Community Magazine April 2019

adar II - nissan 5779 april 2019 65 home, and going to open school nights. “Aside from being a mother and a wife, one of my greatest accomplishments was going back to school and building my life coaching practice. Work-life balance is huge to me. I didn’t want to miss important moments with my children.” Well, guess what? She graduated with honors, Phi Betta Kappa! Alice has shared that every step of the way has been a surprise to her. She did not think she was capable of any of it. The Road to Coaching Although Alice was an English major, one of her professors encouraged her to take an internship with Metropolitan Jewish Hospice. The patients she visited would ask about her major and upon hearing ‘English” would say: “You should be working with people!” When Alice graduated, she explored the idea of working with others, even doing substitute teaching for a bit. Preferring a more one-on-one connection to others, when Alice heard about life coaching it resonated with her. Curious as to how life coaching differed from being a therapist, Alice hired a life coach and enrolled in the introductory course with CTI, Coaches Training Institute. It was then that she fell in love with the process of coaching. She discovered so much about herself. Coaching offered a “fun and creative way to initiate change.” One of Alice’s proudest moments was passing her certification when she became a Certified Professional Life Coach. Again, she was surprised. But her thought was if she could be so mistaken about her capabilities, how many other individuals were shortchanging themselves as well? She had to give this gift to others. The How of Coaching Alice learned from her own explorations as being one who was coached just how important it is to have an accountability partner, one who ensures you take steps to implement your goals. It’s about walking the walk rather than talking the talk. “That is how I built my business.” As described above, Alice’s coaching approach is about taking slow steady steps, as she doesn’t believe in quick fixes. She knows that lasting change comes from practicing new ways of being and thinking. Coaching is about having someone in your corner, educating you and cheering you on. “We all have what we need to build a successful and satisfying life. We simply need someone who can teach us how to access it more readily. That’s the purpose of a coach.” Change Can Be Fun One of her Alice’s favorite coaching tools is the Vision Board, which is a collage that individuals make that reflects their life goals. Alice says growth doesn’t only have to come as a byproduct of pain. “Vision boarding allows us to define and create the lives we want to have in a fun, creative way. It is a tool for self-discovery as well as to help attain life goals.” Alice teaches various personal growth workshops, moderates a women’s book club at the Sephardic Center, and does Vision Mapping workshops with YOF high school students to uncover career potential. “I never imagined I would be teaching classes, working with fantastic people, and inspiring people to value themselves and stretch into their potential.” Alice says that her secret to success is in trusting her instincts and most especially Hashem. “If Hashem wants you to do something, Hewill definitely make it happen.” I never thought I could do anything I am doing today. But I followed theadviceof peopleand mentors who could see my potential better than I ever could. I just had to be willing to listen and trust they were Hashem’s messengers. “Every step of the way, I’ve accomplished things by asking for help, knowing my limits and listening to my intuition.” Alice says “I educate people on how to use their thinking and talents to their advantage, the goal being to empower people from the inside out.” What’s Next? Alice plans on doing more distance coaching and offering classes via Zoom. She also plans on writing a blog and possibly a book.  Alice considers herself a fellow student of life along with everyone she gets to coach. “Life,” she says, “is always encouraging us to be more.” Alice knows when we do it together there is nothing we can’t do. “Remember, you are braver than you believe, smarter than you seem, and stronger than you think,” Alice concludes. You can connect with Alice at alicechera44@gmail.com , call 917- 692-4409 or DM her on Instagram @ alicecheralifecoaching. Stayed tuned for the launch of Alice’s updated website, www.alicechera.com . Ellen Geller Kamaras, CPA/MBA, is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach. Ellen can be contacted a t ellen@lifecoachellen.com (www.lifecoachellen.com ).