If making the impossible possible appeals to you, it’s official – we may be twins! Because if there’s anything I’ve learned it’s this: no matter what ‘impossible’ is for you – achieving it is the single best feeling in the world.

Like many people who grew up in an immigrant family, I saw my share of trials. Being terribly shy was one. Attempting to do Dad’s bookkeeping at age 11 was another (oy vey). But the conflicting feelings I got from hearing mom try to sell ‘a 2-bedroom condom’ as a new realtor? That’s the memory that makes me belly-laugh. 

Here are some more examples of things that seemed impossible to me (you might be able to relate):

• Blazing a trail for the coaching profession, which was almost completely unknown, and very foreign to everyone in the year 2000. Helping coaches understand how to mix 1-on-1 coaching with leveraged offerings – what I call Multiple Streams of Coaching Income in my first book – was a game changer for many. (Hi, time freedom! Nice to meet you.)
• Calling a stop to an unproductive multi-million dollar meeting of 20+ people in India. (I felt sad for the creator of the slide deck, but that meeting was waay off track and I had to speak up. Formerly shy Andrea will always be proud of this one.)
• Shaping a new occupational category called Online Business Management where there was nothing before. Oh, the R-E-L-I-E-F to business owners everywhere who no longer have to manage everything and the kitchen sink.
• Teaching groundbreaking and controversial tools like the Self-Coaching Method, and Stone Mapping™ to address internalized oppression, post-capitalist life, climate change and other topics to do with power. (If you have original content in you, I’m here to say – you can get it out in the world. #promise)
• And on a more personal level, with a lot of support, I can say I’ve broken a generational cycle of emotional abuse. This translates into global activism that gives my life so much meaning. Whew. #IAmBlessed

What’s your impossible? Whether it’s big or small, perfectly clear or still hazy to you right now, can I let you in on a little secret? We can make it happen. 

I’ve taken my experience achieving the impossible and – like a dog with a bone – applied that passion and stubbornness to help clients achieve their most formidable dreams.

Over 20 years ago, I founded Thought Partners International (TPI), a boutique coaching, training and writing business. Its focus? To support brave, caring people who want to change the culture we live in.

In a sea of other companies, TPI is fierce about harnessing emotions as fuel for action. In my view, we don’t get mad enough about the things that aren’t working in the world, and I want to help you channel that energy into changing what you care about the most.

You can read more in my books, Multiple Streams of Coaching Income; Money, Meaning and Beyond; and We Need to Talk: Your Guide to Challenging Business Conversations. Or, listen to one of the podcast interviews below.

Today, from an island of fewer than 1200 people, I deliver microclasses, supervise coaches and trainers, and offer actionable reality checks to 1-on-1 coaching clients. Over the years, I’ve particularly appreciated the camaraderie that inevitably accumulates working with repeat and referred clients. #community

“To be honest, when I first met you, I thought, ‘Oh nooooo, this is going to be really boring.’

To my surprise, you grew on me. You’re not boring, actually. You’re unexpected.” 

– name withheld to protect the innocent

Wait a sec, did you say “not boring?” Stop! I’m blushing. 😉

If you’d told young Andrea that as an adult, she’d feel underestimated and misunderstood, and that she’d make a fabulous career out of proving people wrong about her, she’d have thought you were macadamia nuts. But it’s true.

Some of my favourite work has been helping exceptional clients disrupt the status quo, rage against the machine, use their privilege well, and enjoy the heck out of life. Every day I’m bowled-over excited about this work, yet calm and deeply determined. That’s exactly how I like it. My wish for you is your version of lit up like this.

Curious about other milestones from over the years? Click on the arrows to see more snippets from behind-the-scenes.

But Andrea, you said you’d tell us about the honeybees in your yard. What about them?

Ah yes! The beehive outside our door. My hubby Mike takes care of them for us and they’re the source of so much joy. In them, I see what’s possible for humans. Steady purpose no matter what the weather, masterful collaboration, and sweetness to name a few. They’re like an extension of our family and I often visit them between coaching calls. 

Chances are you know that bees can smell fear (thank you, Jerry McGuire) but did you know that honey is indestructible? I hope that some of the work we humans do is equally long-lasting and good for the planet. Maybe it is. Maybe you and I will work on that together.

Other fun facts you didn’t ask for, in addition to communing with bees, I’m also…

• A language geek – I speak two of the world’s hardest, albeit only at a High School level. I attended Chinese school on Saturdays for most of elementary school, worked for the Japanese government for 3 years and was once dubbed an honorary Brooklyn Jew for my use of bupkis in a presentation (such an honour!) Sometimes a word from another language is the only way to get something across, and bupkis is one of those.
• Married to a trained chef. Yes, I’m suuuper pampered! And this proximity to food also means I use food-related coaching metaphors on the regular. Example? How can you create a lucrative new income stream by following the inspiration of ‘peanut butter and chocolate’ or write something passionate and beautiful based on the grit in your oyster (the thing that irritates you day after day?) 
• Promiscuous with hobbies. A life without something new in it is far too Eeyore to bear. These days it’s piano, drawing, astrology, Sci-Fi Fantasy books, Stand-up Paddleboarding, and getting a Master’s degree (yes I just called that a hobby.) Like where two ocean currents meet to create high levels of biodiversity, I’m happiest when I’m mixing it up!