At Brilliant Read Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. This week we invited yet another passionate women entrepreneur Lily B. Gibarac for an exclusive interview with us. Lily is a Leader, Entrepreneur, Strategist, Advisor and Founder of AIS Strategic Coaching. Let’s read more about her incredible journey so far and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Lily:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey, please;
I have been an avid reader, learner, and seeker of truth my whole life. I’ve always wondered about the ways that people think and how that contributes to their behaviour. This burning desire, passion to learn and understand human nature inspired me to continue to learn and pursue many degrees in psychology.
I started my professional career in the IT industry, with a degree in Computer Science. My profession was enriching as it exercised my problem-solving capacity and provided intellectual challenge and stimulation.
As an extrovert, I found interactions with a wide range of diverse clients extremely rewarding. That contributed to an overall sense of satisfaction with my professional standing and accomplishments.”
Just as I thought that I reached the peak of my career, that fleeting vision suddenly crumbled. In 2002, my 16-year-old son collapsed and died instantly due to an undetected congenital condition. My whole world was shaken to its foundation. Life has never been the same. I dove deep into the portal of darkness which forced me to reevaluate and scrutinize every aspect of my life. In this process, I revealed parts of myself that until then, laid dormant, waiting to be excavated.
In this process of reinvention, I connected to my truth and the power of my inner wisdom, leading to my life’s calling. I realized that all of my life I have been a “natural helper” and that my desire to help people uncover the best version of themselves made my heart sing. Yet, this awareness presented a huge rift between where I was and where I wanted to be.”
To honour my newly discovered sense of self and my life calling, I needed to find a way to transition from an IT industry into a helping profession. However, to reach that goal, I had to overcome many challenges. As a first-generation immigrant, I seriously questioned my ability to eloquently speak and write in English, as that was not my native language and I never studied it in school.
My fears and doubts were compounded by other obstacles since I was confronted with taking responsibility for my family as the primary breadwinner. Hence, I felt quitting my job to pursue my dreams was not an option.
These life experiences taught me that sometimes everything falls apart, so we can reinvent our lives. I accepted that my circumstances were an opportunity to be elevated into the life of my choice. I embarked on this new path of pursuing my dream – to obtain a degree in psychology. Gradually, I gained confidence in my potential and abilities. This led me to a tenacious commitment and mission to redesign my life and help others to do the same.
My visions were the fuel that propelled me forward. As I stand now and reflect on this part of my journey, I’m flooded with a sense of accomplishment for mastering my fortitude and honouring my heart’s desire.”
While balancing work and family responsibilities, and academic obligations, I managed to obtain the Associates, Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. ABD degree in Organizational and Leadership Development with honors.
What made you passionate about ‘Coaching’? How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
As I mentioned, I’ve always been curious about human psychology and behaviour, and it was always easy for me to form relationships and connect with people. It is not unusual for me to attract people and have strangers confide in me, even after meeting them for the first time.
I recognize that I approach every encounter with people with a genuine desire to engage, and discover something enchanting and beautiful about that person. In my encounters, I’m driven with the aspiration to reach for the beautiful, pure essence in every human being and let it unfold and blossom like a beautiful flower.
I love to think that I have a gift to see others’ potential and beauty, which they may not have yet discovered themselves. It is my honour and privilege to serve as a mirror so people can see the reflection of their beauty and recognize their true nature. There is a very distinct moment when that happens, and I can observe a spark in their eyes, which was not there before.”
That moment when something comes to life and their inner light starts to shine is what keeps me motivated and inspired.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
Although I am fully cognizant of the fact that many people contributed to my personal and professional growth and I’m eternally grateful to all of them, without a question in my mind, my two beautiful sons have been the greatest source of inspiration in my life. They continue to keep that flame inside of me burning, making me strive to become the best I can be.
My firstborn son, Predrag, was the epitome of joy and happiness. He genuinely cared about people and although he was young, (only 16), he carried within him the deep wisdom of someone experienced and knowledgeable far beyond his years. Within his short life, he built the reputation of being a “Gentle Giant,” a title he imparted unto me and left as his legacy.
While dealing with his untimely transition has never been easy, this painful experience came with many gifts and lessons. I was confronted with a conscious choice and decision about how I want to live my life. I could remain bitter and resentful, or choose life by honouring his short presence, embracing what he taught me and make it an integral part of who I am.”
I adopted the attitude that “experience is not simply what happens to you, it is how you respond to it that matters most.” Hence, I choose to love and vowed that in honour of his memory, I will become the best version of myself. If life is what we make of it, so is death, and in this process, I embraced the understanding that love never dies.
We love people who are miles and miles away, why wouldn’t I continue to love my son even though he is no longer close to my touch? I genuinely believe that our loved ones who crossed to the other side are only a thought away.
While Predrag instilled immense inspiration, my youngest son, Filip fueled these dreams and helped me make them a reality. He persistently reminded me to stay focused, determined, and grounded in our reality and the present moment.
He made sure that I never lost sight of what is most important, and that I took time to find enjoyment in simple things. At the age of eight, he had to learn to trust and love, despite being deeply hurt. That is not an easy challenge for many adults, let alone a child.”
However, he adopted a very healthy outlook on life which reinforced my belief that we are powerful creators when we take radical responsibility for our actions and choices. To this day, Filip continues to remind me that we need to dare ourselves to be brave despite our circumstances and face our challenges with faith and a wide-open heart.
‘AIS Strategic Coaching’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
For the past decade, I have traversed a deep portal, co-creating both my personal and professional life. Following my calling and transforming my life in the process, the idea of AIS Strategic Coaching came about as a culminating point in my lifelong pursuit to be of service for those who need me.
This company is a physical manifestation and embodiment of my lasting desire, passion, and dream to become a pure vessel for facilitating transformation and growth for those who are ready to create a fulfilling and vibrant life.
“AIS” stands for Awaken your Inner Star, where “star” is an acronym for Speak Truth Authentically for Results (STAR). This name was born as an outcome of inner reflection on my beliefs. I stand for people being radically honest and true to themselves, no matter what.”
Furthermore, I’m a proponent for spreading authenticity and transparency through the process of radical responsibility and honesty with the intent to overcome perceived limiting beliefs and leverage them as a source of inner power and strength.
The mission of AIS Strategic Coaching is to inspire hope that lasting change and freedom are possible – freedom and liberation from entrenched blocks, limiting beliefs, and defence mechanisms that keep us stagnant and stuck.
The intent behind my company is to unleash the full expression of authentic, heart-centred leadership in the corporate world.
This effort is my contribution to ushering in the new era of more socially conscious, heartfelt, and soulful professionals – executives, leaders, entrepreneurs, and business owners.
I am on a mission to transform the workplace by helping purpose-driven leaders and entrepreneurs connect to their inner wisdom and strengths, and transition from surviving to thriving.”
I help passionate, high-achieving professionals who struggle with feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and stuck to bust through their blocks and unlock their potential, so they can operate from a place of integrity and vibrancy while creating the impact, influence, revenue, and prosperous life they desire.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
Success is a complex concept that means different things to different people. It is certainly not a destination, and there is no prescribed, straightforward path that can lead us there.
Success is a journey and process of self-discovery where we learn to adopt a winning attitude. Along the way we take many detours, discovering what we want and don’t want.
While on this path, we transition through dark nights of our souls, experience great disappointments as well as great happiness, uncovering multidimensional aspects of who we are and what we desire in life.
So much has been written and said about different ways, characteristics, abilities, and competencies we need to cultivate a successful career and life. These include, but are not limited to marketable talents, adequate soft skills, determination, hard work, passion, discipline, and luck.
While all of these keys are valid and can certainly help to propel us closer to that prestigious position, standard, or goal, success is an intended side effect of complete dedication to a cause greater than oneself.”
Success also comes when we forgive ourselves for failures, faults, and weaknesses and shift focus to our positive qualities and what brings us joy. When we replace struggle, hard work, and constriction with activities that naturally arise from a place of ease and flow, our hearts unfold and we become open to giving and receiving.
The best way to succeed in life is to allow ourselves to follow the joyful expression; that makes us jump in the morning with enthusiasm, make us laugh so hard that our bellies hurt, and feel so ecstatic that we, like little children, want to squeal with delight.
From this place, we become powerful and masterful creators of our life and our possibilities become endless. To me, this is what it means to adopt the winning attitude of playing to win and not to lose.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
