622. Finding a Fierceness to Transform Loss

Christine McAlister

Christine had been living a life of joy, success and service. Just when her first child was due to be born, she suffered a devastating blow, the kind psychiatrists rank as one of the worst. Putting the pieces back together, she found and harnessed a fierceness she had never known.

Christine McAlister is a business and success coach for high-achieving, motivated women. Her company, Life With Passion, helps women start and grow online businesses out of their passions, so they can do the work they were created to do, replace their incomes and quit or stay out of the 9-to-5 for good. A former professor, career counselor, and online marketing expert, Christine has been featured in Inc., The Huffington Post, and Entrepreneur on Fire.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

From childhood, Christine loved animals—even training two service dogs to help people in need—and wanted to become a veterinarian. Fortunately, she took a battery of aptitude tests and, with the guidance of a wise counselor, found a path that better fit her innate gifts. Cultivating her people skills and gifts in communication, she flourishes in media, education and career guidance, while still making room for her love of animals.

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

“In early 2015, I lost my first daughter to a full-term stillbirth.” Christine worked through the devastating loss. Eventually, she turned her anguish into triumph. “As I began to put the pieces back together, I developed a fierceness that said if I can survive that, which psychiatrists say is one of the worst of all losses, I can figure out this business thing. Talk about perspective! I wanted very much to create a legacy that mattered for my daughter—using my unique talents and gifts—because she wasn’t here to do it. That, for me, was a huge turning point.”

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“What I find with my clients is that everyone has come through something very difficult. It doesn’t have to be something as dramatic as losing a child. It can be that you were bullied, or that you survived your parents splitting up, or a big move when you lost all of your friends. But, when you really look at your life, both what you’ve accomplished and the fact that you have survived, you can create what I call a confidence resume. You can find a depth in yourself that enables you to say, ‘Look at what I’ve come through! Look at what I’ve done!’ From there, you can take the first step to move forward with your dream, the one you’ve been too scared to try.”