Why Me, Becky Danaher
Motivation: Creating positive change in the lives of others energizes me! I can’t think of anything I would rather do than working to spread happiness and healthiness.
I Get It: I know what it feels like to be overcommitted, pulled in every direction, feeling like a success and a failure at the same time, and desperately wanting to live my most fulfilled life. I have been there, and I know what it takes to come out the other side.
Service: Service to others is incredibly important to me and has been a guiding principle in all aspects of my life, whether as a veteran, a mother and wife, a coach, a teacher, a business executive or as a small group church leader. My experience serving others helped me understand how to live my own best life and provided me with the perspective to teach others.
Approach: My method is simple and effective, and has successfully helped people from all walks of life. My classes are engaging and interactive and will provide you with all the benefits of hiring a life coach without breaking the bank.
Efficiency: My thoughtful approach is built on decades of experience in operational effectiveness in the military and corporate world, degrees in Operations & Information Management and Communications, and my lived experience helping others.
My Burnout Story
I know how critical it is to be efficient with my time and energy. I know because I’ve experienced the effects of burn out firsthand: anxiety, exhaustion, self-doubt, and even physical illness. I’ve also experienced the freedom that comes from overcoming burnout, and I’ve made it my mission to help others do the same by learning to prioritize themselves, leveraging their support system and living with gratitude.
As a working mother, a veteran and a former corporate executive, I’ve gone through periods of my life where I felt totally overwhelmed, like I was trying to bail out a sinking ship with a thimble. After reflecting upon these periods, I realized that I was putting all of my time, energy and focus into caring for and responding to the needs of others. My kids, my husband, my fellow soldiers, my co-workers, my boss.
My deployment to Iraq with the Army National Guard is a case in point. As a leader of my unit’s brigade command center, I was responsible for deploying and tracking convoys across all of Iraq, responding to critical events such as IED attacks and maintaining security across three U.S. bases. In my role, I not only had to make split second decisions to keep my fellow soldiers safe, but also felt I had to prove my worth every minute of every day, something that every woman working in a field dominated by men understands.
While I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything, there were moments when it felt like I was being crushed by the weight of the world, desperately working to protect my soldiers, to endure the extension of my deployment during the 2007 troop surge, to ensure my loved ones at home were taken care of and most fundamentally to stay alive and make it home safely. Over time, I even came to understand what PTSD looks and feels like on a much too personal level.
Upon returning home from my 22 month deployment, I kept up the breakneck pace, translating my passion and energy from the military into my career and homelife. From the outside, I seemed like a perfect success. I climbed the corporate ladder, I became involved in the community, I became a mother and I strived to prove to the world that I was a strong and independent woman.
But on the inside, stress and anxiety had started to take its toll. I was trying to balance my marriage, my kids and my career while still finding the time to help others transform their lives. I was lighting myself on fire to keep others warm! At the end of one particularly stressful and tragic day, my body said “enough’s enough” and I found myself being admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery.
After this experience, I can tell you without an ounce of doubt that the harm caused by burnout is absolutely real and will control your life if left unchecked. My symptoms included anxiety, neck and back pain, physical and emotional exhaustion, victimism, gastro-intentinal tract issues and impatience with my loved ones.
My hospitalization convinced me that I needed to make a change. As a first step, I made the conscious decision to prioritize myself by dedicating a little time and energy each day to maintaining my physical and mental health. I quickly came to realize that a small amount of organization, prioritization and determination could have tremendously positive results. By applying the proven strategies, tactics and best practices I’d applied in the military and corporate world to my own life, I became stronger, more resilient and had more energy,
Today, I am as happy, energetic and stress free as I’ve ever been in my life. I’m living my dreams and have decided to dedicate my life to showing others how to do the same. This is my direction and my purpose.
So come as you are and join me in this journey! Let’s work together to ignite your life into the future of your dreams.
Pictorial History
1978
Minnesota born and proud! Underwent life saving surgery at six days old.
Natural Born Leader
Oldest of four kids with three younger brothers.
My First Platoon
Babysat for my many cousins and brothers every week on bowling league night. Mac & Cheese with hotdogs for everyone.
My First Job
Started washing dishes and bussing tables at my Dad's restaurant. Age 12.
1997
Graduated from Stillwater High School with honors. And, yes, I’m a crier ;).
Karate
Taught me to harness my inner strength, be brave and even how to love discipline.
Age 18
Joined the Army National Guard and began my 10 years of service to our country.
2002
Graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison with degrees in efficiency and business. I’m sooooo grateful social media didn't exist during my college days.
2003
Began teaching self defense classes
2005
Married my high school sweetheart and best friend. Friends and family still tell me it was the most fun they’ve ever had at a wedding.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Deployed just three weeks after getting married. I was featured in a Star Tribune series highlighting the deployment of Minnesota soldiers.
10 Years of Service
Returned home after a 22 month deployment, the longest in Minnesota Army National Guard history.
2007
Started leading transformative physical fitness classes.
2011
The birth of my first daughter. Life will never be the same and I couldn’t be happier.
2012
Accomplished my lifelong running goal by completing the Twin Cities Marathon.
2013
The birth of my second daughter. And, baby makes four!
2015
Begin decluttering and simplifying clients homes.
2019
Underwent emergency surgery, hospitalization and weeks of recovery. It’s amazing how unexpected events can uncloud your vision and give you a new perspective on life.
2020
Left my long-term corporate job to begin consulting work and to focus on starting my business.
2020
Founded My Life Ignited. I’m living my dreams, and I can’t wait to help you live yours!
2021
NAPO Member (National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals)
Fun Facts About Becky
I have held more than twenty jobs over the years including everything from senior buyer and product owner to birthday clown and Christmas elf.
I co-created Target’s annual car seat trade-in event which has recycled over 14 million pounds of car seats to date!
In addition to my daughters, my family includes two wonderful cats–Maximus and Nicodemus–and my first non-human baby was a beagle, my little hound dog Bailey (RIP 😢).
I hung out with Billy Blanks in Iraq and led a class with him during my 22 month deployment: TAE BO, TAE BO, TAE BO!
I’ve married 13 people… Well, I’m just married to the one guy! But I’ve also had the privilege of officiating six weddings for family and friends.
I’ve led numerous self-defense workshops and was even selected to lead hand-to-hand combat training during my basic training in the Army.
