miss michelle...this may just be me/my computer, but i don't think the video got embedded in the post. just thought i'd give you a heads-up! can't wait to see your intro video! :)

Thanks for the heads-up, Krista! I don't know what went wrong, but the video should be there now. You're the best!

Book club shout-out! W00t! :) Love the paint job...can't wait to see the rest of the new place!

You're so cute, Karen! Thanks for watching the video. And see, I told you I LOVED Shadow Baby! So, so great. And yes, hopefully a housewarming will happen soon - after we get this damn soundproofing wall up! Oy vey.

Love the video and can't wait to see more! If you weren't already my coach, I'd have to sign up!!! :p

Ohmygosh, Erin, you are so awesome for watching! Thanks so much! Aw, this is just the sweetest. Thanks for the love.

great "intro" post michelle. i loved the book excerpt. looking forward to all that is to come from you lovely ladies. happy new year!

Wow. Michelle, I want to connect with you somehow... you complete me. lol Seriously, I'm so glad to have crossed paths with you. I can relate to so much of what you said in this intro post. I look forward to staying plugged in to Spring. Thank you for sharing parts of your story.

xo,

Carmen

glad to have stumbled upon you.
looking forward to reading more.
my sense is that I am sitting at a bit of a crossroads with my own life.
2009 was a difficult year for a variety of reasons but, it was also the year that I began to take charge and realize I can set the direction I want to go; so I am looking forward to 2010 in a different way.

The quote resonated with me. I think I am getting close to finding some of the things that will keep me going.

Thanks so much, ladies! I can't tell you how much it means to me to see your comments come in. OK, I can - it means a lot!!

@Leana - That book is really great if you're looking for a fairly quick, touching fiction read. And I'm looking forward to what we do here too! (Have we mentioned we're slightly flying by the seat of our pants here? OK, that's not entirely true - we have our topics for the next month or two but that's about it! So if you want to see anything in particular, let us know!)

@Carmen - I cracked up when reading the Jerry Maguire quote! You are too hilarious. I have to say, I don't think it was coincidental that Rochelle put us in the same Small is Beautiful feature on Magpie Girl! I'm so so glad we connected, too.

@Ramona - Keep going, keep going! I know what it's like to be on that brink, knowing something is there for you but not entirely sure what it is yet. Keep digging or journaling or researching or trying new things until you feel a "click." I forget the term for it, but people describe it as a feeling where you're unaware of time - y'know, when you do something & then look at the clock & say, "It's 4p already?! Where did the afternoon go?" Well, it went to your writing, or your yoga, or your coaching, or whatever it was. You might want to keep a list somewhere of when that happens to you, or just really notice whatever your mind & body are tuning you into. Hope to hear more about your journey!

I so appreciate your willingness to be vulnerable, Michelle. It makes me feel better about how easily I can be moved to tears lately. :-) Thank you for sharing some of your story. I think you're fabulous!

Michelle,

Thank you so much for sharing your journey and ultimately your truth with us. You live and breathe what it means to coach and be coached. As a coach I catch myself thinking I need to have things "figured out" in order to offer the goods to my clients and today was one of those days... thank you for reminding me that the imperfection, inquiry, and true presence within my own personal story is what makes the experience oh-so-powerful. Yay for you, your passion, your dreams, your new apartment deco, and a brand spankin' new year!! You're right, it's going to be awesome. :) I think you've even inspired a blog post... Watch out!

so, michelle...i can't help but be totally curious...what do you do in your current 9-5 job??? i am also working at a 9-5 job, with hopes of being totally self-sufficient within the next few years. thanks for sharing more about yourself here, and for letting your vulnerability be a teaching tool for others.

@Leah - And duh, I think you're fabulous too! Thanks so much for watching & commenting. Compliments mean so much coming from you!

@Lacy - It was so funny & very validating, actually, to hear you say that. If you go to my blog & read my very first posts - probably the first 3 or 4 months worth - you'll find a very generic life coaching "giving advice" & feigning to have "figuring it all out." It took me a while, but I think it was really during Holly Becker's Blogging Your Way e-course that I realized the other blogs I LOVE I love because of that vulnerability that the bloggers put out there. Not to say that they're exposing their lives in a way that is extremely personal or uncomfortable, but they're sharing their challenges & hesitations & successes with their readers, & that's what made them so inspiring. So besides sharing My Wins & What I've Learned, I started exposing that more vulnerable part of myself. It's gotten to the point where I don't ever want to be "fixed" - & I have a feeling that won't be a problem! :) I, too, have had a life coach on & off for the better part of 2 years & don't intend to stop for any extended period of time. I'll continue to put myself out there, because when it boils down to it that's how I've really built these fantastic relationships that have come from my blog & Twitter (like this one, with the Spring girls!). Please let me know if I do inspire a blog (or a vlog?) - I'd LOVE to read it!

@Lauren - I've been an Executive Assistant for a financial consulting company since Aug 2007, the same month I registered for life coaching classes at the International Coach Academy. I took the job knowing that I just wanted someplace that paid me well, gave me benefits, allowed me to punch the clock (no on-call BlackBerry or overtime), & was in a non-abusive environment (aka no boss that punches walls, yells obscenities, or makes me cry - all things that happened in prior positions) so I could take my classes & build up my coaching business until I was comfortable enough to leave & feel secure that I could make ends meet as a full-time coach. I think that's why I'm so passionate about helping my clients take tiny bitty baby steps to reach the finish line - no leaping necessary.

I just finally watched this Michelle, and I am so glad I did. I really connected with what you said here. I spent quite a while after college floating around from job to job feeling really lost. About three years ago I started making art again in a serious way (after a long hiatus), and as you say--it is totally what makes sense of my life and what keeps me going. It's amazing how one thing can be so grounding. I may not know exactly where I'm going, but I know that I will make art, and (on the good days) I know that is all I need to know. This video also reminds me of me in the sense that I have totally been that crazy person having a private crying moment when reading something like this. I think it's good to be so deeply affected by things.

Thanks so much for your comment, Nicole. Isn't it comforting to find someone that's on/has taken a similar path as you, in an authentic way? I've been following your journey as a newly self-employed artist & think it's so inspiring. As long as you remain true to yourself, you'll do just fine. And thanks for your camaraderie about my public bawling over the dialogue in that book. Makes me feel like I didn't look like such an idiot :)