She’s a Woman on Fire! member and we want you to know her.  Please say hello to…

Name: Beth Bryce

City: Saginaw, Michigan

Women on Fire Member No.: 00079

Member since: Dec. 19, 2011

Please tell us about YOU, your family and your work.

I’m a motivational career coach, writer and founder of Girls2Women Coaching, a coaching firm specializing in career transitions. I have coached hundreds of women on boldly pursuing their life’s work.

I’m passionate about helping women define a fulfilling career path for their authentic self to obtain personal growth, whole-hearted success and financial independence. I’m having an absolute blast coaching women one-on-one, and facilitating career master classes, mastermind groups and retreats. It took me a while, but I finally figured out my calling in life. Now I help others do the same.

I’m blessed to have a home next door to my best friend, my mother, Colleen, in the same neighborhood where I grew up in Michigan. She is a wonderful grandma to my five-year old Jack Russell terrier, Willy. We are tired of the brutal Michigan winters, though, and Willy is too. We have many friends and family out west waiting for us with open arms. Oh, the places we may go!

What are you “on fire” about?

I just completed a six-month retreat facilitator program with the Sedona Women’s Institute and will be working collaboratively with the founder, Karen Ely, to deliver retreats to women all around the world. In addition, I’m launching my own inaugural women’s retreat, Daring Circle Ranch, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on May 19.

Women on Fire member Susan Perry will also be facilitating a yoga session for us, in addition to equestrian and life coach Lynn Clifford. Women are coming from Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana and Florida.

How did you originally connect to Women on Fire?

Member Sue Adams invited me to a 2011 Women on Fire Tea in Alpena, Michigan, hosted by Mary Ellen Jones and founder Debbie Phillips. I met so many inspiring women that I would have never otherwise crossed paths with.

An editor and publisher I met at the tea motivated me to pursue my dream of becoming a writer. Since the tea, I’ve written inspirational articles for Women 2 Women Michigan magazine, co-authored a chapter in Women on Fire, Vol. 2, and recently landed my own column, “Career Moxie,” in Great Lakes Business. It was well worth the four-hour drive during a blizzard to attend the tea!

What one thing are you the most proud of?

Co-founding a Girls on the Run program in my county. GOTR is a national afterschool program that inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident, using a fun curriculum that creatively integrates running. We started with six girls in one elementary school; today we are in 25 schools serving well over 400 at-risk girls.

What is your big dream?

To create and deliver women’s adventure retreats in destination spots and online mastermind groups that support and guide women searching for a life and career of deeper meaning.

If you had the opportunity to teach a child one strategy that would help to guide her life, what would that be?

What other people say and think about you is none of your business. Listen to your heart and follow your dreams rather than what others think you should or should not do.

Where do you find inspiration?

It is deeply inspiring to me to bear witness to my client’s dreams of a better tomorrow for themselves, their families and communities. I then get to share their success stories with others.

What is your favorite time-management strategy?

I am the queen of Post-It Self-Stick Wall Pads. My office walls are lined with monthly, quarterly and annual plans for my health, business, finances, relationships and trips. I am serious about the direction I’m headed in, and having maps to get there and stay on track is a must.

How do you pick yourself up after a bad day?

After a really dark day, I pull out note cards and write to people I adore, letting them know why I’m grateful for them. Just knowing they will get a loving surprise in their mailbox melts my sadness.

Name another Woman on Fire who has inspired you and tell why.

Mary Oliver’s poetry has been a powerful force in my life. In particular, her poem “The Journey” has helped me through many difficult decisions. Upon resigning from past positions, I have read this poem aloud at my farewell lunches. Co-workers either tear up or need an explanation. It says, above all else, face your fears and be true to you.

Share a special Women on Fire moment or experience.

There was a moment at the 2015 Women on Fire Retreat when we were sharing our big dream and Debbie Phillips asked, “What is one small step you can take toward your dream?” My women’s retreat had been on my vision board since 2012!

In that moment, I thought to just give it a name, and Daring Circle Ranch immediately came to my mind. Giving my dream a name gave it life. From that one small step, I started building momentum, and now it’s all coming true this May.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve ever faced? How did you overcome it?

Walking away from a lucrative 20-year career in accounting to pursue my dream of career coaching was my biggest challenge.

My chapter, “I’m Marrying Me,” in Women on Fire, Vol. 2, recounts my yearlong journey in which I created my own Eat, Pray, Love adventure to face my fears and become unstuck. Two years later, I created a mastermind group based on my 12-step process to help others on their own transformative journeys.

What is your favorite inspirational quote?

“Do or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda

QUICK-RESPONSE ANSWERS:

My favorite component of the Women on Fire membership is… It is life changing to connect with phenomenal women at live events.

Favorite go-to self-care strategy… Disappearing into the woods to bike 40 miles. Afterward, all is right in my world.

I dream of visiting… Italy for an entire month, enjoying fabulous food and wine with my mother and our new, sexy Italian friends.

I would love to have lunch with… Diane Keaton! I can imagine arriving flamboyantly dressed to gush about our devilish escapades. Count me in, sister!

I’m always up for… Collaborating with women to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

I have a soft spot for… People who are underestimated, either by themselves or others. Countless times I’ve witnessed that, through motivational coaching, when their confidence grows, opportunities flow.

My biggest guilty pleasure is… Unplugging from technology for the weekend and also twice a year for an entire week. If you listen closely, you can actually hear your soul whisper.

My favorite pig-out food… We celebrate every major accomplishment and special event at my favorite pizzeria in Flint, Michigan. That’s a lot of pizza, and yet, it will never be enough.

The top three songs on my iPod right now are… “Fallinlove2nite” by Prince, “Soar” by Christina Aguilera and “Lose Yourself” by Eminem (Detroit, baby!).

I’m still afraid of… running out of time. I still have much to do helping others realize their life’s work.

I believe in… people’s capacity to achieve anything they can possibly imagine.

I wish I had… found the courage to leave my 20-year accounting career earlier because I was reborn the day I connected my purpose and passion to career coaching.

I’m counting down the days until… May 19th for my inaugural women’s retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The best thing I ever did was… when I packed my bags at 21 years old and left my small town in Michigan to start a new life in South Florida on my own.

To learn more about Beth, visit www.bethbryce.com or www.daringcircleranch.com. You also can follow her on Twitter at @bethbryce and Facebook at /bethkbryce.