Sonya, you came out of left field and changed my life. Your impact on how I was feeling about myself and my career needed a “snap of it” without the slap. I admit I had fallen into the “I’m older and a woman of color”, nobody is going to hire me, so my brilliant idea was to change my career choice, which I loved and that I was good at because I was afraid of another rejection email or call. That was a bad idea. After meeting with you for the first time, we talked for hours. It was so comfortable and easy. I had no idea you were “listening, hearing, and evaluating “ what I was saying and how I was interpreting my own life. When we met the second time you had me bring some tools like a notebook, pencils, and colored markers and advised me to get ready for hard questions, and if I wasn’t prepared to be honest, we should reschedule. Yikes, she was serious and I thought, arts and crafts is my thing, so I can be honest. The next meeting was 8+ hours. I don’t know how she pulled off some “Rain Man” antics, but she had questions that had to do with my answers from that fluent conversation we had had the week prior. I didn’t even remember telling her some of the topics that were on my list of questions to answer. I know she wrote nothing down at the first meeting, so how did she know what to ask and “who” I was? It was mind-boggling to me and amazing all at the same time because she was really paying attention to everything. There’s something about when someone requests you to be completely honest and vulnerable when answering a question. You get inside your head and repeat the questions over and over, even reading them out loud, so you can hear them. I CLEARLY had some issues that I needed to confront and she brought it out of me. We, She, Us, did a lot of talking and listening. I felt so much better after writing my “stuff” down and then listening to the answers that I wrote. I thought…. She’s Good. My block was almost lifted, I could literally feel it. I scheduled another meeting and Yes, I had homework to bring back to her for our next meeting. I hibernated my LinkedIn page and erased and tossed out all those resumes because they weren’t me any longer. I was smarter, more experienced, and expensive, and the best hire for anyone. My confidence was lifted and she made me believe in myself again. Sometimes you need the Right person to tell you you're “great and you're deserving of a boss position”, meaning a better position, more money, and what you want. Sonya did that for me and I will be eternally grateful. Her style of coaching and mentoring is like no other. You feel it because it's real. Thank you for believing in me for me. Stephanie Dyer-Belgacem