Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alicia Sirkin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alicia, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

Filled with defining moments, moving from career to career I learned life-altering lessons, with ah-ha moments and surprises that allowed me to take a step back and see the value in each transition, honoring the challenges along the way as lessons learned and new strengths gained.

Each defining moment of my professional career was as pivotal as another, resulting in five successful careers and a handful of unexpected career incarnations that would span five and a half decades:

• cashier/salesperson in a men’s clothing store at 16
• I passed my state license to practice dental hygiene at age 20 and worked in two dental offices in Miami totalling 13 years
• at 33 I retired from my dental practice when my husband invited me to join him as V.P. of his homebuilding corporation. I’d be responsible for the design, selection and installation of interior house finishes and landscaping for what was to become newsworthy luxury environmentally-sensitive homes when it was leading edge (I also became licensed to sell real estate in Florida).

When we took a brief sabbatical from homebuilding during a financial recession in the early 1980’s, I experienced another defining moment!

At the urging of a close actress/model friend, on a whim, I studied TV commercial acting and film scene study while in my 30’s. I was accepted into Screen Actors’ Guild and worked as an on-camera Television Commercial Actress, as well as a commercial print model and voiceover actor for 18 years, serving on local and regional Union Boards.

Concurrently, I studied a complementary self-help mind-based rebalancing modality originating in the UK, Bach flower remedies, became an international certified coach-practitioner, educator and published researcher in this field.

Over the past 22 years my work has evolved into a one-of-a-kind, eclectic personal lifestyle coaching business with spiritual tones aimed at teaching others how to better their lives, get out of their own way, overcome obstacles, and move forward. I help clients learn to rewire and retrain their brain to let go of patterns that don’t work, replacing them with patterns that do work for a better quality of life and greater success.

Looking back at my career as a dental hygienist, I was sad to leave my patients in my dental practice, yet because I was willing to take risks, a whole new world opened up for me, rich with education, new skills, wisdom, passion, self-confidence, self-acceptance and self-love. I love my life!

Recognizing the importance of expressing gratitude, especially for the many teachers, mentors, professionals and dear ones, I practice a daily ritual…a gratitude meditation upon arising and at bedtime. My gratitude overflows for the daily opportunity to learn, grow and change for the better…no matter what! I practice living in the present so that regrets (from the past) and fear (of the future) rarely rob me of joy.

When my thoughts drift to the past or future, I self-correct so that those fears and regrets dissipate. Things don’t always go as expected and when I can’t change or control things I remind myself that “it is as it is”. No reason to stress over what I can’t control. I’ve learned to be patient…to know that there’s a higher power that guides me toward my authentic life path and soul’s purpose…and when I stop and listen to the still quiet voice inside me, reflect and meditate…I feel able to progress and become a more conscious being/person, freer from lower levels of consciousness like guilt and shame, anger, resentment and bitterness, betrayal and fear. My personal goals are to live and love life with more joy, compassion, kindness, peace, love, self-respect and tolerance of others…and to be a guiding light to others who have similar goals.

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

My 55 years with five successful careers have been filled with risk-taking, overcoming personal adversity, obstacles and health challenges resulting in lessons learned and wisdom gained. I’ve incorporated the values of positive attitudes and approach to living with a daily practice of consciousness and gratitude exercises, while successfully operating a variety of professions and careers.

Unique to my career paths and healthy lifestyle choices, the challenges I’ve suffered and overcome form the basis for my hallmark action steps designed to help others find the way through life’s difficult challenges with greater grace and ease.

I teach how to move forward without quitting, enjoy compassionate relationships and conversation, successfully love and accept yourself, experience greater peace within, think more positively and rewire your brain to let go of old patterns that don’t work and replace them with patterns that do work.
My work centers around self-awareness, mindset, mindfulness, positive self-talk, concrete ways to set realistic goals and change what patterns are not working to reach personal or professional goals.
I am always ready to learn, grow and change for the better.

I bring 55 years of life experience, studies, knowledge and wisdom to share. I listen carefully and when in a coaching session I’m searching every moment to identify underlying causes for stumbling blocks, stuckness, negative patterns and other aspects that prevent my clients from reaching their goals and enjoying freedom, joy, good health and vibrancy. Carefully identifying those elements are core to developing doable Action Steps that can begin moving past stuck patterns.

My coaching style has spiritual tones and takes into account the body, mind and soul’s purpose–together. My clients find a sacred space for self-discovery and open conversation about their innermost concerns and thoughts through my non-judgmental, confidential, and caring approach.

With me, you are always valued and heard as I listen with integrity and honesty.

It’s a joy to work with clients who appreciate looking at their lives from a higher, more compassionate and kind perspective. We explore what might be their soul’s purpose, true life path and authentic self…the Self that wants to shed labels and others’ perceptions from the past. It’s the Self that wants to be authentic and heard. We discuss and learn to better manage triggers, which otherwise can lead to anger, fear or sadness and foster self-sabotage without effective ways to neutralize the energy of the trigger.

As I think about the things I’m most proud of, four main things come to mind first.

1) The inner personal development work I’ve done throughout the past 50 years while living with my husband. As I’ve grown, he has loved me without judgment, respects my life choices and through his mentorship teaches me much about myself that I’m unable to see for myself. He accepts my long-standing commitment to reversing and preventing disease in order to live a vibrant, healthy life in my mid-70’s and beyond.

2) My leadership role in my favorite non-profit organization where I’ve been fortunate to help form groundbreaking collaborations between a Florida university and non-profit educational organization to benefit the university community’s nutritional health. I’m a published researcher and philanthropist creating nutrition education collaborations at the University of Miami, which can help improve health outcomes in innumerable lives.

3) My clients who bravely make commitments to do whatever it takes to change their lives for the better.

4) My co-authored research team’s leading edge double-blind, placebo controlled study on a complementary stress-relief remedy at a well-known university and published in a peer-reviewed journal.
I work with clients who want to better their lives and feel more empowered.

Many clients complain that they’re too hard on themselves for not being better than they are, not good enough, smart enough or not perfect enough. That negativity works against us, can create self-sabotage and may lead to either an underlying or active state of anxiety and stress.

What if we recognize that we’re not perfect, that the world isn’t perfect, and in doing so we develop a practice of doing the very best we can in every moment, and when we know better, do better?

How would our lives change for the better if we look at all the goofs, mistakes and errors in judgment as important lessons to be acknowledged and learned, or as an incident that points out a weakness or flaw that we can strengthen and overcome? We can learn to stop listening to the ego mind that wants us to focus on what we don’t do well and practice rewarding ourselves and celebrate the many times we are successful, on every level of accomplishment, no matter what the size.

I’ve always welcomed risk taking!

Many people today are feeling stuck and are looking for direction. In order to move forward and to let go of old patterns that no longer work, and replace them with patterns that DO work, it’s essential to look at what’s not working and why. That’s why my coaching work is so unique. I don’t use the same coaching approach for all clients.

I know I’m not perfect and I understand that I’m living in an imperfect world. That understanding in itself releases the kind of self-imposed pressure I used to put on myself to be perfect. This is only one of many ways to reframe or change your perspective that can lead to greater freedom, success and inner calm.

What’s key to health and success is to do the best we can each and every moment, and when we know better, do better!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

My strategy for growing clientele is a result of offering authenticity, truth, transparency, hope, kindness, consistency, empathy, expertise and great value in every communication exchange and coaching experience. Clients report they feel safe, valued, honored, heard, nurtured, understood and transformed throughout our coaching sessions. For over 20 years I’ve cultivated these qualities within myself and my business model…key principles for successfully helping others.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Many years ago when I hired a marketing firm to rebrand my coaching work and create a new website, I felt overwhelmed and wasn’t confident in writing my own material. The thought of writing a blog seemed daunting, yet the marketing world for sole practitioners made it feel like an obligation to do so. An easy way out was to ask the marketing team to write my blogs and some content for my site, which they were happy to do. I was off the hook and following what so many other busy sole practitioners and entrepreneurs do.

Part of the resistance was due to having no prior experience sharing my truth, expertise and wisdom through writing and therefore had little confidence I could do so successfully. I didn’t want to try. Additionally, I live and work remotely from two states, managing several residential properties alongside my coaching practice. Finding time to be creative and write content was difficult.

Here’s the BIG lesson! After 5-6 years of other people “speaking” for me on blogs, social media and my website, I looked back at the lack of progress building valued, like-minded clientele/followers. Then it dawned on me! My voice, energy, frequency and knowledge is much different than the people who were writing my content. If I want to attract like-minded clients, I must write my own content so that my energy, the nature of who I am is “felt” by the reader. I had to buckle down, retire from my former marketing team, and commit to doing whatever it would take to get my authentic message out in the world. Once I forced myself to jump into the writing, I found my voice.

I admit it was a bit scary in the beginning to rebrand myself again, write and update my website, blog and social media content, yet it’s one of the best business decisions I ever made!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aliciasirkin.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/alicia_sirkin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SirkinCreativeLiving
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciasirkin/
• Twitter: @SirkinCoaching
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdFvISCAxljDZOohKgcJx5w

Image Credits
Alicia Sirkin Cary Parga