Story Submitted by Pegotty Cooper

I am looking through a magazine and find an ad for life coach training. Wow, would that be a great job – doing what I naturally do and getting paid for doing it? I wonder…naaah – get real Pegotty – that might be for others but not for you. While I have a job that pays pretty well, I really feel like it is the wrong job for me. I keep going back to this idea of being a coach – like it is calling to me. So, I go through that training course and imagine that I could be that coach that others come to because I can help them discover their unique strengths. What was I thinking! Here I am a big dreamer but scared to death to find out that I am just a big failure!And then the unthinkable happens. I am laid off from my job!Well, now you don’t have an excuse, Pegotty! Its time to focus on your dream of being a sought-after coach. Maybe tomorrow I will do something. “Maybe Tomorrow” is the same song I sing every day for months. I play with applying for other jobs but I don’t REALLY want a job. I want to be a coach. I keep hanging out with coaches and hope that some of their coaching magic will rub off on me. But I don’t really have both feet in. I am feeding my fears more than I am feeding my dreams, I don’t really believe I could become a sought-after coach that others would hire. I find non-profits where I can volunteer my coaching services AND I keep applying for any job I can get. Then one day I receive an email forwarded to me from a friend – Did anyone want to go to a convention for association executives and offer coaching sessions? Like a whack on the side of the head, I say Wait – that’s mine! I own that! You see I had spent 15 years as an association executive before I moved to Florida and I loved being around those people. BUT it had never occurred to me to go back to what I did before and reconnect to those people who were MY people. My TRIBE! At that convention, I was the only coach there, and I coached seven people each day for two days. I was so juiced at the end of each day. I knew this was the right thing for me. That was 2004. This year I am attending that same convention for the 16th year in a row. Association executives line up to get a coaching session with me and I have built a viable coaching practice coaching people that I love to be with. Once I got both feet in and believed I could do it, I stayed focused on feeding my dream, not my fears. I AM a sought-after coach! And It would have been so easy to give up too soon on my dream!

Story Submitted by Kathryn Manz

I’ve traveled for as long as I can remember. When the lands of my dreams and stories in my books awakened my restless soul, I set out on a quest. I really want to find a quiet corner of the world, disconnect from all this and reconnect to this planet. Just be….That’s my direction. To simply exist without all the pressures of mainstream life. I seriously am tired. Like most of us crazy minds! I’d love to drift and sail around the country and through the world. Although I sometimes despair alone, it’s usually when I am my best!

Story Submitted by Judy G

So let me tell you about my crazy ass dog. I swear. 3 days ago I decided to groom him. Cut his hair. It was getting really long. It is getting hot and I just knew this would help him. It was a very calm groom and he cooperated nicely. It took about an hour, but I took a few breaks to cool off the clippers and to let him relax. So, what could be crazy about that, you ask? For the last 3 days, 3 frickin days, he would not come out of his kennel. I had to force him out. And then, he would not eat or drink. 3 days, 3 frickin days of this shit. I did some research and saw that most dogs cannot go more than 3 days without water. So, as I watched him lay around, completely listless, I figured he had decided to kill himself. Had I done that bad of a haircut? I wasn’t sure what to do. I was figuring I would have to take him to the vet tomorrow. But what would I tell the Vet? My dog hasn’t eaten or drank since I gave him a bad haircut? I decided to keep him outside tonight for at least 30 minutes. It was still pretty hot and I was hoping he would get thirsty. He laid down in the grass and ignored me. This is usual behavior. Sometimes he potties and sometimes he holds it for 24 to 36 hours. When we went back into the house, he walked over to his food and water, looked at me and watched me for about 2 minutes. Then he slowly walked up to his bowl and began eating. Then he drank the whole bowl of water. He smugly walked away and laid himself right down in front of me and promptly went to sleep. He is a little shit! Maybe quarantine is making us all a little crazy.