“No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.”
–Althea Gibson
Part of the fun of knowing you are rising to new levels as described in my previous blog is expressing gratitude for the people who help along the way.
Periodically, I am going to profile people who continue to play a major role in my growth and that of my marketing and coaching business, Support Matters.
Many stayed with me through transitioning out of my backyard studio in Topsfield, Mass. where I began my private practice nearly 14 years ago to my now virtual business located in Newburyport, Mass.
Today, I would like you to “meet” Beth Shedd (pictured at the top left) who is one of a few of my blog photographers who so generously share their artistic talents with you, my readers.
Beth and I met more than a decade ago on the sands of a Cape Cod beach, while vacationing with our young children in adjacent summer rentals. We had many beach walk conversations about life transitions—which was no surprise given what I do for a living as a coach. She later became a client of mine.
A brilliant life strategist, particularly around parenting and volunteer engagements, Beth often shared her joy, especially when creating.
Later, she offered her photos for use on this blog. Sometimes she would pull photos from her extensive stock. Often, she would capture a photograph specifically for the theme of my blog.
Here are Beth’s own words that describe her passion for photography:
“My daily view of life is one of gratitude and appreciation for those small moments of kindness and beauty that surround me. If I can capture at least a fraction of those with my camera, I consider myself blessed. It’s like making a deposit in my joy-bank. My connection with Gail is a natural one that comes from my love of all things positive, and my desire to put a metaphoric photo to a life-affirming article. It’s the thrill of the hunt and digging deeper into Gail’s message that makes the collaboration so satisfying.”
Beth’s optimism and our collaboration remind me of this quote by Apple founder, Steve Jobs:
“My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other’s kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That’s how I see business: great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.”
With deep gratitude,
Gail
Beth Shedd’s photo of herself was taken last year for a photography class on lighting. Not surprisingly, Beth loves capturing the natural light in herself and the light surrounding her subjects. Beth is currently in the process of developing her website. Her business, photOptimist, will come into “focus” later this year.
Gail Kauranen Jones is an intuitive coach, gifted wordsmith and inspiring teacher who has been leading others through transformation for more than twenty years. She is the author of two books, Cancer as a Love Story: Developing the Mindset for Living, and To Hell and Back…Healing Your Way through Transition. Both books were met with rave reviews on Amazon and elsewhere.
She recently appeared as a guest “worthiness coach” on CBS TV’s award-winning talk show The Doctors and on Sirius FM Radio. Her articles and “tips” on worthiness have also appeared several times in Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper.
She has taught many leading-edge workshops at top spas and wellness centers. She now leads Zoom group coaching programs and is a guest speaker at many related events.
Gail lives a passionate and simple life writing, hiking, connecting in meaningful ways, aligning in joyful collaboration and thriving in nature.