Stefanie Phan-Thomas
is a transformational life coach, writer, artist and entrepreneur based in La Jolla, California.
I believe that we are multifaceted creators with innate gifts and a unique calling. Our life’s work is to unfold into the masterpiece; every challenge, setback, scar, closed door, and every desire, miracle and manifestation is sculpting you into perfection. I’ve found that this journey of self inquiry meets us with less resistance when we surrender to full acceptance and compassion for all experiences, judgements, and misunderstandings within yourself and in relationship with others.
In my own personal journey of discovering my talents and calling, I’ve experienced a deep joy in walking with and reflecting back to another what’s possible in the field of the unknown. Embarking on entrepreneurship, and claiming a multifaceted creative career has been one of my greatest teachers. I have sat with the fear of being seen, fear of judgement, fear of failure and fear of success. I have compassion for the part of me that thought I wasn’t deserving, capable, or qualified to have what I desired. I forgive my ancestors who unknowingly planted seeds of upholding a ‘good girl’ persona, and deep-rooted limiting beliefs around honoring family ideals that were nonsensical, but never questioned in the name of legacy or tradition.
The path I choose walk is one that honors every desire, questions how I came to believe something, and takes radicable responsibility for how I show up in this life. I peer though the looking glass of life as an observer, without judgement, and always, reflecting what’s possible when you have the audacity to dream. In this field of possibility, an identity of inherent sovereignty and power.
I grew up in an immigrant family; first in Australia and then in America. As a middleclass immigrant family, themes of working hard, staying quiet, being a good student, and a ‘good girl’ became narratives that contributed to limiting beliefs I would later have to unwind.
Perhaps the most difficult cultural unlearning I faced was the traditional Asian belief that ‘the loudest duck get’s shot,’ whilst operating in a Western culture where ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease.’ Believing that my voice mattered, and should be heard has been a lifelong lesson for me.
As a young one, I dreamed of being a fashion designer. I ended up going to NYU to satisfy my parents, who urged me to get a ‘real’ education. I’m utterly grateful for this, because it was in an advanced writing class in Greenwich Village that I discovered one of my gifts, and learned how to articulate my voice through the craft of writing. I even got to live out my Devil Wears Prada dreams by interning at W magazine and Chanel's PR department.
I met my husband while working as an editor for a magazine. I was profiling the artist/designer, Aaron R. Thomas, for Riviera Orange County’s Art & Power issue and we met at the photoshoot. Little did I know, our love story would entail
I believe you can have it all. That anything is possible and nothing is permanent.
learning the intricacies of healing from a Traumatic Brain Injury. Aaron fell off a building in 2008 and, now in retrospect, I realize that the first 10-years of our marriage was a lesson in healing and unwittingly preparing me for the work that I do today as a trauma-informed life coach.
Honoring my longing to be a fashion designer, in 2014 I collaborated with my artist husband to create a line of handmade acrylic couture clutch handbags. The craftsmanship celebrates his family’s acrylic manufacturing heritage, which has made one-of-a-kind pieces for Louis Vuitton, Phillipe Starck, Mulberry and Marc Jacobs. Each one-of-a-kind handbag is handcrafted and hand painted.
In 2016, Aaron and I left our careers in art to dedicate our efforts to the legal cannabis industry. After discovering the healing effects of the plant on his brain injury, Aaron wanted to not only understand how and why the plant worked, but contribute to creating access for this medicine that saved his life. We built and operated one California’s largest cannabis contract manufacturing facilities, servicing some of the state’s largest brands, including STIIIZY, Dosist, Pacific Stone and more.
Today, my mission as a multifaceted creative is to embody and inspire what’s possible when you have the audacity to dream. I am a self mastery and transformational life coach and mentor that works with creatives to design a multifaceted, soul-aligned vocation. I am deeply inspired to empower others to pivot careers, reinvent themselves, and find the courage to go after their dreams. I don't believe you should be contained to a pigeonhole. I believe you can absolutely have/be/do/experience it all. I encourage my clients to try things on; that anything is possible and nothing is permanent.
In the spirit of exploring multiple passions, in addition to coaching, I am currently COO and business partner with my husband at Refined Processes, a Native American-owned cannabis and hemp manufacturing and distribution company. We are deeply committed to enriching and protecting the sovereign tribal cannabis economy. Our goal is to be the first vertically integrated Native American-owned cannabis company that paves the way for sovereign inter-state cannabis distribution and import-export between sovereign nations internationally. Being at the forefront of this pioneering movement is both exhilarating and rewarding.
Spiritual abundance
Abundance—wealth and worldly luxuries—aren’t always embraced by the spiritual community. But, I believe that desire, pleasure and wanting more are not sins, but rather a portal to spiritual awakening. I live under an agreement with the divine that all of our desires given to us for a reason. I’m convinced that it's imperative that more money flows into the hands of spiritual people. My purpose is to wake people up to a spiritual path and inspire people to expeirence what’s possible when you have the audacity to dream.
family
The world I have co-created with my husband, Aaron, is my greatest joy. I am utterly grateful for our love, support and union. There is nothing more fulfilling in my life than the partnership I experience with this soul.
connection
I am devoted to connection with myself, the people in my life, and my career. I am deeply invested in knowing myself, loving my inner circle and enriching my community.
POSSIBILITY is ABUNDANCE
is A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE
is TRANSFORMATION
LET ME SHOW YOU YOUR POSSIBILITY
ABUNDANCE / SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE / TRANSFORMATION
The Art of
Wanterluxe
An aesthete by heart and philosophical in nature, my expression through visual arts explores the concepts of transparency, family heritage, beauty, craftsmanship, and culture.
In 2014 I created an acrylic clutch handbag line that honors my husband’s family heritage of acrylic manufacturing. My all-acrylic clutch handbags have become my canvas. Each one is handmade by my father-in-law and is hand painted or adorned by me. The one-of-a-kind couture collectables are available through commission.
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I believe that we are multifaceted creators with innate gifts and a unique calling. In navigating our life's purpose, the key is embracing that every desire, miracle, manifestation, aligned synchronicity and every challenge, setback, scar, and closed door is sculpting you into perfection. It's all perfectly imperfect. Uncovering your life's purpose is a process of continuously remembering your brilliance in the ups and downs of the human experience. The goal is not to stop forgetting, because life is a cycle of forgetting and remembering.
The Indian tradition describes soul purpose as dharma and the Japanese have an elegant concept called ikigai, which identifies the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for. My process for uncovering your soul's purpose and remembering your brilliance is called the Art of Wanderluxe.
wanderluxe
The art of
