Boussole.

Choosing to name my business after the French word for compass was one of the easiest decisions I’ve made as an entrepreneur.   

It perfectly encompasses who I am and what I do. It’s authentic and it’s me.

French is a part of my identity and I can’t imagine my life without it. A French immersion graduate, I ended up getting a BA in French Language and Literature after continually flipping faculties, majors, and minors. French was the only consistent thing at a time when I had no idea what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be. 

(Side note: if you can relate to the flip-flopping and the constant wondering of ‘what should I do when I grow up?’—we need to talk!) 

Learning French made learning other languages easier, and I took German in high school and Spanish at University. My love of travel was born out of my love of languages and I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had because of the languages I speak.

Learning other languages represents freedom, open-mindedness, curiosity, and opportunity. These are in perfect alignment with my values—no wonder I felt most like myself when I was travelling!

Travel is also a huge part of who I am. It’s integral to my identity. Travelling with children will be a different challenge from travelling solo, but I’m excited to share the world with them and to see it through their eyes. If you love to travel with your kids, I’d love to hear any tips and tricks you have up your sleeve. 

Before the pandemic, I had travelled to 45 countries (quite a few more than once!) and my goal is to surpass 100. But it’s not just about checking another country off the list. And it’s definitely not about staying at a sanitized all-inclusive resort (not my idea of travel, but I recognize the ease it provides, especially for families).

It’s about being fully immersed in the language, the culture, the landscape, and the people. It’s about getting curious and being open-minded. It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new experiences. Travelling to a new place, and leaving the familiar behind, is the best example of truly getting out of your comfort zone and experiencing all that life has to offer. 

Leaving your comfort zone is where you learn, grow, expand, and develop. It is where you find joy. It is where you find yourself.

Travel was also a way to escape the grind of teaching. Being able to explore other countries during the summer was the driving force I needed to make it through another school year. And when I was there, I felt more like myself than I ever did at home. I was able to truly tap into who I was, what I liked, what I wanted to do. I wasn’t at the mercy of the bell schedule and I didn’t have a never-ending to-do list to complete—I had time and space to just be. 

Have you ever had that experience? Where you truly feel like yourself? You don’t have to leave the country to find out who you are—I think I learned more about myself through personal introspection, reflection, and coaching than I did through travelling, although travelling definitely lit the flame. 

A technology-free weekend could give you the same opportunity to tune into yourself. No bringing the office home with you, no secretly checking your emails after dinner, no thinking about the big project you’re working on. Take some time and space to just be (preferably by yourself) and see what bubbles up for you. 

I did learn a lot about myself while travelling and I recognize now that a lot of who I am is because of the experiences I have had while travelling. Discovering how other people live, learn, work, and play helped shape who I am and what I value. But even with that awareness, I still wasn’t able to figure out what I wanted to do ‘when I grew up’ (the question that haunted me for several decades).

It wasn’t until hiring a life coach four years ago that I got some clarity on what I wanted going forward. 

She helped me tune in to my inner compass and find a new path after my life blew up in my face.

Tuning into your inner compass is something you need to prioritize if you want to live a life you love. 

When you aren't tuned in, you lose your sense of direction and are likely to end up feeling lost, stuck, dissatisfied with your life, and disconnected from who you truly are. 

When you take the time to tune in and really listen to what your mind, heart, body, and spirit desire, you become more aligned with who you truly are and you start making choices that reflect that alignment. 

By listening to your inner compass and tuning into the voice in your heart, you will develop a greater self-awareness of who you are and what you want. You’ll remember who you were to begin with, before you got caught up in the busy-ness of career, family, life. 

You will gain confidence and clarity about who you are at your core, your values, your identity (there is so much more to you than just the labels ‘mom’, ‘teacher’, ‘wife’). 

When you step into your authenticity you will make choices that are more aligned with who you are and what you value. This will be the beginning of your journey to living a life you love. 

The word ‘compass’ (French: boussole) originates from Latin, meaning ‘to step together’. As a coach, I help you tune in to your inner compass and find your true north. Together we will go on a journey to help you (re)discover who you are and what you want. 

There is something about the symbolism of a compass that the romantic in me loves. It’s symbolic of exploration and discovery, adventures and journeys. 

And life is an adventure. 

It would be an honour to be your guide as you discover who you are and who you want to be on the journey to living the life you’ve always wanted. 

Shall we begin?