Today we’d like to introduce you to Janelle King.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Janelle. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I got started life coaching back in 2015. I had just graduated from Howard University and moved to Greensboro, North Carolina for my master’s program at UNCG. And although my background was in Psychology, I decided to pursue what I was passionate about at the time, Consumer Apparel, Retail Studies.
It was my goal to merge psychology and fashion as a consumer behaviorist to increase multicultural awareness in fashion and beauty brands, and although I was passionate about what I was studying, I felt like I was made for more but I couldn’t identify what that “more” was.
So that curiosity led me on an introspective journey, where I started fasting and praying, asking God to reveal to me my purpose. Now, I didn’t know everything but I knew one thing for sure: I didn’t want to wake up toward the end of my life realizing that wasted it pursuing other people’s expectations of me or even my wrongly defined definition of success. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my days honoring God with my life and what He called me to do. So with that, I entered into a period of fasting and prayer.
During that time, I was led to pick back up my blog that I started and hadn’t touched in two years. It was originally started as a style and beauty blog, but I noticed I was blogging more on personal and spiritual development. One day as I was sitting on my couch working on it, I heard something say, “Google the word ‘life coach.” Now I had no idea of what a life coach was or anyone who was one outside of Iyanla Vanzant of Iyanla Fix My Life.
So I inquisitively Googled the word and as I read the description, it was almost as if I had an out-of-body experience because I was reading a description of who I was and what I’ve always done. It talked about how a coach helps to empower people to become better versions of themselves by asking the right questions to help them to derive to the right answers, all while helping them to take the right action steps to get them there. I realized that I’ve always done that for myself and for others. And as I read the description, I heard God say, “Your purpose is to inspire and motivate women to live purpose-driven lives. And life coaching will be your assignment. This is how I want you to carry your purpose out.”
At that moment, everything started to click and make sense. It was as if a movie reel started playing, highlighting specific moments when I was always operating in purpose just without awareness. My purpose was the single thread that was tying together my strengths, gifts, personality type, passions, pursuits, and even my education. God revealed to me that all these things come together for your purpose.
Two weeks after having that revelation, a girl I had grown up attending church with, reached out to me to see if offered 1-on-1 coaching, and the crazy thing was 1) I hadn’t spoken to her in years and 2) I had nothing about coaching on my website yet! So I took her on as my first probono client. That was back in 2015, and a year and a half later that revelation led me to quit my master’s program a semester shy of finishing to pursue my purpose and calling as a coach.
That brings me to where I’m today. I now serve women as a Certified Life Purpose Coach where I coach and educate them to design a life that they and God love by helping them to uncover their purpose, clarify their calling, and achieve their goals using the same process that I’ve coached myself and many clients through.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The biggest thing that I’ve struggled with as an entrepreneur is mindset — having the faith that everything will work out. My personality naturally craves structure and stability and when you’re beginning as an entrepreneur, you’re developing your business so it can become that. With that being said, the ups and downs that come with the entrepreneurship journey can feel quite like a rollercoaster ride. One that can be quite physically, mentally, emotionally, and sometimes even spiritually draining. I guess that’s why they say that most entrepreneurs receive a degree in personal development along the way because you have to constantly be growing yourself beyond your capacity to elevate yourself and your business to the next level.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Life Designer University – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am a Certified Life Purpose Coach and Speaker. My business is Life Designer University where I coach and educate women to design a life that they and God love by helping them to uncover their purpose, clarify their calling, and achieve their goals. Usually, my clients come to me in a place where they know that they were “made for more” and they’re having a hard time figuring out what that “more” is. They’re tired of confusing their job, passion, or role with their purpose. They’re over listening to the sermons, reading the self-help books, and attending the conferences. They’re ready to know their unique God-given purpose and how they’re being called to carry it out.
The problem with most programs, books, and conferences out there is that they teach your purpose in a general sense or in terms of doing — i.e., a career, business, role, or assignment instead of teaching your purpose as a holistic integration of being, doing, and living. That integration consists of who you are, what you’ve been prepared for, what you love, and how you’re divinely called to carry it out. As I dove deeper into my work as a life coach, I discovered that all these facets of our life fall into what is known as the Four Core Directions that point to our purpose. They are your design, passion, preparation, and calling. Purpose is found where these four core directions integrate in the middle. I walk women through navigating these in my 1-on-1 coaching and group coaching programs as well as my classes and courses, so they can leave with clarity, confidence, and direction in their purpose, calling, and goals.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Well right now, I’m working on creating more courses designed to equip women in their purpose, calling, and personal development. I also recently started doing more local workshops and events and I’m loving the transformation that the ladies in our community are having. Therefore, I’m looking forward to taking on more speaking engagements where I can greater impact and influence women in this way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lifedesigneru.com
- Phone: (330) 397-8057
- Email: janelle@lifedesigneru.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/janellealex_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lifedesigneru/
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/janellealex_
Image Credit:
Gabriella Valladares LePage
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