Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.
Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.
--Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 6
Mad –adjective 6. overcome by desire, eagerness, enthusiasm, etc.; excessively or uncontrollably fond; infatuated: He's mad about the opera. - Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
Curiouser and curiouser!
First off, I'm not mad, as in raging bull-mad. I'm using the term as described above in the sense that I live my life, and for the most part have always lived my life, with unrestrained enthusiasm. I love learning, reading, traveling, experiencing new things. Most of all, I love learning about myself. This doesn't mean I'm narcissistic--I'm just on a perpetual path of discovering what makes me tick. However, for years a nagging sensation has been tugging at my heart. My job title and salary were good--my elevator speech made me sound successful. But when it really came to the essence of it, I knew that I wasn't happy with who I was or where I saw my life going. So in December 2009 I left a safe (but ultimately unsatisfying corporate position) to, well, do nothing but explore the person I have become and reevaulate the path I was taking.
For the first few weeks, I destressed, unwound and b r e a t h e d.
I got back into yoga. I revved up my marathon training. I started kickboxing again. I re-friended the library. I met up with friends I haven't seen for years and had deep, connecting calls with my sister. I watched more movies in those few weeks than I have in the last few years. And, I finally bit the bullet and signed onto a professional life coaching school. As I write, I've only been in the program for 2 weeks, but I'm realizing my passion of self-discovery, and I'm also learning how I can help others discover their own passions and fulfill their dreams.
The timeliness of the New Year and all the sparkling optimism that comes with beginnings came at the best time for me to embark on this brave adventure.
So here I am, not yet 30, gathering courage to write, publish my ramblings and start a life and wellness coaching business.
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where--" said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
"--so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
So back to the title of this blog...
I was having lunch with a good friend, and we were discussing the playwright, Tyler Perry's, success. Perry rose from homelessness to now being one of Hollywood's foremost renaissance men. We were discussing his breakout movie, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and that's when it hit me: This is the diary of a mad life coach, one who is crazy about life and passionate about accomplishing my goals--all 1,000+ of them.
What this blog will be:
An open examination of my journey--past and present. An accountability mechanism. A roadmap for my budding coaching business. But first and foremost, a way for me to focus on my goals, one at a time, before they all drive me mad.
