How I re-purposed my pain, to create a lifestyle business.
A dream career
When I was a kid, grownups would always ask me what I wanted to be when I grow up and I always said "a lawyer".
Every week on television, I was fascinated by this charismatic, intelligent, beautiful, savvy wife and mother of 5 who seemed to effortlessly run a home, marriage and law practice, without breaking a sweat.
What did you want to be when you grew up? What influenced that idea?
I would watch female attorneys and business women and professionals. I saw women in business, as superheroes. I used to take the train and watch them in their business suits with their briefcases, shoulder bags and sneakers (pumps were for the office).
Death to a dream
Clearly, I did not become an attorney, although for a long time (high school until 27 yrs. old) it was all I thought of pursuing. I worked in the field of law, as a legal assistant, only to realize it wasn’t for me; it left me bitter, frustrated, confused and heartbroken.
When a dream dies, you just have to dream a new dream.
Still wanting to be like those women attorneys I admired, still loving to advocate, to write and to be a major support to my community, I would have to start over from scratch.
Daring to dream a new dream
After many failed attempts at finding the right career, my good friend, invited me to join her to complete a Master’s Degree at Brooklyn College. It was very close to the deadline. I didn't know if I would make it into the program, but I did!
“I would not have imagined, that as a single mother, with a 4-year-old, working 2 part-time jobs, I could graduate Magna Cum Laude and get inducted into the Psi Chi (Psychology) Honors Society. Moral of the story...NEVER EVER GIVE UP!”
Answering my calling
I am a "Master Secret Keeper" (that's what my daughter used to call me). Random people would always share, their personal struggles and life stories, I never thought of it as a career. But my clients share secrets, they have never told a soul, not even their closest family or friend, it's strictly confidential. It is an intimate relationship like no other. Counseling is about emotional healing. Coaching is about accomplishing dreams. I love to be a part of another person’s transformation.
“We all want the same things. We ALL want to be seen, be productive and be loved.”
As a kid, I would watch the news and always think, "there is a reason for that persons' bizarre behavior, no one is born that way." I always had an interest in understanding, why people do what they do. Growing up Catholic and Christian, it would be dismissed as an act of the devil or as they say in my homeland "obeah" which is like voodoo. Mental Health Counseling is still almost a non-existent field to the local health departments in St. Vincent & The Grenadines (my birthplace), but very much needed. I hope to go back one day and spread awareness.
“Mental health support still has so much stigma and shame. My goal is make mental health support mainstream and make it more acceptable and acceptable for professionals. ”
My ultimate goal is professional women around the world to re-purpose their pain into a purpose. I answered my calling and turned it into a lifestyle business. I am a licensed mental health counselor in New York and Florida, a professional coach and journal writing facilitator. I have a decade of experience, with direct counseling and two years of exclusive online counseling and coaching. I began working in 2009, with children with developmental disabilities, then patients with traumatic brain injury, substance abuse, criminal justice, men, women, couples, families and children.
I now specialize in working with professional women, accountants, dentists, doctors, entrepreneurs, nurses, lawyers, etc in maintaining emotional balance in their careers, seeking new jobs and changing careers. Men are welcomed too! Thousands of hours, hundreds of clients, over 30 countries, including Brazil, Canada, China, Russia, Egypt, Japan, Spain, South Africa, India, Italy, United Kingdom, Australia, etc. Thanks to technology, I am supporting clients in all corners of the world!
Mental roadblocks and breakthroughs
As an ambivert personality, leaning more towards introvert, I think and feel very deeply. I love strong and live hard, so my emotions run deep. I am REALLY hard on myself and couldn’t stomach failing or even falling behind. Getting from point A to B wasn’t always easy. I can remember that my entire childhood and well into my thirties I experienced some intense bouts of anxiety and depression, mostly related to my environment, relationships and not having adequate support networks and coping strategies.
Therapy was a bridge, to healing my past hurts, traumas and failures. Coaching broke down barriers to achieve my career goals and my network increased my net worth !
I have been where they, you (my clients) are, hurting and feeling stuck. I have seen it from both ends as a client and a therapist(coach). It’s a tightness in the chest, constant fear, sleepless nights, panic and worrying. The sadness that consumes and fills the day with darkness, I know, because I have been there. You need a bridge. We have all had bridges to cross, because of the traumas and dysfunction we experienced. If you don’t have a bridge, you are likely to stay stuck in the same place.
What is your bridge?
Maybe you have have failed, fell down, been betrayed, lied about, dumped, abused, laid off, rejected and ignored. You can get up again, be loved again, keep going, keep trying, keep winning.
I can look back and think on the times, I didn’t see a way out, but I got out and I know because of this, I am equipped to lead others to their new beginnings.
About The Author:
Seneca Williams, LMHC (Ask Coach Sen) is "The Entrepreneurs’ Therapist". She is an online therapist, speaker and international coach for entrepreneurs, ready to breakthrough business anxiety & beat business burnout so they can build their confidence running online businesses that match their 9-5 income.