Keegan Schaefer is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with him. He impressed us with his wisdom and strength of character.
He defied the odds, emerging from a tumultuous past marked by abandonment, abuse, and personal struggles. Transcending the challenges of ADHD, ADD, and a speech impediment, he weathered multiple suicide attempts and homelessness before the age of 17. However, a transformative encounter with a sales organization became his salvation, endowing him with skills that not only rescued him from darkness but empowered him to guide others toward their own illumination.
Through the lens of his own journey, he founded CKC, dedicated to coaching individuals to master their emotions, live with purpose, and forge lives of freedom. His coaching transcends the conventional, emphasizing not just personal growth but the creation of elite producing teams across various industries.
His coaching philosophy is rooted in empathy and compassion derived from personal strife, offering clients a unique blend of understanding and accountability. Here is what he said.
Meet Life Coach Keegan Schaefer:
Name: Keegan Schaefer
Pillar: The Spirit, The Mind, The Heart
Who is this coach for: Mostly men who want to create a life of freedom through purpose.
How they can help: Through coaching, emotional mastery, guiding clients to find their purpose, inspiration, support, and nurturing an environment of innovation in oneself.
First of all, how are you and your family doing after these Pandemic times?
Our family is stronger than ever.
We have family dinners and theme nights, but we also work hard and support each other.
Intrapersonal skills and virtues are something we practice strongly together.
How did the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?
The pandemic presented obstacles, but it also opened many doors.
During the pandemic, coaches were faced with many challenges around beliefs of what a coach is and can provide.
However, it also opened doors to connecting with people from all over the world who shared experiences packed with information and an opportunity to stand out as the best.
This led to more efficient learning and implementation.
It did create some reservations in the marketplace, but this was also the reason people needed coaching more than ever.
The obstacle is the way.
What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?
The biggest lessons I learned in the pandemic are around delayed gratification and consistent action, regardless of circumstances.
It is about how we react to what is presented.
If we can postpone payment or reward in search of our mission for six or more months, we can make a lot of money.
If we can postpone payment or reward for a couple of years, we can change many lives.
If we can postpone payment or reward for a lifetime, we can change the world!
Delaying gratification through resilience and consistent action makes us immune to external circumstances.
The Origin:
Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?
My story is a bit different.
My parents abandoned me.
I experienced extreme abuse, was molested, was diagnosed with ADHD, ADD, had a speech impediment (could not pronounce my name), had multiple suicide attempts (admitted to the psych ward), and faced addiction and homelessness before the age of 17.
I had every reason to give up.
A sales organization became my salvation and gifted me the skills not only to help myself out of darkness, but others out of their darkness too.
I also learned how to open, run, and operate an elite producing team at different stages and industries, including service and product based.
Personally and professionally, I have been practicing the art of self mastery for 16 years.
High pressure environments where emotions are high and results are needed is something that has developed as a primary skillset.
CKC coaches people to do the same thing, master their emotions, live in purpose, create a life of freedom.
What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?
There are many significant obstacles that led to where I am today, packed with lessons and wins.
I believe the total immersion of loss surmounted the greatest teacher.
Homelessness, losing friends, my biological father passing away and inheriting his debt, being pronounced dead, living in a psych ward, having to sell my portion of the business, not knowing if I would eat the next day, living out of a car with my dog.
These obstacles not only created a hunger inside of me, but they kept me humble in my quest to impact those around me at all costs.
I am just a messenger on a larger mission here to serve al ultimate purpose.
The Coaching Style:
How do you innovate with coaching your clients?
To us, innovation with clients is built through inspiration, support, and nurturing an environment of innovation in oneself.
This can be employed through systems, marketing, and communication or touchpoints, but our most impactful approach is meeting in person.
After six months of working together, we meet our clients in person.
This sets us apart in a virtual world.
What’s unique about your coaching approach?
What is unique is my personal experience, philosophical roots, and resilience in the coaching approach.
Using these elements to help others with non bias is a superpower.
I have been in the depths of the trenches.
I have experienced heightened levels of success.
In both scenarios, I derive empathy and compassion while still maintaining a force for accountability and results for myself and others.
I can relate to deep pain, but I also do not allow this to become a barrier for clients.
This unique experience of personal strife and business acumen allows me to bring a comprehensive transformation that changes lives.
Not only am I able to create followers, but ultimately other great leaders.
What benefits do your clients get after working with you?
There are many benefits clients receive after working with us.
Total joy, full engagement, confidence, resolve, and direction are some of the favorites.
Ultimately, we help men create a life of freedom through purpose.
They leave with the tools of longevity to influence their families, communities, and selves at large.
Making a better world one day, one person at a time.
We provide many ongoing tools and resources for extended growth.
Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?
We use tools, some unique tools including Pinnacle Ai, Flexiworks, Google admin, automation tools, YouTube channels, and more.
We are working on an app as well.
The Impact:
If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?
If I could convey a message to everyone in the world, it would be this:
What stands in our way becomes the way.
No matter if we consider a scenario to be good or bad, they all present an opportunity to present virtue, something our society has diminished.
Whatever you fear right now, facing it will set you free.
What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?
The greatest lesson I have learned in life is that “this too shall pass”.
The highest highs and lowest lows are a part of the journey.
They inherently do not define us, but how we respond to them does.
Being reactionary to circumstances pulls us farther away from our missions and strengths.
Mastering your emotions, not suppressing them, is one of the greatest skills we can develop, especially in an emotionally rampant society.
Your final thoughts?
You can choose not to be harmed by the rollercoaster of life.
If you already knew how to get where you wanted to be, you would have done it by now.
One day, some of us look up and wonder where our life has gone.
Days turn into weeks. Weeks turn into months. Months turn into years.
The business you were going to start, that thing you were going to do for your kid, the book you were going to write…
Do not let it slip you by.
I have dedicated my life to this calling of changing the world one man at a time.
I am here to support your transformation, big or small.
Thank you for this opportunity.
I’ll see you at the top.
Where Can You Find Keegan Schaefer?
If you liked this interview and if you would love to master your emotions, go to https://www.ckc.coach/ and see how Coach Keeg can help you do that.
You can register for the men’s group, Tribal Stoics on these links:
Tuesday 9:00am EST: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/742473286587?aff=oddtdtcreator
Thursday 12:00pm EST: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/742520828787?aff=oddtdtcreator
If you’d like to learn more about his coaching, you can do that via his Facebook Group or YouTube.
If you’d like to connect more personally with him, you can do that through LinkedIn or by sending him a message on his Email [email protected]. It was an honor having this interview with him.