In my journey I have gone through lots of circumstances that have caused a lot of pain and also growth to come to a more mature understanding of myself and others. Having light shed on the darkness has revealed many more things to treasure than to fear. You Willie have helped me to have hope and peace through the truth about myself.
Grant F. (CAN)
I am blessed to have Willie as my mentor and friend. Willie challenges me in the areas I need grow and gives me the grace/space necessary for self-discovery. He has helped me realize what is true and what is false about my story and also made me aware of unconscious assumptions that have been detrimental to my growth.
As a result, I am developing a foundation of good character and a deeper connection/dependence to God. Willie’s council is wise, his rebuke is loving, his caring is genuine, and his time is generous. He has my love and respect.
Arturo D.
Willie Garavito has been assisting me as my life coach for the past nine months through meetings and phone calls once a week. The coaching process has helped me become more aware of my inner core feelings and express my feelings openly. I am less afraid of my true feelings and more accepting of them. I am learning to listen to others much better and not be critical of them. Before my coaching with Willie I wanted to solve or fix situations immediately without even asking the other person if this is what he or she wanted. I have learned to ask “do you need me to just listen, do you want my feedback, or do you want me to try to problem solve with you?”
My improved emotional literacy has helped me greatly in my relationship with my wife of 26 years. My wife and I have renewed hope in our marriage because of my increased self-awareness of how my communication style comes across to her and to others. My growth has also helped in my relationship with my three adult children.
Willie has a marriage and family that I respect, is very free in enjoying God’s creation, and is joyous in celebrating life. Willie has invited me to camping in the Grand Canyon, Christmas party, and Super Bowl party. I recommend him to other men and women who want to see significant growth in their character and relationships.
Dave B.
William Garavito is an exceptionally gifted and effective life coach. He has deep understanding of, years of testimonial personal experience in, and a keen passion for assisting others in achieving victorious personal growth.
A disarmingly engaging and deeply insightful listener, he has the uncanny ability to hear what is not said, to sense what has been long and perhaps unconsciously hidden, to speak what is not expected and to inexorably lead you to see yourself as you truly are, and then to accept and even thrive in that self-awareness.
The things I have learned through his amazing mentoring about myself and what I can be has not always been pleasant or readily apparent but it has invariably been profoundly life changing.
Bill D.
Sometimes in life, a man needs another man to offer their hand in not only fellowship but more importantly, support and someone believing in him. Christian men – especially – sometimes simply lack the resources. In fact VERY few Christian men – I have found – have any men-friends with whom they can be completely honest, yet also – and most importantly – having the other man be totally “confidential” about what is said. Such things are so rarely found that it’s actually close to 1 in 10,000 men who are willing to do this, probably more. Honestly stated, I interviewed Willie, before I even established his mentoring role in my life, and he has proven true to his word, sometimes talking about things I had never told ANYONE before. Willie has not been fazed by the subject matters when I have talked to him, even sensitive ones, on several occasions now.
Simply stated, Willie has never put me down for my beliefs about life, or myself, yet does “challenge” me to change the beliefs I hold, or – more accurately – Willie has given me food for thought and helped me “pick apart” some beliefs and understandings to see them as not necessarily the healthiest things to hang onto. He has been my mentor for well over a year now, as of this writing, and encourages me to be the man God intended, and not fear the “shadow” – or “dark side” – of my personality, rather to make friends with it, understand it is a part of me, accept it, and love it without judgment, yet more importantly that I can make changes without uprooting my ENTIRE belief system. When there have been some “down” times, that is not understanding life and what a man can expect, Willie has been an encouraging brother and helped me work through the issues without judgment, which I have rarely found in “the church,” meaning other Christians [having been “burned” by other Christians’ judgmental attitudes in the past] and not put me down for my sometimes disbelieving, pessimistic attitudes. I have gradually learned to trust this brother and appreciate his steadying hand. Although Willie is actually 8 years my junior, I have actually learned much in the past 14 months of being mentored by this brother, and sense a caring man who really practices his faith and keeps true to his word, yet knows enough to “let go” when the need arises, and allows me to make my own mistakes. In short, Willie is sometimes tough yet tender, fair yet candidly truthful and discerns well when to “lay off,” and when to get “up close and personal” – some may call it “in your face” – and yet manages to do it with a healthy, loving detachment I appreciate and always hoped I would find in a few, select brothers with whom I could be “myself,” that is my REAL self, and not fear being “talked about” behind my back with other Christians. Willie’s faithfulness and trustworthiness became evident after only a few mere months of mentoring, which ESPECIALLY helped me through a very rough time during the summer of 2008, as several changes began happening at the same time. Willie’s ability to “unpack” the situation, one single piece [or “issue”] at a time, helping me to see things were not quite as “disastrous” as they appeared, and assisted me in accepting the changes taking place without the usual feelings of terror and upheaval in an otherwise “chaotic” time in my life.
Summarily, I would not say knowing Willie has “changed my life,” yet his mentoring has allowed me to take a closer look at myself without the usual “fear” of “having to change,” rather it is – more than anything else – a willingness to consider other viewpoints without fear of “certain disaster coming,” or being ”put down” by others for long-held, pessimistic viewpoints, self-doubting and disbelief. Next year [2010], I will officially become a Senior Citizen, meaning I will be 55. I see more opportunities to learn about life than I do certain disaster on the horizon, and sense a new stability and HOPE I have only rarely felt in my life. It’s not all “hunkey-dorey,” by any means, yet I feel less “heaviness” and less burdened down by life.
If I am remembering it correctly, it was my Dad who told me “When you stop learning, you’re dead.” It seems the old man at least got THAT right!!! [“Thanks, Dad……NOW I get it!!!”]
Bill G.
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Being 27 has it's own challenges and opportunities. Being American in Silicon Valley comes with it's blessings and curses. I often think bigger, better, and faster as a way of thinking to be at one's best especially to survive in America's capitalistic self-made man notion of the "American Dream". Yet, why does it seem like the millennial generation is the most depressed yet privileged generation? And in the fury of capitalism, we lose our sense of joy and believe that all shortcomings are completely our fault (one should never victimized themselves as a baseline).
This is where Willie comes in - we are not alone. Before even understanding "spirit", he guides me to understand that we are not alone. We cannot live on Mother Earth alone. With that way of looking at life, everything around us is magical and sacred - we are all connected by energy. However, we bind ourselves to our 5 physical senses through a Western upbringing not realizing that perhaps life is even more mysterious and that miracles are actual acts of spirit as opposed to mere exceptions or "coincidences". Karma is real.
His mentorship is authentic and honest. He is able to connect at my level and tell me as it is to learn a new way of seeing things. He is a real gift for the island. Thank you, Will!
