Laura Toadere

Just a few weeks before embarking on the quest of becoming a Certified Life Coach, my life felt shattered into pieces. After 27 years of marriage, my spouse and I had agreed to part ways, and soon after, my company informed me my position was no longer needed. My career, my relationship—everything I had known—was suddenly gone, and I was left facing a new beginning with nothing but questions. But as if by a divine nudge, the severance package I received was precisely enough to enroll in this life-changing quest. It felt like the universe was guiding me toward something bigger than I could have planned. As a manager, leader, and coach, I had always championed the growth mindset. My life was filled with certifications, trainings, and constant learning, but it was all focused on my career, not on my life as a whole. It was only recently that I became curious if this was really what life was supposed to be. I began to wonder, "Why am I here? What is my purpose? What about JOY?" This journey has been an awakening to the power of personal transformation—something far deeper than any career milestone. In the beginning, I turned to books and teachings and started to believe in the universal intelligence and the cosmic order that connects us all. I started yoga, meditation, vision boards, affirmations, and manifestation techniques to gain clarity on my beliefs and direction. The message I kept receiving was simple: to create a new life, you must first let go of the old one, clean your life of negativity, declutter, and embrace gratitude. I realized I had been my harshest critic, but slowly, I let go of this self-judgment and began to truly love myself. Today, after more than two decades in corporate America, I’ve shifted my focus entirely to life coaching. My true calling has unfolded in guiding people who, like me, have faced profound losses —loss of a job, a partner, a sense of self—later in life, after 40, and are ready to rediscover their purpose.