La-Verne Parris uses her positivity to convey her skills to others.
What’s your story?
I’ve been gifted with an extraordinary imagination and innovative problem solving skills. I’m a multi-hyphenate award-winning environmental justice, RSJ, and bioethics educator, a Certified NLP Practitioner and Life Coach, published poet, author-illustrator, an app content creator, a prolific songwriter and Caregiver Consultant. I’m passionate about living fully by sharing my proprietary systems, empowering trailblazers in education, fashion, media, and mental health to create lasting change in their industries.
What excites you most about your industry?
I absolutely love connecting with people in different fields like education, healthcare, fashion and the media. I’m also passionate about collaborating with individual caregivers as well as care teams. As a lifelong caregiver I’m truly inspired by peoples’ commitment and levels of sacrifice when it comes to caring for their loved ones or clients. When I am working with individual caregivers and care teams I am privy to so many points of commonality in their triumphs, and their sorrows. Having the privilege of bearing witness to the breadth of the human experience is truly humbling.
What drives you in your career to push beyond what other people consider normal?
I’ve never understood the word “normal”. I’ve always embraced being a multi-hyphenate creative and a visionary problem-solver. Instead of relying on the Socratic Seminar when I was a teacher, I created my own proprietary system of fully Student-Led Teaching Instructions that develops and enhances executive functions in all students.
When I’m collaborating with individual caregivers or facilities as a healthcare consultant, I am completely dedicated to creating a synergistic and restorative environment in facilities and homes alike. My mission to bring healing on every level, compels me to create more, do more and give more.
What have been the most useful skills you have learnt and applied in your journey?
My nursing assistant skills proved to be extremely valuable after my mother’s chemotherapy caused her to develop an aneurysm. I taught my mother to relearn all of her Activities of Daily Living because of my nursing assistant skills.
I’ve had several careers, and without a doubt, teaching required me to dig deep, lock in all my creative problem-solving skills while developing new ones. I became a Big Apple Finalist for my proprietary system of Student-Led Teaching Strategies that empowered my students to teach each other about timely issues like Environmental Justice, and Racial and Social Justice.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
One day when I was obsessing over next steps, my very good friend said: “Stop overthinking it and just have fun!” His words echoed in my head for days!
I realized that I could just enjoy myself and feel free while doing what I love! It was incredibly liberating. It can be all too easy to conform and squeeze ourselves into one confining box that society tells us we should be in. There’s no better feeling than living my dream and living my purpose because they’re one in the same! There should be a word for that, maybe dreampose?
Who inspires you?
I am completely in awe of my brother Nicky and my mother. Even though Nicky has autism and intellectual disabilities, he ventures out into the world each day with the goal of helping others. My mother is simply a medical miracle. Mom has cheated death three times, and returned to us stronger and more determined than ever. They inspire me to wake up between 4:30 and 5 am and build my dreams on my terms. With two walking miracles like them in my life, I have no reason not to turn every dream into a reality.
What have you learnt recently that blew you away?
One of my former students – let’s call her Mary – had learning differences in high school that made her very shy and insecure. During her first semester at college Mary told me that she was more confident, prepared and articulate than her classmates because of the executive functions she developed by using my student-led teaching strategies. That was one of my most humbling and fulfilling moments because I knew that she was bravely embracing her bright future.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I don’t think that I would actually do anything differently because each step on my journey has led me to this wonderful and unique point in time where I am shining my light and sharing my gifts. I wouldn’t have this combination of gifts if I hadn’t embraced each extraordinary moment.
How do you unwind?
Being outdoors in the fresh air is liberating and exhilarating! I love working out and being active – anything to get my blood flowing. I also love listening to music while I’m puttering around the house and organizing or cleaning. I love playing pool, and at one point I was pretty good. Now I’m having fun resurrecting those skills while spending time laughing with good friends.
What is a major mindset change, belief shift or ‘ah ha’ moment that you’ve experienced in relation to your career?
I really appreciate this question because my aha moment has been all about strengthening my positive mindset and making things easier for myself. Productivity flows best when I’m feeling good and allowing things to be easy. Letting myself have fun while I’m problem-solving has been a game changer – I have more energy and my mind is completely open to a myriad of potential solutions.
Everyone in business should read this book:
“What To Say When You Talk To Yourself” by Shad Helmstetter Ph.D.
Shameless plug for your business or career:
Through my wealth of invaluable personal and professional experiences, I’ve created game-changing premium products and services that I’m pitching to visionaries in these fields:
– Education
– Healthcare
– Fashion
– Mental Health
– Film & TV
How can people connect with you?
People can email me at: laverneparrislifecoach@gmail.com
Or, they can schedule a Collaboration Call: https://calendly.com/la-verne/collaboration-call
Social Media Links?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068200635653&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifecoachlaverne?igsh=NWV5OXV6MmI5em02&utm_source=qr
This interview is part of the CallumConnects series.