We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sheila Patterson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sheila, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Growing up in the Seattle, WA area, I was able to witness firsthand what denying your soul’s calling did to a person.
My dad works as an engineer for Boeing. It’s a good-paying job, with good benefits, and somehow he’s survived through multiple layoffs and strikes since 1992. You do the math.
The trouble is, he hated his job. “Hate” might be too strong of a word, but every day he would come home exhausted, withdrawn, and empty. I could always tell he was unhappy with his work.
As I got older I would ask him, “Dad, why don’t you look for a better job in the company, or find something you actually like?” And he would say something along the lines of, “Eh, it’s too hard now, it’s too late, I make good money, it’s okay. Maybe someday.”
(“This is fine” meme has entered the chat.)
But that someday never came.
This experience cemented in my mind that I could never be like that. As a result, I have always followed my dreams, my heart, unapologetically, even when it didn’t make sense to myself or others.
I’m still trying to figure this life out, but so far it’s brought me here, and I feel like I keep getting closer and closer to my own life’s purpose, which is turning out to be helping others find their purpose.
Nothing makes me happier than seeing a client’s face light up when we come up with a solution to their problem, and they finally have a sense of hope. I love seeing people make positive changes in their lives so that they can be happy and fulfilled.
After all, we only have one life to live. What a world we would live in if every single one of us had the ability to pursue our passions and were supported to that endeavor.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I provide trauma-informed, consciousness-based life coaching with a focus on relationships.
This means that I have a strong awareness of my client’s early childhood experiences and traumas, big or small, which greatly influence their adult day-to-day lives. I seek to spread and encourage self-awareness, which leads to greater consciousness and understanding of themselves and others, which is vital to improving their lives.
It was revealed not too long ago in a Harvard study that the quality of our relationships has a tremendous impact on our well-being and physical health. This is why my focus is on relationships, becasue they truly are the cornerstone of a good life. This includes everyone and everything in our lives, including pets, family, friends, romantic partners, and professional peers. We are essentially in relationship with everything; it’s all connected.
I aim to help my clients connect the dots from their past to their present, and with understanding that, comes action into the future.
Working together with them, as a life coach I am able to draw out the answers that are most aligned with their true self. I believe it is very possible to curate a life that they love if they are willing to do the work and show up with authenticity, openness, and curiosity.
The sky truly is the limit for what people can accomplish in their life, if provided with the right tools and support.
What sets me apart from other life coaches is my integrated use of a somatic healing method called BodyTalk. It incorporates techniques very similar to EFT, reiki, meridians, and breathwork, and is amazing at helping clients release stored up trauma from their bodies. I have found this is the missing piece that is lacking from most talk therapy, and it ensures that results stick and are fully integrated.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I originally came to LA to get into the film industry—I wanted to direct. I already had a few short films and music videos under my belt, and was able to get on a huge Netflix show as a PA in late 2019. We wrapped in January 2020, and I thought I was on my way.
LOL…
Then Covid shut everything down and I had to temporarily go back to Arizona. I saw the writing on the wall, I knew how viruses work, and that it would be a while before productions would return. I knew I had to pivot.
At first I thought that was going in BodyTalk full time, since I’ve been receiving sessions for years and had amazing results with it. I figured, I wanted to help and heal people, and since I couldn’t do that through storytelling, maybe I could do it through energy healing.
I started doing that and enjoyed it, but I realized my favorite part was just holding space and talking to clients. Hearing their stories, their troubles, their worries, and ultimately, guiding them through to the other side.
Realizing this compelled me to look into life coaching, since my wasband has been a life coach for over 10 years so I was already very familiar with it.
I pulled the trigger and took an ICF-accredited certification course, became a Master Certified Life Coach, and have been practicing that alongside BodyTalk ever since! It’s definitely not the direction I thought my life would go, but it’s been immensely rewarding and I enjoy it. I hope to return to filmmaking someday, but for now, this is where I want to be.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I used to believe my path would be straightforward and take me directly where I needed to be. Covid and other life events, such as getting divorced, have forced me to re-learn that life is chaotic and messy but somehow things always work out. I’ve had to let go of my narrow view of how things should be and accept them as they are, and more importantly, that everything is already perfect and the way it had to go.
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