Meet Sara Minges

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Minges.

Hi Sara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My life coach journey began at the tender age of 17. I was a straight-A student with plans to become an international interpreter and live in Europe.

Two major things happened that year. First, I discovered the wonderful world of psychology while taking a summer class, and my super close group of friends kept calling me at night with their personal relationship problems, so much so that my dad installed another phone line in our apartment, so he wouldn’t wake up every time the phone rang.

Afterward, my friends would often say they felt much better after talking with me. So, it seems I had a gift for listening with empathy and helping people resolve their challenges, even all those years ago.

From 2000 to 2007, I completed my B.A. in Psychology, and my M.S. in Counseling Psychology, and worked for several years in case management roles in TN, MO, and KS. In 2009, I started a counseling private practice (Playful Awareness) specializing in play therapy, parenting education, parent coaching, and consultation.

In 2018, I made a big change. I pivoted my practice to focus on co-parent coaching and consultation, parent education, and life coaching. I also wrote my first book of poetry and started another confidence and life coaching practice for women called Wonder Woman Rising. I also worked with Lady Gaga’s Foundation and NAMI as an expert panelist for a “Kindness in KC” event.

In 2019, I was nominated for the KC Pitch Magazine’s Best Poet of the Year. In 2020, during COVID, I created a weight loss, gut health, and confidence-building program for women called “The Goddess Plan.” My 4th book of poetry was recently released and I’m working on a hybrid coaching and poetry book for women called “How to Fight Barbie and Win.”

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not! it’s been a road filled with twists and turns, ups and downs, and I wouldn’t trade the lessons learned for anything.

From the death of my only sibling at age 21, a lack of family support, emotional or financial in attending graduate school, financial ups, and downs, and being told I would never be a poet by my 4th grade teacher, I’ve had to persevere against the odds. I’ve also had to take on other jobs I was not thrilled about to pay bills when times were slow.

I also had to keep persevering when my family kept telling me I wouldn’t be successful as an entrepreneur or that I needed to “get a real job.”

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Here’s the fun part! I’m known as the “Naked Toes Girl” and “Wonder Woman.” My first book is titled “Naked Toes” and I have a poem with the same name I often perform at poetry events. My business, “Wonder Woman Rising” is about helping women love their flaws, letting go of perfectionism, and rising from the ashes. It’s also my stage name.

Professionally, I’m a weight loss coach for women, emphasizing insight, intuition, and body love when making food and eating habit choices. I help my clients ditch their diets and throw out all the restrictive rules and judgments about food. I help them understand you can lose weight, love your body, and be happy without being on a diet. I also help them reset their relationship with food.

My professional life as a life coach intersects with my poet and performance life through body image, self-esteem, and Barbie poems I’ve written. My approach to weight loss coaching also includes transformational and therapeutic storytelling, the current science behind weight loss, and the psychology behind overeating, restricting food, and cravings.

I’m most proud of overcoming my doubts, and insecurities about not being a good poet because of my teacher’s feedback, trying anyway, performing poetry in public, submitting my poems for publication, going on to write 4 books, and mostly loving myself, even amid rejection and self-doubt by others. I’m also really proud of being nominated for poet of the year, traveling around the country performing poetry (NYC, Chicago, St. Louis, KC), and my continued journey of self-improvement.

I think my unwavering gritty desire to persevere and show up as my truest self, even if it means being vulnerable and facing rejection, and my genuine smile set me apart from others.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Life coaching is exploding right now. Due to COVID, I think more and more people are reaching out for help in their daily lives and making wellness a priority.

I believe more and more people will seek life coaching services and more licensed professionals will transition to life coaching as it provides more ease for a work/life balance with less paperwork, restrictions, and ease of travel and relocating. I also think more life coaches will seek specialty niches and their clients will expect more of them, in terms of specialized training and experience.

I’d also like to see contemporary poets receive the credit they are due with more communities creating literary performance grants for poets to earn a living. More so than other writers and performers, poets often bare their souls on stage, sharing raw poems about real-life experiences.

I’d like to see college courses for poets and artists about how to market their services successfully, and what being a successful, self-sufficient poet looks like with many different paths being explored. Degrees are great, but college programs often fail to show students how they can make a living doing what they love.

I’d also like to see an Entrepreneurship 100 class on the mindset required to be a successful entrepreneur while disproving myths about entrepreneurship. so aspiring entrepreneurs have a realistic view of what to expect.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wonderwomanrising.com, https://www.saraminges.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraminges
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saraminges
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraminges