
Andrea Pilati
Photo is from an art project she created in 2022. The Kickstartology Community got to hear all about this from conception to completion (and we voted on our favourite photos) and Andrea had such a blast doing this.
I chose this photo because I like the gravitas, feels appropriate here.
Andrea in Kickstartology
Andrea Pilati joined the Kickstartology Coaching program after being diagnosed with a terminal illness because she was committed to LIVING for the time she had left.
Without the anchor of work, Andrea wasn’t sure who she was anymore, and furthermore, she was lonely because she and her partner Harald had moved to New Brunswick pre-pandemic and had not yet made many local friends.
Andrea decided that she wanted to find her people in the community and wanted to do something that matters because, as she put it, “there’s only so much time you can spend cross-stitching”.
If this was a Hallmark movie it would have been easy to march out and make it happen, but since it was real life, the real doubts and fears came in.
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Someone will think I’m stupid
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There are some awful people out there
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I’m so old and I’m from away, why would they want to be my friend
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I don’t know how to approach these people
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I don’t know what I want to do
And things didn’t always go according to plan. Andrea came away from one volunteering stint thinking the people there were all assholes, and her last birthday which she had meticulously planned was a comedy of disasters.
But she started getting really good at saying “Fuck it” when things didn’t go according to plan and focusing on what matters more. Her disastrous birthday turned into the best birthday with so much laughter. She put herself out there and did find her people. She tried new things and found out new things about herself, for example, she didn’t expect to like yoga or cruises. Working with a local photographer and artists she put together a photoshoot project to capture the different sides of herself. Her relationship with Harald moved beyond old patterns and into the best partnership she could have imagined. She had a blast travelling to new places and making more friends… once she decided to stop being self-conscious about meeting strangers she took it to a whole new level. She kicked ass.
Making a Difference
Andrea put so much love out there, she shared her big wins as well as her vulnerabilities and made us laugh (I was going to add “and cry” but she hated the cheesy shit). I keep hearing new stories about her from different Kickstartology members about the messages she sent them and the impact she had on them.
Andrea and I first met over a decade ago when we worked at together at Rogers. We connected over our disdain of undeserved authority and our love of dogs. I had not spoken to Andrea in a number of years when she reached out about coaching but we quickly picked up where we had left off. At first, I was nervous about coaching Andrea hard because… she was dying and it almost felt mean, but I soon realized that her limited time is exactly why I needed to stop holding back and go all in to make sure I gave her everything I could to help her get what she wanted. Andrea stayed curious and open-minded even when it was tempting to take the easy route and she got really good at using the tools to manage her feelings, make decisions, and handle the uncertainty.
She stopped holding back and went all in to have, in her words, the time of her life.
Her most significant gift to me is that now I don’t hold back, I go all in, and coach all of my clients like their life depends on it.
Donating for Dogs:
Kickstartology is raising money for the Save our Scruff dog rescue organization in Andrea’s memory. We hope you will donate at this link.
The Workshop: Fuck it. Stop Holding Back and GO ALL IN
A Special Coaching Event in honour of Andrea Pilati
(Andrea was a bit sweary and would approve of this title)
Kickstartology is offering a free Zoom workshop and this is for anyone who feels like they are holding back from living life to the fullest. Holding back looks like this:
- Settling for good enough or living on autopilot because there are no other clear or easy options
- Putting off difficult decisions
- Avoiding the risk of failure or even just potentially intimidating situations
- Waiting for the right time to make a change or try something new
- Wasting time and energy on things (and people) that don’t matter at the expense of what does matter
- Wishing for a different life instead of creating it
Prepare to be coached.
Take this time to check-in with yourself and make sure that you aren’t holding back and keeping yourself from living the life you wish you were living. All you have is right now, make sure you are making it count. We’re going to share the tools and the concepts that resonated the most with Andrea and show you how to start applying these to your life right now.
Do you want to have the most fun you’ve ever had? Don’t wait until you’re faced with a countdown clock to find out what’s possible.
- be honest with yourself about what you want
- The annoyance of feelings
- Admin shit should never take over your life
- When to say “Fuck it” and choose joy
- Doing scary things
- The gift of curiosity and brutal honesty
- Adapting to the unexpected
- Be a fucking delight
REGISTER:
Fuck it. Stop Holding Back and GO ALL IN
Thursday August 3rd | 12pm-2pm ET on Zoom
*Submit form below to receive an email with the Zoom link
**Replay will be available if you cannot attend live… but live is better
