Testimonials
My clients come from many different backgrounds, live in many different places, span a wide range of ages and are looking for many different things from the coaching and workshops I offer. As you read through their words, let yourself consider whether you'd like to experience some of the results they've been able to create for themselves by investing some time and resources in a Self discovery process. Enjoy!
Coaching
My experience with other business coaches left me unprepared for Gwen McCauley. Gwen has an uncanny ability to cut through the trivial and the insignificant (which, if you put your faith in her, she promptly makes you realize is nothing more than nagging and nattering noise). Unlike anyone I've ever worked with, Gwen sniffs out and disposes of the posturing, the disingenuous and the fluff, only to finally arrive - if you let her - at the meaningful and the profound. If it's results you seek, if it's change you desire, talk to Gwen. Trust me, her coaching style is unparalleled. Mike DiLauro, CMA. Business Financial Management Advisor, author, educator.
In my mind and experience of Gwen, the concept of coach and facilitator become exponentially more powerful with the addition of a "stimulant" flavour. In all our interactions – whether it is being coached or participating in a program with her – she hones in the one tiny, important, fact however much that tiny fleck is surrounded with useless details, and invites me to go deep into myself to become more than I ever thought I could be. With Gwen as my friend and coach, I have learned to stop kidding myself – to tell myself the truth – and even, occasionally, tell my truth to others! Thank you Gwen for being you. Marie Jose Raymond, Owner, Scriptec Communications.
"I wanted to drop you a line thanking you for your coaching and to let you know about my success. I approached three companies, two direct and one through a headhunter. I received two firm offers and am awaiting a tentative one. To make a long story short I now work for a major firm and earn more than double my old salary as well as a significant car allowance. All the job offers were good and paid more than I hoped for. ...I thought I should share my good news with you and let you know that our chats, resume coaching and interview workshop added real value. I have been on the job five weeks and find it challenging but not out of reach either." B.C. Ottawa, Canada. Mid-40's male
...and from the a little later
"This time last year you coached me through my exit from my long-term employer, and I was pleased to report that I had a new position right away that paid $100K more than my old company did. This job was not a fit despite exceeding objectives significantly. I have since found another, or rather they found me. The new position is very promising, and the compensation is three times my original salary, before stock options. The stock options should have more than comparable value given the 10 year history of the company and consideration for current market decline. After accepting the position, my new boss called me back and offered a signing bonus that will buy me a not too used Porsche. When I left the first position I was getting calls from several companies wanting to know what I was doing. One pushed things far enough to get into a financial discussion and they immediately agreed to match my new compensation plan. B.C.
Your coaching was of tremendous value. While the money is terrific, the impact on my self esteem is of greater value. Needless to say that after 20 years of my old company's annual performance reviews, my Self worth was based too much on one company's image. Ironically, I'd go back to a lesser salary tomorrow before I'd endure that treatment again. Thanks again." B.C., Ottawa ...the same person one year down the road
"I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your excellent career counseling. You have provided me with better direction for focus and for that I will be eternally grateful." L.C., Ottawa, mid-30's female
"The decision to leave my job after 15 years triggered feelings of confusion, fear, sadness and excitement. The decision to work with Gwen made all the difference. Working with her, I was able to channel those feelings into a positive, productive path for myself. She provided an environment of open, honest communication and utilized unique and refreshing tools to tap into a new level of understanding of myself and my desires. Through this process I was able to identify the skills I had developed over the years and, more importantly, I now acknowledge how much I have accomplished and proudly take credit for who I am and what I can bring to an organization. Gwen challenges you to challenge yourself. With her support and valuable insight I have made the 'career transition' and am fully confident in the path I have designed for the next part of my journey." T.L. Ottawa, mid-30's female
"Hi Gwen, I want to thank you for helping me see beyond the dark life I have at home. Living and working full time with a husband (James) who has brain injury as a result of a cardiac arrest is extremely difficult to cope with. James' cognitive skills, his short and long term memory was severely affected. When I decided to get help, I knew I had reached out to all avenues. I had heard about your coaching sessions and I said to myself why not, I have nothing to lose except my time.
I guess I was wrong, Gwen. You have brought the best out in me... I am seeing another me. I would never have thought I had the initiative, creativity and momentum to look at new opportunities for myself. Which leads me to believe I am scoping out a whole new life for myself way beyond being a caregiver for James.
Gwen, I know you have seen me shed tears, but believe it or not I am much stronger now and I can talk about my problem without crying. I have come to realize I have a lot of skills and strengths that I need to put into action. As a result of my coaching from you and my own research, I feel I have another strength which I want to expand on and that is in the Image Consulting area. Working through my discovery, I have made contacts with a designer in New York, a color specialist in Denver and it keeps going on and on. I have traveled to Denver for training in the Image Consulting business and best of all I laughed and had fun for 6 days.
Laughing and having fun was a big missing from life since the time James took sick over 2 1/2 years ago. Gwen, all I can say is thanks for getting me this far. You are a very loving and caring person. Watch out Gwen, I have a whole new life ahead. M.B., Ottawa. Early 50s female.
Creativity Workshops
Fear has always been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember so it was no big surprise to be terrified going into this Creativity for Living program ...like I'm real creative ... a bunch of people that I don't know ...that on its own scares me. But this time I didn't let the fear stop me, I brought into the room with me, just to keep me company. Only to realize I didn't need it anymore! They were people, just like me. For the first time I learned how to relax my body and it feels great! I didn't go in as an artist, and I didn't leave as one, but that's not really the point of it all. It's much more, and I left with more important stuff. D, Rainville, Burlington, ON.
"What an experience!
I've always held myself to be an artist and a creative person. As a young child my parents exposed me to many opportunities to "be creative." Up to the end of high school I always took any art classes that were offered at school. That ended with university as the intellect took over. And it's not to say that I wasn't creative then. I was. But there was, over the subsequent years, a growing sense inside me that a state I label "creative" was lacking in my life. WEL-Systems courses and experiences re-ignited the "creative Allister Hain" and so a weekend of getting in touch with this emerging identity made a lot of sense.
During the weekend I worked with oil pastels, something which proved to be more than I had bargained for. My choice not to change into another, possibly more user-friendly medium, offered a chance for a deeper understanding of where else in life I choose to make it difficult for me to achieve an end or outcome.
We did a series of eight drawings based on The CODE Model™, one for each chakra and an eighth centering on "connection."
My first drawing was very sparse and light, possibly highlighting my lack of experience with the medium, but I think, reflective of a tentativeness to connect my Self with the process.
The next drawings were different. Much more flowing. Much heavier. Much easier. All were completely abstract reflecting what was brought into consciousness from each induction. I think they were also reflective of my choice to not worry about what got produced, how it looked, whether it was "good" or "bad". Each painting, even the first one, was useful because it reflected what was going on in my universe at that very moment in time.
After each painting we all got an opportunity to sense and verbalize what our work meant. As always, in any WEL-Systems experience, the painting was a prompt to delve deeper to see where else in our lives we find instances similar to what we drew. The painting becomes secondary to the experience of inquiry.
What I take away from the weekend is increased awareness. Awareness of my personal beliefs around my creativity. Awareness of who I am and who I can be when I am creative. And underlying all this is the awareness of me as a creative being, every second of the day and night. Just think how creative a single breath is.
I'm also very aware now of how I approach creative activities. Immediately before writing this I finished an 11 by 14 inch landscape in acrylics. This was the third attempt at creating this particular scene. My first and second attempts saw me worrying about getting the perspective right, ensuring colours went down in the proper order, and spending an enormous amount of time future pacing problems (how will I get the water looking like water? are the clouds going to look like they belong in the sky), etc. I became aware that that was painting using the intellect and it didn't work.
In my third attempt I just went in with the idea that I wasn't going to be afraid about laying down a thick layer of colour, or what order they went down on canvas, or even what the outcome would be. I would just experiment. My concentration was central and focused on the work. And the painting flowed right out of my body. It was finished in about 30 minutes. In the end I created, what is, in my world, a masterpiece. And I know I can do it again and again and again." Allister Hain, Ottawa, early 40's male
"Here I am with my comments on our creativity week. When I went back to work, I was rested and relaxed, more patient and more compassionate with my clients and co-workers. I don't think that was simply the result of taking 2 weeks off. I also credit our creativity week. I felt proud and thankful about giving myself that experience... and choosing what to do with my vacation, versus staying stuck in a pattern.
Back home, I noticed that creativity is one aspect of my life that gets expressed many different ways, although I still haven't painted since coming back. But this morning, I was organizing my desk and found lots of drawing media I forgot I had... so the desire has been there for a long time. My material is now out, so we'll see how the spirit will moves me...
Next week, I'm celebrating my 50th birthday, and I spontaneously sent an invitation to a bunch of family and friends to go to La Ronde in Montreal and laugh and scream on monster rides all day!! Usually, my sister arranges a celebration for me in her own way. This year, I chose and I organized and I will love it!!
Also since I came back from N.S., friends have told me repeatedly that I've become more fun, more flexible, more spontaneous, more open to changing plans... Vacation or creativity? Who knows.
In what way am I different as a result of this experience? I would say I have a lot more control of my life, and more permission for myself and it feels great. I must say that this ''breaking free'' has been gradual over the past 20 years and was accelerated by our creativity week.
In terms of particular moments, inductions or conversations during our week together when I noticed a big shift occur, I would say that, as you put it Gwen, life just quietly continued to shift for me. (Maybe not so quietly.) In terms of music, I would say that African-type music really opens me up and grounds me. The freedom I experienced with the choice of painting or drawing media was wonderful. Also, painting in the daylight and at night was great because the mood is different and brings out different emotions. Finally I would say that the GENTLENESS of the whole process is exactly what I needed. This is also why I enjoy yoga.
What would I say to someone else who was considering taking this kind of experience?
It's a gift to give yourself. It's a way to break patterns, to express emotions, to free yourself up, to pamper yourself and to play. It is done in a very gentle, soothing environment. J.G. Ottawa, 50 yr old female.
"This past weekend my energy level was so strong that by Sunday I had a hard time keeping it under control because I had discovered so much about myself through painting. I was experiencing constant chakra energy and because of that I painted in ways which I would have never thought possible for me. The one thing I know for sure know is that the road to my personal discovery has just begun and I know there is much much more for me to SAY.... Keep on LIVING life in the moment." L.L., Casselman. Early 40's female.
Gwen's Creativity program was a huge revelation for me. I have held myself to be a creative musician, but before attending Gwen's program, the extent of my prowess in art was to draw reasonable looking stick people.
Gwen's unique approach allowed me to connect with the energy in my body at many levels, and to forget about the self talk of "I can't draw or paint." In doing this, I let my body do the talking and I was truly amazed at what was coming out of my brush.
After I had finished several acrylic paintings, after looking at them, I had to remind myself that they were really my creations. The other participants voiced the same experience about their creations.
The huge awakening for me through Gwen's program was that I realized my creativity in music, and other areas of my life, comes from staying out of my intellect and just letting my spontaneity of feeling the moment take over. A music teacher shared his motto with me "If you let the ego go, the notes will flow." Gwen's creativity program woke me up to what I knew instinctively about creating music can work in any other area of my life as well. I found the Creativity program experience so compelling that I participated in it a second time and it was another fabulous experience of reveling in my own creativity in art. G.L., Ottawa. Mid-50's male.
Throughout my life I held a set of beliefs that "play", or "playing" in the form of drawing, painting or pursuing musical dreams were ephemeral pursuits that I should only practice as last resort time fillers, if at the end of my "serious" day of working and relating I had any energy left to do so. As an adult if anything I did equated to a waste of time that would not result in additional income as a provider for my own family, it had to be put aside and forgotten. After all, I had more adult ways to play now and those things like art and music were better left to children anyway!
The cost of that set of beliefs was that I completely put aside any artistic and creative expression, other than learning guitar and playing a few popular songs by other artists that I would eventually grow bored of playing.
As I discovered the WEL-Systems® perspective just before turning 40, I was well aware that I had spent my whole life to that point pursuing someone else's ideals for who a young man should be, and what he should strive for in today's society. I had not noticed the value of honoring, and acknowledging the great rumblings in my body that told me loud and clear that these creative interests were, in fact, of great importance to me. Indeed, they were inseparable from who I was!
The discovery of easy flowing acrylic paint, compared to the scratchy, dry markers and coloured pencils I had used to that point, along with the unlimited time frame for expression of any thing, allowed me to connect with what was true, easy, and real to me in that moment. The result was amazing! The picture I produced seemed to be of somewhere else, by some other entity that was expressing through my animated body; yet, it was fully recognizable as a deeper part of my Self in the moments it was unfolding onto the canvas.
Ever since that moment of discovery and permission to "play", I have allowed myself to "go with the flow" of what feels true and important for me from moment to moment. I have rediscovered the immense creativity with which I move through my world on a daily basis, whether I am being artistic or not! I now spend more time "at play" than ever, being creative by painting, writing my own songs and poetry, and enriching my life with those things that I now know as full expressions of who I am.
I have let go of the limiting belief that only financially advantageous activities matter to me as an adult. In fact, it is in finding the personal value in all activities that truly matter to me that I have enhanced my capacity to manifest what it is that I want in my life." R.L. Sudbury, ON. Mid-40's male.
"I can't say enough about the style of that art program. It was brilliant: carefree, no rules or regulations. The chakra inductions were the catalyst for any and all inspirations to follow. I am so happy where my art world is taking offffff. Ron (Van Go) Vickers, Halifax, N.S. Mid-50's male
