Alignment Coaching for
Creatives
ABOUT SHAY
I didn’t “find myself.”
I stopped trying to earn myself.
I grew up in a tiny town in Southern Illinois - population 700.
Small enough that everyone knows your name, your business, and that on Friday night at 9pm you were buying half-baked Ben & Jerry’s at the local Dollar General.
After my first semester of college, I found myself back home going to a local community college where I played basketball. As I had to take the next steps to finding a four year university, I had this feeling inside of me - I didn’t want to go to college anymore, but I didn’t know what else I wanted to do.
I told my mom “I don’t want to go to college anymore.” And as someone who valued education so much, being an education major and now teacher, she vehemently disagreed. And so, I followed the path that felt the safest, the one that pleased.
Lucky enough, I played for the next two years at the University of Missouri - St. Louis under a scholarship and got into Graduate business school through connections and an opportunity to work as a research assistant.
The “I’m Successful… So Why Do I Feel Empty?” Era
After I graduated with my MBA in 2014 I knew one thing for sure:
A job behind a desk wasn’t going to be my life.
So I started piecing together gigs and part-time work… and then I found improv comedy.
One of the riskiest, yet freeing things I had ever experienced.
People laughed, cheered for me, I had a community.
And for the first time, I felt validated.
Not because of my accomplishments, my education, or my GPA, but because I was me.
Finally.
I Bet on the Dream (And Moved to LA)
I fell in love with comedy so hard that I did what any reasonable person would do…
I moved to Los Angeles to become a famous actress and comedian.
After a year of improv training, I packed my life up and went.
And I worked. Studied. Networked. Struggled. Kept going.
Eventually, I landed a spot on a team at Upright Citizens Brigade - which, if you’re an improv nerd, is a huge win.
More shows. More recognition. More “mini star” moments.
And yet…
Something still felt off.
Like I was doing everything right… but the inside of me wasn’t catching up.
Then I Fell in Love with Rap
(A creative detour)
During that time, I discovered my love for rap in a deeper way.
I grew up on Eminem, 50 Cent, Drake - all of it.
So I thought:
Wait… what if music is the lane?
What if famous rapper and singer was the path for me?
With the help of my drive and passion, I found myself enrolling as a freshman at Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles.
A semester went by…
And then COVID hit.
My music partner and I couldn’t collaborate.
The world shut down.
Life got quiet.
And in the boredom and weirdness of it all…
I started creating again.
The Viral Videos + The Beginning of “Level Up”
During COVID, I made a few videos that went viral, which scared the hell out of me and brought some of the most confusing feelings I’d ever experienced, leading me to have an on and off relationship with social media.
Wait, I WANT success, so why am I pushing it away?
(A familiar, yet uncomfortable feeling I experienced in LA.)
At this time, I also started Level Up! With Shay, a personal development podcast and brand.
I thought, I love personal development, I’m stuck in my apartment - this would be the perfect time to interview mentors for their life story and insights and share it with the world!
I never held myself as an expert or someone who had it all figured out…
I admitted I was figuring it out in real time.
The pandemic forced a furlough at work, LA wasn’t LA anymore, and I decided to move to Atlanta.
That’s when I brought all my past skills together and started freelancing full-time:
personal assistant work
social media management
website design
podcast editing
I was building a life from scratch.
I Built My Own Late Night Show (Because Waiting Wasn’t an Option)
In Atlanta, I dipped my toe back into improv… but I knew I needed something different.
So I created it.
I built my own late night show: Late Nite with Shay Dominguez.
I gathered a team of comedy writers, producing monthly live shows and creating in-house sketches for a year and a half.
One month, we even put together a fundraiser so the team could get paid as fairly as possible.
We ended the run with three shows at Dad’s Garage, a popular theater in Atlanta.
And I was proud.
Like… real proud.
New York, Home, Then Back Again
After that, I moved to New York City.
Two months later… I moved back home.
And for one full year, I slowed down.
I reassessed.
I refocused.
I got honest.
Not just about what I wanted…
But about what life was trying to show me.
Then I came back to New York for one reason:
To help people discover what I was chasing all along.
Here’s What I Learned (The Hard Way)
Success doesn’t come from
External sources.
Not accomplishments.
Not people.
Not diplomas.
Not followers.
Not being “picked.”
Success comes when you finally stop… and realize:
You already are success.
And I know that sounds like a quote you’d scroll past.
But I mean it in a very real way.
Because I used to not understand what people meant when they said:
“You’re already worthy.”
“You’re already enough.”
I’d be like…
WHAT?!
I can’t pay my bills.
Nobody’s recognizing the work I’ve put in.
I have a small following.
I’m grinding. I’m trying. I’m exhausted.
So don’t worry - I’m not here with the “just believe harder!!” advice.
I’m here with the truth that changed my life:
External success can’t stick until internal success becomes real.
The Mirror Metaphor That Changed Everything
If you don’t like what you see when you look in the mirror…
You don’t try to change the reflection.
You remove the smudges.
The condensation.
The toothpaste splatter.
So you can finally see yourself clearly.
For so long, I was trying to change the reflection.
When all I had to do was remove what was blocking my view:
doubt
shame
pressure
comparison
resentment
the constant feeling of “I’m behind”
And underneath all of that?
Was someone who didn’t need permission to be herself.
And didn’t deserve punishment for being human.
Why I Coach Now
Because I’ve lived what my clients are living.
The “I’m doing so much work but I’m going nowhere” feeling.
The “I should be grateful but I’m miserable” feeling.
The “I have potential but I can’t access it consistently” feeling.
I know what it’s like to chase a dream so hard that it becomes a cage.
And I know what it’s like to finally realize:
That dream was just a container.
What I actually wanted was:
wealth
freedom
abundance
alignment
peace
purpose
self-trust
And I had developed gifts along the way that were bigger than the original plan.
My Coaching Promise
I help high-potential people stop outsourcing their worth to external validation…
…and start living now like the person they’re trying to become.
Not through fluff.
Not through cliche motivation.
Not through spiritual bypassing.
But with truth, structure, and real integration.
Because I’ll tell you something society and social media won’t…
Your success isn’t “out there.”
It’s within you.
And once you can finally see yourself clearly…
your life starts matching what you’ve known all along.