Julie Ann Segal
Interior Designer &
Feng Shui Consultant Metropolitan Interiors

The biggest question for me that year was how to focus my career and where to locate my business. Michelle would listen to me express my frustrations, and she had a special way of calming me down and encouraging me to focus on specific steps to reach my goals. Sometimes it was matter of getting clear about what I wanted. And she helped me to realize that I did not have to do everything all at once. Each session, my goal was to identify top priorities and accomplish them by our next phone call. Michelle helped me to take baby steps toward my goal and get in touch with my true needs and purpose.

Then, everything came together! I opened my Interior Design/Feng Shui Studio in a little Victorian home just as I had envisioned, but not until after the work I accomplished with Michelle. Her experienced coaching skills have helped me gain the confidence to pursue and realize my dreams and the insight to know which direction to go. Working with Michelle was a powerful process and a gift to myself!"

Michelle's questions and gentle guidance helped me realize that the requirements of that job were stifling many of my hopes and dreams. Sure, a salary increase sounded good, but what price was I willing to pay to let go of those inner-most desires? Michelle encouraged me to spend the next few months paying close attention to what brought me down and what brought me joy.

In the days and weeks that followed, the concept of leaving corporate life behind started bouncing around in my brain and flirting with my heart. But it was hard to imagine how my work life could look any differently. That is, until months later, when I took a much-needed vacation day. That morning, I had a leisurely breakfast with my son and dropped him off at preschool later than usual. I then went to a coffee shop, sat by the window, and plugged in my laptop to work on a fun writing project I'd been putting off until I had time to focus. Then, I headed to a nearby spa to redeem a gift certificate for a massage. As I walked through the doors, I heard a voice in my head say loud and clear, 'This is how I want to spend my days.' It was my voice, clearer than ever before, and it stopped me in my tracks. I stood there in the lobby, reflecting on the day thus far: no morning rush, no insane deadlines or dreaded meetings, the chance to work on a project I enjoyed, a mid-day massage, and I'd be home in time for dinner with my family. This, I realized, was what Michelle had meant when she told me to focus on what brought me joy. Getting that glimpse of the good life was all I needed to finally take the leap.

And once I committed to pursuing a more harmonious, purpose-driven life, it was incredible how things fell into place naturally. Nine months later, I left the corporate gig to launch my own company, Choosing Beauty™, as well as focus on my radio show and do some freelance writing. Michelle has been instrumental in my success, helping me to clarify my priorities and keeping me focused on my goals. I now live each day on my own terms, focusing on work I love and feeling more relaxed than I have in years. It was up to me to make it happen, but Michelle helped me believe I could do it."

Dr. Jodi Fidler
Chiropractor
Davis Chiropractic

"I was at a point in my life where I felt overwhelmed, disorganized, and out-of-control. I realized I needed to take time-out to deal with how I was feeling…so that I could be an even better mother, wife, and doctor to my patients. I had so much going on that it was difficult to schedule time for myself to get things done, and I can't stand disorganization. I felt like I was always reacting.

So I hired Michelle to help me get motivated, prioritize my time, and identify and define the 'right' goals for me. From there, I needed help staying focused and on-track throughout my busy days. Ultimately, I wanted to balance out being a mom and a business owner.

The most important thing I got from my work with Michelle was a plan to get started. Sometimes when things get so overwhelming, you can't even confront beginning. So at first, Michelle helped me with a starting point; a direction for me to take my first steps. And after our first session, I felt rejuvenated and re-motivated toward my goals!

Together, we then outlined my priorities to make sure that I was spending quality time with my family and keeping things organized at home and at the office. The key was making sure that I took time out for 'me,' whether that involved scheduling workout time, time to work on photo projects, or time to de-clutter my office. Michelle helped me create a plan to get my life back on-track."

"Michelle helped me realize you can make your dreams come true; that when you believe in yourself, set goals, and visualize what you want, anything is possible.

She helped me realize my dream. Michelle was by my side when I started my own public relations business. She helped me focus when I would spread myself too thin. She guided me through questions to discover my 'niche' client. She calmed me when I would begin to feel overwhelmed. And all important, we worked on setting goals to help me maintain balance as a business owner. It's so easy to have life become your work when you love what you do! Michelle's insight and commitment to helping others find clarity made a lasting impact on my life—both personally and professionally.

Michelle has a special way of bringing out the best in people. In helping people find their truth. And she doesn't go about it haphazardly; she is steadfast in creating process, steps, and goals. It's not fluff—it's concrete, tangible guidance that makes a real difference. I look forward to Michelle's ongoing support, guidance, wisdom, and friendship."

Kelly Leiker
President
Leiker Development

"Michelle has helped me with key personal and professional life decisions through helping me 'hear my voice.' And she created space by asking the perfect questions that allowed a moment for the important listening to take place. She has encouraged me to take all of the risks I have needed to—those that have helped me create a solid marriage and start my own company where I am able to help others on a full-time basis. The best part is that I get to be myself 100% of the time. There is nothing more powerful! The audiences that I speak to say that I have an energy and passion that captures them, and I know that it is simply because I am doing what I wholeheartedly love doing.

It is immediately clear to me that Michelle is meant to help us to live our 'real lives.' The lives that we have dreamed of, longed for, and strived for. She helps her clients break their goals down into realistic and do-able steps, and then she build us up so that we have the courage to take the next step to make that dream a reality.

Michelle has been a part of many of my life's milestones of truth. She has a gift of bringing to light the most critical information needed by an individual…that of their soul."

Brenda Nelson
IT Manager & Certified Creative Life Coach

"I have gained so much more than I dared to dream from working with Michelle! I have greater confidence and self-esteem, and I am accomplishing the things I've wanted to for so long. While there are a lot of coaches out there, I have found Michelle to be one of the best with her proven abilities to give her clients concrete steps to get out of overwhelm, tools and enthusiasm to support change, and a personal cheerleader to celebrate accomplishments.

Michelle helps me maintain my focus on the important things and keep my daily actions in-line with my values and vision. I have more enthusiasm for life and daily miracles that I was not able to see before because I was too overwhelmed and frustrated! Her unconditional support of whatever I do—or don't do—has allowed me to move forward in directions I had only dared to dream of before. And Michelle's enthusiasm and zest for life inspires others to want more and do more, and she continues to surprise me with new tools and new perspectives that make me see my own life in a powerful way.

Michelle takes cheerleading one step further by holding her clients accountable to themselves. This has been huge in our coaching relationship! I needed someone to hold me accountable for the goals I said I wanted to accomplish. Our coaching helped me go from being 'accountable'…to being driven to succeed and celebrate my accomplishments.

Working with Michelle is the best investment I have made in myself and in my future! Comfort doesn't imply happiness, and happiness can only be achieved if you're willing to work for it. Why not work for it with a Coach and get happier that much sooner?"

Katie Weddle Langer
Writer

"I was always someone who thought a lot about my career and what I really wanted to do in life, but I didn't act. I became so confused and overwhelmed that I didn't know how to start achieving my goals—or even what my goals were. I started coaching with Michelle because I had realized that I couldn't define my ideal career path on my own. I had certainly tried, but I always felt I was missing something; there was something I couldn't see and connections I couldn't make about my interests and strengths and how to apply them toward a career path that felt right.

Michelle and her coaching services were exactly what I needed to get going toward my ideal career. She gave me excellent assignments to honestly assess my true self, including core values, strengths, and areas of interest. We also explored what types of thoughts held me back and then how to move them out of the way. Knowing Michelle was holding me accountable for completing each task was the motivation I needed to stay in motion. I became so much clearer on what was and wasn't working in my life, and why.

Finally and most important, together we determined my first step of action, and now I'm on my way to creating a fulfilling career."

Amy Holewa
Financial Advisor
Income Planning Group

"Michelle helped me develop a process to my day so that I stay focused and on-task. And then I put these processes to work…and what was normally my slowest month as a Financial Advisor, became my busiest! And that has really helped my overall bottom-line.

In the past, I had allowed myself to become paralyzed by negative self-talk. Michelle helped me to slow down my thoughts and identify the self-talk that has routinely gotten in the way of my success. Now by listening to myself and what I know to be true, I can now acknowledge those thoughts and move past them.

Michelle also helped me identify my priorities so that I'm living my life, instead allowing life to happen to me. I look forward to my weekly sessions with Michelle because afterward I feel a revived energy that helps me re-focus and balance my goals and direction. And preparing for our sessions always reminds me of the important things we've worked on, and it consistently reminds me of how far I've come."

"Through my coaching with Michelle, I: Got the courage to quit my corporate recruiting job with a Fortune 50 company; completed my coaching training; launched my coaching business; designed and delivered my first workshop series to women (for them to get in touch with their dreams and put plans in place to achieve them); started Weight Watchers and became a Zumba certified fitness instructor; got my financial plan in place that will allow my husband and me to buy our dream house on a lake; and worked through the grief of losing two grandparents within months of each other.

Most importantly, I got the balance in my life I'd been craving that would simultaneously allow me to do what I love and also have more time with my family.

It wasn't easy, and there were times that I didn't do the things I committed to doing, but what I loved about working with Michelle was that there was never any judgment, scolding, or nagging, just gentle reminders of what I said I wanted the most, an awareness of my fears and insecurities and how to deal with them, and enthusiastic encouragement that I could indeed achieve all that I had set out to do."

Ann Koerner
Independent Jewelry
Rep.
Silpada Designs

"Making the decision to begin my own home-based business presented some challenging opportunities for me. So I hired Michelle's as a Coach and her warm, gentle, caring spirit helped calm my fears and anxieties so that I could get my focus adjusted and reassess what I needed to do to move closer to the goals I had set for the day or for the week.

Michelle provided me with the tools to stay focused on the step-by-step process necessary to reach my goals, and realize and enjoy the dream I had set out to achieve. She also helped me to get more clear on what my actual goals were. And once the goals were clearly established, we were able to uncover obstacles I was experiencing, and then figure out what I could do to overcome them and clear them out of the path.

"Michelle and I have had a long coaching relationship which I have cherished and valued. During my journey of personal and professional growth, my one and only safe harbor…was my weekly coaching sessions with Michelle. This was the one place I got to exhale and let down my guard, to nurture my dreams and grieve my disappointments. I was lost and desperate, and Michelle was my unwavering champion.

In my opinion, I would not be here without the coaching support I received from Michelle over those difficult years. I'm not sure my dream could have flourished without the watering and sunlight we poured on it every week, nudging that seed to grow.

Kris Andersen
Certified Financial
Planner
Kristi L. Andersen
Financial Partners, LLC

"Working in a corporate setting for over 20 years, my schedule and priorities were dictated by the organization. Then I started my own business as a Financial Planner, and I found all of the opportunities and tasks 'to do'…paralyzing! So I hired Michelle as a Professional Coach. She helped me sort through my goals and passions and prioritize how I spend my time. Now I am able to approach my business strategically.

Michelle uses her extraordinary listening skills to help people understand and move towards their best life. She has helped me to focus on priorities, rather than being involved in everything. Before I started coaching, I viewed down-time as 'wasteful.' And it was hard for me to take time to rest when I felt like I had so much to do. Now I understand the importance of recharging, and I have the tools to help me do so. Coaching has helped me achieve balance in my life.

Lastly, having a Coach has also been useful in having someone to be accountable to. I always keep promises to others, but I haven't always kept them to myself!"

Robin Smothers, APR
Principal
RMS Public Relations
LLC

"Working with Michelle helped me find the kind of balance I'd been looking for for years. I've always been a people-pleaser, which meant that if anyone asked me to help out or volunteer, my answer was always yes. And I had a hard time turning down new business. Soon, I was working 12-hour days, dealing with unhappy clients, and under great stress.

With Michelle's guidance and the tools she provided, I was able stop my standard 'yes' response and the take the time I needed to think through how the commitment would affect me. Perhaps most importantly, Michelle helped me understand my limits, and I was certainly reaching for more than I could ever handle. My newfound 'free time' was quickly re-energized and re-focused.

Our sessions helped me to stay positive, focused, organized, and balanced. I now have the tools I need to help me plan my days most effectively and I am making decisions from a more conscious perspective, rather than allowing distractions to take me off-course."

Barb Legan
Joyfully-Ever-After
Mentor
Mentoring for Success

"A huge thank you to Michelle for encouraging and supporting my personal and professional growth in so many wonderful ways! She has been absolutely magnificent at pointing me in some different directions that have gifted me with new perspectives…what a unique talent. I call her my 'new perspectives guru.'

After working with Michelle: My personal default mind-set has changed from negative to positive, the universal laws of attraction have become the foundation for my life, and I finally opened myself to receiving all the great things life has to offer. I have become less reactive and 'not attached to outcomes,' which has opened my mind and heart to limitless possibilities. Best of all, I have changed from being stressed, angry, and fearful…to being calm, peaceful, and joyous! Truly a remarkable shift for me, and one which I can attribute to Michelle's patience, wisdom, and understanding.

Jane Larson Wipf
Author & Speaker
Sailing On Hope

"In the process of wading through the world of clutter and being overwhelmed, needing to say 'no' to people, and making new choices, Michelle helped me pin down what I value most. Michelle's coaching has helped me stop, zero-in, focus, and act—whether it's regarding a relationship, organizing my house, a problem, or my life dreams.

And what a thrill to have her tune-in and listen to me compassionately and in a very purposeful way! She guides me quickly back on-track. Michelle's expertise is appreciated and her coaching helps steer my heart. And I feel taken seriously. Because I am so imaginative, I need different tools to grasp and visualize and crystallize my heart and thoughts. Besides, we all need a cheering section to be boosted and inspired!"

Krisell Rivera
Loan Consultant

"I came to the United States after living my entire life in Mexico. Even though this move was necessary for me, this was a huge change for me, and it definitely took a lot of courage, commitment, and discipline to make it work. That's where Michelle came along as an oasis in the desert. She made that huge step a lot easier and more doable.

Michelle has been a person in which I can trust with everything. She will listen and understand almost as if she could read my mind! Every time I talked to her, I felt a big relief, because she takes you step-by-step to make sure the path you're taking is not only the correct one, but more importantly, the one you really want. She shows you how things are not as difficult as you may think, and that you can create your own beautiful world by doing the things you really enjoy and like to do. Michelle inspires you to take care of yourself, believe in yourself, and always stay positive.

For me, coming to Minnesota was finding my place, and I was lucky to meet Michelle who was and is always with me, sharing her knowledge and sensitive and thoughtful words that always come at just the right moment."

Ruth Rounds
President
Life Dimensions, Inc.

"Coming into a coaching relationship with Michelle had two purposes for me: 1) I got to have her support in developing marketing ideas and a pricing structure for my business, and 2) It offered me the opportunity to experience Michelle's unconditional love weekly.

My business helps individuals experience Vital Lives; find more time for their lives and be in the now, reduce stress, live on purpose, find and do good work, and expand their positive relationships and health behaviors. I also coordinate a Vital At Work University that helps business leaders be authentic leaders and build positive work cultures resulting in stronger bottom-lines and healthier, more engaged employees. I was struggling with the fears of how to bring a new product line out that was so cutting-edge, that I didn't even know how to get started.

So I needed nurturing support to take the risk and find my way to price and market this new product line, and Michelle was instrumental in helping me break through my grid-lock. She helped me resolve issues around pricing and supported me in exploring effective marketing methods. Having Michelle coach me through this was invaluable. Michelle is one of the most nurturing and loving persons I have met! She gives her clients the gift of unconditional love, which is the essence of what helps people find themselves, enjoy life, and express themselves in creative and meaningful ways into the world."