Cheri Dixon: A Girl and Her Dog

Cheri is an elementary principal, turned life coach and educational consultant. At the start of 2022, Cheri realized that although she loved having an impact on the world by educating children and supporting teachers, she wanted more out of life. She wanted to make all her dreams and goals come true, including having freedom to live a life she dreamed of living. So, she set out to get her life coaching certification and started A Girl and Her Dog Coaching and Consulting in May of 2022. Since this time, she has created two fabulous courses for women, co-authored a book, created a website with a weekly blog, and started a podcast! Not only is she doing all of this as aside hustle, while still running an elementary school on the east side of Houston, TX, but she is also learning more and more about running a business and plans to transition into coaching and consulting full time in 2023.

Cheri authored the chapter, Not Crazy, Just Wanting It All, in the Unleash Her anthology with 29 other amazing authors, that released in October of 2022.  In her chapter, Cheri talks about big moments in her life that caused her to have to make decisions to either pivot or just accept the circumstances.  She knew her daughter was depending on her to be that strong woman, that strong mother she needed, so just accepting what life threw at her was never an option.  Cheri talks about how she tackled each life changing moment, striving to accomplish her goals, and pieces of advice she would have given to herself when she was just a girl that would ensure she was going to live the life she dreamed of living.

I went through a few very hard times in my life which included a messy divorce.  It was a huge challenge for me, as I am a recovering perfectionist, and although I knew my marriage was not working, I wanted to fix it.  When I couldn’t, I felt like a failure…and at one point, I felt as if all that I had worked for in life was for nothing…that it just didn’t matter because I failed in my marriage.  To be honest, it took me years to recover…and over these years, I made a lot of big mistakes that made it even harder to recover.  Once I was on the other side of the situation, and doing amazing things in my new life, I realized that there are many women out in the world who may have experienced similar situations…and needed someone to be on their side, to look out for their needs, to help them realize that just because they were experiencing a hardship, they were not a failure.  I began to research what life coaches were and how I could possibly become that cheerleader that all women need.  I know I can teach, and I know I want to continue to have an impact on the world…so what better way than to build up women!  Support, cheer them on, hold them accountable, and just be that person that mentors them through life so that they can be their very best!  I would have loved to have that person on my side when I was going through my hardships in life!

My mission is to help 5,000 women realize their own potential, develop a plan to accomplish their goals, and design a life that they want to wake up to each day!

Although I have only just begun on this journey, I know how impactful I have been to all the teachers I have coached throughout the years…and they have expressed their gratitude for all that I have done to teach and support them.  I have had a few clients since starting my business and I can see and feel their excitement when they are able to process something differently or begin to make strides toward meeting a goal.  That feeling of, “oh, yeah…I can do this” from them is what makes me know that I helped make that happen and that I can do it for so many others!

I heard a friend say one day, I am being perfectly imperfect.  That phrase resonated with me so much.  We are all scared…and it is so easy to just stay in your comfort zone and live life on repeat.  And change is hard…but staying the same and living a life you dread is also hard…you just must choose your hard.  So, my advice to anyone out there ready to step into their best life is just take the first step!  You may do great, and you may fail…but you tried!  You were brave and did something while you were still perfectly imperfect!  And what you will find is, the first step is always the hardest…the scariest…but every step after gets easier and you get wiser.  And, before you know it, you are making gains toward meeting your greatest goals in life!

My favorite quote is, “She believed she could, so she did.”  I am a quote kind of girl, so many other quotes relate to this, but ultimately, I believe whether you believe you can do something or not, you are right…also a quote…but if you believe you can do something, and you take that first step in making it happen, you will accomplish your dreams and goals.  And that is one quote I live by daily, especially when those beliefs are out of my comfort zone!

You can check out more from Dr. Vonie Leach, creator of Forever Written at https://www.forever-open.com/.