Life Coach Sabine Brandt: Get Moving
Life Coach:
Sabine Brandt has served as president of Nobility Coaching & Consulting, Inc. since 2000. Consulting clients include Express Scripts, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, RBC Wealth Management, 3M, Target, Prudential and more.
Sam’s Dream Blog: What’s your dream? How did you get to this point?
Sabine Brandt: My dream was to build a successful, faith-based life coaching practice that would help professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs re-position their careers to align with their life purpose and values while supporting their desired lifestyle. When someone is unhappy in their current career and confused about whether they should stay, leave or start their own business, we coach them in finding their next ideal career step and achieve results.
I reached the finish line by having a clear vision and goals as well as taking consistent action. In addition I made sure to surround myself with others who wanted to see me succeed.
SDB: How does someone find his or her unique calling?
Sabine Brandt: Finding your calling is primarily a process of introspection that requires absolute honesty with yourself and a willingness to look beyond your current circumstances. You will find your true calling in the nexus of your passions, values, skills, gifts, talents and experiences. Once you discover this unique blend that makes up who you are as a person and decide to authentically own it, the door to career transformation opens and you can explore how to turn your calling into a vocation.
SDB: What do you suggest if a person has external limitations? How does someone free himself from internal limitations?
Sabine Brandt: There will always be obstacles, whether external or internal, and unfortunately too many people give up way too easily. Obstacles may show up as people, a lack of resources or self-limiting thoughts and behavior. When you dream big, you will naturally encounter opposition ? some people will not want your light to shine any brighter than their own. The key to successfully overcoming obstacles of any kind is to keep pressing forward, no matter what. If your path hits a wall, climb over it. If you find barbed wire on top, dig a tunnel. There is always a solution as long as there is a willingness to overcome. Of course as a Christian coach, my primary source of encouragement is God’s word. I firmly believe that God has a plan for all of us and that His power is bigger than any limitation (Jeremiah 29:11). In my experience the number one obstacle that keeps people from moving forward with their dreams is fear. Fear can show up in many forms such as fearing a lack of provision, fearing the opinions of others, fearing rejection, and fearing failure, but it will stop us dead in our tracks every single time. That said, it is vitally important to find the root cause of our fears and develop successful strategies to overcome them.
SDB: How do you find a starting point?
Sabine Brandt: Since your dream most likely revolves around your calling (whether you consciously realize it or not), I believe the starting point should always be a clear vision. Ask yourself ?why? your dream is important to you and make sure the answer is not driven by false motives. Once you have a clear vision, make it tangible ? create a roadmap with milestones and an action plan with specific tasks to reach each milestone. If you are not even sure what your first goal should be, brainstorm, make a random list and then prioritize again and again until you have at least the top 3 action items identified. The important thing is to just get moving and not let yourself feel intimidated by the size of your dream.
Ask yourself, ?What is one single action I can take today that will take me a step closer to realizing my dream?? Then do it and watch the momentum carry you forward.
SDB: How important is clarity in vision to pursuing dreams?
Sabine Brandt: I believe vision is absolutely vital to achieving your dreams. Without this big picture view of your dreams, your actions will lack direction. People who don’t understand the importance or who are unwilling to commit to a vision usually end up spending much of their time re-assessing their goals over and over again. Although they may still realize their dreams in the end, they usually take much longer to do so.
SDB: What’s a big lesson you have learned in terms of pursuing dreams and goals?
Sabine Brandt: There have been many lessons I have learned on my journey, but one of the biggest lessons I have learned is to be patient with myself. Goals almost always take longer than we plan and, even when we think we have everything perfectly planned out, life can throw us a curve ball. We need to remain flexible and adaptable as we pursue our dreams, adjusting our course as needed and discarding what doesn’t serve our cause.