To my wonderful business associates, Pat Zickefoose, Donna Eliassen, Sharon Wilson, Mary Heidkamp, Sue Guiher, Stefanie Hartman, Heather Lynn Jergens, Jan Carroll, and my nieces who work with me in my business, Sarah Lateer and Rachel Muraca, I simply could not accomplish any of what I do without you. You are all such superstars, and I am so appreciative of your creative talents (and what a treat to have my nieces working with me!).

I’d like to give huge thanks to my wonderful coauthors, Larina Kase and Joe Vitale. Joe has been one of my key mentors over the years and is a copywriting and marketing genius, and I feel honored to cocreate with him. Larina is an amazing woman, passionate and inspiring coach, and expert in knowing what the coaching market needs. These two fine people are a joy to play with.

Finally, I want to thank the Creator for giving each human being the power to create the life and work they desire and for the blessed life I am living.

I hired a life coach, and through the coaching process discovered why I felt the way I did and what I wanted most to be doing. Life was ticking by, and I wanted and needed to experience more before it was too late. I wanted to achieve my dreams. My desire has always been to help others, and I was so enthralled and excited about my own coaching experience and knew how effective and right it was that I wanted to help others this way, too. Of course, it wasn’t only the desire to switch careers that motivated this change. I wanted to work my own hours when it suited me, be my own boss—accountable to nobody else with all the freedom that entails—and I wanted to continue to earn good money. I wanted to earn my living doing something I loved. Well, doesn’t everybody? Do we really want to get out of bed early in the morning and go and do something we hate and spend all day, and then some, doing it? Puh-leeze!

When I walked away from my six-figure income and said, “I am going into business for myself and I’ll be working from home,” people were shocked. My family and friends thought I had lost all my marbles and tried to talk me out of it, especially when they learned just what the business was that I was going into: coaching. You have to understand, in the early days of coaching, many thought it was just a fad and would soon pass. (I guess you could say I’m now having the last laugh!)

Everyone was convinced I was crazy and doomed to failure, poverty, and regrets. But this was my dream, and I had every right to pursue my dream, my way, in my life. I started in a coach-training program and got personal training from the coaching legend Thomas Leonard. I was very happy the day I sat and passed my examination, and when I began my new career, I attracted 30 clients in 15 days! And that was just the beginning!

I pushed myself beyond my limits and ventured far outside my comfort zone, discovering just how much I was capable of, and went on to attain the much-coveted master certified coach designation. But I didn’t stop there! I stretched further, again amid cries of concern from well-meaning family and friends, and started my own coach-training program to teach others to become qualified, certified personal and business coaches. And I didn’t stop there, either. I went on to found Comprehensive Coaching U, the coach training program for professionals, and the Coaching Institute, training life coaches around the world, and authored Amazon.com best seller Work Yourself Happy, which was followed by Coaching for an Extraordinary Life, Create Your Ideal Body, and another Amazon.com best seller, Stop Managing, Start Coaching. I also became a popular keynote and public speaker. I was, and still am, happier than a pig in mud! But I must tell you, I’m not naturally brave, yet look what I’ve achieved! You can do it, too!

And now, instead of being called crazy, I’m called other names. My clients have nicknamed me the “wisdom wizard,” and a couple call me the “queen of coaching.” What I do may be different, but it works! I am now privileged and honored to have the reputation of being known as one of the most successful coaches in the United States today, and I have attracted an international following that continues to delight me. My circle of friends, acquaintances, and associates widens with each passing month, and they live in places like the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Turkey, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. This profession has truly blessed me in more ways than one!

And to think I may never have experienced this great joy in living! It took just one decision to hire my own coach, way back then, to turn my life around in ways I never dreamed would be possible.

Of course, it certainly helps that I have a background in business and marketing, and, yes, these skills certainly pushed me forward quickly when I was building my own coaching business. I left the corporate world with a track record of growing million-dollar businesses, so in many respects, I had a head start. And this is why my classes fill very quickly whenever I announce I am doing a marketing seminar. Naturally, other coaches want to know how I did it and continue to do it!

Nowadays, I am a nationally recognized authority on creating greater business and personal success, and I’m featured regularly in the media and on the Channel 10 NBC news in Philadelphia as a coaching expert. I still live in Pennsylvania, and when I’m not coaching, training, speaking, writing, or away on vacation, I love to race formula Dodge cars! (So okay, maybe I am still just a little crazy!)

And as to the question, why have I teamed up with Larina Kase and Joe Vitale to write this book? The answer is simple. The three of us have seen so many great coaches unable to make a great living as a coach or attract all the clients they wanted. We want you to enjoy what we’re enjoying—success, happiness, freedom. You see, we know what it’s like to yearn for something different but be too afraid to change and step into the unknown. We know how easily you can be a successful coach once you learn how and have expert coaches and mentors assisting you.

With this book, we hope to help you understand what is holding you back in your life! We want to help you identify the barriers and inner blocks stopping you from having the life you dream of, the freedom to do work you love and be paid for it. We want you to stop dreaming and start achieving!

To your success!