It’s not very often to we interview someone who’s just starting out but Eva Werk is already well on the way to an amazing career as a life coach for women.  Her site is brimming with advice and we know you’re going to be so encouraged by what she had to share with us in the interview.  You’ll definitely want to check out her website at Unleash the Brilliance Within.

In case people don’t know about you and your inspiring business, would you mind sharing what you do?

I help women in the corporate world find their life’s work, give them the tools to make it a reality and live the life they were truly meant to live. I coach women one-on-one and will be launching an online group coaching program as well as an ebook. There’s so much I’m itching to do to get my work out in the world and I’m taking it day by day.

People ask me why I work only with women and it’s because I truly believe when you help women, you help the world. The Dalai Lama said in 2009 that, “The world will be saved by the Western woman.” I believe that the world will be saved by the Western woman who is happy, healthy and empowered.

You made a huge switch from a corporate job (pretty much the American dream) to your current coaching job. What’s the one piece of advice you would have given yourself back when you took your leap of faith?

Well for me it wasn’t a straight and narrow road from corporate America into doing this business full-time. There were lots of detours along the path because initially I wasn’t sure about my calling and didn’t feel comfortable taking the leap of faith unless I was certain of my path, so I gave myself permission to experiment and tried several careers along the way, including stints at a digital advertising agency and working for start-ups. So while I officially left my corporate job in 2008, it took me several years to test out other jobs and go on a journey of personal growth and self-discovery before it all came back full-circle and I realized my calling is to help other women who are facing the same struggles to find their passion and have a career that is a full expression of their unique gifts and what they’re meant to do in the world.

I believe it took me years of struggle to get to my calling because I refused to listen to my inner voice and where it would lead me back when I left my corporate job. I was afraid to act because that voice inside me called for me to go in directions that were completely different than the identity I created for myself around my professional and academic achievements. This is the kind of struggle and fight with that inner voice that may tell them to go in a completely different direction (and it’s scary as hell) that I help women work around. But I also acknowledge that each step I took to experiment and try on what fit and then walk away from something that didn’t resonate got me closer to here.

So if I were to go back to that place several years ago when I initially left corporate, I would tell myself to follow my heart and what truly brings me joy and stay clear of anything that doesn’t bring me joy. I would also tell myself to surround myself with a really strong network of like-minded people that support you on your path because it will take you much longer to get here (if ever) without them. And I would definitely hire a coach earlier on that could guide, support and hold me accountable for my making my dream a reality, which I didn’t do until much later on in my journey.

What made you decide to write your book, Now That I Have The Perfect Life, Why Do I Feel So Miserable? And then what inspired you to give it away for free?

Now That I Have The Perfect Life, Why Do I Feel So Miserable is a short ebook that I give away as a gift for people who opt into my site. I wrote it so that women who read it can relate to my story about my life looking “perfect” on a piece of paper and yet feeling completely unfulfilled and miserable inside. It’s part of the lessons I learned along my journey to getting to where I am today that we women will continue to be unhappy as long as we follow society’s or other people’s scripts of who we should be and what we should do with our life. I want people to know that our life is not one size fits all and if they’re not happy they should step back and see where they’re not being true to themselves. This is a much shorter version of the book I want to someday publish.

You’re working on a series of interviews with women entrepreneurs who are living their passions. What do you hope your listeners gain from these interviews?

I created my interview series called “Women Living Their Passion” where I interview via women entrepreneurs creating different types of businesses and living their passion. These women entrepreneurs are mostly corporate escapees (like myself) that are now doing the work they love whether creating online media sites focused on empowering women, opening wine stores, creating their own natural based skin care line, or leaving lucrative careers in finance to be wellness entrepreneurs. Viewers can both read the highlights as well as listen to the audio recording of these interviews on my site. I created this interview series to inspire other women out there who are stuck in a job they hate or just not living up to their potential to see what’s possible by showcasing these inspirational stories. They can see what it took for these women to
make the leap to living their dreams and living a life of authenticity and passion. I also want to encourage and inspire women out there to pursue their passions by seeing others out there who have already made the leap.

You’ve taken so many big leaps in the last few years. Did you ever fear complete failure? And if so, how did you overcome that fear?

Yes, I have taken many big leaps and I was always scared along the way. But someone told me once, “If your dreams don’t scare you much, they are not big enough” and I truly believe that. I know that only through taking myself out of my comfort zone can I grow the most and I know I’m here on this planet to grow and evolve.

Fear is actually the biggest thing that stops most people from living their dreams and reaching their greatest potential. This is why I addressed how we can use fear as a source to propel us into our dreams in my blog post “6 Ways to Use Fear to Propel You into Your Dreams.”

So while I have fears that come up as I move forward towards my big vision, I use that to inform me that I’m going in the right direction. There is also no complete failure in life, it’s how you choose to look at it and I choose to look at failure as an opportunity to learn more about myself and what I need to do to improve something and make it better. I also have a kicka$$ community of people in my life that keep me going on those harder days

Are you making the transition from corporate?  Don’t forget to peek at Eva’s site to get more inspiration and advice.