Meet Jamie Cole

We recently connected with Jamie Cole and have shared our conversation below.

Jamie, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I would say that I think I was born this way because I have always been this way. I used to think that resilience is a quality that’s innate, but whether it is or it isn’t, I know that it’s grown and developed through experience. For me, it was developed from being different in spaces where everyone was the same. I was quiet when everyone else was loud. I was afraid when everyone else seemed fearless. My brother swung from rafters while I hid in closets. My parents were radical when I was trying so hard to fit in. I had no choice. Sink in this life or swim. I chose swim. In fact, I chose to swim and win a medal for it. Maybe I was born with a quality that made it possible, Who knows? I just know that I’ve spent my life learning hard lessons but being willing to learn them and learn them well. I’ve made a beautiful life and career after a lot of adversity, and I intend on continuing to do so.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I began my career in social work as a front-line worker at 22-years-old. I have worked in multiple areas of social work over the years, including behavior supports for individuals on the Autism Spectrum, therapy in a government program with families at risk of losing custody of their children, therapeutic foster care, and private practice licensed therapy specializing in eating disorders. I have recently shifted my focus to therapeutic life coaching in order to distance myself from diagnosing and treating mental illness in order to concentrate on empowering individuals to live their best lives. I made this shift in order to help individuals recognize the obstacles in their lives that are keeping them from being their best, most authentic selves. I want to focus less on diagnosis and treatment and more on ideas and perspectives. I have 25 years of professional experience and a lifetime of personal experience and would love to help my clients reach their most beautiful potential. Right now, I am expanding to offer groups, work-shops, and online resources. I am so excited about this chapter in my life and the partnerships that I get to have with my clients.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

When I look back, my integrity, my commitment to hard work, and my determination to offer a good service were the qualities or skills that most impacted my journey. When things were hard in my life, it would have been easy to give up or cut corners or forget who I was. I didn’t do that. I chose to remember always that I am important, and my values and ethics are what carved my path. When I give advice or consult with young professionals, I remind them to ALWAYS set healthy boundaries, be good at what you do, but also run a good business, and make sure your actions and values are in alignment.

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

The challenge I am currently facing is to do something different. I have been in the clinical world of individual therapy for 13 years, and I would like to begin to create passive income and direct income for doing different services such as groups, workshops, speaking engagements, and podcasts. I am much older and farther along in my career and haven’t done a lot of this in the past. It feels scary and new, but I am challenging myself to do new things in this next stage of my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jamiecolemssw.com
• Instagram: @jamiecolemssw
• Facebook: Jamie Cole, MSSW

Image Credits

Courtney Evans
Hannah Lyvers
Justice Wall
Graci Wall