About

Karen Batchelor is a certified professional career and life coach. Following 20 years in the practice of law and as an executive in corporate America, Karen has combined her diverse and extensive professional and life skills to help people navigate through the roadblocks and challenges on the journey through midlife.

OK — that’s the official version. Now here’s how I got here:

One day in 2005, I was sitting in my office at work. My career path looked incredible on paper and I was definitely climbing the proverbial ladder of success. But that day I felt like there was a plastic bag over my head and I was suffocating. All of a sudden it hit me “Oh no (expletive deleted) — wrong ladder!”

Even though I had the image and seductive trappings of success, I wasn’t living in sync with my life values. I wasn’t fulfilling my life purpose of helping others, my creativity was stifled and my personal life was shoved into a corner.  The salary and perks I thought were so important felt like a ball and chain.

So with a courage I didn’t think I had in me, I climbed down that ladder and headed off in search of the life I really wanted.  During this time, I had surgery to have my thyroid removed. It was supposed to be routine surgery but I ended with complications that my doctor described as “potentially fatal”. Trust me, those words get your full attention.

Well thanks to some great medical care, I made it through that midlife crisis. Shortly after though, my dearest friend was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. She’s my age. I realized then that life is too short — or too long to live it in a way that doesn’t make you happy.

Fate led me to coaching and it was a perfect fit with my strengths and skills.  Along the way, I developed my unique coaching style that incorporates compassion, intuition, life lessons and humor.  I also experienced the benefits of coaching first-hand as I was coached by several wonderful life coaches who inspired and supported me as I moved full steam ahead.

The take-away from my story — it’s never too late to step out as the person you truly want to be. I started my journey in the middle of midlife. By the time I obtained my certification as a life coach, I had also become a professional blogger, a knitter and a gardener as I learned to smell the flowers along the way — literally and figuratively.

For me, midlife has been a trip — encompassing the good, the bad and the absolutely amazing. And while this might be midlife, for many of us in the Baby Boomer generation — maybe even me — this may only halftime.

So I have dedicated my professional life to helping others like me, create a road map that leads to the better half of life. We may not have been able to plan the first part of our lives but with this special tool called “coaching” we can definitely plan the next half.

Think about it this way:

Midlife isn’t about finding yourself. It’s about creating yourself.