Lamisha Serf-Walls

Your Feedback

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imageAs we wind down the week and move into the weekend I wanted to take some time to get your feedback.  I want to create content, resources, and services that will best serve my clients and would love you to share your thoughts.

Below I have put together a brief survey that will take you less than 5 minutes to complete.  I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me.  If you have other comments or suggestions to share that do not fit the questions in the survey, feel free to send me an email at lamisha@lifeoncedreamt.com.

Click here to take survey

Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Have a wonderful weekend!

The Real Deal…

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When I first set out to create my blog, I had this idea to keep most posts upbeat and positive.  I wanted this to be a place of inspiration, motivation, and information to help people move confidently in the direction of their dreams.  I wanted it to be a space of uplifting posts, quotes, and tips to help readers focus on the positive.  As a life coach, I thought it was my duty to keep things light, bright, and positive all the time.

I was wrong.

What I think makes me good at what I do is the fact that I am human and I struggle with many of the same issues my clients do.  I have bad days full of frustration, doubt, and sometimes fear.  I have had my experience with the Dream Crusher on more than one occasion, and there are days when I need to be reminded that I have the power and ability to live the life of my dreams.

I am not perfect.  Authenticity

I don’t always pounce out of bed with a beaming smile and positive attitude.  Sometimes I try too hard and more often than not, I need to take a step back from the immediate issue and look at the bigger picture.  My life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows.  I often struggle with disappointment and worry as I move through my journey and instead of sharing those moments with you, I have remained silent.

There have been many days when I wanted to share something uplifting, but I simply wasn’t in that state of mind and instead of sharing with you my perspective and how I am learning to deal with various situations, I write nothing at all.  I have allowed my idea of being a super-human up-lifter get in the way of sharing my authentic self with you.  For that I am sorry.

Does it make me any less of a coach to confess that I don’t always have it together?  I don’t think so.  In fact, I think it makes me a more effective coach because I know what it is like to have down moments in life.  We all do.  And while I admit to having my fair share of struggles, I also have a variety of tools that I use to help combat those not-so-positive moments and they are tools that I want to share with you.

The truth is I love what I do.  I love working with people and helping them follow their inspiration to live the life of their dreams, but I don’t want to misrepresent myself in the process.  I am an up-lifter that sometimes needs to be uplifted and I’m ok with that, because isn’t that what life is all about?  It’s not about being perfect, it’s about learning, sharing, and experiencing life as much as possible.  And I have to say, if it wasn’t for the struggles I have (and will) encounter in life, I wouldn’t be able to help my clients deal with their own, because sometimes you have to go through it to understand it.

 

Guidance, Info, and Resources Oh My!

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guidanceAs you continue (or begin as it may be) your path to living the life you once dreamt, you may find yourself in need of guidance, information, and resources to help you along the way.  You may need to know more about setting up a blog, html coding, the legalities of business, how to write a book proposal, or any number of things.  The amount of what you don’t know may feel overwhelming, but never fear because there are many people in the world who have been where you are, are willing to share what they know, and even provide it to you for FREE!!

Asking yourself how to get started or continue your path of things you don’t know?

Here are a few tips to get you started:

  • Reach out to your network. You never know how far your network can reach until you ask.  Tell your friends, family, and co-workers what you are working on.  Ask them if they know of anyone that does _______.  Chances are you will find someone who knows someone who knows about what you are working on.  You have the ability to get some wonderful information simply by reaching out to the people you interact with everyday.
  • Find people doing what you want to do and see if you can pick their brain for information.  When I began looking for information about life coaching, I realized my best friend knew not one, but two coaches that were willing to chat with me about what I wanted to do.  I also “cold-called” a coach in the area that I was moving to, to see if she was willing to give me some information about how she got started.  Turns out, there are more people out there willing to help you…all you have to do is ask!
  • Don’t just ask one person.  This has been paramount for me.  The first life coach I contacted for information actually put a little damper on my joy as she expressed her frustration with her work.  While I was glad she was sharing both the up and the down sides to life coaching, I felt she was more discouraging than anything, but I didn’t let that stop me.  I spoke to another coach (who later became a good friend and client), who has been so helpful through the process. If you find a person that you don’t jive with, no worries, find someone else and just ask!
  • The Internet is full of great info.  There is a ton of information available online and while sometimes it can be a little overwhelming, if you follow your gut you will find exactly what you are looking for. You would be surprised how many bloggers, entrepreneurs, coaches, etc. are willing to offer resources on their websites for free.  You can find a ton of great stuff out there including worksheets, meditations, workbooks, guides, and good ‘ole helpful advice without spending a dime!
  • Hire a coach. You knew I was going to add this one right?  While life coaches don’t know everything, I have found that my clients find the right information, people, and resources they need as we move along in our work together with ease.  It seems that the more we talk about their bigger vision, the easier it becomes to manifest the very next step to take and that is the magic of following your inspiration to create the life of your dreams.  (And I’m not just saying to hire a coach because I am a coach, I am saying to think about it because it really is an amazing and fun journey to go from not knowing to knowing exactly what you are meant to do.

I am currently working on my own resources and programming to better serve my clients and could use your help.  I have put together a short survey and would love it if you would take a few minutes to complete it (anonymously of course).  The information you share will help me create the best resources to you in the coming months.  Thank you in advance for your time!

Click here to take survey

Inspiration Round-up

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inspiredFor the past several weeks I have been doing Dreamer Highlights on people who I have found that are living the life of their dreams in some way.  These posts are meant to inspire you and prove that anything is possible, even that seemingly ginormous dream you want to accomplish.  In addition to finding people who are inspiring, I have found many articles, videos, and interviews that have a lot of good information that I would like to share with you.  So, once a week I will be posting either an Inspiration Round-up post or a Dreamer Highlight to help motivate and inspire you to do amazing things!!

With that said, here is the first installment of the newly created Inspiration Round-up.

  • This is the latest interview from Lilou Mace, a woman I have spoken about several times on my blog. In this interview she speaks with Jack Canfield (creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books) about dreaming, success, and how to figure out what your life purpose might be.  Great information and I promise it will leave you with your head in the clouds.
  • This video I stumbled upon today and is a Ted Talk by a woman/musician/actress named Amanda Palmer.  Her talk is titled “The Art of Asking” and she shares how she came to the realization that asking is an art, skill, and is a way for us to share our talents, resources etc. with each other.  I absolutely love this video.  Enjoy!
  • Another great interview from Lilou Mace with Joseph Clough who has been helping people realize their potential since he was 18.  Joseph is a hypnotist and life coach helping people find what they want to do, what they are meant to do, and helping them overcome any personal blocks that they may find along the way.
  • One of my favorite videos from none other than Kid President.  Do you need a pep-talk?  “You were made to be AWESOME!” Watch this, smile, remember you can do anything, and create something that will make the world awesome.

I hope you enjoyed this inspiration round-up and I look forward to sharing many more with you in the future.

Have you read something recently that you want to share? Please feel free to pass the info along in the comments section.  I would love to see where you find your inspiration.

Gratitude: Life Purpose and Inspirational Clients

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This week has been a bit hairy, but in between juggling many tasks, I felt something I have been longing to feel for years.

A feeling of “Yes, THIS is what I am meant to do!”

I have always known that I wanted to be a life coach at honestly thought I would be pretty good at it, but this week I received the ooey-gooey feeling of exhilaration mixed with joy mixed with inspiration that let me know, this is my purpose.

image from michelleparsons.com
image from michelleparsons.com

I wish I could tell you the exact moment it hit, but I can’t.  I honestly think it was a culmination of working with two incredible clients this week who both had some major breakthroughs.  I had a feeling of awe, wonder, and excitement for their growth and am honored to be able to work with such wonderful women.  I also realized that with each new session we complete, I am also learning and evolving into a better coach.  I constantly leave my sessions feeling inspired, amazed, and content with the work I am doing.

If you told me a year ago I would be a life coach, and I would be enjoying the work that I do so much that I have a hard time falling asleep, I wouldn’t have believed you.  At that time I didn’t know it was possible.  I didn’t know, what I didn’t know.

I had no idea it was possible to simply follow your heart and allow the pieces to fall into place.  I didn’t know there was another path to the most logical and sensible path I kept revisiting.  I didn’t know I had the power to create a life and career that I both loved and appreciated daily.

I just didn’t know…

My guess is that many of you feel the same way.  You may not see the way out of a particular job or know how to get things rolling with your dream life.  Maybe all the reasons you think you can’t do it right now seem logical, but I bet if you tapped into your heart and could hear what it had to say, you would realize there are a million ways your dream can come true.  The logical option is only one.

My life purpose is to help people follow their hearts to live the life of their dreams.  It is to facilitate and co-create an amazing journey where clients leave their sessions feeling refreshed, revitalized, and inspired to keep going.

If you are interested in what coaching can do for you, feel free to contact me at lamisha@lifeoncedreamt.com to set up a FREE 30-minute intro session.  I would love to chat with you!