Hi there! Thank you for visiting. I’m Julie, a 50-something writer and coach living in the middle of the lower peninsula of Michigan. As a coach, people say I am
- warm and natural,
- observant and empathetic,
- informal and inspirational,
- spiritual and grounded in reality, and
- multidimensional and intuitive.
Coaching starts with a free consultation called a discovery session. Contact me to learn more.
Fun Facts
I’m a Pisces with Virgo Rising. That means I create a mean to-do list, but abandon the list to follow intuitive suggestions that eventually complete a slightly altered to-do list.
I was a majorette and pom-pom girl in high school.
For a few years I blogged at WordStorm Casserole about the “hot pot” of my life as a reader, writer, darned good cook, dreamer, and mystic-in-training. That “mystic-in-training” phrase means I love all things spiritual like meditation, mindfulness, and the pursuit of becoming an authentic person. It also means I’ve participated in things like sweat lodges, Wicca circles, and worked at the renowned Omega Institute for Holistic Studies.
That said, I was raised in the United Methodist Church, and respect and honor all traditions and beliefs.
I’m the author of a poetry collection.
I’m an INFP: intuitive, introverted, feeling, and perceptive.
I currently live in Michigan, and have lived in Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, New York, and London, England.
Star Trek over Star Wars.
Tea, not coffee. (Earl Grey, hot – of course!)
And just like you, I’m more or less than all of this. Just me.
My Story
In so many ways, my adult life has been a series of one transformation after the other. But it didn’t start out that way.
My life began in a quiet small town, living a safe and secure life. While my school-teacher parents were far from rich, I didn’t want for much. I read a lot of books and tried to write them, too. I graduated from high school and college, then ventured into the world of work.
It was a shock.
Gone were beloved hours of solitude and in came days of drudgery and meager paychecks. Friends got married, had children, got careers, and seemed to have it all.
I couldn’t understand how they achieved goals. I thought everyone but me moved through life smoothly. I struggled with relationships, finances, and a profound ennui or lack of enthusiasm for almost anything.
I didn’t marry until my 40’s and divorced in my 40’s, too. I have had a variety of jobs: jewelry sales, kitchen worker, coat and dress sales, self-improvement instructor, local model, ladies shoe store manager, ice cream grocery store display assistant, university procurement clerk, holistic center marketing assistant, insurance agency technology specialist, poetry open mike co-host, concert hall usher, software support technician, and countless short-term assignments through temp agencies.
Frankly, no job was ever as satisfying as my internal life. Admittedly, that life was rife with fantasy, but it also harbored deep longings of entrepreneurship and a lonely cry for freedom.
In my late 30’s I discovered meditation and a group of friends that propelled my spiritual life. Essentially, this reversed my orientation from seeking outside of myself to looking within for solutions and answers.
A voracious reader, I’ve devoured hundreds of self-help books and participated in many retreats and other activities to ‘raise my consciousness.’
Then somewhere in my fifth decade, I sensed a huge change coming. I was fed up with the way things were, and wanted to radically adjust my life.
And so I learned to acknowledge and honor the greatest sea change of my life thus far.
You might call it menopause, but for me it was like coming home to myself. I’ve become much more comfortable in my skin.
It’s deep and profound work. I go at my own pace on this journey. And every step is bewildering and exhilarating. In the pursuit of freedom, I’m focused and having fun.
Writing
As mentioned in the fun facts, I’ve authored a poetry collection. I’ve written throughout my life and have a couple filing cabinet drawers worth of notebooks to prove it.
Poetry is natural to me. It is the closest I can get to explaining how I see and experience the world. Even then, poetry is often mysterious and fleeting, like a soft summer breeze or the first snow of the season.
I’ve tried writing fiction over the years and had mostly given up. These days, I’m feeling a strong pull to dive into that world again. We’ll see how it goes!
Life Coaching
I learned about life coaching about twenty years ago and, after a weekend class, was “certified” to practice. I never did.
However, a couple of years ago I was a a conference. So many of the attendees talked about being life coaches that I had to take another look at the profession.
I enrolled in year-long training program through the Life Purpose Institute in 2016, and completed that journey in 2017.
Life coaching is like having someone walk beside you on your journey – whatever the destination may be. It’s not therapy or counseling but, because you lead the way, is incredibly empowering. You just may make some dreams come true.
Reach out and let’s talk to see if life coaching is right for you.
Questions?
Schedule your discovery session today – email me at julie at julieawallace.com or fill out the contact form.