Kristen Glosserman - If Its Not Right, Go Left: Practical and Inspirational Lessons to Move You in a Positive Direction

Copyright 2021 by Kristen Glosserman.

Photographs copyright 2021 by Kristen Glosserman and Madison Fender.

(See photo credits for details.)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-951412-17-3

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-951412-44-9

LCCN: 2020915634

Photo credits:

By Liza Gershman:

By Madison Fender, copyright 2021:

From Del Vecchio family photo collection:

Manufactured in China.

Design by David Miles

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The Collective Book Studio

Oakland, California

www.thecollectivebook.studio

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO THE FIVE LOVES OF MY LIFE: AUSTIN, SKYE, JACLYN, GEENA HOPE, AND MARC, MY PARTNER AND BEST FRIEND.

T HE PAGES AHEAD CONTAIN A COMBINATION OF MY story and my coaching philosophy: a thirty-year-plus journey to move myself toward a more positive life, and a set of Life Lessonsteachings, observations, and suggestionsIve organized to help you undertake a similar journey.

The eleven Life Lessons I distilled for the book began to take shape at a moment in my life when I suddenly found myself in a place of tragedy and emotional hardship. The lessons have evolved ever since, and I continue to use them every day to help me find my direction, and every day these practices makes me a better, happier person. The lessons keep me grounded and always moving forwardI think of them as an eleven-part program, my own personal self-help manual, and Im so happy to offer these pages to you.

These lessons have been so important in my daily life that it didnt occur to me at first how much more I would rely on them while living through the frightening COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and its stressful quarantine daysin fact, I wrote this book throughout the crisis, and that gave me a renewed and heightened sense of how the lessons I was defining give me strength and guidance on ordinary days, on great days, and especially in times of uncertainty.

My point is this: Whether we like it or not, life happens, and its up to us to decide how we respond. I believe in embracing change. Change can be motivating and inspiring if you allow it to be, so the first thing I will ask is for you to embrace change as well, because we just never know what life will throw at us.

As we move through the flow of our days, there will always be things that challenge ussome big, some small, often unexpected obstacles we need to move through and grow from. Dont allow these tough times to overwhelm you. Try to find the good in each day, and let that be your motivator and your strength. These lessons will help you do that.

Again, its not going to be an easy journey, committing to a program of new ways of perceiving and new kinds of actions. Just hang in there and keep moving forward in the direction of the positive. You will not be sorry you did.

I believe that the lessons in this book have saved me, time and time again, from negative paths and less-than-positive spirals. They are the reason I was able to become the person I am todaytruly and deeply happy. My goal with this book is that the lessons within will be a powerful guide for you on your own journey, providing clarity, inspiration, and positivity as you find your path to a happy and fulfilling life.

Read on, and as I say in a rallying cheer for all the work I do with making connections and embracing change: Hope This Helps!

Kristen

I was just thirteen years old when tragedy struck our family: My brother, Michael, died in a skiing accident. That terrible day marked the beginning of the hardest time of my life. Michael passed away on December 30, while we were in Vermont for the winter holidays. My parents had us gather our things and get in the car, and we headed back to Long Island in the middle of the night, my moms cousins following us in their car. I remember looking out the back window as we were leaving Vermont and realizing that my life and the lives of my parents, sister, Tara, and other relatives would never be the same.

We arrived home safely after a long and grueling drive that seemed endless and yet will forever be a blur to me. The next day, New Years Eve, the holiday spirit in our home was displaced by the all-consuming loss of my brother. For decades afterward, the sound of Christmas music always sent me into a depression.

To get me out of the house, my best friend, Jennifa, and her mother, Annette, picked me up and took me out for Chinese food, along with Annettes two sisters. Annettes family saved me that night. They surrounded me with love and care over the next months and years, and intuitively recognized my need for support.

Even in grief, even at that young age, I knew I had to seek a path forward. I was very concerned about how our family was going to get through this. I was so fortunate that Annettes care showed me proof of how a large, close-knit family would be my answer. From that night on, I realized that family was going to get me through, and I was given deep insight into the importance of rallying around those who are experiencing loss and pain. That was the very beginning of my path to helping others.

Thirty-plus years later, Jen is still one of my closest friends, and though Annette is no longer with us, I will be eternally grateful for her love and the outpouring of affection from their family that inspired me to move my life in a positive direction and build a strong family of my own.

Losing my brother is one of the hardest things that has ever happened to me. And yet, this tragic event taught me the most valuable truth: Life is precious and short, so live it full out. My early appreciation of the power of family lovenuclear and extended family, including our families of friendshas given my life meaning, and helps to keep Michaels memory close. For that, Ill always be grateful.

I am a life coach.

Maybe youre thinking, what is that?

A life coach is a professional trained to help people with what most of us struggle with at some point in our lives and to various degrees: moving our lives forward and reaching our goals, whatever they may be. A life coach is a person who listens, motivates, inspires, and holds you accountable. Someone who invites you to ask hard questions about yourselfand asks you hard questions right back.

Life coaches dont give advice and they dont solve your problems. This is not therapy; it is purposeful, measurable communication, and there are no easy solutions to the kinds of things they address. What some coaches do, myself included, may be even more valuable in taking control of your life: We ask permission to ask you questionsand as you work to answer them, your path forward begins to be revealed.

With the help of a life coach, you can create the space you need to let in important personal and professional insights. With these insights, you can make choicesand those choices will move you in a positive direction, toward what I like to call your Best Version.