Yeah, who is Barbara, anyway? And why does she think she can help me?

I am a woman just like you. I spent many years trying to figure out what my life's work is. I'm living, breathing proof that not only can you figure it out—you can do it!

I am living my dream—successful business, wonderful family, living in a place I love (Martha's Vineyard...visitors welcome!).

Sure it took me 45 years to get here, but I tried to do it alone. OK, I wasn't really alone...the amazing man I married almost 23 years ago has been there with me all the time. However, I was still the poster girl for the "Women Can Do Everything and They Don't Need Any Help" club.

After I graduated from The Wharton School (big, Ivy League business school) I spent the next 15 years in high-technology marketing. I rose through the ranks, gaining more responsibility and staff as the years went by. I moved to California and went to work for Apple. I really
believed I could change the world.  In 1992 I had my daughter, Elisabeth...I would show her there really were no limits. Finally, I was the Director of Marketing for an international Internet Service Provider. Had I changed the world? Was I happy? Nope.

So I left to start my own business. An Internet privacy software company. In Silicon Valley. In 1997. The company grew from 2 to 110 people in three years, with offices in California, Chicago and London. I appeared in newspapers, magazines, on the radio and on television. I traveled the world, spoke in front of thousands of people, and raised over $20 million dollars from investors. And I didn't hire a nanny, miss a birthday, anniversary or school event. Had I changed the world?  Was I happy?  Still nope.

What the heck was wrong with me? It was that "changing the world" thing. It nagged at me ever since I wrote my 9th grade essay, "I Will Be the First Woman President of the United States". I still believed I could change the world, but I knew that technology and burning myself out were not the right paths. So I left my company, and joined the non-profit world. These are the organizations that really do change the world, right?

I spent some time consulting with various non-profit organizations, trying to find the right one for me. They are all wonderful, and all are
actually changing the world--at least their little piece of it. But how was I going to change the world?

Then it hit me...throughout my career, I experienced the greatest joy and satisfaction while working with employees and colleagues to identify their goals and objectives. Not just for their careers, but for their lives. Then we had a great time working together to achieve those goals.  It was a challenge to figure out how to help each person figure out what they really wanted his or her life to look like, and then help them stay motivated while they achieved it. I briefly considered coaching as a profession in 1996, perhaps now was the time?

Finally! After nearly 20 years of coaching informally, I opened my practice two years ago. I decided that the best way to change the world is to make sure that my clients are living their best possible lives. Each client has the ability to change her world...it is my honor to empower her to do that.

Am I happy now?  Thrilled beyond belief.

©2005 by Barbara Bellissimo. All rights reserved.