Hi! I’m Lauren, the woman behind this Substack.
Going through a serious cancer diagnosis in 2022 aged 39 when my son Leo was 4 gave me plenty of opportunity to reflect at a really deep level.
Who really was I? What did I actually want, given the years we expect to live are not guaranteed?
How could I live in a way that if my time did come sooner than I hoped, I could reflect with a sense of fulfilment and joy? That my son would be proud of what I’d stood for?
I realised that I’d hopped from job to job ever since I graduated from university in 2005.
After studying Psychology, I wasn’t sure what to do next so ended up in Marketing thinking “well buying behaviour is a type of psychology…”
By 2020 I’d been in over 15 different roles.
I never felt that I fitted into the corporate world- I had to mask who I really was, and it always felt like hard work. I didn’t feel I was ever truly SEEN for who I was and the talents I really had.
Whilst I progressed ‘up the ladder’ and got promotions, it never felt really satisfying.
Especially after I became a mum in 2017 and realised that time at work was time away from Leo, and I didn’t want to be wasting that time doing something just ‘OK’ to ‘get by’ if more was possible.
I also didn’t want to role model to him that life is something to be endured and we do work just to earn money. Perhaps that used to be the case, but so much more is available to us now.
With that in mind, I started my own Coworking and Creche business called “Free Range Work Co” in 2018, and learnt the ‘side hustle’ drill well doing this alongside my day job.
I loved running that, and the sense of community we built, but it had to close due to the pandemic. I lost a sense of me when that business closed and a sense of confidence that my soul-led dreams were possible.
Despite that, during the pandemic, and with my 3 year old son by my side, I completed my ICF and ACCPH coaching certifications.
I opened my intuitive coaching business in early 2021. I successfully launched and ran my membership ‘The Intuitive Business Academy’ for 2 years. Unfortunately, however, I brought with me many of the masking and bad habits I’d learned in the corporate world.
I ended up feeling completely burnt out by late 2021. I LOVED having my own business and the time freedom it offered, yet I was held back by how I thought I ‘should’ run a business and frankly being my own worst line manager!
When I was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in July 2022, what followed was months of treatment and time for reflection. Initially, I connected the stress and burnout of running my own business with the diagnosis.
However, it’s likely that the tumour was growing well before any of that, and I actually found tapping into my own patterns and cycles was the key that unlocked so much for me instead of assuming it’s all linear.
When I saw the patterns that had been set up from a very young age, I saw that I was simply doing the best I could operating in a patriarchal system that really wasn’t setting me up for success as someone who doesn’t fit the ‘normal’ mould.
Cancer was a wake up call to be who I truly was and stop masking (not an overnight process!)
Now I KNOW who I TRULY am.
I now KNOW that my dreams are possible and I totally have what it takes to achieve them, and it doesn’t require me to step into burn out.
In fact I can work less than I ever have and earn more than I did in my 9-5 if I chose to. Thanks to other women leading the way, I am following in their footsteps. I am starting to see results already just a few weeks into my return as a coach.
If my story resonates with you, keep your eye out as I’ve got some special new offerings coming out.
I’ve tapped into all my experience, dark nights of the soul, inner work, and years of courses and training to distill the key points I feel enabled me to step out of that place of frustration and holding myself back.
This is about coming home to yourself and removing the layers of conditioning - recognising-
you are not broken.
You have just been in a system that has required you to hide parts of yourself to survive.
It’s time to break out!
And also, don’t forget to #checkyourpoo
- a simple online test can check if you have any bowel cancer markers.
In the UK, the number of adults aged 25 to 49 diagnosed with bowel cancer increased by 22% between the early 1990s and 2018.
See my link in bio for a discount code for the one I used, or ask your doctor.
My experience and certifications/ accreditations:
Mum to Leo - my sun and my son and my teacher
Psychology BSc (2005)
3 years Life coaching (ICF accredited since 2020)
Physical Intelligence Coach Certified (PI Institute 2023)
Intuitive Coach Certified with Caroline Britton ACCPH (2021)
Reiki Practitioner Level 2 (2022)
NLP Practitioner in Training (graduating Sept 2023)
Womb Light Healer (WENS Institute)
Certified Quantum Healer
Certified Numerologist
Astrologer
Human Design expert
Myers-Briggs personality expert
Certified DISC profiling tool analyst
Completed Tony Robbins Business Mastery
PADI Scuba DiveMaster
Want me to speak at your event?
If you are running a wellness event or want to help raise awareness of bowel cancer in younger people, I can come and share my story with your audience / team. Drop me a message here or email me hi@lauren-jane.com
