SAN DIEGO - People are always the main characters of their own movie, but not always the directors. In other words, people can't tell others how to live their lives. Finding Woo co-founders and life coaches Beth Brennan and Geri Suster teach about how people come in and out of lives, playing various roles. Some are there for the whole movie; others leave to follow their own story. The important thing is what can be learned from them while they are here.

When one is casting his or her life movie, they tend to surround themselves with a vibrant cast of characters. People who they love and who they want to be part of the story. While everyone is always the central character in their own story, these other main characters often play major roles at different times of one's life.

Sometimes, there can be big shake-ups in the cast. Think of the impact to your favorite TV show when a major cast member leaves; the same thing can happen in real life. Only, in real life, this takes the form of a person with whom you had a personal relationship who suddenly leaves. To illustrate this, Suster used the example of one of her own "cast shake-ups" when someone she had thought was going to be an important person in her life decided instead to be more of a supporting character.

"At the time, I remember feeling like 'Whoa, what's happening?' because I had expectations that he was going to be a main character," Suster said. "The important thing to remember is that everyone is the main character of their own movie," Suster continued. "It's important to respect that and let them be their own main character instead of forcing them to play a role in your story."

"Long-term relationships are very rich because there is a shared history there," Brennan added. Like fans of a long-running TV show, viewers can fill in the blanks without needing everything explained because of how they were there for the whole backstory. However, some characters only last a single episode. Brennan stresses the importance of not minimizing the impact that someone has on a life by reminding us that some of the most memorable characters made a profound impact despite only a few minutes of screen time.

"The amount of time someone is in your life is not really relative to the influence and the gifts that you receive from them," Brennan said. "Some characters are going to come onstage, and some are going to exit stage left, and people just have to accept that."

"When you think about your journey, what you truly have is you. And then there are all these other people you get to interact with for varying lengths of time, and they shape us, and what a gift that is," Suster said.

About Finding Woo: Everyone is a pathfinder, but sometimes they need a guide to help them down the path. Beth Brennan and Geri Suster are longtime friends who serve as guides for each other, and hope to help others as well. They created Finding Woo to showcase tools and outlooks that can be used to get through the day to day and really appreciate the positive things in life. They encourage people to join the journey at http://www.findingwoo.com.