We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sandy Patterson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sandy below.
Hi Sandy , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I was an elementary school teacher for 14 years and I always believed my purpose in life was to teach. I spent thousands of dollars and years on my education to become a teacher. So when I left my teaching job (which was supposed to be my “forever” job) in 2022, I realized that teaching was actually holding me back from stepping into the person I know I’m meant to be and finding my true purpose. Since I left teaching, I haven’t missed teaching at all, but I did miss helping others on a deeper, meaningful level. This is when I realized that teaching may not be my life’s purpose after all, but helping others on a deep, life changing level IS. This will always be a part of who I am. And I’ve found a way to do exactly this; help women who feel “stuck” get unstuck to build a life they love to live through coaching. I now realize that my life’s purpose is to pass on the impact my own life coach has had on me, and help teachers build businesses to gain financial freedom so they can make decisions based on what they want to do, not what they think they should do. My goal is for every person that comes into my space to leave a better person, feeling confident, capable, and hopeful in the possibility of their dreams.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I launched my coaching business in January of 2023, and have since helped numerous women launch businesses & memberships, gain confidence in themselves and their businesses, and make big moves to change their lives and change their futures. I do this through my highly personalized, high touch 1:1 coaching services. My clients and I partner together to map out goals, gain clarity, shift mindset, and move roadblocks out of the way which leads to an incredible amount of progress through messy action and confident decision making. What makes me different as coach is that I get it; I know what it’s like to feel hopeless and miserable. I also know what it feels like to have support in order to get out of that rut and onto the other side. I’m also one of the most positive, grateful people you’ll ever meet, and I pour into the relationships I build with my clients. My clients are everything to me, and I love being a small part of their journey to amazingness!
In addition to individual coaching, I also run a group coaching program, Biz Builders, which allows women who are in the beginning phases of their businesses walk away feeling confident. This unique program lays out the foundational pieces of business while emphasizing mindset and sustainability. There’s something to be said about being surrounded with women who are just as invested in your success as they are their own. And this is exactly what we’ve done through this program; built a community of like minded women all working towards the same goals who support, encourage, and uplift each other through every phase of the business building journey.
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?
Three qualities I possess that have been the most impactful through my coaching journey (and journey in life, really!) are persistence, relationships, and discipline.
If nothing else, I’m persistent. When people tell me I’m persistent, I take it as a huge compliment because I will not stop to get what I want. When I set my mind to something, there is no plan B because I know I’ll do what I need to do in order to make it happen. I am willing to be uncomfortable in order to get what I want.
I have always, and will always value relationships and community. Relationships are at the heart of every single thing I do, and I believe that deep relationships are the key to any type of success in life and business.
In order to launch and run a business, you have to be disciplined in order to make progress. This means showing up for you and your business when you don’t want to and when you don’t feel like it. It means proving to yourself that you can show up, again and again even when you don’t see immediate results.
To improve on all of these things, I would remind anyone that there are no quick fixes in life. Persistence, relationships, and discipline all take time and intentionality. And although you may not see the fruits of your labor in these three areas overnight, you will see them as you plant the seeds for a brighter future for you and those around you.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
As women, we are accustomed to feeling overwhelmed all the time. Feeling overwhelmed has just become the norm. This is something that I work on with all of my clients; overwhelmed. Because when we feel overwhelmed, we’re not showing up as the best version of ourselves in life and business.
I teach my clients a 5 step process to minimize overwhelm in our everyday lives so we ARE showing up as our best selves in every area of our life.
1. Noticing when you feel overwhelmed and what the thought is attached to the feeling of overwhelm. Oftentimes we’re moving so quickly we have a hard time even noticing what we’re thinking and how it’s affecting us.
2. Focus on one thing in just the present moment. Think of the ONLY thing you need to do at the moment. As your brain starts to wander, because it will, it always does- just gently bring it back to exactly what you’re doing in that moment. By doing this, your mind is focused only on one simple thing, and that can essentially calm you down and bring you out of overwhelm. Ex. washing dishes. Only thinking about washing the dishes. The dishes are the only thing I need to get done right now. That’s it. This is my only task.
3. Remind yourself of your priorities. What’s actually important? Is this where your attention and energy is going? If not, take a second to recalibrate and shift back into your priorities and what’s really important.
4. Identify invented urgency. Many times, we invent urgency in our lives and days when the things aren’t actually truly urgent. What happens if the entire to-do list doesn’t actually get done by the end of the day? Most likely, nothing will happen.
5. Schedule in some free thinking, quiet time. I’m defining free thinking time as time where you’re not intentionally thinking about anything specific. You just kind of let ideas and thoughts come and go as they please. You’re not trying to force a thought or idea. You’re just, again “being” and in your intuition. And while you do this, you just trust that whatever is supposed to come to you, will. And 100% of the time, guess what? It does. Just five minutes a day of this can work wonders for overwhelm.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hellosandypatterson.com/
- Instagram: @hellosandypatterson
