Hi!
I'm Michelle Merrix
A Mindset and Confidence Specialist for Women concentrating on Personal Growth and Relationships. I believe above all else, what makes me a good coach are my own life experiences, my background in teaching women, and a personal understanding of where my client is coming from.
As a Certified Life Coach, I share my experiences to help women grow, teach the tools needed to achieve their goals, and gently challenge the growth of new habits to make positive changes. I am a Mindset and Confidence Specialist for Women in Personal Growth, Relationships, and Life Decisions. I have been both a Business Owner and Coach for 25 years and have been recognized in The Women’s Journal under Women You Should Know.
Why Should I Consider Michelle As My Life Coach?
Realizing What Women Need
In my experience with Business and Teaching, I witnessed how much women need a supportive Confidante. I realized your Mindset is everything to connect you fully to your true self in every category of your life. Many of my clients and adult students were faced with life’s challenges of Low Self-Confidence, Heartbreak, Loss, Grief, Relationship issues or Career Change decisions. Relaxation massage was a large part of my business for Well-Being, my clients felt comfortable confiding in me during this time. Soon, I was being asked by clients if they could also sit with me for an hour and pay me to listen, talk and help them sort out concerns as an added service in my business.
I was a comforting Confidante. They found me easy to talk with and connect. Female connection is powerful. This is when I realized my True Life’s Calling. I love helping women and making them stronger and allowing the space to become the strongest of who they can be. With a background in Well-Being, I found that healing the “whole” person in Mindset, Confidence and Well-Being (Mind, Body, Spirit) leads to greater balance and happiness! It’s good to feel imperfectly perfect and love who you are and appreciate where you’re at and where you’re headed.
Finding Confidence
Having experienced extreme shyness as a child, my parents were given pediatric advice to place me in several activities to pull me out of my timidness. In my early teen years, I was then placed in Confidence classes. I was very hard and critical of myself. Teens face a lack of confidence that can follow them into adulthood. I knew what it was like for women to feel a lower self-confidence with that inner critic to sabotage what should be happy thoughts about yourself. As women, we are hard on ourselves and can compare ourselves with others. Our society places this on us just in ads and commercials, as far as our bodies and being “perfect” to fit in. I also knew you can come out of that low-grade thinking and grow outside of your comfort zone. I had gone from extreme shyness as a child, to winning speech competitions in high school, to speaking in public into my adulthood. This would not have happened without the support and coaching I went through. I firmly believe in coaching as everyone needs guidance to get them to where they want to be, which should be what makes you the happiest. My parents invested in me and that’s why I believe you must invest in yourself as being the happiest human being you can be. Your goals and how you see yourself and feel, is incredibly important to live this life in joy. With knowing your self-worth, having confidence, and boundaries, you create strong relationships as an adult.
After College
After College Throughout my life, I have been fortunate to connect with women on a personal level and build close relationships. After earning my business degree, I discovered Leadership Coaching through the sales company I worked for. I became a Female Leadership Coach and Motivational Speaker for business owners, training them on new business building and increased sales while having a Work/Life Balance.
Major Breakup
I had a traumatizing relationship breakup in my almost mid-20’s and found myself needing desperately to gain my self-worth back. The man I thought I would marry, I found out on my own, was in a separate committed relationship and had become engaged with a wedding date set (while still dating me). This was someone I had known for years and was, I thought, also my friend. Imagine my surprise. I was humiliated among many feelings and felt completely betrayed by someone that would intentionally hurt me. I understood that weak feeling of a heart break all too well. I had never felt a hurt so bad. My heart was broken. This is when you certainly question your own judgment and yourself. Did this person think I was too weak for honesty? How was I not due respect as a person? Why wasn’t I enough? I was crushed because it was my first true love. I trusted, I was lied to, and I was rejected. This is where I learned boundaries as an adult in all relationships. This is where I grew strength. When I became engaged a bit later in life, it just wasn’t the right fit. I gave the ring back. I knew a relationship was not supposed to be that hard. This time I was much smarter and wiser. This time I was on the opposite end doing the breaking up. That too is not easy. I was honest not only with him but myself. You still feel a loss.
Marriage
I have now been happily married 23 years on Christmas Eve to a man that is the true meaning of a good person, a best friend, and a partner in life. We had met before briefly and were both in a relationship. He was married and I was engaged. We then met again a few years later at a barbeque. A few weeks after that and after several phone conversations, we sat by a fire for hours and talked about life. Kevin and I were married 4 months later. We have since been through the death of a parent through cancer, children coming into our lives, the death of a sibling from severe diabetes, parents going through an Assisted Living situation, family issues, job changes, businesses, financial hardships, financial gains, caring for a senior parent and Kevin’s small stroke just last year. It’s a part of the journey of life. My dad lives with us at the age of 87 and in good overall health. It’s a privilege to be close to my dad as he is a laid-back and positive person. We enjoy the many children in our lives and our beloved pups. We love our extended family and good friends and enjoy being happy doing things we love.
The Death of Mom
My life took a pivotal turn. Having gotten happily married on Christmas Eve after just four (4) months of dating, life was good. Then on Valentine’s Day, my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer with three months to live. The entire process was heartbreaking, and I was grief stricken. Losing your mom at any age is not easy. My mom was strong and did it all with such grace. She gave me advice about the rest of my life that would continue without her. Being adopted as a baby, I have personally always felt a sense of gratefulness to be with such good parents. The great loss of losing my mom altered my life. My dad had just retired, and their retirement plans were now no more. My heart went out to my dad who is the most wonderful man. He too had to grieve the loss of his wife of 42 years.
A Calling
I now had a calling to contribute in a more profound way. Finding through it all, I wanted to give more of myself. I became a Business Owner, Licensed College Instructor, and Inspirational Speaker in Well Being, Personal Development and Business. I was trained in Ayurvedic Therapies with Well-Being in mind. I opened a Health and Wellness business where women could feel a sense of Mind, Body, and Spirit. The mind and body are to be at ease, not dis-ease. During this time, my brother passed at the age of 56 due to complications of diabetes. It was my other reason to want to help those under distress. I was nominated locally for recognition in The Positive Times under Living to Give in Our Community, for donating two massages per month. Donating this to a caregiver or cancer survivor under my mom’s name, (Dorothy’s Caring Corner) helped me fill that giving love tank. My mom was always baking a cake or making food for someone who wasn’t feeling well, or she was volunteering to help others in our community. It was my way of letting her keep giving.
Teaching Adult Women
During this time, it was my privilege to teach on the above subject matters to women who were first-time college attenders or women who went back to college. I took advantage of my time to mentor my students and instill Confidence, Well-Being and Life Mindset to create stronger women. Teaching others to feel better about themselves and allow them to feel their incredible self-worth is a gift given through experience and extremely gratifying.
With the death of both my mom and only brother, I understood with great compassion where my clients and students were coming from, needing support and a Confidante that I could now provide. Realizing what I truly had was life experience, compassion, education, and the gift of intuition, which has helped me connect with women and understand. At this point, I have been through and helped several women with Low Self-Confidence, Relationship Heartbreak, Marriage Coaching, Heartache of Loss and Grief, Career Changes and Managing Work/Life Balance as a business owner.
Education
Certified Life Coach
Business Degree in Applied Science College
Instructor in Personal Development, Well-Being, and Business Motivational Speaker
Certified in Ayurvedic Therapies
Business Affiliations
Listed in the Women's Journal as Women You Should Know
Member of International Association of Professional Life Coaching Organization