Meet Megan Ladd of Megan Ladd Coaching in La Jolla

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Ladd.

Megan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up with two therapist parents running their private practice out of our home in suburban Maryland. Given their passion for working with people to improve their relationships and lives overall, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I ended up as a Life Coach!

My parents and I would take vacations to Southern California during the summer, and even as a little girl, I always felt like I was home here. I decided to follow my heart and move out here as soon as I graduated from high school, as I received a scholarship to study Communication and Advertising at USC. In college, I did a bunch of internships at various magazines and film studios, and after graduation, I immediately began working at Paramount Pictures.

A few days into my first job, I met my first “Life Coach” at an after-work women’s networking event. I had no idea the coaching industry even existed, but I felt immediately drawn to it. I watched in awe as this coach got a room full of professional women to drop their guards, shift their energy, share openly with one another, and form real connections. I had a gut feeling that this work was my calling, but then I thought: “Are you crazy?! You just started your career in entertainment, and now you want to abandon that for some job you barely know anything about?”

Something clicked though, and there was no turning back! I became an information sponge and dove headfirst into every self-help and personal development book, Ted talk, and online summit I could find. I dipped my toes into this new, exciting world of coaching. I interviewed every coach I resonated with and asked them about their background. Almost all of them had attended the same Spiritual Psychology program at The University of Santa Monica (USM), which they credited as the foundation for their coaching.

Eventually, I was ready to take action and experience some coaching for myself. I attended a life-changing women’s weekend retreat in the mountains and walked away with a renewed sense of hope, clarity, and confidence. Riding this high, I left the corporate entertainment world behind and began working for Danielle LaPorte, one of my favorite authors in the personal growth space. I also attended a weekend workshop at USM, and finally bit the bullet to do their year-long intensive certification program I’d heard so much about.

In USM’s hands-on training program, I did deep inner work and my own personal healing learned and practiced therapy-based skills, and gained extensive life coaching experience. I initially thought I’d do coaching on the side part-time, but the more I learned and practiced skills at USM, the more I fell in love with coaching. It energized me in a way that nothing else ever had. Upon completing my training, I hired my own coach and found the courage to go all-in on building my own practice.

All of the support I received and personal growth work I did led to massive changes in my life, and I watched in pure amazement as it transformed from the inside out. Inwardly, I felt more confident, joyful, and alive than ever before. Outwardly, in addition to building my business, I also met and got engaged to the love of my life, moved to my favorite US city (San Diego, of course!), formed new lifelong friendships, fully recovered from a knee injury and reconstruction surgery, lost 15 pounds, and became the healthiest version of myself yet!

Now I wake up every day excited to work 1-on-1 with clients who are paving their own paths and bringing their own dreams to life. I combine practical tools with deeper emotional healing and growth and teach women how to thrive in every area of their personal and professional lives. It’s incredibly rewarding to witness these shifts and support women in building lives that exceed what they think is even possible for themselves.

Every day feels like a dream come true… and I think that’s simply because it is!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest initial struggle was finding the courage to trust and follow my intuition once I realized I wanted to leave the entertainment industry and pursue coaching instead. I was nervous to take a less traditional path, one that required me to bet on nothing but myself and leave behind a steady paycheck and built-in structure. I stayed in entertainment for a few years and treated my love of personal development like a hobby. As psychologist and author Brené Brown say, “The universe is not short on wake-up calls. We’re just quick to hit the snooze button.”

I was getting the wake-up calls, but I kept hitting snooze and spun into what is known as a “quarter-life crisis.” I was unhappy at work and in my relationship at the time, and I felt incredibly stuck, lost and lonely. I was living a life that felt inauthentic and forced. I took baby steps towards change, but progress was slow. It took a series low points, wake-up calls, painful relationships, and mismatched jobs to get to a place where I finally realized I couldn’t do it all on my own. I was ready and willing to receive help.

I began participating in retreats, enrolled in my certification program, and hired my own coach. Working with a coach is the fast-track to getting where you want to be, but it’s not like you get to skim over life lessons. If anything, you’re encountering more of them because you’re stretching outside of your comfort zone.

The bright side is that, with support, your struggles become much easier to navigate. You learn the lesson more quickly and move on to the fun part. The struggles start to feel less like big, scary roadblocks and more like opportunities to take your life to the next level. Reframing things through that lens was a game-changer for me.

I still encounter my fair share of bumps in the road, but I now view them as indicators that I’m growing – which is something I always want to be doing. Fortunately, I’m in a role where all of my life lessons can be directly applied to my work. If I’ve gotten to the other side of a roadblock or pattern, I can help others do the same. Keeping that in mind inspires me to continue working through things in my own life, because I always think, “If I can get through this, that’s just one more way I can help my current (and future) clients!”

Please tell us about Megan Ladd Coaching.
I’m a Life Coach, and I help women take their relationships, careers, and overall happiness to new heights.

I spot my clients’ potential, and I support them one-on-one in unlocking it and seeing it for themselves over the course of at least 3 months. I provide a warm and judgment-free space for them to dismantle their fears and bring their wildest dreams to life. I also teach them how to invest time and energy in the things, people, and experiences that bring them the most joy.

I’m known for my ability to make people feel safe, heard, and comfortable opening up, while providing a fast track to transforming their lives from the inside out. My style is gentle and loving but challenging at the same time. I act as an advocate for my clients’ growth, a cheerleader, and a trusted confidante all rolled into one, and I equip my clients with practical tools and guidance they can tap into again and again.

My coaching is highly individualized based on each client’s unique personal history, patterns, needs, talents, and gifts. There is no one-size-fits-all approach; I tailor sessions to include coaching methods, exercises, and assignments that feel the most aligned and supportive for where each individual is in their own life and career journey.

As a former perfectionist and overachiever, I specialize in supporting hard-working women in letting themselves off the hook. I offer them relief from a life of constant striving, planning, proving, and doing, so they can experience a deep sense fulfillment and connection instead.

My areas of expertise include teaching clients how to:
– fully enjoy both a thriving work life AND personal life
– build deeper, more meaningful connections with their loved ones
– find and attract the romantic partner of their dreams
– work smarter (not harder) and take inspired action in their career
– truly love and accept themselves, and feel more confident in their own skin
– let go of burnout for good, and show up as their best selves in every area of their life

Often clients come to me feeling completely overwhelmed and paralyzed. They put a ton of pressure on themselves, and their relationships, health, and happiness suffer as a result. They want to take steps forward, but the process feels too heavy and tiring. They feel riddled with guilt and comparison, and they find themselves exhausted just thinking about all of it.

There’s nothing I love more than helping these women turn their lives around into ones that feel balanced, fun, joyful, and fulfilling – lives that soar way beyond what they’re even capable of envisioning when we first start working together.

Witnessing them create deeply fulfilling romantic connections, soul-satisfying friendships, a strong, healthy, well-cared-for body, and plenty of time to spend doing the things they love never ceases to amaze me!

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Growing up, my family had an annual tradition where we would spend the 4th of July at the beach in New Jersey. My favorite childhood memories are from days spent building sand castles, playing cards, boogie boarding, eating ice cream, and going on rides at the boardwalk.

My family and I shared so many good moments together, and to this day, the beach is still my favorite place. I associate it with enjoying quality time, relaxing, having fun, and feeling carefree. I love the sound of the ocean and how happy everyone is to be there. Since moving to San Diego, my fiancé Will and I try to take advantage of the beautiful beaches here and go almost every weekend.

Pricing:

• 1-on-1 private coaching packages ranging from $500-5500 depending on the scope of the project and length of time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.megan-ladd.com
• Email: coach@megan-ladd.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megladd/

Image Credit:
Jill Esplin

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