"Contrary to what we sometimes think," says Shewan, "they're not always the same thing. We might make changes in our careers, but if we don't fix the rest of our lives at the same time, we probably won't be any further ahead."

Shewan, owner of Wholelife Coaching, is a professional success coach in Albuquerque, with a thriving practice that extends throughout North America and into Europe. She is passionate about helping clients achieve "over-the-top success."

"For some people, that may mean working more, but for others, it could actually mean working less. Everyone has unique talents, but many people don't know how to search inside themselves to find their calling. As their coaching partner, I am trained to go along with them on that journey."

Formerly a job placement consultant and career counselor, Shewan often found her work frustrating. "It just wasn't enough," she says. "I would swoop in and help people get trained, develop skills, rework their resumes, and move forward in their careers. But six months later, they were still unhappy. I began to realize that the rest of their lives weren't in great shape, and that they needed to make more fundamental changes in order to really find fulfillment."

Shewan has had a lifelong fascination with human nature: "I have always been interested in why people work, where they work, why they do what they do." Near her hometown of Niagara Falls, N.Y., she studied industrial/organizational psychology at Buffalo State College, then went on to receive a master's degree in career counseling at Georgia State University. After working as a job placement director at a Buffalo community center, she relocated to New Mexico, established a career consulting practice, and took a position as a career counselor with the public school system.

In 1997, when Shewan realized that her own career path led into school administration, she started looking for a new direction. "I realized that it was vital for me to keep working directly with people." A friend suggested the profession of coaching, and Shewan signed up with the Coaches Training Institute.

Four years later, she's even more convinced. With a strong client base built on her website, www.wholelifecoaching.com, a regular newsletter, and referrals from satisfied clients, Shewan has a bulging file of success stories.

There's the filmmaker who is achieving a lifetime dream of having a movie produced; writers who have found the focus and stamina to complete books; financial planners, attorneys, and the massage therapist who have doubled their incomes; and professionals who no longer short-change their families by spending 90 percent of their time at work.

One client hired Shewan to help her make the move from a dot-com position to another high-powered traditional corporate positionn. "She ended up becoming a coach!" says Shewan. "She had no idea of her true calling until we explored her genuine interests and abilities."

Finding that true calling is what Shewan believes she does best: "Personally, I have gone through the process of finding out who I am. I have been meditating since I was 10 years old. Professionally, my counseling background helps me to identify the internal obstacles that hold people back, and my coaching training helps me to show them how to move forward."

It's women, predominantly, who are taking Shewan along on their journey to self-fulfillment. "About 80 percent of my clients are women - mainly women over 40 - who are asking that classic question, 'Is this all there is?' Of course, I help them see that there's more, lots more."

As a business owner, Shewan has lived through many of the same chalenges her clients face. "I made my share of mistakes when I first established my practice," she says. "I was confident of my skills as a coach, but I began to realize that about half of my success depended on how I ran my business." She continues to pursue new marketing techniques, convinced that savvy promotion is the key to maintaining her edge in an increasingly competitive field.

Professional certification is important to Shewan - she is a professional certified coach through the International Coaching Federation. Last year, she gave up her former credentials as a licensed professional counselor. "It was a symbolic move on my part, a sort of psychological break with my former identity. It represents my total commitment to coaching."

Shewan will take her own step forward this fall, when she teaches a Coaching in the Workplace course at the University of New Mexico. Is this part of the "perfect workday" she often challenges her clients to create? "I'm about 90 percent there," she laughs. "It's just that what I want to do keeps getting bigger and bigger."

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