We all have our own unique potential in this world. It’s up to us to find it and live up to it. Because if we aren’t living life to its full potential, then we are missing out.
Today’s guest is someone who shares so much value on how stepping out of your comfort zone is the best way to reach your full potential.
Andrea Parker is a former police detective turned human potential coach. As an accredited International Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Andrea works with high-performing women, helping them to release the limiting beliefs that are holding them back from their greatness, and empowering them to live their most extraordinary lives.
YOUNG ANDREA
As a young child, Andrea loved asking questions, whether to herself or others. With her inquisitive mind, she knew she wanted to become either a teacher or a police officer. Innately, she loved teaching. The dream of becoming a police officer was because of her curious mind.
Fast forward to the start of Andrea’s career in police college, she recounts not feeling that it was what she wanted to do. She felt like being where she was at the time was the furthest from what she imagined it to be.
But she continued with her journey, finished college as class valedictorian, began working with the police force, and had been on for about a decade. However, there was always this nagging feeling in Andrea telling her that this wasn’t in alignment with her true self. She loved learning about people and the connection piece, but the overall environment was not what she had imagined.
Not feeling connected to what she was doing and with her true self, this was the quickest way she learned what she did want in life. Today, she is a human potential coach and CEO of her own company, a place she wouldn’t have reached without first experiencing all that she went through.
TWEET
“At the time, I didn’t understand why I was in this career. But looking back now, that was probably the quickest way that I could have learned the things that I wanted to learn to be where I am today. So I’m so grateful I did it.” @AndreaPCoaching #chasingdreams
ANDREA’S JOURNEY FROM DETECTIVE TO COACH
A lot of what Andrea teaches and does as a human potential coach is all about living from your heart, and when you live from your heart it calls you out of your comfort zone.
Policing pulled Andrea out of her comfort zone, similarly with coaching. She became a human potential coach because she saw the impact it had on her life mostly because she spent so much of her life not feeling connected with what she was doing.
When it came to policing, she was thriving on paper - earning seven figures, she had successful loving relationships, and health. But inside, she felt she still wasn’t enough. This sparked her personal development journey. She took courses, seminars, podcasts to improve personally and professionally. With so much knowledge that she was absorbing, she felt like she was hitting a personal development plateau. She was doing all the things and experiencing some change, but at the same time she wasn’t. This is what Andrea called a “baseball bat from the universe.” Her wakeup call. This wakeup call was with her health.
As a former athlete, Andrea valued her health most of all. She used to be a former competitive athlete and a former personal trainer. However, she noticed that she began experiencing extreme food sensitivities, extreme food allergies, and narcolepsy. It was to the point that she knew she needed to start doing something different.
At that point, she began working with a coach who helped her tap into her subconscious. It was through doing this work that she started to realize that she had some limiting beliefs that were holding her back from truly thriving and pursuing the life she really wanted to live.
From doing her own inner work, she was able to double her work, build her coaching business and get back her health. Andrea believes that everyone should have a tool to be able to live the life that they love.
TWEET
“Being a human potential coach is all about living from your heart, and when you live from your heart it calls you out of your comfort zone.” @AndreaPCoaching #chasingdreams
QUOTE
“I truly believe that everyone should have a tool to live the life that they love.”
PURSUING YOUR GOALS
The truth is, when you pursue your goals and your dreams it’s scary.
A few years into her career as a police officer, Andrea began the journey towards discovering her true purpose. When she finally found her calling to become a human potential coach, she knew she had to follow her dreams.
Sending in her resignation letter was a huge step for her. It was definitely frightening as she again had to step out of her comfort zone. For Andrea, she knows that it’s those big moments in life that we have to experience in order to be pushed in the right direction, and leaving her career as a police officer to pursue her dreams was definitely a huge one.
TWEET:
“The truth is, when you pursue your goals and your dreams, it’s scary.” @AndreaPCoaching #chasingdreams
LIFE AS A HUMAN POTENTIAL COACH
As a human potential coach, Andrea helps people who are inspiring and driven to reach their fullest potential and create the life that they love. The truth is, most of the people who Andrea has worked with already love their life. It’s just a matter of being able to expand that and grow on that. In addition, if you’re somebody who is driven to live an amazing life, part of that is you have big dreams. Having big dreams means having to step outside of your comfort zone and being open to dealing with challenges along the way. This is the fun part of truly living the life that you love.
TWEET
“Having big dreams means having to step outside of your comfort zone and being open to dealing with challenges along the way. ” @AndreaPCoaching #chasingdreams
TWO STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
There are two stages of human development. The first one is one that everyone goes through. This stage is where at the level of the essence of the soul, nothing is missing. You are worthy, you are loved, you can be, do, and have anything in the world.
However, when we are born and come into this planet, there’s this duality that we all go through. In this duality, there’s growth and rest, support and challenge, good and bad, pain and pleasure. What happens is, when we’re born, we are taught this illusion that love and worth comes from the outside. Part of this is because as babies, we need adults to survive. This then puts in our mind that we need to start looking to the outside to fulfill our lives.
We look to the outside to make us feel safe and we start to learn these stories that we tell ourselves. We fill our time being busy and covering up things we don’t want to feel or face. What happens is we start to shape our reality by reacting to what is happening around us. In this phase, we aren’t conscious creators because we just react to external stimuli.
In this stage, life can be very frustrating. So, for those who feel like they are mainly reacting to life, that life is just happening to you, part of it is because our life is being created from the outside in.
Stage two of human development is when you are looking to start doing true inner growth. It is the stage where you begin to live life having worth that comes from within. In this stage, you are the conscious creator of your reality. You are a master of your reality.
This stage is where true success happens. Success is admitting what it is that you want and getting into action but also knowing that you are worthy of it.
TWEET
“Success is admitting what it is that you want and getting into action but also knowing that you are worthy of it.” @AndreaPCoaching #chasingdreams
QUOTE
“In order to create a life you truly love, you have to be responsible for it. And the truth is, a course, a book, or all these things will help you get there but you’re going to have to start admitting what is it that you truly want and what is in alignment with you.”
WHAT ARE YOUR HIGHEST VALUES?
One helpful tool to reaching your full potential is figuring out what your highest values are. When you know what your highest values are, you are going to be most efficient and effective. You can then link that to whatever you’re learning along your personal development journey.
When learning about your highest values, follow your own. Copying others will only get you stuck because you’re not going to grow if you adopt other people’s values. One reason is because adopting another person’s values tends to make you judge yourself and others.
One of the best things you can do along your own personal development journey is to take the time to ask yourself what does your life demonstrate that’s actually meaningful and important to you.
TWEET:
“Ask yourself what’s in alignment with your values and how can you move that forward? It’ll save you tons of time and tons of money.” @AndreaPCoaching #chasingdreams
THE THREE WAYS WE REACT
There are ultimately three ways in which we react. One is when we run away from pain towards pleasure. Another way we react is by judgement. Judgment causes us to be or not be like somebody else instead of being you. The third way is reverting back to the moment you stored a perception.
TWEET:
“Judgment causes us to be or not be like somebody else instead of being you.” @AndreaPCoaching #chasingdreams
WORKING ON YOUR INNER SELF & CHOOSING YOUR CHALLENGE
Andrea’s mantra is “there’s always equal support and challenge.” The way the universe works is that if you challenge yourself to truly admit what is it that you want and get into action and actually do the thing, you will be supported. You’ll be supported by finances, opportunities, people, etc.
However, if you stay in your comfort zone and are unwilling to challenge yourself, the name of the game is that you’re then going to be challenged by the universe. As you take action steps towards it, you will be supported.
We should also note that the bigger the dream, the more challenges you’ll be facing. So chunk it into smaller and more actionable steps. Knowing that there’s going to be challenges no matter what, then you might as well choose your challenge.
TWEET:
“Knowing that there’s going to be challenges no matter what, then you might as well choose your challenge.” @AndreaPCoaching #chasingdreams
BUILDING RESILIENCE
Anytime we have a challenge, we are being shaped into a better version of ourselves. Just like the butterfly, it needs that resistance and challenge in order for it to become strong and be able to fly. It needs to go through isolation to grow into something beautiful.
The difference between someone who has true inner success is someone who is able to use that challenge to their advantage. They are not the victim but the master of their destiny.
Know that the challenges are there for a reason. You may not see why right away, but if you look back, you’ll have better clarity of why you went through it. In addition, when you are in the moment of facing a challenge, ask yourself questions to help you understand why you are going through or facing this roadblock.
Guest Recommendation: ONE action for a dream chaser to take –
When chasing your dreams, make sure they’re yours. The biggest thing you can do everyday is to ask yourself quality questions.
One quality question you can ask yourself is one by Dr. John D. Martini - “What is it that I would love?” Then ask yourself the highest priority action steps you can take to reach that. Chunk these into smaller baby steps, take those consistent baby steps, and see how much progress you’ll have made with dedication and consistency.
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