How I Went From a Single Mom with Nothing to Living My Dreams

5 Simple Tips for Achieving Your Goals and Manifesting Your Dreams. Discover how taking action, a clear vision, trusting yourself, and believing in your dreams can lead to a life you love.

Last night, I stumbled upon a note I wrote to myself back in January of 2011. At the time, I was a single mom raising three little kids, barley living paycheck to paycheck, and struggling just to keep my head above water. I had no one to lean on, no one to confide in. My salary was barely above the poverty line, and I was just trying to survive.

*Me with my babies in 2011

Three years earlier, my husband and high school sweetheart had abandoned me to pursue an affair, leaving me to rebuild my life with our three young children, no job and without a penny to my name. (Read my story.)

In that 2011 note, I wrote out some big goals:

• Make $100k a year

• Get a new car (one with less than 200k miles!)

• Get a passport stamp

• Take the kids to Disneyland

• Write a book

• Go to an NFL game

• Take my kids to Italy

• Run a marathon

• Quit my job and work for myself

• Get in shape

• Fall in love!

• Have a real home for my family

I wrote that note before I’d written a single page of a book. Before we had our first passport stamp (or even passports). Before I ever made six figures. Before I owned a luxury car, ran a marathon or traveled the world. It was a time when I felt scared and alone, just trying to figure it all out.

Back then, all I had were my big dreams—dreams that felt so unrealistic I called them fantasies.

But here's the thing: I have manifested and achieved every single thing on that list—and so much more. FAR beyond my wildest dreams! I did this by following my 9-step Centrella Method (from Hustle Believe Receive) and manifesting my dreams directly off my #futureboards.

*Me with my babies in 2025 at the team hotel the night before my son played in the Rose Bowl

In the years that have followed, here’s just a few things I’ve manifested from my #futureboards:

• Earning several six-figures a year with my own business, one I started 8 years ago after quitting my job to pursue my dreams of writing, speaking, and coaching.

• Owning several luxury cars.

• Taking my kids to Italy 3 times and traveling to seven countries.

• Yes, we went to Disneyland back then too!

• Running a marathon and a half marathon.

• Falling in love with my soulmate (you can read more about that here).

• Writing 3 best-selling self-help books and preparing to release a 4th, Think It.

• Finding a beautiful home for my family.

• Getting in the best shape of my life.

• Attending several NFL games, including watching my son play football for the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl.

• Flying on private jets.

• Sitting court-side at NBA games.

• Appearing on national TV and coaching celebrities and professional athletes.

*see more photos of manifestations on my Pinterest Reality Board

The list goes on and on.

This isn’t to brag. This is to prove one point: If I can do it, you can too!

But here's the reality—none of it happened by luck. And no one handed me those dreams. I created this life with intention, vision, and hustle. I manifested my most unrealistic dreams into my every day life. And YOU can too!

5 Simple Tips for Achieving Your Goals

1. Before I achieved any of this, I dreamed I could. I believed I could change my life, for myself and my children. (If you're ready to start building your dream life, get my mini-course Dream It for just $27 to learn how).

2. I created my custom #futureboard made to visually show everything I wanted in my future life in all 5 areas of life. (Learn how to make yours with my online course).

3. I wrote it down. I started imagining what my life would look like if just one of those dreams came true. (Learn how to write the story of your future life here).

4. I started taking imperfect action, even though I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know how I would make it all happen, but I still moved forward.

5. I changed the voice in my head from “I can’t” to “I will.” (Learn the mindset tools I teach in Think It, read those chapters and get the tools here).

And now, all these years later, I am living everything I once wrote down as a fantasy. I’ve truly created a life I love. No, it hasn’t always been easy—there have been many ups and downs and heartbreaking setbacks—but I’ve kept my vision alive and kept moving forward. And my dreams continue to manifest.

Are you where you dreamed you would be 5 or 10 years ago?

• Are you living your wildest dreams?

• Is your life what you imagined it could be?

• Are you the person you dreamed of becoming?

If not—MAKE THAT SHIT HAPPEN!

Stop waiting. Stop putting it off. You can’t afford not to be living a life you love.

The only thing standing between you and your dreams is the decision to go for it. Take action, trust yourself, and make it happen.

If you are serious about getting the life you want, I work with a limited number of clients who I personally teach how to create and live your dream life, learn more and schedule a consultation here.

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To read my full story and the steps I took to change my life and how you can too, grab my first book Hustle Believe Receive by clicking below

About the Author: Sarah Centrella is a multi #1 best-selling author, master life coach, executive coach, motivational speaker and the Founder of VIVIAMO.

All posts on The Coaching Corner are copyright protected Centrella Global LLC 2025