Newspaper & Radio Interviews with Tara
PHOTO BY JACQUELINE MARQUE
RADIO
On Monday, Tara was interviewed by Anne Deidre Smith on Dream Visions 7 Radio. Hear our lively discussion about ways to connect to life dreams and goals, and 3 Simple Guidelines for Successful New Year's Resolutions.
Click here to download (1-5-09) & listen:
HOT OFF THE PRESSES
Tara was also interviewed for the 'off the lip' feature in the January 7-13, 2009 edition of The Mercury Magazine. By, MATT KEEFER
(See below.)
From The Mercury Magazine: 'off the lip' Feature:
DREAM TIME
Need a Radical Change?
She'll Guide You There
Tara Sage Steeves, 33
Dream Realization Coach
Six years ago, she was deep in debt, living in a basement apartment, hating her job and her love life. Now Tara Sage Steeves has great credit, is happily married and runs Create Your Life!, her own Newport-based personal development company helping others transform their lives and make their dreams come true. It starts, oddly enough, with a pregnancy test. Steeves has a list of questions that surround the conception of a dream. Among them: Do you know what makes your heart sing? Have you declared your dream out loud? If your dream arrived today, would you be ready for it? From there, she works with clients to prepare for birth. She has hosted annual Dream Parties™ for the past three years where guests are encouraged to dress up like their future selves, cross a “foot bridge to the future” and shred lists of all their “shoulds.” Her next five-week session of Dream Circle Workshops starts Monday, Jan. 26. Visit her Web site at www.createyourlifeinc.com.
In today's world, what makes your services of use?
I think life coaching services are critical because more and more people are looking at their lives and asking what's important. We all need support and guidance to pinpoint what we truly want, overcome obstacles, and create new patterns in our lives. Fulfilling our deepest desires: what else are we here for, really?
Could this business have succeeded 50 years ago?
I'd like to think so, but I'm glad to be part of a new industry. I think it's a timeless industry because life dreams and goals are timeless. People have been working on fulfilling their dreams since the beginning of time.
What kind of dreams do people hope to accomplish with you?
One client came to me looking for a new job. She really wasn't sure how much she was worth to an employer, and in our work together, she ended up getting a salary that was 40 percent higher than what she would have originally negotiated for. Another client I've worked with is a mom whose kids have grown, and she'd been a closeted artist. Within a year of working together on and off, she opened her own studio and gallery. Another is a man: a father and husband with two kids in college. He felt very trapped in his job as a bank executive, and was really, really miserable. Within five months, he found another job in another bank, doing what he now describes as his "dream job." He's earning more money, he's closer to home, and more than all of that, he has his quality of life back, and feels in control of his destiny. It's really about identifying the thing you're passionate about, and then finding a way to make a living doing it.
What's your dream?
I have many. One is travel. I have traveled quite a bit and my husband and I share a dream of doing a world tour of hot springs. To soak in the minerals of the entire planet... that's a dream of mine. Another involves the Dream Party - which is my signature event - I dream that it will reach people in cities all across the nation.
Should it be a national holiday?
That's an idea, although I envision it more as an event that's held on various occasions. The Dream Party was born from my belief that the world desperately needs more places for people to dream. It'd make a great New Year's Eve party. Retirement party. You name it. Any milestone that would benefit from thinking five years ahead and asking "within the next five years, what do I want my life to be like, what do I truly desire?"
Do you have advice for making New Year's resolutions?
Any day and any moment is an opportunity to create a new path. New Year's is arbitrary, but it's a great opportunity to assess the past year and look forward. Really ask yourself: “what is it about this resolution and this goal that excites me and motivates me?” And tune in to whether it’s something you think you “should” be doing, verses something that you really deeply desire. “Should” is a word I encourage people to eliminate from their vocabulary. Replacing “should” with words like “could” or “will” creates a much more empowering statement. I encourage people to set goals they are excited about.
So there needs to be a deeper motivation inside for “should” I take out the garbage? “Should” Joe get rid of the rats in his basement?
Well, there’s obviously consequences, right? There’s consequences to every decision that we make, and, sure, if you don’t get the rats out of the basement, there are natural consequences. You might ask: What is the cost of not doing it? The answer will help you decide.
You published a book last year, too?
I did. It’s called “Are You Pregnant with a Dream?” and it uses the metaphor of the stages of pregnancy and applies them to dreams and goals for your life. Conception, stretching your limits, labor, nesting. Each stage can be likened to the dream realization process.
How does a guy get pregnant with a dream?
When it comes to a dream, gender and age don’t matter. In the book it says “Regardless of sex or age, you are fertile.” So we have fun with it. There’s even a pregnancy test, which you can also take on my Web site. You know, one male client in particular really enjoyed the book and felt that it really supported him. He said he was expecting triplets! It’s a metaphor that even some men can get their mind around.
What do you enjoy most about this job?
I love the moment when people realize they can have what they want. That is the most enjoyable moment for me. When I see it come over their face, and they say, “wow, I can really do this.” In that moment, I just soar. I love it, I truly do.
You teach your clients; what do you learn from them?
They’re constantly inspiring. They teach me what’s possible. I learn insights right along with them; I’m in process, too, and I don’t have the answers.
So can your clients, say, show you how to hold a guitar?
I play a bit of folk guitar, actually, and here’s a guitar a client of mine gave me. (She picks up and plucks a cigar-box guitar). She made this for me. You can actually plug it in. It really is a privilege to be part of somebody’s process.
