In 2004 I was lying half asleep on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon and read a ladies’ magazine.
Even though I was in love, I still missed something in my life. Something that made sense and challenged me intellectually, something that gave me a feeling of meaning something for someone, something that made me forget myself. Something that was sufficiently creative, practical and interesting.
Basically I had no idea what I wanted with my life. When people asked me, I said that I would be Human Relations employee in the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. It was my dream. Out the proportions and totally unrealistic, I thought no, I was also fully aware of what it was? It’s almost funny to think back on. But it was far from funny when I was in the middle of it.
All for the ladies, paradoxical as it may sound, was the direct route to my career …
As today I would not exchange for anything in the world. Nothing. Nothing Human Relations jobs or other attractive positions. Let me say it straight away and say it out loud:
I have the best job in the world, best work day, students, colleagues and not least the world’s 2 best business partners, Sofia and Chris.
Today I am not using a minute to consider whether I am in the right place in my life – if I made the right choice. I am exactly where I should be. As a coach, with a high C. And I love it.
You have guaranteed already figured out that it was not «only» The magazine «Alt for Damerne» (Danish magazine) who paved the way for the happiness of my life. It was the woman I read about in the article, of course, none other than Sofia Manning.
I remember how exotic just her name sounded at the time. Sofia Manning.
The article and coach Sofia Manning asked primarily a lot of coaching questions:
What do you really want?
How would you live your life?
What prevents you?
What will it take for you to get exactly the life you dream of?
Question I had not thought about in many years, if ever. In 2004 I had, in spite of many years of psychology and communication studies at Roskilde University (in Denmark), never heard of coaching.
But something hit me. Right in the stomach and right in the heart. Something got me off the couch and started to write Sofia Manning an email. A very passionate email, which flowed from my fingers and was written finished in 10th minutes.
The email had one desired outcome: to meet this amazing lady and become a coach.
I still did not really know what coaching was, or why I would be a coach and have a coach training? But I would.
Sweet, well-meaning people around me thought it was a crazy idea for several reasons, and they spent a lot of time and energy to question me: «Why now spend time on yet another training? You already have a ‘real’ education. «Why spend money that you do not have to magnify your debt?» «Why on earth throw you into something you do not know what is?» Etc. etc.
Why?
Because I could feel in my heart that it was true. It was just me. To ask questions and help other people. That simple. I knew it.
And I have never regretted. Not just 5 seconds.
(And I also have (almost) kept me from being the one who laughs last …))
Read more of Mie Madsen and her story in the next article.