Growth from Within: Be Uniquely You WOMEN SPEAKERS ASSOCIATION SPEAKER CHAT REPLAY INTERVIEW WITH ANITA RUSSELL ANITA RUSSELL, MEd, CPLC LIFE COACH | SPEAKER | 3X INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR PRINCIPAL AT THE PLACE TO SOAR LLC GLOBAL BUSINESS CONNECTOR PITTSBURGH PA 

Growth from Within: Be Uniquely You ANITA RUSSELL SHARES HER INSIGHT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING YOURSELF AND TAKING ACTION IN YOUR "BECOMING SPACE" WOMEN SPEAKERS ASSOCIATION (WSA) FEATURES EXPERT ADVICE FROM WOMEN LEADERS ON #WSATV AND #SPEAKERCHAT ON TWITTER INTERVIEW BY TRACEY EHMAN ONLINE PRESENCE & SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR PODCAST HOST OF SILVER LINING CONVERSATIONS 

PERSONAL JOURNEY TRACEY: You describe yourself as a life coach, speaker, author and change cultivator. How did all that come together in your personal journey? ANITA: My life is like a series of bridges in the form of life transitions and career crossings, starting in 1988 when I crossed over from academic research into pharmaceutical R&D. The next major career crossing came about 10 years later when I decided to leave the world of R&D and step into the world of L&D (learning and development). In this new role I managed the Center for Science Education, servicing the professional development needs of the scientific community. The final career crossing came in 2013 when I stepped away from the security of the corporate world, leaping into the uncertainty of entrepreneurship. I formally began to redesign my life to fit this big dream, starting with founding my company, The Place to SOAR, and those three things emerged—life coaching, speaking and writing—all for the purpose of cultivating change through daily growth and personal development. 

ANITA: As I made these life transitions, I faced a lot of challenges and learned a lot of lessons, eventually laying them out in a workbook and journal called the Six Keys to Nurture, Grow and Empower Your Life, built on a foundation of personal accountability and responsibility. There are 3 inner-personal keys (know yourself, nurture your life, integrate your life) and 3 interpersonal keys (connect with others, live intentionally and seize opportunity). By far the most important step on my journey was getting to know my own inner- personal self to overcome a number of adverse childhood events, including trauma, grief and depression. Overcoming my own past is what drives me to help others on their journey through life. LESSONS LEARNED TRACEY: What were some of the personal challenges and lessons learned along the way? 

ANITA: In John Maxwell’s book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live them and Reach Your Full Potential, the first is the Law of Awareness, which states that you must know yourself to grow yourself. Growth from within is about knowing yourself very deeply from the inside out—your inner-personal thoughts, feelings, beliefs which are, in turn, expressed interpersonally in your words, actions, behaviors, and relationships. Your self-image has a strong bearing on how you show up in the world. How you show up in the world should be about being uniquely you. My responsibility as the coach is to provide a safe environment and individualized framework to guide a client to the answers that lie within their own heart. GROWTH FROM WITHIN TRACEY: How do you bring the idea of growth from within and uniqueness into the coaching relationship? 

ANITA: I don't necessarily give specific instructions or guidance. I ask questions and use tools geared towards helping a client find answers. One of the tools I use is the appreciative coaching cycle to enable self-discovery, envisioning, creating, and empowering. I help individuals to become the person they aspire to be by examining the person that they are. That place in between where you aspire to be and where you are is what I sometimes call the "becoming space" which is reflected in a quote from Michelle Obama. "For me, becoming isn't about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn't end." Not only does the journey not end, but it is unique to each individual, so I deeply respect the role that I play as a life coach. COACHING CLIENTS TRACEY: What are some examples of the typical instructions you provide to your clients? 

ANITA: As I was writing my book, I Wanna See Laney's House, I realized that my true narrative, my own voice had been shrouded in pain for decades. That pain was manifested in fear, self-doubt, lack of confidence, and a general belief that I didn't deserve to be here. The book has five chapters. The first four are written through the third person voice of an observer. However, the very last chapter, "Yearnings of a Liberated Woman", is written in first person because it was in this season of life that I finally felt liberated from my past. I was able to own my voice and ultimately share the message of my life in the hopes that it could help someone else. OWN YOUR VOICE TRACEY: What is the final message you would like to leave with our audience? 

Growth from Within: Be Uniquely You FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ANITA HTTPS://THEPLACETOSOAR.COM HTTPS://IWANNASEELANEYSHOUSE.COM Anita Russell, Med, CPLC Principal at The Place to SOAR LLC Global Business Connector Pittsburgh PA 3x International Bestselling Author