We had the good fortune of connecting with Lynda Martin-Lawley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lynda, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I spent 30 year career in the highly stressful, wild and litigious mortgage banking industry. When you are facilitating the most emotional and expensive investment any of us ever make…it is a crazy roller-coaster of a ride! I had come from an artistic bohemian family and had never fathomed I would end up in a corporate environment, let alone a Fortune 100 company touching multi-million dollars of loans every day, I did know that my inherent leadership skills coupled with a mentorship mentality was a winning formula, which ultimately grew our teams and operations into the billions annually. The good news…financially it allowed a lifestyle that surpassed any dreams or goals I could have conceived of. The bad news…my stress levels and enjoyment of life were minimal. About 6 years into what most would perceive as an extremely “successful” career of record breaking accomplishments…it became clear that none of that mattered if I was dead under my desk ;-( Thus, my journey began on how to create the maximum quality of life/work balance every day. As I trained myself to mentally “divorce” myself from my work life the minute I left for the day (in the beginning) to an intentional “daily practice” that puts me FIRST in all areas of Wellness. I learned that if I recharged my batteries my reserves were replenished so I could be of service to others I am honored to support. I am “present” to creating each day that is filled with as much mind, body and soul attentiveness as possible. My path to creating a work/life balance made it possible to assess my business in a more productive, creative, relaxed way and allowed me to sustain YEARS longer in an industry that I loved! I have integrated my valuable experience into my coaching work to share what I have learned with other dynamic women, personally and professionally!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I recently published a book and passion project called “He Said What?!” to help women navigate the online dating world. After my wonderful husband died prematurely, I dropped into the wild world of online dating at age 58 and after many ridiculous dates and laughing/regaling my girlfriends about how one day I would write a “tell-all”…here it is! I have recounted my stories and experiences of the last 8 years to offer tips and techniques on how to weed out the wrong guy…to pave the way for the right-fit guy! I’m proud to be a published authoress and check it out on Amazon!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Another passion project of mine was creating a podcast that entices people to experience Downtown LA (aka: DTLA). I am a native Los Angelean and it saddened me that our city center was predominantly avoided rather than being a destination of choice, until it’s Renaissance in the early 2000(s). I made it my mission to explore and share many fabulous activities, restaurants, speakeasies, historic architecture and movie palaces in DTLA over a 2 year period. Fast forward to this exciting, artistic vortex of Millennial innovation, with 14 distinctly different “districts” to discover. If I were to take you on a “Lynda tour” we spend an afternoon in one of my favorite DTLA areas…The Arts District. We’d start with: * Artisanal coffee and pastries at “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” high fidelity listening bar. Unlike other DTLA music/bar lounge(s) it is open all day. * Then we would move to visiting 2 museums in the heart of this district: Over the Influence and Art Share LA * Lunch or early dinner could be delicious food at: Eat/Drink Americano, Factory Kitchen (authentic Italian) Wurstkuche (exotic sausages) or at Bavel or Bestia (sister restaurants of high quality and ambiance). * Since I am a sweets lover…the perfect ending to our day of discovery would be: anything from Pie Hole or Salt and Straw gourmet ice cream! Take a listen: dtlaexposed.podbean.com

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shout-out must be to my mom, who’s wisdom convinced me at an early age that: 1) I could do anything I set my mind/heart to 2) To always finish what I started. Therein lies the real secret to my biz success. Pure unadulterated tenacity 3) Find a way to “make it work” in the land of we have no choice! If Plan A didn’t work, there are many more letters in the alphabet 4) Actions must mirror words. Your word is your bond and integrity is everything

Website: lmlconsulting.com

Instagram: @lyndamartinlawey (leadership coaching) and @dtlanoir (Podcast)

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynda-martin-lawley-3baa229/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lml-consulting-pasadena?osq=lml+consulting

Image Credits
None

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.