Today we’d like to introduce you to Penny Rackley.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Penny. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I trained in 2010, was certified and began life coaching in 2011 when the discipline was relatively new. Back then, there were many times I had to explain how coaching is different from therapy and/or counseling. Now, most clients come to me understanding what they’re going to get — help navigating a life problem or situation from a neutral, unbiased perspective, and motivation to take action in pursuit of their goals. I hold clients accountable to promises they make to themselves.
At first, clients found me through word-of-mouth, but the practice really took off when I began giving free, group coaching sessions at a local yoga studio — Inspire Yoga in Highland Village. I’ve known the owner, Bethaney Pilat for many years, and she gave me a terrific opportunity to connect with a tight-knit, health-minded community. That connection and several positive online reviews have kept me busy ever since.
Has it been a smooth road?
Getting past clients’ initial uncertainties about confiding in a stranger can be an obstacle, but it’s fairly easy to overcome. I’m not their mother or their boss or their roommate. We don’t share a budget or a pantry. I have no expectations or agendas. I’m here to listen, to provide insight, to be in the client’s corner, and to help learn to take responsibility for their own happiness.
When I meet with clients, especially the first time, it’s like they’re dumping a big bin of mixed up Legos on the table. All their junk is in that bin! Personal troubles, financial worries, kid guilt, aging-parent woes, professional doubt, even anxiety over the amount of sleep they get — it’s a jumble. And question by question, worry by worry, we sort it out. We get clarity, focus, Mental organization and then we set attainable goals. It’s a relief for them and an absolute thrill for me. It’s like magic.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
The act of sitting down with a coaching client — listening to their struggles, unfolding and examining the puzzles of their lives, understanding their anxieties, identifying roadblocks, and then talking through the field of possibilities, brainstorming options and work-arounds, allowing them to get their thoughts and questions out in the open, with no judgment, focused solely on THEM…then *BAM* they say or hear something, and the mist begins to clear.
Answers arise. They see possibility for a fresh start. They’ve got hope and a resolve for something better. Then together, we devise steps toward their new goal. I’m telling you, I have the best job in the world, witnessing and fostering that positive change.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
The Dallas area is a terrific place to coach. I get to work with a wide variety of clients — from high school students choosing their educational or vocational future to recent college graduates looking for their first “grown-up job”, parents whose kids are starting kindergarten or college — all these people are looking to redefine themselves. I help them discover the answer to: “Who am I going to be now that things have changed?”
The same goes with the recently divorced or widowed. They want to know, “What will my daily life look like now that I’m on my own?” We shift that to, “What do I WANT my life to look like?” And then together we figure out how they can get that new life.
Job seekers meet with me to talk through their next interview, their most-wanted gig. We role-play to give them focused practice, develop key messages and define strategies before the big meeting. It helps so much to hear yourself say those messages out loud, to experience speaking them TO someone, then edit them in realtime until they’re just right. The client goes in prepared, confident, brave.
Pricing:
- $75 per one-hour session
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pennyrackley.com
- Phone: 214-793-1503
- Email: pennyrackley@mac.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pennyrackleycoaching/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/whats-next-life-coaching-with-penny-rackley-flower-mound
- Other: https://business.google.com/reviews/l/11033057160407684933
To schedule – https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=17012831
Image Credit:
Sandra Lynch Studios
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