Career Path of an Executive Leadership Coach at HED Space Coaching

My path is a little convoluted; it's not a straight path. I'm a non-traditional student and probably a non-traditional employee worker, whatever you want to call it.

I graduated high school as an immigrant from the UK. I didn't know I could go to school. I honestly thought scholarships and things like that were only for American kids, and I wasn't American at the time. So, I decided to go to junior college and track and field there, and get money for college. I was paying for myself, but when my money ran out, I had to find something else to do.

I decided to join the Marine Corps. I was too old to stay at my mom's house and needed to move on my own. They told me all the right things at the right time, and I was like, "Game on, I want to do that."

I joined the Marine Corps and served for a few years. Then I decided I wanted to become an officer. When I first joined, they showed me the sword and explained how to get it. To get the sword, you had to be a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. I wanted to be an officer. They also mentioned becoming a citizen. I wanted to be a citizen. That's how I became a citizen.

The Marine Corps enabled me to go to a commissioning program. I was a full-time, active-duty Marine. I went through a program called the Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning and Education Program, which allowed me to get my bachelor's degree from NC State. By the end of it, I already had a job and a life. I was a full-time college student, and life was good.

I decided to study political science and French. I went to school to learn things I didn't know. My advice to my kids is to find a vocation and something that you love, find both. I went to school to be enlightened because I already had a job. I wanted to understand why we fight, why we do things in the world on a geopolitical level. So I chose political science. French is a language used in many parts of the world, so I learned it as a gateway language to be productive.

While serving in the Marine Corps, I got commissioned and became an officer. I started working on my international relations degree. I wanted to understand the next level: what do we do, why are we here, why is this war so important, strategy, and all those things.

Life happened, and I didn't finish that degree. I realized I was getting ready to retire and that it wasn't what I wanted to do anymore. I got out and decided to move on to different things. I became a coach. Before that, I had a recruiting company, which was great, but I didn't meet people in real life. I met people virtually, and I realized I had lost the connection with people.

I decided that wasn't for me and went into real estate. Real estate was amazing; I absolutely loved it. While I was doing that, I was also coaching. Coaching came about because I realized life happens and can derail you. At the top of my career, I was the rockstar, met the president, and met every president except one. It was amazing, but personally, I was going through so much pain and turmoil. I didn't know who to tell when you're at that level, at the height of your game. You have no one to confide in.

I went through a divorce and some other life events that really derailed me. I retired from the Marine Corps, went through a divorce, and then my sister passed away. I flew back to England to take care of her, but she passed away two days later. Devastated, I'd seen death before due to the nature of my occupation, and figured I could handle it. It broke me to the core.

As I was bouncing back, driving around the country and meeting friends, I realized I wasn't the only person hurting. There were many people at my level who were hurting and had no one to talk to. I had to fix that. It’s like speaking. I started getting on stage and talking to people. I would look at their faces and realize there were people in the audience who understood what I was going through. There are a myriad of leaders going through things and have nobody to talk to. You can't talk to your family, your coworkers, your contacts, your colleagues, your boss. Who do you talk to? You find a guy like me, and we work through those issues together so you can keep excelling.

Whatever significant transitionary event has happened, be it negative, positive, or just a change in your life, you can get through that and continue to excel and be a force. That is what I do. I coach, I speak, I teach, I train. I help people where I can, helping good turn to great, and great turn to amazing. In a nutshell, my company is Headspace Coaching, and that is what I do.