We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patrice McKinley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patrice below.

Hi Patrice, thanks for joining us today. What’s the best advice you ever gave to a client? How did they benefit / what was the result? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

It’s the advice I give all of my clients. All of our results are a direct reflection of what’s going on inside of us. (Our thoughts, beliefs, and our behaviors) Until we change the inside, the outside doesn’t change. So, I help my clients get in touch with what they really want to see on the outside, their true heart’s desires, by unleashing their imagination and allowing themselves to be honest about what they would love to be, do and have. Next, I help them create the thought and beliefs and habits of the person who is already living that life.

The results have been: A business owner that went from earning 1 million in sales to 2 million in one year. A woman who had been searching for a loving relationship and met that man while on vacation in another country. A bartender who went from earing $30,000 to $125,000 in one year by finding a job that he loved. A singer who believed she might never sing again to creating an album featuring award winning musicians. An out of work NY actor who was in deep debt, working 3 jobs and in a living arrangement he hated, to manifesting a job that has taken him to LA, doing work he’s loving that’s helping him pay down his debt quickly and giving him the time freedom to start auditioning for jobs in movies, television and the theater.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I didn’t set out to become a “life coach”. I started out as a seeker myself. I had come from an alcoholic home that was pretty dysfunctional and at times abusive. I had very low self esteem and a lot of anxiety as a kid, but then I started singing and found a way to express myself that lifted me out of those feelings even if it was just for a while. I loved to sing! I moved to NYC after going to college as a vocal performance major and tried to make my way as a performer, but unfortunately the competition and rejections from auditioning fueled my low self image and I became a pretty heavy drinker and drug user. I realized as much as I loved to sing, NYC wasn’t for me, so I moved to Newport, RI.

I got married, had 2 daughters, made a good life for myself with my family but I was still dealing with this very low self image. I went to therapy and joined AA and that helped, but I felt that I needed more. That’s when I found a life coach. Having a coach helped me see that everything in my life, the good and the bad was something I needed to take responsibility for if I wanted to change my life. But the good news I was told, was that if I could change what I was thinking and feeling on the inside, my outer world would start to change. I was taught that my outer world is a direct reflection of what’s going on inside. I started by asking myself if I had all the time, money and resources I needed to create what I really wanted, what would that be? I knew right away it would be to start to sing again and to lose the weight I had gained after leaving New York. I was excited and scared at the same time to step out and make this happen but having a coach that was there to support me and hold me accountable, eventually I started singing again and I lost 75!

Because of the way my life changed by having a coach, I decided to become a coach myself. I’ve always loved personal development and I realized that I wanted to help other people find the freedom that I had found. By having the right mentor and getting the right direction and having someone who believed in them when maybe they didn’t believe in themselves. That’s what being a coach and mentor is all about-holding someone at their highest. People tell me what they really want, not what they think they could have, but truly their heart’s desire and then I show them how to get it. I love being of service to people and seeing them reach a goal that they thought was out of reach, that they thought was lost to them, giving them the hope and faith to step out and be what they’ve always dreamed of being. Seeing people succeed, and start living a life of freedom financially, emotionally and spiritually is so exciting and inspiring. When my clients start to step into their authentic selves, they begin to inspire everyone in their lives. It’s a ripple effect.

My training as a coach started over 18 years ago. I spent 2 years of intense training working on my certification as a life coach. After 4 years, I went on to become mentored and trained by one of the best teachers in the world in the field of success and human potential, Bob Proctor. Bob, who passed away 2 years ago at the age of 86, was a pioneer in the field. He was one of the first people to really teach, “The Law of Attraction” but to teach it in a way that children could understand. There is literally a Science to success. The program that I have been certified to teach is called Thinking into Results and it was developed and created by Bob over 60 years. The information in this program has helped thousands of people become multi-millionaires, leave jobs they hated, find the relationship of their dreams, buy their dream homes, take 5 star vacations, create fulfilling family lives and so much more. I have helped people from all walks of life and now I have decided to focus on the entertainment community. I love working with the artistic community! It has been so much fun for me and for them. We have fun! We work together for a minimum of 6 months while I help them build a vision of the career they would love to have and then we start building the self image of the person who is already living that life. Once they become aware of what that looks like and they start to embody that person, things change rapidly. It’s so exciting to watch someone grow and change and become. I am so honored to be part of that journey of discovery and their ultimate success and personal freedom!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Thirteen years ago my husband Michael died of cancer. He lived with the diagnosis for 10 years before he passed and for the first 6 years or so, it was pretty manageable. We had hoped that he would be one of the lucky ones and beat it, but unfortunately that wasn’t meant to be. We had 2 young girls when he found out and we tried our best to shield them from what was going on, but as time went by that wasn’t possible. I hated seeing them live with the fear of what was happening to their dad. By year 7, it was clear that the cancer was winning and things became really challenging. There were many hospital visits and surgeries and it was just so hard to see my husband in such terrible pain. All of our immediate family lived in different parts of the country so I was Michael’s sole caregiver. I was trying to hold the space for all of us to keep moving forward in spite of it all, but there were days when all I wanted to do was drive away and never come back. Even though I had close friends that I could talk with, luckily for them, they had no idea what it was like to have a sick husband and there were many times I felt very alone. I tried to searched out resources: books, support groups, anything, but at the time there was nothing.

By the end, I felt like we were living in a war zone. Some days the bullets were flying and the stress and fear was overwhelming and then there were other stretches of time when there was a cease fire, but you just never knew when battle would start up again.

It was during this time that I worked on my coaching certifications and definitely found solace and inspiration in everything I was learning, and in being of service to the people I was working with. The other thing I did was to start singing again and putting together a Cabaret show. When Michael was feeling well enough, I would take the train from RI to NYC and meet with my director and musical director and I have to say that this became such a light during such a dark time. I was a singer again. I was owning a part of me again that I had put on a shelf for such a long time and it was an identity that I loved! The 3 of us laughed and created and shared and I felt like I could be myself just for a while and not someone’s wife or mother. I treasured those times.

Michael passed away on the 4th of July. He was free. The girls were 14 and 16 and it was so hard for them. So my focus became all about them. I had to make a life for us. Finances weren’t great so I decided I need to sell our home and move into something more affordable, I also got much more serious about my coaching business and started taking on more clients and I committed to doing my Cabaret show in New York and here in Rhode Island. I also started focusing on my health and I lost 75 pounds.

The girls are older now, 28 and 30 and are making their way in the world. For myself, I have done a number of Cabaret shows over the years here in Rhode Island, Boston and in New York City. I have created a successful coaching business with clients that inspire me everyday because of the lives they are creating for themselves. It was a long and challenging road to get to where my girls and I are today but I’m really proud of who we’ve become and I know Michael is proud of us too.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I teach this to all of my clients and this is the most important thing for anyone to focus on in any type of business, is your mindset!!! Success is about 95% mindset and 5% strategy. Someone can have all the training and knowledge and have worked on the best business plan and spreadsheets but if they don’t work on their mindset, most of the time they will never get to the level of success that they really want to achieve. Most people are working so hard on the wrong things. When you start to change your thinking and beliefs about what’s possible, everything will start to work in your favor.

This holds true for all of the performers I’m working with. The training and skills are extremely important but that certainly doesn’t guarantee that they will get the job. Success as an artist comes from within.

Contact Info:

• Website: PatriceMcKinley.com
• Instagram: patricemmckinley
• Facebook: Patrice McKinley, Expecting Results Coaching
• Linkedin: Patrice McKinley