Grace had lots of dreams. Trained as a chemist, she had always longed to explore her artistic side, as both a writer and an artist. She had made several attempts in the past 20 years -- even getting one short story published -- but she hadn’t been able to complete most of her creative projects.

Leaving the field of chemistry, Grace had worked for a series of nonprofit agencies, fulfilling her interest in social justice. But she wasn’t satisfied with her work, and felt stuck. She never had the time or energy to do the things that mattered most to her.

We began to look at what was getting in the way. In coaching, we talk about personal gremlins -- those little creatures who sit on your shoulder and fill you with fear of making changes in your life. Gremlins represent old fears that are no longer appropriate.

I asked Grace to describe her gremlin. She drew a picture, and when she looked at it, began to laugh. She realized how concerned she was about what other people thought of her; how fearful of doing the wrong thing. Once she saw the picture, the gremlin’s hold was loosened.

Breaking free of the gremlin’s limited idea of reality, Grace was ready to transform her life. I asked her to create an anti-gremlin and see what it could teach her. She spoke of courage and hope. Then suddenly it came to her: "I have a new word -- zest!"

With zest and hope gradually displacing her old fear of failure, Grace began to write. She created a structure and a support group to help her. She wrote about the daughter she had given up for adoption as a teenaged unwed mother. She reached a new understanding of the actions she had taken, and put an end to decades of self-hate.

Grace continued to write until one day, full of excitement and apprehension, she declared: "I want to find my daughter." What an incredibly brave thing to do. After twenty-nine years, what would her daughter be like -- and how would she feel about meeting her birth mother?

Grace knew the steps she had to follow. She had tried before and given up out of fear. But this time was different. We had developed mutual respect and trust in one another, and Grace knew she could count on her coach to stay with and support her.

It worked. Grace overcame her fear and found her daughter -- living in the Midwest, married, with a profes­sional career. They exchanged photographs, then met in person. A year later, they are meeting on a regular basis. Their new relationship has changed Grace's life in unexpected ways. She has forgiven herself for what happened, and the huge wall that was boxing her in has disappeared.