Meeting Rebecca Kieler was definitely a blessing in disguise. Who would have thought that a person could accomplish so much, in so little time, with a little push and some guidance in the right direction?
I met Rebecca Kieler through a mutual friend. I started working with her part-time as a personal assistant. After a few conversations, Rebecca quickly realized that I was a bit lost in the wind, so to speak and that her coaching and counseling was much needed. Boy, was she right! I was a part-time everything. Part-time dancer, part-time choreographer, part-time model, part-time company director, part-time promoter, part-time dance instructor, part-time singer, part-time actress, part-time bookkeeper, part-time web designer …the list goes on and on – you name it, I did it! I had over 10 sources of income and I was still broke. And I had absolutely no idea where I was going, nor how I was going to get there.
We soon started our counseling sessions once a week. Although, it was quite a challenge working in our ½ hour sessions/week considering my busy life of a million jobs, but eventually we worked through all of the chaos and were able to make some huge steps towards where I am now – a much happier, more organized person with direction and the drive to meet goals set.
Rebecca’s counseling sessions were absolutely amazing! The coaching that she gave forced me to look at several aspects of myself and to deal with them. Her incessant questionings were a bit painful at the time, but in retrospect, completely necessary in order to break the boundaries and limitations that I had set upon myself. As an entertainer, it is quite easy to set your goals and standards low because of the immense pressures and competition associated with the field. Once, we were able to break through the boundaries, it became very clear what my true aspirations were and we were then able to focus on how I was going to get there.
Remarkably, I didn’t just want to be a locally known dance instructor, singer or actor. That would be too easy. My deepest heart’s desire was to be a Performing Icon – a Madonna, a Janet Jackson, the next J-LO - Singer, dancer, actress, spokes model and if that wasn’t enough, a novelist. Well, at least we had narrowed my number of jobs down from a million to a mere five. That’s progress within itself. Our next thing was coming up with a plan to achieve this. After several …ah, I would hate to use the word “threatening” phone calls and emails to me from Rebecca, she was finally able to tie me down to a chair with pen and paper and force me to write everything out. What a challenge! How do you write down a road map to being a Superstar? It is not like most career choices where everything is more clearly cut. You want to be doctor – you go to med school, study like crazy, do your internship, get a license, start your practice. Difficult, but clear. Superstar? There isn’t any formula or clear path. As I sat wallowing in my despair of writing the impossible, I began to think – Which med school should I apply to first? Just kidding. I sat and thought - since there really isn’t an unambiguous way of making it to fame, then I might as well write down the way that would be the most fun.
I wrote down areas that I wanted to improve in as a person foremost and also as an entertainer. I wrote my personal and career goals and setup deadlines for the next five years. Well, that was almost a year ago. I am happy to say that I was very successful in meeting my goals thus far. In the past year, I have streamlined my life. I am focusing on singing and dancing; the other three jobs are sort of, on hold for after I have made a name for myself. Right now, I am singing in a cover band “Cuatro Zero Ocho” and I am also working on solo projects. The band released its first original single “Dale Fuego” in January 2005. The single aired on three different Latin radio stations in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles region. The band is currently recording a complete album with Rangel Entertainment. As a solo artist, I am performing numerous local shows and radio show appearances and I am scheduled to perform on tour in numerous cities on the West Coast and Mexico for the Street Low Magazine Car Show. I was just recently picked up by ECE Entertainment that will be in charge of funding, promoting and managing me as a solo artist for the next year in aspirations of getting bought out by a major record label. With ECE, I have recorded two songs that I wrote myself and will release my first self-titled album this summer.
Thanks to Rebecca I am well on my way. I am working like crazy, but because I absolutely love what I do, it feels like a breeze. I still have a long journey to go, but I am more than optimistic that things will happen just as I have mapped out. I highly recommend having a Rebecca as your Life Coach. She is kind but firm, extremely clever and wise enough to see through the jargon we often spill to distance ourselves from our own realities and desires in order to play it safe and avoid conquering our fears. Quite simply, Rebecca is fantastic! So, whether you want to just bring more vitality to your life or have aspirations to be the next CEO of a prestigious venture capital firm, you should definitely set up a consultation with Rebecca first. Hey, that sounds like something a spokes model would say! Almost there! (Wink)
LaShion Banks AKA “LASHION” - Coming soon to a theatre near you!