Today we’d like to introduce you to Bridget Chambers.
Bridget, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’d like to think I showed promise as a potential future Life Coach right around my sixth birthday — in the passenger’s seat of my family’s red sedan. During a sunshiny summer drive (after my dad had just finished blaring Jethro Tull’s “Life’s a Long Song”), I peered pensively out the window before concluding:
”Life really is a long song, isn’t it, Dad?”
I spent my teenage years balancing my time between writing detailed letters to my diary, offering advice to anyone who’d listen, and channeling my gift for gab into Speech Team competitions. I was an oddly consistent blend of extroverted and introspective, which seemed to perfectly foreshadow my future as both a bubbly Life Coach and a quiet writer.
Along the way, there was no life lesson from which I was spared. I mentally noted every heartbreak, every celebration, every letdown, and every win, wondering why life continued to deliver lesson after lesson…but neglected to hand me the manual for how to make sense of them. It eventually occurred to me that the life manual was life itself – and that really talking about life could produce validating relationships, relatable stories, and conversations that could change the whole world, person by person.
So, I went on to college (well, three of them), where I studied writing, business and coaching, respectively. I then embarked on my first “real” job, which I promptly and happily quit after signing my first coaching client on the eve of my 25th birthday.
I have now spent the better part of a decade building and refining my own private practice, where I serve as a Life Coach, author, and GenY personal development expert.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
These two beliefs have ultimately shaped my journey as an entrepreneur and writer:
1.) Slow and steady wins the race.
2.) Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Absolutely nothing has happened quickly for me. My progress and growth have been measured in very tiny steps: research and learning, building a coaching clientele, writing, getting published (but sometimes not), and then waking up every day to a blank slate – and finding the drive and love to create again.
I have always been a problem-solver. If there is a viable, ethical, genuine way to make something happen, I will dig until I find a way to do it. Being patient (sometimes begrudgingly!) has uncovered some unique opportunities that I may have missed if I’d given up even one-day sooner. That said, everything I do must feel authentic to me, my clients, and my readers. Smoke and mirrors just don’t work when you’re a writer, because writing – by nature – is telling the truth.
My advice to young dreamers is this: I believe that if you have the ability to conceptualize a particular goal for yourself, then you are able to ultimately achieve a version of that goal. We often default to a belief that life is full of barriers to overcome. What if that’s not true? What if the only barrier is you?
Please tell us about your business.
I am a writer 100 percent of the time, and then a coach after that. I think my coaching breeds my writing, and vice versa. I think words are how we make sense of the world, how we give and accept empathy, how we know we’re not alone. Where scientists go to their labs — I go to my keyboard. I cannot understand the intricacies of almost any situation without penning a few words about it first.
My coaching stems from the antidote to the “Quarter Life Crisis.” Because, seriously… why is that a thing? I believe we’re in charge of our lives. We can have what we dream of, we can nurture our personal relationships, we can get through the tough stuff. We have to work at it, yes… but we are capable of it all.
The best parts of my job are the stories I have the privilege of hearing and understanding. The conversations between my clients and me are full of connection and clarity. What is better than watching someone get more of what they need? I get to be a small part of people’s BIG life changes. I have watched clients change jobs, strengthen fractured relationships, and learn how to enjoy themselves. A few have even moved across the world to fulfill their big dreams! Its inspiring, to say the least.
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
I have a love/hate relationship with “networking.” I think expanding your network is important, but I think that buzzword is preached too often. I believe it’s more imperative and useful to create solid, sincere relationships – within and outside your field of work.
Mentors cannot simply be people you think you want to emulate. They have to be people you respect. They must be people who resonate with you on a level much deeper than admiration. The best mentors don’t think they’re doing you a favor. They know helping you is paying back the favor of their own mentors and advisors. You will know you found a real mentor when they take your goals as seriously as you do.
My most important mentors aren’t big names with wide-spread connections. They are people who keep me grounded and aligned. They care about my work. Most importantly, they fuel my motivation to keep building the dream. When I look over my shoulder searching for support, they are there. And that is a two-way street!
When it comes to the more unlikely connections, I say: Reach for the stars! Use the above criteria to compose an email to someone you admire. Every now and then, I have been totally floored to find that the busiest people have made time to respond to me – and in some cases, we have even formed a professional relationship. This happened to me after writing a note to Arianna Huffington. We have exchanged emails sporadically over two years, and she is the kindest soul.
Before I sent her my initial email, I was actually scared. Imagine if I’d let my fear stop me from hitting “send.” That tiny risk was worth the reward – big time!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bridgetchambers.com
- Phone: 630-881-7901
- Email: bridget@bridgetchambers.com
- Instagram: @bridgchambers
- Twitter: @yoursmartheart
Image Credit:
Timothy Musho, Maria Kiagias via Social Gold
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