Ep 6: In conversation with Jenna O’Keefe

Welcome to the youe can have it all podcast, brought to you by me, Emma Naylor, life purpose, coach and mentor. This podcast is for ambitious and motivated women who are ready to take the next step in their life. To support them in turning their dreams into reality, to help them and guide them to turn their magic back on, step into their purpose and live their most authentic life. So welcome back to the you can have it all podcast. I'm so excited to have Jenna o' Keefe on the podcast this week. Welcome, Jenna. Hi.

Thanks for having me.

Thank you for being here. I know we wanted to record this podcast so, so long ago, but life just seems to have happened. Seems to have gone a little bit crazy. And obviously you've been traveling, I've been traveling. Your business has been booming, as has mine, so it's been a little bit crazy to get this booked in.

We're finally here. We're finally here. Season two. Let's go.

Let's go. Cool. Perfect. Well, look, as I said, thank you so much for being here. I'd love for you to introduce yourself in a little bit more detail to our listeners who. Who you are, what you do. Yeah, go for it.

Okay, so I'm Jenna o'. Keeffe. I'm a confidence and mindset coach and a breath work facilitator. So I am in the second year of my business and I work with women to help them on Earth, their limiting belief, their self sabotage patterns so that they can step into that, you know, wild, unapologetic confidence that I think we're all kind of striving for. Really?

Yeah, absolutely. I love that. I remember when I first came across you on Instagram. I was like, this girl is radiating through her Instagram. I was like, literally practicing what she preaches. So how did you get into coaching? Why? Was it something that really called you?

Yeah, it's an interesting one. So I have. It sounds quite cliched, really. Like, I've always wanted to help people. Like that has been.

And I think a lot of.

I think a lot of people have that where they're like, I want to help people. I want to do good. I want to. To have this sense of purpose. So it kind of started there and I was like, I was watching like Tony Robbins videos when I was like 10. It was weird, but I never really knew how it would manifest and how.

It would play out.

So I kind of ignored that. And there has been so many signs across the way. Like I did psychology at uni, but then I drank too much and Never went to lectures and fucked that up, really. And then, you know, I got into marketing, and then I was like, oh, okay, you know, marketing a. Of psychology in this. But again, then I ignored it. And then eventually I covered hit and I was like, this is my chance. This is where I can. I'd had my own journey with my confidence crisis, drinking, men, money, all of that stuff. And I'd got myself to quite a level place. And I thought, why is nobody teaching this? Why is nobody. Why was nobody there when I needed this? And actually, so that was where I wanted to create this business where I can help women do the same and create that change in their own lives. So that's where it started, really. And it's just the best job in the world. It's incredible.

Yeah, I absolutely agree with it being just such. It's such an amazing job. And I love what you said around kind of going to uni and doing this and screwing things up and drinking and like, you know, I've been so open about the fact that I haven't drunk for five years, and it's absolutely changed my life. You know, there are these decisions that we make that just absolutely empower us to do, you know, the best. The best next thing in our life. And it's often that we kind of go to university because we think we have to, and actually we don't end up using our degrees in the way that we thought we would, you know, and it's. It's always really interesting to see how people's journey from school to university to jobs and really using our own experience to go, actually, I want to use this, you know, not in vain. I really, really want to use it to help other women. Basically, from what where I've been sat, I wish I had this level of support. So how did you kind of, you know, decide that, you know, the coaching was for you? I know that you've been kind of working full time and kind of doing both at the same time. How did you decide? Actually, I know that this is a business rather than it kind of being a passion. How did you start turning it into a business?

It took me so long. So what a lot of I get so many questions about how did you make your business so successful so quickly and it took me so long to get there. What people don't see is I set my Instagram page up in 2016. Like, it started as like a motivational blog, positivity blog. And so it was only when I actually, I saw a couple of other coaches, but they were really aspirational. Like, they had, like, hundreds of thousands of followers. They were already making millions and millions of pounds in their business. And I. So it never really felt like something I could do. And then once Covid hit, I had like, a. I just felt like, God, it is really now or never. I had a situation in my. I was working at an advertising agency at the time, and I had a situation where my. A really senior member of staff was just horrible to me. And I. We went into Covid kind of the next week, really, and I thought, this is it, actually. Like, I'm. I am gonna fucking do this. I'm gonna create this business as, you know, big fuck you to everybody that's.

You know, to everybody that's doubted me.

Or taking the piss out of my Instagram page. And that's where it started. So it was. It definitely wasn't an overnight thing. It was something that I'd been building on, really. But just ignoring the signs, I think, because I felt scared, if I'm completely honest.

Yeah. And that's really interesting because I think a lot of people don't start because they're scared. They let the fear get in the way of actually doing anything. And. And you kind of said it. It's that. That fear of judgment, of other people are going to take the piss out of me. What are other people going to say? And it's really interesting, having watched so many coaches from kind of day one of their business grow, and a lot of them have always said at first their friends, family members kind of joked around and took the piss, and then when they saw it was successful, would kind of say, oh, how did you do that? And how did you make that happen? And how did you manifest that? Wait, wait, wait. This is actually a real job. And I think with a lot of it is people have fear. People have fear. They fear for us because they don't think that they can do it. But when we are the proof, they then turn around and go, oh, well, actually, if Emma can do it, if Jenna can do it, if this coach can do it, if that coach can do it, does that mean it's available for me? And we all know the answer is yes, but we're the ones who have taken that step and taken that leap and gone actually, I know I can do this. I've done the work on myself, and I trust that this is exactly what I meant to be doing.

Exactly. And not. There's this. We're so held back by fear and this fear of failure and publicly failing. But Actually, you know, I failed so many times in what I'm doing. Like, there have been launches that haven't worked, there's been posts that I have curated for hours and hours that have flopped and nobody has commented on. So when you really and truly release that fear of judgment and failure, you literally can't fail. It's impossible to fail. When you, you know, you're okay with failing, it just doesn't have that same emotional hold over you. And that's what helps you progress and progress quickly as well.

Yeah, absolutely. And one of the things that I've really been working through a lot of my clients and even with myself is detaching yourself from the outcome. You know, before it would be obsessing if an Instagram post had done well. How many people messaged you off the back of it, or how many people attend your webinar or download your free guide? And actually that's not what the result is. People you're helping. Even if in my eyes now, if one person downloads your guide and they get something from it and it empowers them to make change, you've done your job as a coach. It's not about the numbers, but it's so easy to get wrapped up and go, well, the outcome's not what I wanted it to be, but how about if we start detaching ourselves from the outcome and going, actually, that's not what it's all about.

100%. 100%. And after you've been in business for a little while, you start to take a long term view on things, Right? If the numbers aren't coming in straight away, who's to say those people won't come back to you in 612 months time? Because I've had that, I've had people that have said, no, not right now, on discovery calls or no, the group isn't the right time for me. And they've come back and joined. So if you look at things just so in the moment and you're looking at those kind of metrics, those vanity metrics, really in isolation, it doesn't paint the full story of what's going on. And you're missing that whole other bigger picture of these people are these people are in your energy. They'll come to you eventually at the right time for them, which is perfect.

Yeah, absolutely. And it's that again, that comparison of you saying, well, you started your Instagram account in 2016 and it's taken you time. We often compare, you know, our day one to someone else's day 1000. But we don't see the failed launches, the fact that they've been working so hard, the fact that they've been working this job, a full time job, another side hustle. While going through, you know, a massive breakup or, you know, buying a house or losing a house or whatever it is, we don't see that. We only see the look how successful they're being. And I think that really has such a big part to play in people wanting these overnight successful businesses and going well, this person made a success. But actually it's often that there's a whole backstory as to like where they've come from and kind of how they've got where they are.

Definitely, definitely. And that's the. There's been such a rise since COVID since everybody has got used to this laptop working. I think a lot of people are looking for a quick overnight success and I mean maybe it is possible but if that's what you're looking for, coaching probably isn't for you. Like, I want people to come into the industry and feel so passionate about helping people and so passionate about making change and the success will come.

Yeah. And it's all about, as you said, kind of going in as a passion, not going in as a quick fix because you want to make money, you want to leave your job straight away. And that kind of leads on quite well to kind of how I wanted to start sort of discussing with you, how did you deal kind of. I know you're still working full time, which is amazing, while you're still kind of doing your coaching. And again, this is something else that isn't spoken about enough in the industry about yes, you can be a coach and yes, you can still be consulting or have a full time role. You don't have to pick one or the other. So how did you kind of start balancing having a full time role while sort of doing your coaching business as well?

Yeah, it's. And I've always been really honest about this on my Instagram page because to start well, always that's not actually completely true. To start with, I didn't want anyone on my coaching page to know I was working full time because I had this limiting belief that people would think I was less of a coach. People would think that I'm, you know, don't have this business full time. But actually when I was working with my coach at my business coach at the time, she was like, are you joking? You need to talk about this. You need to talk about how you have set up this business whilst Having a business full time whilst having a job full time. Sorry. So to start with, I juggling the two, it was hard, you know, like it took a lot of resilience, it took a lot of drive and determination. We talk, we talk about this kind of like hustle culture and I'm definitely not about the hustle, but to have both, to have a full time job which you are succeeding in and you're getting results in and to build up your business, you have to work hard, you have to put in the hours. You know, I have said no to a lot of social events because I have really just had to dedicate myself to this business and that's why it's so important to create a business that you love. Like genuinely, I would do this for free if I didn't get paid for it. That is how much I love coaching. That is how much I love just this business that I'm creating. It's just so happens that I am fortunate that I do have great abundance from this business. But really it's, I think that's the key. Choosing something that you would happily spend your weekend doing so that you can build it. Because otherwise it's just so difficult and impossible. It has to feel like a hobby because really it takes place, it takes place of lots of hobbies for the first, you know, six months or so.

I resonate so much with that. And as I said kind of before we were talking when we were recording this, I had, I was in jobs where I would try and balance the job and yes, I absolutely loved the coaching, but because I hated my job so much, it was very obvious and clear that I didn't want to be there. Now when I. We spoke about this as well earlier that we're not saying that you have to go and quit your job. Absolutely not. There are a lot of coaches out there which again is each to their own that say trust it, quit your job and go and do this. And for me, where I was, I had so much work that I needed to do before I took the leap. You know, for me money was such a big issue. It was such a big thing. I had so much scarcity, such a lack mentality around money. I was always the one who was saving, saving, saving, like squirreling it away. I was always known as the great, the person who's got the most savings because I just hated spending money. Not because I, you know, I didn't like money, everyone I think like spending money, but because I was worried that if I spent it, I would never make it Back again, kind of where my mindset was. So the thought of going to quit my job then and there and start my own business was something that was so far away I couldn't even imagine just going to my boss and going, hey, I'm going to leave and go start my own coaching company and I don't know what I'm doing. And it is more about, as you said, starting to do the things that feel good. So seeing it as a hobby, doing it on the weekends, investing your time, you know, signing up for that coaching course or even if it's not coaching that you want to go into, doing that cooking course or doing that dance class or whatever it is, the things that make you feel really good or. But also understanding that when you are starting a business or you are jumping into something, there are going to be things at the beginning that you'll have to sacrifice 100%.

100%. It's not all, yeah, it's not all kind of like rainbows and all that kind of stuff. But there is so much good. Like there is the fear of oh God, like is it work or is it going to. But actually buy habit. For those that are side hustling, it gives you that extra security which actually it means that your business can be a hobby. It doesn't give you that intense pressure of like shit, I've got to get on a discovery call and I've got to make this sale because I need to pay my bills. You can come from a place of I'm on a discovery call. Do I actually want to work with this client? Like is this, am I the right coach for this client? Is this client the right client for me? And you can make that decision from an energetic place rather than a place of stake scarcity where it's like, I.

Need the money 100%. And it's really interesting that you say that because I was listening to a coach the other day who was saying that one of her clients, when she was working full time was getting calls left, right and center, couldn't keep up, actually had to get a wait list for clients. And then as soon as she quit her full time job and went into coaching full time, she then panicked and got worried and she wasn't able to get those clients again because as you said, she was coming from a scarcity mindset, from a lack mindset, from a place of I'm not going to make enough money. But when she was in her full time job, yes, it was important to make the coaching, but it wasn't the Be all, end all. And it's really interesting how when we change our energy around something and go, actually, I don't need this client to sign up. The likelihood is they're going to sign up because you're not coming from a place of desperation, you're not suffocating it, you just allowing it to happen so naturally that it really does come naturally.

Yeah, it's that like magnetic energy, isn't it? It's kind of like dating in a really weird way.

No, it absolutely is. I always say that whenever I get on a clarity call. And you probably feel the same. Yes. As much as we want that client to work with us, it's really important to make sure that we are a good match for them. What are their goals? Do we think we can get them there? And actually, do we think that they're the right client for us, or do we think that there's someone else that could be a better match for them or with better experience and better knowledge and better understanding in a specific area that they're looking to achieve goals in?

Definitely. I completely agree with that.

Yeah. And it's really interesting, this kind of hustle, hustle versus the universal look after me kind of culture, because it's really, really hard. And it's kind of finding that balancing act of, yes, putting in the work and putting in the hours, but also letting go, releasing and trusting that the universe will have your back. And it's trying. I guess it's a lot to do with the like masculine and feminine and really trying to get a good balance. And I hold my hands up to say I often sit in the masculine a lot and I'm the doing, doing, doing. And I do have to start releasing and just going, it's fine, you've done the work. You need to trust that it's going to happen.

Yeah, I've kind of gone full cycle, really. Like I, when I, when I was in my kind of corporate, corporate role in the advertising agency, I was very in my masculine because I was coming from this place of scarcity, that I wasn't good enough. And. And it really drew out that masculine because I had to be competitive too. But naturally I'm maybe more kind of led towards the feminine energy where I'm much more led through creativity, through intuition. And actually with my journey with the business and launches and going through all of the different launches that I've had, I've kind of come full circle in the way that my first launch was my simplest, easiest launch, and it sold out straight away. And then I kind of, as I got more experience, I was like, oh, maybe I should add this. Maybe I should add this. Maybe I should do this. And it's the should, should, shoulds. And actually my results started to dip.

And I was like, what's going on?

And it's because I was doing things that I didn't enjoy. Things like, I don't know, paying for Facebook ads, all of the shit that I didn't enjoy. And actually, now I've kind of switched my strategy to be like, I'm going to be led by the. By that feminine energy, by my intuition, by keeping it simple, keeping it creative, and keeping it fun. And as soon as you do that, the results come back and you're like, oh, okay, I get it now.

I love that this is basically a coaching session for anyone that is thinking about becoming a coach or a spouse. I love it. And it's so true. And often we need those reminders as well because we are so surrounded with the doing, the doing, the doing. And, you know, it's really interesting is like, you know, you've been away, I've been away. I was in New York for a week, and I really stepped away from my business. I really, really. I had a few client calls, but I really stepped away. And I didn't really do any of the doing. I just kind of enjoyed the moment I was in New York. I was taking it all in. My business was, you know, doing things. I have a few ads kind of going, but I wasn't really putting that energy in. And when I got back, I had so much more clarity around the next steps. And, you know, I had a lot more people dming me in conversations. And it's because I took that step back. And often we need that proof to show us. Actually, if you take that step back, this is what's going to happen. But it is very scary, you know, when we both come from corporate world or startup world. You know, I moved into startups, which is a whole different category.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, it's crazy. It's like. It's like corporate times 500, because everything moves so quickly. And when you've come from that hustle culture with, you know, working 15 hours a day, constantly being on projects, constantly needing to be available to then going, hey, have some time off and your business will do better, it's really hard to actually believe that that is the truth.

Yeah. Yeah. It's really, really. It takes a lot of training to get your. And it's hard when your business has been your hobby for so Long. Like, this was my hobby for so long and now it's my business. I'm like, oh, fuck it, I don't anymore. Like salsa or something.

Why couldn't I just take up cooking or something? Because we know this is what we were meant to be doing. Like, you can fight your purpose and your calling for so long for as long as you can. But it does get to a point where it's like, okay, the universe is like, look, I'm just gonna keep pushing it and pushing it and pushing it until you, until you surrender that this is what you should be doing. And then it's fine. And then, then you're going to be fine. And then you're going to turn it into a business.

Yes, exactly, exactly. So it's about really looking for those signs, isn't it? To be like, what? Because I definitely resonate with that. I ignored them for so long.

Oh, me too. I absolutely. And I actually did a podcast the other week talking about how I had four jobs in two years and they weren't contract jobs, they weren't consultancy, they were full time jobs. And I just kept quitting because the universe was telling me, these are not right, these are not right. And I just ignored the signs because again, that fear, that fear transitioning into something, that fear of. And I guess there was a lot of me thinking I have to love my job and I can't have a side job and I need to be 110% in my job. And actually looking back, what I would have done differently is honored those jobs and said, these jobs are not my forever jobs. They're allowing me and they're paying me for, to do X, Y and Z. And I learned that kind of only really in my last job. I wish that I'd really been able to do that, but it meant I wouldn't be here right now. You know, I really just kind of like took the leap and kind of went straight in, which again, is very, very nerve wracking. Is it worth it? Has it paid off? Yes, it absolutely has. I do so much work to get here, 100%. And I'm still working on myself. So it's interesting to hear kind of different experiences of jumping straight in and still kind of having a full time job and being proud of that and not, as you said at the beginning, feeling shameful around still having a full time job while you're running a thriving coaching business.

Yeah, exactly. And the two, yeah, they're not actually that siloed. So I work, I lead, I lead a fundraising team in a charity. So actually I do use a lot of the, a lot of the coaching stuff that I do with my clients, I actually do with my team in my job, which is lovely. So I think it's very. I have clients come to me all the time saying I fucking hate my job. Like I want to leave, when can I do this full time? And yeah, we could all have that, we could all have that attitude, right? We could all look at it and be like, oh, I've got to do this, I've got to do this. Yeah, I can't be bothered, I don't want to do this. But what kind of a way is that to look at life? You know, actually it's about, it's that, it's that old way of shifting it to. I get to, you know, I get to make this money by leading this team. I get to work with some really incredible people. It's not perfect. It's definitely not. I don't think anybody, I don't think any job is perfect really. So it's about seeing what, whatever situation you're in right now, whether you've just been made redundant and you're going all in before you feel ready, or whether you're side hustling and you're working it up full time or whatever messages you are saying, thinking, using your body will feel that and that will come out in your energy. So really seeing the best in whatever situation you're in. And if you're in a situation where you can't physically stand it anymore and you hate your job, you know, okay, great, that's your sign. Find another job or go full time. You know. So that's very much been my attitude throughout all of it. And I think without that attitude I wouldn't have been able to last, you know, 18 months of doing this with the full time job as well.

Yeah, it's interesting what you said about the redundancy thing as well because a friend of mine who I, who I've known for a while, she was working in learning and development and she was coaching business and the day she launched her, the morning of, when she was about to launch her coaching business, she got made redundant.

Wow.

Literally was like, oh my God. The universe is like, you aren't going to quit so we're going to do it for you. She apparently left. She told me she left and she was like, I cried, I was upset, I was angry. But I also laughed because I knew that this was a timing right feeling like, you know what we've given you Enough opportunities to say, this is what you want to do. You've been telling us you're not going to quit, we're going to do it for you. And it was the best thing that ever happened to her because it gave her that motivation to say, it's this or it's back to another job that I don't want. And she's now got an amazing, thriving coaching business and she was only meant to quit her job next month. And this was a year ago that this happened. And looking back now, I've spoken to her and she said, God, I'm so thankful. I'm really glad. But it's that thing, in hindsight, at the time, you're not thankful. But now the best thing that ever could have happened to her. And it's about saying, why is this happening for me? Why? What is this guiding me to do?

Yes, exactly. I completely. One of my friends, she got her coaching qualification and got made redundant on the same day.

Wow. Talk about the universe, like, literally having your back, being like, okay, cool, we know you're not going to do it, so we're going to do it for you. Yeah. Of your hands. Again, it just comes down to that.

Word, trust, doesn't it? Right. Because just trusting that you'll be okay, even if it doesn't all work out as you think it will, you'll be fine. You'll get another job, you'll get, you know, you're not going to. You're not going to be stuck in a position where you're never going to create an income again. That's just not how it works. So really coming back to trust, what? Okay, so what is out there for me? Like, is this my chance to start the business? Does that feel a bit exciting? Probably so leaning into those feelings rather than that feeling of scarcity and that feeling of, oh, my God, I'm never going to make it.

This is awful. Yeah, no, absolutely. And it's really interesting to see that so many people's stories are so aligned more and more now that people are leaning into their intuition. They're like, you know, really allowing themselves to step back and let the universe take kind of take control a little bit more. It's interesting to see more of these stories are kind of coming up where the universe is going, okay, cool, we're going to take that out of your hands. So it's great to see such, like, a positive shift and such a great move. So let's talk about 2021. So another pretty wild year. Another year where I think we all thought we'd be, well, we. Not me, not, not most people who are in the coaching industry, but a lot of people thinking that they'd probably be back in the, the office, travel would be normal. We'd all be kind of, you know, doing things day to day again, you know. I went back to my first in person event yesterday, nearly at the end of this year, which is crazy. So how has 2021 been for you in terms of your business and what would you sort of say that your biggest achievements have been.

In terms of the business? It's been amazing. Like it's been business wise. This year has been incredible. There have been huge challenges of setting up a business, but I have loved it. And actually being able to connect to so many women that I wouldn't have been able to connect to if we weren't all at home on our laptops like women Internet. Like I've worked with clients internationally which I wouldn't have been able to work with, which has been amazing. And I think when, when lockdown in January, here or December, I was like, right, phase two, let's go. What can I do? How can we build this? How can we make something of this? And it worked. You know, it's been really, really incredible. This year I've worked with hundreds of women either through breath work or through my coaching, through my coaching practices and it's been so fulfilling and so joyous and abundant. It's been really, really incredible. I think I've definitely missed the in person stuff and I'm so excited to get back to that. So there has been the challenges, but yeah, it's been incredible. I think again, just being really led by my intuition. Like adding. This year I added my breath work certification to the business and it's not really where I expected it to go, but there was one night where I always sleep. Like sleep has never been a problem for me and one night I just could not sleep and all that kept coming to me was, you need to do a breathwork certification. You need to do a breathwork certification. It was from that that I was like, fuck it, I'm just going to book one. So I booked one that night and it all came from there. And now I connect with women on such a deep transformational way, which is insane. So being led by that intuition, being led by that creativity has definitely worked for me this year, which has been amazing.

And I think that being at home a lot more has given us that downtime that time to when we used to. Well, when I used to Commute to an office. And I was having a conversation with someone this the other day. I was saying, I don't know how. I used to wake up at 5am, go to the gym, oh my God, get ready, dry my hair, get to the office, get a coffee, start work at 9 o', clock, work until 6 or 7, leave, go for drinks, go for dinner, get the Tube home and then do it all again the next day.

Yeah.

And then some nights, you know, in the office till 10 o' clock or whatever it was. But it's just such a different way of living now. And I think that having that time at home has allowed us to slow down, really lean into that feminine, feminine a little bit more and allow our intuition and things to come up that maybe we wouldn't have had the time to before because we were so packed physically and mentally, emotionally, spiritually, that now we've kind of stepped back and we've allowed those actual things to come through and say, this is what you should be doing. And we've allowed, you know, our intuition and our guidance to come in a little bit more because we've had that space that we haven't had for so long.

Absolutely. I think back to my, when I was doing very similar rat race in London, right. And you know, I was just. I actually wasn't spiritual at all. I completely shut off my spiritual side. I wasn't spiritual, I wasn't creative, I wasn't led by my intuition. I was just constantly led by this fear of falling behind, either in social events, you know, drinks or social events, whatever that, birthdays or at work, you know, fear of not being good enough, being seen as, you know, shit at my job, all of this. Whereas actually now I look at my life and I think, God, I have come so, so far and life is so much more joyous and intentional rather than just being led by fear constantly and having your nervous system in this constant state of like, ah, what's going.

Anxiety is just a constant state of anxiety and constantly chasing the next thing and feeling that feeling of always feeling behind. Behind on what? The pressure we put on us, the pressure that we've all lived through. And it's that feeling of constant heightened, heightened anxiety and, you know, needing to constantly be on the go. And I remember at the beginning of lockdown, I really struggled with just stopping. I really struggled with just not having plans and not doing and, you know, on a Thursday night there would be no dinner, there'd be no going out for dinner or going out for drinks. It would be, I'M at home watching TV again. And it was Friday nights, you know, people posting on Instagram. I haven't seen that many people post on Instagram that they were in on a Friday. I don't think ever since we've had Instagram, it was really interesting to see. And I think that there's a lot of things that have really changed now. Coming out, like, on a Friday night now, so many people still post at their home. Even though we can go out. They found the beauty in taking that time and not constantly needing to go out and be with other people and feed off each other's energy. We've learned to kind of be in our own energy and be our kind of own. Our own team without constantly having to go and get that energy from elsewhere, from other people.

Yeah, I think it was really what I noticed was, like, that social pressure of being out all the time was completely taken away. And I felt it, and I. And it made me realize how much of my life I was living just trying to impress everybody else, trying to keep up, trying to, you know, drink all the drinks or, you know, be out at all the poshest restaurants, all of this stuff. And when I took all of that away, I was like, actually, this is nice. It's nice living without this pressure of having to perform all the time and actually just be me. Be quiet, be calm, be grounded.

Yeah, absolutely. So it's been. Yeah, it's been a really interesting year. And I'm thinking that we're still learning and we're still taking so much from this pandemic. So what is Jenna's big focus points for 2022?

So for me, gosh, my big focus point for 2022, I always have so many. I think that's my problem.

I want to do this.

I think, really, I would like to take my business full time in 2022. That's a huge goal for me. We're moving into a new property. So I manifested, like, literally my dream.

Instagram. You said, we've gone to final bids. And I was watching. I was like, when is she gonna post it? And then you were like, oh, my God, we've done it. We've got it. It's ours.

Do you know what? I had news from work that there were. They're restructuring. So potential. Because it's interesting. We're talking about redundancies, right? So potential redundancies on the way, which is cool for me. You know, like, I don't find redundancy or anything like that scary. I've spent a Long time building this business up and it's making more than my salary. So that's all good. But I'm thinking I need, I need, I need the mortgage. Like I need to get this house. So I said to my business coach, like, God, you know, I've, we need to get this moving. And she said to me, right, come on, let's manifest it, let's manifest it. And I said to myself, right, I'm going to give myself a week straight away. Found the house, got the offer accepted, and it was just like obviously touchwood. You know, we're not in yet, but it's amazing how things happen when you're feeling good about yourself and when you're in that energy and you're like, right, let's do this, let's manifest it. So yeah, for me, next year is all about moving into that property and really stepping into. I turned 30 in December, so it's stepping into this new decade, new house business, full time and really just enjoying that because I have worked so hard for so long for that moment. So that's going to be my year next year.

It's so crazy talking because I know we've been talking for a while and obviously we've been connected, but our stories are so similar. Talking about the house because I was exactly the same as you. My fiance and I were going to look at houses back in 2019 and I was still working full time and it's one of the reasons I went back in. I was self employed a while ago and then I went back in because I needed it for the mortgage. And I remember we weren't really looking to buy and I said to him, let's go look at areas that we like. And we came to this house that I'm sat in right now recording this and I said to him, this is the house. He went, what do you mean? This is the house we're not actually looking to buy. And I said, this is the house we are going to live in. And he said, how? And I said, I don't know, but we're gonna figure it out. And I went home and I did so much pressure on it. And then I thought, you know what, Emma, you just have to let it go. You just have to do it. So we were, you know, trying to figure out numbers and I said, look, what's the what, what can we offer? So we went in to the agent and we went in, this is our final offer. We didn't do the whole back and forth negotiating. I said, I haven't got Time for that. I haven't got the energy for it. I went in and I said, this is the offer. And we left it. And we didn't hear from them for like three days.

Oh, my God, it's the worst.

It's the worst feeling ever. And you'll just sat there. And I left it, and I left it and I left it. And I thought, you know what the universe is going to figure out. And they came back and they said, the offer's too low. And I said, okay, but that's all. That's all we can offer. So I said, look, that's where we're at. If you can't take it, that's absolutely fine. So we left it three hours later, offer accepted. And it was that feeling of, I haven't tried to get more money to fix it, to over obsess over it. I knew that this was my house. Like, I knew the minute I walked in that this home was my home. You know, I saw my office. I envisioned my. It's a half office, half walk in wardrobe. It's a work in progress, but really embodied being there. I knew that it was meant to be. And it's one of those things that it was one of the first times that I really, truly believed in manifesting because it's the first time I had proof. And it's one of those things where we are all manifesting so much stuff for so long. We just don't realize we're doing it. But when you actively do it, you are like, oh, my God, this stuff actually works. This stuff actually happens. Not to other people, but it can actually happen to me as well. And that's where it massively changed the game for me.

Completely. It's exactly the same, like, completely. When I thought about the house, I was like, oh, God, I don't know if I can manifest something that specific. And then I was like, oh, well, I'll try. And then I was like, oh, it's here.

Okay, I'll try anyway. Yeah, absolutely. So 2022 sounds like it's going to be an amazing year. I think that, as you said, you know, we kind of spoke about this before is really detaching ourselves from the outcome and just knowing that this is the house I want and this is where I want to take my business. And as you said, I love what you kind of just said about the redundancy. If you're not scared of that anymore. And there are so many people, like we said before, that stay in their jobs, that stay in their careers, that Stay doing things that make them. Not that they don't like, but they genuinely effing hate because they're so scared and they're so filled with fear that they just think I'm just going to stay here and just kind of make myself really small and be really uncomfortable and live for the weekends and live for the Thursday night drinks and, and live for the holidays. But actually, once you've seen that there's more to life than that, it's easy for me to now say this and for you because we're kind of on the other side. We've been in that position where you don't trust, you don't think it's available for you. You think it's available for everyone else around you, but for you it's not available. And what would be your kind of advice to someone who. Or sort of guidance for someone who's looking to, you know, really go into 2022 and start that side hustle, start that business or take that next leap. What would be your kind of one bit of guidance to them?

My bit of guidance would be do the work on yourself first. Right. So if you are feeling, if you are feeling that fear, that sense of, that fear of judgment, that fear of failure, that's okay because we all start there. The difference between whether you are going to be successful or not is whether you do the work on yourself to start to release those fears, to start to at least make your. Make your desire to do the thing greater than the fear. I think I had this conversation with a client recently actually, where, you know, I think people look at coaches, successful coaches with successful businesses and think that we, we don't get scared. And it's not true. We've just learned how to hold that fear and take action anyway. And so my advice would definitely be do the work, get curious, enjoy the madness. That is the journey of starting to love yourself, starting to create this abundance for yourself. And it will come.

Yeah, I love that. I love the fact that you said hold that fear and take action anyway.

Yeah.

Because exactly as you said, there are so many days and so many times I've had friends who are coaches or friends who run successful businesses, not necessarily in coaching, who are absolutely killing it. But it doesn't mean that they don't wake up with fear, with anxiety, with the, with the scarcity of going, what if I never sign another client again? Or what happens if suddenly, you know, everyone figures out that I'm not a good and not a good coach and we get those self sabotaging those limiting beliefs and that imposter syndrome. And it's just about, as you said, being able to manage that. And now that we've got the tools to be able to say, is that actually true or is it a self sabotaging behavior? Is that actually true or is it me trying to play small so that I don't get hurt? And no one is exempt from any of these feelings. Whatever field you're in, however much work you've done, however many years you've been in the industry, no one is exempt from feeling. But it is about leaning into it, trusting the universe and just knowing that everything is going to be okay.

Love that.

Well, thank you so much for being, first of all, so honest. And secondly, I felt like that was a coaching session, talking through stuff and working through stuff and so many good nuggets of advice that, as I said, even for me, who's done so much work on myself, just those reminders to keep going back, grounding myself and understanding that things are going to come up, but it's okay. And that, you know, I'm held, the universe is there and I'm doing exactly what I need to be doing. So thank you so much.

Thank you so much for having me.

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