Embark on a captivating journey into the world of social impact coaching with Zette Harbour as she shares her inspiring path and insights into this transformative field. Discover how Zette’s unique approach to Energy Leadership™ and her deep understanding of storytelling can empower you to live a richer, more authentic life. MysticMag has the pleasure.
What does it mean to be a social impact coach and how did you get into this field?
As a social impact coach, I support people who know that they’re here to make a difference in the world. I’m passionate about making it possible for these leaders to deliver their gifts more effectively. My mission is to help them create greater resilience as they face the challenges of being changemakers.
One of the most important areas I focus on is Core Values Mastery. These are the innate, limitless reservoirs of wisdom, energy, and direction within each of us. For anyone doing values-centered work, having conscious mastery of their Core Values means they can always return to their own center no matter what goes on around them. Living from Core Values Mastery enables anyone to create clarity, enjoy vitality, and find meaning.
Core Values Mastery makes it possible for social impact leaders and anyone drawn to a whole-hearted life to manifest their vision and live their purpose.
Several years ago, my awareness of my own purpose was made more clear to me. In September of 2016, I experienced a visitation in a dream. In it, an elder asked me a question. “Are you happy?” I scoffed as I replied, “No.” I immediately felt ashamed of my disrespect toward what was clearly a wise, venerable being. He then gave me three rules for living a happy life.
When I woke up, I understood that the first one was, “Walk only in your own footsteps.” Almost a year later, I received the second one, “Belong to yourself.” In the following months, the third one revealed itself, too. “Beam your light out into the world.” The guidance of this wise being has led me to the kind of coaching work I do. I am dedicated to supporting my clients in walking in their own footsteps, belonging to themselves, and beaming their light out into the world.
What is Energy Leadership™?
Energy Leadership™ is a way of understanding how you show up in life. It was created by Bruce D. Schneider of iPEC (the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching). The greatest gift of Energy Leadership™ is that it makes it possible to embrace the richness of the full spectrum of human experience.
This is an approach to mapping, understanding, and mastering the landscape of relationships and communication. The principles and practices of Energy Leadership™ are easily demonstrated and immediately applicable to real-life situations while being grounded in thoughtful and respectful inquiry.
Energy Leadership™ empowers you to shift from one energy level to another as it benefits each situation. As a result, you’re no longer boxed in and limited to a narrow set of responses and reactions. Rather, you have access and fluency in a full spectrum of creativity, intuition, and agency.
Can you walk me through a typical coaching process with a client?
In our sessions, my clients typically begin by telling me stories. These can be current, past, or even future events about which they may be experiencing conflicted thoughts and feelings. My role is to listen for the deep, inner wisdom that wants to be heard. I speak on behalf of the wordless and deep aspects that want to be seen, embraced, appreciated, and loved. It’s not uncommon for these parts of oneself to communicate through stress, fear, or even pain.
Every stressful, fearful, or even painful experience is, at its core, an invitation to come heart to heart with some part of the self that wants to come back into wholeness. In order to decode these sometimes unpleasant communications, it’s essential to learn why the deepest, wisest part of you is choosing to speak in this seemingly negative language.
Once the true nature of your experience is understood, the gift of the Love that lies beneath can be received. Then, it’s possible to come home to yourself and welcome back into your heart any parts of you that had once been left behind.
You have many titles and certifications. how do you combine the knowledge from different fields and practices to get the best results for your clients?
In my 30+ years as a Professional Traditional Storyteller, I learned that every part of a story is essential to the complete tale. This meant that even the villains had purpose and meaning. It only required a new way to see and understand what message they conveyed.
This in-depth immersion comes with me as I integrate the diversity of elements of my coaching resources. They are each a valuable part of how we can perceive and make sense of our own stories.
I’m fascinated by the intersection of our evolutionary biology, brain function, metaphors and archetypes, Core Values, and the filter through which we perceive and interpret our world.
I also understand that we are story-makers, although mostly unconsciously. This superpower is also our greatest source of stress, fear, and pain. When we master the story of who we are, we can receive the richness of all of human experience.
You’ve also written a book. What is it about and why would you recommend that our readers read it?
Love Lies Beneath: How reclaiming my Soul through Story became the secret to healing my Heart is about the beauty and power of our stories and of Story, itself, to bring us home to ourselves. It supports you in awakening to the presence of the Love that lies beneath all of the people, events, and stories of your life. This opens the doorway to greater freedom, satisfaction, and joy. Unlike denial or focusing only on the ‘positive,’ this is a map of how to explore your inner terrain in a way that makes you a stronger, more resilient traveler on the road of life.
The stories and the techniques within this book offer proven support for anyone who has experienced trauma, grief, or sadness. As each one of us awakens to the power of Story, and in particular, the power of our own stories, the world becomes more vibrant and alive. I am here to support you in finding the Love that lies beneath all of the events and stories of your life. When you do, your life becomes richer and more powerful than you ever thought possible.
- For all MysticMag readers, Zette is offering a free downloadable version of Love Lies Beneath: How reclaiming my Soul through Story became the secret to healing my Heart here: www.zetteharbourcoach.com/love-lies-beneath-gift
Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our readers?
Here is a story that came to me describing the mystery of our journey here.
Once upon a time, you were a being of pure Love and light. You set out on a journey to a strange and wondrous land. It was everything you had hoped for. However, in order to travel in this new place, you had to cover your being with a variety of disguises, and everyone else around you did the same. The disguises were all so good. Everyone forgot they were only coverings and began to feel, think, and act in ways that made them seem even more ‘real.’
You became so good at your disguises. You even convinced yourself.
Then, one day, you heard yourself calling out. It was a quiet voice at first, coming from deep inside. The other beings around you played their part in helping you to hear the voice more clearly. It got louder and louder until you could no longer turn away from it. It hurt to listen to it, and it hurt more to try to ignore it.
It was the voice telling you about your disguises. It was telling you about who you really are. But your disguises had become so familiar, even the painful ones, that you didn’t want to let go.
Then one day, you chose to try an experiment. You stopped arguing with the voice and let what it was saying be true for just a moment. Something about it felt right. It felt the way a light feels on a darkened pathway to your home. It was a small bit of light, and you still couldn’t see your home, but something inside you knew it was there. And now, you wanted more light and more time to walk on that path.
You wanted to find your way home.
With each step, a piece of your disguises fell off. At first, this felt scary because you could feel things you had been shielded from for a long time. Then, the sensations became exhilarating. You also had to rediscover yourself every time, which was wonderful, although sometimes frustrating. Then as each piece of your disguises dropped off and fell to the wayside, your story about who you genuinely are felt lighter, purer, and more whole.
This was exactly why you’d come here in the first place, and now you could remember it all. Now, you could wear your disguises any time you wanted to as they served you in your travels. And now, you knew they weren’t ‘real.’ They were a choice, and you could choose to wear them or release them at any time.
Finally, you would never again forget the Story of who you truly were…
A being of pure Love and light on a journey in a strange and wondrous land that was everything you’d hoped for.
The Beginning
