When I was little…

I could read the vibe of the room, of relationships, of people, and a lot of times I spoke it out loud. That got me in trouble.

Sometimes people just want to be in denial and go about their day, and then some upstart kid comes in and speaks the undercurrent out loud, what?! So they need to shut it down, and fast.

That messed with me – I could feel the truth, but when I said it out loud, the grown-ups around me, then later my peers, got weirded out or mad.

But if I felt an “off” vibe, and I didn’t say anything, I’d wind up acting out because it felt so uncomfortable – and then I’d get told to “stop being so dramatic”.

I also started talking early, at age two, and the joke in my family was that I was a tireless (aka tiresome) talker – and that my sister didn’t say a single thing until she was three years old, because she couldn’t get a word in edgewise. I was deeply ashamed about my talking for years.

I wound up not liking or trusting myself or other people or the world.

Fast forward to now – I finally figured out (with a lot of help) that I’m clairsentient (meaning, I can feel other people’s emotions and experiences directly) and an articulator (I can put things into words, often picking up on other people’s ways of saying things, easily and naturally).

And now that I’m a coach and a writer and a speaker, I get to use these skills on people and projects that wildly appreciate them – and I love my work.

Turns out these are my gifts, my Zone of Genius.

Of course there are always obstacles to be overcome …

I graduated high school a year early, moved to Italy…  and developed a full-blown eating disorder.

I applied to only one college, wept with gratitude when I got in … and stayed for only one semester because my family didn’t have the money to keep sending me there, and I didn’t know any different than to just let it happen.

Because my opinions were so discounted when I was growing up, I decided (subconsciously, of course) that being a movie star was the answer. I thought that once I was famous, people would want my opinion and I would finally be safe to say my truth out in the world (not to mention, be as dramatic as I wanted). I lived in New York City for years as an actress… but nothing much happened. And as of this writing, I’m still definitely not a movie star!

Then, in my late 30s, I got fired from my waitressing job, declared personal bankruptcy, and basically fell apart. As I ate cake and drank vodka to cover the panic of the early months of my downfall, a few questions started occurring inside of me.

Was this it?

Why did none of my dreams come true?

Were there really people out there who loved their lives?

I wound up doing all the personal development seminars I could find, I hired a coach, went back to school to become a coach myself, and moved out of NYC.

I found myself happily joining a church (gasp! have I mentioned I grew up atheist??), living in a big beautiful house out in the country, hosting a radio show, falling in love with myself (never saw that one coming), and started enjoying life in a very big way. Oh, and the eating disorder is gone.

Now I work with other people to uncover their gifts, overcome all kinds of inner and outer obstacles, and fall back in love with themselves and life. 

It’s pretty damn sweet.

And I’m excited to tell you that all this is possible for you.