We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Charlotte Lee-rau a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Charlotte thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

My Defining Moments: The Power of Mindset & Community

I’ve always understood that our mindset shapes the way life unfolds for us. But my discovery of life coaching was the moment I realized just how much power we truly have over our mindset—when given the right environment and resources.

When I first signed up to train as a Certified Professional Coach, I thought I was simply pivoting from a career in data analytics and software to one in Life and Leadership Coaching, where I could start my own business and explore entrepreneurship. What I didn’t realize at the time was that coaching would become more than just a career path—it would become a passion and a mission.

Through coaching, I experienced firsthand the empowerment that comes from knowing I have the ability to design my future if I can harness the power of my mindset. That realization was a defining moment for me. I knew I wanted to share that same feeling of possibility and transformation with others.

But there was another defining moment that changed everything for me—the discovery of the power of community. I realized that while personal growth starts from within, it thrives in connection with others. Community gives us a sense of belonging, support, and accountability. It fuels our growth and deepens our sense of purpose through meaningful conversations and shared experiences.

This understanding led me to create Inspire Empower Achieve (IEA)—a virtual community designed to provide a space where people can support and inspire each other. While there are many ways to empower yourself, IEA makes coaching more accessible by offering exposure to expert coaches across different specialties, all in a space where learning and inspiration happen openly and organically. Members can engage in meaningful conversations, gain insights, and when they’re ready to take things to the next level, they’ll already know and trust the coaches they may choose to work with.

I believe so deeply in the power of coaching that I also wanted IEA to be a place where coaching success stories are shared. This is where the “Achieve” piece comes in. By celebrating real transformations, we hope to inspire members to take action—whatever “it” is for them.

These two defining moments—the realization of my own power to shape my future and the recognition of the profound impact of community—have led me here. IEA is more than just a platform; it’s a movement. And I can’t wait to see how it continues to inspire and empower others.

Charlotte, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a Life and Leadership Coach with a deep passion for mindset transformation and community-driven growth. My journey into this field wasn’t a straight path—I originally came from a career in data analytics and software. While that work was intellectually fulfilling, I found myself drawn to something deeper: the desire to help people unlock their potential and create lives that truly align with who they are and what they want.

I discovered life coaching when I was seeking a career pivot, but what I found was so much more than just a new profession—I found my calling. Coaching gave me a new level of self-awareness, clarity, and empowerment, and I realized that when we learn how to harness the power of our mindset, we can change the course of our lives. This realization ignited a passion in me—not only to coach but to make coaching accessible to more people.

That’s what led me to create Inspire Empower Achieve (IEA), a virtual community designed to inspire personal and professional growth through the power of coaching and community. IEA is unique because it’s not just about individual coaching—it’s about learning, growing, and transforming together.

One of the biggest barriers to coaching is accessibility—many people either don’t know what coaching can do for them or don’t know where to start. In fact, life coaching is often a punchline for some people who feel that it’s a made up profession.

I wish for IEA to change the narrative around life coaching and solve the accessibility problem by providing a free, open space where people can engage with professional coaches across multiple specialties—from career and leadership to wellness, relationships, and mindset coaching. Our coaches share insights, spark meaningful conversations, and help members gain clarity on their challenges—all in a supportive and collaborative environment.

Personal growth doesn’t usually happen in isolation. Many people feel stuck or uninspired because they lack a strong support system. IEA fosters a sense of belonging, connection, and motivation—helping people realize they’re not alone in their journey.

When a member feels ready to take the next step and invest in deeper transformation, they already have exposure to and experience with our coaches, making it easier to find the right fit for their needs.

What makes IEA different is our approach:
– We focus on mindset first. We believe mindset is the foundation for all success, and every conversation in our community is centered on helping people shift their thinking to unlock new possibilities.
– We make coaching accessible. Instead of keeping coaching behind closed doors, we bring it into a public, interactive space where people can learn and grow together before ever making a financial commitment.
– We celebrate success stories. The “Achieve” piece of IEA is all about sharing real-life coaching wins, so members can see tangible proof of how coaching changes lives and feel inspired to take action.

I’m incredibly proud of the community we’ve built through IEA. Seeing people experience those “aha” moments, gain clarity, and take bold steps toward their goals is the most rewarding part of this work. I love that IEA is not just a business—it’s a movement that’s making coaching more visible, more accessible, and more powerful for people who recognize its value.

What I want people to know is if you’re curious about coaching but don’t know where to start, come and check us out at IEA. If you’re looking for a space where you can get inspired, feel empowered, and take real steps toward achieving your goals, you’ll find it in our community. Whether you’re an individual looking for personal growth, a professional seeking career advancement, or someone navigating life’s transitions, there’s a conversation happening inside IEA that can spark the transformation you’re looking for. Membership is free!

I believe you have the power to design your future, and it all starts with your mindset. Let’s inspire, empower, and achieve—together.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

If I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing in my journey. All of my life and career experiences are what have led me to who and where I am today. We all have bumps and bruises along our journey through life. We all have lessons from our past experiences that make us who we are today and will continue to shape who our future selves will become.

Along our lives, we have small mindset shifts to major life changing mindset shifts. The defining moments I mentioned earlier have everything to do with major life changing mindset shifts for me. It’s like Neo taking the red pill in the movie Matrix. I can’t unsee these awarenesses. I can’t be put back into the Matrix. I see so much potential and opportunity for all people now.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Losing my husband suddenly after 23 years together was like a punch in the gut. In an instant, I became a single mom, forced to navigate not only my own grief but also my young children’s. There was no pause button, no time to fall apart—I had to carry on for their sake. In those moments, I clung to the resilience I had learned from my mom, the woman who had always shown me what it meant to persevere.

Three years later, life tested me again. My mom’s health declined rapidly due to aggressive cancer, and within just three and a half months, everything changed. She moved in with me and my kids, and I became her caregiver, health advocate, and emotional rock. I held her hand through every difficult decision, every painful moment—until the unthinkable happened. My greatest role model, my strongest supporter, was gone.

But even in my grief, I found gratitude. Gratitude for the time I had with her, for the lessons she instilled in me, and for the fact that she was no longer in pain. And in that moment of loss, I experienced my next defining moment. For four years, I had been dancing around the idea of building Inspire Empower Achieve, never fully committing. Losing my mom made one thing crystal clear: life is too short to keep playing small. It was time to stop hesitating and start building something meaningful.

That’s when I got intentional, when I found the courage to bring IEA to life. My resilience wasn’t just about surviving loss—it was about using it as fuel to create something that could inspire and empower others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.inspireempowerachieve.com
• Instagram: @inspireempowerachieve
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspireEmpowerAchieve.IEA
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspireempowerachieve/about/