When I set out to create my coaching model, I began thinking about my own process in creating a coaching practice. I pondered the struggles, challenges, and frustrations I encountered (and still encounter) and put it all together into a 4-phase model. This doesn’t mean everyone fits perfectly into one phase or another or even moves through them linearly, but I have found that many people deal with these phases at some point as they move toward their dreams.
Phase 1: Dream Discovery- I have found there are people who either know what their dream is or they don’t and usually the ones that don’t know simply haven’t labeled a specific hobby, thought, or want as a dream. There are however, people who have forgotten how to dream. These are the people who have been taught to move through life based on their core survival needs. They may go to school and study a subject they are good at or follow in the footsteps of a family member because they were expected to. They may be in a career that pays the bills, but doesn’t necessarily bring them joy. They may even be people who don’t know it’s possible to do what you love and get paid for it and are strictly living in a “survival of the fittest” mentality. 
These are people who need help dreaming again. They are people that I work with to broaden their horizon about life and open their eyes and minds to having the wonder of a child again. I help them use their imaginations and allow the restrictions of logical thinking to go out the window and tap into the child that always wanted to ________(fill in the blank). Too often, we feel we need to grow up and let go of that pipe dream that still lies within us. The truth is if we tapped into that place more, we would not only be happier, but we would find that life is limitless and there is a power within us that allows us to do ultimately anything!
Phase 2: Feel The Magic- Phase 2 is really about keeping the magical feeling of wonder alive. It’s about allowing our dreams to take our thoughts where they may and to get into the knowing that anything is possible. There are some people who know what they want to do, but have difficulty figuring out how to do it because they only see one or two ways. (I was one of these people.) Clients in this phase typically have a vision of how they will achieve a specific dream, yet for some reason it hasn’t worked out. They may be frustrated and stagnant in their dream and need a bit of assistance bringing the magic back to fuel their vision. I help clients do just that. I help them tap into the feeling place of the dream and help them to imagine the thousands of ways it could happen. Once they let go of the notion that it can only be achieved in one specific way, they find a multitude of possibilities that ignite their passion again.
I have found this phase to be one that clients come back to again and again as a means to refuel their vision. Sometimes everyday life can cause us to forget the amazing possibilities that exist in the world as we focus on the “real world” that comes in the form of bills, responsibilities, family, work, etc. Sometimes we just need to sit back and remember the magic that is all around us and when we do that, we realize anything is possible, even our dream life.
Phase 3: Protect Your Dream– Protecting your dream is probably one of the most important pieces of the process. Once we are able to identify our dream, feel the possibility and magic in it, it is important to ensure we don’t allow Dream Crushers to cause us to doubt ourselves. We need to also ensure that even during times when we lose some confidence or aren’t sure where to go that we remember what inspired us in the first place and get back to the magical feeling of our vision. It is there we find additional inspirational nuggets that will lead us to the next step. 
Phase 3 is really about building self-confidence, dealing with fear, possible failure, and any other nuance that can cause us to doubt the possibility of making dreams a reality. During this phase I work with clients to get to the core of the doubt and other self-limiting beliefs that are holding them back and can even provide exercises to use between sessions to keep the Dream Crusher thoughts at bay.
Another important note is that as your vision grows and evolves you may revisit this phase more than once on different subjects/issues, but know that each time you move through it with more courage, confidence, and belief in yourself than you had before.
Phase 4: Live The Dream: At first glance this phase may seem easy. Sure you go through each of the other phases doing the “work” and then this is where you finally see the benefit of your work. That is only partially true. Yes, this phase is about allowing your dream to transition into reality, but it is an ongoing process. This is where clients implement their ideas and take inspired action to the next step. Ideally they have created their vision, aligned with the magical essence of it, dealt with any limiting beliefs, and are now confidently flowing toward a new reality, but that isn’t always how it works.
I am seeing many people moving through this phase as they transition through some of the other phases as well. For instance, someone who knows what they want may begin taking inspired action and come up against struggles and frustrations that cause them to want to give up or they have allowed the beliefs of others to dictate what they can and can’t achieve.
When I created this loose model, I knew instantly it was not going to be a simple linear equation because life isn’t like that. Life is a journey of discovery and while it would be nice (sometimes) to simply follow a set map from point A to point B, it wouldn’t be nearly as fun and this process is much the same. A fun, free-flowing process of discovery and evolution that will ultimately lead to a you living a life you once dreamt.
Do you find yourself falling into one or many of the phases above and want to test the life coaching waters? If so, I am still offering FREE introductory calls to anyone interested in working with me. Please feel free to send me an email at lamisha@lifeoncedreamt.com to get set up. I look forward to working with you!