Sometimes the most useful answers aren’t new—they’re just seen differently.
I have two tattoos on my wrists.
One says “Happiness.” The other says “Freedom.”
They’ve been with me for years—words that always felt essential to the kind of life I wanted to live.
And then came the moment that reframed everything:
The first time I ordained as a monk in Thailand, we traveled to the preceptor’s temple after the ceremony.
All of us—new monks in freshly folded robes—sat quietly before the elder monk.
He looked at us and said:
“The most important thing in life is happiness and freedom.”
I remember smiling. What were the chances?
Those words were already written on my skin… and now here they were—spoken as sacred truth in a temple on the other side of the world.
At that moment, something clicked.
Perspective isn’t just how we look at life. It’s how life begins looking back at us when we pay attention.
A Lesson I’ll Never Forget
I once asked another senior monk what was truly most important.
His answer stayed with me ever since:
“There is nothing more important than helping others find meditation.”
He said teaching meditation was like giving people the right tool for the job—
The job of living in peace.
That insight helped shape my path as a meditation teacher—and eventually a coach.
When You’re In It, You Can’t See It
Think of the last time you felt overwhelmed.
Your thoughts were racing. Your emotions were loud. Everything felt tangled.
Now imagine someone calmly sitting across from you—not rushing to fix you, but gently holding up a mirror so you could see the truth:
- You weren’t broken.
- You weren’t alone.
- You just needed perspective.
That’s what coaching can offer.
A Forest, Then a Fire
During monastic life, I was once guided through an internal practice that has stayed with me ever since:
“Imagine your life as a forest. There are different size trees for all areas of your life—family, school, work, people you love, things you’ve built or lost. All your memories and accomplishments. Picture it. Feel it.”
“Now burn it down.”
“And see what remains.”
What you find in that clearing—free from story, expectation, identity—is still you.
Still whole. Still here.
Still worthy.
That exercise taught me that the past isn’t something we have to carry to be real.
Letting go doesn’t erase meaning—it reveals presence.
How This Shows Up in Coaching
In a session, I might ask a client to zoom out:
- What’s really happening here?
- What’s the story you’re telling yourself?
- What would this look like from 30,000 feet?
That space—between the event and your interpretation—is where all your power lives.
And when you find it, clarity returns.
You Don’t Need a New Life—Just a New Lens
You don’t need to move across the world or start from scratch.
Sometimes, all you need is to see your current life through a new lens.
Your experiences aren’t good or bad, right or wrong. They’re essential.
They’ve brought you here, to this moment of clarity.
That’s the power of perspective.
And it’s one of the most valuable things I help my clients develop—not because I read it in a book, but because I’ve lived it.
“You could climb a thousand stories high in your mind, and you might be near,
but you have to want to climb—and have no fear.”
Coach Steve, *My Conversation With God*
Ready to see your life with fresh eyes?
Let’s have a conversation that shifts everything.
Book your free 30-minute clarity call now and let’s explore where perspective can unlock peace, purpose, and progress.