Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristy Dominiak.
Hi Kristy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in Midwest suburbia believing happiness was something you earned. If I followed the rules, exceeded expectations, and built the picture‑perfect life – the degree from the University of Notre Dame, the career, the marriage, the family – then fulfillment would follow. But no matter how many boxes I checked, happiness always felt just out of reach.
On the outside, my life looked ideal: a loving husband, three healthy children, community respect, financial stability. On the inside, I was unraveling. I began to sabotage the very life I had worked so hard to build. Most people don’t voluntarily dismantle a polished public image by sharing their mistakes, but I did – and with my family’s blessing, I now share that journey openly.
My memoir, The Shaken Snow Globe: Finding Happiness Beyond My White Picket Fence, reveals how perfection can become a prison and how true happiness begins when we stop performing and start telling the truth about who we are. I wrote it for anyone silently carrying the weight of expectations, shame, or self‑doubt.
Today, through speaking, book clubs, and coaching, I help people rewrite the stories they tell themselves. I teach that mistakes don’t define us – they refine us. When we confront our fears instead of hiding from them, we create deeper relationships, healthier families, more meaningful careers, and a life that finally feels like our own.
Now living in Charleston, South Carolina, with my husband of 29 years and an empty nest, I’m living a life that is more authentic, peaceful, and joy‑filled than anything I once tried to “achieve.”
If you’re someone who:
• Feels crushed by expectations
• Carries quiet doubts or regrets
• Questions your worth or direction
You’re not alone – and you’re not stuck.
The life you want is closer than you think.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome was my own mindset. Self‑doubt tends to monopolize the human brain – not to sabotage us, but to protect us from failure and disappointment. The problem is, that same instinct can also keep us from growing, taking risks, and becoming who we’re meant to be. Life is full of imperfections and chaos, and a life well lived requires resilience, problem‑solving, and the courage to move through adversity instead of avoiding it. So I started asking myself: Who am I not to charge through it? And honestly – who are you not to, either?
I’m not a trained writer, therapist, or someone with a PhD after my name. Everything I know – and everything I now teach – came from messing up my own life and doing the hard work to fix it. My mistakes became my education. My rebuilding became my expertise. And that lived experience is what shaped me into the coach, author, and encourager I am today.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Success Coach, Author, and Inspirational Speaker.
If you are ready to get the life you want, please visit my website, KristyDominiak.com, for a free coaching session or to schedule an inspirational speaking appearance for your business, organization, or book club.
You can also get a copy of The Shaken Snow Globe in hardcover, paperback, ebook (free for Kindle Unlimited members), and audiobook (free with Audible membership). I would love to hear your feedback.
How do you define success?
I define success as living a life that aligns with who I truly am. For years, I chased the traditional markers of success – achievement, perfection, and external validation – and I checked every box. But it wasn’t until I got honest with myself, faced the fears I’d been avoiding, and rebuilt my life from a place of authenticity that I understood what success really means. Today, my success is defined from the inside out. It’s the peace that comes from self-compassion for being human – imperfections and all – meaningful relationships, and using my experiences to help others reach their potential. When your public self matches your private self, you’ve found your true self and the ultimate success. To me, success is the confidence that comes from embracing who you are and letting go of who you thought you had to be.”
Contact Info:
- Website: http://kristydominiak.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristy.dominiak/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/KristyDominiak
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristy-dominiak-230bb7a
