Coach C.J. Liu

Congratulations on making an important step towards progress!  Often the most exciting thing about coaching is the clarity, day-by-day progress, undiscovered opportunities, and learning experiences for clients that lie ahead.  As a career coach, lawyer coach, business coach, and life coach (based in Seattle, Washington), I’m excited to help you find these life gems.

Coaching Goals/Method
 

I am a whole life coach. I find that often life doesn’t offer a clean separation between our work and personal life, which is why I am a whole life coach. My clients tell me that they most appreciate my ability to help with BOTH career and personal challenges. After 20 years working with Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, schools, start-ups, individuals, and nonprofits, my clients get practical business advice and a solid framework for addressing work-related issues. I bring MBA-like tools to analyzing problems, creating plans, and devising and executing strategies. I am also trained in handling emotionally charged issues such as career transitions, work-life balance, spiritual growth, dating, and marriage renewal, all with love, sensitivity, and empathy to guide or inspire you. 
 

Educational Background
 

I am a Certified Professional Coach (ICF-Certified - Academy for Coach Training).  I have an MBA from Haas School of Business, and a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Duke University.  I am certified in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Reiki II, and have taken numerous classes on managing change and conflict management.
 

Why I am a coach?
 

A coach, a guide, a teacher.  They’re all the same to me, and they’re all just different names for what I’ve naturally been doing my entire life.  My personal reward from coaching is helping people achieve their personal goals…and to set new goals that they didn’t even know they could have.  For me, there is nothing more gratifying.  My best days are when my clients, husband, or children make positive changes and I can see transformation and personal growth starting to happen as a result of my coaching.
 

Personal Interests/Personality
 

I am a study of extreme opposites.  On the one hand, I am a work-out-aholic and a yoga junky.  I basically love anything that allows me to connect with family and my intuition, learn and grow, be grounded, and have internal peace.  I am the eternal optimist and can see the positive in almost anything.  I love to laugh, play practical jokes, and bring out the inner “goofy” in others.  On the other hand, I am very practical, balanced, and realistic.  I can be fiery, intense and have a laser-like focus on issues.  My former CFO side trained me to be very detail oriented, analytical and fact-based.  My other business experience fine honed my ability to prioritize, be disciplined, and plan.
 

I believe strongly in giving back.  I am on the board of Asian/Pacific Americans in Philanthropy and a Partner at Social Venture Partners.
 

Personal Note
 

For much of my life, I was an active participant in the rat race.  I did all the “right” things and went to all the “right” schools.  I had what some would consider an enviable life – a prestigious high paying job, a loving and supportive husband, and great kids.  So where were the alleged Kodak moments and eternal bliss that the commercials promised?  What I now realize is that I was playing a game that was not of my own design.
 

It was both life and death that catalyzed me into moving from a place of inaction, to taking control of my life.  My father’s death made me reconsider what was important in my life and the birth of my children helped me understand that my inaction had consequences beyond just myself.
 

While I was on a constant high from the excitement at Microsoft, I felt that I had a greater purpose and perhaps was squandering my talents and time.  While I wasn’t sure where my destiny would take me, I took a leap of faith and let my heart lead me. My heart led me to coaching.  Over the last few years, I have created a life that I love and am doing things that finally feel “right” for me. My personal definition of success is simply happiness.
 

My goal is to help my clients achieve the same sense of happiness, freedom, and clarity in their lives. In the end, I hope to move my clients to a place of greater self-awareness and acceptance.
 

Articles by C.J. and Other Pages of Interest:
 

Lawyer Marketing Coaches:  Sticking to Basics -- Referrals

Life Balance Coach: Common Misconceptions

Quality of Life Coach:  How to use the wheel of life to stop spinning out of control

Seattle Personal Coach:  9 Tips on Getting Motivated

Career Coach

Life Coach

Lawyer Marketing Coach

C.J. is also a lawyer life coach and lawyer career coach at Hot Blue Coaching.  She also has more information on her work as a lawyer marketing coach on that site.