Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominique Simmons.
Hi Dominique, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey into coaching was really birthed from my own journey of becoming.
Long before Mindset Warrior Coaching had a name, I naturally found myself being the person people came to for encouragement, perspective, accountability, and support. I’ve always had a genuine passion for helping people see beyond where they currently are and recognize that their present circumstances don’t have to determine where they ultimately end up.
Over the years, my experiences in education, leadership, mental health, ministry, and life coaching allowed me to see a common thread: so many people genuinely desire change, but they struggle with the mindset, patterns, beliefs, emotional wounds, and sometimes even fear that keep them from moving forward.
But this work is also deeply personal for me because a lot of what I teach today came from lessons I first had to learn for myself.
I’ve experienced seasons of transition, disappointment, rebuilding, letting go, starting over, and having to ask myself some difficult questions: “Who am I in this season? What do I need to release? What patterns are no longer serving me? And who is God calling me to become?”
I learned that you can be educated, accomplished, strong, capable, and even be the person everyone else depends on—and still have areas within yourself that need healing, challenging, and transformation.
That realization changed the way I viewed personal development.
I began to understand that transformation isn’t simply about setting another goal, creating another vision board, or telling yourself to “think positive.” Sometimes you have to go back and identify the root. You have to be willing to tell yourself the truth about where you are, examine the beliefs and patterns that helped get you there, release what can no longer accompany you, and intentionally build something different.
Those experiences ultimately became the foundation for my ELEVATE Framework™: Evaluate, Let Go, Establish, Validate, Align, Transform, and Expand.
Through ELEVATE, we evaluate our current reality, let go of what no longer aligns with where we’re going, establish healthier foundations, validate truth over limiting narratives, align our actions with our values, faith, purpose, and goals, transform through intentional action, and ultimately expand into the person and life we have been called to become.
What I love most about ELEVATE is that it isn’t about perfection—it’s about progression and becoming.
That is also the heart behind the name Mindset Warrior Coaching.
To me, a Mindset Warrior is someone who is willing to fight for their growth. They’re willing to challenge their thinking, confront unhealthy patterns, heal, develop discipline, do the uncomfortable work, and keep showing up for themselves even when transformation doesn’t happen as quickly as they hoped.
My professional background has certainly shaped the way I coach, but my lived experiences have shaped it just as much. I never wanted to coach from a place of simply saying, “Here’s what the textbook says.” I wanted to create a space where education, practical tools, accountability, faith, and real-life experience could come together.
Today, through Mindset Warrior Coaching, The Mindset Mentor™, and the ELEVATE Framework™, my passion is helping people get unstuck, renew their thinking, rediscover who they are, and intentionally create lives that align with their values, faith, purpose, and goals.
And one thing I’m very transparent about is that I’m still ELEVATING too.
I don’t believe we ever arrive at some final version of ourselves. There is always another opportunity to grow, heal, develop greater discipline, increase our capacity, deepen our faith, and discover another dimension of our purpose.
So, in many ways, Mindset Warrior Coaching is bigger than a business for me. It’s the culmination of my education, professional experiences, faith, personal transformation, and genuine love for seeing other people become.
What started as simply being passionate about encouraging and helping people has developed into a purpose-driven body of work centered around mindset transformation, faith, accountability, intentionality, and becoming.
Ultimately, I want people to understand that where you are is information, not a life sentence. You can evaluate it, learn from it, make a decision about what comes next, and ELEVATE from there.
I had to learn how to ELEVATE my own life, and now I have the privilege of helping other people do the same.I can also make this slightly shorter and punchier while keeping the strongest parts, which may work especially well if this is being submitted for a written interview or publication.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, and I think that is part of what makes this work so meaningful to me.
One of my biggest struggles has been learning how to remain consistent while carrying multiple responsibilities and navigating different seasons of life. I am naturally someone who shows up for other people. I can encourage, motivate, lead, pour into others, and help them see what is possible for their lives, but I have had to learn how to give myself that same level of grace, accountability, and intentionality.
There have been seasons where I was doing all the “right” things professionally while privately having to rebuild parts of myself. I’ve experienced disappointment, major life transitions, relationships ending, moments of questioning myself, and seasons where what I thought my life would look like simply wasn’t what God had planned.
I’ve also had to navigate the tension of wearing many hats, being a mother, professional, leader, coach, mentor, and woman who is still growing herself. There are moments when life requires more of you than you anticipated, and I’ve had to learn that adjusting doesn’t mean you’re failing. Sometimes success looks like having the courage to reevaluate what is working, release what isn’t, and begin again with greater wisdom.
Another struggle has been overcoming the pressure to have everything figured out because I’m a coach. There can be this unspoken expectation that because you help other people transform, you should always have everything together yourself. I’ve had to release that. I’m human before I’m a coach. I still have moments when I struggle with consistency, discipline, doubt, disappointment, or simply feeling stretched. The difference now is that I have tools to recognize those moments without allowing them to define me.
I’ve also had to learn that purpose doesn’t always develop according to your timeline. Building something meaningful takes patience. There have been ideas I’ve had to refine, seasons when I’ve questioned whether I was doing enough, and times when I’ve had to continue believing in the vision even when the results weren’t immediately visible.
One of the greatest lessons has been learning that sometimes the person you spend so much time encouraging to keep going is the person you see in the mirror.
That’s actually part of how ELEVATE became so personal to me. I wasn’t creating a framework from a place of having mastered life. I was putting language and structure around principles I had repeatedly needed in my own journey: evaluate where you are, let go of what no longer belongs, establish something healthier, validate what is true, align yourself with where you’re going, allow the process to transform you, and then expand.
So no, the road hasn’t been smooth, but I wouldn’t erase the difficult parts of it.
The setbacks gave me perspective. The endings taught me how to rebuild. The uncomfortable seasons increased my faith. Motherhood has stretched my capacity in ways I could never have anticipated. Leadership has taught me responsibility. And my own battles with consistency and becoming have given me compassion for the person who knows what they want but is struggling to figure out how to get there.
I don’t coach from a pedestal. I coach from the understanding that transformation is ongoing.
Some seasons I’ve been the coach, some seasons I’ve needed coaching, and some seasons I’ve simply had to sit with God and allow Him to work on me.
Every part of that journey has contributed to the woman, leader, mother, and coach I am today. And it has reinforced one of the core beliefs behind Mindset Warrior Coaching: the struggle doesn’t disqualify you from becoming. Sometimes the struggle is the very place where becoming begins.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At the heart of my work, I help people get unstuck, challenge the way they think, and become more intentional about the life they are creating.
Through Mindset Warrior Coaching, I specialize in mindset transformation, personal development, accountability, goal setting, identity work, and helping people recognize the internal patterns and limiting beliefs that may be keeping them from moving forward. My approach is rooted in the belief that lasting transformation begins internally. We can change our environment, set new goals, or create new routines, but if we never address the mindset underneath our decisions, we often find ourselves repeating the same cycles in different forms.
A major part of my work is my signature ELEVATE Framework™, which stands for Evaluate, Let Go, Establish, Validate, Align, Transform, and Expand. It provides a practical process for helping people honestly evaluate where they are, release what is no longer serving them, establish healthier foundations, validate truth over limiting narratives, align their actions with their values and purpose, transform through intentional action, and expand into the next version of themselves.
I think what I am becoming known for is helping people have the conversations with themselves that they may have been avoiding. I am an encourager, but I also believe accountability is an expression of care. Sometimes elevation requires encouragement, and sometimes it requires being challenged to confront the patterns, excuses, fears, or beliefs that are keeping you comfortable but stagnant.
My background also allows me to bring several different perspectives into the coaching space. My experience spans education, educational leadership, mental and behavioral health, life coaching, mentorship, ministry, and personal development. Because of that, I don’t approach people through only one lens. I understand that our mindset is influenced by our experiences, environments, relationships, beliefs, responsibilities, and the stories we have learned to tell ourselves.
Faith is also an important part of who I am and how I personally understand purpose and transformation. For clients who desire faith based coaching, I am able to incorporate biblical principles, prayer, spiritual reflection, and practical application while still creating space for people to do the very real work of personal growth.
What sets me apart is that I don’t coach from the perspective of having a perfect life or having everything figured out. I coach from education, professional experience, faith, and lived experience. I understand what it feels like to be accomplished in one area while still rebuilding in another. I understand what it means to pour into others while realizing that you also need to pour back into yourself. Most importantly, I understand that transformation is not always linear.
That’s why one of the phrases that represents my work is simply, “I’m still ELEVATING too.”
I’m not standing on the other side telling people how to climb. I’m committed to doing my own work while helping others do theirs.
What I am most proud of isn’t necessarily a title, degree, program, or accomplishment. I’m most proud of the moments when someone begins to see themselves differently. When a person recognizes a pattern they’ve been repeating for years, establishes a boundary they were once afraid to establish, chooses themselves without guilt, reconnects with their faith, follows through on something they previously abandoned, or simply says, “I don’t think the way I used to think,” that means something to me.
I’m also incredibly proud of developing the ELEVATE Framework™ because it represents more than a coaching model. It represents pieces of my own journey and the lessons I’ve learned about what it truly takes to change.
Ultimately, I want my work to be known for helping people understand that elevation isn’t simply about achieving more. It’s about becoming more aligned with who you were created to be.
My goal is not to create people who depend on their coach forever. My goal is to equip people with the awareness, tools, discipline, faith, and confidence to coach themselves through the next season of their lives.
Because at the end of the day, I’m not interested in simply helping people feel motivated for a moment. I’m interested in helping them develop the mindset necessary to transform their lives.This one also gives you several strong quotable lines that could be pulled out as highlights in the published feature, especially “I’m still ELEVATING too” and “I’m not interested in simply helping people feel motivated for a moment.”
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
When I think about my favorite childhood memories, it’s honestly difficult to choose just one because so much of my childhood was centered around family, travel, and experiencing different places.
Growing up in a military family gave me the opportunity to experience a lot at a young age. Because my parents traveled with the military, I spent time with both sets of my grandparents and had the unique experience of growing up between St. Louis and Florida. I also experienced the constant travel that came with military life, living in and visiting different states and even having the opportunity to experience other countries, including Germany.
I really got to experience different worlds. In St. Louis, I experienced inner city life, riding the city bus, being surrounded by the culture, community, food, and energy of the city. Then there was Florida, with the beaches, amazing food, beautiful weather, and a completely different pace and environment. Beyond those places, traveling throughout the United States and internationally exposed me to different cultures, people, foods, traditions, and ways of living.
But what stands out most when I look back isn’t necessarily one destination or experience. It’s the fact that no matter where we were, family was always at the center.
I was blessed to grow up surrounded by grandparents and extended family and to have different generations pouring into me. There was always family, food, laughter, storytelling, and a sense of belonging. As a child, I probably didn’t fully understand how special that was, but as an adult, I recognize what a gift it truly was.
I also believe growing up that way helped shape who I am today. Being exposed to so many different environments taught me how to adapt, connect with people from different backgrounds, appreciate different cultures, and understand that there is a much bigger world outside of what is familiar to us.
So my favorite childhood memory isn’t necessarily one specific moment. It’s the experience of my childhood itself. From riding the city bus in St. Louis, to enjoying the beaches of Florida, to traveling across different states and experiencing Germany, I was able to see so much of the world while still having family as my constant.
Pricing:
- ELEVATE YOURSELF 1:1 coaching $125–$1,100+
- ELEVATE TOGETHER Group coaching $249–$497 per participant
- ELEVATE YOUR ORGANIZATION Workshops, schools, churches, nonprofits, conferences, and corporate clients $750–$5,000+
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @drdomspeaks
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1LREqjDHcv/
