Exclusive interview with Constantine Dhonau, Life Coach for Personal, Relationship, and Career Growth
Constantine Dhonau is a Durango-based certified Life Coach, offering extensive coaching programs and 1:1 and group coaching sessions for personal, relationship, and career development. For more information, visit ConstantineDhonau.com.
He was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, and moved to Durango, Colorado in 2017, currently loving life in the mountains. He’s an AmeriCorps alumnus with a Bachelor’s in Psychology from New College of Florida. His experience draws from wilderness therapy, research psychology, and Chinese philosophy.
He published his first book in 2021: Collateral Intentions, a complete collection of 10 years of writing. In his spare time, he enjoys going on long walks, drinking tea, watching movies, and reading about Taoism.
For more information, visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Constantine, to know a bit more about his journey as a life coach.
Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Constantine: Freedom and taking a chance on myself.
Not everyone wants the responsibility that comes with what it takes to sustain that freedom, they’d rather someone else handle the chaos of maintaining a business so they can enjoy peace of mind and financial security — and that’s okay! Personally, I wanted to build a life I want to live, and that means making my own schedule, my own money, and control over how my business runs.
I also wanted to take a chance on myself. I see entrepreneurship as a HUGE leap of faith…in oneself. I’m telling the world, “Hey, I’ve accumulated an incredible knowledge-base and skillset. I have a unique ability to enrich people’s lives.” Ultimately, it’s a form of self-love for me.
Q. How did you get started?
Constantine: That’s a murky question. It wasn’t so cut-and-dry as one single, defining moment. I built a website (and a dozen social platforms). I published a book. I sought out certifications. I designed a curriculum for sessions and programs. I made business cards. I networked. I made sales and collected reviews. Those are all huge milestones but I couldn’t point to any one of them and tell you, “This was it.” I had an idea and I slowly and deliberately built around it.
Q. What was your biggest startup challenge? What steps did you take to overcome it? What did you learn?
Constantine: That’s a tie between overcoming “imposter syndrome” and booking my first client.
“Imposter syndrome” is a challenge most entrepreneurs face at one point or another. It’s easy to compare what you’re doing to all these already-successful people. It’s an internal struggle between, “They’re so successful. I don’t have the experience they have,” and “They were standing in my shoes at one point. If they can do it, I can do it.”
Booking my first client was a big one, too. Imposter syndrome didn’t do me any favors there, either. That’s where networking came in and made the proclamation, “Yes! I am a life coach! I can help you!” After enough trial-and-error interactions you eventually find someone willing to take a chance on you. They’re sufficiently impressed with you and convinced that what you offer is absolute of value to them.
Q. What is the Most Memorable Thing You’ve Done Since you Started your Business?
Constantine: I’ve seen people do things they never would have thought were possible, things they never could have imagined for themselves on their own. Clients interviewing for 6-figure jobs, pursuing their Master’s degree, getting out of debt, becoming masters of navigating conflict productively. That’s why I do this work. I don’t just WANT to help people, I can’t stop myself — it’s in my bones.
Q. What is one book you recommend, and why?
Constantine: Shameless plug: Collateral Intentions, my first published book. 10 years. 10 chapters. A raw reflection of humanity including heartache, teen angst, becoming an adult, feeling lost, finding direction, social deconstruction, existential musing, and more.
Second, Grace Unfolding: Psychotherapy in the Spirit of the Tao-Te Ching. This is a beautiful, concise, accessible book that uses ancient wisdom to inform the roles of both the therapist AND the client.
Q. What are your top 3 favourite online apps, tools, or resources and what do you love about them?
- Wix makes website building SO achievable.
- Facebook Business Suite unifies two of the biggest social media platforms people use.
- Screen Time might save the world from complete, mindless collapse from everyone being sucked into their screens.
Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?
Constantine: Everyone carries a world within them. Change the world. One world at a time.
Q. In one sentence, what’s the best advice you’d give to someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey?
Constantine: Small successes make for great triumphs.
To keep up to date with Constantine and her journey, connect with him on his Instagram and Facebook.
