Coaching Through Vulnerability

One of the ways I connect with my clients, and a way that I market my coaching program, is by telling my own story. The process I use with my clients mirrors the lessons I applied to myself that brought me back from the brink of needing meds to control blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugars, and all the other various health concerns of being heavier than my heart was built for.

I also often share my own story with disordered eating, especially in the context of being a gay man, and my desperate need to belong and be part of the wider gay community. This was, mind you, at a time just after AZT had come to market. The gay community I came out into was full of anger, grief, and loss in 1997, and it was very, very hard for a small-town Maine boy to find his way, especially since he didn’t have model-hot looks or that confident swagger that could have been beneficial in those early days.

2018 Me was not much different from 1997 me, except for the grey beard and lack of hair.

It’s this practice of sharing my story, in fact, that keeps my clients coming back for more. They glean bits of information from me, and about me, that align with their own stories, and while I am Coach and a resource and knowledge center among my clients, I’m also among them, and one of them, which only adds to the camaraderie and “in it together” spirit that defines what we’re doing.