Lisa Brewer is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her vast expertise and dedication.

She started her coaching career after reading the book “The Willpower Instinct”. She was inspired by the book and with permission she used it to create her own program. It turned out to be super successful.

She always had a passion for teaching and training, she just didn’t know coaching as a career option.

Her coaching approach combines many different techniques, tools, and disciplines that aim to improve self compassion, awareness, emotional regulation, mindset and habits that in return improve the quality of life, the relationships we have, and our career. Here is what she said.

Meet Life Coach Lisa Brewer:

Name: Lisa Brewer

Pillar: The Spirit, The Mind, The Heart

Who is this coach for: Anyone who wants to improve the quality of their life, relationships and career.

How they can help: By using and combining various tools and techniques like self awareness, perception change, emotional awareness and regulation, visioning, mindfulness, time management, communication, just to name a few.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these Pandemic times?

We’ve been very fortunate.

Being introverts really helped!

Other than shopping less frequently, things didn’t change as much for us.

The hard part was my parents both contracted cancers, and I couldn’t be with them for fear of passing something to them.

Also, my son needed to finish his degree remotely, which is isolating since we had moved to a new state while he was in school.

Fortunately, my parents are in remission. Family celebrations are cherished.

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?

The pandemic has increased stress levels overall for everyone.

There’s increasing complexity: hybrid work, resignations, increased workload, financial strain, changes to routines, more illness, fear of illness, less social connection.

People are assessing what really matters to them, which is great in the long run, but increases decision making which can be tiring and overwhelming.

The biggest impact for me has been missing my parents and sisters, who live across the country.

I also have a lot of clients who are managing stress, overwhelm, and self care so I’ve broadened that skillset dramatically.

What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?

I never know what someone else is going through.

The summer of 2020 we moved.

One new friend was “overly” cautious about the virus.

A few weeks into our friendship I asked about it.

Four of her family members had died in the first four months of the pandemic.

Now I assume there’s a reason for people’s actions and everyone is doing the best they can.

This helps me be more curious and empathetic, which has opened more relationships and doors that I ever could have imagined.

The Origin:

Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?

I’ve always enjoyed training and teaching others but was unaware of coaching as a career option.

In 2017 I read “The Willpower Instinct” by Kelly McGonigal, PhD and got inspired.

With her permission I used her book as the foundation for a goals program I ran with colleagues, friends, and strangers.

It was so successful in helping people understand themselves and reach their goals.

Becoming a Certified Professional Co Active Coach provided the qualifications to be reputable to corporations.

What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?

Can I only choose one?

I learned a few years ago that I fall into the 20% of people who are highly sensitive which explains so much.

I’ve had to limit my diet since I was 19 and overcome social anxiety, an emotionally abusive boyfriend, chronic pain, depression, a fixed mindset, and ill family members.

I reinvented myself to stay home with my kids at 35 and reentered the workforce 15 years later.

Emotionally, this was very hard to take since I was raised to be a professional and not dependent on anyone.

I’ve made seven interstate moves, four while my kids were under 9 years old.

I’m immensely human!

The Coaching Style:

How do you innovate with coaching your clients?

I’m more focused on excellence than innovation.

I came across a study showing the 14 qualities demonstrated by outstanding therapists.

I am not a therapist and will recommend someone sees a therapist if the topic they bring indicates that.

I do ground my practice in evidenced based practices, and this article helped reinforce and bring intention to specific skills.

Build strong interpersonal skills, build trust and understanding quickly with clients, develop and explain a clear plan for reaching client outcomes, be authentic, flexible, and optimistic, discuss difficult topics instead of avoiding them, continuously expand my skills, adapt to individual clients backgrounds and situations, do the work myself so I can self manage and be fully focused on the client, and work with as many clients as possible so I can be as effective as possible with clients from a variety of backgrounds.

An outcome of this that I see with clients is my intuition guides the words and tools I use.

I often coach people on the similar topics, but how I approach it could be very different from one client to another.

What’s unique about your coaching approach?

I pull from a wide, continuously expanding range of subjects when coaching…

Psychology, neuroscience, business, leadership, mindfulness, self compassion, habit formation, project management, alliance building, emotional intelligence, positive psychology, communication skills, etc.

I use this to help clients develop their own answers.

Sometimes, just a bit of information unleashes their creativity and insights.

So, I recommend books, TED talks, and articles for clients when I sense additional information would be helpful.

It also means that I coach on a wide range of topics.

What benefits do your clients get after working with you?

Increase self awareness, self compassion, confidence, clarity, emotional regulation, goal achievement, and joy.

They often develop better work and life balance and time management, improved communication, conflict and leadership skills.

They have improved self care habits, stronger relationships, and increased comfort in self promotion to advance their career.

Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?

I’m an extremely practical person.

Because of this, the only tools I use with everyone are administrative: a scheduling calendar, payment links, and initial questionnaires.

Everything else is customized to the specific outcomes the client is striving to create.

With many clients I use some combination self awareness, perception change, emotional awareness and regulation, visioning, mindfulness, time management, communication, self compassion, and habit formation tools to help them achieve their goals.

The Impact:

If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?

Embrace curiosity, compassion, and ease.

It’s amazing what can be created from here and the joy that accompanies it!

What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?

That it’s ok to be vulnerable and pursue what I really enjoy.

I was competing in a Toastmasters speech competition and amazed by the reaction of the audience.

They were energized and wanting more.

I experienced a similar effect at a networking event a few months later.

Both times I was completely present in the moment, felt unconditional self love and confidence, and was fully focused on the people and topic.

This combination is always present when I’m at my best, whether I’m with others or alone.

It’s a flow state that’s highly rewarding.

As soon as I worry about what other people think or what is expected of me, the spell is broken.

Flow is magnetic and brings out the best in others.

When we’re willing to be open, vulnerable, and focus on what matters to us, we give unspoken permission for others to love and value themselves.

Then magic happens.

Your final thoughts?

I often have clients who think they are a tough case or are stifled by circumstances.

Those are limiting beliefs.

We all have the capacity to change and become the person we want to be, even if we can’t change our circumstances.

Defining who that is and why that matters and being willing to experiment to see what helps you is what coaching is all about.

Where Can You Find Lisa Brewer?

If you liked this interview and you would love to increase your life quality, self awareness, improve your relationships and career, go to https://www.lisabrewercoaching.com/ and see how Lisa can help you achieve all of that.

If you want to take a glimpse in her coaching watch this video:

Make sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel if you want more videos like this.

If you want to connect more personally with her, you can do that through LinkedIn and Facebook. It was an honor having this interview with her.