“Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force; he who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger” (James Allen)

Coaching clients come to me because they want to create change in their lives. They often have a project that is important to them, yet they fail to meet their goals. Lack of time. Lack of energy. Lack of motivation. Fear of failure. Impostor Syndrome. The list of culprits goes on. My mission: to help my coachees gain more clarity on their "why" and guide them as they figure out how to succeed.

James Allen’s quote above perfectly illustrates the reason why certain endeavors are most successful than others! This "thought" is the constant effort my clients put in, through careful planning, intentional and measured action steps, and by nurturing a positive and solution-focused mindset. Together, we work closely to ensure that their efforts lead them to success, with increased self-confidence and pride!

One of the greatest success stories of my coaching business is that of my client, Karim Ayari, CEO of Splitklips Inc. He committed to a 7-months coaching program with biweekly sessions, which helped us track his incredible progress over the course of our coaching relationship! I am immensely proud of his accomplishments and I thought his testimonial would be a great source of inspiration to all my blog readers.

Karim has agreed to share with you the evolution of his project, an educational Web series for young children whose official launch is scheduled for February 2021!

Here is his Success Story ...

Karim, please tell us more about your company, Splitklips and about the concept of your new show

Splitklips is a video production company that I have been operating since 2009. At the very beginning, we were producing family and wedding videos. We are now specializing in corporate and promotional content for businesses and organizations in the public and private sectors. Over the past few years, I have worked extensively on youth TV content as a director of photography and editor. Since becoming a father, I have dreamed of producing an educational Web series for children.

Why was this project important for you? What was your vision?

When I was trying to find online content for my son, I noticed that there was a lack of quality educational content geared towards 2- to 5-year-olds. While there is a ton of animated content, live action is rarely focused on education, let alone children’s behavior. We all know that viewing youth content online has become a trend. YouTube and other web platforms are replacing traditional television programming. While it is not recommended that young children spend a lot of time on screens, we also know that screen time is almost inevitable. So, we might as well make sure that this content is educational and focused on children’s wellbeing. I also wanted my show to help parents and create a space for honest conversations. My project had to meet 4 important criteria: 1) Entertainment; 2) Education (by complementing what children learn in school), 3) Bring a sense of calm and improve children’s behavior and 4) Help parents.

Please tell us what you found most helpful in your coaching experience…

I am convinced that without coaching, I would still be in the planning phase of the project without a clear and defined goal. Coaching was helpful to see the steps necessary to reach my goal and to assess how much time would be needed to complete each step. In November 2019, you asked me to set a deadline and indicators of success for this project. I gave myself until the end of 2020 to have a detailed mission statement, outlined themes, characters, scripts and set description. At each coaching session, I had to report on my progress. It’s easy to give up or to procrastinate when life is busy with family and work obligations. Our biweekly sessions were a reminder that I was responsible for reaching my goals within the timeline I committed to. These sessions also helped me better adapt to changing circumstances, especially during the pandemic! It was inspiring to see my project move forward and, although it was more challenging at times, I was always able to end our sessions feeling hopeful and energized. In the midst of a pandemic, your drive for a project and your dreams can easily be forgotten or abandoned. Coaching sessions have always helped me reconnect to my passion and desire to reach my goal.

How were you able to keep the motivation going over the last couple of months?

Without coaching, this pandemic would certainly have stopped my project from seeing the light of day. The coaching sessions served as a reminder that I had a dream and that I should not give up on it! My life and my thoughts felt very chaotic at times, as my wife and I were stuck at home under lockdown with a 4-month-old baby and a homeschooled toddler, all while trying to remain productive at work and meet deadlines. It was easy to forget about my Web series. But together, throughout coaching sessions, we found strategies to adapt to the situation while staying hopeful, creative and productive. I HATE starting a project or having a dream that does not come true. This feeling of incompleteness never quite leaves me. And there were times during the pandemic when I felt this disappointment creep in. Our sessions always helped me get back on track and fight that fear.

What advice would you give to someone who has an ambitious project they want to accomplish?

I believe it is essential to find someone who will guide you and help you track your progress. Then, set realistic goals with your long-term objective in mind. Finally, it is important to always remember the feeling of satisfaction when we reach our goal, especially when it is a dream come true. This project was my dream and seeing it come true gives me a lot of motivation and hope for the future. I am full of energy, confidence and joy when I think about it now. It has evolved over time and it will surely continue to evolve as it becomes bigger. This is just wonderful to see my dream finally come true!

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Karim is wrapping up shooting his new Web series in January 2021 and a launch is planned in February! I will be sure to keep you posted on the rest of his journey! You can also discover his video production company, Splitklips, by clicking here.

And here are a few pictures taken by Splitklips when I visited the set in December 2020…

You can spot: Karim and myself as we are brainstorming and reviewing his scripts, Karim and his sister Leila Ayari who has been a tremendous help for creating the set and decor, and the main character with her friend on the set of this new Web series.