I've Been Doing This My Whole Life

If you asked me when I became a coach, I could point to a certification, a website, or the day I launched Becoming with L. A. Patton.

But the truth is, I have been doing this my whole life.

Long before there was a business, there was a little girl named London who loved organizing things, solving problems, and bringing people together.

I was probably six years old when I convinced the kids in my neighborhood to go home, grab gardening tools, and come help me build a garden. Looking back, it sounds funny. What six-year-old starts recruiting volunteers for a landscaping project?

Apparently, this one.

At the time, I wasn't trying to lead anyone. I wasn't trying to influence anyone. I simply saw something that needed to be done and thought, "Let's figure it out."

Even then, I was naturally gathering people around a vision, creating a plan, and helping bring order to what seemed impossible. I didn't realize it then, but those were early signs of the gifts God had placed inside of me.

That pattern followed me throughout my life.

I've always been drawn to people.

I've always wanted to help.

Not because I thought I had all the answers, but because I genuinely enjoy helping people move from chaos to clarity.

As I got older, that desire started showing up in different ways.

Sometimes it looked like helping someone lose weight and encouraging them to stay committed to their goals.

Sometimes it looked like helping a new mother navigate the overwhelming transition of caring for a baby.

Sometimes it looked like supporting friends, family members, and coworkers through difficult seasons by listening, asking questions, and helping them think through their next steps.

Sometimes it looked like sitting with someone who felt stuck and asking questions until they could finally hear themselves think again.

One summer, when I was around seventeen or eighteen years old, I spent months helping clean out the home of a woman who struggled with hoarding. We cleaned an attic. We cleaned a basement. We sorted through years of accumulated belongings.

Most people saw a mess.

I saw a puzzle.

I saw an opportunity to help someone breathe again.

That experience stayed with me because it reflected something I've always been drawn to: helping people sort through what feels overwhelming and create space for something better.

Even now, that's often how I approach life.

I see patterns.

I see possibilities.

I see connections.

I can walk into a cluttered room and immediately begin creating order.

I can listen to someone talk for twenty minutes and start connecting dots they haven't connected yet.

I can take scattered ideas, dreams, frustrations, and fears and help organize them into a plan.

For years, I thought everybody did this.

I genuinely believed these were ordinary skills.

Then something interesting started happening.

People kept coming to me.

They came to me for advice.

They came to me when they were stuck.

They came to me when they needed a sounding board.

They came to me when they wanted help creating goals or figuring out their next steps.

They came to me when they needed encouragement, accountability, perspective, or simply someone who could help them make sense of what they were experiencing.

And somewhere along the way, I realized this wasn't something I was forcing.

This was something people naturally sought from me.

The older I get, the more I understand that our purpose often leaves clues throughout our lives.

Sometimes those clues are hidden in our childhood stories.

Sometimes they're hidden in the things we do effortlessly.

Sometimes they're hidden in the things people consistently ask us for help with.

And sometimes they're hidden in the gifts God has been developing in us all along.

When I look back now, I can see those clues everywhere.

The neighborhood garden.

The organizing projects.

The endless conversations helping people process their lives.

The systems.

The planning.

The strategy.

The encouragement.

The accountability.

The coaching.

The leadership.

The ability to bring people together and help them move forward.

It was all there.

I just didn't have language for it yet.

Today, through Becoming with L. A. Patton, I help women gain clarity, define their vision, organize their goals, and move forward with purpose.

As a certified life coach and Prepare/Enrich facilitator, I help women and couples navigate important seasons of life and relationships with greater confidence and intention.

I help people untangle the thoughts that keep them stuck.

I help them identify what's actually important.

I help them build plans they can realistically follow.

I help them strengthen their relationships, align their actions with their values, and take meaningful steps toward the life they desire.

Most importantly, I help them reconnect with who God created them to be.

What I've realized is that coaching isn't about having all the answers.

It's about helping people discover the answers that already exist within them.

It's about creating space for clarity.

It's about asking better questions.

It's about listening deeply.

It's about helping someone move from confusion to confidence.

And if I'm being honest, that's what I've been doing since I was six years old with a gardening project and a handful of neighborhood kids.

The business is new.

The calling is not.

Maybe that's why this work feels so natural.

Because I didn't choose it.

It has been quietly choosing me all along.

Every organizing project, every conversation, every person who trusted me with their story, every opportunity to encourage someone through a difficult season—it was all preparing me for the work I do today.

Looking back, I can see God's hand in every step.

If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, uncertain, or simply ready for your next chapter, I would love to help you find clarity.

After all, helping people become who they were created to be is what I've been practicing my entire life.

By London Patton | Founder, Becoming with L. A. Patton