B-School Alumni: Angie Andrews

I will start by sharing with you that by all appearances I have lived a charmed life. I was raised in a loving family that provided me with tons of love and support. I have always made friends easily and excelled academically. I was blessed to attend a small liberal arts college and attain my degree. Since that time I married my college sweetheart, gave birth to two amazing boys and had a series of jobs that have provided for me and my family both financially and emotionally.

So you might ask, “How are you equipped to help me with personal and spiritual transformation as my life coach?”  Well, the story I have shared thus far describes how my life looked on the surface. Truth is, after much digging, meditating, and reflecting, what I have come to know is that on the inside I was lost and depleted.

• In 1997 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. After my diagnosis, I allowed myself to identify deeply with my disease. I began to focus on being sick instead of being well. I made attempts to really take care of myself, but was never really successful and I was never really committed. As I had done all my life, I continued to smile, act like all was well and work like crazy taking care of my family and my career. I rarely ever stopped to assess how I was feeling or do things to take care of me. It was not until some time after my 41st birthday that I really started to feel like something was amiss. My career was beginning to feel like it was sucking my soul.

I felt like I was stuck, like something needed to change.

• My entire existence revolved around everything external to myself. I was symptomatic from my Crohn’s more than ever and I was exhausted both physically and emotionally. I began to see that I was not going to be able to just keep going and going and going like I had in the past. I had lost my connection to God and my spiritual life. I began reading all kinds of self-help books and looked for meetings/seminars to attend that were out of my comfort zone. I felt a shift starting to happen, but I was yet unable to intact change.

In the spring of 2013 one of my favorite blogs, The Daily Love, offered a retreat to Maui. It was a huge financial leap for me, but I just knew, I felt something deep inside that was telling me I had to go. Little did I know it would change my life. That trip allowed me to connect with myself on a whole new level. I learned SO much in that week. I had my first  introduction to yoga and meditation and I was hooked immediately. Quieting my mind had always seemed impossible to me but I now know, for me, that is the key to listening to my heart and my intuition. That trip served as a catalyst to take everything I had been reading and doing and really start taking action.

I can honestly say that falling in love with myself, caring for myself and learning to be gentle with myself has allowed me to get in touch with my authentic center.

I now know, with all my heart why I am here:  I am here to inspire women to really fall in love with themselves as they are, to take care of themselves, to become a little self-ish. If all women could know deep down that they are enough, wow, what a place the world would be. I need to be part of this transformation.

I hope you will join me.