Meet Crystal
Life Coach
Personal Development Consultant
Motivational Speaker
Hey there, I’m Crystal McAllister, founder of CMcAllister & Co., LLC and a personal development coach with over 25 years of experience in coaching, mentoring, training, project management, and business development. I specialize in helping individuals and professional groups navigate career shifts, discover their passions, and align their personal and professional lives.
I created The Passion Project, a transformative framework that bridges personal clarity and professional growth while shifting mindsets from being stuck to becoming unstoppable by connecting passion with purpose. Whether it’s a one-on-one breakthrough session, a team-building retreat, or inspiring speaking engagements, I create spaces where people can reconnect with what drives them, show up fully, and lead themselves with confidence. My mission is to guide you toward clarity, actionable planning, and a life that reflects who you truly are.
With a smile and a sprinkle of humor, I create a safe space for exploration and transformation that helps embrace authenticity, take bold action, and step confidently into the life you've always envisioned. Let’s make it happen together!
What I Do
I’m a personal development coach, workplace facilitator, and motivational speaker dedicated to helping individuals and teams take bold, aligned action. I created The Passion Project™, a signature framework that supports people in reconnecting with their purpose, moving beyond limitations, and creating success on their terms.
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I work with individuals navigating personal or professional transitions, and with organizations looking to strengthen communication, collaboration, and team culture. My coaching and facilitation blend mindset, strategy, and practical tools to spark clarity, confidence, and growth. Whether I’m working one-on-one, leading a team session, or speaking from the stage, I help people show up as their best selves, whether individually or within the workplace.
What I Believe
At the heart of my mission are core values that guide everything I do:
I believe in knowing your why - it drives passion and provides clarity in every endeavor. Authenticity is key; being genuine fosters trust and integrity. Living in your power means recognizing and embracing your strengths to make bold moves and achieve dreams. Sharing my gifts and serving others is essential; by using my talents, I help people find success, joy, and happiness. I embrace an abundance mindset, understanding that struggle builds character.
Inspiring others to use their gifts as their power is central to my approach. My journey has been about shifting mindsets, becoming more savvy, making bold moves, and emerging as a self-sustaining woman. As your inspirational girlfriend, I am here to inspire, uplift, and support you on your path to personal growth, professional development, and fulfillment.
My Story
I was born in 1968, part of Generation X—a generation known for being self-reliant, driven, and unapologetically independent. I grew up in the heart of St. Louis, Missouri, as a proud latchkey kid raised by a single mother alongside my older brother. We didn’t have much, but my neighborhood was my village, and the sense of community shaped everything I believed in.
Despite limited resources, we never felt poor. My mother had a fierce determination and a knack for making something out of nothing. Birthdays were always celebrated, Christmas never skipped our house, and we were constantly engaged in free community programs—track and field, dance, swimming, and tennis. Music filled our home with life. Her resilience, resourcefulness, and belief in better inspired my own.
From a young age, I dreamed big. I even launched my first “business” as a child—though it didn’t make any money, it was the beginning of a blueprint that would shape my future. Thanks to my mother’s belief in me and my drive to succeed, I earned a scholarship to Purdue University, where I gained not just an education but a new mindset, new relationships, and the belief that anything was possible.
My career path has been anything but linear—spanning retail, administrative roles, training, project management, and even a dream job in real estate. Along the way, I built strong interpersonal skills, developed a tireless work ethic, and realized my gift for helping people discover their own strengths. Still, I often felt a quiet tug toward something more. I wasn’t just meant to do work—I was meant to make an impact.
Life tested me early. I lost my brother before I turned 30—a heartbreak that deepened my resilience. At 32, I became a single mom to my first daughter, and at 40, I welcomed my second. For years, parenting became my everything. Though finances were tight and depression crept in, I stayed committed to showing my daughters what it looked like to rise, rebuild, and stay rooted in purpose.
Despite working a 9–5, I stepped into the role of “momager”—managing their budding careers, finding resources we didn’t have, and opening doors others said were closed. My oldest, now 25, is a professional dancer. My youngest? A published model before middle school. I taught them to be fearless, because I had to become fearless myself.
Eventually, I knew I needed to reclaim my life on my terms. I stopped letting fear and struggle dictate my path. That’s when coaching found me. It wasn’t just a new chapter...it was a calling. Through healing, growth, and reinvention, I realized that my deepest purpose is helping others do the same.
In 2021, after the devastating loss of my mother, I left my corporate job and launched CMcAllister & Co., LLC, a coaching and consulting firm rooted in helping individuals and workgroups take bold, aligned action towards the life they desire. Today, I empower others to turn their setbacks into strategies, their passion into power, and their story into something unstoppable.
