Being in your mind as an observer is your agency to whatever you want.
Diana Murphy
The Coach for CEOs
Overachiever?
Overthinker?
Overworked?
You love your work, and whether you want to work less or have a successful exit — those long hours and anxiety can cloud your ability to see the possibilities.
I’m Diana, the coach for CEOs.
What if I told you that the self-critical mind might be the only thing that needs to change for you to have what you want?
Then, anything is possible for your life and business.
I didn’t always see pure possibility. My judgmental mind used to slow me down — A LOT!
Always the overachiever, I received a lot of attention for straight A’s in school and quickly became a perfectionist. This served me well when I was applying for a highly selective medical program where I needed those grades, but I later suffered in business school. I was overly consumed with figuring out how to get an A instead of learning and integrating.
I was confident on the outside, but something was off.
As a pharmaceutical rep in New York City, this suburban girl got city smart fast. I quickly learned to make strong relationships with doctors and key players and thrived in this role. Then, after three years, I took a position with the Gallup organization and was part of the research that would become The Gallup StrengthsFinder.
I loved the personal development space, but my overachieving tendencies crept up when I started my weight loss coaching business. I was helping smart, ambitious clients who were rocking their professional lives but struggled with their weight and self-care. Most of my client conversations were about their day-to-day work stress and their primary issues were emotional eating, overworking, and ignoring their well-being. I fell in love with this work.
Even though I was making a difference in my clients’ lives and was an effective coach, I made three friends in those early years — fear, procrastination, and hustle — sound familiar?
I was confident and eager and knew I had natural sales talent. But I had no idea that my mind would get so critical and hold me back.
Quitting wasn’t in my vocabulary, but I needed help.
During those first few years of business, I tried to apply every nugget of advice from business coaches, but I was deflated and depleted, leaving nothing left to give my personal life.
After attending many business masterminds, I finally invested in my first personal coach. I was stuck in a pattern of beating the crap out of myself for what wasn’t working. I couldn’t even see the great work happening in my business. And, I continued to give up so much in my personal life to run my business.
This compassionate and powerful coach helped me see that I was creating emotional damage by criticizing myself. I sabotaged my success by puffing up my ego, working too hard, and jumping over opportunities in front of me. In hindsight, I see how I was moving way too fast yet procrastinating on the work that really mattered.
The results from coaching in my life have been mind-blowing and have affected EVERYTHING!
- I’m calmer and more present with my family
- I have insight in my friendships
- I know when I need rest and when to dig in and work
- I make decisions that support my business, which in turn support me
Even though I was making a difference in my clients’ lives and was an effective coach, I made three friends in those early years — fear, procrastination, and hustle — sound familiar?
I took a deep responsibility for my work and kept my eye on my dreams. By leaning into my identity as CEO and a deep dive business coach, I broke up with those three frenemies. I began to trust my decision-making skills and work so that my business could have the impact I knew was possible.
I’ve created a business that sustains me and serves my clients powerfully. I have a lifestyle that supports how I want to show up with family and loved ones. And in the toughest of moments (this year has been a personal doozie), I now can make difficult transitions, having learned to stay present amid tricky emotions.
I believe that you can have exactly what you want — and it doesn’t come from pushing yourself into unnecessary suffering of worrying, stressing out, and working all the time.
I help CEOs stop stretching themselves thin and start making progress toward wholehearted growth — for themselves, their teams, their clients, and their lives.
It’s been an absolute joy watching clients move from running around with their hair on fire to stepping into their brilliance. Then watching them make courageous decisions and take care of themselves so they can handle the demands of their business and life and thrive. Even more satisfying is seeing these leaders start taking dream vacations, days off here and there just for fun, and creating lifestyles where they grow in revenue and client base while enjoying the hell out of their day-to-day lives.
I want to make a real difference for owners, supporting them in high-growth, succession, or exit — helping them stay grounded and in charge of the process.
When I’m not coaching clients or working on my business, you’ll find me walking in Piedmont Park, getting on my yoga mat or riding my Peloton. My energy comes from investing in the amazing friendships I’ve created and a lifestyle that restores me so that I can create, write and serve clients powerfully.
I volunteer with groups that support the exit planning community and love welcoming new advisors to this space. I love taking care of my now senior dog, Tahoe, and checking in with my grown kids. This is all a bit of a miracle and I’m all for it!
When I sit down with a new client, I feel total possibility. No matter how hard my day has been, I open up Zoom and cannot wait to show my clients their minds and how powerful they are. I can’t wait to help them look at their lives and business through the lens of possibility.
You can have what you want in business and life. Even in the overwhelming transitions of scale, succession, and growth. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. It starts with slowing down your mind to direct it to what you want.
