What People Are Saying
About a year ago I was facing the wrong end of middle age, living a life that I had spent decades building by trying to do the right thing. I was trying to navigate a major life change but I was stuck. Change seemed impossible. I had a million reasons why. The path from who I was (comfortable but dissatisfied and increasingly resentful) and who I wanted to be (I didn’t really know) seemed insurmountable. I was overwhelmed by the myriad details a major change involves. I was mired by the expectations, fears and assumptions that tethered me where I was.
A year later, I am living in a new home in a new state with a new career that I truly love and find meaningful. My relationship with my spouse of 30 years is growing in positive ways as I learn to set boundaries and do right by myself as well as the loved ones in my life.
This would not have happened without Hava’s coaching. Her wisdom, her humor, her expectations, and her unwavering focus on my goals – even when I was losing sight of them – guided me over, around and through that insurmountable path to a place where I am. Lighter (spiritually and physically!), hopeful and excited about where my path leads from here. Thank you, Hava.
Julie Rich, Immigration Attorney, Iowa City IA
Over the past year Hava has helped me set and reach many of my goals. In the process, I learned so much about myself and how I approach challenges. She is a gentle person with great listening skills and insight, and she is very effective at motivating me to do what I say I want to do (even when I’m making excuses for not doing it). She has a way of reminding me of what is truly important - instead of a life filled with indecision and people-pleasing, I am taking much better care of myself. My life is more manageable and I’m as happy as I have been in a long time!
Lisa Cervantes, Physician Assistant, Madison, WI
On the day I started life coaching with Hava Kohl-Riggs, I was trapped in a career that I had "settled for" during college. We were living in a house that I did not feel comfortable in because it lacked character. I was feeling the distance between the adventurous young person I had been and the verbally camouflaged professional I had become. Hava encouraged me not to compromise on any of these things. As a result, we are now living in a house that is much more interesting. I'm returning to school this year to pursue a more communicative career. I have also become more outgoing and changed my appearance significantly.
Darlene
Working with you as my coach has been an enriching, enlightening, and very challenging experience. In a few short months of working with you I feel as if I have made tremendous and significant strides in my personal growth. Through your coaching, my life has altered, and I have transformed my relationship to life, loving the life I live and being the inspiration that others similarly love their lives, ultimately leading to the enrichment of the human experience. This is it! We only have this life to lead (that we know of), and with your coaching, I am making the best of it for my Self, my Family, my Friends, my Community, and for Everyone. Thanks, coach!
David Goodman, M.D., M.P.H.,C.I.M.E.
At the time I was not sure if I wanted coaching or therapy but I listened to my intuition and decided to do coaching first. Something told me that getting help with ACTION was the most important thing. More than education, different than psychotherapy, coaching really is the best of both venues for change! I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get 'unstuck'.
Diane P. Psychotherapis
Thank you for helping me get a realistic perspective on my skills and the values I bring with me to the job, for helping me see the value of the skills I have, for helping me restore my self-confidence, for always seeking to help me understand, rather than judging myself. I am so grateful for Hava's coaching. Thanks to Hava, today I have a job working with people who are doing work I find worthwhile, with people who I share values with, for a pay that is commensurate with my responsibility, and where I feel valued for who I am and the strengths I have. Hava will help you grow as fast as you want to. All the change is in your hands, but she is there cheering you on, encouraging you to listen to yourself.
K
What I yearned to do was combine the things that I love and do them with courage and confidence. Starting my own business was only a faint dream. The scary thought is that without the encouragement and guidance of my coach, I may never have pursued that dream. It would have been "something I've always wanted to do" but today, now, I am doing it! After less than two months of coaching, Out of the Gallery Arts is up and running, and I am happily earning a living designing and painting murals, producing books, tile art, and creating just about any other fine art project that interests me! I have bigger plans to expand my business, too, and, working with Hava as my coach, I know I'll achieve those goals.
Bethany Gola, artist and owner of Out of the Gallery Arts
As an individual, it is so easy to get caught up in the same routine--with the help of a professional--they are objective and know precisely what to do to get you going in the right direction.
Nancy Denman
I can highly recommend Hava as a personal and professional coach. When I first met Hava, I was immediately impressed by her insight as well as her ability to communicate powerfully and poetically. .Hava was incredibly skilled at helping me to clarify my values and reminding me of what I was committed to when external influences distracted me from the "path." Hava also supported me in strengthening my parenting by coaching me in the use of Holding Time; this has allowed me to maintain a close connection to my son despite being away from him several hours a day while at work. . She is a great person to have in your corner, whatever your goals may be!
Carol Hermann Madison
When I came to you for Personal Life Coaching, it was as if I was standing out at the edge of a forest, very confused. I had no idea which way to go and things were a jumble, a mess in my head.
Now, I’m on a path; I’m definitely going somewhere
Terri Niemczyk
I have appreciated your many gifts and skills that you have brought to the coaching partnership, especially your willingness to share relevant personal experiences, as well as your mighty enthusiasm about my ideas, goals and progress.
I have been particularly impressed by your ability to reframe a negative self-view into a positive one and to see criticism as a learning experience, not as a reflection of failure.
Lisa Jiardini
Hava assisted me with a number of personal, family and professional goals. I think the best way to sum it up was that I had a lot of valuable "raw material" floating around as unexpressed potential and I needed help bringing my insights, experiences, energies and drive into a more focused plan of action for my life. I had always heard people talk about having a personal mission statement or having some unique "gift" to express in the world and I felt like I could never zero in on this kind of clarity for myself. I have a deep spiritual faith which is of course a compass so I was looking not so much for the values that guide my life as how I express what is uniquely me in my business and in my personal life. One of the most valuable aspects of this work with Hava has been getting that clarity for myself.
Allison Gritton
Because coaching is much more concrete than therapy approaches I have tried in the past, I have been able to make concrete progress at reshaping my life in my own best interests.
Donald K