About
My Story, Vision, and Values
Are you at a crossroads?
If you just know there’s more to your career and life, you’re in the right place!
Hi, I’m Dana Kraml
As a Life and Leadership Coach, I help women like you redefine success, find a balanced, vibrant way to work and live — on your terms.
With 30 years in a demanding, high-pressure industry, I know firsthand how easy it is to lose yourself in the relentless pursuit of achievement. But I also know it doesn’t have to be this way.
I believe you can have both a fulfilling career and life, without burnout, sacrificing your health, or losing sight of what truly matters.
And I’ve learned how. Through my own journey with healing from burnout, I’ve discovered how to have work life balance and align with purpose in a way that feels sustainable, fulfilling, and genuinely aligned with who I am.
Now, I help other women do the same.
My Story: Big City, Big Lights, Big Dreams
When I started my career in New York City, I was unstoppable. The energy, the pace, the high-stakes environment – it was exhilarating! I lived for the rush. The thrill of beating tight deadlines. The adrenaline that came from delivering on high-visibility projects. The satisfaction of solving complex problems no one else could crack.
And I thrived! Promotions, titles, compensation, they kept coming in. Each win fueled me, pushing me to do more, prove more, be more.
What I didn’t see was that I was caught up in the rat race - running faster and faster on a hamster wheel that never stopped.
At first it was exhilarating. But over time, the daily grind began to wear me down. I didn’t know how to slow down, set boundaries, or prioritize my well-being.
I was addicted to the rush, the recognition, the belief that I was indispensable.
Deep down, I knew this wasn’t sustainable.
But I had no idea how to break the cycle of overwork and burnout.
Eventually, it caught up with me and I found myself in an extreme state of burnout. I was exhausted from countless sleepless nights, my mind constantly racing with everything I had to do.
I started disconnecting from the people and things I used to enjoy the most. Sometimes, I secretly wished a bus would hit me, just so I could disappear from it all for a little bit. I was starting to see how much I had sacrificed in the name of “success.”
My health, my relationships . . . even my soul.
I didn’t recognize myself and wasn’t sure I’d ever feel like me again.
The Wakeup Call I Never Saw Coming
I ultimately made the difficult decision to take a break from my career to reconnect with family and friends, and focus on healing from my burnout so I could return to my incredible career stronger and happier.
But fate dealt a cruel blow. Just as I made that decision, the unthinkable happened — my father unexpectedly passed away.
It was a wake-up call I didn’t see coming. An existential crisis that forced me to pause and ask questions we usually avoid or are too afraid to face.
- Am I living as my authentic self or someone else's version of success?
- Who am I without the titles, promotions, and accolades?
- If I’m not constantly hustling and producing… Am I still worthy?
Rebuilding from the inside out
What started out as burnout recovery became a full-blown life transformation. A journey through grief, reflection, healing, and ultimately, growth.
This wasn’t about quick fixes or just managing the symptoms. It took a holistic approach. It was about rewriting everything I had believed about self-worth, sacrifice, and success.
I stopped chasing external validation and started tuning into my inner voice, learning to live from the inside out.
I dismantled the hustle mentality I’d spent decades perfecting. I faced my fears, self-doubt, and relentless inner critic. I started questioning the limiting beliefs I’d carried for years and stopped letting them run the show. I broke free from patterns of self-neglect and finally gave myself permission to rest, recharge, and feel human again.
Do these old habits still try to sneak back in? Sometimes. But now, I know how to face them and keep going anyway.
Most of all, I began to shed the identity I thought I had to maintain, and finally reconnected with the woman underneath it all.
In her place came clarity, confidence, and compassion, along with a new way of living and leading both personally and professionally. A way that’s powerful, rooted in authenticity, alignment, and connection.
A way that’s sustainable.
My True Calling Revealed
Life Coaching found me the way all callings do – quietly, then all at once.
Through my journey and healing, I discovered the life-changing power of life and leadership coaching. That gnawing feeling I’d had for years (that I was meant for more) finally had a name.
I became a certified life coach for women leaders, driven by a desire to help other women avoid the same burnout spiral and reclaim their lives.
There are things I still do miss about my 30-year corporate career in HR and Compensation. I loved analyzing data, spotting patterns, and solving challenges that had no obvious answers. And most of all, I valued the relationships I built and the collaboration.
Turns out, the parts of that career I loved didn’t disappear, they just show up now in new ways. They fuel my work as a coach: helping women sort through what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to shift so they can move forward with clarity, purpose, and joy.
This is the mission I’m truly passionate about: helping high-achieving women design careers and lives that feel fulfilling, successful, and deeply aligned with who they are.
My Certifications
We Are The Women
Certified Feminine Facilitator and Coach
Martha Beck
Certified Wayfinder Life Coach
International Coaching Federation
Associate Certified Coach
Certified Psychosynthesis
Life Coach
My Values
Meaningful Connection
Our coaching work is founded on connecting you to your deeper sense of purpose. This means we will explore questions and concepts meant to reignite your deep inner passions and closely held personal values.
This work is not easy, nor should it be. But this profound exploration will serve as the foundation for guiding you toward the balanced, joyful career and life you truly deserve.
Empathy & Compassion
As your life coach, I will provide kindness and understanding as we work together. My empathetic approach ensures you always feel heard, supported, and comfortable in our work together.
I have been where you are now. I understand deeply the struggles, fears, worries, and demands of the corporate world. And I was able to overcome these obstacles to achieve a healthy work life balance grounded in purpose.
Honesty & Authenticity
Our coaching relationship is a safe space for you to be honest and real, both with yourself and me. You should never hold back your true feelings, experiences, or struggles due to worry or fear of judgement.
Only by showing up as your authentic self will the value of our work together be realized. So cast your fears aside and let your true self shine!
Joyful Curiosity
Growth doesn’t have to be heavy. In fact, it should make you feel lighter and freer than ever before!
As we work together, I will help you approach each coaching session with curiosity and wonder at what we discover together. A sense of ease and flow will guide your coaching journey, giving your mind the energetic space it needs to do this important work.
“She helped me unravel old patterns that no longer serve me.”
Working with Dana has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. She has created such a safe space, completely free of judgment or shame, that’s allowed me to truly explore what’s been holding me back. With so much care and presence, she’s been both a guide and a mirror as I’ve navigated perfectionism, constant self-doubt, and a loud inner critic. Session by session, she’s helped me unravel the old patterns that no longer serve me.
Thanks to her support, I’m starting to trust myself more deeply and show up with more self-compassion than I ever thought possible.
- Shannon B.
Let’s create a better way to live and work so you can be unapologetically you.
Together, we’ll take that first step toward the life and career you truly deserve.