Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Stephanie Mount sharing her fascinating journey from a career in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to her life’s calling as a Conscious Leadership Coach.

Here’s Stephanie!

My thirst for learning and adventure began as a child when I would wonder around, be curious and play. As I progressed through life, I became increasingly aware of my deep desire to live a life of exploration and discovery; I set off after university and enjoyed a 14 year career in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; immersing myself in incredibly beautiful close knitted Canadian communities, flying over glaciers in helicopters and watching grizzly bears and humpback whales in their natural habitat. My role as a Police Officer satisfied my desire to connect with people through support, development and showing up authentically. Life presents us with many challenging learning opportunities and mine is no exception, on the 31st July 1995 my world changed forever and I truly believe this was the start of my awakening – I was 28 years old. My core values of passion, empathy, freedom and connection is what led me into community development and adult learning – my world expanded and I have my career and former colleagues in the R.C.M.P. to thank for this unique opportunity. I enjoyed a satisfying career and this continued whilst acquiring a post graduate diploma in adult learning. Into my 30’s, I knew there was something missing, in my work and life. I decided to listen to the calling and my journey of clarity officially began. In summary, I longed for the Canadian Atlantic coast and made the move from west to east, enjoyed a career break, establishing a home and meeting my life partner before setting off on an adventure to the United Kingdom.

Island A

During the early days of my adventure to England, I felt like I was starting from the beginning in relation to my working life; having said that, I was deeply aware that my present life was ‘the something that I longed for’. Throughout this realization process, I began to embrace each moment, accept it, learn from it and let go of life itself. This provided me with a platform to explore and uncover all of my assets (core values, strengths, passions/drivers, skills, knowledge and experience) with a supporter and challenger in chief, my coach. My career as a Learning & Development Manager in the corporate world was exciting and equally enjoyable along this exhilarating journey of discovery, although I noticed my thoughts, feelings, actions and intuition were asking me to awake even more; I felt like I was swimming against the current and it was becoming tiring. I started to listen to myself and pay attention to the signposts and learn from every experience. As I stood on Island A, I could feel the grains of sand under my feet and noticed little green shoots called freedom and purpose on the dunes way off in the distance, a moment of realization appeared that asked me to let go of life and truly explore my most authentic self. I accepted this gift, looking back at Island A with a warm heart and big smile and boarding a gorgeous sailing vessel called Serene Energy on my way to Island B.

Serene Energy journey

Change was in the air; the moment of resolution came to me on Island A when I was feeling anxious, confused and walking around in a fog. I experienced nights when I found it hard to sleep and I knew I wanted to leave what was becoming an inhospitable island in the context of work. On the voyage, there were times the seas were calm and incredibly choppy on occasion which strengthened my resilience muscles and challenged me to lean in and trim my sails to the best of my ability. This quote encouraged me along my journey: “If you choose to be happy and at peace, remember you have control over the sail, not the wind.” I choose to be the Captain of Serene Energy and it was up to me to trim those sails and get the best effect possible from the wind. I accepted the challenge and imagined a future vision: it was to live a life on fire, by honouring my core values, dialling up on my strengths and passions and living an abundant working life through showing up as my most authentic self. This journey of self discovery and leadership unveiled a deeper purpose and gave me the time to explore. This exploration gave birth to my current working life on Island B to which I am deeply indebted; grateful to myself, peers and my dearest husband for giving me the support and space.

Island B

Serene Energy has docked on a beautiful island full of inner riches, lush landscapes and interesting experiences. In keeping with the context of the world of work and leadership, you know when people walk around in a fog, plodding along, doing what they should do instead of what they truly want to do, trapped in a golden cage, putting one foot in front of the other without passion & purpose, feeling there are no choices, not living presently and thriving; there is a solution! I am their Clarity Ally or Conscious Leadership Coach. I champion a client’s greatness and support them in getting clear about who they are, what they want and we design a plan of action, so they live a fulfilling life, full of serene energy, in which a client swims with the flow of the river instead of against it. I work with individuals and leaders in SME’s from the inside out and coaching is the technique to get clients clear and present.

In addition to my work as a Coach, I partner with heart centred solopreneurs who choose to bring an authentic, visible presence to their social profiles and manage online communities for well known brands.

It is my mission on this glorious Island B to work with as many people as possible that want to live a life on fire, by honouring their core values and thriving as their most authentic self, feeling alive, courageous, resilient and curious. My vision on Island B has come true as I continue to develop, explore and live it for myself and as a mirror for people – a blessing! (Added benefit is experiencing life from the best of both worlds, Canada and England)

Success is….. liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. – MAYA ANGELOU (Amen)

Do you have any advice for anyone pursuing a 2nd act?

Listen to yourself. If you so choose, become curious and present with what you’re noticing and engage with the support that is best suited to you.

Any affirmations you wish to share?

My life is all happening perfectly; live alive in each & every moment. (Part of my daily connection practise)

4 words that describe Steph: Authentic, Empathetic, Intuitive, Playfully action oriented.

Where to find Stephanie….

Position Ignition Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest

Joanne here!

What an inspiring post! Stephanie, thanks for sharing your journey and insights along the way. And Happy Belated Birthday! (It was Stephanie’s birthday yesterday)