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Come as you are, be who you are.
The women in the My Authentic Life community show up as they are: educated, successful, competent, generous, special. And are safe to feel how they feel, accept the contrast, look forward to learning how to balance: scared/courageous, tired/energized, delighted/annoyed, skeptical/trusting, stagnating/progressing, fear/love.
A journey to wholeness.
The My Authentic Life Method is a Lean-type process of iterative, continuous improvement. Though truth be told, healing and transformation don’t happen in a straight line. Expect and appreciate the spiral nature of healing, and embrace the entire journey to from where you are to who you are.
This is not a Band-Aid on a gaping wound; it’s a root-cause approach that will support you through a deep dive into you and how you came to have the beliefs that have held you back from living out loud and the adaptive habits that have helped you succeed in your environments (home, work, social, faith community, etc.).
We will help you see and appreciate the lessons and their gifts and turn them into wisdom. It’s a sometimes difficult and ultimately beautiful process that will bear fruits for the rest of your life.
We’re excited for you and we’re excited to meet you, to take the journey with you.
The Process
1 notice
You must see it to change it.
Check in with yourself. How are you feeling? Where are you getting in your own way? What’s working? What’s not working? Celebrate small wins, gentle progress. Release remorse and judgement; that energy can be better used. Be honest about the difference between effort and impact; go for impact. It just might be the path of least resistance. When you get in the flow, life feels almost effortless.
2 imagine
Your imagination is like rocket fuel.
We are using our imagination all day long; it’s the movie that’s playing in your head. What’s going on in this film? Rest assured, your film will play out in real life. Choose the joyful, life-affirming feel-good movie, not the horror film. Exercise your imagination all day long in a way that makes you feel good. In what ways are you imagining pleasure in all its forms? Have fun with this!
3 take action
Take one small step.
Some of my favorite sentiments from the Lean process are, “Don’t boil the ocean,” and “Done is better than perfect.” This is a gentle reminder to see how taking one action feels. You don’t have to blow up your whole life to change it. Gently and honestly feel your way through it. How does it feel in your body? Pause and reflect. You are rebuilding trust with yourself. After you take an action, and notice its effects, it’s time to go back to step one. We keep iterating on the process, and supporting each other through the blossoming of our authentic life.
Kelly Woods
Leadership
Leaders often have battle scars from childhood. As the oldest of four children in family with a mentally ill father, I was raised to be a business leader, to work in a man’s world alongside men…like a man. My mom told me, “You can’t count on a man to support you; you must support yourself.” I spent most of my career in marketing on they payer side of health care cost containment.
In my last corporate role, I was senior director of marketing and education, in the outpatient pharmaceuticals space. At age 49, I had a crisis of conscience about working in what can be considered symptom-suppression medicine. I literally prayed for a way out and the opportunity to work on the root causes: toxic food, toxic environments, and toxic emotions. That prayer was answered within days…my company had a re-org, and I was given the option to make a lateral move or leave with severance. I chose to leave; I knew it was an answer to prayer, and I have been grateful every day since.
Connect on LinkedInEducation
I love to learn. I have a BA in Economics and a Master’s in Leadership from the Catholic University of Dallas, and a Master’s in Liberal Arts and a Graduate Marketing Certificate from Southern Methodist University.
I am also a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach.
Connect on LinkedInWanderlust
I love to go, to explore. I have visited 44 of the U.S. states, including Hawaii and driving almost 10,000 miles to Alaska (and back). I have visited 21 countries, and l have lived in the U.S., Mexico, and Italy.
Join me on a small-group retreat to Tuscany!
More about The Retreat
"We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be."
May Sarton