About Yota Schneider

I am now a long way from those hot summer evenings under the grape arbor in my childhood neighborhood. Life unraveled and took me thousands of miles away.  Although I never dreamed or wished to travel so far away from my birth place, the story of my life took a sudden turn and I had to follow. I met my husband when

I was in my early twenties and had come to the United States to do my field work experience as an occupational therapist. We fell in love and decided to get married. When I work with people who experience a life transition I always share my personal story as a young bride and an immigrant. There was a new culture, a new language, my role as a wife, the New England weather, and a whole new set of relationships to contend with.

It was at this time that I met my meditation teacher and embarked on my spiritual journey. Life became deeper, richer, more rewarding and meaningful as I was able to express myself spiritually. It wasn’t easy but time passed and I started growing into my life. 

Going corporate

Settling into a career was another matter altogether. I decided not to pursue recertification as an occupational therapist and instead find what really inspired me. After exploring several career options (including becoming certified to teach high school French, and working for the Mental Health Association), I found a career that I loved.

I started working for Clinique, a division of the Estee Lauder Corporation, and eventually I climbed the corporate ladder to become a successful account executive. During that period I discovered how much I loved running a business and being good at it! I felt like I was at the top of my game and the sky was the limit. 

And then it happened!

After a number of years of being married, my husband and I decided to have children. We did! Twin girls! Why have one when you can have two adorable human beings to completely change your life?

So, here I was, a corporate executive, a wife, a mother, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a seeker. Before long something had to give….and it was my job. When my daughters were two years old I left corporate to be a full time mother. However, as my children grew so did my desire to reenter the work place and express myself in the world in other ways.

As I started contemplating the future, I began to take inventory of my skills and experiences in an effort to gain an insight into the next stage of my life. While in the business world I had been exposed to the most valuable opportunities for professional training and development. As a mother, I was learning how to build a business without sacrificing what is important.

Coaching gave me the means to bring together all of my life experiences to help others who were struggling, as I had, to build successful lives. 

The alchemy of professional life coaching

I graduated from The Coach Training Program at Coach U and joined the world of solopreneurs. One more learning experience! Since then I have had the opportunity to work with the issues closest to my heart and apply the lessons I learned from the corporate environment in my work with individual clients.

As a certified Seasons of Change coach and a licensed facilitator for Purpose Clarity, and Niche Clarity, I often incorporate these programs in my work with clients who are going through personal or professional transition and striving for more clarity, purpose, and personal success.

My eleven years in the corporate world have taught me a lot about human nature. I have come to understand that it is people who make a business and that people come with a whole set of issues. No matter how much people try to separate their work from their personal lives, it’s simply not possible. When we go to work our whole life comes with us. Our beliefs, our personalities, our expectations, our insecurities and fears, our anxieties, our talents, our gifts - the sum of our life - comes with us to the office. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

I have also learned that numbers always talk and they don’t lie, that good leaders don’t come around too often and that true leaders can be found in unlikely places, that change is not always welcome, that lack of communication can kill a worthy project from the get go, that being a team player is an art worth learning, and that time is a most valuable currency and needs to be invested wisely.

Unfortunately, sometimes passion and excellence are not a quarantee for success in business. It takes clear intention, planning, discipline in following through, and the ability to know when to do things differently.

In my work with small business owners I can see that people can become too overwhelmed with the realities of running a business to understand how critical these principles are to their success.

I often hear, “I am too busy right now to even think of this. When things calm down and I have more money, I will invest in taking a good look at what is going on.” What a paradox! First we get better then we go to the doctor. 

For now, it has all come together. I live in a lovely town in Connecticut with my husband and the twins, who, by the way, stretch my life coaching skills daily.  My life experience and life lessons, my journey through major transition (more than once), my education, corporate experience, and of course, my spiritual practice, are all working together. I am doing work that I love, offering my services to like-minded people who want to make a difference in the world through their business. I can be present for my family, enjoy my friends, care for my garden and make my contribution  -  until the next chapter.