I get asked a lot, “Ash, how’d you become a life coach?”

My response is honestly the same every time I answer, “well, life broke apart quite literally”.

I was 28 at the time and in school for ESL because I knew I loved traveling and wanted to teach. It sounded good, but something inside me was lacking purpose.

I wanted to feel useful or like I was helping, but the path I was on wasn’t fulfilling.

Then, one random and fateful night in Portland, Oregon I was riding my bike with friends when it started to rain and the next thing I knew I was in the ER with a broken shoulder, cheek and a horribly bruised face.

It was an accident and a very painful one at that.

Cowboy boots, bike pedals and rain do not go well together at all, and I learned that the hard way.

Fast forward three months later, I somehow ended up with the worst case of vertigo most doctors had seen west of the Mississippi. (For those not fluent in American slang, that’s when something is really major, big, bad, etc.)

For three months, the room flipped a thousand times over. I felt like I was drunk on 10 x cases of champagne while riding a roller coaster.

I lost 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in three days because I was too dizzy and nausea to do anything but grip the bed and pray to every god and goddess known to man for the spins to stop.

The combined experience of the bike accident, vertigo and being dumped by a man I thought I was going to marry (that’s another story) felt like the end of everything (but somehow also the beginning of something really important).

Something broke in me quite literally and figuratively.

That experience is what set me on the path to become a health coach, then a life coach, then a mindfulness teacher (through Google), and then to finally becoming a master NLP practitioner which is what I truly do today and love the most.

I’m sharing all this with you because it amazes me that after 15 years, a girl with a dream has created a fulfilling and purposeful business helping women around the globe.

This moment feels beautiful and hopeful and if it wasn’t for the terrible string of events, I don’t know where’d I’d be.

Thank you for being a part of this work and community.

And if you’re at a place in life that feels hard, confusing or challenging, you’re welcome to book a free 30-minute clarity call with me to explore what is available to help you gain clarity, define purpose and get clear.

Ashley Paquin
June 4, 2023