My Story
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Why Resilience?
Fear didn’t just run in my family, it galloped. In fact, growing up issues such as substance abuse, depression, and general dysfunction were all too common among those near and dear.
Determined not to follow in the family tradition, from a young age I began reading every self-help book I could get my hands on.
I became obsessed with trying to understand how is it is that two people can be faced with the same crisis and while one becomes hopelessly mired in a web of negativity and feelings of helplessness, the other is able to remain positive and grow through adversity to become stronger than ever.
This is the power of emotional resilience.
How I Got Here
My fascination with resilience continued as an adult and got me through some pretty gnarly experiences, there was the divorce, a full-blown reinvention and being diagnosed with an “incurable” eye disease.
Still, it never occurred to me to share what I’d learned through it all with others until I took over a life and small business coaching practice.
Many of my clients were women seeking to build a business that would allow them to work from home, but it turned out that learning basic business skills was the easy part.
More and more I found myself addressing issues of self-limiting beliefs, unhealthy boundaries and the stress and strain of balancing a business with caring for home and family.
Soon I began teaching the skills and behaviors associated with increasing their capacity for resilience. The more I shared, the more they wanted, but the fact that I lived in Maui and my clients were spread across four Islands made regular workshops a costly challenge, so I decided to experiment by setting up a private blog and post tutorials and demand quickly grew.
That led to my first personal development blog which was named a top 50 personal development blog three years in a row, my first book (Resilient Living), developing more courses and eventually to launching Emotionally Resilient Living.~
A Few Quirky Bits & Pieces
I’ve lived most of my life in Maui, Hawaii, but last year decided it was time to shake things up so I moved to a beautiful forest region in Oregon.
My first career was in international sales and marketing on behalf of the Hawaii travel industry during which time I traveled throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific.
During my second career as a life and small business coach, I worked with hundreds of clients across the Islands to help them create a balance between nurturing a happy, healthy family and creating a sustainable business.
In 2011 I became a full-time author – writing articles, books, and training courses to help others develop greater emotional resilience.
I am over the moon in love with a pug/Shih Tzu mix pup named Lucy. We have a special relationship, not just because she is adorable, cute and funny, but because last year she beat cancer so every day with her is a gift.
I dance the hula … sometimes even in public. 🙂
My nickname is Marty, a holdover from my childhood as a tomboy.
For those of you who follow the stars, my birthday is August 20 which means I’m on the cusp of Leo and Virgo.
I have published 5 books including the namesake and cornerstone publication for this website, Resilient Living.
I believe in making a difference in my community and have chaired 3 County Food Drives as well as dozens of fundraising events, and served on the board of directors for Maui Food Bank, Maui United Way, Maui Association of Non-Profits, and the South Maui Coastal Heritage Corridor Project.
I am a full-fledged Introvert and when I’m not working on a new book or article, I’m either on a road trip, painting, locked in a battle of wills with Lucy, or curled up with a good mystery and glass of my favorite wine.
My Trip of a Lifetime is to Machu Picchu.
My life motto: You CAN, you SHOULD, and if you’re BRAVE enough … you WILL!
Let’s Connect
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