WHO
I’m Sharon Strickland-Clark, and I’m passionate about helping women to be everything they want to be.
I want to help you find all of that precious potential within you, and set it free; reconnect you with the vitality and passion that once energised you to dance, or sing, or play; and help you to see new ways of channelling all of that wonderful energy into creating the bright and beautiful future that you want.
But what about the name…?
OK, let me explain: I’m Scottish (I’ll give you a minute for the penny to drop), and I’m Bravetart! My brilliant husband gave me this name when I agreed to leave the Motherland to live with him in England. I was originally a McGregor, and therefore brought with me a very large amount of rich Scottish baggage. I love my heritage, so he earned major points when he picked up said baggage, and loaded it into a van. It is still one of my favourite journeys: terrifying, exciting and absolutely soul defining. I think I chose wisely!
Why use it now?
“You always see the good in people – but not everyone’s good!”. I heard this a lot when I was a child, my Mum often despaired about my ‘naivety’, afraid that the world would hurt me if I persisted in this stubborn way of thinking. But I’ve held this belief about the innate goodness of people all my life; it’s a massive part of who I am, how I interact with the world, and how I raise my children.
I’ve always believed that, given the chance, everyone wants to be their best and do their best. Life throws curveballs and knocks people off their paths all the time, but if you had the opportunity for a fresh start, wouldn’t you take it? Most people – the ones who want their lives to be different – certainly would. That’s what my big move to England was all about, all those years ago.
I was also a thinker, as a child – the one who reflected, and came up with different explanations and suggestions for solving problems. I’d be the one with the objective perspective, with other ideas for how to go about things. I labelled it common sense, then I found out, it’s not actually very common at all.
So how could I not use Bravetart! It is symbolic of everything I believe in, hope for and relish. When I took a deep breath and moved hundreds of miles away, all those years ago, I learned that moving forward, following my gut instincts and living my passion leads to a rich and wonderful life. It’s what I want to share with the world. I believe that women are about to ring big bells of change, and I want to help them own their place in shaping our world for the better.
Helping women to decide to change; to think differently about their barriers; to come up with alternative answers; and to be the very best version of themselves that they can – that’s what Bravetart is all about.
But how did the coaching start?
Well, the next part of the story gets a bit messy! Over the course of our journey together, my husband and I built a strong relationship by embracing every transition that life threw at us, respecting each other’s needs (mostly) and allowing each other to be who we needed to be in the moment. He’s also pretty good at reminding me when I wander off my (and our) path. In my most recent wanderings, I became aware that family life had made a transition, and I’d not been paying attention. I found myself spending much of the day home alone, realising the dog and a basket of laundry were the sum of the day’s distractions. Not where fiery feminist 19-year-old me ever expected she’d be, for sure! What the hell happened to the fire, the energy, the drive?! In short, they’d checked out. And so, my coaching journey began. Of course I’d no idea that was where I was going when I started, but with a gentle kick to the butt from my guidman (not a typo – the etymology makes my toes curl which in turn makes any association with my lovely husband too funny), I’ve not looked back.
I walked my talk, I have done the deep work and I continue to work on refining the ways in which I interact with the world. I made lots and lots and lots of mistakes; fell on my arse many a time; hurt and was hurt. Every day I have to rummage around for my brave pants and open my soul to accepting that I am exactly where I am meant to be, and that what I want it to be tomorrow, it can be. It’s a hell of a journey, but I wouldn’t change a thing! The grey hairs, the wee creases, even the gravitational pull altering the altitude of my beloved peaks, remind me how very lucky I am to be here in this life. I do transitions. I do them all of the time. I know what the blocks feel like, and I know that getting past them starts with the brave step towards reuniting yourself with those things that set you on fire. I also learned that transitions are best done with someone who will gently nudge you back on your path, and let you discover for yourself what your life journey looks like.
