Laurie Kuntz teaches life skills to teens and adults who want to find and follow their passion
By Liza Long
Photography By John Webster
“If you’re the smartest one in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”—Richard Tirendi
Laurie Kuntz can describe her passion in three short words: grow, give, and green. The Caldwell native refined her life’s mission here in Idaho, where she earned her B.S. in Biology at the College of Idaho. Her love of nature and the outdoors, coupled with her ongoing interest in self-help books and courses, led her to start her latest venture: Life Course. Designed for everyone from aspirational teens to busy executives, her group approach to life coaching offers a unique opportunity for people to define their own passions and begin to live authentic lives.
“My classes are designed to help people overcome obstacles to achieve their dreams and follow their passion,” Kuntz explains. “I’m giving you the skills to succeed, so you’re not stuck in a dead end job you hate. It’s not enough just to have a dream. In reality, you need some skills to achieve your dream.”
Many life coaches work with clients on an individual basis, but Kuntz has found more success in building groups of people who want to learn together. In groups, they can practice the skills and gain valuable hands-on experience as they implement the solutions she teaches. Kuntz is building her clientele slowly and mindfully. She enjoys her “day jobs” as a technical writer at Hewlett Packard, but she wants to share her passion, knowledge, and experience with others.
Kuntz, a published author who writes under a pen name, offers her courses, which range from one hour to a full-week “life skills” boot camp, at Boise and Meridian public libraries. Her inexpensive course fees, which start at just $20 for a one hour group session, make Life Course training accessible to everyone. “Most people don’t have the time or energy to research all these skills for themselves,” she notes. “I put everything together in a simple, easy-to-learn format.”
She also offers an online webinar option, catering to people who want to better themselves while wearing their pajamas.
Kuntz plans to include several topics in her Life Course programs, including how to start a business with little or no money, communication and relationship skills, saving money by going green, identifying household toxins and making inexpensive homemade alternatives, and even college preparedness. “All it takes is a little coaching. You give people some useful skills and get them really excited about their lives,” said Kuntz. That’s living the dream.
Three Books that Will Change Your Life:
- Secrets about Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten Principals for Total Emotional and Spiritual Fulfillment by Barbara De Angelis, Hyperion, 2000. “This book explains what people need to be happy in life. She talks about our purpose—to grow into the best person we can be.”
- Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel, by Jean Kilbourne, Free Press, 2000. “This book changed my life. It shows how we are manipulated by advertising to feel insecure about ourselves.”
- The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker, Little Brown, 1996. “This book teaches you how to learn not to fear the wrong things. We are really conditioned to be afraid of things that are very unlikely to happen, while we avoid problems that truly are dangerous.
For more information:
Life Course
208.880.7279
lifecourse.wix.com/mission
YouRockAtLife@gmail.com
