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

Darla, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

This topic of “Taking a risk” immediately reminded me of the journey I have been on in my coaching practice. I had been a financial advisor for over 10 years and due to life experiences, losing my dad to heart disease, and the economy crashing in 2009/2010, I knew that I wanted a change. I had worked so hard to become a financial advisor. I had passed all the state exams, some of which took me multiple times of taking, so giving them up was “taking a risk”. And then going back to school in my mid 40’s to follow my heart and what I felt I was being called to do in this path of becoming a Certified Life Coach, getting certifications in Time Line Therapy and Neurolinguistic programming as well.

When a person is starting out on a new journey, a new career, it can be tricky knowing what to invest in, and what not to do. And yet my heart knew that as a Life Coach, I also needed a coach, someone to guide me, push me, So I really “took a risk” when I invested a substantial amount of money in my business coach. I knew that in order to help others, I need to help myself as well.

Life will often bring about changes and uncertainty, requiring us to take risks, to trust, and to move forward one day at a time. I am grateful now for all the risks I have taken up until this point in my life that have led me to where I am today in my business. and in life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I had a successful career as a financial planner, but shortly after being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I realized I needed to make a change. When the doctor handed me that prescription, I said I’m not doing that, I’m going down a different path. I needed to change my life, so I never looked back. I had no idea, until then, how much my thoughts were influencing my health.
I decided to make health and wellness my mantra. Feeling the positive changes that were created in my life, I felt called to help others achieve their own personal path to a life of calm.
So, I no longer help people with just their money, but with their lifestyle and outlook on life. As a certified Health and Life Coach, I assist women (and a few men) with their mindset toward their health, life, relationships, and anything else that may be holding them back from fulfillment.
People come to me for all different reasons. I find that many people come to me, maybe to lose weight, and its not long, they realize something deeper needs to be addressed first…And then the weight comes off easier!
For many, it’s not about a “diet,” it’s about learning who they are, where they are at this moment, and who they want to be. I love peeling back the layers of each individual until any negativity is erased.
I always tell people that they have all the answers within them, but they don’t necessarily know what questions need to be asked.
When I ask the right questions they’re often enlightened and they’ll look at it from a different perspective.
Which gives them the answers they have been needing.
Most of my clients sign up for my 12-week program but usually end up wanting more time with me once their time is up.
I like to take my clients through mental exercises, like one where a client wrote everything he wished he would have said to someone in a letter, then shredded it without ever delivering it.
Once their mental setbacks are addressed, we will move on to determine ways they can lead a healthy lifestyle, and incorporate what I refer to as “Healthy Habits” into their daily life.
We just address whatever is going on. It’s just working on that constant mindset shift of, ‘I can do this. I’m worth it.’”

I really feel that my specialty is helping women who have been experiencing stress and anxiety to learn tools, some healthy habits that I teach, that help them to know more peace and calm in their lives.

I am most grateful for the transformations that my clients have experienced. I have worked with 100’s of women over the years, and a few men too, that have made choices in their lives, letting go of trauma and negative mindsets, to then learn to thrive.

I feel I am set a part because I am a Christian LIfe Coach and my clients feel very comfortable knowing they can confide in me, and we can talk about life even from a spiritual perspective and help them to really embrace life and know peace and joy.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I was a financial advisor for over 10 years, and although there were times when I really loved it, I went through the down economy of 2009-2012 and my heart began to realize that I was not experiencing any joy in my career. Add to that, I was having health concerns, being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and my body was being affected by the stress I was experiencing. I knew I needed change. Then in 2013 my father passed away from complications of heart disease and I knew it was time to pivot and find a career path that would bring joy to my heart. Something I loved doing that would allow me to help others on their journey of life, bring them transformation and also give me purpose.

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

A lesson that I feel I had to unlearn was realizing that life is not all about hard work. We often have it all backwards. We often think of it in terms of HAVE, DO, BE…When I HAVE a better job, more money in the bank, a better partner, etc, etc, then I can do and be…and yet I have proven, and now teach the opposite. I believe that we must live life more from the concept of BE DO HAVE…awake each day, knowing who you want to BE. What are your morals, what is important, what are you willing to do? Not do? And live into that…Mine is, “ I am a loving, compassionate, inspiring soul”. I awake each day now, living into that. BEING that…and that allows opportunities to come my way, even relationships, business connections, that then allow me to DO and then HAVE. So many people think it’s about busting the grind, working hard all the time, and that might work temporarily for some, and yet, it’s not fulfilling or life-sustaining. At some point, when we live thinking we need to HAVE all the things before we can BE, we will burn out.

The backstory on that was in my previous career as a financial advisor, I was not happy, I was unfulfilled. And when I began living who I wanted to BE, I began to know more peace, more calm. And I learned the tools, which I now teach, on how to respond to life, versus react. To see life as half full versus half empty. Life is perspective.

I also believe that our minds our powerful and what we focus on expands. So focus on the goodness of life and you will know more peace in life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://coachdarlanelson.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachdarlanelson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darlanelson.coach
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachdarlanelson/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@coachdarlanelson