I always had a huge smile and heaps of positive energy. I survived Cancer twice and had a rewarding career. I was alive, therefore, I had it all!
Or so it seemed...
MY STORY
At the age of 21, two months after graduating from college, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had exploratory surgery, my spleen removed, then four months of daily radiation. I worked full-time and although the pain was excruciating; I pushed through.
I was again diagnosed with cancer, this time stage 3 and had eight months of chemo, while working full-time.
My heart was weak, and my lungs compromised from radiation therapy. My doctor was uncertain I’d live.
I was fighting, surviving, and tolerating it all as best as I could.
I mastered the skill of accepting and coping with life circumstances.
PAULA CONKEY
Life & Career Coach
I kept my needs to myself and focused on being strong. To do so, I often ignored my wants. Dreams of the future did not exist.
My time was spent either at work or the doctor. I was most comfortable around medical staff and having a procedure was my 'normal'. I chose to laugh at the scary things that occurred and quietly wanted my life to be more than appointments or FEAR of the unknown.
My problem was that I identified only with survival. I was capable of so much more, but was lost somewhere between having procedures and choosing to be strong.
I lost my hair and my friends. I also worked in an environment where the team resented me for needing days off for chemo.
I felt guilt and shame which began my journey of working too hard and apologizing for needing time off for treatments.
I was fortunate to create a successful career in Talent Acquisition and Development. I coached people toward their best career. My positive spirit created the image that my life was ‘all good.’ But
inside, I was remarkably unfulfilled.
In my mid 30’s, I was introduced to an Executive Coach. Through Coaching, I understood where and when I was tolerating life situations and not living on my terms. I realized I had the ability to do more than survive my circumstances and medical issues.
I could COME ALIVE.
I chose to leave my corporate leadership position to honor the work I love. I’m now free to be a powerful Coach for my clients. My training, expertise and experiences will connect you to who you can be today and the growth you want.
I want you to truly and deeply know that you ARE enough and that your life can begin again.
It took 15 years for me to embrace my spirit and my body and about five more to make my dreams a priority. I had to learn that it was ok to want more - to feel alive - and not just survive. Saying yes to myself didn’t mean I was selfish. It simply meant “I matter!”
I know how precious life is. I want you to Come Alive. Your life MATTERS NOW. Don’t wait – Choose YOU!
With Heaps of Love!
Cheers,
Paula
Together, we will conquer obstacles and celebrate YOUR LIFE!
Curious to know more?
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PRIVACY POLICYThis policy (together with our terms of website use and any other documents referred to on it) sets out the basis on which we, Paula Conkey Coaching will collect and process any personal data we collect from you, or which you provide to us, in the course of using our site www.paulaconkey.com. By providing us with your data, you confirm that you are over 18 years of age. Paula Conkey is the data controller and we are responsible for your personal data (referred to as “we”, “us” or “our” in this privacy notice). It is very important that the information we hold about you is accurate and up to date. Please let us know if at any time your personal information changes by emailing us at paula@paulaconkey.com
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CONFIDENTIALITYAll information about the coach / client relationship remains strictly confidential with the exception of circumstances where there’s intent to seriously harm oneself or someone. Additionally, if legally obligated through a valid court issued subpoena for information.
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WHAT DATA WE COLLECT ABOUT YOUWhat data we collect about you and for what purpose on and what grounds we may process it. Personal data means any information capable of identifying an individual. It does not include anonymized data. We may process the following categories of personal data about you: Communication Data that includes any communication that you send to us whether that be through the contact form on our website, through email, text, social media messaging, social media posting or any other communication that you send us. We process this data for the purposes of communicating with you, for record keeping and for the establishment, pursuance or defense of legal claims. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to reply to communications sent to us, to keep records and to establish, pursue or defend legal claims. Customer Data that includes data relating to any purchases of goods and/or services such as your name, title, billing address, delivery address email address, phone number, contact details, purchase details and your card details. We process this data to supply the goods and/or services you have purchased and to keep records of such transactions. Our lawful ground for this processing is the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps at your request to enter into such a contract. User Data that includes data about how you use our website and any online services together with any data that you post for publication on our website or through other online services. We process this data to operate our website and ensure relevant content is provided to you, to ensure the security of our website, to maintain back- ups of our website and/or databases and to enable publication and administration of our website, other online services and business. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to enable us to properly administer our website and our business. Technical Data that includes data about your use of our website and online services such as your IP address, your login data, details about your browser, length of visit to pages on our website, page views and navigation paths, details about the number of times you use our website, time zone settings and other technology on the devices you use to access our website. The source of this data is from our analytics tracking system. We may process this data to analyze your use of our website and other online services, to administer and protect our business and website, to deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and to understand the effectiveness of our advertising. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to enable us to properly administer our website and our business and to grow our business and to decide our marketing strategy. Marketing Data that includes data about your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences. We process this data to enable you to partake in our promotions such as competitions, prize draws and free giveaways, to deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of this advertising. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to study how customers use our products/services, to develop them, to grow our business and to decide our marketing strategy. We may use Customer Data, User Data, Technical Data and Marketing Data to deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you (including Facebook adverts or other display advertisements) and to measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve you. Our lawful grounds for this processing is legitimate interests which is to grow our business. We may also use such data to send other marketing communications to you. Our lawful ground for this processing is either consent or legitimate interests (namely to grow our business). Sensitive Data - We do not collect any Sensitive Data about you. Sensitive data refers to data that includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data. We do not collect any information about criminal convictions and offenses. Where we are required to collect personal data under the terms of the contract between us and you do not provide us with that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract (for example, to deliver goods or services to you). If you don’t provide us with the requested data, we may have to cancel a product or service you have ordered but if we do, we will notify you at the time. We will only use your personal data for a purpose it was collected for or a reasonably compatible purpose if necessary. For more information on this please email us at paula@paulaconkey.com. In case we need to use your details for an unrelated new purpose we will let you know and explain the legal grounds for processing. We may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent where this is required or permitted by law. We do not carry out automated decision making or any type of automated profiling. How we collect personal data - We may collect data about you by you providing the data directly to us (for example by filling in forms on our site or by sending us emails). We may automatically collect certain data from you as you use our website by using cookies and similar technologies. Please see our cookie policy for more details about this. We may receive data from third parties such as analytics providers such as Google, advertising networks such as Facebook, providers of technical, payment and delivery services, such as banks, brokers or aggregators. Marketing Communications - Our lawful ground of processing your personal data to send you marketing communications is either your consent or our legitimate interests (namely to grow our business). However, you can still opt out of receiving marketing emails from us at any time. We will not share your personal data with any third party for their own marketing purposes. You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by following the opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you OR by emailing us at paula@paulaconkey.com at any time. If you opt out of receiving marketing communications this opt-out does not apply to personal data provided as a result of other transactions, such as purchases, warranty registrations etc. Data Retention - We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. When deciding what the correct time is to keep the data for we look at its amount, nature and sensitivity, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure, the processing purposes, if these can be achieved by other means and legal requirements. For tax purposes, the law requires us to keep basic information about our customers (including Contact, Identity, Financial and Transaction Data) for seven years after they stop being customers. Third-party links - This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit. Cookies - You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly.
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WHAT IS COACHING?Coaching is an iterative, targeted, interactive process designed to facilitate concrete changes in your life – your approach – your career – your leadership – your ability to adapt or assimilate – your ability to release fear or emotions that don’t serve you – to unleash your self-expression and joy – connect with who you are - and bottom-line your success. At Paula Conkey Coaching we help clients achieve their goals through powerful conversations that are intended to inspire new thinking, perceptions and behavior that actualize your potential, improve your performance, create focus and directional clarity, support the achievement of your personal and professional goals, and enhance the quality of your life.
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CAN I CHANGE THROUGH COACHING?Yes, you can. We’ve seen many clients change in powerful ways. And they’ve likely had ambitions, goals, concerns and challenges that are similar to yours. Coaching can be the catalyst to profoundly shift the trajectory of your life, enabling you to change the quality of your life and the direction of your career in ways you never dreamed of.
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WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE OF A COACHING ENGAGEMENT?The objective is to focus on your potential (your unrealized ability, capacity or possibility) by leveraging your strengths, uncovering what’s in your way, and targeting the areas you are most interested in addressing to help you reach your goals more effectively
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WHERE WOULD I MEET WITH MY COACH?In order to make coaching as convenient as possible for you, we offer several options. Coaching services can be conducted on-site for corporate engagements, over the phone or via video chat for 1:1 individual or small group sessions.
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HOW OFTEN WOULD I MEET WITH MY COACH?This depends on your needs and the Program. We typically meet with clients once a week. Through many years of experience and testing of different time frames, we’ve found that this frequency yields the greatest returns in terms of change. Meeting once a week offers time for reflection and application of learning between sessions, while maintaining the momentum of our work together. We will and do adjust the timeline to meet your needs and schedul
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HOW LONG DOES THE COACHING PROCESS TAKE?The time frame can vary greatly and depends on a wide range of factors: your goal(s), your commitment and openness to change, your capacity for introspection, your circumstances, how quickly and thoughtfully you complete homework assignments, and other unique factors. We have individuals who come in for a very brief engagement (e.g., career counseling and mock interview coaching sessions). We have others who come in focused on one goal, achieve that goal, and begin work on another goal and then another. Those individuals who partner with us in multiple capacities and for multiple goals work with us for a year or more.
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WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO COACHING?Our approach to coaching is an emergent and holistic process designed to elicit powerful conversations and results. We’re direct, honest and will challenge your thinking when necessary. We will set the tone for communication at the first sessions. These conversations are intended to inspire new thinking, perceptions and behavior to improve performance, create directional clarity, achieve personal and professional. We view you as whole, not broken or helpless; however, as the master of your life. We believe in you and trust that with commitment you are capable of change and growth.
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WHAT IS THE PROCESS LIKE?We start each coaching engagement with a Client Discovery and for all Coach Programs, an Attitude and Leadership Assessment.. This allows us to develop a deep understanding of you, your life stories, and your underlying operating system in a short period of time. Armed with this knowledge, we then begin to help you.
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HOW DO YOU ACCEPT PAYMENT?Programs are either paid in advance or over two payments. We will adjust the schedule for qualifying clients. We also offer a sliding scale for qualifying clients. We accept Venmo, PayPal, Credit Card, and Zelle. We will also work with your corporation directly if they’re committed to your growth and Sponsor your Development.
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WHAT ABOUT CONFIDENTIALITY?What happens in our sessions stays in our sessions. We fully understand the value of your trust, and we take every precaution to safeguard it. See Privacy and Confidentiality for more detail
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WHAT IF I WANT TO END MY COACHING ENGAGEMENT?Your paid sessions never expire. We’re in this for the long haul. We understand that schedules and often change can interrupt our commitments. We will work with you to reschedule when you’re ready.
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HOW IS COACHING DIFFERENT FROM PSYCHOTHERAPY?First let’s note the similarities between coaching and psychotherapy. Both are concerned with making concrete changes in your emotional state and life. Both work to understand the self-limiting beliefs or behavior caused by thoughts and emotions that you may or may not be aware of. Both practices help you grow, change and master your emotions. The Differences: Coaches focus on the future. Therapists focus on the past. Coaches center their work around the belief that clients are healthy. Therapists utilize a framework that is based on pathology and illness. Coaches work with the conscious mind. Therapists work with the unconscious mind. Coaches’ work is often time-limited with specific desired behavioral outcomes. Therapists’ work is open-ended with “understanding” as the primary objective. Coaches work in person, as well as over the phone. Therapists usually work in person only.