We were lucky to catch up with D.Lisa West recently and have shared our conversation below.
D.Lisa, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I have noticed with each new role I take on in life, imposter syndrome comes up again. Up until now, I have felt like an imposter with each big role; being a skipper on boats; being a mother and wife; being a realtor, being an artist, and now…being me.
Each of us has a part of us that wants to grow, change, expand. We also have a part of us that wants to stay the same; rest in the familiar; do the same things we are comfortable doing. LIFE is calling us to expand, grow and evolve. With this expansion comes some discomfort.
When I help people with their goals and dreams, and I help them see something, that, up until now, they could not see. There’s a part of us who thinks, “Who am I to be doing this deep, meaningful work?” and another that says, “I don’t have a degree in this”, and another part that says, “yes, and you’ve been doing this for a really really really long time”.
It’s sometimes easier to see the divine in others than in ourselves. So, if YOU are dealing with imposter syndrome, keep doing what your heart is calling you to do. Find a therapist or a coach, join a mastermind group. In other words, find partners in believing who will lift you up. Eventually, you will be in sync, or at least more comfortable in the new role.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I was living the fast paced life of a Realtor in Seattle when on a Friday afternoon, I was fired as a manager of a real estate office. At the time I was a single mom of two kids, with a mortgage and credit card bills. My heart called me to go to art school, and I am so happy and grateful that I found a patron who paid for my living expenses and school. After 4 years of art school I went back to selling real estate but my heart was tangled up in art. As I continued my studies of art, and of the spiritual laws of the universe, I honored my deepest desires, left Seattle for SoCal, started my Dream DOula work, and haven’t looked back.
I help people manifest their heart’s desires through dreamwork, mindfulness and creativity, My art studio is in Ventura, my home is in Ojai, and I teach up and down the West Coast in person. Creativity as Spiritual Practice (Saturdays in Ventura) and one on one Dream sessions ( online or in person in Ojai) are the latest passion projects of mine. I am also creating a deck of angel divination cards from art I created, with writing by a dear friend, August Evans. My Spirituality 101 class called dreambuilder begins a journey that can last for as little as 12 weeks and as long as a year, depending on your goals and dreams. The next group sessions start in September.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. My father was an immigrant from Finland, where “SISU” deep in the culture. Finns are proud of determination, will and personal power. I keep on going forward, even though I don’t always see what’s ahead, with fortitude, with courage, and sometimes through fear.
2. Intuition is helpful for me to notice if I am on track. Does it feel expansive, or constrictive? Am I having dreams about it? Are things falling easily into place, or is it a struggle with every step? There’s a way to be “in the flow” of life. I try to be there.
3. Masterminds, network groups, continuing education, and connecting mentors who are doing what I’d love to do all have been instrumental in my success.
My advice to folks: Have a clear idea of where you would love to be in the future (say, 3 years out) and let that idea pull you towards your future self. Get help from people who are where you want to be. Be truly grateful for each tiny step in the right direction. Gratitude is the same vibration as abundance.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I’d love to collaborate with some GEEKS and bring my dreamwork/creativity courses to their businesses for a virtual or in person lunch and learn or half day class. Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Barbara, or surrounding areas are a fit. This will be a fun and easy way to relax into the creative zone and get techniques to find inspiration. People who work on computers all day have so much fun when we work on actual paper with pens and pencils. This class will help workers with mental health, creativity, and inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://coachingwithD.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachingwithd/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dlisawest/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb4-WGRjqVEk2V9Mc3r7-bg
- Other: https://linktr.ee/Dlisa206
