Not many can say that they were born and raised in Silicon Valley, California before it became the tech juggernaut that it is today. Chris Janssen can. She was born and raised in Santa Clara County and her parents’ work ethic paved the path for her success today as a wife, mother, life coach and author of her recently published book, Living All In.

Janssen spent most of her life in California. Her dad was a high school teacher and hockey coach with a drywall construction business on the side. He built many of the homes that stand today, including her childhood home. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom to Janssen and her brother.

Janssen attended the University of San Diego, earning a degree in psychology. Through friends, she met Scott, a recent graduate from UCLA, and they married and settled in Southern California. Janssen continued her education, achieving her master’s degree in counseling psychology at Loyola Marymount University. She worked in human resources as a career coach in recruiting at The Ritz-Carlton and as a corporate recruiter for Guess until she had the first of three children and stayed home with them for 20 years.

While raising her family, Janssen continued to use her counseling skills at church, speaking at women’s retreats and the like; and then a new brand of counseling came on the scene – life coaching. It clicked for Janssen.

She went back to school online and got her credential as a Board Certified Coach and began Chris Janssen Coaching when her youngest was in high school.

“Life coaching is not therapy and not consulting,” said Janssen. “I help people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be, in life or in business.”

Janssen had 60 clients at one point and realized her efficacy was with a lower number. She felt strongly that it wasn’t about the number of clients, but that she wanted to help as many people as possible.

To accomplish this, her original thought was to write down everything she knew on coaching and print it and have a guide book for her clients, as well as something to leave behind for her children. One of her clients who happened to be an author encouraged her to put it all into a book. And she did.

The book encourages people who are stuck to rewrite their story, shed labels and “show up for the life you want.” There are exercises for the reader to engage and write down thoughts and goals. Janssen is already working on her second book, while also writing for Brainz Magazine, a global online magazine that focuses on leadership and entrepreneurs.

Although Californians at heart, when the Janssens became empty nesters in 2020, they decided to try something totally new. They have friends in Lone Tree who encouraged them to come check out the greater Denver area. They spent a weekend touring everything from Boulder to Colorado Springs. When they visited Castle Pines, they were hooked.

“When we saw The Village at Castle Pines one time, we bought a house that weekend,” said Janssen. The couple still has a condo in LA where they spend part of the year seeing friends and visiting family.

When Janssen isn’t writing or coaching, she visits her horses that were brought from California. She has re-introduced herself to one of her childhood passions, ice skating, and she and Scott enjoy skiing and golfing. Janssen is a member of Ladies 9 in the Pines and she recently won the award for “most improved.”

To learn more about Janssen, visit chrisjanssencoaching.com.

By Hollen Wheeler; photos courtesy of Chris Janssen and David Schlatter Photography