Embrace challenges with confidence.

Thank you for coming to this page. I want you to know...

You’re not alone.

40 years ago, Portia Nelson captured the essence of this pattern in the following. Read on for the signposts to a new road!

I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost... I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend that I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in this same place. But, it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in... it’s a habit... but, my eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

I walk down another street.

This poem gave many women hope – and me, too - during the years that I worked with women who break free from abuse in their relationships. I went into this work believing that women deserve more and can get it.

Over 65% of the women I worked with decided that the relationship couldn’t be saved and left the abusive problem behind forever. Another 15% went back with a plan to see whether their partner was willing to change and a way to leave if the abuse continued. At the time I thought this was just what happened. It wasn’t until I started teaching others to work with abused women that I discovered that my success was unusual.

Even when leaders in this industry sought me out to train others, write curriculums, do research for them and take part in national think tanks, I didn’t see what I was doing as extraordinary or uncommon.

I was also aware that some women didn’t use our services. Women of color; disabled women; women with addictions and mental illnesses wanted to access the service and didn’t feel welcome. They had to find other sources of support or do without.

So, when I was offered the chance to set up and teach Indian/First Nations women and men on the Junior college level how to overcome family violence in their communities, I jumped on it. I knew that the model that we’d used in the women’s community hadn’t work in this culture. As one of the first programs of this nature in the country, I knew that a lot was riding on its success.

I did what I’d done when working with abused women: I totally engaged the students in their own learning, letting them show me where the program needed to go. Then I gave them the confidence, the skills and the resources to move forward.

Most of my students came into the program with little conviction in their ability to be successful at school. They had grown up being told they were second class citizens and had lived that belief on the streets and in abusive relationships. Now they were sober and determined to find a new life, and I was single-minded in making sure they had their chance.

When I reluctantly left that job I loved five years later, over 90% of all the students had successfully completed the program and graduated. They either went for more education or into responsible positions in their community

I didn’t leave that college because I wanted to. I left because I got into a power struggle with one of the other staff at the school – and lost. This wasn’t the first time. I was sick and tired of running into conflict I couldn’t solve, both at work and at home. I’d examined previous struggles, read about power, learned better communication skills and still I was blindsided when it happened again. I knew I couldn’t do this on my own. I turned to someone else for help.

I turned to someone who saw my strengths, not my weaknesses; who believed in my ability to find my own answers; and who showed me how to get them. She championed, supported and cheered me on while I dove deep and found strengths and courage I didn’t know I had.

When I completed that transformative relationship, I felt like a new person. When I looked back at myself at the time I had gone for help, I saw that I’d been living my life like a cardboard manikin. Now I felt like a woman of substance. I experienced what I’d heard over and over again from the women I’d worked with. I gave myself the gift that I’d given and continued to give others: the gift of a loving champion.

I’ve never been shocked and caught unawares again by conflict. I deal with it and find a peaceful resolution. Facing up to and dealing with that one reoccurring problem has rippled out, like a pebble in a pond, into escalating joy and fulfillment in all areas of my life.

I want you to have this joy and satisfaction in your life. I know you deserve it, and you can have it. That is why I’ve decided to share with you what I’ve taught countless other women.

5 Lessons To Get What You Want Instead Of Repeatedly Getting What You Don’t.

During the seminar, you will learn

• The most important step for getting started on your new journey.
• How to work from trust rather than discouragement;
• How to identify and build on your strengths;
• The training, tools and support you’ll need to leave challenges behind forever.

Maybe you’re wondering if you’re ready to take this step. Here are some signs that this is your time.

• You’ve been blindsided again and don’t know what to do.
• You’re sick and tired of dealing with the same issue over and over in your relationships and never getting any real resolution;
• You know deep inside that there is a better way.
• You’re tired of staying quiet when you have something to say OR
• You’re frustrated and angry because you lash out and then regret the results.

Are you ready to take a stand for yourself, throw a pebble in the pond and let joy ripple out into all areas of your life?

For a limited time, I’m offering a Full Tuition Scholarship to my upcoming seminars.
This seminar usually costs $157. By choosing your date and location below, you will be applying for the scholarship and be able to attend free of cost.

YES! Sign me up for 5 Lessons to Get What You Want and Stop Getting What You Don’t Want.