John Shumate

How did you find out about Frame of Mind Coaching™?

A friend of mine who owns a company in New York had Kim Ades as a coach, and described the experience as extremely beneficial. He recommended that I look into Frame of Mind Coaching™.

Why did you decide to pursue FOM?

I was at a crossroads in life. I was growing a new company. I was going through a divorce. I was in the process of moving cities. I'm also a stage four cancer patient and I fly to New York every two weeks for treatment. So there was a lot of flux in my life. 

I've always been pretty good at organizing my time and my thoughts when there are one or two challenges on the table. But with the amount of things on my radar that demanded my focus, it really helped to have Kim organize that alongside me and to talk through it all with me.

How did coaching help you cope with everything that was going on in your life?

Kim really challenged me when I needed to be challenged, which was so important. I'm a fairly stubborn person in terms of going my own way, and people don't tend to challenge me. It was so helpful to have a second pair of eyes on what was going on in my life. She was able to point out ways that I think about my work and my relationships that I could quickly and easily tweak. She has so much experience that she was able to coach me effortlessly.  It was great to have her as a mentor and confidante. 

How has coaching impacted your relationships?

Prior to coaching, I was ready to close myself off on the relationship front. Through coaching, I was able to see that, since I didn't have a lot of time left, I actually wanted to open myself up to others.

How has coaching impacted how you show up at work?

I delegate to others so much better now. It's allowed me to grow my team and my business quicker. I now leverage the strengths of my team instead of trying to do everything myself. This has freed up much of my mental space and my time. I'm not working all the time now, so I am able to have fun and be more spontaneous, which is important to me. Overall, I'm doing a better job.

What was the experience of journaling every day like for you?

I didn't journal every day, but I did it frequently. I really enjoyed journaling, and I intend to continue doing it. I learned so much about myself by exploring my thought process through journaling. Having the journaling prompts available made writing so much easier. I journaled about everything that was going on in my head, and it helped me organize my thoughts in a more disciplined way.

What was your experience with coaching like overall?

It was tremendously helpful to have someone to be a partner in working out my different challenges. It was almost like having a good board member to report to; Kim gave me advice, pointed out different ways in which I could think about things, was truly honest and shared my victories with me. Ever since coaching, I am more deliberate with my thoughts and my actions.