We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelsey Chittick a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kelsey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories 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 life changed suddenly on 11/11/2017. After my husband passed away suddenly in front of my kids, everything turned upside down and I didn’t know how we would survive. Early on in this experinece, I knew I had a choice. Would this experience break me or could it possibly also change us for the better? When Nate died, I stayed with my current corporate job for about 6 months, and then decided something had to change. So I began to write a book about my experience. I wanted to learn how to survive hard things, and what tools we would need to get through one of life’s most devastating moments. That decision changed my life, and my career, forever. It set me on a new path, one that was painful and beautiful. And now, almost 8 years later, I am joyful, grateful and in love with my life. Facing the hardest moments of your life allows you to recognize your strength, purpose and hope that changes your life forever.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

When I was pregnant with my son, at the age of 26, I did my first stand-up comedy gig in LA. I would work my corporate job during the day and hit the stage at night. I loved making people laugh and turning every day annoyances about marriage and motherhood and life in a unique way. My husband was the center of many of my jokes. When he died at a trampoline park in front of my kids, I was so broken and scared. But I knew the best way to honor him would be to live a great life. So I started working on how to navigate this situation, keep the kids in a good spot, and ultimately find some levity in this experience. It was so hard and sad, but we allowed humor to help discuss the awful things in a way that we could handle. Who dies at a trampoline park in toddler time? Where the hell did he go? We would cry and then we would try to laugh. Anything to lighten the pain. So during those moments we tried to laugh. I would make a joke, and see if we could lessen the pain even for a small amount of time. And that saved us and it is what I do with my clients now. We work through the hard and heartbreaking while also making sure our North Star is headed towards joy and happiness. We need to be able to hold grief and gratitude, laughter and sorrow at the same time. It’s the only way could survive.

Now, as a Writer and a Life Coach, I work with people who are navigating hard and painful moments. I ask that they commit to the hard and painful work, fight for joy, laugh often, and believe that help is on the way and great gifts are on the horizon. We utilize different tools but my favorite three have always been: Music, Meditation, and Movement. I now know for certain that no matter how hard or devastating life can be, you still have a choice. You can give up and feel like you got screwed, but you can also find ways to keep going. When you do that, life gets better, and often amazing.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I don’t believe in looking back or wishing I had changed something. I don’t think it serves us well. Most of us picked our first careers because it was available, paid the bills or thought it was interesting. All those experiences taught you something. After college, I didn’t really have any idea what I wanted to do or what type of job I would love. After college I worked as a waitress and then got a job in fundraising for Easter Seals in NYC. I tried some improv and eventually ended up jobs in Pharma, Clinic Trails, and recruiting. None of those jobs fit perfectly, but I learned a lot. And eventually the “right” job showed up during the hardest time of my life. Focus on the people you meet, the skills you learn, and keep looking forward to a career that lights you up inside and hopefully serves people in your unique way.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

In the world of Life Coaching, growing your clientele is one of the most challenging parts of this job. At first, you really have to put yourself out there, let people know what you do and how your time together will be a help to their goals. What worked for me was being authentic, present and fully engaged with the people I work with each day. And after time, if you help enough people, they will happily pass your information on to others. I don’t advertise but rely on referrals most of the time. The best way to grow your clientele is to be good at what you do, trust the word will get out, and allow your current clients to be your best advertising tools.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kelseychittick.com
• Instagram: kelsey durkin chittick

Image Credits

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