Everyone should get a regular dose of Cindy Pearson. Her outlook, perspective, and courageous approach to her life and work are things we can all learn from. It is our sincere honor and pleasure to feature Cindy in this month's issue of En Root. Enjoy our Q+A with Cindy below as she continues to offer to wisdom and insight on topic of, "What do you want?" Happy reading!
This month's theme is all about reflecting on, "What do you want?" Tell us about how you interpret this theme, and how it has played a role in your personal or professional life.
As a life coach, “What do you want?” is a question I ask my clients again and again throughout our work together. In fact, I ask some version of that question in every client conversation as the coaching process entails determining where a client currently is in their life, where they want to go or how they want things to be different, and then supporting them to close the gap between where things are currently and the desired outcome. So, gaining clarity on that destination point is incredibility important. But, of all the questions I ask, it is often the question that is the hardest to answer.
At OutGrowth, we believe in designing the space and time to reimagine the path forward. How do you believe acknowledging our deepest wants can impact our perspective and influence our future decisions?
Acknowledging our deepest wants requires honesty and courage. We often diminish, scale down, morph, or get rid of those desires because it can hurt to not have what we want, especially if we don’t yet see a possibility in having or achieving it. But if we can clarify and be with the wanting, we can also make more authentic and aligned decisions to move us toward the juiciest life we can imagine.
What is one hard lesson you learned in this past year that contributed to your growth?
The past year brought really hard lessons in how many of us are living without a real sense of aliveness. Several experiences throughout the year awakened to me this, and it was hard to see that I had missed it before even with people in my inner circle. Witnessing and supporting others who were wrestling through this made me also look at myself and ask, “Where am I not living with fullness and aliveness and how can I grow into more of that?”
What is one competency or skill you hope to develop in 2023?
In 2023, I am playing with new ideas to create a coaching business that is both prosperous and inclusive. Accessibility at all levels of income is really important to me, and I have no interest in building a practice geared toward only clients who can pay a premium price at the exclusion of other income levels. As an entrepreneur, I’m finding it takes creativity to be both sustainable and accessible.
What inspires you?
This month, I attended a retreat in Costa Rica with a group of coaches who live around the world and came home full of inspiration from a week spent together. One thing I particularly loved about this retreat was the openness and authenticity with which we all shared – it’s a beautiful and inspiring thing to witness and be with the authentic version of others/ourselves rather than meeting the representative.
At OutGrowth, we believe in preparing the next generation of leaders. What is one resource you'd recommend to those looking to carve out the time for growth in the next year?
I absolutely love listening to Catherine Wood’s podcast, The Prosperous Empath. Catherine is a Master Certified Coach who believes “being brilliant, big-hearted, and wealthy beyond measure don’t have to be at odds with each other.” When I listen to her podcast, I feel like I’ve been invited into Catherine’s home with a cup of tea and a transparent conversation about how we can be both prosperous and big hearted. She’s been the perfect podcast mentor for what I’m trying to build in my business.
What's next? What are you excited about in the coming year?
It’s a BIG milestone birthday year for me – I turn 50 in June and though I don’t physically feel anywhere close to what I thought 50 would feel like, I do feel abundantly grateful for all the experiences that 50 years of life mileage has brought me. I’m excited to celebrate 50 and plan to do so the whole year through!
Cindy Pearson provides coaching to help women reconcile their feelings, expectations, and goals about where they are – at their age and stage of life – so they can confidently pursue what they desire. She is credentialed by the International Coaching Federation and certified by Accomplishment Coaching. The values that Cindy brings to her coaching practice are ones that she practice in the rest of life: to honor diversity, create accessibility, build equity, and believe in possibility.