Amy Ginsburg is a Certified International Federation (ICF) Life Coach specializing in Career and Retirement. She partners with individuals and corporate clients across the globe to actualize their true and best selves and makes her home in Olympia with her two teens.
The Zoom app that so many of us have become acquainted with since the COVID pandemic has made the world much smaller in one sense. Amy meets with her clients exclusively via Zoom.
So, what exactly is a career and retirement coach, and why would an older adult need/want one? “A life coach is someone who partners with someone looking to create something in their future,” Amy explained.
She went on to clarify the difference between a life coach and a therapist. A therapist is typically trying to help their patients work through something in the past, a trauma of some sort, to restore function and relieve pain.
“A life coach is more forward-focused. They help create the energy needed to achieve something their clients want. A therapist comes to the table as the expert. A coach comes to the table assuming the client is the expert in their life. An example of some of the people who have used life coaches are Oprah, some of our presidents and Bill Gates”.
So, again, why would an older adult want to use the skills of a life coach?
As a career and retirement coach, Amy works with many seniors on the edge of retiring or those who have already retired and aren’t satisfied with their life of ease.
Many seniors have started new part or full-time careers after retiring.
You can only play golf, go bowling, or fish or do quilting, for so long before a sense of “there must be something more” sets in.
Maybe you have always dreamed of becoming a painter or a writer or wanted to create woodworking sculpture. Or maybe travel is your interest or genealogy or running in marathons. Whatever would fill the void in your current life, the first step is to know how to identify it, and that’s where Amy can help.
Nor does she always work alone. She often partners with financial planners, when needed, and together they provide the necessary expertise to lead you even farther toward your dream.
“I like to think of what I do as shining a light in the shadows, illuminating areas that people may not be aware of,” Amy said.
A friend in California went weekly to work in the woodshop at our local senior center. When I asked him what he worked on while he was there, he proudly produced a beautiful handmade violin. He had made several and a few guitars as well.
When they were finished, he took them to a local music store and tested their sound against the violins they had for sale. When satisfied with their tones, he donated them to local schools.
His wife suffered from Alzheimer’s, and one day a week, when she had a caregiver, it was his escape and reconnection with his life. He had never done anything like this before he retired. Coaching brought him to his joy.
There are many ways to volunteer or start a new career without setting out to do so. We see examples of this all the time – veterans helping veterans at the Lacey Veterans Service Hub, working at our local food banks, helping the homeless, teachers’ aides at schools and more.
What makes you feel good inside?
And a final word of caution here. Coaching is an unregulated industry. A lot of people claim to be coaches but do not have the training, or labor under the same definitions that Amy has explained here, so people need to do their research before connecting and committing. Referrals are most helpful.
For more information visit Amy’s web page at Home - Amy Ginsburg Coaching
Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia. Contact her at kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.
Correction: An earlier version of this article did not clarify that Ginsburg meets exclusively over Zoom. We regret the error.
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