Georgia’s Path Back to the Page
A persecuted coyote’s story brings together an ecologist, adventurer, and writer who rediscovers her creative voice and secures a Canada Council grant to bring a long-held story to life.
Sector: Arts & Ecology Format 1:1 Coaching Focus: Creative Purpose Outcome: $50,000 Grant
The quiet place where the story began
The Client
Georgia is a creative, passionate professional with a deep love for ecology, outdoor adventure, and writing. Her career spans museums, cultural heritage, and environmental advocacy—a distinctive combination of experience that should have felt like a strength, but had begun to feel like a puzzle she couldn’t solve.
When she came to coaching, she felt stuck and frustrated. Writer’s block had taken hold, and she was struggling to find the time and resources to focus on the creative work that mattered most to her.
She had a story she wanted to pursue, but giving it the time and attention it deserved, while managing competing interests, had become a central challenge.
The wild presence behind the story
The Challenge
Georgia’s central challenge was integration: how to bring ecology, adventure, and writing together into one cohesive, fulfilling project rather than letting them compete for her attention.
Beneath that was an internal barrier — a set of limiting beliefs that kept her from taking the leap into her next chapter. And on the practical side, the lack of time and financial support made her writing dreams feel increasingly out of reach.
The Approach
Over several months, Georgia and I worked through a structured but human coaching engagement designed to clear the internal blocks, reconnect her with her creative identity, and build a practical path forward — including the funding to make it real.
01
Untangling the Knot
We began by naming what was actually stuck: not a lack of talent, but a tangle of limiting beliefs that had Georgia convinced her creative work was a luxury she could no longer afford.
02
Reframing the Story
Together we dismantled the old narrative and reframed her ecology, adventure, and writing not as competing interests, but as threads of a single, urgent creative project.
03
Finding the Form
We explored structures that could hold all of her passions at once — eventually landing on a children’s short story told through the eyes of a coyote in a beloved urban park.
04
Opening Doors to Support
Drawing on experience in the arts and cultural funding landscape, I pointed Georgia toward Canada Council programs and grants that could give her the time and resources to write.
05
A Dream Funded
Georgia completed the Canada Council application on her own, without telling anyone. Then one day she called — excited, almost in tears — to say she had won the funding. Her art, her dream, was finally becoming real.
06
Stepping into the Next Chapter
With the grant secured and a civic museum partnership in motion, Georgia moved from dreaming about the work to doing it — with confidence, support, and joy.
What Georgia Said
“Ken helped me gain a renewed perspective on myself and a willingness to try new things. He also helped me gain the confidence to find the resources to pursue my creative goals. I appreciate his sense of humour, openness, and non-judgmental attitude.”
Georgia — Ecologist, Adventurer & Writer
The Result
A few months after our final session, Georgia sent an elated message. She had applied for — and been awarded — a Canada Council grant worth $50,000 in total, with $25K now and the half released upon completion of her project.
The grant gave her the support she needed to develop a children’s short story merging her ecological passion with her gift for narrative: the history of a city told through the perspective of a coyote living in a famous urban park. Her work was also set to be featured at the civic museum.
Beyond the funding, Georgia rediscovered her creative spark. She was, in her own words, brought to tears of happiness — a reminder of what becomes possible when someone fully commits to their purpose.
Why this worked
Stanley Park and home of a now famous coyote
A coach who speaks both languages
Georgia’s world sits at the intersection of art and environment — and so does Ken’s background. His experience in the cultural sector meant he could meet her as a peer, understanding the language of museums, grants, and creative practice without lengthy explanation.
At the same time, his coaching approach made space for the human side of the work: the fear, the self-doubt, and the grief that comes when a creative person feels their gifts slipping away. By holding both the practical and the personal, the path forward became clearer — and Georgia found the confidence to walk it.
