Today I'm interviewing, Barrie Davenport, from Live Bold and Bloom! She is a consultant for the A-List Blogging Bootcamps and A-List Blogging Club, working with Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch to present one of the hottest blogging training programs on the internet!
Barrie wants to inspire you to live boldly and bloom to your fullest potential! Her readers have climbed summits, created vibrant businesses, written books, and dared to dream big dreams.
How did you become interested in guiding people with finding their authentic self?
I have always been interested in people – what they think, how they feel, what makes them tick. I have been an “armchair” counselor for my friends for as long as I can remember, and feel great satisfaction in helping people solve problems and overcome challenges.
It was only in the last few years that I understood I could take my personal passion for helping my friends and family and translate that into a career.
Through a lot of self-coaching and exploration, I discovered a career that would support that passion. Actually, two careers kept popping up for me, counseling and coaching. The more I learned about coaching, the more I knew it was a great fit for me.
As part of my work as a coach, I created a group workshop to help people discover their authentic selves and to open doors to a higher quality of life.
When I created my blog, I realized that I could reach so many more people, and that was the impetus to create this self-study course.
What skills, values and interests gave you the capability to find and live your passion?
That’s a great question, since that is exactly what I ask students of this course to do for themselves. I’m going to put values first, because I think it’s the most important. For me, the career values that drive me are serving, connecting, creating, and synthesizing.
Of course, those career values must be infused with integrity, balance, and joy. The skills I bring to the table are a decent ability to communicate, both in writing and verbally; a strong intuition and understanding of people; a well-spring of curiosity; and a long professional background in PR that fostered many practical business skills.
I am interested in so many things – but primarily I am interested in personal growth, blogging, writing, reading just about everything, traveling, the arts (particularly ballet), history, and the intersection of science and spirituality. I love learning. I also, have three teenagers who have been the center of my life for 19 years.
Tell us about a turning point in your life.
The most profound turning point in my life has been in the last couple of years. My oldest child moved away, giving me a lot more time to pursue my career.
This coincided with my turning 50 and realizing that I had better start creating the life I want and doing the things I’ve dreamed of doing – because they weren’t going to happen someday.
Someday had arrived.
As a result, I have changed careers entirely (from a PR consultant to a coach), and have embraced new adventures (like blogging) that I never even considered before. I have finally come to deeply understand the power of the present moment – and it’s only in this moment, right now, that we can experience real happiness. So I’ve started making every moment count.
What’s the most difficult job you’ve ever had?
Hands down, raising my children. The most difficult and the most rewarding. Jackie Kennedy once said, “If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much.” I agree. It takes tremendous commitment and patience to raise small children and to launch teenagers into adulthood.
If I am able to give my children the tools they need — emotionally, mentally and practically — to become successful, happy adults, I will feel satisfied. The jury is still out since my youngest is just 13.
Who do you admire?
There are so many people I admire for various reasons. A literary character I admire very much is Atticus Finch from the book, To Kill A Mockingbird. He was such a remarkable mixture of integrity, humility, gentleness, and power.
There are many younger women I have met through blogging whom I admire very much for their ability to accomplish so much, with such grace, at a very young age. Two that come to mind are Carolyn Rubenstein of the blog, A Beautiful Ripple Effect, and Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project. They are both impacting many people in such positive ways.
Is there a specific book that inspired you to change your life?
I am a voracious reader, so I’m sure that many books have unconsciously influenced me. Eckhart Tolle’s book, The Power of Now, was the first to really hammer home the concept of working daily, hourly to live in the present moment. I’d certainly heard the idea before, but it really struck me with this book.
Another really powerful book for me is The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, MD. He puts the science behind the power of positive thinking and shows how we can re-wire our brains to make remarkable positive change.
I have been inspired by Deepak Chopra, Stephen Hawking, Thich Nhat Hnah, Stephen Chandler – too many to name them all!
If you could make one change in the world what would it be?
That I could wave a wand and everyone would develop emotional maturity and self-awareness. Imagine how that would impact politics, international relations, religion, and our daily interactions with other people.
Tell us about one thing on your bucket list.
To live this moment and the next one mindfully and joyfully.
Today, Barrie is launching her brand new eCourse, Discover Your Passion: A Step-By-Step Course for Creating the Life of Your Dreams. Learn how you can get a jump start on 2011, and begin your extraordinary journey. Life's too grand to settle for anything less. Life's too short to miss out on this wonderful opportunity! Click below…
Tess,
Thank you so much for this lovely post and interview. You really made me think! I am thrilled to have the opportunity to “meet” your readers and to partner with you on presenting this course to them. Here’s to living the bold (and passionate) life!