Dec 22, 2020
Anna Cley was an outstanding student. And then she was a rocket scientist... and then she became an opera singer...
Her stepfather gave her the nudge she needed when she was
miserable in her
job as a scientist with the French Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales
(CNES), France's equivalent to the USA's NASA. He
told her that she could do anything she really wanted to do, he
gave her the permission she needed to completely switch gears and
follow her heart.
The idea of being a rocket scientist interested her because of her childhood infatuation with all things space, the endless nature and mystery of the cosmos. Going to work in the industry nearly ruined that infatuation, removing so much of the beauty of exploration and putting it into numbers and measurements, in small compartments in a tiny office with a desk and computer.
At 23, she was "old" to begin a career in opera, but she has an unusual range and an extraordinary presence.
I love the image she created for me with her story of pulling the box of her scores (sheet music) out of the closet after leaving her job. I could just imagine her pulling out the first piece she would sing to warm up her voice after more than four years, like a long-awaited reunion with a dear friend.
Anna's adventurous spirit has taken her all over the world, and her compassion inspired her to create a non-profit called Vocalise, guiding victims of abuse to use their voices to release the trauma stored in their hearts and bodies.
Our conversation was enlightening, fascinating, and full of "ah ha" moments. Enjoy!
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Anna Cley
Her album "opera en code"was released in July, 2020 on all digital platforms. Here's a place to start to listen to this musical creation.
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About Sarah:
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve
their 
communication using storytelling as
the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years
of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t
realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal
messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.