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 Wall
Street Trading and Manager. That was my title. Never had
to say more than that to anyone. The titles spoke for themselves.
Yet by 1990 I started looking at the volunteer work I was
doing and decided that working with at-risk teens would
"make my heart smile." I worked with teenagers who were
perplexed when they found out what I "used" to do; they
couldn't understand that having lots of money wasn't everything.
I enjoyed what I did and had an office with a view of the
Ferry and NYC.
Then in 1994, a car accident left me unable to work at either.
With no career and a great deal of back pain, I embarked
on a process of self-discovery. I identified certain skills
and aptitudes I possessed but which had not been part of
any traditional job or volunteer activity: helping others
get ahead in life, teaching what I learned, organizing,
motivating, mentoring, socializing, connecting with others
on a deep level, writing and having fun! From all of this
came my article titled "Top Ten Steps Towards Finding Your
Ideal Career," which was recently published on nbci.com.
I looked for a career that included all these things and
that would enable me to work for a few hours at a time to
accommodate my back pain. Initially, I found no such career.
Then in 1995, I came across an article about Thomas Leonard
and coaching -- I should say the article jumped off the
page at me! At the time I wasn't Internet savvy, nor was
I confident that I could own my own company. I put it aside
and every once in a while I'd come across it, read it, get
excited and then put it back in my resume folder.
In October 1996, another article jumped out of the newspaper
at me. In December 1997, I registered at Coach U. I hired
my first coach in April, Edie Periera Hulbert, then Judi
Talesnick in 1999. The rest is her-story.
Contact Maria at maria_coach@prodigy.net
or visit her website at www.coachmaria.com.
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