Barbara Ellison is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her resilience and passion.
She is a seasoned coach with a transformative journey that led her to the world of coaching. Twelve years ago, at the age of 61, Barbara found herself navigating the complex maze of identities and life struggles, only to realize she had lost sight of her true self amidst societal expectations. After the passing of her husband, she emerged from the widow’s fog, prompting a profound self discovery.
She enrolled in a coaching program, an experience she describes as life changing. It was during a live event that the calling to become a coach crystallized, fueled by her desire to assist others grappling with the same existential question: Who am I?
Her coaching style is marked by her commitment to lifelong learning and a profound sense of purpose, to serve, learn, and then impart that knowledge to others. Her coaching approach is a unique reflection of her personal journey, encapsulated in a 4 step process that simplifies the pursuit of a thriving lifestyle, focusing on essential areas for personal growth.
Meet Life Coach Barbara Ellison:
Name: Barbara Ellison
Pillar:Â The Spirit, The Mind
Who is this coach for:Â Anyone who wants to start living a thriving life.
How they can help:Â Through a 4 step process that focuses on 3 areas that everyone needs to have a thriving lifestyle, as well as assessments and guidance.
First of all, how are you and your family doing after these Pandemic times?
We have a bustling household of 9 ranging in age from 3 to 73 which is down from the grand total of 15 during the pandemic when the older kids were home from college.
How did the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?
The pandemic opened me up to more opportunities to get the word out.
With 2 different fellow coaches we started podcasts: The Time2Shine Happiness Show, Monday Motivation with the Mavens and the Aging Experts Show which are still on going.
What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?
During the pandemic I learned that I could make it on my own.
The world had shut down⊠I had not!!
I found the world of Zoom, I joined a mastermind that I am still part of and expanded my horizons exponentially across the world.
I have now spoken about my journey to groups across the US into Canada and also Australia.
It has been an amazing ride.
The Origin:
Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?
12 years ago at the age of 61, after the death of my husband and waking up from the widowâs fog, I realized that I had no idea of who I was outside of all the labels that I had put on myself through upbringing and societal pressure.
The labels of daughter, wife, mother, divorced failure, wife again, grandmother, business owner and now widow.
Who was Barbara in all of that?
I had no idea and it was the scariest time of my life.
I knew I needed help so I joined a coaching program and it was life changing.
At one of the live events that I attended it hit me that this was what I wanted to do.
I wanted to become a coach.
To be able to help people who were in the same position as I was.
Not knowing who they are!
What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?
For myself the biggest obstacle to get over was ME!
My limiting beliefs of who I was as a person.
Realizing that for over 60 years I had been living my life through someone elseâs lens and I had to get comfortable and accept being me outside of my family dynamics.
The Coaching Style:
How do you innovate with coaching your clients?
I am a lifelong learner and my purpose is to serve God, to learn, and then to teach others what I have learned.
So I am continually learning about new methods, techniques, strategies, life hacks and other tips to improve the lives of my clients.
Whatâs unique about your coaching approach?
I believe what is unique about my coaching is that I coach on my own journey.
I have a 4 step process that is easy to follow which focuses on the 3 areas everyone needs to have a thriving lifestyle.
Because it starts with 2 separate assessments my clients get a clear perspective of where they are right now and what they want to work on first.
What benefits do your clients get after working with you?
They discover their purpose, passion and drive to take them into an active, healthy and abundant retirement.
Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?
I use 2 Personality Science Assessments and a Positive Intelligence assessment.
The Impact:
If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?
Every day a man near the end of a career dies without a vision of how worthy and valuable they are to the world.
They have allowed who they are at work to upstage their God given value and purpose beyond the job.
It breaks my heart.
My company WELLNESS PLAYROOM: For The Best Version Of You, serves and guides late career baby boomers onto their path to purpose and gives them ways to make their next career a life of unlimited wellness.
They might have begun to feel their body is âfalling apartâ from stress or not moving
They might be feeling the pressure of needing more financial security for their families and themselves, and they might be welcoming revenue streams outside of their career income.
What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?
The biggest lesson that I have learned is that I love being a Trainer.
As a teenager I always wanted to be a teacher.
When I took a teacher class I realized that I would NEVER be a school teacher and back then there were no other options.
It wasnât until I got into the coaching programs for myself that I realized I still love to teach.
Your final thoughts?
It truly breaks my heart to see the profound struggles faced by so many men who haven’t been guided to find their worth and value beyond their professional titles.
Retirement should be a wonderful phase of life that is fulfilling rather than daunting.
Watching their physical health decline under the heavy burden of stress is nothing short of heart wrenching, so I love the fact that I have an Elite Wellness Brand that can change that struggle plus I can offer 3 financial vehicles that can create residual, passive incomes that are separate from job income.
We need to change how we view and prepare for life after work.
We must provide compassionate guidance and support, encouraging discovery and embracing new aspects of identity and secure a future that transcends professional lives.
With the right guidance that can be had through personal coaching, a brighter, more optimistic future is just around the corner.
I believe that each and every one of us deserves to lead a happy, healthy, debt free and abundant life!
Where Can You Find Barbara Ellison?
If you liked this interview and you would love to see how Barbara can help you, contact her on LinkedIn or Facebook.
If you’d like to catch a glimpse from her coaching, follow her Instagram or X.
If you’d like to connect with her more personally, you can do that by sending her a message on her Email [email protected]. It was an honor having this interview with her.
