| My name is Karen Marie Waters and I'm the founder and owner of Sublime Bliss, an innovative, whole-body, healthy lifestyle concept company, that offers the luxurious experience of enhancing confidence and appearance through a variety of mechanisms. One of the most important components of the company is the Sublime Bliss "Whole Life" coaching approach. |
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| The most important thing about life coaching is the relationship between you and your coach. It is essential that you and your coach have a level of rapport that supports confidence and security. Part of that rapport comes from an appreciation of each other's life path. |
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| What has prepared me to act as your coach? |
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There are three essential components in the preparation of a coach: |
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Life experience |
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Professional training |
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An ongoing commitment to rigorous self-examination and self-development, i.e. reflection. Without the third component the first two are virtually useless. Life experience without reflection contains nothing learned and therefore nothing worth passing on. Professional training without rigorous self-examination makes it impossible for coaches to be sure they are acting on their client’s behalf rather than from their own unconscious motivation. |
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| • Life Experience |
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It's been a varied career for me so far! I started my professional career as a journalist, working as a print reporter for an internationally recognized finance publication, my beat concentrating on institutional investing. After a few years I decided to attend law school. Upon graduating from law school, I worked as a trial lawyer at some of the most prestigious firms in Illinois and taught advanced trial advocacy techniques at my alma mater, DePaul University College of Law. I am currently licensed to practice law in both California and Illinois. |
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| I’ve had the full “corporate experience” working as a finance reporter and a trial attorney. I’m thus well versed in dealing with all issues surrounding being a successful, accomplished woman in a man’s world, corporate “life”, office politics, the career ladder, etc. Despite the apparent career success I enjoyed, I was sure that there must be more to life than this. |
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| That thought process began both a conscious and unconscious mental transformation. I subsequently moved from Illinois to California. Even though I took the California bar to enable me to practice law, I also started training and working part-time as a counselor. I knew then that helping others find healing, growth, a joyful life and beauty (both physical , mentally and emotionally) was the “more” I needed. |
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| I learned a great deal in that time about how tough it can be to go from being a competent, successful trial attorney in a major city, where you’re respected, and have a certain amount of control over your day to day existence, to being an expatriate of sorts. The move was made more difficult by my decision to begin transitioning out of the intense subset of trial attorney and also out of large law firm “life.” |
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| However, I learned that the journey is NOT a journey back, but a journey forward. Thus, the founding of Sublime Bliss. |
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| • Training |
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B.S, University of Illinois |
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J.D., DePaul University College of Law |
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Coaches Training Institute (CTI) Coaching Training |
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Intermediate and Fundamentals Cert Counseling skills (psychodynamic) |
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Diploma in Counseling using the Person-Centered Approach (Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute) |
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Advanced Diploma in Professional Coaching (The Coaching Academy) |
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| Reflection |
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This is a daily pursuit with me. Whether sweating my way through a 10 mile run, or simply sitting with a pad and pen (I still prefer the innate physical pursuit of writing over typing) I am constantly reflecting on life and what I am learning from it. I hold internal dialogues with the authors of the hundreds of books I read; I reflect on the patterns and dynamics of my clients’ lives and activities; and I look at my own life and partnerships. I have literally drafted millions of words and drawn countless diagrams in my efforts to understand what makes us, as humans, tick. |
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| I also reflect in conjunction with those around me: my mate, my clients, my family and friends, and my coach. I question until I feel I have a solid base of conviction from which to operate and can act with strength and focus. |
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| What kind of working partner am I? |
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I try to be the kind of developmental partner I want for myself. I don’t like to be told what I should or shouldn’t do. I want to find out for myself, but in a safe and efficacious manner. But, I do want someone standing by so I can tell them about my experience, gain their perspective, and increase my understanding of it. That way I have truly learned from it. |
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| I am thorough in my explorations. As a child, my mother would often chide me regarding my need to do an investigation of any and everything, by stating, “I sometimes think you don’t believe the sun rises every morning until you investigate it for yourself.” I don’t think I was quite that intense. However, after my examination and exploration of a particular issue, I could always say I’d actually learned something.Time and again my need to cover every inch of ground has reaped rich dividends for my clients and myself. Whether you call it self-awareness or personal insight, the certainty that comes from deep self-knowledge, (however quirky we find ourselves to be) is a major contributor to confidence and empowerment. |
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| What is my attitude toward you? |
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You are unique in the history of the universe. No one else will ever be conceived at the exact point in space and time as you. No one else will ever replicate your exact mix of physiological and psychological characteristics. |
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| This means you are a universe of one. This effectively means no one else has the right to tell you how you should look, sound or behave. |
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| However........ |
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| Your universe coexists with my universe and 7 billion other universes. And that’s only the human ones. So even if you want to be truly alone you are forced to take the rest of us into account in your daily dealings. |
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| Your task is to manage the conflict between your drive toward individualized ‘unique’ existence and your need and desire to coexist with others. In other words, you must grow exponentially as an individual, while meshing your perfectly legitimate idiosyncrasies with those of others. You must do this all without losing sight of yourself. |
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| My attitude toward you, therefore is predicated on a deep respect for your uniqueness and a selfish desire to see you fulfill yourself. |
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| What is my attitude toward the sexes? |
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The idea that men are from Mars and women from Venus has merit, but is only somewhat helpful when doing an assessment. I see men and women as very alike in some ways, both needing to counteract the self or societally-imposed limitations that restrict them. |
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| Yet, I understand that men and women approach things differently and this is partly because of biology and partly because of training. However it is essential to understand that both sexes are from Earth and have precisely the same needs for love, health, security, companionship and so forth. |
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Men |
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I believe men are predominantly competitive with each other, constantly vying to be king of the hill. I don't view that as a negative. While our current PC society often derides this as a negative, I have no problem with this testosterone driven behavior, provided the competition is healthy; i.e. it takes the form of constantly striving for excellence and truth rather than trying to put someone else down. |
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At their best, however, I adore certain “traditional” male characteristics. I like the male work ethic. I like the way some men work hard to be honorable and accountable for their actions. I like the wholehearted commitment they bring to teamwork. (I also like the same characteristics in women. |
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Women |
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I believe women are strong, powerful beings. Statistically, women live longer than men, are generally healthier, have a higher threshold for pain and have learned that they can compete with men scholastically. But in our current PC society, women have allowed these positive traits to overshadow the fact that they possess an inner wisdom and an inner voice. This voice often gets lost while trying to please and care for others. Balancing the two is imperative, as is embracing our feminine energy and personal power. |
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| Life Philosophy and Guiding Principles |
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One of my guiding principles is that life is a process of trial and discovery --- never of error ---- and we enjoy life most when we apply what we have discovered, and go on discovering. |
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| I have a passion for excellence, and my working life is characterized by my association with my chosen mate, and with top leaders in their fields. I see no point in aiming to be other than world class, and I regard this as an attitude, rather than a measure of achievement. For example, there are at least five hundred world-class tennis players, yet only one champion at each tournament. |
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| I believe that a full life is only possible if we are ready to take it on, and that readiness is an amalgam of physical, intellectual and emotional fitness. These are all things that we can do something about and change if so desired. |
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| I do a great deal of exploring on my own but it is really only in preparation for the greatest pleasure in my life – exploring with others. Each working partnership is different. Each shared voyage of discovery is a distinct and separate volume in a library of adventures, each with its own theme, plot, subplots and characterization. Each also has its own resolution. |
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| 3 Important things I’ve learned and incorporate into coaching |
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The only real success is success on your own terms and regardless of what anyone else thinks. |
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Re-inventing yourself is not only possible – it’s fundamental. |
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It’s neither necessary, nor desirable to do it all on your own. Recognizing and accessing the right kind of help is a sign of strength. |
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| Summary |
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This is a rather lengthy review of myself, drafted to give you a snapshot of who Karen Waters is, as I see myself: a thinking, substantive, intuitive and introspective person, who has a lot of experience in life. I feel immensely satisfied with my approach and my ongoing progress. As such, I’m looking forward to much more of this life and all it has to offer. |
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| I believe my journey has equipped me extremely well to do the job I do, and my clients’ successes would seem to bear me out in that belief. It is not often that I am struggling to comprehend a situation or a state of mind, and my instincts and intuitions have been well-honed and tested in high-stress situations. I am creative and resourceful both on my behalf and on behalf of my clients. |
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| I look forward to partnering with you, as your coach, to achieve all the greatness you feel you deserve. |
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