I think many women quietly reach a point where they start wondering:
*What about me?*
Not in an ungrateful way.
Not because life is terrible.
But because for years, they’ve been focused on what needed to happen next.
The career.
The children.
The logistics.
And somewhere along the way, it became easy to lose sight of yourself in all of it.
I see this a lot with capable women especially.
Women who look like they’re coping beautifully from the outside.
But quietly feel like something no longer fits in the way it used to.
Not because they’ve failed.
But because they’ve changed.
And because the version of success they were aiming for no longer fits who they are now.
I wrote more about this in this month’s blog post if you’d like to read it. The link’s in my bio.
Carmel The Coach
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I support busy women execute their good intentions consistently
12/05/2026
For years, I told myself I’d retrain “when the time was right”.
Looking back, I imagined the “right time” would feel calm. Spacious. Organised.
Instead, the moment I finally retrained as a coach came when my life was fuller than it had ever been.
Two young children. Work. Marriage. Logistics. Exhaustion.
And yet, something in me knew it was time.
Not because everything lined up perfectly.
But because I’d reached a point where continuing to postpone it felt heavier than doing it.
I think a lot of women live in this tension for years.
Quietly carrying desires, ideas or ambitions that keep getting pushed further down the list because life is busy and other people’s needs feel more urgent.
And sometimes, without really noticing, we start believing we need perfect conditions before we’re allowed to begin.
But life rarely creates space for us like that.
More often, we have to decide that something matters enough to make space for it ourselves.
💭 What part of yourself have you been putting on hold until “the right time”?
“I don’t know what to say to a complete stranger without sounding clichéd or boring.”
A client said this to me recently when we were talking about networking.
What’s interesting is — he’s actually very sociable.
If someone approaches him, he’s warm, friendly, easy to talk to.
But being the one to start the conversation?
That’s where he gets stuck.
And it’s not because he isn’t capable.
It’s because he’s relying on a belief about himself that doesn’t quite fit the situation he’s in now.
—
We all have these:
“I’m shy in groups.”
“I’m not creative.”
“I’m not someone who…”
Over time, they stop feeling like thoughts… and start feeling like facts.
💭 Where might your default way of being not be serving you anymore?
Another great morning with the Guiripreneurs gang ☕️
We were joined by Tamara Cohen from , who shared her story building the business over the past 9 years. Plenty of twists along the way — easily the kind of story you could turn into a film. Anyone?
She also shared her top 10 learnings. The one that stayed with me most:
Spend at least one hour every day growing the business — not just doing the business. Even when you’re on holiday.
That, and: delegate.
A big thank you to Tamara. And to Aron at for hosting us again — just as well as the first time. We’ll be back.
And finally, thanks to everyone who joined us — and for making my Dad feel so welcome. He’ll be back too 😊
You already know what you want.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
Enough to feel that something isn’t quite right.
Enough to keep coming back to the same thought.
And yet… nothing changes.
Most people think they’re stuck because they lack clarity.
But often, that’s not the issue.
It’s what sits underneath.
Fear.
Timing.
Other people.
The cost of changing something that looks good on paper.
—
💭 If you’re honest, what’s actually keeping you where you are right now?
I explore this more deeply in my latest blog — link in bio 👀 #
Everything looks great on paper.
You’ve achieved what you set out to.
Your career is solid.
You’re in a loving relationship.
Your life is full and working well, like a well-oiled machine.
And yet… something feels off.
A client said to me recently:
“Everything is great. I just don’t feel how I thought I would at this point in my life”.
That quiet sense of anticlimax is more common than people admit.
But it’s hard to talk about.
Because it can sound ungrateful. Self-indulgent.
Or like you’re looking for a problem that isn’t there.
So most people don’t say anything.
They carry on.
—
Often, it’s not a sign that something is wrong.
It’s a sign that something has *shifted*.
💭 Have you ever had that feeling — where everything looks great on paper, but doesn’t quite feel it?
12/03/2026
A question I sometimes ask my clients:
Whose career do you quietly admire?
Not the most successful person you know.
Not the most impressive CV.
Just the one that makes you think:
That looks like a life I’d enjoy 😊
—
Often the answer reveals something important.
Not about becoming that person —
but about the values, environment or pace of life you might want more of.
💭 If someone came to mind while reading this, what is it about their life or work that resonates with you?
Have you ever left a meeting thinking… I should have said that?
I see it a lot.
The more capable someone is, the higher the bar they set for speaking up.
They think it through.
Refine it.
Wait until it’s their “turn”.
Meanwhile, someone else makes THEIR exact point. Less polished but it gets heard 😣
It’s easy to assume that this is a confidence issue.
But more often, it’s the other way round.
Confidence builds AFTER you contribute, not before 💪
This is not about speaking for the sake of it.
It’s about adding something useful - a point of view, a question, a perspective.
It might even mean interrupting someone more senior.
Because if you keep waiting until it’s perfect, you don’t just stay quiet —
you make it easier for someone else to be chosen 😏
If this resonates, and you want to get more comfortable speaking up in these moments, drop me a message or take a look at how I work via the link in my bio 🫶🏼
This morning’s Guiripreneurs meet-up was a good one.
A full room, plenty of energy and a lot of very focused note-taking — which says everything.
A big thank you to Elizabeth Quintal. We were all soaking up your insights on websites, SEO and AIO — practical, clear and immensely useful.
Thank you as well to Javier and the team at Retiro for hosting us so deliciously and smoothly.
And to — the best co-host and wingwoman I could ask for 🫶🏼
Most importantly, thank you to everyone who came, shared openly, supported each other and made the room feel as welcoming and energising as it did 🙏🏻
I’ve personally come away with a clear list of things to improve on my own website.
If you’d like to connect with Elizabeth about your own site, you can find her on Instagram
We’ll be hosting our next event w/c 23 March. If you’d like to join us, head to the Guiripreneurs Facebook group — we’ll share the details there first 💛
Most of us are very familiar with our inner critic.
We know its favourite lines.
We know when it shows up.
And we know how convincing it can sound.
But here’s something I’ve seen, both in my own life and in my coaching work:
The critic is rarely alone.
There’s usually another voice there too.
Quieter. Calmer. Less dramatic.
I call it the inner champion 💪
When I look back at the best decisions I’ve made in my life, they all came from that voice — the one that trusted I could handle whatever came next.
In my latest blog post, I share how I discovered mine and how I help my clients find theirs.
💭 Have a read and see which voice has been shaping your decisions lately.
Link in bio. Or check out the February blog post on my website: carmeldrake.com
I noticed a pattern on a discovery call with a potential client recently.
Some decisions in her life felt easy and clear.
Others felt almost impossible — especially when she had several good options and none of them clearly stood out.
Nothing was obviously wrong.
In fact, every option in front of her could have led to a good life.
And that was exactly the problem.
We all put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make the RIGHT choice.
To strive, achieve and be happy — all at the same time.
It’s no wonder we end up overthinking 🤯
People sometimes assume coaching would only add to that.
But what I see is the opposite 🪷
When someone has the time and space to talk their thoughts through with someone impartial, who isn’t judging and who has no stake in the outcome, they start to hear themselves more clearly ☺️
If you’re carrying a decision that keeps circling in your head, that’s exactly the kind of space I offer my clients.
Feel free to drop me a message if you’d like to explore it together.