My name is Kelly, “Coach Kelly” to clients. I have decades of experience working with smokers, so I have a lot to offer to a conversation about tobacco cessation and a Blog is the best way to contribute to this discussion.
So, here I am. Let me begin with a short history of how I got here.
After high school I attended a small college where I continued playing sports. I didn’t have a clear vision for my future, so I did what a lot of jocks did; pursued an Exercise Science degree.
After college I got a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology. Along the way, I met a woman who suggested a Pharmaceutical career because the industry has a preference for athletes (competitive nature).
In 2006, I left a successful career in pharmaceutical sales to pursue a Michigan business opportunity with Alpha Lifestyle Center; Windsor’s Original Laser Stop Smoking Program (Est. 1986).
My education, strengths, and interests (and previous smoking history) were well-matched to this shift, so I created a vision for how I was going to make my mark.
I knew a laser treatment (by itself) wasn’t a reliable solution to the world’s most powerful drug.
But a pill, patch or piece of gum weren’t either.
Next stop: Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN to become certified as a Tobacco Treatment Specialist.
I completed the training, the requirements and passed my exam.
As a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist, I began to craft the most professional, reliable, and responsible laser program on the planet.
But I quickly discovered a lot of smokers don’t want professional, reliable and responsible.
They want a laser treatment.
And most clients ignored the free resources I was offering, which included an electronic intake form with lots of valuable content and videos customized to client responses.
I also offer laser customers the opportunity to schedule a free telephone coaching appointment prior to their quit date to further prepare smokers for quitting. DYK just 3 minutes with a Quit Specialist improves quit rates?
Fast-forward. Covid. Business closes. I need to adapt, and quick.
I hired a business coach to help me assemble a new model for working remotely with smokers and I launched “GET FIT TO QUIT.”
GET FIT TO QUIT is a professionally guided online quit journey that emotionally and physically untangles the grip that cigarettes have on smokers.
This pivot, and the success I have working with smokers, has me passionate about a few things:
-Just because a smoker “wants” to quit, doesn’t mean they’re “ready” to.
-Just because a product or service is advertised to help, doesn’t mean it’s responsible.
-What smokers do BEFORE quitting is infinitely more important than what tool they use.
So now, it’s my mission to share with smokers what my experience has taught me about this horrible addiction…
Feelings of “readiness” to quit CAN BE DEVELOPED!
So that becoming a nonsmoker IS something to look forward to!
