The Question That Changed My Life

There are moments in life that change you. Not because they were loud or dramatic, but because something, or someone, showed up at precisely the right time.

For me, that someone was Katie Alsip.

I met Katie back in 2019 during my training at the High Performance Coaching Academy – THRIVE On! It was a magical, electric space where local aspiring leaders gathered to stretch, grow, and refine the art of leading, not just with skill but with presence, confidence, and purpose.

At that point in my life, I was… well, a lot.
Overly confident, overly driven, and overly convinced that control equaled success. Work was one of the few spaces where I felt competent, so I clung to it. I can look back now and laugh, but at the time, I was sure that being “in control” meant I was doing it right.

I can only imagine what the facilitators were thinking:
Who’s going to coach this confident, green, opinionated one?

Katie didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward, calm, grounded, and ready.

And from the moment we began, I knew I had met my match.

Katie’s purpose wasn’t to polish me. It was to grow me.
She saw the potential beneath the noise. She knew that leadership wasn’t about controlling outcomes but about developing self-awareness, clarity, and trust.

She helped me outgrow the habits that no longer served me or my people. She taught me to clearly articulate my goals, to build my “big picture,” and to lead in alignment with my values, not my ego.

And the live coaching sessions? Forget about it. Katie expected preparation. Evidence-based notes, clear reflections, and real accountability. Her questions cut straight through my defenses:

“Why do you think that?”
“What’s underneath that reaction?”
“What fear are you protecting right now?”

Each one made me pause. Think. Feel.
They cracked me open in ways I didn’t even know I needed.

By the end of that cycle, I was no longer leading from control. I was learning to lead by connecting with myself first.

But what stayed with me most wasn’t just the coaching. It was Katie’s truth-telling. Even long after the work ended, she remained a voice I trusted, the kind of person you can call when you don’t need comfort but clarity.

She would always tell me the truth, even when it stung, especially when it stung.

Years later, when I stood at one of the most significant crossroads in my career, I picked up the phone, and you can likely guess who I called.

Katie listened quietly, as she always does. Then she said something that changed my life forever:

“What would be harder for you? Trying, with the risk of failing?
Or staying stuck where you are?”

I’ll never forget the stillness that followed.

That one question became the heartbeat of my entire framework, the foundation of Choose. Challenge. Live™. The work I do now, the coaching I offer, and the life I live all trace back to that single conversation.

Because that was the moment I truly understood what forward motion meant.
It wasn’t about control. It wasn’t about certainty.
It was about courage. About choosing to move even when the outcome wasn’t guaranteed.

Katie taught me that sometimes, the most significant growth act is simply the decision to try.

And now, all these years later, the universe has brought our paths full circle.
Today, I get to work with Katie and an incredible organization that continues the teaching and learning from those seeds she planted six years ago.

It feels like the universe’s gentle reminder that every single thing, meeting, season, and challenge happens for a reason.

Every person who crosses our path is either a mirror or a teacher. Katie was both.

And because of her, I lead for connection, coach for growth. AND I live, always, in forward motion.