Though I’m English, I live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Roll Tide!), and while I’m a certified life coach, a mom and a wife, I have over 25 years’ experience of corporate and non-profit environments in both the UK and US, and have managed my own business for over 17 years.
I have always been self-motivated and I have seized many opportunities to grow through extensive travel and some pretty incredible life experiences (such as surviving an EF4 tornado). I became a coach for the pure and simple reason that I wanted to help people unlock their full potential for a great life. While I gained my credentials through the Coach Training Alliance, my signature Grow GREATER program is based on real life experiences shared by clients, and from my own exciting journey.
I’ve got an insatiable appetite for learning about human potential and growth. I discovered the brilliance of Tony Robbins’, “Awaken the Giant Within“, when I was in my early twenties living in London and I never looked back. In the 30 years since, I’ve devoured everything from Leo Babauta’s, “The Power of Less“, to Don Miguel Ruiz’, “The Four Agreements” and everything in between. My experiences have been truly enriched by the wisdom of others.
I am excited to share my philosophy with you through my writing, and I hope you’ll join me in learning how to Grow GREATER, a little every day. If you’d like to know more about me, here’s a summary of who I am, and what has shaped me.
- Survived an English boarding school, which I attended from the age of 8, shortly before my parents divorced. Learned to ride and spent all my free time on a horse.
- Traveled around Europe by train aged 17, exploring the sights of France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Yugoslavia.
- Learned true grit on a farm for a year aged 18. While milking 60 cows twice a day I learned the very core of what matters most in life: Grace, Responsibility, Energy, Attitude, Time Management, Enrichment and Resilience…..GREATER for short.
- Enjoyed three years partying at The Royal Agricultural University (where I also earned an honors degree in management). Spent my vacations working as a nanny and ‘Girl Friday’, looking after children, sheep, horses, chickens and gun dogs.
- Met my future husband at 21, while teaching riding at a summer camp in Pennsylvania shortly after I finished college.
- Explored America by bus: visited all but six states by Greyhound over two summers on a budget of just $5/day (it’s possible if you eat from food deserts (gas stations) and sleep on buses). Definitely put on weight eating junky, cheap food.
- Worked for a non-profit: managed public relations for an international travel organization in London for 7 years. Lived the high life in Kensington and enjoyed a party-girl diet of wine, coffee and cigarettes. Oh, and Diet Coke.
- Learned public speaking skills by delivering over 200 presentations at college and university campuses in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
- Nearly died: I survived a double pulmonary embolism in my mid-20s, while making a film in New Hampshire. That’s when I realized just how finite and precious life really is, and how terrible my lifestyle and diet were. Quit smoking.
- Explored the world by plane, train, boat and bus on a year-long journey as a freelance writer and photographer. I spent my time exploring the US, Mexico, Raratonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Kenya, Lesotho and South Africa. Learned a lot about other cultures, but was most taken by the Tarahumaran Indians and their focus on living in harmony with Nature.
- Got a bad case of wanderlust. When I returned to England I got a reporting position for Reed Elsevier so that my travels could continue. I undertook a series of assignments in Scotland, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Greece, Malta, Crete, Spain, and Indonesia. It was a bit like being a secret agent: I’d be assigned a country, given a laptop loaded with my mission, a dossier of instructions and plane tickets, and off I’d go….
- Became an immigrant: Having met my future husband at summer camp, and having dated for nine years across continents, we finally got married. I arrived in Colorado at 30 without a job, contacts or money. As he was a penniless doctoral student we were back to very basic living!
- Started a business: I launched my consulting company in 1997 while moonlighting as a travel editor. Serendipity led me to a wonderful association with three PR agencies based in the Rockies, and the privilege of consulting for producers of organic and natural products at corporations and institutes across the US.
- Formed an S Corporation in 2000: Successful consulting strategies and a lot of hard work helped us to clear all our debt and save a significant rainy day fund.
- Rescued our first cat: Pushkin, a beautiful tabby, came to live with us from the pound in Tempe.
- Moved again: Over a 3-year period I moved from England to Colorado to Arizona and finally to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where we now live. I’m a seasoned packer. I also know that photographs mean more to me than any possession I own.
- Fertility setbacks, then a family: It took three miscarriages before we were able to welcome two healthy babies – a girl and a boy – so I know all about infertility, heartbreak and perseverance. I also now know something about toddlers, tweens and teenagers.
- Walked the talk: just as I spent my days as a senior PR consultant promoting healthy organic and natural products, I looked for ways to feed our family well. I enjoy spending time in the garden growing vegetables and encouraging the children to enjoy all of the benefits that come from time spent in Nature.
- Rescued our first dog. Ollie, an orange and white Collie mix, joined our family in 2008.
- Wiped out by a tornado: On April 27, 2011, we survived an EF4 tornado. In the space of just a few minutes our neighborhood, our house, my business – everything we had worked so hard to create – was destroyed. [Read the full story here]. It was particularly annoying because we had JUST finished a year-long renovation on our home!
- Rebuilt our home and neighborhood: It was in the aftermath of recovery and rebuilding that I truly understood the importance of resilience and the power of community. Every challenge, experience and journey in my life had empowered me to bounce back from this crisis without falling apart.
- Became a Certified Life Coach: I emerged from the tornado stronger, happier and ultimately more determined than ever to help others to achieve their highest potential and live their best life with my signature Grow GREATER program.
- Bereaved: When my father died from the hideous cancer that is mesothelioma, the principles of Grow GREATER really helped me to overcome my grief.
- Rescued our second dog: Pickle, a Jack Russell/Dachshund puppy, came to live with us in 2014 and has eaten her way through everything in our house ever since.
- Focus daily on living my best life and growing GREATER: I am a work in progress! I try to eat well, exercise (walk the dogs/cycle/garden), have fun, be responsible, listen, love and be grateful for all the wonderful things in my life. My passion lies in helping others to do the same.
So there you have it…I am a mixed bag of experiences for sure, but the one constant in my life has been the enduring influence of nature. I have, and always will be, a farm girl at heart.
I believe that if we can escape from the pace of modern living each day for a few moments, and simply ‘be’….present, outside, in fresh air, eating whole foods, appreciating the changing seasons, being grateful for being alive, and for each other,….we can connect to what is really, truly important. That is nourishment for the soul, and at the root of our existence. It is what helps us to Grow GREATER every day.
I hope you will join me in spending a little time every day in doing the same!
DISCLAIMER: All content supplied on this site at www.growgreatereveryday.com, and by Sarah Eykyn, is for informational purposes only. Please note that life, business and personal growth coaching does not involve the diagnosis or treatment of physical disorders or mental disorders as defined by the American Psychiatric Association. Coaching is not a substitute for counseling, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, mental or physical health care, or treatment for substance abuse or any other addiction. Coachingshould not be used in place of any form of diagnosis, treatment or therapy, nor should it be used as a substitute for professional advice by medical, financial, business, legal or other qualified professionals.