My name is Marina Movsissian, I’m of Russian-Armenian origin, and this is my story and the story of how I became a Life & Leadership Coach.
I was born abroad and moved to France with my parents and sister when I was 5.
I quickly learned French, became a key member of my family as an older sister, having to set an example at a very young age, and was the person who learned the language fastest. I quickly became the best at school.
Excellence was a value I was taught, alongside criticism and the idea of never measuring up.
And the years were difficult and I decided that I wanted to access a life of Abundance for myself.
I grew up in Paris for 20 years, found interest in pursuing a career in digital marketing, and started working alongside my studies at 18.
At 25, I had a clear calling; I wanted more for myself. This was a key turning point; I left my comfortable job in Paris and wanted to move to London.
Finally, Dublin found me; I moved there for a 7-month job at Google, replacing a maternity leave. I was successful in the role, applied for a new position and was hired full-time. 3 managers wanted me on their team, so I even had the luxury of choosing my team! The 7 months turned into 3 years.
From being a foreigner in France, I became French in Ireland and developed my imposter syndrome working in a large technology company that hired the “smartest” people.
I met a Frenchman in Ireland, who planted a seed at the beginning of our story together – moving to San Francisco. This year-long process of job hunting, meeting Americans, networking, was fruitful as I eventually landed a job in San Francisco and moved in July 2018. I received a few coaching sessions via a friend who was finishing his certification and this helped me step back from what was holding me back – myself – alongside a workshop I took at work called #IamRemarkable. More on that soon!
I thought things were going “according to plan”.
I was moving to SF with my boyfriend, to boost our careers, have an adventurous experience, and come back to France after 2 years to – “classically” – start a family or whatever they say you’re supposed to do at 30.
While I thought I was moving for love and my career, I ended up moving single. The 30-year-old Frenchman couldn’t commit after all, and in this process of moving away from everything I knew, I ended up finding myself.
I embarked on the greatest of journeys… that of self-discovery and self-love.
Career-wise and life-wise, mid-2019, I hit a wall – while things always felt strangely natural, organic, I was faced with dissatisfaction. Grief. Not knowing what to do next. In this race against myself, I began to lose. That “Saturn return” phenomenon that some people may be familiar with.
My work was no longer a source of fulfillment and I began to question my values and purpose. I began to wonder why I had moved so far away from my family and best friends who had always supported me. I should also mention that I had a terrible interim manager at the time, and these things “make or break” someone’s experience! (If you are a manager, I strongly advise you to be accompanied by a Coach. We can talk about it)
America wasn’t feeding me the way I expected. Alongside all this, I developed passions in helping, mentoring entrepreneurs, startups, young people and helping women talk about their personal achievements to take control of their stories and advance their careers, becoming an “#Iamremarkable” facilitator myself to bring the magic of this content, which gave me confidence to pursue my own dreams when I needed to, to more women.
Instead of feeding my resume, I started feeding my soul.
And while it’s still not easy most of the time, and I’m still trying to figure things out, I now know why I’m here.
Now it’s a matter of trusting the process – it’s long, and it’s Ok – and accepting that things won’t always go as I expect, or at the pace I want. I decided in 2020, going through my coaching certification, that I wanted to slow down and slowly move away from “doing” and embrace “being” human, in my perfect and imperfect life story.
In early 2021, I left Google and the United States and decided to return to France. I first joined a start-up selling coaching to companies, to initiate my transition, while coaching in my spare time.
Faced with more challenges that year, I asked myself what I really wanted for myself.
So I took another leap…
All this led me to launch my coaching business full time from now on.
I’m convinced that the world would be a better place if everyone could find their own fulfillment, satisfaction, happiness, live their own mission or purpose. To be a little selfish, to be more altruistic. Live their lives as they please. Everyone should be empowered to live their life on their own terms and conditions.
I’m fed up with this society, with these standards, where a woman is still told how she should live her life. And I’d like to see more parity within companies, at all levels of hierarchy. For healthier, more efficient companies too!
That’s where I come in. My mission is to help women take full “power” in their individual and unique journeys towards self-fulfillment. I help them discover and unleash their full potential, reframe and own their stories, enabling them to create a fulfilling personal and professional life and make their dreams a reality. Because it can be done! And yes, it’s possible for you too.
I work with women to develop their self-confidence and leadership through individual coaching, in particular as a Life & Leadership Coach, with my own authenticity, joy, caring and spirituality.
To connect with your own richness and create a plan to start living a life that’s more aligned, more authentic for you, that feels like YOU, let’s discuss your goals and see if it would be interesting for me to accompany you on this path. My calendar is up to date at en.empowermov.com, book your free appointment.
And you, tell me. Do you recognize yourself in part in what I’m sharing?
What were the turning points in your life?
How do you share your own narrative?
Leave me a comment!