The Moment That Changed Everything

It was an afternoon in early 2012, surrounded by an incredible amount of clutter. I was sitting on the floor in my bedroom, reading a piece of paper, and ugly crying.

~Cue dreamy flashback sequence~

The moment that changed everything actually started years earlier. So, let me start there.

Way, way back in 2005, I was in a place where I was struggling to find myself again.

A couple of years even earlier, in 2003, I had a cervical disk rupture between C4 and C5 – it was a terribly scary and painful thing. Ultimately, it happened as a result of being rear-ended in a car accident 8 years earlier, but just got worse and worse.

I’d been a massage therapist for about 8 years at that point.  One day, I was getting a massage myself. It was the simple act of rolling over on the table that was the final straw. Incredible, immediate, all-encompassing pain exploded.  Now, I had been dealing with constant pain for years at that point – so pain became the norm. I was never one to complain – but in that instant I yelled and started sobbing uncontrollably. My poor massage therapist. I think I traumatized him. It was nothing he had done – it probably would have happened if I rolled over in bed at that moment.

The pain calmed a bit, and I thought I’d manage – until I woke the next morning, went to take a shower, lifted my arms to wash my hair…and only my left arm went up. I looked at my right arm just hanging there. My fingers worked, but they were just wriggling there at the end of an unresponsive arm. So, I propped my right arm up in the shower, and finished washing my hair – then made an appointment to my physician.

I won’t go into the whole crazy story, but I ended up having surgery by a neurosurgeon who fused C4 and C5 with a metal plate and 4 screws. My head is LITERALLY screwed on tight.

All of a sudden my life changed…

Massage therapy is a physical profession. I could do nothing at all for two months, and after I had to reevaluate my life and rediscover my identity.  I absolutely loved massage. I taught it at the college level, developed weekend workshops for professional programs, and participated in developing a year-long massage therapist training program. I even volunteered my massage services at a local retirement home. I always wished I could do more, but was only one person with two hands. I fully identified as “Trina, The Massage Therapist”, and suddenly – that wasn’t who I could be anymore.

For a period of time I looked into and tried MANY different things. I was just throwing my ideas at the wall to see what stuck. I was frustrated, depressed (not clinically), confused, and desperate. Along the way I was certified as a Hypnotherapist, just because it was interesting.  That was the official start of my mindset work. I had always journaled, meditated, used affirmations – but up till then, it was all just playing around with it, without expecting results.

The thing I did that led to the “Moment”

One of  the things I had learned about was making a Contract with the Universe. So, one evening after a truly craptastic day at work at a job I hated – I decided to sit and fully immerse myself in that exercise.

The idea is to write what you want for your future in 5 years. When you write about it, you explore exactly how you want to feel, taste, smell, see.  You write about the kinds of people you want to be surrounded by, the way you want to live, the amount of money you want to make/have. You write about what you want to do, and most importantly, how you want to feel. You fully immerse yourself in that future, not focusing on the HOW you will do it, just that it will be, and what you will feel.  You state your intention to commit to “it”, or something better. (The “or something better” part is important.) Then you sign it, and put it away.

I put it away, and forgot about that contract.

At first, it took a bit of work to change that mindset. I realized that the way I thought and spoke about time and money made me miserable and was reflected in how I was experiencing both. At that time, the one and only thing I could control was how I thought about them.

Heck, it certainly couldn’t hurt to choose to think differently, right? Thoughts are like muscles. Think back to a time you started doing a new exercise movement. At first, it doesn’t feel natural, and you are a bit sore after. But, when you practice it regularly, you start to do that movement easier and easier – until it becomes second nature to you.

All of a sudden, I became more aware of the opportunities that presented themselves. I subconsciously was looking for what I wanted, not at what I didn’t want. And things started to happen. I went from making almost $25k/yr (if I was lucky) to $56k-75k/yr in Healthcare IT, to multiple 6-figures/yr consulting in Healthcare IT. I was surrounded by dynamic, inspirational, and supportive people. I was being paid to travel for work, and leveraged points and air miles for 7-9 day vacations in dream locations like Paris and Cancun – at top-tier hotels.

~Flashback sequence end & Dramatic Drumroll!~

Finally! The Moment That Changed Everything! (It’s so awesome you are still reading this!)

So, in 2012, surrounded by massive clutter that I was in the process of clearing, I found that contract. I read what I had written. I felt my breath catch, and the tears started falling like rain.  Even though it was an ‘ugly’ cry – they were tears of astonished joy.

I had achieved everything in that letter, about 2 years earlier than I expected, and even better than I could have imagined!

That was the moment I had personal, un-refutable proof that this mindset stuff worked. I thought that if I could do it once, what would it be like to repeat that experiment? And do it again and again. I was ready to make that magic happen.

And the Magic kept happening

Since then, I paid off my mortgage, took a year off for a sabbatical to backpack for 6 months through Europe and S.E. Asia, and 6 months to write and think. I went back for a consulting contract, just to see if it was still for me.  I was good at it, and the money was fantastic – but I still felt there was more I could be doing with my life.

At the end of that contract, I left consulting and started my copywriting business. I wrote for the Healthcare IT B2B market.  I loved writing and having my own business again, but…I still felt there was more I could be doing with my life. Something more meaningful.

Why “Coaching”?

I’ve always been asked how I could do the things I’ve done. How I’ve managed to be so free, and to make such brave leaps. I spoke about how I crafted my mindset, and others wondered how they could do the same for themselves.

It was then, that I decided to get trained at iPEC, one of the world’s top coaching schools, and pursue professional coaching. If I could help people get from “good” to FANTASTIC faster than they would alone – that would be my thing.

And so it has become – all from me writing a contract with the universe.

The “something more meaningful”

Throughout the years, and especially during my travels, I’ve always been quite aware of the immense need that is out there. I’m in awe of those who give selflessly, even if they only give and have to go without, themselves. There is incredible honor in what they do.

I’ve been equally in awe of the philanthropists who give powerfully – touching hundreds – even thousands of people in need.

The difference is “IMPACT”.

Now…

Now, I’m the Transformational Self-Mastery Coach. I work with high-achieving, fun, and interesting people like you who bring big challenges to the table, and who are committed to making a massive impact in their own unique way.