Leaving a legacy – A Tribute to Pat Schuler

Last Wednesday, I was leaving an Indians playoff game, and as an attentive entrepreneur, I habitually checked my email to see if a client needed anything.

My heart sank as I saw an email about my business coach Pat Schuler, entitled “About our Dear Pat” – upon opening the email, I saw that she had passed away. Pat had been sick for such a brief period of time, and I was shocked to hear the news.

It’s taken a few days to start to sink in. I’m sure it will take months. This article is an attempt to explain Pat’s influence on me and the Career Industry as a whole. She definitely left a legacy:

“That is your legacy on this Earth when you leave this Earth: how many hearts you touched.” —Patti Davis

I’m sure many can look at Pat’s legacy and influence on our industry, but I’ll share from my somewhat limited perspective.

I’ve been writing resumes for friends and colleagues for years, yet in the past few decided to do so for a living. I needed help learning how to sell and how to grow a business. In desperation, I reached out to a kind and successful friend for guidance, and she wisely pointed me to Pat.

Pat and I began an 18-month coaching relationship six months ago. She taught me how to sell, market and brand myself to attract my type of client. In that period of time, my business tripled. I got to the point where I had so much business in August that I had to stop marketing and follow through on my existing obligations. I told her at the end of August I was taking a break to catch up, but let’s continue meeting in October. And that’s when I got the email that she had passed – we would never continue meeting.

She was more than a Business Coach, she talked me through the insecurity I felt in becoming successful in my field. She built me up and told me I could achieve my goals. She encouraged me to ignore the naysayers and those who used negative and deceptive marketing tactics against me. She helped me tactically, strategically, emotionally and professionally. Several of us referred to her as our business “mom.”

As I look at our industry as a whole, Pat was a coach to many of the top-tier successful leaders in the resume writing and career coaching field. Those who have worked with Pat represent many of the top 5% of earners and thought leaders in our industry. 

I admire the leaders of our industry and strive to follow in their footsteps – and she trained many of them. Where would we be as an industry without Pat’s influence?

I think of original artists like Rembrandt and Monet. They had artists who trained underneath them, who in turn trained others. There is no one like them, so you need to train with those they trained. Is this what it is like when an original artist passes from this world? Was Pat a true artist like these?

For those who coached with Pat, we know the answer. She was definitely a one-of-a-kind artist at what she did, training resume writers and career coaches to achieve outstanding success as entrepreneurs.

I learned so much from Pat in our time coaching together, but there was so much more to learn. 

The journey will not be the same without Pat leading me, teaching me, and encouraging me, but I am more motivated than ever to succeed and make her proud.

I choose to honor her legacy by being the successful entrepreneur she trained me to be. And somehow by giving myself away and helping others, in the same way that she helped me.

“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.” — Shannon L. Alder