TESTIMONIALS
D, King. 64 yr old, ♀ - South Carolina
Prior to starting our coaching sessions I was starting to prepare for my retirement after nursing for 46 years. I was experiencing moments of joy as well as moments of sadness as well as anxieties about my future.
Ian is a wealth of knowledge and inspired me to look at my life after retirement. Ian encouraged me to explore the many options that I had voiced but not acted on. Now I can say that my anxieties are practically gone and I have begun to focus on activities and traveling, as well as becoming more dedicated to my exercise regimen."
Ian is very easy to talk with and motivates. Ian was able to hold space with me. Three days prior to our last session a close nurse friend of mind was killed due to domestic violence and Ian offered an early session but also held space for me that I needed so much during this time of shocking grief. He helped me work through the guilt as well as the acceptance of my grief."
The confidence that I gained during our sessions has been invaluable to me.
I learned how important it is to hold space for others. Ian offers so much encouragement in discovering your health and wellness. Ian asked deep questions that allowed me to envision my future as well as to explore my dreams."
I would recommend Ian to professionals, folks searching for integrative health and wellness, peers, family, and friends."
Lori Rowen RN Age: 50 State: Indiana
I had some big projects that I kept putting off starting because they felt overwhelming to me before starting to work with Ian. He was able to assist me completing goals in my life I had previously neglected.
I felt very comfortable talking to and working with Ian. I felt that Ian is very supportive, and really listened to me. Ian motivated me to start and continue working on the projects in my life.
I really just needed that encouragement and accountability to start working (a push). And through working with Ian I was able to give myself permission to let go of perfectionism and to just get going.
I learned that by just taking action, it becomes so much easier to move towards achieving goals."
I would recommend Ian to everyone! I want to thank him so much for being such a wonderful coach!"
“Working with you was instrumental in helping me figure out what I want from life, breaking big goals down into a series of small concrete achievable goals to help get me where I want to go, and in learning self-calming practices and self-encouragement strategies that can be used as tools to help me get unstuck from negative thought patterns.”
Alissa Green, Nurse - 15 years experience. Mindfulness and Meditation client
Our time together has given me more confidence to experiment and try new mindfulness techniques. It has also given me the little bit of practice to become more comfortable guiding a mindfulness exercise.
It's been a positive experience. You have a laid back personality which I like. You're confident yet reassuring.
Working with Ian increased comfort level to try new things. I liked that we did a mindfulness exercise in a coffee shop. I thought that may be out of my comfort zone- to do an exercise in public but once you mentioned you had done that it made me realize that being mindful can be practiced anywhere. You mentioned doing one of the mindfulness/meditation exercises when running and that also reminded me to be more open to trying these things on my own, not just at home in my own quiet place.
I was able to get the insight to just to be open and explore more exercises in life. The more I do these things on my own the more comfortable I will become guiding and helping others to incorporate new actions into their own lives.
I would recommend anyone who needs someone who will be a good listener to work with Ian. Ian is open and non judgmental. He has a very calming and relaxed personality.
Taylor Janda RN. Mindfulness Meditation Client
When I started working with Ian I was adjusting to working from home during the pandemic. Ian provided time and space that was grounding.
My experience was very positive working with Ian. He does an amazing job of free flowing through mindfulness sessions and in a coaching call. I appreciated the grounding and openness our time brought. We were able to connect and discuss the current events in our world during this uncertain time and formulate plans to best move forward.
It was great to connect with another like minded nurse. Ian is easy to open up to and he listens. I enjoyed his intuition and ability to read situations well and provide an environment to grow and learn together.
This process provided additional confidence in my personal life and health practice.
I would recommend Ian to everyone. The open space to grow combined with intuition is a magical space to grow as a person.
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Joe K 28yr M
Before starting my sessions with Ian I was in a rough spot mentally and physically. I was making decisions based on my habit of drinking and drugging. After opening up and telling Ian what was going on he began helping me by making suggestions on my diet and just everyday choices. Since being coached by Ian, I have most certainly have been living a happier and healthier life.
What I liked most about Ian coaching me was how open we were able to be with each other. I also really loved the meditation aspect of his coaching to help bring you back to yourself. I thought the experience was excellent. Ian was able to work with me even though I have a crazy work and school schedule. But overall, I loved how open I could be with Ian without any judgement.
There were many benefits I gained through these coaching sessions. One of the biggest is my diet. Not only has it changed for the better, but it also helps you feel so much more energized and healthier through the day. I also enjoyed the relationship and life advice such as embracing the happy moments and focusing on the good and not the bad.
I have learned how to be fulfilled by myself through this program. Only I can change me, and Ian helped show me that. Nobody is going to make me a better person other than myself.
I recommend this coaching to anyone who needs any personal help in life. Not only from diet, but also daily advice and relationship advice and mental health advice. Ian provides insight to so many aspects of life that I have let lay dormant."
Overall, these coaching sessions have helped improve my daily life and make me much happier with who I am as a person. Thank you pal!
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UPDATE: Of recent, I have been fasting, working out, and quit all alcohol and drugs. With Ian's help and tactics I have been able to go more than two weeks alcohol and drug free. This experience has helped me be a better person all around. THANK YOU IAN!!!
R, G 31yr Female
Prior to starting health coaching sessions, my father was in the ICU, I had just failed my nursing 1 semester of my new academic career and I wasn't balancing work or my own health. Prior to nursing school, I was extremely into fitness and things had to change in order to achieve academic success. At least this is what I thought. This couldn't be further from what was needed. Coaching with Ian couldn't have occurred at a better time. Currently, I have now succeeded in passing Nursing 1 with major improvements to my grades by three-letter grades and getting the highest in the class. I now attempt to balance and improve on balancing my health, fitness, nutrition, social and academic lifestyles. (this is still a work in progress) Also, now that the semester has ended, I have created a workout and study schedule. I am attempting to add more to my academic success and apply my learning to the BSN program which I successfully got into.
I truly enjoyed it. I feel that out of all the people in my life I can truly be myself, be honest in what’s going wrong, let my anxiety out to a point where I know I need to fix it and just breathe. I just liked that I could be and could feel free to be me.
As you previously read, I have made major improvements in school and time management. Now that it is summer, I am seeking to balance more health and nutrition into my studying. (Getting into a BSN extended program)
I have identified I need to self-care while also taking care of my dreams/goals.
I would recommend Ian's coaching to all my nursing friends and I already have.
Doug Frerichs 35
In a lot of ways, I was in limbo prior to working with Ian. Somewhat stagnant and sort of wandering. Sitting at the theoretical trailhead wanting to complete objectives but thinking about the ways I could fail and wondering if it's just easier to live with the status quo.
The coaching sessions have helped coax me down the trail and guide me along the way until I saw my objectives and made plans for how to accomplish them. The coaching sessions have really helped me to think about and process everything going on in my life. They made me realize that when I make time for myself to meditate, I feel so much better and everything becomes clearer.
What do I want to do? Where do I want to go? How do I want to live? These are some questions I've let society answer for me. I wouldn't always make time for myself and I really didn't fully understand all the ways I could make this thing we call life better. I was so focused on the world, that I slowly lost myself, to the point where I didn't even know what my soul desired anymore... I now am actively engaged in my life and making decisions that initiate change, which I once feared.
The coaching was positive from the start and seemed like perfect timing! Although, wouldn't any day be perfect for making positive changes in your life? I was starting to go down the path of a better me, but it was slow going and the change wasn't all being received well. Thoughts of switching careers seemed like a great idea and something I wanted, yet I never went down the path. The coaching sessions have sparked the fire within me again. To do things that bring me to life and work towards healing my body inside and out.
I was doing some things right, while also making negative choices such as: being active (but regularly sacrificing sleep even during the week), eating healthy food (while continuing to eat unhealthy food), doing yoga (yet not regularly and didn't focus on the meditation during or outside of yoga), getting things accomplished (even if they're not the highest priority or I'm avoiding doing other tasks). What I loved most was literally making the connection with how everything we are, do, and think is connected. All those pieces were delved into during the coaching and it evolved to wherever my current needs led as we went along the journey.
I have benefited from this through learning new things and being provided resources to help further the learning. I've gained a new lifestyle and positive changes that are building upon one another. I'm improving my mental health, making time for sleep a priority, already eating healthier overall, and making time to slow down and meditate or stop and allow myself to daydream. I've been rushing for so long, that I'm only now feeling like I'm starting to live!"
There are many people and resources out there, ready and waiting to be utilized, but this coaching is different. It doesn't have motives other than helping you. I've realized that in order to not get overwhelmed, you must start somewhere and continue making positive choices and changes. It feels good and empowers you to be engaged in your life and the connection to yourself.
I would recommend this to anyone who wants to make positive differences in their life, whether you think you're the best possible version of yourself or not. Knowledge is empowering and by gaining this knowledge and sharing it with others, we can make the human race and well, the universe, a better place for everyone!"
Lexi Krueger BSN, RN. 25. Seattle, WA.
When I started this coaching process, I was just at the start of some big life changes. I had had some realization at the end of September/beginning of October that some things in my life needed to change, and I honestly wasn’t sure how I was going to make the change happen. And that’s when Ian appeared in my life.
Ian was able to sit down with me, listen to me talk about the areas I wanted to change and help me with resources and encouragement to actually change and not just talk about it. Knowing I was going to have follow up meetings helped me be more proactive than I would have been if I wasn’t being coached. It was so helpful to have an outside perspective on my situation, and not feel like I needed to lie or leave things out, because all that would have done was keep me from getting the help I needed.
Thanks to Ian’s support and coaching I reached out to a nutritionist to get help changing my diet to be more balanced, I started running more regularly, I reduced my screen time and spent more time doing mediations, and learned new questions to ask myself in the midst of change.
I think Ian’s questions, his calm manner and his persistent encouragement was key in helping the coaching be as successful as I feel it was. We met in a few different manners: a quiet coffee shop, over Zoom, and on two walks out in nature. Each meeting brought a unique experience and showed the ability of Ian to be flexible.
Honestly it was an experience I would suggest to anyone who is thinking they want to make a life change and aren’t quite sure how to make that happen, anyone who feels like having an accountability person who is outside their normal “group”, anyone who would benefit from someone listening and asking questions- not trying to insert their own agenda in your life. I am coming away from this coaching season feeling more solid that I was going into this process. I have questions to ask myself (and others!) when a situation seems overwhelming. I have made progress towards being healthier in the areas that I was focused on with Ian during coaching. I’m a better person today than I was when I started all of this, and for that I am extremely grateful.
Matthew Bertanzetti BSN, RN
I was coming from a stressful job situation. I was struggling with a toxic work environment and certain people that made me dread going into work.
I feel like your coaching gave me the confidence and increased ability to go into work with a new understanding and tolerance for dealing with the toxic negativity I experienced on a daily basis.
Working with Ian was easy and relaxed. It felt more like I was talking to an understanding friend rather than a stranger in an uncomfortable room I didn’t know. I felt like you were non judgmental and understanding of the things I felt.
I now feel like I am more “well rounded” and capable of dealing with toxic people. I'm not saying that I am 100% better. I just now realize that some people can never change no matter what I say or do. Knowing this and accepting this was very helpful and framing it in a different manner, in my mind, has enabled me to interact with others at work better. I mean this for both patients and coworkers.
Framing is everything. How I think about things and realizing only I am in control of myself. Realizing I am powerless to change certain things other than the way I think about them. Further insights are that I have a long path of self improvement ahead of me.
I would recommend your coaching to other nurses.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
" " I felt our most successful conversations were on video chat. A few times my internet was very poor and I feel like it hindered my learning ability or processing power. I think it is really powerful looking at another human when talking about feelings of vulnerability and difficult working situations.
I think defining goals in the first session is important. By doing that I was able to track my improvements and gauge my success.
Reuben Cousin, Male. 33. Washington
First I have always been 5-10 pounds overweight and have always struggled to lose it, or if I did lose it, I would always gain it back. Secondly, I was starting to develop acid reflux, one of my symptoms was excessive belching, which I was getting really concerned about. The coaching has impacted both these issues significantly. So far, I have been belching far less and I’m starting to lose a few pounds (which to me is a lot). This has greatly improved my overall well being because I feel more confident about what I eat, how that food will impact my weight and acid reflux (if any). I also have more intention on what I put in my body, in the past I was knowledgeable about what was healthy or not healthy, but working with Ian has greatly increased my intention and awareness of that intention I place on my diet and what I buy at the grocery store. I eat less mindlessly and more mindfully now.
I like working with Ian because he has a lot of knowledge to pass on and gave background, as well as, details to his explanations of eating and being healthy. I liked most that Ian was straightforward and said exactly what I needed to hear to change my eating habits.
I have lost a 18 pounds and reduced my acid reflux. A huge benefit is being more cognizant of what I eat and feeling more confident in its results and my ability to still be satisfied with healthier ingredients.
I gained the insight of how to burn fat faster, which involves consuming less sugar. Eating more nutrient dense foods and less processed foods. I have become more aware of the pesticides, chemicals and the processed nature of most foods in our stores, even the ones I thought were healthy, and being able to identify foods that are less processed more easily when I shop.
I would recommend working with Ian to anyone who wants to be healthier in their diet and lifestyle. Even if they are mostly healthy, but are held back by one thing or a few things, Ian can help bring awareness on many levels that will bring people to an overall more healthy lifestyle, which in turn will lead to an overall healthier and longer life.