Live Big. Be Happy. Change the World.

Ever been through a time in your life when EVERYTHING was upside down?

When you had NO idea what was next, and your future felt entirely uncertain?

When the life you’re in now does NOT feel like the life that you’re meant for?

If you’ve ever felt lost, confused, or alone…this message is for you.

I’ve been there—and I can help you find your way to the other side. 

I’m here to help you navigate change and transform your life into one that feels authentic, fulfilling, joyful and free.

Because I’ve done it, and I know you can too. 

I’m here to help you get there.

****

In 2008, I was the divorced single mother of a nine-year old boy when my mom died of suicide. 

It wasn’t her first attempt.

When the police came to my door just before midnight, the sound of my pulse in my ears became so deafening I could barely hear their words. I asked them to wait while I ran back up to my bedroom to grab a sweater, while my son slept soundly in his room down the hall.

I stood there, waiting for my hearing to come back. 

Completely unmoored.

She’d struggled with mental health issues my entire life and probably before that too, but the last time she’d tried had been way back in my late high school and university days. Which was around the same time that my dad excused himself from all of our lives as well. I hadn’t spoken to him since before I got pregnant. 

So by the time she died, it had already been a very long time since I’d had either of them to lean on…but this departure was final. 

Irreversible. 

I stood in the darkness of my room, frozen in time, deaf from disbelief. 

Shattered.

Alone.

****

Nine months later, I broke up with a man who I’d thought (in the earlier days of our relationship) was going to be The One. 

To make matters worse, by that point (nearly four years in) I was also working full time in his business.  

Which meant I also needed to look for a new job. It wouldn’t have been good for either of us if I’d stayed.

I had no safety net (neither family nor financial), and I felt completely unmoored.

Again.

But going through all of this—starting with my divorce years back, when my and my ex's son was only thirteen months old—made me really stop to examine how and why my life had so thoroughly fallen apart…and, to start to imagine how I wanted it to be instead.

It sent me on a quest to figure out, once and for all, what it took to build a life that was worth staying for. 

A life that you loved.

That’s when Dreamsmith was first born.

But it didn’t quite end 'happily ever after' from there.

****

It was September 9, 2009, and Dreamsmith started out initially (for a very short time) as an event planning company. ‘Dreamsmith Celebrations’ was my vision of doing all kinds of incredible themed parties using my master organizational skills for FUN instead of solely for function. 

Having been through so much heartbreak and loss, I decided I wanted to help people celebrate life. 

But I soon realized that even though I love any kind of celebration of love, the realities of working in the wedding industry (where most demand was for personal event planning) involved a lot of people stressed out about silly things (if you ask me; I mean, did it really matter if the dinner napkins didn’t exactly match the bridesmaids’ dresses?). 

And having so freshly taken the leap to intentionally leave the corporate world, planning corporate events didn’t float my boat either. 

So, back I went to the drawing board. 

Yet again.

****

Ever felt like you kept wandering down the wrong corridors, and every door you tried to open kept closing on you?

Yeah. That’s exactly where I was.

And that’s when I started to learn that the deepest longings of your heart most often speak in whispers. So I kept listening.

I started picking up the trail of my innate interests and curiosities, of dreams that seemed long-forgotten or way out of reach—and alongside tons of coaching, therapy, and personal development work, and part-time gigs and contract work to pay the bills—I began writing…then later, I joined Toastmasters…after that, produced a local television series…and hosted another multi-week series of interviews in a digital symposium…

And then I flew to New York York City to record a talk that captures the essence of what I know to be true in the deepest part of my heart:

Why you must do whatever it takes to create a life you love.

The accolades I received from the small group of business women who heard my talk that day made me feel deeply honoured and celebrated. Their encouragement to ‘put it out there’ was resounding and unanimous. One best-selling author in attendance, with respect to the content of the talk, even called me ‘the love child of Carl Sagan and Martha Beck’, which—warranted or not—was one of the greatest compliments anyone had ever given me in my life thus far (and maybe still to this day).

So as soon as I got home, I did the next logical thing.

I promptly put the talk in the vault. 

I was right in the thick of dealing an intensely difficult family situation with one of my siblings. I was afraid of what some people (including they) might think—in fact immediately prior to going to NYC, I’d been outright slammed (to my face) by one person in particular for even trying to build Dreamsmith—which was especially tough to take, given how uncertain I was myself in those early days about where it was headed or what it would even be. (side note in hindsight: never take advice from someone who you don’t aspire to be like).

And besides, I didn’t know how I might ever use this one short talk to help anyone anyway. (YouTube was just barely starting to grow beyond music videos and clips of cute animals and babies, and it’s only now—also thanks to the benefit of hindsight—that I can even say that. At the time, posting it on YouTube wasn’t even on my radar.) 

So as of the time of this writing, nobody outside of that little second-floor studio in New York City has ever yet heard it.

****

Life does present you with conflicting priorities sometimes, and in the immediate years that followed, I set my Dreamsmith dreams aside, letting my fears and that one nasty slam—plus the very real need for an immediate paycheque—send me crawling back into the safe arms of steadier jobs that would be sure to pay my bills.

Keeping a roof over my son’s and my head was the bigger priority.

Eventually though, one job came along (that had been another, albeit different long-time dream of mine)...and it turned out to be a game-changing opportunity.

I got to learn from masters in their industry, and then teach what I learned to others, about how to invest in real estate. 

But it turned out that it was far less about investing in real estate, and more about teaching others how to take measured leaps of faith. 

How to build a new life for yourself by getting the right coaching, guidance, and expertise.

How to accelerate your results by surrounding yourself with people who’d done the thing successfully, and by leaning on wise, loving, experienced people who would help you along the way.

But even more than that, it was a role where I got to teach people how to believe in themselves.

How to create the life they really, truly wanted.

How to become the you that you've always wanted to be.

It turns out that as you help others do those things, you also do those exact same things for yourself.

****

I worked my butt off, putting in long hours often across 7-day workweeks, and flying across the country for four years.

For just long enough to build up something of a financial safety net. 

It wasn’t enough to retire on permanently, but it was enough to help me begin to exhale a little, and to feel secure enough to slow down long enough to once again begin to hear those quiet whispers of my heart’s deepest longings, still stirring somewhere inside. 

Enough to allow me to start imagining, once again, how I might now be able to get a dream of mine off the ground that has mattered to me more than almost anything since my mom died:

The Dreamsmith way of helping you get un-stuck and build a life you truly love.

Because it’s not just for you—it’s literally for everyone around you.

For generations. And that’s no exaggeration.

What I know for sure is this: you’re not here to struggle endlessly, or to just ‘survive’ life. 

You’re here to thrive.

To love, and laugh, and LIVE.

So here we go.

****

Welcome to Dreamsmith 2.0. 

Click play to hear The Dreamsmith Guide To Creating A Life You Love, recorded in New York City all those years ago, seeing the light of day for the very first time today—on Dreamsmith’s ‘sweet 16’ birthday—

The message is still as true today as it was then.

As it has always been.

In this video, you’ll find out: 

• why you must create a life you love;

  
  

• why living the life of your dreams is not just a privilege…and what it really is instead; and

• exactly how you are meant to live big, be happy, and change the world.

Know this, dear heart; your dream life is ready and waiting for you. It’s amazing. You’re going to love it.

And it’s never too late.

So tell me: what’s a dream that matters to you…even a dream you may have once closed the door on, or left behind to gather dust on the shelf? 

And what one small thing could you do today to take a single baby step toward it? 

Let me know in the comments below the video on YouTube. I promise to read all the comments.

And let’s start to bring your dreams to life.

There’s no time like the present. Time is the present.

With giant love and a great big hug,

xo

Kelly

PS: if you’ve got somebody you care about, whose dreams you want to see come to life, will you share this video with them? It’s my mission for everyone in this world to know that life is supposed to be good for them, to believe in their inherent worth, to trust in their ability to navigate change, and to find the resources they need to transform their life into one that feels authentic, fulfilling, joyful, and free. When you share this video, you’ll help share that message and spread the love. Thank you. Now let’s light this place up 🌟