Welcome to the Creating Strength Podcast!

It’s 2023, time for new goals, new challenges, and new opportunities.

I’m so thrilled that you stopped by and wanted to take this first episode to reintroduce the podcast but also tell you more about me and what exactly is creating strength.  At the end I also want to share a short message for the haters/doubters out there.

I really can’t believe that it’s already 2023, 2022 went by so fast but here’s the thing this year feels so different for me. I’m excited for so many reasons but I wanted to talk today about my journey and how Creating Strength came to be because I think it’s something that might resonate with a lot of you out there who maybe didn’t follow a conventional path.

 I’ve always, always felt as though I wasn’t really following the rules, I wasn’t doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing and we all know in life there’s these unwritten rules.  You Know when you are doing what is ‘normal’ and when you are going against the norm you can feel it.      

I grew up in a small town and when I graduated, I wanted to get as far away from my town as I could but what ended up happening, which looking back it’s funny because I actually only moved about three hours away to go to college.

I had no idea what I wanted to do, and I felt like everyone around me had it figured out.  They knew what college they wanted to go to, what they wanted to major in, and then graduated in a typical four years.  I did not graduate in four years, it took me a whoppen 7, thank you very much. 

 I knew right away I wasn’t normal I wasn’t following what the path was supposed to look like for an 18-year-old going to college and so I went and majored in psychology, now the person that I am today would’ve loved majoring in psychology.  However, the me back then was not prepared at all for college.

I was following a path that somebody else wanted for me.  The major I chose was psychology because that’s what my grandpa majored in and so that’s what I went into realizing very quickly is that is not what I wanted

I made it through that first year but ended up transferring to a different school.  For my second year of college, I was determined to make the cheer squad.  At the time this school had a practice squad, so I practiced with them and on my own constantly.  Also trying to teach myself back handsprings.  Now the thing you need to know is that if you don’t know how to do a back handsprings as an adult it is really hard to teach yourself.

Your brain really doesn’t wanna let you go backwards like that you’re pretty much saying to yourself I’m gonna break something so let’s not.  After awhile I knew that making the squad was farther away than just a long shot. Still trying to figure out what I want to major in and what I want to do with my life I wasn’t putting all that much energy into school. 

So, I ended up transferring again to my third school where I found what I really wanted to do, and it was only by chance that the school counselor had recommended a particular program, and this was at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She told me about their organizational communication program and that is where I truly found myself.  Not only that but I had the most amazing teachers!

Through all that and with several breaks in between you can see why it took 7 years to graduate.

I’m like you know I see all these people and they’re they’re graduating they’re getting jobs, getting married right after college and they’re checking things off the list they’re just going down and doing everything that they’re supposed to be doing but not me and I am finding myself along the way.

But there where so many times I felt lost

but it’s funny because once I got to that third school, I discovered all the things I was passionate about. 

I discovered fitness, working out, teaching, and how passionate I was for helping others It really all began to come together for me, and I am one of those people that really really believes that everything happens for a reason it really does and if you take anything away from this episode today, I hope you understand that really life is a series of events.

We are not in control of everything but at least try to recognize every moment and every event that’s ever happened in your life……where did it lead you.  It’s pretty powerful to see all the steps I’ve taken and where it’s led me today.  I wouldn’t be who I am today without all the experiences I’ve had.  I personally wouldn’t have met my husband if I didn’t end up at the third school.

The truth is it’s tough being young, you don’t know who you are yet.

So, once I graduated, I decided to take this leap into entrepreneurship and running my own business. At the time I was an assistant manager for the buckle but decided to go all in and give it everything I had. 

Still feeling like I’m breaking the unwritten rules and thinking about how

I didn’t get married right after college or have kids right away, that just wasn’t me and it wasn’t my husband either.  Now here I am starting a business instead of getting a job!

Well, little did I know where that one decision would take me, and I look back and I am so thankful that I made that leap.  It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done but there is nothing that will teach you more than going into business for yourself.

My business started with a boot camp, I contracted with the local gymnastic center and decided to start this fitness business where I could run my classes, be a personal trainer and get this biz off the ground.

When I look back at that first decision to set that contract up with the gymnastic center, that was probably one of the smartest decisions that I made in the beginning.

It was designed in a way where the gymnastics owner gave me three months to get started, she got a flat fee and then after that she would start earning a percentage from the amount of clients that I had.

I was able to take on clients who needed less impact because of the gymnastics floor and create workouts that were joint friendly, so it was a win win all around. 

But here’s the thing I was following my passion and the decision to do this came from actually one of the last classes that I had taken before I graduated with one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.  She really challenged me to think about my dreams and what it is I wanted to accomplish.

Before that class, I hadn’t really thought much about reaching higher or believing that I could do more.

Taking my love for the gym and fitness and knowing that I wanted to help people, that decision was one of the most empowering things that I ever did and that’s why it sparked so many things after that because I was following my passion.

I remember the first day of my Boot Camp I had sent out a ton of marketing postcards and thought to myself…. how am I going to get people to show up at 5:30 in the morning? How am I going to be able to charge what I need to charge and get people to pay?

But I ended up having five people that first morning and I was so proud of myself.

It ultimately grew into one of the most popular fitness classes in town.

The interesting thing is I did not know how to run a Boot Camp, teach a class, or run a business.

That was something that I had to learn along the way and of course I made mistakes but because of the fact that I was following my passion and I was willing to put the work in I ended up being really good at it. 

I was determined to make it successful and do whatever it took so I would research workouts and how to make my own equipment.  In fact, I created my own sandbags, medicine balls, and weighted bars.  Yup it’s true.  Using colored duct tape, sand, and basketballs.

There was a different workout every single day and I don’t think a lot of trainers out there can say that they do a different workout every single day many many trainers actually repeat it but I made sure that we never repeated a work out and I could change things on the fly I became very very good at adapting movements for those who needed it so if you’ve ever been in the gym and you couldn’t do something I was very good at saying OK let’s do this instead.

Ultimately through fitness and through running my Boot Camp I discovered that I was just really great at teaching.

It’s something that I didn’t realize until about 10 years later.  I also got really good at a lot of other things.  In that time, I had created several websites, figured out social media, created 7 eBooks, started online training (you know before it online training was a big thing).

You don’t go into being a business owner, being great at marketing, being really great at selling and being really great at social media.  Those were all the things that I had to figure out.  In those years I ended up being a manager, secretary, CEO, CFO, accountant, coach, leader, friend, counselor, and Lady Boss.

It’s odd but I ultimately discovered that this non-conventional path that I was following was leading to something much bigger and when I look back, I realize that one of the biggest mistakes that I made was comparing myself to all the people I thought were ‘normal.

I label myself as a personal trainer and I sort of thought of myself as less than, so I trained a lot of people that were doctors they had master’s degrees and were just really smart, intelligent people who had these great paying jobs and I compared myself to them and thought I’m just less than because I’m ‘just’ a personal trainer.

If I could go back and tell my younger self anything, I would tell her you are amazing at what you do, you’re a professional, you’re an expert, and nobody can do what you do!

And for what it’s worth I think one of the things I had going for me and why I was so successful was because even though I had that mindset the other part of my mindset was “I know there is no other personal trainer in town that can do what I do!”

“When people come to me, they will be getting the best services in town because, I care.”

I always cared so deeply about my clients, and I didn’t give them cookie-cutter programs I really went above and beyond, and I knew nobody else in town would be doing that and so that’s another part of what I believe looking back.

That was my special sauce……..fast forward 10 years and it’s time to sell the business.  One of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make in my life was selling a business I put all my blood, sweat and tears into for so long. 

But it just wasn’t working anymore, with two kids and a ton of clients I just didn’t have the energy to try and keep building it up.

My husband and I made the tough decision and ended up moving to a new city and finding jobs in the corporate world.

 I ended up getting hired at a wonderful company but ended up feeling very insecure.

I didn’t know what I was doing and was used to being an expert in a different industry for the last 10 years.

 I’m an expert in the fitness industry and I know nutrition I know how to set goals and I know how to create programs and if this point, I’ve written seven e-books and built different websites and there’s lots of skills that I had but

When I started working in corporate America, I just felt lost, and I wasn’t necessarily doing what I was passionate about, but I was super lucky in the job that I found. 

I was teaching – creating and developing things that I loved, and I was really great at but all of a sudden, I lost my confidence and that was a really really tough time.

To feel as though I’m starting all over was difficult.  I hadn’t spent the last 10 years climbing the corporate ladder but now all of a sudden, I’m at the bottom trying to figure out how to go up.

But I also felt this deep desire to find that passion again, the same passion I had when I was a personal trainer, I got a find something that I’m passionate about that I need to find that drive and so it’s again not following that conventional power

Here’s the thing about my personality I’m not gonna play the corporate game and I’ve gotta tell you interviewing for jobs was really really hard because people look at your experience on a piece of a paper

 Putting that you’re a business owner on your résumé and if it doesn’t translate into something that people easily understand.  Remember those unwritten rules I was talking about; this is one of those things.  When hiring managers are looking at resumes that love seeing titles.

Hiring managers don’t know how to take that, I find in the corporate world it is hard to understand exactly what goes into running a business when you have never experienced it before. 

Like I said before I was everything so I’ve been a manager for 10 years, I’ve been a leader, but it doesn’t look the same way as if you put on your résumé manager of x,y,z in the corporate world is totally different.

I did everything and now I’m in this position where I have to translate my business experience into the business world and it’s really hard because people look at you like you have to prove you are worth being there.

I think that’s where I lost my confidence because I’ve been doing this for so long and I feel like I’m really great at it I know I’ve got skills, but you know it’s tough to get someone to look at your résumé and say you’re worthy

Now luckily, I did, I found my place and I am so thankful for that opportunity because again it just launched me too where I’m at today. It helped me find my fire again and my passion so again everything happens for a reason.

 The starting over part was hard but then I compared myself to other people who had more experience. 

If you’ve ever heard the term don’t compare your Chapter 1 to someone else’s Chapter 20.  That’s what I was doing, this was my Chapter 1 and I was comparing myself to folks who had been in the biz for a really long time.

After a while I decided to go back to school and get my masters, which was one of the best decisions I ever made.  Here I am again not following your conventional path and waiting until my late thirties to get my masters.

So, through all the experiences and the trials and tribulations running my own business and then to starting all over again as a beginner in the corporate world and has led me to where I’m today. It’s all because I followed my passion and followed my gut

You’ve got to follow your heart and trust your gut. Let me tell you…. Those of you out there who might be wondering what the right decision is to make at any given time trust your gut!

Last year I hired a career coach, and she gave me so much good advice, but she also helped me find myself and find that passion where I was doubting myself and every step.

Realizing what I’m passionate about and what I should be doing.  I had to stop doubting myself, comparing, and I also had to stop listening to these voices saying “well you’re not ready for that you need to go read some more books, take some more classes, you need to get a few more years of experience until you’re ready and that’s one of the mindsets that drove this first podcast episode because I consider myself an expert when.

When I was running my business in the fitness world, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was an expert in that world so when I changed careers, and I changed industries I no longer felt like I was an expert but as I started to make certain realization it dawned on me that I am still an expert.

But the world can be really judgy.  There are many people out there who want to define what an expert is.

I’ve always wondered though, who truly gets to define whether or not you are an expert.  I would argue it is the client thinking about hiring you.  They get to make the judgement on whether or not you are qualified

The person with 50 years of experience isn’t automatically the best person for the job.  The person with the specific x,y, z title isn’t automatically the best person for the job.

All these unwritten rules and all the people who want to judge you and even hope that you fail.  That’s a little said isn’t it, hoping that someone fails?? 

Looking at 10 years of running your own business like I said many people do not understand what actually goes into that I would argue every day all day that if you’re in business on your own you are gaining way more experience than being in corporate America.

It’s hard for people to see that because if you’ve never done it you don’t know what it’s like. It is constant problem-solving and something I am I’ve learned through the last year and hiring that career coach to be very proud of but I I look back I’m like yeah I am an expert and whether or not it’s in the same industry or not I’ll realize now that like I said my passion is teaching and I would never ever ever tell someone not to follow their passion because let me tell you folks what you are passionate about what lights you up and gets you out of bed in the morning is what God put you on this earth to do!

It’s that simple. Follow your passion!

All the big steps in my life where I have gotten the most reward, the best feeling and the biggest returns are when I followed my passion and listened to my gut and just went after it.

Being scared but doing it anyway.  Not waiting for someone else to say yes or waiting for someone else to tell you are worthy of being an expert.

I’ve had many moments where I was terrified by trusting my gut.  Time where I would sit on the couch and think I don’t know what I’m gonna do I don’t know how I’m going to get customers and last year a wise woman told me take your brave next steps so that’s what I started doing.

 And that’s how I started getting my confidence back and I don’t think anyone out there should apologize for having confidence in something you know you are good at and you know is your passion.

If you believe that you’re an expert and you have something to offer that others don’t then you should go for it. 

I’m confident in the fact I can look at anything and find the gaps and problems and create a solution for that.   I’m very strategic but I’m also very passionate about leadership and when I look back on the business that I built before and the one I’m building now, creating strength LLC

I know for the time that I spent running a fitness business that I was leading, managing, and coaching my clients.

I was creating visions, plans, goals, and moving people towards the future they envisioned for themselves.

I got to know my clients on a personal level and became friends with many of them, but it was all about goalsetting and reaching those goals and accountability and that’s leadership folks that is leadership.

I’m here to change the landscape of corporate America.  That is why I am building Creating Strength.  Everyone deserves a great leader, and everyone has the ability to be a leader.  We all deserve to feel good about our work, we spend 1/3 of our life working, that’s crazy.  Organizations have a responsibility to take care of their people and I am determined to change the way organizations show up for their employees.

I’m going to share my journey with you here on the podcast and interview leaders and business owners from all different industries to bring you stories of struggle an story of triumph, women supporting women, how to build confidence, tips and tricks to be a great leader, a great facilitator, and so much more!

All in all, remember….

Follow your passion

Trust your gut

Don’t be judgy

And support other women out there just trying to do there thing.

• EP 2: Why We Should Be Developing Our LeadersEPISODE 2 Welcome to the Creating Strength Podcast, Episode #2!  Today’s episode is sponsored by common sense.  Everyone wants it but not everyone has it.  Now thanks for listening, let’s dive into the topic of today’s show. Why it’s important to develop leaders. To explain the ‘why’ I’m going to be answering some important questions… Continue reading EP 2: Why We Should Be Developing Our Leaders

The post EP 1: Say YES to Yourself & Write Your Own Story first appeared on Creating Strength Blueprint .