Hey, Spike! finds a maker of ‘shift’ happens
Special to the Daily
When an email closes with a line of “Make Shift Happen,” you just know Hey, Spike!’s interest is piqued.
The shift-maker in question is Tanya Lelo, a life coach who helps make changes in other people’s lives.
Armed with a degree in parks and recreation from Penn State University and a career spanning over 30 years as an environmental interpreter, park ranger, environmental education trainer and in some aspect of the environmental regulatory field, Tanya moved from Back East to Out West in 2009, first on the Front Range, and two years ago, it was up to Summit County.
“I had fallen in love with Frisco and Summit County before I even moved to Colorado, so I knew I’d eventually end up here,” she says. “I love the outdoors, the peace and quiet of the mountains and just the majestic beauty of the Rockies. I’m also a avid fly fisherman.”
“Since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamed of living in Colorado. When I decided to revamp my life, I figured that it was time to make the move and start my next chapter out here,” adds Tanya.
The name of her life coaching business is River of Opportunities.
“That really spoke to me, not just because of my love of nature and the outdoors, and, of course, my love of fly fishing, but also because of one of my favorite quotes. It really embodies what life coaching is about and what it can do to help anyone move forward in their lives – if they so choose,” she remarks.
In support of her thinking, Tanya offers this Heraclitus quote: “No man steps into the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
That resulted in her business tagline is: “Own your choices, own your life.”
So, what makes a person want to become a life coach?” Spike asks of the Keystone resident, to which Tanya responds:
“I realized I wasn’t happy with my life and things had gotten pretty unpleasant for me in many areas of my life. I didn’t care for my personal relationships, my job, my co-workers, and lots of other things. Of course, once I realized that the common denominator was me, I decided to find someone to help me get a new perspective and turn my life around for the better. I found a life coach with whom I started working and realized I was ready for many new changes in my life. While working with her, I then realized that I wanted to become a certified life coach and start working with others who were trying to refocus their lives, just as I had. I have a significant background teaching and presenting workshops, so it seemed like a great fit, to become a life coach and teach self-development workshops and seminars, too.
“I’ve coached over 200 other people who have had significant ‘shifts’ in their perspectives in life, which have had positive outcomes for many of them,” she says. “Many became much more open to changes, and began looking at events in life as things that happen ‘for’ them as opposed to things that happened ‘to’ them. It’s a matter of seeing opportunities and possibilities and learning to embrace the anabolic (positive) energy and release the catabolic (negative) energy.
“Catabolic energy is what prevents most people from moving forward, due to their ideas about not being good enough, fear of failure, or just not knowing what their true core values are and how to find out what they really desire in life,” Tanya explains. “The latter is very significant for many people to really find out why they are so angry, depressed or just feel as though they are always struggling.”
Tanya recalls having a client who was really struggling at an insignificant job he “thought” he should have, just to get a paycheck and support his family. A world-renowned artist, according to Tanya, the subject initially let fear keep him from pursuing his passion, since it wasn’t a guaranteed income.
“Once he discovered and fully embraced what he truly desired in life, he let go of the fear that prevented him from going after his dream and allowed himself to see all the possibilities that were before him, he has exploded into the art world,” she notes. “He quit his day job. He also told me that following our coaching sessions; he doubled his income, and the following year it has already tripled. Nothing is holding him back anymore – what a great success story.”
Also, Tanya is an ordained minister and performs weddings, commitment ceremonies and vow renewals, with her other business, Mountain Heart Ceremonies.
“I love to work with couples that share my love of nature and Native American spiritualism and wish to incorporate that essence into their ceremonies,” she adds. “Many people who wish to get married up here in Summit County seem to share that same vibe. Not only do I get to be a part of one of the happiest days of their lives, but I also can work with those couples that wish to experience relationship coaching as well. I really love what I do.”
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Miles F. Porter IV, nicknamed “Spike,” a Coloradan since 1949, is an Army veteran, former Climax miner, graduate of Adams State College, and a local since 1982. An award-winning investigative reporter, he and wife Mary E. Staby owned newspapers here for 20 years. Email your social-biz info to milesfporteriv@aol.com.
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