Hi! I am Life Coach Tracy Baranauskas, founder of Moving Forward Life Coaching.

I help ambitious women develop the courage and confidence to blaze trails and bring their wild, audacious ideas to life.

If you had told me twenty years ago that I would one day become a life coach, I probably would have laughed.

At the time, I was building a career in the community mental health field, and I genuinely loved the work. Helping people recognize their strengths, discover new possibilities, and believe in themselves was my favorite part of my role.

Looking back now, I can see that coaching was interwoven into my work long before I ever realized it would become my calling.

Then, in 2014, life took an unexpected turn. After speaking up on behalf of clients who were being neglected, I lost my job.

It was one of the hardest seasons of my life. My confidence took a hard hit, and for the first time in a very long time, I felt lost. I had spent years doing what I believed I was meant to do. I worked hard, stayed true to my values, and dedicated so much of my life to helping others.

Suddenly, I found myself standing at a crossroads, wondering where I belonged and what to do next.

But even in the middle of all that uncertainty, one thing never left me. I had a deep, unwavering belief that I still had so much more to offer the world.

At the time, I couldn’t have explained where that knowing came from. I just knew I was not done yet.

Then, when a few people suggested I consider being a life coach, I thought, “Whaaat? Is that a real thing?”

But after looking into it further, it felt like a natural extension of the work I’d always loved. Nothing lit me up more than helping people challenge the stories that kept them playing small, so they could discover their true potential and build a more meaningful, authentic life.

There was just one problem.

The idea of becoming a coach or doing anything new freaked me out.

Money was tight. I hadn’t even been approved for unemployment benefits yet. Investing in myself felt uncomfortable because I had spent a lifetime investing in everyone else’s growth, but not my own.

I still remember sitting down to write the check to hire my first coach.

My hand was shaking.

Every fearful thought imaginable came rushing in.

What if this doesn’t work?

What if I fail?

What if I have completely overestimated what I am capable of?

Looking back now, I smile because I know those questions were never really about the money.

They were about whether I was willing to bet on myself.

Thankfully, my desire became greater than my fear.

Hiring that coach remains one of the bravest decisions I have ever made. It helped me regain something I had lost—my self-trust.  

It reminded me of my strengths, tenacity, integrity, and the gifts I had almost forgotten were there. Most importantly, it taught me something I’ve carried with me ever since.

Confidence isn’t what ignites us.

Courage does.

Confidence builds each time we decide to take one more brave step forward.

That lesson transformed my life, and it’s shaped the way I’ve coach ever since.

Over the years, I have continued investing in my own growth through coaching because I believe the best coaches never stop growing. I’ve worked with incredible mentors who have challenged my thinking, helped me navigate my own fears, and lovingly called me out when I was letting my primal brain run the show.

My client, Amanda, once said I have the strongest BS detector she has ever seen. Well, she’s not wrong. It definitely is one of my superpowers.

I understand how convincing fear can sound. And I know how easy it is to believe the stories that tell us we’re not experienced, qualified, or ready enough yet.

I also know what is waiting on the other side of those stories.

This is why I love this work so much.

The women I coach are driven, thoughtful, and incredibly capable. There’s nothing that lights me up more than watching them stop waiting and start believing their ideas are worth pursuing. I love watching their momentum kick in as they take that first brave step, then another, then another, until one day they realize they’ve become the powerhouse they used to admire from afar.

Each time this happens, I think back to the person whose hand was shaking as she wrote a check to hire her first coach.

She had no idea where that one courageous decision would lead.

She only knew she had so much more to offer the world than fear was allowing her to give.

As it turns out, she was right.

Something tells me you’ve landed here because you can’t shake the feeling that there is more waiting for you, too. And you’re right.

Schedule a complimentary consultation today, and let’s talk about it.

I’d be honored to help you discover just how far your courage can take you, my friend.