I'm interested in YOUR story. Until we connect, here's mine.
Hi, I'm Lisa Kneller and I'm a
Life Purpose Life Coach for women in Midlife
My story...
I am a woman who decided to become a mother. My husband knew that it was part of the package before we got married. I wanted the experience.
We had two - a girl and then a boy - and I was smitten from day one.
My greatest joy was raising my children. I gave up a career in advertising to stay home with them. I wanted to be with them all the time. They became my purpose for living at the time, and I have no regrets.
I did a good job. We loved them, changed them, hugged them, fed them, gave them music lessons, supported their interests, drove them everywhere and our entire lives revolved around what they were doing.
Then they grew up and went off to college. Gasp! What in the world? Now I am left to find myself again? I wasn't expecting the pain.
It happens to most of us - the sadness, the aloneness, the fear of being without them all the time - it's a shock to the system.
But then a funny thing happens...we adapt. We accept. We find new ways to relate to our kids. And hopefully, we find joy in our own endeavors and share our new lives with our grown up children as great friends.
You may be at the beginning of this phase. One may be out the door and you still have one or more at home. You may have only one child who has left and now you feel really alone. Or maybe all your kids have left the nest and you are learning to thrive. Maybe you don't have kids but are still looking for your purpose.
Wherever you are at, I would like to support you in creating your life over the next few decades. That's right! Think about the next few decades and what they will look like for you and your family.
Give yourself the gift of re-creating your purpose-inspired life so you can create the kind of joy you've been dreaming about.
There's more to my story
I don't know about you, but I decided to stay home with my kids and be a "stay-at-home" mom. I didn't really have any big career goals - no "purpose-driven" work. I loved my job in advertising, but being with my babies was more appealing to me at the time. So I gave up my fun career and did the traditional family thing. I was the domestic engineer, my husband brought home the bacon, and my purpose became raising good, productive, and happy kids.
As the dependent one, I had to rely on my husband for money all the time. It often became embarrassing because I didn't have my own income and I had to ask for money regularly. It felt humiliating to ask for money all the time. I finally told my husband that I needed an "allowance" or regular deposit into my bank account so that I had some control and didn't have to keep asking for money. Thankfully, he agreed and I used that account for buying groceries, gas, diapers and clothes.
I had always wanted to contribute to the family finances, so when I was presented with a network marketing opportunity, I jumped at it. This was going to be my ticket to financial freedom! I fell in love with the idea of earning passive income and I totally bought into the concept. The problem was, my attorney husband was not so thrilled with the idea. He called it a Ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme, not legit, or whatever. It was totally legit; he just didn't like it. I spent years trying to build a team and I succeeded to a very small extent. I was unable to impress my husband with all the big income I kept telling him I was going to make. It just never happened, but not for lack of trying. I did all the things...made all the phone calls, networked my ass off and sold my service to as many people as I could. At some point, I gave up on network marketing and decided to become a substitute teacher.
Well, that didn't last long because having my kids in two different schools didn't allow for me to accept the teaching jobs, so I stopped doing that.
Then an amazing thing happened. At the age of 41 I discovered yoga. I started practicing and within one year, I enrolled in a six month teacher training program. I became a yoga teacher and started making my own part-time money. This was a job my husband could get behind - even though it didn't pay a whole lot. That was a fun and interesting time of reinvention. Being a yoga teacher gave me a new passion and identity that I still embrace. It is meaningful and purpose-inspired work and I still love teaching!
I had this lovely life of being the domestic goddess AND teaching yoga, and I was pretty happy. I spent a lot of my free time visiting my daughter in college, helping her plan a wedding and all the things moms do when their kids are grown up. I was a stay-at-home mom for 28 years!!!
Then, I could tell that the stress of paying all the bills and working so much was getting to my husband, so I decided to finally get a "real" job. At the age of 59, not having worked in the corporate world for over 28 years, I applied for a position at a university. To my astonishment, I got the job as an enrollment counselor! I was grateful to have a Bachelor's degree as that was a requirement for this job. The pay was pretty good, and the benefits were awesome. My husband was elated. He couldn't believe I got a job. In his mind, I was going to be his "dependent" forever. I fooled him. Since I started, my income has doubled and on some occasions, I have out-earned my husband! Once again, I reinvented myself. Now I became someone who is capable of earning a great income doing meaningful and purpose-inspired work.
I just want to say, it was not easy for me to leave my easy-going life and get a job at that age. I gave up all my yoga classes that I had been teaching and a lot of my freedom. My time became someone else's.
That was five years ago as of this writing. Since then, I took a graduate course in Life Coaching at the university where I work. It propelled me into a new life and a new career with a new purpose! In my early sixties, I decided to become a Life Coach. In addition to the graduate certificate, I also earned a coaching certification through another program. I have done a lot of training and coached a lot of people and my new purpose and calling have been found. Bam! Another reinvention!
The reason I share this is because so many women feel a lack of purpose - especially when their kids leave home. This is the time to really search your heart and mind and discover your skills, talents, desires, and purpose! It could be time to re-create your life. If I can do it at 59-64, you can too!
If you feel lost in purpose, vocation, or direction during this life transition, grab my free guide below:
Find your mojo and make a difference with Lisa
You were meant for more my dear. Invest in yourself and watch your world expand and your dreams unfold.
Gain insight with one conversation
If you want more out of life, if you want to re-create your life, if you want to delve into meaningful work or create an impact in your world, you might consider getting some coaching! If you want to experience the extraordinary now, book a call with me. We will talk for an hour and it will be part coaching and part consult. You are in the driver's seat and there is no pressure. The conversation is necessary to see if we are a good fit to work together. At the very least, you can experience coaching and determine if the timing is right for you to invest in yourself.
Why in the world would you hire me to coach you? You don't even know me.
I suspect you need to get to know me better before you open your email, phone number, and heart to me. That's fair. I wouldn't hire anyone I didn't feel comfortable with. But how will you get to know me? I doubt you would be impressed with my credentials or the fact that I have many of the necessary tools for growth and development.
Here's what one woman had to say after working with me for a few months...and she didn't know me at all:
"As a boomer, for the first time in my life, I found myself entering retirement during COVID and not having a plan for what happens next…and then I found Lisa.
During our time together she provided support, affirmation and validation for the work that I put in during a 30 plus year career that I loved. We just don’t get that from the world.
I am excited and empowered to enter the next chapter with Lisa’s support, wisdom and encouragement through navigating a very changed world. I am also in the sandwich generation, supporting elderly loved ones in a complicated healthcare system and supporting my children as they are working and having children of their own.
Lisa asked the right questions and facilitated a connection that allowed me to see obstacles, clearing the path for me to move forward in my life. Thank you Lisa, you are a blessing!"
Randie Hersey
There is no risk
I promise to be warm, friendly, and easy-going, but also I may coach hard. In other words, my goal is to draw the best out of you. Be prepared to be wowed by your own insight.
Book a call nowHere's a picture of me and my fun and goofy kids. They are grown adults and are still a huge part of my life. Lauren is on the left and Michael is on the right. This was taken in our house that we lived in for 26 years. Hubby and I are in the process of downsizing.
All The Credentials
You may not care about this, but it might give you confidence to know that I have a little experience and am qualified to coach.
- Bachelor of Science in Speech Communications from Southern Illinois University
- Graduate Certificate of Completion in Life Coaching Psychology from Grand Canyon University
- Certified Insight Coach by the Insight Coaching Academy
- Certificate of Completion in Applied Neuroscience from the Neuroscience School
- RYT 200 Yoga Teacher Certification plus 20 years of teaching yoga (mind, body, spirit)
- Influenced by Brooke Castillo, founder of The Life Coach School, Stacey Boehman, Michael Neill (Supercoach), Steve Chander (The Godfather of Coaching), Steve Hardison (Coach of Steve Chandler), John Strasser, Byron Katie (The Work), Shirzad Chamine (Positive Intelligence), Brene Brown, Esther Perel, The Enneagram and its teachers, and many more - too many to mention
- All my spiritual and psychology books that help me understand humanity and how we operate
Discover the Top 3 Questions to Ask Yourself During Any Life Transition!
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