Meet Aaron Silverberg

I’m going to take a quick break from the minutiae of politics (sort of) this weekend and instead do a profile on someone that is focusing on doing good and looking at the big picture rather than on personal gain or short term solutions. Today I’d like to tell you a little bit about a lovely man I had the pleasure to sit down with by the name of Aaron Silverberg. Mr. Silverberg was nice enough to bid on a Liberal Girl blog post at a recent fundraiser for Jim McDermott, now it is my sincere pleasure to do my part.

Aaron is a poet, freelance writer, improve teacher and most interestingly, a professional life coach. His day job is to help people order their lives in an integrated way that allows them to feel fulfilled and successful in this fast paced, fast food, surface filled world. Now that is a service worth paying for, if I had the money, I’d hire him myself. While most of the time I feel like my life is pretty integrated, I do know that I could benefit from having someone see the total of who I am and help me focus in on the things that matter most and let the rest of it go, a sort of prioritizing of my life and responsibilities. In fact, I might just start saving up to employ Aaron as a sort of pre-emptive strike against the chaos that seems to always be lurking around the edges of my otherwise well ordered life.

I had heard of a life coach before, but I had never met one or, for that matter, anyone who had had the opportunity to hire one, so meeting Aaron was interesting to say the least. I had plenty of questions for him, mostly stemming from my own curiosity, and he was forthcoming, charming and explained his profession thoroughly and with the kind of authenticity and excitement that can only come from someone that has found their true calling.

Most of us have either been to a therapist or know someone who has, but what about those of us that don’t have psychological issues to work through, but instead just feel like our lives are cluttered and unfulfilling, is a therapist really the best resource for a floundering soul? I was surprised to learn that a life coach is the answer for people seeking to simplify their lives and find meaning in what they do each and every day. I was even more surprised that I came to that conclusion myself, before Aaron had a chance to make the connection for me. Perhaps because we tend to think of a life coach as a frivolous expense rather than a critical tool in building a full life, the profession hasn’t yet reached the level of stature it deserves. But with so many of us running around, working too hard and ignoring our inner lives, that may be about to change.

For those of you who are in the dark, as I was, about what exactly a life coach does, let me share with you some of what Aaron shared with me. The opportune time for a life coach is during a period of transition, such as a divorce, retirement or when contemplating a career change or just starting out, although anytime is a good time to improve one’s life. As Aaron explained, “The coach is there to serve that being with no personal agenda.” That is pretty powerful when you stop and think about it, and not a relationship that most of us find in our daily lives. Think of a life coach as a mentor, in fact, Aaron revealed that when he left college, he felt that a mentor was lacking in his life and that made him want to become a coach and provide the mentoring to others that he missed at a critical time in his life.

A life coach will act as a guide through a process that is about working out the contradictions in our lives, simplifying, and mapping out an action plan that will lead the way, with the life coach providing the all important accountability factor. Aaron explained that the process involves asking and answering the question, “How do you deeply surrender to yourself?” Having a life coach provide the structure necessary to build a fulfilling life is invaluable and has far greater benefits than just completing a task or becoming more effective in our jobs, it is a process that will lead to greater personal understanding of our place in the world. As Aaron said simply, “We need to feel our preciousness before we’re on our deathbed.” Amen. In this disposable world, who couldn’t use more of that?

So, if you or someone you know could benefit from the services of a life coach, I encourage you to contact Aaron Silverberg. He is one of the most interesting, sincere, intelligent and thoughtful people I have ever met, and I have no doubt that he could help anyone achieve their goals and become the person they’ve always wanted to be.