After much time, here, at last, is Part 3.

During the first weekend of May I traveled to Pismo Beach, California for a Meet & Greet with Martha Beck and fellow cadets.  I have periodically been sharing reflections of my experience.  In Part 1, I discussed the setting of Pismo Beach, and Part 2 described my experience with my fellow cadets.

Martha Beck

When I’m chatting with people about my life coaching practice, I typically include my current training with Martha Beck.  The reason I mention my training is because Beck’s process and approach have greatly shaped my own “new and improved” life.  Being introduced to Beck’s writing some years ago, I found her approach satisfied both sides of my thinking.  There is something beautifully simple in the notion that to live a fulfilled life, one can start by making the small choices that move her/him in the direction of fulfillment.  Also, the point Beck makes about doing things that feel “good” to your body to have a body that feels good and healthy…feels right, to me.  It makes comforting sense to me.  She often includes analytical research material that has generated and supports her approach.  She is well-read and constantly exploring research, methods, and analysis, and this scientific substantiation satisfies the “nuts-and-bolts, just the facts” side of my mind.  Ultimately, my intention in mentioning my involvement in training with Martha Beck has been to give a quick glimpse into what I value and intend as a life coach.

I’m still getting used to the fact that while many people have some acquaintance with life coaching, most have never heard of Martha Beck.  Gosh, she’s written enough books to just about fill her own shelf at the book store, and she’s a monthly columnist in O, Oprah’s magazine.  Yes, that Oprah.  Apparently, not many people read bylines.  To me, it would be like talking about home runs without knowing about Hank Aaron, or discussing no-hitters without ever hearing of Nolan Ryan.

MB Presents

Beck’s presentation at the Meet & Greet was a unique experience for me.  Here was an icon and authority on life coaching, but she talked to us as one of us.  She is smart, quick-witted, and funny, and she’s wonderfully comfortable at laughing at herself and sharing her vulnerability.  She doesn’t present as a professor lecturing her students; she shares her experience of being out of sync with who and what she was most meant to be, as well as her work to rediscover her path and reclaim her true self.  Her approach isn’t at all “here’s the A, B, and C of what I did, and you need to do the same.”  She merely explains that she didn’t start to feel comfortable in her own skin until she stopped doing what she thought she had to do and was supposed to do, and started following what felt most right in her body and heart—started doing what brought her the most joy.  And, she suggests that one can choose to personally inquire within whether there have been those same kinds of experiences in one’s own life, both feeling out-of-sorts with oneself living one kind of life, or feeling in-tune with the universe in another kind of life.  She subscribes to the belief “Don’t take anyone’s word on something, including me.”  She encourages us ultimately to trust ourselves, and do what feels natural and good to feel natural and good.

Here, please allow me to include a disclaimer.  I am not attempting to define Beck’s message or what her coaching methodology is all about.  What I am presenting is my personal synthesis from my work with Beck, her writings, and her training program, and the fundamentals of truth that I have developed as a result.  Basic ideas of what feels natural and good to me.  I just wish to acknowledge the impact Beck has had to where and who I am, and how I coach.

There was a shared sentiment that emerged from the Beck presentation to us at the Meet & Greet.  Many cadets commented that it was amazing to see Martha present for the whole day without the use of notes, and they shared how powerful it was that Martha’s message seemed to touch on aspects that they personally most needed to hear.

MB and Me

Finally, I’d like to share a WIG moment that I had at the Meet & Greet.  For anyone not familiar, WIG stands for Wildly Improbable Goal.  For me, meeting Martha was a WIG.  When I say meet, I mean more than just attending a presentation.  I imagined meeting Martha being on a scale of meeting a Rock Star, a worldly famous musician, like Sting.  So, meeting would be more intimate than just attending a sold-out concert…meeting would be like sitting next to Sting at dinner.

So, during the lunch break of Martha’s presentation, I ran up to my hotel room.  When it was time to return to the hall, I left my room, to find Martha and a small group of Master Coaches waiting at the elevator on my floor.  We exchanged pleasantries, while I was personally freaking out just a little bit!  They invited me on the elevator, but in my panic I declined, stating a preference to using the stairs.

Ha ha!  Crazy, right?  As I hustled down the stairs, two thoughts materialized for me.  One was—What an amazing opportunity!  Second—How am I going to feel if I let this moment slip away?

I arrived at the ground floor and asked if I could join them walking to the hall.  I spoke with J-Vo a little bit, and then had a couple minutes conversation with Martha, mostly regarding men in coaching.  When she began the second half of her presentation, she shared a bit of our conversation with everyone.  In the span of a life, it was just a moment.  But, to me, Martha is a rock star, and it is a moment we will always share!