Introduction –
I am Soumya Ramaswamy — a Parenting, Teen, and Young Adult Coach, and a mother of two young adults who continue to be my greatest teachers.
The journey of raising them with all the messiness, doubts, laughter, and late-night heart-to-hearts — shaped not just my parenting, but my purpose. From those lived experiences, Shaping Futures was born — my third baby.
It’s more than a business; it’s a heart-led space where I support families to reconnect, rebuild trust, and create homes filled with understanding rather than expectations. I’ve been in that space where you wonder if you’re getting it all wrong — and I want other parents to know they’re not alone.
Shaping Futures is my way of reminding families that we don’t need to have it all figured out — we just need to show up with love, curiosity, and the willingness to grow together.
In the first two days of coaching mastery, something quietly profound shifted within me.
I let go of the pressure to “do it right” — to ask the perfect question or follow the structure to the letter. Instead, I allowed myself to simply be with my client. To serve not from a place of proving, but of presence.
This subtle shift — from performance to presence — cracked something open in me.
I gently stepped outside the rigid frame of competence, not abandoning it, but allowing fluidity within it. I remained anchored in the core competencies, yet gave myself permission to intuit, to feel, and to trust the process beyond logic.
And in doing so, I accessed a deeper layer of connection — one that my rational mind may never have fathomed.
It was as if a veil lifted.
I wasn’t just coaching — I was witnessing. I wasn’t just listening — I was receiving.
This experience reminded me that mastery isn’t about control or perfection. It’s about surrendering to the moment, and trusting that who I am is enough to hold space for transformation.
And that, to me, is the real magic of coaching.
Two days of business development by PK weren’t just about strategy. They were about soul.
Somewhere in the messy middle of serving, coaching, and building — I had lost touch with why I started in the first place. I’ve always felt deeply called to support parents, teens, and young adults… but something in me felt clouded, unsure, almost hesitant.
And then, in the middle of a conversation, my mentor PK said something that cracked me open:
“If you’re serving everybody, you’re serving nobody.”
That moment was a turning point. It felt like I was reborn into the coach I was always meant to be — clear, focused, and connected to my core purpose. I found my niche. I began to position myself, not just present myself.
Once I began walking on this path, the whole road became clearer. I started attracting the right people, the right energy, and the kind of work that lit me up from within.
Coaching is messy. The Business building is messy.
And clarity? It rarely comes before action. It comes through it.
Nothing is perfectly laid out in the beginning — but every messy iteration, every awkward conversation, every small step teaches us something vital. And that’s where the real growth lies.
I also learned something I’ll carry forever:
I can walk away from things that don’t align — and that’s still an act of service.
I don’t have to shrink to be accepted — I can expand into who I really am.
And presence — our quiet, intentional presence — is often the biggest gift we offer our clients.
As coaches, we often don’t acknowledge the power of just being there for someone. But every conversation, no matter how small, creates a ripple.
This journey helped me reconnect with Soumya — the woman behind Shaping Futures, my third baby, born from a deep desire to build emotionally safe, connected families.
Clarity came not from knowing the way, but from walking it.
So if you’re in the messy middle, stay there.
Do the work. Tweak the vision. Take the next step.
The way reveals itself to the one who walks.
This journey reconnected me with Soumya — the woman behind Shaping Futures, my third baby born from the desire to create emotionally safe, connected families and individuals.
And now, something beautiful is unfolding…
I’ve started mentoring other coaches who are walking the same confusing, soul-stretching path I once did.
This for me is how I repay what I’ve received.
By being there for others.
By reminding them that their presence is enough.
That their messiness is part of the masterpiece.
That they, too, will find their way — one step at a time.
