Today we’d like to introduce you to Camille Preston.
Camille, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Youngest of three, I started watching the world and thinking about how to “optimize” at a very early age. I think I was five before I realized that I was two years younger than my sister and three and a half years younger than my brother. Up until then, I just assumed that we were all equal and to keep up, I needed to be better at thinking ahead, noticing what was unspoken, asking better questions, and looking for what I would eventually come to call “life hacks.” Of course, back then, it was more about not being left behind than it was about optimizing my performance… but you get the gist.
My father was an educator turned environmentalist who believed I was capable of anything. He nurtured my ability to dream big and consistently challenged me to be my best self. Each summer, I spent countless hours unplugged from the outer world, running through the woods of New Hampshire barefoot and on extended family hiking trips. My father also always asked great questions. Instead of asking, “What do you want to be when you grow up,” he probed deeper to ask, “What will your legacy be?” and “How will you leave a positive impact on the world around you?”
Figuring out my best self has taken time and patience, but I believe it is a lifelong journey. Figuring out your best self-necessitates exploring all your options and falling on your face at times, which I’ve done more than once! Along the way to my current career, I held many different jobs including limousine driver, social worker responsible for socializing crack addicted babies, cattle rancher on a Texas Long Horn cattle ranch, state department employee responsible for refugee resettlement in Africa, cocktail waitress, Capitol Hill federal policy employee, and change management consultant for police executives.
As you can see, there were a lot of different experiences and few that presented a clear, compelling theme forward. I’m now asking myself, “How can I be a great mother, a better partner, and an encouraging coach?”
Everyone deserves someone in their life who believes that they are capable of anything. This is one of the many things I love about coaching.
Everyone deserves someone in their life who believes that they are capable of anything. This is one of the many things I love about coaching.
Has it been a smooth road?
I’ve had a lot of bumps along the way, but these experiences have all been really great learning experiences.
Completing my dissertation on Policing Domestic Violence necessitated hard work to execute and significant “passion” to convince both my academic committee and several police departments that this was a viable and important study.
Writing my first book, rewired was another challenge. It meant putting my ideas and beliefs permanently out in the world. Hearing from stakeholders about how the book has shifted their lives, changed their marriages, and altered the way they parent, reaffirmed my commitment to be bold and trust my inner intuition.
On a more personal level, I spent years finding a life partner who was committed to living an outstanding life – personally and professionally. I appreciate that what truly creates an outstanding life partnership is a constant commitment to re-engage, reconnect, refocus, and re-develop. The fact that I finally found someone who embraces my approach is something I will never take for granted.
Conceiving my son and then my daughter after a long struggle with infertility is another struggle that solidified my understanding about the power of persistence, diligence, and creativity in the face of adversity. Never had I wanted something so much, worked so hard, or suffered so much heartbreak, failure, and disappointment as I did on that journey.
A mentor of mine says that all your passion lies outside your comfort zone. You might enjoy things that come easily to you, but passion exists in those things that inspire greatness from you or those things that push you beyond your own conception of what you can do. The deeper I have to dig within myself, the more engaged, passionate and inspired I become. That’s how I approach struggle.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
AIM Leadership (www.aimleadership.com), the company I founded and lead, is committed to rethinking how we work in a wired world and to helping individuals and teams spend more time feeling and performing at their peak. It’s that simple, really. And, it is also that complex. How we work has changed drastically, we need new strategies for engaging in work effectively and impactfully. We’re there to help people discover their best self and do things they never dreamed possible. We deliver on our promise with several different types of offerings, including one-on-one coaching, training sessions, 360 assessments, speaking engagements, and flow accelerators.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I love Boston for the seasons, the great running routes along the Charles River and the amazing intellect. We are blessed with outstanding academic institutions, flourishing startups, great medical care and a wonderful salty culture! #BostonStrong
Right now, it is 5 degrees and well, I’m not loving that!
AIM Leadership is perfect for Boston, because of the high intellect, startup mindedness, and community of people committed to learning and leading, which is what we’re all about.
Pricing:
- Typical coaching engagements range $10-25k
- Typical speaking engagements range $5 – 15k
- For typical training we offer a range from $5 – 10k depending on length and customization
Contact Info:
- Address: 97 Columbia Street
Suite 3 Cambridge, MA 02139 - Website: http://aimleadership.com/
- Phone: 202-422-6153
- Email: camille@aimleadership.com
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/camillep
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camillepreston/
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
