Meet Wendy Sue Noah

We recently connected with Wendy Sue Noah and have shared our conversation below.

Wendy Sue, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?

I learned self-discipline when I was all alone, as a single mom with five children, and needed to raise them UP and as well as I could possibly do so. Discipline and focus from the heart took us far, to a good place, beyond all the tremendous obstacles.

Now I use the same discipline for my next journey, of becoming an Educator.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

In order to bring you to my current status, I will need to summarize my last three decades for you, This way, you will better understand my unique life path.

At 27 years old, I made a bold move, literally! I moved cross country by myself, to start a new life. I was living in Boston, which was too conservative and too cold for me (couldn’t hike or hug trees for several months!). The company I worked for had offices in the San Francisco area, so after proving my professional worth to them, I requested for a transfer to their Bay Area office.

Little did I know at the time, but I had landed in Silicon Valley during the early dot com days! WOW! I left the corporate world (including all the security that goes with it) to enter the Internet start-up world. In April of 1995, I was hired to work in a San Francisco basement, to launch Match.Com on the Internet, which is now the largest matchmaking service on Earth (as the Guinness Book of World Records states)!

We were the first online matchmaking site and one of the first online subscription sites. It was exciting and uncertain times indeed.

Then the dot com CRASH hit hard, and I lost my job. As I was trying to figure out my “what’s next”, I met a charismatic spiritual LA man. We got married, I moved to LA and we birthed 5 children together. Really!

After 10 tumultuous years together, he threw me out on the street with a false restraining order and took our children to his sister’s home in Lancaster, about 2 hours away. I couldn’t see them or speak to them, and my heart was broken.

So I fought for custody… and won! This was the first of many miracles, as my lawyers told me that it would be very unusual for a judge to remove children out of a safe home, to be with a homeless parent. Surprise!

We were homeless for 6 months. I was never so frightened in my entire life. The only thing I had to hold me up was the love for my children and my deep faith. My family was back East and my friends were in San Francisco. I never felt more alone. As I prayed, I moved mountains at the same time. One of my favorite quotes that I know is true, “When you pray, move your feet!”

Once I found us a place to live, I hooked up a computer and started my own online business, which you can visit at www.WendySueNoah.com. Fortunately, with all my internet start-up experience, I was skilled enough to do this confidently, and it allowed me to raise my kids by working at home. I applied for a small business grant, and it was approved!

Of course, I needed more income to support my family, so I also worked as a Brand Ambassador for many brands and events, which was fun for me as I missed getting out and being social. My children were chosen to be a part of a Talent Agency, where they were featured in commercials, a TV show, music videos and even as a model for a children’s clothing store.

As a writer, I needed to release this unbelievable and inspirational story. So I wrote a memoir called “Real Eyes Faith” (get it, realize faith with real eyes) and it was truly cathartic. It’s available through Amazon and linked here if you are interested in diving deeper with me.

Now, my children are all young adults, so I am finally able to work full-time again, out of the home! This year, I became a certified Substitute Teacher, and have been working at a Manhattan Beach elementary school.

Starting in the new year, I will be working with TeachStart, a fellowship that pays you to substitute teach, while getting your teacher’s credentials through online classes. It will take between 2-3 years, and then I will be a fully credentialed Teacher, guiding and educating the next generation, instilling values and confidence along the way!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Without question, I believe resilience is an essential skill for life and work. Resilience is defined as the capacity to recover from challenges and setbacks, demonstrating strength and adaptability.

With life being as unpredictable as it is, and with change as the only constant, we must be able to bend with the winds of change yet remain grounded. I turn to the trees, especially on a windy day, to remember this trait.

How do we practice resilience? Well, first of all, instead of holding tight to what you are used to, especially during the winds of change, let go and let God (or faith or trust) take you to whatever is next for you.

If we practice how to let go when things appear comfortable, this will flex our resilient muscles, as the new experiences will require us to adapt to life’s unpredictability and teach us new coping skills for our next move.

Integrity is another trait that I consider to be of utmost importance. With integrity as a foundation of who we are, and what we choose to do, circumstances and opportunities will fall into place since we are aligning ourselves with admirable values. And we become trustworthy and dependable as a result.

Another trait that is inherent for me and has come in real handy, is positivity! Even through all of the challenges you’ve read about here (and more), I wake up each day happy to be alive and to spread good vibes. With my positive nature comes gratitude, Even in dark times, I seek for the light. When there is a hard lesson, I look for the lesson so I can be a better person and more discerning in the future.

How we embrace life and see it, is how we live it!

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

My biggest challenge and greatest blessing is moving into a new career in my late 50’s, when many people my age are planning their retirement! I will be returning to school to earn my teaching credential, and to become a full-fledged Educator.

Though this is truly exciting for me, I have to accept and acknowledge the parts of this that may be more challenging due to my age. For example, my hearing and eyesight are not what they were in my 20’s, 30’s or 40’s! Fortunately, I do have glasses to assist me, and my hearing is still good enough where I do not need hearing aids.

My balance is also not what it used to be, and I have learned as a substitute teacher that I have to be extra careful when bending down to tie a student’s shoes, and to be fully aware of my surroundings at recess time with running kids and flying balls.

And brain farts happen, as they did when I was younger, but more frequently.

With that, I know that I am resilient, determined, smart and able to make this next career move another success story! You too. You are reading this interview right now out of desire to be a better you, congratulations!

Thank you for spending this time with me, and I sincerely wish you all the best in your life’s journey.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

picture of me with my tribe by photographer Mary Ann Halpin

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