Today we’d like to introduce you to Donald Gibson.
Hi Donald, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
On today Oct 4, 2016 I came realize God shows us our purpose when we are kids. But the older we get, the more the world talks us into something else.
In career discovery 9th grade, I researched the career marriage counselor. Not knowing any better I said this is what I’m going to be. Out of all the careers in that book, that is the only one that stuck with me. But I was an athlete so the only career I was thinking about was going pro in both baseball and football. In 10th grade career day I dressed up to be a marriage counselor.
II remember hearing TD Jakes said purpose is in our pain.
One pain I had growing up was my father not being there. Not having him at games or practices was part of my pain. Every time I seen a father doing things with their child, it touched me in a deep way. When I had kids I was going to be there for them no matter what. Wanting to be with my kids led me into another pain, my marriage. Sounds harsh I know but it’s the truth. I wanted to leave my marriage a number of times. Then I heard TD Jakes say “the lord said if you leave Ziklad you will miss the crown. Do cry if you must but don’t move until you get your crown because when I send the crown I will send the power to the place of your pain & until you can deal with your pain you can’t receive your power. Stop avoiding it…your power is in your pain.” The power, my purpose in life was in my pain.
Our purpose in life is to fulfill God’s purpose. I’m doing that now by being a marriage preparation coach. I’m helping keep fathers in homes so kids won’t have the pain I had. I’m showing families how to get around and avoid the pain I went through in my marriage. God told me he want to use me, but I first must learn to handle the circumstance I was in with my wife. What I was going through with her was building the character I needed to become who God needed me to be in order to put me where he wanted me. Just like he did with David, he used my difficulties to mold me. Like David I became tired and wanted to leave but I couldn’t. This is why I am who I am now.
2016 I signed up for a coaching course. The next year I was certified as a Life and Relationship Coach.
Now, we are founders of The Imperfect Coupl3, a Christian Marriage Preparation coaching business. We are also the owners of The Imperfect Coupl3 app. We are certified facilitators of Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts (SYMBIS) and the Gottman Relationship Checkup. I, Donald, am the author of a marriage preparation book titled “The Missing Pieces To Winning At Marriage” it is on Amazon.
Kids are my passion. I wanted to be a father figure to all kids, especially the ones who don’t have fathers around. God told me as clear as day that I will not be able to reach all the kids I want to reach the way I want to reach them. That’s when he told me I have to reach their parents because at the end of the day it’s the parents they go home to that will have the biggest influence on them. So I’m giving all I was taught all I learned from the Bible and my struggles to other parents so we can raise our kids how God intended. This is my why. This is why I will succeed. This is who I am.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No it has not. There are many difficult roads when you are building by yourself. The first challenge I had came as a husband and leader. I had to figure out how to get my wife to buy in, see my vision and be my helper. After that obstacle, we faced having the money to invest in the business, trying to learn how to market, building the right relationships. We also had to figure out how to manage our time with both of working full time jobs and still needing to make progress with the business.
My biggest entrepreneur obstacle had to be learning how to draw the line and compartmentalize my personality from personal life and business life. The personal me is laid back wanting to be away from the camera not in the spotlight. The personal me don’t believing in asking. If that’s asking for your time, your help, your support, an invite, friendship or whatever it is. But for business I have to be in the spotlight be on camera and ask for help, support, and ask for their business.
In the relationship: We’ve faced a few obstacles. No obstacle bigger than almost getting a divorce and feeling like we couldn’t communicate with each other. Sleeping in different rooms for months, not touching each other, barely talking. It was during that time that I found myself reading my bible more consistently than ever. I was taking focus off my wife and turning it to the Bible. I had my biggest bible streak back then. But during that time, all that reading was God molding me and showing me why I couldn’t leave our marriage. It was him showing us how to make our marriage work. It was during that time that I came up with the family plan to accomplish the vision I had for my family. The family plan is what kept our marriage together. We have the family plan inside our app for everyone to have access to and create their own. It was during this time we started communication exercises and learned how to effectively communicate with each other. At first when we would argue we would just say “we don’t know how to communicate with each other.” We would say that, but we would never put in the work to learn how to communicate with each other. How can a person do something they have never studied to do? So we started learning, practicing and role playing communication exercises. We have those here inside the app for everyone. Inside the family plan we made a vow on our communication. Not only with ourselves but our kids.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The divorce rate is 50%. There is a 50/50 chance you will get divorced when you get married. We are the couple every imperfect couple come to see before they get married. That’s what our brand is known for. We work with married couples who are figuring out they wish they would’ve done premarital counseling, but our specialty is preparing couples before they get married. We prepare the men as well as the women. Men are typically not prepared for marriage; we just get married. We help you put together a family plan because EVERY MAN needs a family plan before he gets married or else he just taking a woman on a rollercoaster ride. We have a 6 month marriage preparation program we put couples through. Before you spend thousands on a one day wedding, spend just a little to ensure you have a marriage that lasts a lifetime. We help you get the missing pieces to winning at marriage in our app The Imperfect Coupl3 and specifically through our digital workbook inside the app called purposeful dating.
This digital workbook will help you:
1. Change the way you date so you can really get to know your significant other on the deepest level
2. Know up front if the person you are dealing with is or not the one for you before wasting years of your time that you can’t get back.
3. Learn communication skills that will be needed for a healthy long term relationship.
4. Prepare you to be in a long term relationship with the end goal of a healthy marriage.
5. Find the vision for your life and put together a family plan where your marriage will serve God’s purpose.
Let us help you, your friends and family be part of the 50% who win at marriage so you won’t waste your time and years that you can’t get back.
Download The Imperfect Coupl3 app and sign up for the Purposeful Dating digital workbook.
I’m most proud when I get messages that say the app made them really start looking at and evaluating themselves. That is important because the relationship is only as good as who YOU are as an individual. You have to fix you, it’s not the other person’s job.
Earlier you asked what makes us unique. In our app we offer: -Purposeful Dating Digital Workbook-Self Paced option for those who are still skeptical about sitting with a counselor and having a stranger in their business. This allows those individuals to still get help and grow without anyone knowing but them. I think this is what makes us unique. You can still grow without having to sit with a stranger telling them your business. You just sign up for the self paced exercises and they are delivered to you once a week.
We also offer: Family Plan template; Couple Relationship coaching, which includes the Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Assessment; A community of like-minded people where everyone is here to grow in their relationships.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The ability to keep going when you don’t see progress. Never give up. Always see everything as seed that you are planting and at the right time it will grow into something. Keep pushing forward. Keep learning. Don’t forget why you are doing what you doing.
We would like to leave you with The Imperfect Coupl3 3 C’s.
1.Communicate.
2.Commit to being teammates.
3.Chase goals together.
Contact Info:
- Email: Info@theimperfectcoupl3.com
- Website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-imperfect-coupl3/id1487875870?uo=4 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.imperfect.couple
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theimperfectmr.g/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014667426071
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HihyQAit7t8&t=4s
Image Credits
Lady Brit Gibson, Micah Gibson, Hayden Gibson.
