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

Rebecca, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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.

I’ve been fortunate to take many risks in my life. I say fortunate because taking risks doesn’t come in isolation. My family, friends, and inner confidence and abilities all supported me in making some challenging and surprising choices. I joined the Peace Corps after college, took my first job in a tiny Ohio town where I knew no one, moved to New Zealand with my husband, and left a 9-5 job to start a consulting business. In 2023, I closed that business to become a full-time life coach. None of those, however, was the biggest risk I’ve taken.

The thing that’s felt the most risky has been embodying my identity as a Certified Adult Chair® Coach, Reiki practitioner, and somatic guide.

By the time I signed up for the Adult Chair Coaching Certification, I had been practicing the model for years. I’d done the inner child and parts work. I had moved away from old patterns, limiting beliefs, and triggers that kept me stressed, disconnected, and on autopilot. I was ready to become a coach.

Then came the hard part. With my certification in hand and clients booking sessions, I had to claim my identity as a life coach.

The hardest part was letting people who had known me for years see this new version of me. There were times I felt like a fraud as I introduced myself as a life coach to people who had seen me in tough times or knew the old me. It felt vulnerable and risky. The more I said it, the easier it became. At first, I practiced in the mirror and with supportive people. Then I started expanding my comfort zone by posting videos on social media and leading workshops. I checked in with myself at each turn. Now, I feel confident and comfortable letting people know what I do. It just is who I am!

It turned out better than I could have imagined. My relationships deepened. I became more present with my kids. I built a business rooted in alignment instead of performance. And now I get to help other moms reconnect with themselves so they can enjoy the lives they’ve worked so hard to build.

The risk of claiming my new title and role has become the one I’m most proud of.

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?

I’m a Certified Adult Chair Coach, somatic life coach, Reiki practitioner, writer, and mom based in Cleveland, Ohio. As a coach, I have developed an interactive, powerful program to help moms feel better about themselves on the inside so they can enjoy their lives, kids, and families.

My clients have worked hard to build their lives. Internally, though, they’re often struggling with self-doubt, comparison, people-pleasing, perfectionism, communication in their relationships, stress, and disconnection.

My work is to help women live as their true selves instead of from protective patterns. Using the Adult Chair model and personalized tools, I guide clients to connect with and reparent parts of themselves that developed early in life, such as the inner critic, overachiever, or peacekeeper, and start living as their healthy adult selves.

I can do this work because I’ve been there. When I became a mom, I felt disconnected from my life. I was functioning on the outside, but I wasn’t enjoying my life the way I wanted to. I knew something had to change. As I sought a solution, I found the Adult Chair. Through this work, I learned how to quiet external noise, reparent my inner child, and find the pause to respond instead of react. As I shifted, my relationships improved, I gained confidence, and I started to listen to my internal compass.

I am guided to reach back and grab the hands of the women who, like me, feel like they don’t know how to be their authentic selves in their own lives. I want to scream from the rooftops: Moms, we deserve to enjoy ourselves, our kids, our families, and our lives!

One client told me she wanted to start a business, but she didn’t have time to do things for herself. She felt resentful but didn’t see how she could play a major role in her own life. Too many people needed her. She was eating the crusts off her kids’ plates and doom-scrolling long after she meant to go to bed. As we explored her story, she uncovered a childhood belief that she wasn’t allowed to take up space or prioritize herself. Through reconnecting with her younger self and updating that belief, she began setting boundaries, going to sleep earlier, and empowering her kids to contribute more at home. She felt calmer, more grateful, and more present, and her small business took off. She is one profound example of what happens when we commit to making the changes needed to become present in our own lives, and I feel honored to have walked by her side.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Yes, absolutely! I wouldn’t change my earlier careers in journalism and marketing. Every role taught me something valuable, and sometimes showed me what I don’t want. Every job I had taught me, allowed me to learn, helped me build skills, introduced me to new people, and got me to where I am today. My experiences have been my greatest teachers.

If I could go back, though, I’d tell my younger self to enjoy it more. I took myself so seriously. I was constantly striving. I did not know how to slow down and relax. I’d remind her that self-worth doesn’t come from achievement. It comes from knowing who you are and loving yourself through it all.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Doing your own inner work.

My mentor, Michelle Chalfant, often says, “Clean your slate.” We can only take our clients as far as we’ve gone ourselves. If I’m not actively examining my own patterns, triggers, and beliefs, I can’t hold space for someone else to do it. That means if I’m teaching or sharing knowledge with a client, it’s because I’ve experienced it first-hand.

Training is important, and finding a coaching methodology that aligns with your values is crucial. Clarity around your own definition of success is equally important.

My core values are integrated, grateful, and connected. When I feel integrated with all of my parts, grateful for my life, and connected to myself and my people, I feel whole. Those values guide my decisions more than a standard definition of success does.

Success isn’t one-size-fits-all. For some people, it’s income. For others, it’s flexibility. For me, it’s being of service, having quality relationships, enjoying my work, and trusting that the next right step will reveal itself.

When I lead from my grounded adult self rather than fear or ego, my work feels aligned, and that alignment is what I consider real success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rebeccafellenbaum.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccafellenbaumcoaching/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccafellenbaumcoaching
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccafellenbaum/

Image Credits

Photo credit: Victoria Stanbridge Photography