About

Hi! Glad you stopped by.

If you’re new to the site, welcome. If you’ve been around before, things may look different, but the essence is the same.

My background?

I’m a Writer, Editor, and Personal Success Coach with a diverse corporate and institutional (university) background. Lots of political fray back then. Life is a little quieter now.

Like most people, I was one of those kids who wasn’t sure what I wanted to be. In my younger years, I spent my summers running through the woods and catching snakes. In high school, I took piano, guitar, and opera voice lessons. By the time I got to college, I was going to be a doctor and, in the mode of Albert Schweitzer, make a life helping people in Africa.

Nope. I didn’t get there. I got married, completed a degree in Interior Design, and ended up selling erasers at a business supply store. Not finding a lot of satisfaction in that, I went back for a bachelor degree in Business Administration with a side in economics. A few years, a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, and a couple of (WONDERFUL) kids later, I went back to school for a bachelor degree in Fine Arts. Divorce ended that dream . . .

I relocated to Florida to be close to family and worked in public relations at the University of South Florida College of Engineering. Advanced degrees in management information systems (computers) and project management earned me a position as a project manager at IBM. It was a bad fit again. I still hadn’t found my home.

COACHING

While at the University of South Florida, I worked with both students and adults to develop and implement their dreams. I coached Ramon, who grew up  in subsidized housing, to pursue his goal of becoming the first U.S. exchange student to Siemens International. When I told him he could go and worked to make it happen, other people were furious with me. “He can’t do that,” they told me. “He’s from the projects.” He did go to Seimens in Germany, and the experience changed, not only his life, but that of his whole family. My focus was and continues to be: Empowering the individual to excel. It’s nice when the “good stuff” spills over.

RESUMES

For a number of years I volunteered as a Leadership Coach for MBA students at the University of Tampa, and maintained an active coaching practice for a while. Today, I do career coaching to help individuals find their career direction . . . and then write resumes to get them into the jobs of their dreams. Really.

Why do I spend so much time working with clients before I even start putting together their resumes? As I tell them, “I can write  a pretty resume any time, but if it’s not for the right job, I haven’t done anyone any favors.” Over ninety percent of my resume clients are repeat business and referrals. 

WRITING AND EDITING

After I left IBM, I started writing a novel as a way to “kick-start” a less than cooperative, multiple-sclerosis handicapped brain. By 2008, I had deteriorated to the point where I decided the best thing I could do was to “handicap” my house. Mom made me aware of a couple non-conventional medical interventions, which I adopted, not knowing what the result would be. In two years, I have regained most of the function I lost–not everything, but life is certainly less scary.

Today, I write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and scripts. I edit fiction and nonfiction for individuals and publishers. I have taught an online self-editing course, “The First Edit: Finding and Fixing Your Writing Errors,” at Coffee House For Writers www.coffeehouseforwriters.com. For more information about my writing history, see my personal writing website at: www.sandrakischuk.com.

LIVING BEYOND LIMITS BLOG

The Living Beyond Limits newsletter started in 2004, and grew. By 2010, over 6,500 individuals worldwide received the free weekly newsletter, many of them forwarding it on to their friends and family. By 2011, it became obvious. Living Beyond Limits had outgrown its (website) home . . . In its metamorphosis, the newsletter became this blog, but my health improved to the point that I was again able to “go out into the world.” Around 2013, I became a Hillsborough County Master Gardener, working with the community for the health of the natural environment.

My passions are nature, gardening, art, reading, and always, always, learning new things. I work as a Coach, Writer, Editor, . . . but even now I question. Are all the pieces in place?

I’m not sure. Maybe they don’t have to be. Maybe it’s the discovery that makes the journey interesting.