America's Dream Coach

I have always been an amazing dreamer; my life has consisted of dreams coming to pass in spite of amazing odds.
I married my junior high sweet heart (dream #1), we are going strong after 24 years(dream #2)! My dream was always to be a great mom and be available to my kids for whatever they needed. During their growing up years, through much sacrafice, I was able to be at home (dream #3) Even though I was home, I volunteered relentlessly becuase I had to contribute(dream #4)! Through the process of being a stay at home mom, along with a strong desire to contribute, I founded an international educational project in Haiti (dream #5) and a national non profit social company (dream #6). Three of my four children are now adults (#7)and I just completed my first level of certification with the ICF as a coach (dream #8). I am not stopping here, I have just established my own coaching practice called Purpose Filled Coaching (dream #9) and plan to keep going until i reach the MCC status (dream #10). That is a very brief snapshop of some of the dreams I have been priveleged to see happen in my life in the last couple of years.

By: Kathleen Loughrige

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I dream of empowering others to become better problem solvers for themselves.

By: LaRon Carter

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A friend, a stay-at-home mom, who has spent all of her energies for 20 years caring for her 4 children and a hard-working husband, has always thought that she loved the medical field, but never really thought of it as a dream.

She had an epiphany when her second child, a son, started getting unacceptable grades in his junior year of high school, and a counselor told her that, although her first child loved acemdemia and was book-smart, she had to let go and let each child find their passion and feel the consequences of their choices. When she stepped back and began encouraging her son to find his passion but beware of the grades, as they help you have choices in colleges, that child quickly blossomed in the drama and choir groups, grades went up, and ended up with a scholarship to a great college, getting accepted into the Drama school there.

My friend then realized that, even though she was 43, had expenses with two kids in college and 2 more coming along, a husband who was rarely home due to work pressures, and would have an up-hill battle going back to get more college accreditation in pre-medical classes, it is never too late to find and follow your dreams.
She is now in medical school, commuting from an apartment back home on the weekends to connect with her family. She is tired and stressed out right now with the transition, but happy she is chasing her dream. This has actually had a very beneficial impact on her husband's relationship with the children, he is now much more involved, and he is now starting to think about his dreams. She is a true inspiration!

By: Kitty Stevens

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My dreamer is Martha Clark. I work for her cleaning her beautiful home. She was inspired to start an Impact 100 group in Owensboro, KY. A small town that was told they couldn't find 100 women that would contribute $1000 each to Impact 100 to go to non profit organizations. Well she raised $150,000......150 women contributed $1000 the first year. There are only 7 such groups in the USA and in this small of a town she accomplished this goal and then exceeded it also.
There have been numerous newspaper and magazine layouts of the Owensboro Impact 100 group. She has numerous other organizations she is involved in since she has retired as an invester/CPA. She is also a cancer survivor and raised a beatiful daughter by herself after her divorce early in her marriage. She is a Vandebilt University graduate. If you need more information, then email me back. Here is the website they have created. impact100Owensboro.org

By: Cindy Fulkerson

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My best friend, Helen, has to be one of the biggest dreamers I know. She does exquisite, black and white modelling work and despite work opportunities being few and far between (and the necessity of being selective to preserve the integrity of her work) and not living in the right market (to help and care for her grandma) she has still managed to make some unbelievable assignments happen.

She doesn't believe in pursuing an opportunity, path or course of action unless it feels right. She further learned to trust her intuition after suffering with some pretty serious health consequences while on a path that she knew previously wasn't very fulfilling. As a result of taking a risk and pulling herself off this wrong path, she discovered at least one of her many callings and she also learned how to take care of her body and mind the right way.

While mostly happy on her path it hasn't been easy. I say 'mostly' because she has other ambitions that either require other people to meet her halfway on (she has done her half) or that require greater financial resources - and her low salary currently does not afford her many luxuries (such as another of her big dreams: a life-changing trek through the regions of Tibet, Myanmar, India, Shri Lanka and Nepal which she finds herself drawn to..After that, it's the rest of the world!

But these 'setbacks' haven't stopped her from continuing with her planning and striving. After many years of struggling both creatively and financially, instead of giving up, her path has been reinforced. She just recently told me she decided to continue to trust her angels because she knows she's doing the right thing. She sticks around for those 1 or 2 amazing assignments that present themselves and that she knows she is alive for to fulfill and that will hopefully make a difference to others.

Many of her dreams center around helping others, working hard and creating meaningful and fulfilling art that will inspire others into action. One of her dreams is to model for Oprah magazine (or have her work appear in its pages). [One of her dreams in particular is to participate in a photoshoot that will go alongside an article or editorial that delivers an important or timely message. The idea is for people to be drawn in by the photographs to see this message]. She has written to Oprah on several occasions and is planning to mail a professional package.

She is one of the most persistent people I knew and she just will not give up. She knows what her goals are while still leaving room for the possibilities, the miraculous and the unexpected.

And another thing is Helen wants to share her good fortune with other people. She has been willing to carry the financial burden of her decisions and pay for travel out of her own pocket to assignments. She has accepted many (if not most) assignments without pay because she believes in her abilities and the work she is doing.

She is the only person I know who, at 26, will still chase after some seemingly impossible dreams. Who doesn't believe they are so impossible. Who still believes she could pursue a medical degree (if that felt like the right course of action to take), work with her favorite designer Alexander McQueen or one of her favorite photographers Joyce Tenneson or join a band and be a recording artist. She hasn't closed the door on anything and that's what makes her so special. And she is taking realistic steps to make everything happen.

She has another big dream too - she wants to be truly financially independent so she can use her wealth to not only to fulfill some of her personal dreams but to support other people, good causes and the environment. She has often told me if she had alot of money, she would love to give it away and lavish other people with good things. Because that's what she feels life is all about - to inspire each other - to learn from each other what we do and don't want to do in life and to make the effort to find and use our callings and passions to help and uplift others.

She inspires me everyday and has helped me tremendously. I feel she deserves this chance. Thank you.

By: Sam Gillis

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My amazing dreamer is my husband, Terry Watson. This man is a true visionary and artist. He can see things so clearly in his head that they are real to him. They already exist. He has always dreamt of building a city. He has talked about it and gathered his ideas,and finally I do believe he is ready.
The universe is sending people his way who can assist him in making this happen. I am in awe of him. He has gone through some really tough times and yet his unquenchable spirit to create assists him everytime to stand up , brush himself off and go after his dreams time and time again. Nobody dreams like Terry, and makes his dreams come true, even when no one believes it can be done.

By: Carol Watson

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At one time in my life I wanted to be a film actor. I had been a stage actor and was just getting into improv in Chicago, but film work fascinated me. My then mother-in-law asked one day, 'If you won the lottery and didn't have to work, what would you do?' I replied that I would probably get headshots done and start auditioning for film roles and commercials. She said, 'Why aren't you doing that now?' I had no good answer.
I began with a crazy headshot my husband took of me (with my cat!) and submitted it to an agency that specialized in casting background extras on movies and television. I got a call and did my first job on a television program that was being filmed on location in Chicago. I watched the crew intently during my 12-hour stint and saw what each person did on the set.
A week or so later I got another call from the agency asking me if I'd like to work as a stand-in on a film. I told the woman yes, and I knew what to do because I'd seen the stand-in on my first job. She was so professional--right there next to the camera all the time, ready to step in to be the point of focus and lighting for the crew on each new shot. The woman on the phone especially appreciated my praise--she had been that stand-in! I began getting more extra work and stand-in work.
One day on a movie set, I saw two unfamiliar guys overseeing a school fight scene. They were stuntmen. I'd always been physically active, and asked the coordinator if a person like me could be considered for this type of work. (I am just under 5 feet tall.) He said I might be able to double for kids (I was, after all, a stand-in for a kid actor) and asked if I was flexible. I figured I'd impress him with my unusual limberness and dropped into the splits right in front of him. He smiled slightly and said, 'I meant...do you work during the day?'
After my face turned back to its normal color, I learned stunt people are SAG actors, too. I figured if I got in the union I'd have a better chance at getting other on-camera jobs, and even if I didn't, stunt work looked like more fun! These guys were great! They earned good money, but were humble and didn't have the crush of celebrity. I went home and excitedly told my husband, 'I want to be a stunt person!'
Here was this tiny woman (no spring chicken for this profession at nearly 30 years old) living not in Hollywood or New York, but in the suburbs of Chicago, saying she was going to be a movie stunt person. To say he was not encouraging is an understatement; he thought I was nuts. But from then on, every time I got work on a set and saw that stunt coordinator, I'd go up and greet him. (Of course he'd remembered me after that uncommon introduction!) Eventually, he called me to do stunt work, and for ten years I was part of a somewhat elite corps of stunt people in the midwest working on television shows, movies, and commercials shot in Chicago. I worked on location in upper New York, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina. I also got on-camera acting parts in Illinois and Wisconsin, too.
I have been out of the film business for six years now, but am now turning back to a pursuit I had as a child--writing. I need a new Dream Infusion to help conquer the roadblocks I have throwin in my way during my years of stagnation in regular 9-5 day jobs that paid the rent, but not the spirit. (Writing is a lot scarier than stunt work, let me tell you!) Now that I've reidentified my new dream, I'm ready to face the new challenges that come with it.

By: Nina Leone

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Susan is the one of the bravest women I know. About six years ago she left a successful, full-time career in Journalism to follow her heart and pursue creative endeavors. She has a dream for herself to make a difference to other's through her Art. As an Artist she writes fiction novels and plays, acts and dances. Many people do not understand the appeal of living the artists life. Many people who try find it hard to be true to themselves and their dream because of the struggles involved. However, Art is just as much about the process as it is about the result, and she values what she learns every step of the way to become a better human being.

It is her persistence during the process that inspires me and the validation she receives from others, that her work really means something to them, that makes me proud.

By: Jennifer Yellin

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