We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Meredith Shafer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Meredith below.

Meredith, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

With my career, I have taken some risks that have probably looked crazy from the outside.

For fifteen years I was the Executive Director of a large multi-million dollar foundation—I loved my job! I really thought I’d do that job until I died. It was fun, I got to meet tons of wonderful people, and my favorite part of the job was giving away the grants that our organization chose for other nonprofits in the area.

As a woman of faith, eventually I felt the pull to leave my job—but I had no idea what I would be doing next. It’s scary to leap out of a well-paying job that you love with four young kids in tow.

But that leap was a huge blessing. It led to my husband and I starting our own nonprofit. We had walked through addiction and recovery as a couple a few years before and it became clear to us that was what we were supposed to do—help people find recovery.

We had a such a wild ride as an addiction recovery ministry! We went wherever the situation took us to help people out of addiction—from crack houses to the White House itself.

We were able to help thousands of people suffering from the epidemic of addiction and their families. But after several years, we felt like we were supposed to let go of that too.

So we took another flying leap without really knowing what came next. I had gotten my coaching certification the year prior, and really felt the call to get back to writing books (I had written two at that point) and ministering to women. I started my coaching business, and since then I have written six more books, along with a couple of journals.

I now have four coaching groups per week, and one of them involves helping other women write and publish books. I am loving living the secret dream I had from years ago to be a working, thriving author. And even more, I get to help bring other women with me.

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 accidentally became an author. When my husband and I got married, I had two little boys I had adopted with my ex-husband. Then we got pregnant about fifteen minutes after we got married so we had three kids by our first anniversary.

I started writing about the cute things our kids did, how my new husband had swept me off my feet, stories about the ridiculousness of our new life together. When I gave them to my husband to read, he told me, “I think you’re writing a book.” Until that point I hadn’t allowed myself to dream that the snippets I was writing could be a book. That was much too intimidating.

But once he said that, the dream began to take hold and even though I was a working mom with three, then four little kids, I kept writing. I eventually published my first book and realized I might be able to be an author.

I now have a coaching group that helps women chase their dream of becoming a published author, I love bringing other women with me. There is something special about teaching the craft of writing to publishing that just sets my soul on fire!

Over this last year, we have had eleven books come out of this group, with several more in the works. Weekly group coaching provides encouragement and accountability that we all need to be able to reach audacious goals, it is it such a joy to be able to cheer other women on towards theirs.

My niche in coaching is faith-based, and I think that sets me apart from other coaching programs when it comes to publishing. My group isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a woman of faith who feels called to write a book and get it published, we now have a community of women where that is happening on a regular basis.

The beautiful thing about teaching and coaching this group is that it helps me stay accountable as well. Teaching keeps me learning and trying to figure out new ways to help encourage these women to chase their goals. It’s a true win-win situation, and those are rare in this world.

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

Just over ten years ago, our family was coming undone. My combat veteran husband was fighting a battle against addiction and PTSD, and I was trying to stay pregnant with our fourth child.

It all came to a head when I found him in our kids’ treehouse about to take his life. From that point forward, life as we knew it was forever changed.

I’m proud to say my husband has been sober for over ten years now and our family has been restored. But the journey has been long and difficult. We didn’t know how to be a sober family, so we had to tear down everything our relationship was built on and start fresh.

We lost friends, nearly went bankrupt, almost got divorced, and our kids struggled in all the things. But we sought help in counseling, from our faith community, and despite how hard it was, we never left.

Those years of being new in recovery, learning to share our family’s story, and letting God put the pieces back together were the hardest years we’ve ever gone through. But we tell our story now because we believe it can offer hope to others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I like to think I’m the Pivot Queen. I have worked in multiple industries, gotten different degrees and certifications, and have been able to land on my feet whenever things have shifted.

Flexibility and taking calculated leaps have brought me to the place I’m in now—yet another pivot.

At the beginning of 2020, my husband and I were running the successful addiction recovery ministry we had birthed when we felt like we were supposed to step out of it. By the end of January, we were both out of work, and then the Pandemic hit.

Our whole family pivoted. We schooled at home the next three years, my husband took advantage of his GI Bill benefits to go back to school, and I opened my coaching business, Launch Your Legacy.

I began operating fully in online spaces, and that has allowed me to grow my business and work with people from all over. I now have online groups and Facebook pages where multiple countries and states are represented. It’s been amazing to get to come alongside other women and help them launch their own legacies on a daily basis.

I love what I do, and I’m grateful for this pivot!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meredithshafer.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/meredith_b_shafer?igshid=NGVhN2U2NjQ0Yg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007165269766&mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: https://bit.ly/m/Meredith’s-Resources

Image Credits
Lindsey McClennahan