Hello! I’m Joanne Miller. After more than 25 years in technology, I have returned to my first love, coaching. I find meaning and purpose in helping others find new ways to live their best lives.
I believe that everyone can benefit from having a coach—a person who is on your side no matter what. Sometimes, we think that smaller goals aren’t important and that we can reach them on our own. Because the goals are small, they appear to be attainable. But often, these small goals are blocking us from achieving bigger things. We use them as convenient obstacles to achieving what we really want, mostly out of fear. What would happen if we really went for it?
One of my favorite quotes is from author Marianne Williamson, who said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?”
As your coach, I want to help you release your fears and go from where you are to where you want to be. My style is direct and compassionate, and I focus on fostering inspiration and courage. I specialize in retirement transition planning, business coaching, and executive coaching, and I work with clients in Bellevue and Seattle.
In addition to be being a Rotarian and serving on the board of three non-profit organizations (Howard J. Cohen Bladder Cancer Foundation, Neurological Vocational Services, and Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound), I am a Certified Professional Retirement Coach and a member of the International Coach Foundation.
But that’s my résumé. Let me tell you a little about me and how I came to be a coach.
In 2013, my children and I suffered the loss of their father through suicide. This was a life-altering event, and everything was turned upside down and around for all of us.
I am a person who always looks for the upside, and this was a tough one. But it’s what drove me to coaching and my eventual certification in 2015. It wasn’t an ideal road, but it was a road, and I got there. I learned and changed a lot throughout the next couple of years in ways that still help me now every day. For example, I’ve never been a judgmental person, but I am now truly without judgment when it comes to what people experience. That’s an important quality in a coach.
Although I became a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach in 2015, I continued working full time in the high-tech field, managing people, projects, and programs while continuing to coach part-time. My job was very demanding, and I chose to keep my client list small and limited to word-of-mouth referrals.
But in September 2018, I retired. Hallelujah! I spent some time traveling in Italy and the maritime provinces in Canada. I decompressed and relaxed. I re-embraced my hobbies—I’m a fiber artist, and I make silk and wool rugs. Still, after a few months, I started to need something else, something more—a purpose, which was what my career had provided for many years. Separately, my children both revealed that they didn’t understand why I wasn’t coaching. I didn’t have a good answer.
And so here I am, and I couldn’t be happier. When I think about my values and what I genuinely care about, it centers on kindness and generosity of spirit. I enjoy being content and feeling happy about my life. I like to smile, and I really like it when someone smiles back. I believe that the heart matters more than the brain. And I have learned to smack down my critical inner self and move ahead with what I know is possible. Let me help you do the same. Later is now, so let’s get started!