Coach Donna Appel
Introducing myself in this forum has been the most difficult, interesting and rewarding aspect of developing this Web site. I knew I didn't want to give you a bunch of details: these you can find on the bio page, mission statement and book list. What I did want to do is convey the essence of who I am and why you might be interested in my insights and expertise. I've decided that there are two fundamental things you would want to know and hope you agree.
The first is that I am fundamentally like you and vice versa. This is important. I don't see why you would be interested in what I have to offer if we cannot identify with each other. I have had, for example, marriage counselors, weight loss coaches, school teachers and spiritual advisors that have never been married, or fat, or parents or introspective. They can be cheerleaders and tell me what I should do but not how to overcome the real life challenges that experience provides. Now this is not to say that I will be all things to all people - of course not. But at 55 I've grabbed a lot of life and racked up a ton of experience. This I bring to our relationship along with this simple truth: although we all have unique experiences, the goal is always the same.we all want to be happy in all aspects of our life.physical, emotional, familial, spiritual.
We see the feeling of happiness as a sign of good health, and we see the lack of happiness as a symptom of ill health — a sign that something must change. The fact that you are reading this likely means that you agree and are unhappy with some aspect of your life. It also means that, like me, you look for help when you don't know how to negotiate the change. Which brings me to your next step — write to me. Send me an e-mail telling me what you're looking for in terms of goals and help. If I can't help, I will let you know and try to find you someone who can. But, if I can help, get ready to be guided to the change you seek.
And this brings me to the second fundamental thing you need to know about me: I am, apparently, good at guiding. I say "apparently" not out of any false modesty, but because helping people effect change in their life is not something I set out to do. I set out to make me happy and when I couldn't find the answers in the traditional settings such as doctor's offices and classrooms I looked elsewhere devouring books, attending seminars and tapping into any available resource. And when I couldn't find what I was looking for, I advertised for like-minded people to form a group to help me explore the possibilities. We called the group PEP (People Empowering People) and it was great but, as with any learning experience, there came a time for me to move on. This transition proved shockingly difficult and gratifying. While I saw myself as a seeker, a student, the other group members saw me as the leader whose departure would signal the demise of the group. At the time I could not accept this role. But, when this same scenario repeated itself over and over again, I had to accept my aptitude to lead. I had to be courageous and overcome my fear based resistance. I had to embrace being the guide everyone, including an impressive list of mentors, was telling me I already was. Why? Because, if I didn't, I could not expect to grow. No growth, no happiness. Epiphany! So here I am, years later, ready to help you in your quest for happiness. In the process we will both benefit and nothing could make me happier.
Coach Autumn Heyman
Some of us are very blessed with a true passion for the beauty of life. I feel that with such an experience, I am driven to educate, research, reshape, and put my stamp on the world around me. This is a gift that I am truly grateful for and do not take for granted.
Everyone has a passion in life, something that sparks and ignites them every morning when they wake up. For me, I am humbled with the opportunity to live that out every day. With that drive and desire comes my story---the reason I am so fired up to re-awaken as many people as I can. Yes, I said re-awaken.
So many go through the motions of life, getting caught up in the daily routine, stresses , and over-packed schedules without ever really LIVING it. This I speak from experience because I too was guilty of this for a long time---in fact, maybe even President of the club for awhile. It took a lot of thorns in my rose bush for me to realize that the beauty of the rose, or life itself, comes from being able to weather, withstand, and persevere through even the rockiest of environments. There is no beauty in a rose without appreciating the beauty of each and every thorn.
Since the time that realization finally clicked for me, I have been inspired to share my story, my drive with anyone willing to listen---and even to a few that weren’t. My story comes unedited, thorns and all. For anyone wishing to know more about my story beyond this bio, you are welcome to contact me at autumn@avoiceforchange.com.
For those who are the most driven, there’s almost always a circumstance in life or a series of circumstances so powerful that completely changes the perceptions of everything around you that it consumes you to search for the truth. My story is no different.
As a child, teenager, and young adult I had gone through a menagerie of health problems. I experienced chronic headaches, fatigue, poor circulation, mood swings, a depressed immune system, and had extreme fluctuations in weight. Looking back I cannot say that I had a bad childhood, but I did have bad nutrition and no real knowledge of that fact until long afterward.
I remember countless visits to the doctor’s office for years to address the headaches, circulation problems, etc. and all of the frustration that came with it. There were never any concrete answers, just a new diagnosis and a new pill. It came to the point where I was at the end of my rope and had just given up hope that the medical profession had any real answers for me whatsoever.
Even with my own discord with the medical profession, what really lit my fire was not my own experiences but that of a loved one. I think many of us can relate to that. We build ourselves up to be able to take on anything, but having to watch someone we love go through a pain is often unbearable. That’s what turned my world upside down.
A painful ordeal is what tears at our hearts the most.
It was just before Christmas during my early 20s and I remember getting a call just after leaving work that day to come directly to the local hospital. My brother had a seizure and a violent behavioral episode. As a little background, my brother has had moderate retardation and developmental disabilities throughout the course of his life due to birthing trauma. Since he was a small child he has been on a concoction of ever changing medications and doctor visits.
Upon my arrival they were running blood tests to check his medication levels and doing general observation. I vividly to this day still remember the stale smell of the room, the clothes I was wearing, and the shine of the doctor’s shoes as he walked into the hospital room that evening.
The words that were about to follow from the doctor’s mouth were like the shot heard around the world for me. My family was told that due to his medical history and developmental delays that this was as good as it was ever going to get for him. We should expect not to see any improvement but only further escalated episodes as he grew older.
I can honestly say in a sense that Christmas brought a precious gift I will never forget, although the wrapping paper on it seemed unfitting at the time.
My intrigue for health, the body, and science was something that budded long before this experience. In high school my fascination with science really cultivated and I was winning medals in state chemistry competitions. Even in my higher education pursuits I had studied both traditional Western approaches and alternative medicine disciplines, but to me there was always something unsettling about my educational experience up to that knew something big was missing. Hearing the words “this is as good as it gets” was the pivotal shift moment in my life that woke me up and demanded a change and truth out of the world around me.
That’s where I stand today. My passion is to help teach and inspire others to be advocates for themselves and their own bodies. We all have that innate wisdom within us if we choose to embrace it. I find it disheartening as a society that we devote years of study, time, and attention to how a computer or a generator works, yet most people have no clue on how their bodies actually work or how to properly maintain them. I am part of that voice invoking change and no longer accepting the fallacies most of us have grown up with our entire lives or entrusting them solely to the hands of someone else.
This is what has drawn me to A Voice For Change and its mission. I am truly honored in joining Donna as a partner, colleague, and friend. I cannot express enough gratitude for how much she continuously teaches and inspires me everyday. I look forward to connecting to each and everyone of you so you can help speak up, speak out and join us in becoming a voice for change.
In love and good health,
Autumn L. Heyman