Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy McCabe.
Kathy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I now proudly call myself a Life Coach, but I am also a “recovering” lawyer, former people-pleaser, a “work-in-progress” mom — and an evolving human!
I practiced law for 22 years. About 6 years ago, l left an externally successful legal career that I was no longer passionate about. I was so attached to my identity as a lawyer, it took me time to let go of it. While I was practicing law, I started a small business in real estate, which allowed me to happily leave my legal career. Once I left the law, I was able to stay at home more with my two children. However, I found that while I enjoyed being more involved in their lives, I still needed to find my own passion. I liked running my small real-estate business, but it did not light me up the way this purposeful coaching work does now.
Personal growth and transformation have always been a passion of mine. Over the past two decades (I needed a lot of work!), I completed numerous workshops, seminars, and classes that helped me lose many “masks” I used to wear and drop my former, chronic “people-pleasing” self.
For fun, I started running women’s groups and discovered that I LOVED helping empower women to lead in their lives, and to find Real Joy. My first women’s group experienced so many positive changes that I was inspired to enroll in life-coach training with Dr. Martha Beck (one of Oprah’s favorite coaches!) and I became certified. In my practice, I am thrilled to combine my life-coach training, other personal development training, and my professional experience to help people.
One thing I love most about coaching is that I have to “practice what I preach.” I apply the same tools to my life that I recommend to my clients. Now I live an “imperfectly evolving” life that is much more authentic and joyful!
I can’t wait to do this work every day, and I am on a mission to help as many people, especially women, as I can!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Initially, my biggest challenge was to “let go” of my identity as a lawyer and all the professional accolades and perks that come with that. I had a successful career, but I held on longer than I wanted because I had so many “shoulds” and “can’ts” in my head.
Another challenge I had was learning how to market my coaching business. My business had grown entirely by word-of-mouth. To reach more of “my people,” I had to embrace social media, which I didn’t really like, but I have now connected with incredible people who resonate with my message. Like most things in life, social media is not “good” or “bad,” it is all about how you use it!
And finally, it was challenging to convince some people how valuable a professionally trained coach can be. Most people know that if you take 10 minutes each morning to organize your day, you can save hours of time later. The same analogy holds true for coaching. Investing time into coaching accelerates your life goals in ways you may never have imagined. You can save yourself years of feeling like you’re not quite where you want to be. Coaching helps you with your present and future life. What do you want to create in 6 months, a year, and in 5 years? When you take responsibility for what you can create in your life, it is very powerful! The coaching tools I teach have been so transformative for so many of my clients and for me: I am achieving some incredible goals while becoming happier in the process!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I do small group and individual life coaching. I work with people who have good lives, but they want to make them great. My tagline, “Coaching for Real Joy,” is about helping people find and live with Real Joy in their lives. In my view, Real Joy is about uncovering, hearing and following your authentic self in all aspects of your life.
Most of my clients are professional working women or moms who want to excel at their passions while enjoying – and not sacrificing – their personal lives. Often these women are in some kind of transition. I also work with the occasional brave man.
I am known for facilitating in-person women’s coaching groups that help women transform their lives. I am passionate about helping women fully lead in all parts of their lives. I also work with clients individually. In addition, I write a weekly blog that offers life-coaching tips. [sign up at kathy@kathymccabelifecoach.com]. I run retreats and workshops and do speaking engagements, too.
I am most proud of how several women I’ve worked with have excelled in their careers, or started new careers or launched businesses they are passionate about! While I cannot take credit for their hard work, their testimonials about working with me show how the tools they learned helped them remove internal blocks and take action. For example, one client, Meagan Adams, once thought to have her own “natural light photography” studio and was an intangible dream. She now has a gorgeous, natural-light studio and a thriving business in Evanston!
What makes me unique is that I have more than 20 years of success in the business world, combined with my life-coach training, as well as years of other personal development training. I use all of these tools to give clients what they need to move forward. Most importantly, I include FUN in all the work I do with clients!
There is nothing better than helping clients start new businesses they love, excel at what they do, improve their relationships and/or just become happier today.
What were you like growing up?
I was an active, extroverted kid and “achiever.” I was definitely a kid who wanted to be “liked” and was a “people pleaser.” I liked to play sports and hang out with my friends. I liked to debate and that is, in part, why I became a lawyer.
While I am still an outgoing person who likes to achieve goals, I thankfully have given up the need to be “liked,” and to “please” everyone. I also have no interest in arguing! Being peaceful, calm and centered is my mantra now!
Contact Info:
- Website: kathymccabelifecoach.com
- Phone: 773-960-0112
- Email: kathymccabelifecoach@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathyMcCabeCoaching/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathymccabelifecoach/
Image Credit:
Meagan Adams Photography, #DarciJamesPhotography, Meagan Adams
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