Meet Dodi

I can’t remember a time in my life, prior to the age of 30, that I was completely happy with myself. By the time I was 13, I’d constantly been teased and made to feel so badly, that I stopped taking care of myself. I’d just show up! I wouldn’t comb my hair, wear baggy clothes and had given up any hope of ever being referred to as beautiful. I grew up in the 80's when being a dark brown girl wasn’t considered beautiful, not to mention I was plus size. My ego was so bruised and I never wanted to shine too bright. I yearned to just be a part of the crowd. As my confidence shrunk, I began to accept things that my inner self didn’t feel comfortable with because I didn’t know how to use my personal power.

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Not understanding the importance of my personal power put me in a space where depression and anxiety started to set in. I didn’t know what was happening at the time, but I kept finding myself making bad decisions and getting into "sticky" situations. My insecurities, based on my childhood, really did a number on me and I could not get out of my own way. When my brother was murdered, in 2010, the tragedy woke me up and snapped me out of my “trance”. It was then that I realized life is short and I wasn't truly living!  I needed to get myself together.

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I sought out therapy, which is a huge stigma where I grew up, but it changed my life! I learned a lot about my identity issues, PTSD and triggers, but after a while therapy became too routine. It helped to  provide a diagnosis, but it didn't help me work towards my goals. When I started working with a coach, I saw my life start to come together by creating goals and learning about accountability. I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but my corporate job consumed all of my time. This made me feel terrible and trapped because, I wasn't living my full life and I knew that I was called to do much more than my corporate role would allow. My coach helped me define my personal and professional goals and I immediately saw my life and purpose start to align. 

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I founded my first business, Body By Dodi Products in 2017 and I was sure that it would just take off. I was so wrong! The products weren’t enough, people wanted to know about me! That meant that girl that wanted to hide in the shadows, had to come out and eventually she did, but it was a process. My entrepreneurship journey helped me realize that there was no hiding and self-acceptance had to happen. Using the tools that I learned from my coach and therapy were crucial because I had to reveal the true me! This was tough, but as I started to show myself more compassion and grace, I truly started to blossom. Shortly after, I realized that I wanted to do more to help people like the "old me" and became a coach.

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                                                                       - Dodi