We were lucky to catch up with Michelle Woods recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle , thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I love this question. I was actually in yoga class tonight and started tearing up thinking about my mom. She passed away in December from Covid. It was totally unexpected and it left a huge hole in my life. Since, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on her legacy, what she left behind, and her influence on my life.

My mom was the disciplinarian…my dad the enforcer. There was a lot to enforce too. My parents, bless their heart, raised me in a family heavily influenced by the Pentocostal Church. I was the kid who went to church twice a day on Sunday, youth group on Wednesday, and Bible studies in between. Church was serious business. So serious that I wasn’t allowed to play high school volleyball because the games would interfere with Wednesday youth groups. So when I say there was a lot to enforce I’m not kidding. There were a ton of rules and as a teen I challenged my parents, drove them crazy, and got into trouble a lot.

Even among these limitations my parents loved my sisters and I fiercely and no matter how many bad decisions I made I knew they loved me. Even more, they saw my spark, my passions and they supported me always.

When I was 17, the year before my senior year of high school they made a huge sacrifice for me. They allowed me to travel to Kenya, Africa to fulfill a dream I had since I was 5. Now mind you this was 1993. No internet. No cell phones. The only way we would be able to communicate while I was gone was through the mail. Even so they let me go. I was gone for 3 months. I lived in a tent, bathed out of a bucket, and was located somewhere far far away near Lake Baringo Kenya. I was with an organization and our mission was to build a house for a new headmaster at a local school. It was the hardest, most amazing experience of my life. It changed everything for me. Now almost 30 years later I see clearly the sacrifice my parents made for me. As a parent of two teens almost the same age I was….there is no way in hell I would allow either of my kids to do this. Yet my mom and dad did. They loved me enough to give me that experience. I’m still amazed when I think about it.

As an adult I walked away from the church. My husband and I raised our kids without religion and I know it hurt my parents. Regardless, I never doubted their love for me or my family. It’s a lesson I carry into my coaching and interactions with people. I want to be kind. I want to accept people for who they are without judgment. I want to keep an open mind and stay curious. I want to listen. These are all things my mom taught me.

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?

Hey ya’ll. I am Michelle Woods. I am an Authentic Leadership Coach that specializes in working with women to find purpose and meaning in their lives again.

I wasn’t always a coach. I actually started my career as an educator and I still work with schools and districts as an educational consultant. As an educational leader I was doing a lot of coaching and loved it. I wanted to improve my coaching skills so I started looking for a certification program that would allow me to get certified as a Life and Leadership Coach. I found the perfect program and once I completed it I swiftly realized my potential and the impact I could make so I founded Woods Life Coaching.

I’ve gone through many iterations of coaching programs, but I’ve found the most success with two programs that I offer today. Both coaching programs are geared towards either millennial women or women post 40.

Midlife Design: From Clutter to Clarity is for those living through a quarter life crisis. These are women who want to clear the mental clutter so they can confidently make decisions & stop panicking about their future. It’s all about discovering the right decisions and uncovering their true potential.

Midlife Design: From Misery to Meaning is my most popular program and it’s for women 40+ who want to find fulfillment, but haven’t been daring enough to make the required changes in their life to make it happen. By the end of this program these women rediscover who they are and who they want to be. By the end they feel liberated and have designed a path to a life that you’re proud of.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Two years ago I wanted to take my business to the next level. I knew I needed to hire a business coach to help accelerate my learning, keep me accountable, and challenge me in new ways. I ended up hiring an amazing coach that took me through a process of learning how to write copy for my sales page, market on social media in phases, and launch a new coaching program. She was amazing and really helped me understand a lot of marketing & sales. The issues, I essentially took what worked for her and tried to make it work for me. I did all the work to got a new program created, marketed, and launched…..and nothing happened. Well I guess one thing happened. I got burned out on social media marketing. It wasn’t working for me. I didn’t blame the coach she did and delivered exactly what she promised. My problem was that I tried to force something that really wasn’t the right fit for me. I learned pretty quickly after I got no new clients from this that I needed to take a step back and reevaluate. That’s what I did. In the process I learned that I want to be hands off in the marketing of my business. I want to create non-negotiables for marketing and sales that are easy for me. Right now that means I rely on SEO and Google to funnel clients to me and it works for me. The lesson I had to unlearn…..you have to find what works for you otherwise you’ll run yourself into the ground and want to quit all together.

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

I started my business five years ago. I never intended to be a business owner. When I started as a Life Coach I just wanted to help people find fulfillment and support them as they worked through the hard shit. I got clients right away and stayed consistent in my growth. Owning and growing a business is hard work. Honestly, there have been times when I didn’t have a single client. I was lucky enough to have a full time job, but I still wanted to coach. No matter how frustrating and hard it’s gotten, I’ve never given up. I’ve always found ways to move forward, to improve something about my business, and I’ve learned to find joy in the learning process.

Contact Info:

• Website: woodslifecoaching.com
• Instagram: @woodslifecoaching
• Facebook: @woodslifecoaching
• Twitter: @Woodscoaching