Cathy Ferringo Clarity & Strategy Coach

Helping you shine your light

07/20/2026

The work you struggle most to begin is almost never someone else's work.

It's your own work that waits.

Not because you're lazy.

Because every meaningful piece of work has a doorway.

Some doors ask for focus.

Some ask for clarity.

Some ask for capacity.

Some ask for recovery.

Which door are you standing at today?

You do not need more willpower.

You need a smaller place to start.

I wrote about the four doorways I see most often in coaching, and how a Pomodoro Sprint can help create a better doorway into the work.

Here's the link to the full essay:

https://cathyferringo.com/pomodoro-sprint-focus/

P.S. If you'd like to put the ideas into practice, you'll also find a free Sprint Map linked in the article.

~ Cathy

07/15/2026

Somewhere between "I want to do this" and actually doing it, most of us stop and wait to feel ready.

Ready rarely comes. That's not a character flaw. It's what happens when we quietly ask a decision to promise us the ending first.

The new essay is about the map we all wait for at a threshold, what waiting quietly costs us, and the kinder question that actually gets you moving.

Comment ENOUGHMAP and I'll send you the full essay. If you'd rather read it now, you'll also find it in my first comment.

I'm curious: what map have you been waiting for? Clarity, permission, confidence, the perfect plan, a sign?

~ Cathy

07/09/2026

There's a particular kind of stuck that doesn't look like stuck from the outside. You're capable. You know what you want. And you still can't seem to walk through the door.

If that's you right now, I want to say something early. I don't think the problem is you.

Hesitation at a threshold isn't laziness, and it isn't a lack of discipline. It's what happens when we're asked to move before we feel certain. It's human. And it's often a quiet sign that something meaningful is at stake.

I wrote a new essay about why we hesitate at thresholds, and how to return to yourself while you're standing at one.

Comment DOORWAY and I'll send you the full essay.

If you'd rather read it now, you'll also find the link in the comments.

What door are you standing in front of right now?

~Cathy

06/26/2026

Nine years ago today, I held a brand-new coaching certificate in my hands and thought, "I did it."

I thought I was standing at a finish line.

Looking back, I can see it was only the first doorway.

Doorways are rarely endings. They're beginnings we don't yet understand.

We almost never get the full map before we begin.

Sometimes the staircase only reveals itself once we're willing to take the first step.

Nine years and more than 4,500 coaching conversations later, that's the lesson I keep returning to.

So here's the question I've been sitting with...

What doorway are you standing in front of right now, waiting for a map that isn't coming?

I'm going to be sharing more reflections like this over the coming months. Not on a schedule, and not as a program. Just thinking out loud about the things I care about.

If you'd like to receive them, comment **FOLLOW** and I'll send you the link. Or you can always find it through the link in my bio.

06/09/2026

Normally, this week I'd be packing for Bonnaroo, a music festival in Tennessee.

Instead, today I'm sitting at home watching my husband head off to Tennessee while I stay put.

For those who don't know, we've been going since 2014, and Bonnaroo has become one of those places where I return to myself. I always describe it as an adult summer camp with a really good soundtrack.

This year I'm staying close to home while I wait for a potential kidney transplant. It's the right choice, but that doesn't mean I'm thrilled about it.

As friends have been getting ready to leave, I sent our group a little note reminding everyone to drink water, wear sunscreen, and remember that they are arriving at Bonnaroo complete, lovely, beautiful, and whole.

Not behind.

Not broken.

Not less than.

Just fully themselves.

Then I realized maybe I needed that reminder too.

I may not be physically at Bonnaroo this year, but I can still create some of what it gives me.

Music.

Creativity.

Time outside.

Space to think.

Space to breathe.

Space to reconnect with myself.

A place to recharge.

Grace and understanding.

So this year I'm embracing Coucharoo, writing, listening to Bonnaroo's official Spotify playlist, spending time outside, and enjoying one very underrated luxury: my own shower.

There will be lots of music, lots of water, and hopefully a little bit of magic too.

What are you doing this summer that helps you recharge?

p.s. Photo is of me on the Ferris wheel at Bonnaroo a previous year. For me, Roo has always been a place to recharge, reconnect, and renew. A place to return to myself.

01/13/2026

Sometimes your biggest leadership lesson comes wearing whiskers.

During a live international coaching event with 170+ coaches and a brilliant presenter, I was dialed in:
✅ Headset on.
✅ Entered on mute.
✅ Ready to learn.

⏩ Forty minutes in, my husband called to me (from another room) about our son’s cat, who we’re cat-sitting. I answered loudly… not realizing my mic had come unmuted from a dongle bump.

🎤 My voice broadcasted to the room, including some pretty awesome internation coaching peers.
📹 The session was recorded.
😳 And yes, my cat commentary lives on.

At first, I cringed.
Then I coached myself.

If this had happened to a client, how would I help them process it?
→ Reflection
→ Self-Compassion
→ Reframing
→ Forward-Focused Decisions

So I did the same for myself.

Here’s what I reminded myself:
✔️ Embarrassment is proof I care.
✔️ I showed up prepared.
✔️ One small blooper doesn’t erase years of professionalism.

And I upgraded my Tech SOP:
🎧 Check mute after any headset or dongle bump.
🚪 Close the door for all live trainings.
🔄 Mid-call mute check for longer sessions.

Let’s be real:
💡 Leadership is about being real, not flawless.
🐾 Sometimes our biggest lessons wear whiskers.

I’m curious:
What’s a moment you’ve turned into a leadership upgrade?

Filed under:
Lessons from the Field · Tech Surprises · Self-Compassion · Growth in Progress · hashtag

Address

Clinton, ON

Telephone

+15193005372

Website

https://CathyFerringo.com/

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