During a family discussion recently, a nine-year-old asked her mother a question. Nothing too deep, just regular stuff. When her mother responded the little girl said, “Oh my God! Do you have to be a life coach right now?” Clearly, she hasn’t yet realized that the profession is truly an intersection of who her mother is, as her mother’s wife lovingly reminds her.
Cayme Andrea was born in Flint, Mich. and lived there until she was around 10. At that time, her family relocated to Topeka, Kan. – where she resided until graduating from Wichita State University with her bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Today, she lives in a quaint ranch home in Mint Hill, N.C. with her wife Ronda Parks. Together they are rearing a beautiful little girl and a rambunctious four-legged fur baby, a Pitador (Pit Bull-Labrador mix). Self-employed since 2019, the same year she married Ronda Parks, Cayme is, among other things, a Life Coach.
In a comforting and somewhat sultry voice, she explains, “The company that I run, Catalyst Global, LLC, is actually a coaching and training firm. We do coaching, training and consulting. We work with organizations in helping them increase morale. We drive positive company culture, provide leadership coaching and leadership training.”
But that’s not all. Catalyst Global, LLC also works with individuals. “It’s an individual partnering with individuals or groups of individuals who want to maximize their personal or professional potential.”
Potential clients seeking Andrea’s assistance come to her for a myriad of reasons. Upon introduction, what they’ll find is a professional whose demeanor is wrapped in a warm radiant smile and a compassionate nature that echoes: I’m not here to judge, I’m here to help.
“Sometimes it’s an individual who wants to enhance her personal relationships, like a stay-at-home mom who wants better relationships with her children or spouse. Sometimes it’s a CEO who wants to improve the productivity of his or her team.”
She explained further: “Some people take our Life Coach certification courses [through Andrea’s Catalyst Coach Academy]. Not because they want to become coaches but because they want to understand the methodology and learn the techniques to apply and enhance their own lives.”
“It’s completely dependent on what the client needs at the time. It’s not a one size fits all solution. It’s partnering with. In partnership you get to understand where they are as compared to where they want to be. As a coach you assist in identifying and creating a plan to basically get from point A to B and then hold them accountable to working that plan. It could look like a coaching session, a mix of assessment, reflecting answers back, and giving exercises, but we teach and practice Transformative Coaching – which means we coach the person not the problem. That’s the difference between Transformative Coaching and Transactional Coaching, which is closer to consulting. When you leave us, you leave with skills, with the tools needed to work through any problem.”
When asked who her typical clients are, Andrea didn’t hesitate, “Any organization who wants to really enhance and strengthen their work culture by investing in their employees through the provision of holistic leadership training. Many times, it’s easier to have a third party come in because we can say things that an employee couldn’t – without fear of reprisal. Currently we service both individuals and organizations equally.”
According to Andrea, anyone who has the drive and desire can become a
life coach.
“Anyone can,” she insists. “There’s an art and a science to coaching, and both of those can be learned. That’s why I created the Catalyst Coach Academy [to share that knowledge with those who want to do it]. If an individual can’t do it, it’s generally because of their own self-imposed limitations.”
Needless to say, during times such as these, many of us could use a little direction and assistance in maintaining our peace while striving to reach our goals. So, what advice might Andrea offer for successful living during a global pandemic?
“You can’t argue that the majority of individuals on the planet are experiencing something new that none of us has ever dealt with. But we have been in other situations that have been just as challenging, just as dark. So, I encourage people to tap into their ‘internal locus of control.’ So many times, when things are challenging for us, it causes us and pushes us to think we don’t have control, viewing our situation as one where we don’t have choice, or our options are really limited. That’s an external locus of control.
“Personally, as a family, we’ve gotten through this mess of the last few years thinking [about] what is it that I need to maintain peace and sanity, and how can I get that for myself? [That] can change moment to moment,” she explains. “It may look like going outside and grabbing a tree and screaming to the top of your lungs because you’re stressed the fuck out. It could be sitting in your car when you arrive home after work for a few extra moments or it could be booking a coaching session. This is my own personal philosophy because, at the end of the day – I really do believe the divine gives us everything that we need.”
Like the rest of us, Andrea is more than her profession, though it does show up in her personal life.
“It’s interesting because every day the work that I do with other people is about how they can master their own mindset and align that whole mind, body and spirit connection,” she offers. “Just seeing people that are living authentically and embracing their freedom and really tapped into their divine connection … makes me smile. Every single day I am really intentional about making sure that I am in control of my mindset, my experiences and my responses [as well]. So, I challenge myself [daily] to own my own power.
“My happy place is somewhere warm, with nice weather and water close by. I’m that water/beach person. I make time for stuff that matters, like the book I just published, ‘Letters to Our Daughters.’ It’s a collection of thoughts, wisdom and life lessons to our daughters. It’s very important to me. It’s a project that’s been in the works for the last two or three years. Now more than ever, I wanted this book to turn into a movement and open more communication for Black mothers and their daughters. However, the information transcends race. I’ve had readers who are white women who aren’t mothers express how much they enjoyed and needed it.”
For the foreseeable future, Andrea is enjoying what she’s able to provide and share as a Life Coach, mother, wife, author and motivational speaker with no end in sight. But 20 years from now, she sees herself continuing to travel the world (for pleasure and speaking engagements) with her wife – jointly supporting her daughter in all her endeavors while continuing to look for ways to give back, in a manner she hopes will create a ripple effect we all need.