Q: What is Sam Johnson Coaching all about?

At Sam Johnson Coaching, my mission is to help people find freedom—from their fears, stuckness, and inaction, so they can do the damn thing, creating a life and career that is energizing, exciting, and satisfying. 

Q: Who is Sam Johnson?

I am…the eldest of three daughters, a step mom to two boys, an athlete, a self-help junky, an avid reader, and a writer.

I love to do kettlebell workouts, bask in the sun by a pool, and get lost in contemplation over a good memoir, non-fiction, or spiritual book. 

I’ll be the first to admit, I have an unhealthy attachment to my dog Charlie; he is my favorite family member. 

I’m a Cal Berkeley Alum, a former sorority president, and a quota carrying sales executive. I’ve been described by observers as a “binger” and a “beaver”—how flattering, right?—because I’m all in and always building or doing something. 

Q: What inspired you to become a coach?

I once heard a story about an artist who made a simple but beautiful piece of art and when asked, “How long did that take you?” He replied, “20 years.”

That’s a bit how I feel about coaching. A pivotal moment? Try 1,000 tiny ones that, in retrospect, were tracking me to this calling. 

But here’s a few that stand out for me: 

A divorce I didn’t see coming, followed by a long season of therapy (and lots tears and lots of tears). A lot of reading and writing. And a group coaching program for artists that awakened me to the possibilities of my future: what I could do, who I could be, and how I could metabolize everything I’d learned and create a mission driven business. 

I’ve been through my own personal brand of hell-and-back seasoned with the same shame, doubt, and fear that anyone experiences who ends up somewhere awful they never believed possible: divorce? layoff? loss of love and fortune?



I have been brought to the fetal position tortured by questions like, “Should I stay or go?” and “What will everyone think?” and “What will it mean to give up having children of my own?”

Q: What’s your background and experience?

I’m a Cal Berkeley Alum with a degree in Rhetoric—Go Bears!  (In truth, I attended one football game in 4 years.)

A lifelong athlete, meaning: gymnast, then volleyball player, then runner, then cross-fitter, then simply ‘stays active.’ In other words, I’ve spent my entire life benefiting from coaching relationships and I hold them in high esteem. 

I’ve had a successful career (nearly 15 years) as a quota carrying sales executive in high tech, with the last 6 at Amazon Web Services (AWS). I have real world experience working at startups that went public to major players that define an industry. I speak ‘corporate’ well: I know how to build relationships, earn trust, negotiate, and close sales. My organizational and written communication skills have been described as equal parts intimidating, useful, and inspiring by my peers.     

I’m certified as a Wayfinder Life Coach and as an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the gold standard for coaching. 

One of my core skill-sets as a coach comes from deep study and practice of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), known as Acceptance and Commitment Training in professional athletes and business. (There is no formal accreditation for ACT, a conscious choice by the originator Dr. Steven Hayes, who aspires to make it prolific and accessible in the service of ending human psychological suffering).

Q: What makes your coaching unique?

Anything we do, I’ve done on myself.

I live it to give it. The frameworks and tools I bring to coaching, I’ve studied in depth, experienced first hand, and actively use on myself.  I’m bringing them to you because they’ve worked for me. Because we’re each unique, not every one will float your boat or help you shift—and that’s okay. We’re developing a toolbox that is most effective for you.

There are no shortcuts or hacks to personal transformation. 

Unless you’re Byron Katie or Eckhart Tolle, don’t expect an overnight awakening. Coaching in my experience is much more like the Calvin & Hobbes comic, “day by day, nothing seems to change, but pretty soon, everything is different.” I’m upfront that big changes take time, and you should be too.

You are capable—so  you gotta wanna. 

At the heart of any issue, you have a choice. You say you  want that? Great! What are you willing to do to get it? Together, we’ll explore what it takes to do what matters.

Q: Who do you typically work with?

I work with thoughtful, kind, loving professionals (who often have backgrounds as athletes), that are ambitious, but feel stuck and are craving growth and change; they want things to be different...

... they want more. 

Q: What common challenges do your clients face?

They come to coaching because they’re craving change—they want things to be different in their life or career—and need support navigating that transition and making it happen. 

• They feel lost and are wondering, “What’s next?” 
• They know what they want but are blocked from actually doing it; “Stuck.” 

They have a long term vision of the type of person they want to be and the life they want to have, but they don’t know what steps to take that will promote growth into that person; “Without a plan and without accountability.”

Q: How do you help your clients overcome their challenges?

For one, what you focus on expands. By simply making the decision to hire a coach, show up every week, and give the things you want to change attention, things are going to shift. 

More specifically?

Through powerful questions, visualizations, exercises, and psychological skill building, we go deep: confronting what you really want, why you want that, what’s getting in the way of you getting it, and create a plan to make it happen.

Layer on an accountability partner to that? You’ve got clarity for what’s next, tools to unblock when you get stuck, and a plan for taking consistent, effective action to reach your goal. 

What you’ve got is momentum—and it feels gooooood.

Q: What's the difference between coaching & therapy or mentoring?

Therapists

Therapists treat mental illness, heal emotional wounds, and look to the past to understand reasons for behaviors and thought patterns.  

Coaches

Coaches help build mental fitness, drive insight into action, and focus on the future, accelerating forward progress.

Mentors, Advisor, and Consultants

Mentors have accomplished what you want—and can advise you on how to get there. 

Coaching, Therapy, and Mentorship are complimentary.  

All three are beneficial. Therapists heal, coaches train, and mentors advise.