MEET A'LISA: Coach. Strengths Guide. Builds Second Chapters
Why I Believe It’s Never Too Late
I’m 64 years old.
And here’s what I know:
Your life does not have to be defined by where you began — or how long you stayed.
I grew up in an environment that was chaotic, painful, and often unsafe. There were seasons of silence, confusion, and survival. But even then, something inside me refused to believe that was the end of my story.
One November in Oklahoma, during one of the hardest stretches of my childhood, I found myself sleeping outside. It was cold. I was hungry. And yet what I remember most clearly isn’t the hardship.
It’s the stars.
I remember looking up at the night sky, shooting stars crossing overhead, Orion steady above me, and feeling something bigger than my circumstances. Wonder. Possibility. A quiet knowing that there was more out there… and more in me.
That knowing never left.
In middle school, I read biographies of people who had overcome extraordinary hardship like Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony. I wasn’t just reading history. I was gathering proof that struggle didn’t have to define the future.
Over the decades that followed, I built a career grounded in psychology, leadership, and service. I worked with teens in high-risk communities. I led inclusive programming. I eventually served as a Senior Vice President with Special Olympics. From the outside, it looked accomplished. But growth doesn’t stop just because life looks stable.
I married. I divorced. I rebuilt. I moved to states where I knew no one and started again. I spent 17 years in a relationship that slowly asked me to shrink. For a long time, I tried to make it work. I tried to be patient, understanding, and flexible. But I kept asking myself one question: Is this what I want my life to look like in five years? Ten? When the answer became consistently no, I knew it was time.
With the steady support of my brother, I ended that relationship and set my sights west. In 2016, I moved from North Carolina to Colorado and began rebuilding again, this time with deeper clarity.
It took time to feel like myself again. Not the version earning love. Not the version managing everyone else’s comfort. Just me. Clear, grounded, and choosing with intention.
I deepened my work as one of the first 100 Gallup Certified Strengths Coaches. I built Pikes Peak Coaching. I reconnected with community. And eventually, I found a relationship rooted in safety, strength, and joy.
Here’s what 64 has taught me:
You can outgrow entire versions of your life.
You can leave what diminishes you.
You can choose wonder again.
Rebuilding Joy: The Next Chapter was born from that same truth I felt under the Oklahoma sky.
No matter how long you’ve been surviving…
No matter how responsible you’ve been…
No matter how much you’ve endured…
There are still stars overhead.
A'Lisa is also the founder for Pikes Peak Coaching, where she works with individuals and organization on leadership development, career coaching, and strengths based growth.