Who We Are
About Our Founder
Certified as an Energy Leadership Master Practitioner, Conversational Intelligence and Happiness coach, ICF-credentialed professional Vickie Mudra shares her belief that each person comes into this world with a metaphorical, invisible bag that we carry throughout our childhood and into adulthood. Over time, things like fears, self-doubt, guilt, frustration, and other saboteurs get put into our bag based on our life experiences and events. We can usually carry the weight of this invisible bag over minor bumps and around most curves in our roads during life and work. However, just like we would struggle to climb a big mountain or quickly maneuver through an obstacle course if we were not strong and agile physically, it can be hard to handle the stress from severe or prolonged negative situations if we are not mentally resilient and nimble.
Some of the positive things that were in our bag as children like curiosity, creativity, and joy, get taken out or pushed to the bottom as we gather more experiences as teenagers and adults.
In her 30+ years of experience, Vickie has experienced first-hand how empathy can turn into apathy, vulnerability becomes defensiveness, and trust gives way to fear. She has helped professionals at all stages of their career reconnect to what feeds their soul. She has experience helping people discover what is underneath behaviors that feel like a need to control, rescue others, and/or achieve success at all costs. She has helped leaders overcome the belief that life is hard and there’s nothing that can be done about it.
Her greatest joy is helping people recommit to what they love
so they can celebrate their best life and best work.
MY STORY
I never realized how heavy my bag had gotten until I was about to turn 50. It was time to get clear about what I COULD do and make decisions about what I WANTED to do. Change was happening inside, outside, and all around. Some of the changes were happy, positive, chosen changes, like the weddings of each of my adult children just one year apart.
Some of the changes were sad and unsolicited...
- My career wasn’t as fulfilling as it once had been. It was getting harder to deliver my best self to my organization and team.
- It was the 10-year anniversary of my mother’s sudden death
- My high school sweetheart, soulmate, and husband of 32 years, was diagnosed of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), aka Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Supported by a wonderful employer, amazing friends and family, along with a masterful executive coach, I was able to connect with my mother’s wise words from my youth: “You have a choice.”
Over the next 4 years I decided to lean into my purpose and began to “dig around in my bag” to see what was and wasn’t helping me live out that purpose. It was through that awakening and exploration that I was able to make choices that could support my future in a deliberate way. Some of those choices included planning to retire from my corporate position, immerse myself in new learning, embark on a path of entrepreneurship, and relocate from the Chicago area to a desert life in Arizona.
When we take time to realize what really matters in our life, we are at choice – better prepared to make decisions and take action about what we really want and more resilient and optimistic to navigate through the change we don’t.
I believe there is possibility for joy in the workplace. As a personal and professional caregiver myself, I want to love and support those who work to keep others healthy and safe. I want to make sure they can care for and protect themselves, their families and colleagues as much as they care for and protect those they serve in their job. I want them to experience joy and celebrate their best life and best work.
In Hope and Love,
Vickie
