Today we’d like to introduce you to Dee Rowe.
Hi Dee, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story started in East LA, Duarte, and Monrovia, to be exact, where I spent my formative childhood years (birth to eight years old). In many ways, I had a lovely, normal childhood. My parents loved each other and their kids. We spent much time with our extended family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We went hiking and camping and spent occasional Saturdays at the beach; on Sundays, we went to church.
But in other ways, my childhood was not idyllic at all. My parents struggled financially and were always worried about making rent, buying groceries and back-to-school clothes, and other everyday expenses that some families never stress about. As a result, our clothes were often hand-me-downs that didn’t quite fit right. My friends’ lunches often looked much more delicious than mine. As the oldest child, I absorbed much of the house’s stress and worry. And subconsciously, I began to form the belief that I did not deserve to have nice things. I thought there must be something wrong with us, and that was why life was harder for my family than I perceived it was for the families we associated with.
In addition, my family, nuclear and extended, practiced a rigorous religion that demanded absolute obedience from its members. My dad’s side of the family practiced this religion as far back as anyone could remember, so it was all he knew. My mom had a different story. She was the child of a divorcee back when that was scandalous because her biological father was an alcoholic that was always gambling money away and couldn’t seem to stay faithful. When my grandma and mother discovered the church a few years after the divorce, I think it felt like security, which they lacked. But to me, a creative free spirit since birth, it was suffocating. The authoritarian rules about every aspect of life felt oppressive. I struggled to conform. As a result, I was punished often and severely. The combination of perfectionist religion and harsh punishments taught me that I was somehow not worthy and that, again, something was wrong with me.
Not surprisingly, these beliefs followed me through life. I struggled to make friends and fit in. I never felt like I was enough. I began to look for my worth in others, seeking validation through male attention. If I was single, I felt worthless. If I was coupled up, I felt miserable for different reasons because I subconsciously self-sabotaged by choosing partners that were unhealthy for me.
At fifteen, I thought I was in “actual” love for the first time. I lost my virginity (obviously behind my parent’s back). He ended up breaking up with me because he was more interested in someone else, and a few weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. This was right before my sixteenth birthday. We had a son that we gave up for adoption. I knew that was the best decision given my circumstances, but the stretch marks on my hips and stomach reminded me continuously that I was damaged and ruined. The downward spiral progressed.
At eighteen, to escape my family’s oppressive religion, I started “shacking-up” with my boyfriend at the time. He was highly critical and had the habit of pointing out what everyone around him was doing wrong or should be doing better at every moment of every day. This broke down my self-esteem and sense of self-worth moving me further down the spiral.
At twenty-two, after finally escaping Mr. Constant Criticism, I fell in “love” again. I got pregnant again, and we moved to Reno, NV, where the cost of living was more manageable for two young parents. He had a drinking problem, but I was unaware of the extent because I had minimal experience with alcohol. I thought he was Mr. Fun Social Drinker. But by the time I was pregnant with our second child at twenty-five, I realized he was an alcoholic. Still, I could not gather the strength to leave him until a few years later, when our older daughter began to witness some of our drama, and I realized this toxic waste dump would be what she thought was normal; what a relationship should be. So, I packed up my clothes and some of theirs and left.
Again, I knew the decision was right, but again, I felt ashamed, guilty, damaged, ruined, and broken. Again, I slipped further down the spiral of negative self-belief. This manifested itself in every aspect of my life, finances, relationships, friendships, and career. Then, the housing crisis and the Great Recession of 2008 destroyed what remained of my finances. I lost one of two jobs. My car got repossessed. I had to crawl back home to my parents with my tail between my legs at thirty years old. It was humiliating, even though I was grateful to have their support. My self-worth plummeted more.
But there’s light at the end of this tunnel, even though I couldn’t see it then. A friend I met through my sister introduced me to a network marketing opportunity. I thought I was selling protein shakes and supplements, but what ended up happening is I discovered mindset and self-healing work. I failed at building a successful MLM business, but I gained something invaluable. It took many years, almost a decade, and a few more failed relationships, but eventually, I did enough of the work and cleared enough of those ingrained limiting beliefs to start digging myself out of the deep, dark hole I was in.
Even though my career at the time in HOA management was tough on my adrenal levels, I was successful at it. My income increased. My friendships blossomed. I began to see my inherent worth. I began to set and enforce boundaries in relationships and stopped seeking external validation from men. I no longer needed it to feel worthy. All of this allowed me to finally meet and land a man who was healthy for me, loving, and supportive of me and my children. In the thick of COVID, we got married in a small ceremony on the beach that my dad officiated. As a result, I was able to quit the HOA management job that was toxic for me.
I found myself able to do what I wanted for the first time in my life, but I first had to figure out what that was. So I started a freelance writing business, and although I’ve had some success at it, I also found that it does not bring me fulfillment along with a paycheck. And that is something I craved.
Then, something magical happened that propelled me forward again. I got a message in my Instagram DMs asking if I had ever considered being a coach. I had dismissed it as something unattainable. But Lara convinced me it was attainable and that my social media content showed that I had the heart, mindset, and skills to be a coach. It got me thinking, and I consulted my husband about the prospect. He was supportive, and I enrolled in a program to teach me how to be a coach and to help me determine who I wanted to coach and what I wanted to help them achieve. They then walked me through developing my proprietary coaching method.
I offer the option of 1:1 private mindset coaching sessions for women. But, my specialty is the Goddess Glow Love Academy program that helps single moms release the conscious and subconscious blocks that are holding them back from feeling like a confident, glowing goddess worthy of having a healthy, loving, supportive relationship that lasts. I don’t want to bore you with the details, but it includes a combination of 1:1 coaching, group support sessions, six guided meditations and online lessons, and daily practices such as EFT tapping, neurolinguistic programming, and journaling. The Find Your Glow Framework is based on all the years of mindset work I did to free myself, condensed into just 12 weeks. It took me more than five years!
Coaching others brings me a sense of fulfillment I never had before. Helping lift other women, especially single mamas like I was for so long, out of the darkness of limiting self-beliefs and a distorted sense of self-worth, brings me joy and peace. It also forces me to keep up with my own mindset and self-development work so that I can show up as the best version of myself for my clients. The Goddess Glow community is just getting started, but already it has blessed my life in ways that cannot be put into words. Honestly, I am grateful for the trials and challenges I went through because, without them, I would not have the skills and tools to rise by lifting others. It gave me the self-belief I need to be a coach and the ability to hold space for the women I work with to believe in themselves. As Oscar Wilde said, “What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.”
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Is the road to success ever smooth? Of course not! There are always challenges to overcome, and if you listen to Jordan B. Peterson, humans need challenges to feel a sense of life satisfaction. The evidence shows that challenge is the birthplace of growth and fulfillment.
Specifically, I found that I have a whole new set of limiting beliefs to let go of. I now believe that I deserve nice things and am inherently worthy and uniquely skilled. I believe I was destined for this work.
However, it seems my past failures at selling Girl Scout Cookies, items for school fundraisers, hitting sales quotas when I worked in retail back in the day, and selling protein shakes and supplements have implanted some unhelpful programming that I am not “good at sales.”
So, my current challenge is to reprogram those beliefs and replace them with more supportive ones. And thankfully, I have the tools to do so since the actions I ask my clients to take to transform their mindsets around love work on all types of negative self-talk. And I have the additional support of the women in the “coaching for coaches” program that helped me get to where I am now. I suspect that the road to further success will continue to have bumps and detours along the way, but I am confident that I can and will navigate them.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a life coach with a focus on transforming the mindset to initiate transformation in life. So many times, we set goals or start new habits for ourselves but fail to achieve them or see them stick. Why is that? Because change is only permanent when it begins in the subconscious. But that’s not what most people do. Most people use their conscious minds to try and change. I specialize in initiating change in the subconscious layer of the mind while teaching you how to reframe thoughts and beliefs you are consciously aware of. There is science-based evidence that the techniques I use, such as EFT and NLP, are effective and get results.
What am I most proud of?… I think it’s that I took what can be perceived as a life of trial and tribulation and turned it into a tool to help others going through similar struggles. It would’ve been easy to become bitter and jaded and to succumb to the feeling of hopelessness. I could have settled for the life I had. But instead, I found a way to turn my failures into success for myself and those I influence. Little Dee is very proud of what Current Dee is doing and of what Future Dee will accomplish as a result.
What sets me apart is my ability to keep an open mind, my resourcefulness, and that people find it easy to open up to me. As a result, I can provide friends and clients with a safe space where they can be themselves. And I have a unique gift of seeing a positive in almost every situation. I’ve been called a “ray of sunshine” and “a light” that guides others forward. I think that’s what attracts people most to the Goddess Glow program and my private coaching services.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Oh my gosh, there are SO many! I am a bit of a self-development book fanatic. Also, I found some poetry books that helped move me through heartbreak. And all of Jason Stephenson’s affirmation tracks on YouTube. I still listen to those often.
So, here is a sampling of the countless books I’ve used to further my growth:
*Think and Grow Rich – Napolean Hill
* The Secret – Rhonda Byrne
*The Power of Purpose – Les Brown
*The Untethered Soul – Michael A. Singer
*The Confidence Gap – Russ Harris, etc.
*You Are A Badass – Jen Sincero
*The Tao of Dating – Ali Binzir MD
*Unfu*ck Yourself – Gary John Bishop
*The Seat of the Soul – Gary Zukav
*The Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield
*Radical Confidence – Lisa Bilyeu
*Glow in the F*cking Dark – Tara Schuster
*Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself – Joe Dispenza
*Greenlights – Matthew McConaughey
*Care of the Soul – Thomas Moore
Poetry books that helped me:
*Wild Embers – Nikita Gill
*Sea of Strangers – Lang Leav
*Milk and Honey – Rupi Kaur
*blooming – Alexandra Vasiliu
*Seven Years – Alyssa Harmon
Here are a couple of podcasts I love:
*Barb Knows Best
*Self Healers Soundboard
And lastly, I cannot emphasize enough the power of coaching. I was a skeptic until I tried it myself. If mindset coaching for single moms is not for you, find a coach that is. No matter your needs or goals, there is a coach for that. And the power of being lovingly held accountable and guided to fresh perspectives is immensely powerful. So, find a coach aligned with you and your needs, and invest in yourself and your growth!
Contact Info:
- Website: dee-a-rowe.mykajabi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goddessglowbydeerowe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deeisworththewaite
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@goddessglowbydeerowe
Image Credits
Lucas E. Rowe, Dee A. Rowe
