About Samantha Buck, ICF-credentialed women’s life & empowerment coach based in Boise, ID
For most of my life, I felt like I had something to prove.
As the only girl of eight grandchildren, with grandparents who were loving but believed in very traditional gender roles, I grew up wanting to rebel. Though I’m fortunate to have a supportive family, I remember experiencing the ache of comparison and the feeling of not being enough from an early age.
I knew I was sensitive. And I knew I had a lot of empathy and love to give, but for many years I pushed it down and didn’t want that “soft” side to be part of my identity.
I wanted to be a badass. I wanted to be seen as strong and fearless.
So, for much of my life, I resisted many things that are considered “feminine” and chose several jobs that were physically challenging and in male-dominated fields. Strength. Courage. Badassery. Living life to the fullest and showing people I could do whatever I set my mind to - these were my priorities. (My first official job was as a whitewater rafting guide!)
I had almost a dozen jobs over the course of a decade, in very different fields, and lived in six states. And for years, I enjoyed the adventures I had (believe me, I’ve got some cool stories!!), but deep down always felt like I had something to prove, while also feeling like I didn’t fully belong.
Along the way, I was so intent on being strong and proving to myself and the world I could handle anything, that I ignored my intuition many times, leading to some very dangerous situations. I allowed myself to stay in places where deep down I knew I wasn’t safe, stayed silent when I actually disagreed, and lost track of what I truly wanted.
Over the years, I experienced sexual harassment many times, an extremely toxic relationship that led to me changing my phone number and moving away, a mugging, and various short- and long-term situations that put my mental and physical health in a dark place.
During the two and half years that I lived on the island of Oahu, I was working in a position that I found both rewarding and incredibly challenging - and that’s when I started blogging on different platforms as an outlet for my stress. My love for writing resurfaced (I’d left off sometime after graduating college), and I found myself sharing story after story with strangers on the internet. This was when I truly dared to dive into the side of me that I’d shoved down and been ashamed of for so long – the sensitive, nurturing, feminine, intuitive side.
I was finally beginning to heal the emotional wounds I’d carried for so long – from society, from certain family members, and most of all from myself. I was starting to realize I was enough, I could define who I wanted to be, and I was capable of changing my life and living on my own terms.
I knew I wanted to make an impact and share everything I had experienced and was learning, and my passion to empower other women was growing. I wanted more women out there to understand that they were enough, that they were strong, and that they were both capable and deserving of love, happiness, and success.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, I ended up moving last-minute back to California, where I continued writing and tried to keep it together while the world seemed to crumble around me. That was a tough year (can you relate?!) but it was during that time that I dove into an intense period of self-development.
That’s when everything started to come into focus. I learned how important it is to have clarity, personal power, and a damn good mindset. I stopped looking at my life like I was a victim to my circumstances, and instead decided to take ownership of my choices and change them. I learned tons of techniques to take care of myself, protect my energy, and advocate for my own well-being. I learned to bet on myself, and realized I’d had an inner warrior all along.
I learned that you can be sensitive AND strong. Loving and nurturing, AND a leader. That you can show up fully as yourself, speak your truth, and be 100% worthy and enough, just as you are.
And I deeply wanted to share all of this with other people.
Then I learned about life coaching, and everything clicked. I started my business in the garage of a tiny 1-bedroom cottage, and completed an intensive 7-month ICF coach certification program that taught me hands-on how to coach at the level where I felt confident I could help change my clients’ lives for the better.
Since starting my business in that garage, I’ve moved a couple of times and now reside in Boise, Idaho with my little dog Cleo, and meet virtually with clients from various different states and countries!
I know first-hand what it’s like to struggle with self-doubt, overwhelm, anxiety, and comparison. I know what it’s like to lay awake at night worrying about the future or getting stuck replaying things from the past. I understand how exhausting it is to be overthinking everything all the time, and feel so stuck that you can never get anything done.
And I understand what it’s like to be afraid to speak up for yourself, set boundaries, and ask for help.
These are all things so many women struggle with – and too many of us are walking around stressed and overwhelmed, accepting lives we’re not satisfied with, and not knowing what to do about it.
This is where my passion lies. I believe each of us has an inner warrior, and each of us is capable and deserving of love, happiness, and success. You deserve to pursue a life you’re excited about. You deserve to feel confident, fulfilled, and at ease, and to feel like you have time and energy for yourself.
Now, I offer individual life coaching to help women stop feeling stuck, end overwhelm, and overcome self-doubt so they can feel confident to conquer challenges, have more peace & freedom, and enjoy their lives.
In my life coaching, I act as a guide, safe space, support system, and accountability partner for my clients - giving them lots of strategies and tools while also giving them the freedom to explore, so that we work together to come up with solutions that work specifically for them as an individual. It’s my job to not only guide and support you - but also EMPOWER you to listen to your own voice, learn to speak up, and learn to follow through, so you walk away with more confidence and self-trust.
I use a combination of my ICF (International Coaching Federation) training, my intuition, experience, and different holistic resources to help women stop struggling and learn to thrive on their own terms so they can live the life they want.
Both my personal and professional life have been quite a journey to get to where I am today, and I can honestly say that if I didn’t have the knowledge, experience, and tools I have now through coaching, some of the challenges I’ve experienced in my life would have knocked me out! Life will always bring challenges that we have to face – but we get to decide how to face them. And believe me, with the right mindset, tools, and support – life starts to get much easier and more enjoyable.
It’s my absolute honor and joy to be able to guide and support women one-on-one in their own journeys. So, if this sounds like it could help you, I want to invite you to have me by your side, too.
I offer the first life coaching session free. Go ahead and start here: