a wonderful, fun-loving man, and we’re blessed with a son and twin girls. I thought I knew what love was, but something felt missing.

Until I began the self-discovery process through coaching, I wasn’t following my heart. I took a leap of faith changing careers to become a certified life coach/author. Today I absolutely love what I do (numbers didn’t excite me). Turned out being true to your self MATTERS.

What brought you to coaching?

10 years ago, a friend asked me to join a life-coaching group. I was in the exhausted, ‘no-time-for-myself’ stage of early motherhood, but was intrigued by the idea of getting together to ‘talk about life.’ I began to understand what it meant to live authentically—no more settling for the status quo. Choices suddenly became available I couldn’t see before. My sense of happiness grew to a deeper spiritual connection, purpose, and emotional fulfillment in all areas of my life.

Are there any particular life experiences that inform your coaching?

Absolutely. As I began to trust my inner voice, above anyone’s ideals of what I should do or think, I found myself in conflict and disconnecting with some of the closest people in my life. It was the most painful time learning how to let go, and the most transformational because it taught me the way I could stand up for what mattered to me without making anyone ‘wrong.’ It changed the depth of my connections as I began attracting like-minded people where I could just BE ME—a profound feeling of freedom!

My parents, both physicians, taught me kindness, respect, and the secret to happiness: Healthy self-esteem.

What is your mission as a coach?

I envision a world filled with authentic relationships, where people no longer criticize or judge anyone, including themselves. It’s a space you can create to live true to your highest well-being. You get to make mistakes without blaming yourself or others, and let go of unnecessary stress, guilt, shame, and conflict.

Criticism and judgment stem from what I call ‘the 4 Cs’:

  • Correcting others we see as broken thinking we need to ‘fix’.
  • Convincing others our ideas are ‘right’ for them.
  • Controlling others by imposing our ‘right’ way on them through forceful means.
  • Condemning others and seeing ourselves as superior.

By shifting our energy away from the 4 C’s when differences arise, and towards sharing, teaching, guiding, and modeling from a place of self-compassion, we can become the change. It requires being curious and open to ‘what is’ without a need to ‘be right, and make someone wrong’ taking full responsibility for your own choices.

What kind of client do you most enjoy working with?

I work best with “left-brain professional” types—mostly health/business field, and “career” moms juggling work/life balance. My clients are knowledgeable, seeking something more, struggling to create meaningful quality time, or want to take their relationships to new levels of intimacy. I resonate strongly with those who have faith or open to higher Universal Consciousness as I believe the most powerful transformation comes from a spiritual foundation of who we really are.

Tell us about your workshops and presentations.

I focus on living true to your self, finding forgiveness, letting go of guilt, and love without conditions (being judgment-free.) I want clients to experience more depth, and laughter in their relationships, ultimately experience the highest level of ‘soul love’ I believe we all deserve.

Where and how often do you meet with your clients?

I do an initial free call to determine if I am the right fit for what a client needs. All sessions are via phone or skype. My program is initially four months, with 8 bi-weekly sessions, and can be customized going forward. I do weekly email check-ins, provide session summaries, give ‘homework’ with accountability, and necessary access to me throughout the program. For specific issues, I offer coaching consults that are minimum 4 hours.

What is the most important thing a new client should know about you as their coach?

Trust. I am deeply committed to clients creating the life they truly desire without any judgment. I help clients awaken to their spiritually authentic nature, let go of what’s draining them, discover new possibilities, what’s holding them back, and provide tools, and resources to help them “become, and do” what is calling within.

Meet Coach Sherry Matheson

LEAVE A COMMENT 2014 January 9

Sherry Matheson

Age: 46

Tell us about your background.

I am 46 years young, married with a blended family of five girls and one boy, and two dogs. I worked for 17 years as a corporate paralegal at various mid size law firms and then in the legal department at a large corporation. Before becoming a corporate paralegal I worked in the oil and gas industry for 6 years.

Why did you decide to leave your profession and become a coach?

I was working until 11:30 at night and weekends at the big corporation and I burned myself out after three years. I didn’t have the right skills and tools to be in that environment and developed shingles on the backs of my knees to the point where I was sitting in my doctor’s office and she was handing me a prescription for anti-depressants and wanting me to take a leave of absence. I decided I needed to quit my job in order to heal and get better. We are a blended family with six kids and it wasn’t an easy decision.

I accidentally discovered coaching after I quit working as a paralegal and started my training five months later with the Coaches Training Institute at the University of Calgary.

We often put everyone else first. It’s the ‘nice girl syndrome.’

My coaching style has a big focus on positive psychology, so if beating yourself up isn’t working for you and you’re not feeling empowered, I can help.

Explain your approach to health and wellness coaching.

I take a comprehensive approach to health and wellness by looking at how all the areas of your life are connected to your wellbeing. I like to open up the realm of positive possibilities for others. I feel my journey prepared me well to understand and emphasize with my clients and makes me a better coach.

I create action plans to help my clients make the sustainable changes necessary to improve their health and live better quality lives. We tackle issues such as managing stress, increasing energy, achieving more balance, sleeping better, eating healthier, getting into more movement, achieving and maintaining an ideal weight, reducing food cravings, improving self perception, improving relationships, increasing productivity, and enhancing decision making.

Health and wellness coaching combines psychology, behavioral change theory and life coaching. The field is on a swift positive trajectory due to the evidence demonstrating its role in improved client/patient outcomes, medical compliance, employee health and productivity, and lower health care costs. Health and wellness coaching effectively bridges the gap between traditional, organized healthcare and behavioral change.

How do women most sabotage themselves?

We often put everyone else first. It’s the ‘nice girl syndrome.’ My coaching style has a big focus on positive psychology, so if beating yourself up isn’t working for you and you’re not feeling empowered, I can help.

I’d like to share a testimonial from one client, who wrote: ‘I’m never usually at a loss for words, but I find myself hesitating to express my gratitude because words alone can’t convey my emotions. What I originally thought was going to be a simple plan for weight loss and exercise, to my surprise and delight turned into a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance, of which you were the catalyst. From our first coaching session you had the wisdom and listening skills to pinpoint my needs. The information you forwarded to assist me in working on my goals was invaluable. You will forever hold a place in my heart as the person who helped introduce me to a better version of myself.” —Sharon, Ontario

Why is your company called “Ingredients For A Healthy Lifestyle?”

Each client is unique and so are her ingredients to create a healthy lifestyle. What roles do eating, exercise, work, family, etc. play in her life and how can she balance them to achieve her goals?

Where and how often do you meet with clients?

I coach the majority of my clients over the phone so they can be located anywhere. Our calls are 50 minutes long, twice a month, and we have unlimited email contact.

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Meet Coach Rosanne Leslie

LEAVE A COMMENT 2013 September 30

Rosanne Leslie

Age: 52

Are you married?

I’ve been divorced for 12 years. I was married for 13 years and have three children. My marriage taught me what love is and, most importantly, what love is not. Raising my three children alone showed me how our society views single women and mothers and gave me the freedom to stand autonomously outside of that paradigm. Recognizing the dysfunctional dynamics of my marriage I was able to (slowly) extricate myself from it.

What did your parents do?

My father was an engineer for an international company and my mother was a stay-at-home mom.

Why did you become a coach?

I became a life-coach as a result of coaching myself through several years of single parenting. I discovered some of the perennial answers to questions I believe we all have when faced with life challenges and changes. Who Am I? What is love? Why am I here? What is my purpose? How can I be happy?

Happiness is found at our core and so long as we have hope and dreams we can find joy in any day.

What kind of Fab over Fifty women can most benefit from your coaching?

Any woman can benefit from coaching if she is ready to make a change and is earnest. However, the woman who will most benefit from my style of coaching is one who would like to redefine herself and still believes that she has dreams left in her and that she possesses the power to make them come true. I work a great deal with women who have teen-aged children and parenting challenges. One of my greatest strengths is guiding women through the process of divorce, especially those involving domestic violence issues. These women have special needs and because I lived this kind of marriage, I understand them. My empathy and compassion runs very deep for them.

What is your mission?

My mission is manifold. We all suffer and complain too much. There is a certain camaraderie and “acceptance” in the conversations between women in their complaining and suffering and I would like to show them that they can be happy now, in this very moment. Happiness is not contingent upon anyone’s external world or life circumstances. Happiness is found at our core and so long as we have hope and dreams we can find joy in any day. My mission is to guide individuals to autonomy in a society that does not readily embrace that. My greatest mission is to show women how to love and be loved and to celebrate their femininity as a gift and not a weapon against men or themselves.

Tell us about your typical client.

I don’t have a typical client. Everyone is different and comes to me when they are either excited about changing their lives and careers or they are devastated and traumatized and don’t know where or how to begin their day.

What is the greatest piece of advice you can give women?

To recognize that they are alive and what alive really means. The pulse of our society and the world is extremely fast and prevents many from understanding and feeling that they are “here” and that being “here” is precious and a gift.

What woman do you admire most?

I don’t have a particular woman I admire. Perhaps it is she, the silent and nameless one, unrecognizable in the crowd and the world, that I admire most. She is not famous or rich by society’s standard, but she knows how to give and love selflessly. She silently struggles every day to get by and has boundless compassion, integrity and humility. I think she is in every woman. She is my hero and I look for her, every day.

What is your favorite quote?

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”–Albert Einstein.