Community.
It’s not just a word or a concept to me. It’s fundamental. It underpins everything I do. It drives me. It inspires me. It is lifeblood.
And boy am I part of some pretty incredible communities, online and off.
One of the most special communities in my life, that has shaped, sometimes twisted and ultimately allowed me both to be me, and to be of service, is the Beautiful You Life Coaching Academy community.
Imagine hundreds of women, all with big hearts and good intentions, who are out there working hard, bearing their souls, helping others and making a difference in the world. They are the Beautiful You Life Coaches. They’re not perfect and they don’t live magazine lives. They are real. They are honest. They stand for something. For change, for passion, for self-love, for success and defining it for yourself.
They stand for you, and they stand for me.
Last year I was the rookie in this amazing community and they welcomed me with open arms and warm smiles. They encouraged me, inspired me and believed in me. And when it got hard, and it did (training to be a coach is more of an inward journey than I ever expected and I’ll be honest, there were times I wanted to quit, times I didn’t do my homework or refused to read the next module because every bit of my ego was blocking my own personal growth, but holy wow was it worth it) what got me through was the community of women – the trainees like me and the experienced, compassionate and leading by example, kick ass women teaching the course.
On Friday 11 March, I had the honour and absolute pleasure of being in a room full of these incredible women (and their partners and families) at the first Beautiful You Life Coaching Academy Awards.
Held at the gorgeous Mardo’s Port Melbourne, there were 30 nominees across 5 categories, and my Rock Your Goals Workshops were nominated for Program/Event of the Year!
As the amazing nominees were announced:
I was shaking in my seat (huge thanks to my beautiful friend Rachael Kable for holding my hand and reminding me to breathe!!).
And then they called my name.
I’d won.
I couldn’t believe it!
I had a rush of a emotions all at once. Disbelief. Excitement. Fear – I have to SPEAK and everyone will be looking at me! Pride. Love. Gratitude. More disbelief. Joy.
As I walked to the front of the room I was repeating to myself over and over “don’t fall over, don’t fall over”. It was only when people laughed that I realised I was saying it out loud! (I’m not used to wearing heels).
There were hugs, there were high fives (and if my shoes weren’t so high I would have done the running man!).
I’d said to myself if I won I was going to “thank the Academy” because I thought it was a totally “Sarah” kind of joke, plus as a kid I dreamed of winning an Oscar one day, but every thought went out of my head as soon as they said my name. So I spoke from the heart. Sure I forgot to thank everyone I wanted to thank – my incredible coach Jade McKenzie, the Beautiful You assistant trainers Katherine MacKenzie-Smith and Sue Muller, my ever patient, always encouraging partner Brendan and my amazing friend Rach for being my date (but I thanked them afterwards).
I’m still amazed and completely over the moon about the nomination, let alone the win. I never dreamed that the workshops would be so successful.
I mean, when I first started planning the event I would physically cringe and roll my eyes at the concept of “goal setting” because it felt SO OVERDONE. But I got out of my own way, stopped overthinking and I went with the idea. I let it lead me where it wanted to go and I tuned out the doubt and the noise. Sure there were tears, there were freak outs and on the day of presenting my first workshop I was so nervous I would have paid anyone else money to present it for me. But I showed up and met amazing women with dreams who were ready to give themselves the time, space and permission to go after those dreams. And we talked, laughed, connected and started to change things. Little by little. Step by step. We’re making changes. In our own lives and in the lives of others. And now. Now we have a community. A beautiful community of women helping women, lifting each other up, encouraging each other, supporting each other and leading the way.
Sure, not every day is perfect, or productive, or even positive, but every single day I get to help women everywhere kick ass, love themselves, live their dreams and rock their goals and that’s incredibly special. I’m so passionate about helping women not only see, but celebrate their potential, to embrace it and to get out there and go for it. No dream is too big or too small. My message is yes you can, yes you deserve it and yes you’re good enough! Whatever you want in life and in business – you can do it. I’m so fortunate to be part of and to be building a community that is all about truth, trust and transparency. A BS free zone filled with information to inspire, support and empower women to own the heck out of who they are, to rock the boat, to tear up the box and write their own rules. It’s positivity, passion and purpose for the misfits, and I get to be part of that every single day.
So to Julie Parker and the team at Beautiful You, I say thank you. To my incredible coach Jade McKenzie, I say thank you. To my partner (and partner in crime) Bren, I say thank you. To my kick ass crew who keep me going and love me for me (bad signing, pyjama pants, weird word choice and all), I say thank you.
To all of the amazing ladies who were nominated, and to the winners in each category:
- Naomi Arnold :: International Coach of the Year
- Tracey Spencer :: Emerging Coach of the Year
- Melissa Ambrosini :: Book of the Year
- Jenny Orenstein and Christine Rose Elle :: CEO Shine Award
I say thank you. Thank you for inspiring me, for shining bright and for leading by example.
But most importantly I say thank you to you, you gorgeous, wonderful, incredible, amazing person. Thanks for being part of this community of misfits, dreamers, business ninjas and big hearted souls who are making a difference in the world. I salute you, I admire you and I appreciate you.
Sarah x
Congratulations on your well-deserved win, Sarah! How awesome. I will teach you how to do the Running Man in heels for next time. That dress is completely gorgeous too. You looked fab!
Thank you so much Beth, that’s absolutely lovely of you. I’ll definitely take you up on that ‘running man in heels’ lesson, it HAS to be done. 🙂 xx