Hello Beautiful!

Getting straight to the point…Stop hiding. Share your shXt.

You may have been raised like I was, under the mandate: “What goes in this house, stays in this house.” I took that so seriously that I didn’t even share when I was on my cycle until I was well in my twenties!

But the cost of hiding and suppressing is steep. I found that out in my mid-forties when my body tried to stroke out and I spent five days in the hospital. Through coaching, therapy, and continual self-assessment, I learned to lay my burdens down in prayer, with professionals, trusted friends, and even social media.

As Brené Brown eloquently asserts, the right to your vulnerability must be earned. It’s a tremendous honor and sacred gift to hold safe space and confidentiality with the many women I work with and what I know for sure is this:

You are NOT the only one.

Love drama. Children heartache. Money mistakes. Career craziness. Fired. Addicted. Dumb choices. Low living…you don’t have a monopoly on any of it.

And the suppression can be so deep that you hide yourself from yourself. That’s what happened to me. I thought I was carrying it well, holding it down like I needed to and always had…until I went splat.

Let That ShXT Go!

Because it’s weighing you down more than you know. It’s blocking you from fully flowing in the essence of who you were put here to be.

Let it go.

Stop hiding. Start living. LIVING. Not only existing.

I see the amazingness that happens when clients shed their crap. They show up for themselves in ways that are surprising even to them. They start businesses, take political action, build legacy, start foundations, get healthy, find lasting love…

This is why I started my coaching business and why I’m leading a midlife manifesting revolution. We have all the time we need and no time to waste. If you’re ready, let’s talk. The Midlife Manifest Sistermind is starting soon. Let’s talk. Schedule a discovery session through this link, ConnectWithRene.com.

If you want to join my Midlife Manifest Revolution right now and connect with a FAB group of women who are moving and manifesting, join my free facebook group, The Midlife Manifest. Click here.

To learn more about the shXt I’ve shed, listen to this short interview I did on April Mahoney’s On The Edge radio show, listen.

c.René

cReneCoach.com

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Beautiful!

One of my favorite things about midlife is that I’ve learned to trust myself. I stay informed, stay in prayer and intuitively decide the path I need to take. So when I decided to try a new adventure (hiking) and wanted to purchase appropriate shoes, I nixed my usual move: Amazon delivery and went to an actual store.

Excellent  decision!

My mom was the queen of self-sufficiency, but she also taught me to keep a list of go-to experts. So while I could have done my usual ‘highest star rating for the lowest cost’ google check, I decided I wanted the best foundation to keep myself from falling. What I experienced at Alabama Outdoors:

1. Hands-on Expertise was worth every penny those $200 shoes cost me. Brittany took me through THREE DIFFERENT FIT TESTS to ensure I was getting the best shoe for my needs.

2. Getting exactly what you want is worth the time it takes to get it. Brittany spent a solid hour with me. She assessed who I am, where I was going, and what I wanted. She took me through all of my options and didn’t let me settle for less than I needed to have a great hiking experience.

3. I slipped twice on that hike and my shoes kept me from falling.

As it says in Ecclesiastes, there’s a time and season for everything. Amazon couldn’t do for me what the Alabama Outdoors staff did. I left singing  their praises and also experiencing a sense of familiarity because I provide that level of service to my clients…walking them through my signature Get Your Life transformation process.

If you’ve been craving life-lasting change and don’t have it, how committed are you to getting it? If you’re complaining about the same thing today that you were a year ago, how serious are you about changing it?

Midlifers committed to their change take the necessary action to get it.

Mid-thrivers who are serious about their change step up to the challenge and invest in themselves to get it. They ditch do-it-yourself and get expert help.

These are the women I love working with…watching them Let That (maybe someday/it’s too late/I’m not worth it) ShXt Go! and forge their new paths to personal freedom.

Let’s step to it, Women!

c.René

cReneCoach.com

***Had a blast during my On The Edge radio interview! Listen here

***Join my free Facebook group, The Midlife Manifest, here

 

 

Hello Beautiful!

I’m sharing wisdom gained from my decade of fifty. Today I’m talking about one of my favorite lessons and foundational coaching messages:

Divorce yourself from (specific) outcome.

And it’s the specificity of our desires that trip us up. Values and soul-supporting boundaries are one thing. Blinding yourself to possibility because it’s not wrapped in the package you expected or requested is another.

You want to be married, but you dismiss ‘The One’ because he’s 5’7″ instead of 6’5″. You want a new home and you over-extend your budget to get the mega-mansion and turn your nose up at the cute cottage in the friendly neighborhood. You want to travel, but your partner’s a homebody or your girlfriends won’t commit which nixes it for you.

I’m not saying you should settle. I’m saying that you won’t be truly happy until you’re clear on what exactly you want.

Do you want love that lasts or a 6’5″ partner? Do you want a home that provides comfort, security, and community without financial burden or a house that requires more upkeep than you imagined? Do you want to expand your horizons or let other people’s desires (or fears!) determine what you experience?

This was validated for me in two ways this week:

• during an epic girlfriend trip to see the phenomenal Williams Sisters play at the U.S. Open. Something I set upper our tournament experience didn’t come through the way I planned and I almost let it bum me out until my girlfriends reminded me why we were there (to enjoy a fabulous time checking off a dream goal) and that a detail change wasn’t going to spoil that…and it didn’t! The (true) mission was accomplished.
• getting this beautiful message from a client: “…Sometimes we measure success by what we can see. We have desired outcomes and often times if they don’t look like what we have in mind or what we have identified as success we question our impact. But all the while change is happening right where it needs to. On the inside. My inner infrastructure is stronger because of my work with you…”

I love helping clients get outcome divorces. It’s why my coaching retreats have artsy/creativity themes to teach women how you can become the designer, architect, and creator of whatEVER you want to manifest in your life. Let me know when you’re ready.

c.René

cReneCoach.com

For more midlife goodness, join us here in The Midlife Manifest, my free facebook group for women living their It’s My Time chapter.

Don’t want to miss a blog/newsletter? Sign up here.

 

 

Hello Beautiful!

I read two devotions today, one on going BIG and one on receiving and sharing wisdom.

Right. On. Time.

If you follow me, you know I’m in the midst of celebrating the last year of my fifties and the approach of my sixties and I’m going out (and in) BIG:

Sharing my wisdom and zone of genius by launching my biggest coaching program to date, The Midlife Manifest, a SisterMasterMind that will give Be About It women a concierge, coach-on-call experience that results in their successfully bringing suppressed or deferred dreams and goals to fruition…

Honoring the temple God blessed me with through an elevated commitment to moving my body and feeding it power foods 80% of the time. This includes a BIG challenge to walk The El Camino…

Expanding my horizons through a plan to live in Europe for 3-6 months that includes an epic girlfriend trip to Josephine Baker’s French chateau and her home in Morocco…

Deeper connection to my faith, husband, family, friends, and clients.

And I’m receiving wisdom. I hired a business coach who’s helping me expand my platform to serve even more women. I stopped rationalizing my dislike of exercise and hired a personal trainer. Seeking and investing in the expertise to reach goals and close gaps is how you stop wishing and start delivering on promises made to self.

For the next 52 weeks, I’ll be sharing the lessons and aha’s I’ve gleaned from my fifties.

Life is arbitrary. Celebrate early and often is about no longer waiting for a prescribed special timeline to acknowledge and celebrate small and big life blessings and wins. Everyday gives us an opportunity to be grateful..to celebrate. Do it! Now.

xoxo

c.René Washington

cReneCoach.com

Want the details on The Midlife Manifest SisterMastermind, schedule here.

For more midlife goodness, join us here in The Midlife Manifest, my free facebook group for women living their It’s My Time chapter.

Don’t want to miss a blog/newsletter? Sign up here.

 

 

Hello Beautiful!

Hope you’re winding down from a great weekend and looking forward to a productive week.

Have a listen to this short video on when that wasn’t quite so for me and a tease on what’s coming for women in the same boat, https://youtu.be/Y61LGZeqCkg.

I’m starting a revolution for women who are ready to rock our best stage of life…the midlife+ years and I want a 1000 be about  it midlifers to come with me!

To not miss any details, join us here in The Midlife Manifest, my free facebook group for women living their It’s My Time chapter.

Don’t want to miss a blog/newsletter? Sign up here.

It’s ON!!

“Stop dithering. Start doing.” ~ c.René Washington

‘Why would anybody listen to me? I’m such a mess myself.’ This was said to me on a recent coaching call from yet another woman who told me she didn’t know what she wanted to do, then proceeded to tell me exactly what she wants to do and again, didn’t even realize it.

I know I’m sounding like a broken record (which I told you I would be in a previous blog), and it’s because I’m talking to women who are broken records. They are in pain.

The pain of confusing themselves.

The pain of lying to themselves.

The pain of inconsistency.

The pain of starting.

The pain of starting over.

The pain of not doing.

There’s a quote that says our message is in our mess. It’s the truth. I don’t coach from the top of the mountain looking down on my clients. I coach from having been in the same valleys.

This woman (who’s turning fifty) said that a friend told her she was out of time. No!

Midlife is when we have the time. Children gone or about to be. Primary career ended or coming to an end. Loads of self-knowledge (possibly suppressed, but there). More time and financial flexibility.

What we don’t have time for is worrying ourselves about time or letting fear keep us stuck.

Why not reframe your pain as a motivator instead of keeping it as the monster that keeps you from doing that thing you want to do? Example:

I recently began working with a personal trainer and becoming more selective about my eating (“You lose weight at the table and get fit at the gym.”). The first day with the trainer was killer! And I’m holding on to the memory of how painful starting over was because I don’t want to ever start consistently exercising over again. Ever.

We trick ourselves into believing that the unknown is worse than the pain we know. That’s just old programming designed to keep us supposedly safe. Don’t fall for the okey-doke.

THIS IS OUR TIME MIDLIFERS! Get about the business of making this your best life chapter. How, you ask?

1. Learn and Own who you really are. Not who you were told to be. Not who you’ll never be. WHO YOU ARE! Everything before brought you to your now. Drop your guilt and baggage and make a lemon martini out of any lemons.

2. Reframe your pain as a motivator instead of stroking it as the monster that keeps you from doing that thing you want to do?

I recently began working with a personal trainer and becoming more selective about my eating (“You lose weight at the table and get fit at the gym.”). The first day with the trainer was killer! And I’m holding on to the memory of how painful starting over was because I don’t want to ever start consistently exercising over again. Ever.

“Pain pushes you until the vision pulls you.” ~ Michael Beckwith

3. Stop worrying. Start living. Start walking.

I coached another woman who’s retired and had anxiety and confusion around what she should be doing. My suggestion was that she get comfortable with simply living…doing whatever she feels like…paying attention to what lights her up. The next week, what she’d been running from found her and she’s walking into it as an opportunity not an obligation.

Reframing works. Changing your mind, changes your life.

4. Invest in your life change. It truly is the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

c.René

cReneCoach.com

Ready to do the work to reach those delayed/deferred dreams and goals? Join the smart and committed women who are already registered for my six month master…sistermind, Let That Sh#t Go that shows you through my signature 9-box framework, how to move past your blocks and bring those goals to fruition. We start September 20th, which will be here before you know it! Schedule a session with me to find out full details and apply for a seat at ConnectWithRene.com.

Join us here in The Midlife Manifest, my free facebook group for women living their It’s My Time chapter.

Don’t want to miss a blog/newsletter? Sign up here.

 

Hello Beautiful!

“I don’t know what I want.”

This is the #1 statement I hear from women/clients. And it’s never been true. They continue to talk and within the next two sentences, they’ve told me what they want.

Many times, they still believe they don’t know because they CAN’T HEAR THEMSELVES!

Because what’s really true is not that they don’t know, but that they don’t believe they can have it.

So they lie to themselves about it. Run from it. Believe they’re too old. Too tired. Too obligated. Too ___.

This past week, I cracked through three client’s ‘I don’t know what I want.’ crap. One, I’ve been working with for months and she finally faced what she’d been running from: her gift and purpose in leading Christians to a tangibly accessible way to walk in faith that moves them into praying AND adding fruitful action.

Another is fully owning her value, removing distractions, and getting down to working on fulfilling a long-held dream that many women will benefit from.

The third is coming to the end of a corporate career and now sees that what’s becoming more and more frustrating in that world is simply fuel to move her focus to her new and exciting next chapter.

When we enter our 50+ years, it’s our time to use everything that’s come before in the manifestation of what we’ve been deferring, delaying, or denying.

What do you want? Helping you Answer that, Own it, and Live it is what I do. You ready??

c.René

cReneCoach.com

Join us here in The Midlife Manifest, my free facebook group for women living their It’s My Time chapter.

Don’t want to miss a blog/newsletter? Sign up here.

 

Hello Beautiful!

When’s the last time you made yourself uncomfortable…on purpose? For many years, my mission was to keep myself as comfortable and pain-free as possible. I even had a motto:

I’m not here for a long time, I’m just here for a good time!

Until I hit my mid-forties.

As detailed in previous blogs, that’s when menopause, stroke, divorce, grief, and job transition came to redefine who I am. Or more accurately, show me what I’m really made of and who I’m meant to be. Not Ms. Good Time Gladys, but a woman who finds a way to enjoy life through it’s full possibility of promise and pain. I do this through:

Compass (following God’s guidance, making intuitive decisions, heeding my first right mind)

Connection (to my Community of family, friends, clients)

Commitment (to living FREELY in Who I AM and helping as many women as possible to do the same)

Creativity (in flowing in my zone of genius: teaching midlife women how to drop their mindset blocks, prioritize their goals, and reach them)

Consistency (in how I show up for my community)

Capacity (staying laser-focused on what’s important and prioritizing self-care)

Celebration (Always!!..cuz Life is tough AND BEAUTIFUL!)

I’ve also learned to embrace DisComfort and what pain comes to teach us.

Mr. Washington and I enjoyed a fun and interesting train excursion from Birmingham, AL to New York, NY…30 hours going and 23 hours back. (Yep!) We’d talked about it for years and I always talked myself out of it because I was afraid it wouldn’t be worth the possible discomfort. There was some discomfort (which I detailed in my private Facebook group, the Midlife Manifest), but there was also lots of uninterrupted conversation time with hubby, great landscape views, and time to catch up on a stack of newspapers I’ve been saving back to February (yes, I’m THAT kind paper/magazine junkie!).

We’re planning our next train trip and I’m thinking of other things I’ve delayed doing out of fear of discomfort, possible embarrassment, etc. I may not know exactly what to expect, but as with the trip, once I DO IT, then I’ll know and adjust and adapt as needed.

“Wouldn’t take nothin’ for my journey.” ~ Maya Angelou

I’m taking it to a new level. What about you?

c.René

cReneCoach.com

If you want to hear more about that train journey AND how to (re)claim this best life chapter, join us in The Midlife Manifest facebook group, here.

Ready to do the work to reach those delayed/deferred dreams and goals? Join the smart and committed women who are already registered for my six month master…sistermind, Let That Sh#t Go that shows you through my signature 9-box framework, how to move past your blocks and bring those dreams and goals to fruition. Schedule a session with me to find out full details and apply for a seat at ConnectWithRene.com.

Don’t want to miss a blog/newsletter? Sign up here.

 

 

 

 

Hello Beautiful!

It’s been a minute and I’ve got stuff to say. Indulge me.

“We teach best what we most need to learn.” ~ Richard Bach

Yes, I do. DUH!

What did I need to learn? Or more accurately, know and believe (because we learn the lesson, right? We just don’t always believe it!).

What I know for sure:

1. The best path to getting what we want will always be through following our spiritual gps/first right mind/inner compass/intuition/body compass. Staying only in our heads allows fear to fuel decisions instead of faith.

2. I’m wayyyy past fitting into someone else’s box and at this stage of life, I’m guessing you are too. That’s about not fully owning and believing in who we are. (See my ‘broken record’ definition for why continuing to do this can result in crash and burn.)

3. What’s been in the way: the fears, confusion, self-sabotage, procrastination, self-judgement, limiting beliefs, etc…becomes The Way.  That thing that won’t let you go?? It’s your path to happy. Address your mess and get FREE!

4. We are not islands and our sh#t is not unique. But it is sur-THRIVE-able…especially with the guidance of a great life coach 😉 and A-team accountability.

5. My BIG Walk-in-Purpose mission is to coach as many women as possible to light the match in their mid-life years that puts you on the path to prioritizing what you want for your life. To show you how to answer that What about me? question that keeps pinching you after years of keeping everyone else’s priorities at the top of your list. To show you how to draw boundaries that honor who YOU are and still maintain the ties that bind to those you love. To teach you how to enJOY life doing what feeds the essence of who you really are (not who you’ve been told you should be!) whether it’s through service, savoring memorable experiences, or embracing solitude. I’ve done this with numerous women and I’d love to do it with you!

The world needs our shine! Anything we’re allowing to block that shine needs to go…Now. Broken record has a double meaning for me. To my eternal shame and embarrassment, recently, I couldn’t complete a work commitment and broke my dependability record. There were several factors that contributed to that happening, but the bottom line was that I said Yes when I should have said No. I stayed too long and ignored the signals that it was time for a chapter to close. What do YOU need to release yourself  from? The other meaning is that I am now crystal clear on my One Thing: Coaching mid-life women to live their personal brand of freedom and I will be messaging that in all of my spaces.

If that doesn’t work for you, unsubscribe, go forth and be well.

If it does, stick with me because I’m pumping up the volume and if you’re serious about making that change you’ve been craving, you will learn exactly how to make it happen. And invite other ‘Yes! I’m about that!’ women to join us on this journey.

Finally, My business is my purpose and my purpose is business. Businesses market and sell. I coach at all levels:

Free: this blog, my Facebook group (The Midlife Manifest),etc…

Dip your toe in: online masterclasses, vision board events, dancing events, book clubs, etc…

ALL IN!: My signature 6-month sistermind (formerly mastermind), Let That Sh#t Go! for midlife women who are ALL IN on finding and living their purpose.

So yes, there will be promoting and selling that serves women who want to make life change that lasts.

ARE YOU INTERESTED OR COMMITTED?

What’s your non-negotiable broken record message for your life? I’m ready to help you lock it down!

♥💪🏾♥

c.René

cReneCoach.com

Hello Beautiful!

I’m on a self-imposed break and will be back next week sharing why. In the meantime, here’s a re-share of an earlier popular post…Enjoy!

“Well if you don’t know why, maybe I made the wrong decision.”

Those words were spoken to me early in my corporate career. I received a promotion and the department manager who promoted me asked me if I knew why he promoted me. I said, “Not really.”

Mistake!

I was rolling in false humility because I knew exactly why he selected me. I was a great employee and perfect for the role. But I didn’t know how to own that self-awareness then. I wanted great things to happen to and for me, but tamped down my expectations because what if something didn’t work out?

So what if it doesn’t??

“Where your expectation goes, your life will follow.” ~ Tamara Joy Scott

Doing mindset work with my clients and myself has shown me how much we trip over our own crap and live a less-than-what’s-possible life. And a lot of that connects to being afraid to believe we can have what we want and feeling safe in expecting less. Well, I’m done with that s%#t and hope you join me.

I’m expecting the best to happen to me AND I’m fine with feeling disappointment when it doesn’t. Trying to avoid pain when what’s on the other side of it is wonderful keeps me from the full experience of a life well-lived.

I want the BEST WELL-LIVED LIFE EVER.

I expect to enjoy my days full tilt.

I expect to live a grand romance with Mr. Washington

I expect my programs to fill up with fabulous women.

I expect to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.

I expect to meet Michelle and Barack Obama one day.

I love planning to expectation and intuitively following a nudging that ends up superceding expectation.

Where your expectation goes, your life will follow.

Enjoying the hell out of my journey… and I literally mean Enjoying. The. Hell. OUT. Of. My. Journey.

What are you expecting??

c.René

cReneCoach.com