Testimonials

I decided to take the Work @ What You Love Workshop and also work one-on-one with Valerie. The workshop explored so many unusual and unexpected solutions to my specific questions. I made so many new connections to what clearly works for me in creating my own income, and I learned there are wide opportunities existing out there if you ask the right questions, make decisions, and create a plan. This was the best way for me to get unstuck.

Thank you so much, Valerie, for sharing so many tools, insights, and ways of thinking that have made a difference to me, my business, and life.

A great start to help organize your thinking if you’re is interested in starting your own business. Inspirational!

The workshop teaches you the skills and way of thinking you need to create an entrepreneurial lifestyle and work that fits who you are.

Insightful ways of figuring out what you are good at, what you love and solid ideas for how to make a living out of it. Thank you for encouraging me to wait for the live workshop. I finally feel like I am on my new life journey. Before all this, I didn't even know where to start!

Valerie is very passionate about her work and with helping people attain their dreams. The workshop was realistic, logical and straight forward about what you can do and how to go about doing it. It was full of great information.

I was looking for ideas to where to take my handwriting analysis business and the workshop gave me great ideas to move forward with this. If you want to start to think differently about your business ideas, this workshop is a great place to do it. It makes you look at things differently, to open your world up and it will change the way you view the world. Valerie gave so much great information to move forward

Valerie's workshop and laser session is just what I needed to make real decisions about how I can do what I love. Learning how to break down the steps into manageable pieces that are not overwhelming is the key to being able to keep moving forward. The workshop was very insightful in that hearing other attendee questions also helped me learn and focus on what I want to do.

I came up with 11 possible streams of income. Most of them won't make much money, but combined they should be good enough. I’m 65 and just quit my job and I feel better than I have in 5 years. Getting out of a toxic environment will do that! And I wouldn't have had the courage to do it if I hadn't subscribed to your newsletter all these years. I knew I had other ways to make money other than a job. Thanks for letting me and other people know that there are options.

I was hoping to gain some clarity on choosing a direction. I had 2 possible avenues as far as job/career choices that I was considering, both very different and was stuck about what I should pursue and lacked any motivation to do anything about it. The workshop led me to make a choice. l felt motivated after it, and realized that I needed to make a plan that would support me.

This workshop gave me some new ways to look at my business and new tools I can use for myself and clients. The workshop offers a comprehensive look at what your top passions are and how to look at turning them into potential profit centers.  It’s an opportunity to get not only excellent business tools, but tools that can be applied to your everyday life. Work at What You Love will generate some very probing questions you ask yourself.

This workshop was informative, practical, encouraging, and VERY helpful.  It includes step by step assistance for changing the course of your life to work at what you love! The course met all my expectations.  Now it's my job to use the tools for ongoing success.

Creative, realistic, and fun recommendations If you’re looking to find work that you love and align it with your lifestyle, start with this workshop.

I felt very encouraged - and will continue to explore my ideas. I was hoping to solidify my direction, but I'm okay with just knowing the next few steps toward figuring it out. Valerie is terrific! I'd love the opportunity to work with her in-person.

I've attended online "seminars" before but this was very engaging and really well done. I have to say it exceeded my expectations. Thanks so much!

I decided that even if I couldn't find 'the one and only idea' I would use a presentable idea to move through the material.  That worked out very well and really helped me to see options and helped me to make better use of the workshop materials. The workshop is an opportunity, especially for 50+ men and women, to realize there are options other than holding onto a job they despise but need desperately.

Valerie was extremely knowledgeable and I liked her style. She had good suggestions for folks, and I also liked the inclusion of real examples from people she's known or worked with. I also thought she was very professional in being open, receptive and respectful about all the different paths people had chosen or were considering.

It provided me the encouragement that I needed to go forward. This is a practical seminar that encourages out-of-the-box thinking for getting your dreams out of your head and into reality. Realizing that others have implemented their dreams and ideas empowers a person to do more than just think about things. New mental connections and ways of taking steps allows a person to move from wisher to achiever.

The workshop far exceeded my expectations. My goal was to get "UNSTUCK" which I have been working on for a while. Valerie's Part 4 - "Getting Unstuck Before You Get Stuck & Getting Support" was extraordinary.  She has all the tools for everyone right on the tip of her tongue. Valerie is truly the guru for figuring out what your passion is and then giving you the tools to build an "entrepreneurial" business to support your goals and dreams.

This was a very affordable alternative for me and I'm very grateful for it. I wanted to learn how to take my ideas to the next level. The workshop absolutely met and exceeded expectations and gave me a thorough methodology for every step along the path. I'm excited to be getting the recording so I can reinforce what I've learned and apply it.

Excellent! I am so grateful I had this experience! I am turning 48 years old and I am in a soul-sucking job. Thankfully I got rid of my two hour a day commute to NYC last year, which was a step in the right direction. However, there is no way I can or will continue to be a corporate rat for 15 more years. UGH.

I wanted to gain direction from the workshop - to believe that this can happen. My goal is to be a humor writer and live a simple life that is MINE. I had hoped the workshop would help me take action toward transitioning out of the rat race. This met that expectation big time and made me believe that it isn't only something others can achieve!

The materials were much more than I envisioned in depth and scope. The value for the money was incredible, and you absolutely "over delivered."

This workshop was beyond my expectations. Every one received an overabundance of information. This is a wonderful opportunity to bring your passions and dreams to the table, learn how to give them life and a voice and action; and add marketing to create streams of income.

Valerie's course is full of ideas on where to discover income opportunities where we would not have looked. She has a unique real-world perspective that she communicates through her workshop and presents the material in a fun and lively manner. It was a pleasure to attend her seminar.

I was hoping to find ways to market several start up business ideas and this seminar helped me brainstorm several creative ways to do that. The “Getting Paid” sections were particularly beneficial because they taught me how to turn my interests into money-making ventures. I’d recommend this to anyone that I would come across that has an idea or simply doesn't know where to begin to start a business venture. The course helps you learn how to turn your interests and skills into a business that can be profitable. It opens your mind to seeing an opportunity where you never knew existed.

I appreciate that it was very nuts-n-bolts rather than pie in the sky, but still keeping with the idea of possibilities. That's a difficult balance to achieve, I think, and Valerie has that mastered. 

My goal was to get motivated to make the next steps, to hear from someone who has done what I yearn to do, to build a plan that I can execute against, however slowly, so that I don't dread going to work tomorrow morning.

The workshop met and exceeded my expectations in that, although my plan is rough, I have a whole toolbox on how to make it better… like the exercise where we took the interests and created various scenarios by combining them in different ways. I intend to use those to further develop ideas for profit centers.

It is clear Valerie has a lot of experience & information to impart. Her ideas & exercises really are great food for thought and she has a lot of detail to add to them. I've been retired from corporate America for 11 years now and have dabbled in a few things that align with my passions (food, entertaining, travel). This really helping me to think out of the box and the "multiple streams of income" concept was worth the price of admission alone! It offers an out of the box approach to thinking about work & how to sustain an income source for the rest of your life.

Dr. Young has provided a wealth of information and website suggestions of which I was not aware. I've learned late in life that when you love what you do, it doesn't feel like work. If you want or need guidelines to know how to monetize your passion for profit I highly recommend Dr. Valerie Young's Work at What You Love course… the knowledge you gain will be priceless.

Valerie has such a gift for inspiring not only the desire, but the "how-to" jump in and begin things in order to change your course and start earning money right away. I can see earning potential around every corner now and the cost of the virtual workshop is small enough to earn it back with the multiple income streams that are generated. I have more ideas than I know what to do with! Plus, a wealth of knowledge, or where to get it, for coming up with monetizing the ideas I had.

I was amazed with the amount of content you supplied and stepped us through. The workshop exceeded my expectations - I now have tools that I will use time and time again as I try to implement the ideas in my scanner brain. I felt like I was learning from a friend.

I was inspired and walked away with a new perspective and better understanding of how I can custom design my life! I really benefitted from the immediate gratification of knowing that I am SO not alone in believing life's work passion is possible in this soul-selling, work-a-holic, 9-5 mentality we call "livelihood."

This was way more than I expected and I am excited about moving forward with some of my ideas! When I started this workshop, I had no ideas at all. By the end, I believe I had documented at least 15 ideas that I can explore. Very excited!

I've seen several sets of coaching material for this kind of endeavor, and I think this is the best I've seen – the most succinct yet thorough. The workshop marches you through in a clear, thoughtful, practical way to identify what it is you want to do, and have clear and well-thought out questions/tools to follow through and get going.

I was hoping to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up before I am retirement age, and this brought me some new ideas and helped me remember and substantiate some ideas I have had for a while. The workshop helped jog my brain of some things that I forgot and some things I had never thought of. Sometimes it is very hard to think of all the steps individually and the workshop helped to break them down.

The workshop went beyond my expectation, so much to do and think about and learn. The workshop gave me permission to move forward.

I could go on and on about this awesome workshop. I would not change one thing. Valerie has opened my mind and thought process to an entrepreneurial level I had never been to before. She has given information to process one’s life for change.

The investment value is priceless. Don't let fear hold you back, Valerie is awesome!

This is the first webinar I've ever taken and it was good and an efficient way to take a class

Valerie over delivered with information and tools to jump start your dream. This was an eye opening online workshop on how you can create income with you gifts and passion!

When I started this workshop, I had no ideas at all. By the end of the webinar, I believe I had documented at least 15 ideas that I can explore. Very excited!

My goal in taking the workshop was to get motivated to make the next steps, to hear from someone who has done what I yearn to do, to build a plan that I can execute against, so that I don't dread going to work tomorrow morning.

Valerie presented the material an easy to understand way. I appreciate that it is very nuts-n-bolts rather than pie in the sky, but still keeping with the idea of possibilities. That's a difficult balance to achieve, and Valerie has that mastered.

Valerie is a great presenter with a personal, conversational style. Virtual workshop information is well organized and complete. I came away with more ideas than anticipated and many resources to discover their viability and potential success. Plus I found some hidden passions.

Appreciated Valerie's clear, relaxed delivery with targeted information and handouts that I can continue to use when fleshing out new ideas.

My main goal in attending the virtual workshop was insight which I got tenfold. I now have more clarity on what my talents are, but more importantly I have more clarity on how to take actions, where to seek, what to ask for, how to ask for it, and know how to turn it into profitable venues: money and happiness for me, service to others.

Amazing investment! Valerie did over deliver and I am very proud to have taken the step to attend. Maxed out my credit card to pay for the small fee and it was returned to me with translation work that paid for the course!

I had some ideas and I needed an approach and I needed the inspiration and a group effort to give the "chutzpa" to move forward the next step. I'm very excited, I'm full of ideas that are just blossoming now and I'm very much looking forward to the next step.

The workshop definitely helped me narrow down several of my interests and pick the best one to monetize. I urge anyone who is interested in attending to read the other reviews -- this workshop is not for women only!

It was phenomenal! A great way to figure out what you want your life to look like, find your passion, and to change course. Valerie was excellent. The content and Valerie’s base of knowledge is unbelievable!

The workshop exceeded my expectations.

I was hoping to find a new path. The workshop opened up a whole new learning about profit centers, crunching numbers and seeing myself as a success.

A wonderful opportunity to face your dreams and fears and an opportunity to jumpstart your journey to a new life.

Empowerment + vision = tangible vision creation session to put you on the path to being who you want to be. An amazing value.

This workshop was life changing for me. I went to it having no idea what I wanted to do and came out with clarity, hope, and a plan of action. It brought excitement and enthusiasm back into my life.

The workshop is a way to move forward in your mind and ideas. It’s like walking into your vision/dream board and starting to really experience it.

This workshop was beyond my expectations. A wonderful opportunity to bring your passions/dreams to the table, learn how to give them life and action and marketing to create streams of income.

This was a truly special, life-altering workshop more ways than one.  Thank you again for helping us to clarify our goals so we left with a much better picture in our heads as to what we need to do next.

When I think about the value received for the money invested, I’d say even at $2,000 the retreat was worth a WHOLE lot more!!

The workshop exceeded my expectations. An awesome mind changing and life changing experience! Worth every penny.

Since I've been doing the exercises in The 10 Steps to Escaping the Job World and Creating the Life You Really Want Personal Planner, I've gotten so clear that I am a teacher/writer/speaker/leader. Thanks!

I found this book to be a very useful tool. I have imagined myself owning a successful small business for some time now. Valerie teaches you how to step back and listen to your intuitive desires and then shows you how to get there. It motivated me to feel no dream is impossible. The exercises are extremely important as they are the key to Find Your Calling. They helped me focus on how to sort out what’s my heart’s desire and how to accomplish getting there. This book is like having a road map to your dreams coming true.

I have parted with perfectly good coin to read the wisdom of many different authors concerning what I should do with my life and career. They all offer platitudes, exercises, and encouragement to the seeker… this book is different. It is clearly written, extremely useful, and the surprise is that it is inspirational! …Believe it or not, I carry this book around in my briefcase!

This book has some really useful information in it. I have been a fan of Valerie’s Changing Course website for some years now, and it is full of inspiration to help you get what you really want out of life. Thanks to Valerie’s inspiration, I have now given up my career in IT to concentrate on being a motivational author and speaker.

Ever wish you’d been born with a piece of paper in your hand saying, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is…?” Fortunately, Valerie Young has created the perfect guidebook to move you along faster and farther after clearing away the obstacles that have kept so many of us stuck. This delightful handbook is also loaded with fascinating stories she’s gathered along the way, stories that will convince you that being realistic starts with defining what that means for yourself. Quite simply, Being Realistic is Killing Your Dreams is a sledgehammer for eliminating obstacles.

Everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about making your dreams come true.

The experience was truly life-altering. I now know the direction my life should take. I have a vision of my ideal life, a plan to get me there and a support group to help me through the hard times.

“I’ve loved reading about archaeology ever since I was about 10. I majored in anthropology in college and always dreamed of going on a dig. I’d just always imagined that ‘sometime’ I’d find six months to spend on a dig in some marvelously exotic corner of the world – and of course that time never arrived. After the workshop, I figured, well, going on a dig is one dream that I can make happen now!

“I had only a week of vacation left for the year, but I looked in the Earthwatch catalogue and to my surprise discovered a one-week dig session was available this fall. Even better, it was in New Mexico – one of my favorite places in the world and a spot I’d been yearning to go back and visit. (I went to grad school in NM back in the 70s and returned frequently in the 90s on a work project.) So I called Earthwatch, learned there were still a couple of openings, and signed up… I leave Saturday morning!”

I’m getting value, enthusiasm, encouragement and a bit of a push. It’s hard to do nothing when you have all this motivation.

Tools and motivation to continue my journey.

Amazing. Extremely valuable. Full of resources and ideas. Great practical information. Inspirational and extremely helpful in finding where you want to go with your ideas. Great way to learn about being an entrepreneur.

An incredible positive, supportive experience. Totally life-changing!

This is the beginning of my book… who knows where it will end. It's true when you take action, things will fall into place. I let go of what I had been looking at as a loss… and now my new life is falling into place minute-by-minute. Every time that I stop to think about what is happening with me, I get goose bumps. Dreams do happen.

Just want to thank you for Boulder. I had been working on my own for 3 years and hit a major slump. I had no clients, no money and no support. No one in my life was self-employed or taking risks and I was beginning to feel like a failure.

Anyway, I just had to let you know the positive things that have manifested in my life since the conference. I dreamed of starting a community of self-employed artists... 3 weeks ago a 4-story brownstone in my neighborhood went on the market, so I made an offer with the seller financing 100% of the loan (what a long shot.

Turns out she wants to sell to someone with roots in the community, who is self-employed and a go getter. I plan to rent the upper levels as student apartments, which should take care of the mortgage, and make 4 studios in the basement for myself and 3 other artist/self bossers. What do you know – instant community! Thanks again for helping me get my mojo back. Keep doing what you do.

Very motivating and informative. I've listened to some tracks over and over, just to learn everything I can.

For most of my life adult life I have tried to work a “real job”, but I never felt comfortable in the corporate world and I never fit in. Valerie Young’s book “Finding Your True Calling …” has inspire me to follow my dreams and believe in my ideas AND it has reminded me that it’s okay NOT to fit in and there is more to life then the corporate world. The book is an interesting read with contributions from many authors who followed their dreams. It also incorporates career counseling/lifestyle activities that focus on what you love to do OR what you love in life and then helps you transform these loves into alternative job ideas. This is a great book for individuals looking for alternative professions and I highly recommend it.

I am finding this book to be not only inspirational but helpful in a concrete way. Each author has a different experience of finding their calling and achieving success, so it will be useful to a great many people. I highly recommend doing the exercises, rather than just reading the book, because that is where you will get your “light bulb” moments, finding insights into your own desires and stumbling blocks. This is a truly practical book for those of us dreamers who need a guide on the road.

After many years, many tests, and many registration fees to obtain my Professinal License, I found myself in a great job that I just hated. I did not “fit” into their social culture and I found my brain just worked differently than others in my Profession. What to do? I had reached the big 50 age bracket and was feeling despondent over making any kind of a job change. After all, I had invested a great deal of time and effort into this career. Was it time to quit or to work part-time?

Keeping an open mind, I started reading Valerie Young’s book. This book offers wise advice and the contributions of several experts in the field, but it was the worksheets that made the difference. Once I opened up the word processor, followed her directives and poured my heart out into black & white text, well, it all made sense. I was able to analyze and understand myself, from the child through adult, including my dreams, creativity and rewarding experiences. Valerie has provided a forum to allow you to quiet the beast of negative voices in your head and to design the next phase of your life. Be sure to do the worksheets! Thank you, Valerie, for the tools that inspire me into my next phase of life. I now have a clear insight into how to phase-out of my full-time profession and to phase-into work that is more suited to my natural talents.

I have parted with perfectly good coin to read the wisdom of many different authors concerning what I should do with my life and career. They all offer platitudes, exercises, and encouragement to the seeker. Some have complex diagrams, case studies, whatever. Chicken Soup for the aimless. Let me assure you, this book is different. It is clearly written, extremely useful, and the surprise is that it is inspirational! Not only will you (probably) get some great ideas to help you break out of that rut, but you’ll enjoy the process, and almost certainly be in a better mood just from reading the book! I didn’t get that from any of the ‘what color is my jumpsuit’ books, which gather dust on my shelf. Believe it or not, I carry this book around in my briefcase! I show it to friends, suggest they buy it, loan it to them if they won’t buy it. You should buy it–try it, and you’ll probably love it. If you read it and don’t think it’s a life-changer, give it to a close friend and they will thank you for it. Loved the book, by the way!

I found it inspirational and especially like that her books are spiral bound. It's now highlighted pages will be a ready and re-inspirational reference piece that I will revisit and share with my family and friends. It's simple and to the point, with no wasted time, but a fully delivered message.

I think I was most surprised by the fact that this book is a compilation of articles by different people.

Once I got past that, I began to realize that each person had, to varying degrees, experienced the anxiety I've felt at being locked into a job that brings no joy. To realize that there are others are taking that leap into the unknown and finding happiness while the "normals" stand by and scratch their heads at what is surely insanity is massive relief.

And to find that these "insane" people are holding their hands out to the rest of us who are a little afraid of our inner "insanity" to show us the way and to help us to realize that not going after our dreams is indeed the end of our happiness.

Going after our dreams should be the "normal" thing to do, and Thank You to people like Valerie Young, Barbara Sher, Jerry Stocking ("Quitting A Job - Without Plan B", read the "Yes You Can" book and you'll know what I'm talking about!), and others who are helping us fraidy cats get out there and take control of our lives!

I am still trying to catch my breath after our call! I am very satisfied with the way things went. I found that your services and ideas are just as advertised: “Affordable, Immediately Usable and Practical Career Advice…”

I came to the call with many ideas swirling around in my head and little direction. I had wondered aloud to myself when I was going to get started on all my ideas. In seeking you out, I was looking for even more ideas, but more so, clarity on my ideas and tips for getting off the ground. I am happy to report that I got them all in abundance. You were giving me ideas, tips and resources until the second our call ended.

I want to tell you how substantive, focused and intelligent I found you as a coach/consultant. I appreciated the opportunity to take the measure of all my various endeavors and understand more precisely how each could be orchestrated in the context of an ideal life. I felt fully understood and "seen" for who I am which is deeply gratifying.

I wanted to share one meaningful anecdote: In the process of writing everything I love, I put in "acting in a play," thinking to myself that I would surely never get to do that. The very next day I met a woman in yoga class who is active in a community theater. Without my saying anything, she came over to me after class to ask if I had any interest in auditioning!

I just had the pleasure of working with Valerie's excellent book and a private telephone session with her and all I can say is WOW! I've been grappling for years it seems on how take all of my varied interests and turn them into a viable business/job.

The work I did with Valerie helped me to clarify what I want to do and offered me FRESH perspective.... I'm still working all the details out but I feel her valuable assistance got me on the road to living a life full of travel and creative opportunities. Don't hesitate if you're tired of trying to figure it all out on your own.

I've taken a lot of career assessment tools and they always end up telling me I'm creative – which I already knew – but they still leave me stumped as to what to DO with my creativity to actually make a living.

Valerie gave me a lot of good ideas that really made me think. She helped me see how many different possibilities there are in the world for us creative types.

Your great gift, I think, is the ability to help a person focus. Thanks so much for devoting yourself to this calling.

Arranging a consultation with Valerie was a great investment in myself – money well spent. She not only gave me ideas, but asked questions which helped me clarify what I realistically should do next. The best part was she came up with an angle on an idea I had, that I had never thought of and now I'm most excited about.

Having many ideas racing through my head, lack of direction and self-doubt creeping in, I decided to talk with Valerie. While I had doubt that anyone could help me organize my thoughts, define clear idea patterns that fit my passion, and give me action oriented suggestions, I was amazed!

Within 90 minutes, we had cut through the fluff, targeted potential career opportunities that fit my passion, identified my resources and established some time sensitive goals. What a value for ninety short minutes! Thank you Valerie

Thank you for helping me to chart a clear path to my future. I truly appreciate the great work you do. Warmest regards.