About Linda Ford
THE BEST THING I EVER DID FOR MYSELF
It took me 40 years to discover that the most important relationship I should have been paying attention to - the one I had been avoiding my entire life - was the relationship with myself.
Little did I know that it held the key that would eventually open up my entire life to a world of creativity, abundance, self-expression, confidence, and a truly loving relationship.
I wish I had known this early on!
If you had told me when I was in my early 20’s that I would eventually become a confidence coach for women, I would have laughed it off as a crazy idea. How would it be possible for this young woman who always suffered from low self-esteem, who never put herself first, and who always played small, would end up being a confidence coach?
A lack of confidence showed up in all areas of my life.
In my relationships, I was so hungry for love and attention that I would put my own needs last. I’d allow men to manipulate, use, and bully me, and I’d tolerate their infidelity with other women because I was so scared of being alone. Being single terrified me.
In my education and work, I never felt competent or smart. For years, I deliberately chose temp work because it would be an easy way out if I screwed up – I wouldn’t have to endure the shame and embarrassment of failure. I actually ran away from a job once – slipped out the back door – because I didn’t understand how to do a task.
I didn’t go to college until I was 35 – that’s how long it took me to even consider the possibility that I could qualify as a student.
My insecurity got formed in my early family life. Doesn't everything?
When you’re born into a poor family and live in a two-room house with no bathroom; when you’re raised by parents who are constantly struggling and fighting; when you never get to experience well-being and a life that thrives, you grow up believing that something is wrong with you – that you’re defective and broken in some way.
And so there’s no mystery as to why I was so insecure. Why would I think otherwise? It explains a lot about how I turned out.
Fortunately, I never got stuck in playing the victim. Blaming my childhood and parents was never an option. All I knew was that my insecurity was making me unhappy, unfulfilled, and trapped in a small life that refused to thrive.
We Create our relationships
Relationships affect us deeply. They have the power to inspire or deaden our spirit. They can influence us to soar creatively in our work or get us off track and succumb to inertia.
Relationships can build us up with love or pull us down with abuse and indifference. They are deeply connected to our ability to thrive in all areas of our life.
We Attract Who We Are
Whatever we experience, it is important to know that we are the ones who are creating our experience of life - it's a reflection of the relationship we have with ourselves.
And so it begs the question: how do we become exceptional creators of our life?
It begins with creating a solid foundational core for ourselves. It's the deep, inner, and essential work of knowing our true value and showing up in the world with the confidence to create an exceptional life.
I Know a Thing or 2 About Transformation!
My life has turned out really well!
I live in a gorgeous house in a town I used to dream of living in and steps from the Atlantic Ocean!
I have been blissfully married to a wonderful man for twenty years. I have a great job of doing work I love - coaching women like you! And I feel pretty confident and smart - and by the way, I ended up graduating from college with a master's degree summa cum laude!
This is what happens to you when you feel confident, take off the handbrake, and start believing in yourself. What you believe about yourself is everything! It will shape your world.
Women who work with me want to be able to:
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Show up in relationships with confidence, ease, and without feeling needy, anxious, or desperate.
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Attract emotionally available and mature men, instead of narcissists and co-dependents.
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Put themselves first and not lose themselves in relationships.
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Banish imposter syndrome & people-pleasing.
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Stop hiding, hesitating, and playing small in their work.
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Stop caring so much about how others see them.
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Move on quickly from relationships that aren't working.
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Get clear and take action about whether to stay or leave a relationship.
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Own and claim what they want in a relationship without feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable.
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Feel comfortable in their own skin.
If you want to have a life that THRIVES, you have to bring your
WHOLE & CONFIDENT SELF to the table.
Street Cred!
I've been personally trained and certified by Dr. Martha Beck, New York Times best-selling author, and America's "favorite life coach"- I'm one of her master coaches.
I've always been insatiably curious about the human condition - why some people seem to thrive in life and are more confident than others. It's the reason why I've been steeped in the world of personal development for over twenty-five years.
I've endured my own rollercoaster journey of relationships. In my personal and professional relationships I've been loved, cherished, cheated on, dumped, duped, unappreciated, unseen, under-utilized, and overlooked.
And all of it was because of the relationship I had with myself - my life refused to thrive due to my lack of confidence and low self-esteem.
I know this subject well.
I'm the co-author of the Kindle #1 bestseller:
Women and Confidence: The Truth About the Lies We Tell Ourselves.
Personal Stuff & the Real Me!
I've never liked the term, life coach. Apart from sounding cheezy, it’s a big job title to live up to, mainly because it implies I’m someone who has her shit together. And nothing could be further from the truth.
When people know you’re a life coach, they think you have all the answers. They think you spring out of bed each morning feeling yippy-skippy. Truth is, I wake up most mornings feeling a mild anxiety. Always have.
I have days when I want to stay in bed and sulk. I can really get off on feeling sorry for myself and create the best pity-party about why I’m not more successful, richer, or famous. I’m particularly good at that.
I frequently wake up at 3 am worrying about stuff. I’m a hypocrite because I can be brought to my knees when I see cruelty to animals, and yet I still want to eat them.
Most of the time the words that come out of my mouth can be comforting and even deeply wise, but I can also put my big foot in my mouth and say the wrong thing.
I can ruminate too long over stuff and people that bug me -if only you knew how judgmental I can be about folk. I love my glass of wine (or two). I can freak out and catastrophize whenever my body gets sick. I can feel lost and clueless for longer than I care to say, and you guessed it, I can find myself dripping in imposter syndrome.
I'm a walking contradiction for sure. But despite all my frailties -despite the delicious full spectrum of me that gets exposed - I have learned to create a space for myself to try to be more. I'm learning to allow all of it to flow through me.
I try to keep my heart open to the potential that could be. And somehow or other, I continue to say YES to the invitation that life offers me to be more. I have made enormous strides in my life. Some days I wonder: how did I get here? How did I make it happen?
We humans will always be good, bad, and ugly. And yet every day offers the chance to exquisitely pivot to higher ground. This is our invitation. Even for life coaches!
So, why am I sharing my shadow side with you? Because no matter how hopeless or despairing you may feel - no matter how imprisoned you are in a life you don't like or even want - The chance to PIVOT is always available at any moment. The opportunity to PIVOT - this I have learned to do well!
I live in Rockport, Massachusetts - steps from the Atlantic Ocean - with my husband, Tim, and 2 dogs, Scout and Suzy.
I'm a Brit (born in Belfast, Northern Ireland) who speaks with a funny accent - a melting pot accent of Irish, British, Australian - all of the places I've lived. I've lived in the US for forty years.
When I'm not coaching, teaching, writing, or creating new programs, you'll find me walking, decorating my home, looking at houses, or trying to play the piano.
