032 How To Turn Your SETBACKS Into COMEBACKS with Jenna Phillips Ballard

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Welcome to the Earn your happy podcast. I'm Lori Harder, founder of The Bliss Project, 3 Time Fitness World champion, fitness expert and cover model turned self love junkie, lifestyle entrepreneur and author.

Each week I'll bring you a guest.

Or a thought that will help you bust through your fears, connect to your soul, and get focused and clear so you can elevate your life, business, and relationships. We don't wait until we're ready for someone to tell us we're good enough. We take what we want and we anoint ourselves. Get ready to earn, own, and unapologetically rock your happiness every single day. Are you with me? Here we go. Welcome back to the earn your happy podcast, and today I'm so excited to have Jenna Phillips Ballard on the show. She's a total wellness philosopher, and she began her career in 2006 as a personal trainer and life coach to celebrities. She has been featured on Dr. Phil and the Doctors, and halfway through her career, she realized that she felt a much bigger calling. So she wants everyone to truly fall in love with themselves. And she believes that self, love, love will heal this planet. So her and her husband founded the Ascension leadership academy in 2015, and they are so committed to empower others to break through their limiting beliefs and create an unforgettable life. So let's get started. Jenna, I'm so excited to have you on. Welcome to the show.

Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here.

You know, our paths have crossed, and as I was going through some social media and just creeping on your site, I was like, oh, my gosh, we know so many of the same people. I cannot believe we did not meet sooner. And you're like sister from another mother according to everything that's on your site. So I had to. I think we're gonna have to actually battle at keeping this down to a certain amount of time. So I'm super excited to have you on. So thanks for coming on today.

My pleasure. And I'm always up for a challenge, so I know we have tons to talk about, but, yeah, it'll be a growth opportunity for both of us to solidify.

So you have such an amazing story and so much going on in your life right now. So many beautiful, amazing good things in your business and in your world. But could you share with us a little about yourself, your past and how you got here?

Oh, gosh.

Okay.

Yeah. You know, there's so many layers to who I am and ultimately what brought me to this exact moment right now. But I think that the Most profound story that really defines really, ultimately what I'm up to in this world. Goes back to when I was about 17 and I was experiencing chronic depression. And I had low energy. I was tired all the time. I didn't feel good about myself. I had really negative thoughts. And I remember at that time where I really felt like I wasn't important. I really felt like I wasn't being a contribution. I started making up stories about myself that people didn't like me, that I wasn't popular. A lot of stuff, like a lot of limiting beliefs around who I am and who I was. And I remember very specifically there was a short period of time where I would lay in bed at night and wish that I could have the luxury of being able to see my own funeral. Because then I would have some kind of validation. Then I would understand who actually really cared about me and who would miss me. So it was really a dark time for me. And I. And I. And I do remember having, like, a little bit of a shift and realizing that I didn't really. I didn't want to die. I mean, that wasn't something that I wanted. But I wanted to have some kind of an answer from the universe. And without me understanding Law of Attraction, without me understanding that our thoughts are just as powerful as our words and our actions, I started to focus my energy on the possibility of what it would be like for me to be in some kind of an accident. So I really started to direct my energy in that direction. And I would think about it and I would. I was creating this in my mind and creating this in my brain. And I decided that if I were to be in some kind of an accident, that would be serious enough for me to be in the icu. Then I could see who would show up to my hospital room. So I had a lot of energy focused in that. And sure enough, I was in a head trauma accident. So I was decorating for a huge party at my house, and I was in the barn. My parents had a barn on the property. And I was decorating with about 10 of my friends. And we were in the hayloft, and we were hanging sheets on the ceiling and lights. And we were going to make it, like, the coolest party spot ever, party of the year. And I was walking backwards. I had a sheet in my hands, and I was hanging it above my head. And I basically ran out of floor. Like, I fell through the opening of the floor. I don't remember falling at all, which I'm very grateful for. But I Could draw a picture of the sheet that I was holding in my hands before I fell. And that was the last thing I remember. And at this time, I was being very toxic, like, I wasn't taking care of my body. And I didn't really understand the importance of the food that we put in our body and the way that we move our bodies. So the food that we put in and the way that we exercise, it gets energy in, energy out. And so I remember my energy feeling very stale and stagnant and not abundant and exciting and joyful. And so I, you know, I just, I wasn't taking care of myself. And I was smoking weed every day. I was smoking cigarettes. I just, I was not taking care of Jenna. And so I woke up from my coma, which was a total miracle because the doctor said that I was more than likely going to be in my coma for a very long time. So they were preparing my parents for this reality. And they said, we don't think she's going to wake up anytime soon. And when she does wake up, she will never be the same. She's more than likely going to have severe brain damage. The miracle was that I woke up the next day and it changed everything for me.

Wow, that is amazing. Just, I don't even know which one to talk about first. The fact that what you were thinking about, truly, and I know probably how you live your life now, is we realize how powerful those thoughts are and sometimes we're delivered exactly what we're asking for. But really after that point, what ended up happening? So you woke up your life completely changed. How, you know, what was your perspective after that and what did you start doing?

Well, it was really interesting is I literally woke up a different person. I woke up happy and joyful. And so the doctors, when they said, she'll never be the same, I mean, they couldn't have been more right about that. So I woke up happy. I just remember feeling this state of. I was obviously confused. I woke up with no short term memories, so I had no capacity at that time to maintain. New information was coming in. I lost the majority of my vocabulary. So I was. I was speaking this gibberish language. Like, I was communicating and speaking. But at one point, my strength was creative writing, self expression, speech and debate. Like that was my forte. I was the chief editor of the yearbook for my high school. And so communication and creativity were things I was very passionate about. But then I lost those capacities and it was a challenge for me. So I would forget what I was talking about if I was having a conversation with someone, I would completely forget what we were talking about. I had a really hard time just basically doing normal functions. So I do remember when I was going to cognitive therapy, when I was healing my brain, that the therapist would give me tools, like little tasks to work on. And so one of the things, I remember this exercise very clearly, but it's interesting. I remember slides of time for about a year after the accident. I don't remember chunks of time or events. I remember just little bits and pieces, like snapshots. But I remember this one experience I was having with her. She said, tell me how to make spaghetti. And so a very basic thing is you boil water, you put water in a pot, you bring it to a boil, you add salt, you add the spaghetti. So all the steps that people know how to do, I couldn't do it. I couldn't tell her the basic steps of really anything. And so it was a lot of really challenging exercises that I had to do to rehabilitate my brain. And so. So the interesting part about that is, as frustrating as it was, I took the bull by the horns. I mean, I really looked at it as like, okay, cool, this is something that I'm really prepared for. And I knew that I had to really apply myself. And before the accident, I was ditching school at the time. I was a super smart kid, but didn't really apply myself. And the doctor said to my parents that I wasn't going to be able to graduate from high school on time. That was a very, very clear thing that they were saying. I remember this meeting where the doctor was looking at my mom and wasn't even addressing me. He wasn't even. Because he's thinking, it doesn't matter what she thinks, because we're going to do what's best for Jenna. But he said to my mom, she's not going to be able to graduate from high school on time, and she only has one semester left. I remember Laurie in that moment so clearly because I felt this burning sensation in my core. I remember my face getting really hot, and I was angry that he was telling me that I couldn't do something. And I felt this surge of inspiration and commitment that I'd never known before. And I said to myself, I couldn't at that time, I couldn't put my thoughts into words. But I remember saying to myself, I am going to graduate on time. And I did. I went back to school. I missed three weeks, went back to school. And I had. I mean, I miss. I didn't miss A single day the rest of the year. And I graduated with the highest GPA that I ever had. So I really applied myself and really hustled. And that's through that experience, I really understood hard work and work ethic in a way that I hadn't. So it really put me on the path that I'm on today about, you know, being committed and being on a mission is ultimately like the underlying theme of everything that I do. So the biggest breakthrough for me though, was I ultimately got what I asked for. I mean, I was asking the universe for clarity or some kind of definitive answer to show me that people actually cared about me. And I had standing room only in my hospital room. I mean, they had to send people away. I had so many people that showed up and I kept forgetting why they were there. I was like, what's happening? Why are you here? But there was this knowing. I had, like this knowingness of I felt this love and I felt support from so many people. And then when I finally went back to my home, my whole room was covered in banners and cards and flowers and stuffed animals. And I just felt so much love and support from people. And then when I finally went back to school, the Marquis said, welcome back, Jenna Phillips. And I just remember feeling so much gratitude in that moment because I really understood that I was cared for and I was loved. And that was a huge shift for me.

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Oh, my gosh, that is incredible. And I love that, you know, in that moment when the doctor was basically telling you that you couldn't, that you really used that as fuel. Because that's a massive point as well. Right? That's the point.

That.

That's the. That's the why in the road, it's like I can go this way and say, oh, he's a doctor. That must be what it is. Or you can completely decide to use that to fuel your progr. And I just love that choose it. What you chose was so powerful. So when you made that choice, it's literally like I can remember moments in my life where I've made that choice off of something that someone said, like the, I don't know how to explain it other than like the I'll show you choice or yes, I can or oh, you know, and it just, it grows inside of your chest. But why do you think you chose that out of, you know, all of the different possibilities? Because it would have been really easy for you, obviously, to use this traumatic thing that just happened and be. Everyone would completely understand it.

Mm. Yeah. You know, Laurie, it's interesting because I don't really know where it came from. It was something that I just. It was. I felt this burning sensation in my body, and I was like, wow, okay. And I really started to understand the importance of listening to my body, because our higher selves, Our bodies communicate with us through physical sensations. So when we're having an experience and we feel that nervousness in our belly, or we feel our face getting hot or our palms getting sweaty, like, our bodies communicate, communicate with us, and our higher selves communicate with us. And oftentimes we don't listen. And it's really an ego conversation, like the ego conversation would have been. You're right, doctor. I'm not going to graduate on time. And we always have a choice. Like, every single moment is a choice point for us. And so we're given the opportunity to either rise up or sink below the surface. And I really just had this burning sensation. I was like, okay, that's an indicator that I really get to apply myself. And I'd never felt so inspired before. I'd never felt real inspiration like that before. And so it was something that I believe on so many levels that this entire experience was a. Of course I asked for it and created and caused it, but ultimately, it was something that I had to experience to really drop into my higher purpose. Like, I really understood compassion. I understood commitment, dedication, perseverance. All those things that sometimes it takes. It takes a tragedy or a trauma for us to really embody. And so I found gratitude for all of that. And it put me on the path that I'm on today and why I take a strong stand for people to change the story that they tell about themselves or any event that they experience. Because we make up stories all the time about anything that we experience, and we ultimately have the power to choose the story. And I just knew that it was up to me to really dictate the direction of my life in that moment. And again, it came from somewhere. I don't know where, but. But it was something that I really felt in every cell of my body. And ultimately, why I do what I.

Do today, I actually completely love that you took it there, because we talk about that all the time on here. And it's one of my favorite things to talk about, is I think people and While it is a choice, I do believe that obviously we're being guided, whether you believe that's God or higher power or spirit source, whatever that is. And we're delivered those messages and often it's through feelings in our body. And you know, you're like, I don't know, I don't know where it came from, but you know, you do. But at the same time, it's like you followed it though. It's the moment of the listening that I think is so important for people to understand because I think they're getting those feelings all the time. Right. We just block it out, though. It was like, whoa, I had this totally inspired feeling, but then I just kept listening to that story and the story, you know, we can cover that feeling up immediately by switching back into our head instead of in our soul and in our body and listening to how we're feeling. So I love that you said that because I think even in those moments, we're always being delivered like these awesome messages that we just have to leap on those feelings or like you said, the ego will come back in. It's like those thoughts can take it right down. So I know that you pushed forward in your life, in your career, and also that you just felt like you had some different callings that you were being called to. So what was next for you after that?

Well, it was next for me after that. I also. Another gift and their blessing that I received from that whole experience was when I was in the icu, the doctors were doing routine blood work on me and they discovered that I was type one diabetic. And I had no idea that I had it. And it was something that was developing in my body for about eight months prior to the accident. And the symptoms that I was experiencing of having no energy, feeling sluggish, feeling very depressed and negative thoughts is actually a symptom of high blood sugar. And so all those symptoms that I was experiencing, I just thought that I was. I thought I was depressed. And so I dealt with it. I self medicated. I also went to therapy. I was taking antidepressants. And so I wasn't looking at the source of the problem. I really just decided that depression was the problem, but really it was a symptom of the actual issue. And so I was in the hospital. And of course I had to relearn how to read and write and communicate and just do basic things that a lot of us take for granted. But I also had to learn what it meant to be diabetic. And so I looked at how I was taking care of my body before. And I played sports my whole life, but I think there was about a one to two year period before my accident where I wasn't being active. I stopped playing sports and started hanging out with the wrong kind of crowd. And so I just really wasn't putting my health into as a priority. And so learning about diabetes and ultimately the effect that every kind of food that we put in our body has a direct result, whether it's positive or negative, and then also the kind of movement that we do every single day is also really important. So I really took that on. I became very passionate about health and fitness and wellness and I really got excited about making a difference for people and also being a voice for people with diabetes because I remember the meeting I was having with the doctor who diagnosed me and my mom was with me and he said, yes, you're a type 1 diabetic. And it was interesting because when the doctor said that, I didn't feel devastation, I didn't feel sadness, I felt very neutral about it. I just said, okay. I remember nodding my head and saying, okay, well I want to learn everything that I can about this because I'm committed to beating it and I want to beat it. And I knew nothing about diabetes at the time. And so I remember my mom started crying because her best friend died from type 1 diabetes from the complications. And so what I did know is that it wasn't going to define me, it wasn't going to beat me, and I was wanting to rise above it. And so I said to the doctor, completely naive, not knowing anything about diabetes, I said, well, how do I get off the insulin shots? Because the thought of taking insulin for the rest of my life was not exciting. And he laughed at me and he's like, haha, there's no cure for diabetes. It was like this weird cynical laugh and I was like, okay. So I was like, great, well that's really uninspiring. I'll figure it out while you regurgitate your textbook information from 40 years ago like this super old guy. So I've been on a mission to also become synthetic insulin free. And so many people will say, well that's not possible, it's not possible, it's not possible. But I believe that anything is possible. And even if it isn't something that I do accomplish in this lifetime, at least I'll have my intention be set, which will have me continuously be focused on taking the best care of myself.

Oh, amazing. You know what I loved about everything that you have said so far, which I think is so inspiring, is that that every single challenge that you had, you turned it around so that it was for you. It actually accelerated where you were going. It actually accelerated the next opportunity that appeared to you or even, you know, if another challenge came, it. It moved you even more forward. Right. Because we're forced into maybe learning more or, or. And what that does is expands our message, right?

Absolutely, absolutely.

Like, we can talk to more people, we can get out there more, we can really feel like we can inspire more people. So I know that's one of your biggest passions is inspiring people to not only see their challenges as possible gifts, but also to become leaders. So how did all of that develop?

Well, I moved to LA when I was 19 after I felt confident in being able to venture out on my own. So about two years went by before I felt like I could do that. So I moved to LA when I was 19, not knowing what I was gonna do. But I knew that I wanted to get a little small town, Carmel. So I moved to LA with my two best. We went to school and just kind of trying to find our path and figure out what we wanted to do. And I became really passionate about fitness. And I remember driving by Sports Club la, it's now Equinox on Sepulveda Boulevard. And I was like, I'm going to work there someday. I'm going to be a trainer there someday. And so I wound up working there as a receptionist and ultimately became. I wound up becoming an instructor there eventually, but prior to that, I worked at a couple other studios. I really wanted to make some fitness a part of my life, and I wound up being a receptionist at a Pilates studio. There's a studio called Pilates plus, and the original studio was in Hollywood on Melrose. And so I was one of the original instructors there because I started off as a receptionist and then became one of the instructors. And the owner kind of took me under his wing and really wanted to kind of make me his protege. And I was there like a month, and then he asked me if I wanted to be Ben Soler's personal trainer because he was taking. He was my first private client. So Ben Soler was my first private client, which was like, so awesome. He was taking private lessons from the owner of the studio, and then he had to go leave for a movie. And so the owner couldn't go. So he's like, I'll just keep you my best trainer. So that catapulted my career and I just kept Getting all these really awesome celebrity clients. And it was really effective in work with them. And I think what had me be so much more effective with them was my energy. I'm also Reiki certified, so I'm really big on reading energy and giving incredible healing energy. So I really started to see that the work that I was doing with my clients was so much more than just working on their body and getting them in incredible shape, that I was really supporting them in thinking differently about themselves and telling different stories about themselves. My bigger focus then became, well, I really want to make sure that people who have influence are being responsible with their messaging. My work was so much far beyond just the physical body. It really started to shift every area of their life. I was like, wow, okay, so I'm more than a personal trainer. I'm kind of more than a life coach. And I was looking at really kind of figuring out a way to describe the work that I was doing. And so I came up with the term total wellness philosopher because the foundation of my work was ultimately the way that we think about ourselves and the way that, like our whole perspective on life and the way that we. The way we show up in life. So that was really, really big for me. And I had a great career in fitness. I had a fitness DVD. I was on Dr. Phil and the doctors and I mean, a lot of those things that come with a fitness career. And so I really experienced that in a powerful way, but. But ultimately got really clear about my even bigger calling. So, yeah, a lot of developments with that.

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Wow, that is amazing. And how did you, like, did you laugh the entire time through? Of course. I have to ask this question. Everybody does. I'm sure through all of your trainings with Ben Stiller.

He is, he is. Everybody, everybody asked me that question, like, how did you keep it together? He is not the way that he is in his movies at all. In real life, at least my experience of him, he's, he's very. Has a very dry sense of humor. And so I found myself making all the jokes. I'm like, I'm the one making the jokes. It's kind of awkward. But no, we became really good friends. We had a great relationship. He's a wonderful human being and we really got a lot of work. I got him in the best shape of his life and it was cool. He really is great about acknowledging and he acknowledged me in front of the whole film crew. He's like, you got me in the best shape of my life. And it was just really cool. I felt really celebrated by him and so I really enjoyed working with him. But it was actually on that job that I got clear that I wanted to have a bigger impact because I would train him for an hour, anywhere from three to five times a week. I mean, that was it. And then I had all this other downtime and I felt kind of useless. I'm like, I need to. I have exploring. Like, I walked all over wherever we were and I really got to explore the city. And I really became passionate about creating diet plans and meal plans for people because people kept hitting me up on MySpace back in the day and they're like, you're Ben Saler's trainer. How do I lose ten pounds? And how do I. And so I started creating these plans for people and I was like, what if I have a website, then I can create lots of information for people. So that was pretty much what kick started my whole inspiration about creating my first website, which has been reinvented many times. The website that you've seen today is different from the first one I launched. But yeah, it's reflective of how I'm always reinventing myself and always looking to be the biggest service that I can be for the world.

I love what you just said. That's such great advice. I don't even know if you realized you said it, but it's, what questions are you asking yourself? And you're creating content and creating your business around. What are you getting asked the most? I think some people are like, what should I do? Everything's been done, all of this stuff is going on. But what questions are people asking you the most? Because that's what they want to know from you. So it's like creating around that. And that's kind of how we're always reinventing or staying ahead of the curve or staying in what we love. Right. It's kind of how you stay inspired is making sure you're. You're kind of in what you love. And most often, I find other people know what you are sometimes quicker than you can realize. You don't even realize, like, oh, I do talk about this all the time, or I specialize in this area or whatnot, or this is what you're coming to me for. So that's awesome. That's a great question to ask. I love, love, love this quote from you fall in love with yourself because self love will heal the planet. I so, so believe that more than I can possibly tell you. So that's the foundation of basically, I'm sure, all of the work that you do. So what exactly what is your message?

Well, my message now is ultimately really taking a strong stand for people to take whatever painful experience they've had in their life and turning into their platform. Because I believe that everything that we experience is meant to teach us a lesson, teach us something valuable. Not like, teach us a lesson like, we should know better and in like, a shameful way. Because we hear that a lot, like the context around, like, oh, you learned your lesson, or I learned my lesson. It's, it's really, there's no shame around it. I mean, we experience really painful things in our life and it's up to us to create the story around it and then, of course, give it meaning. I mean, we make up meaning for everything that we experience in our life. And I think that my biggest transformation as far as, like, the, the work that I'm doing today was when I experienced sexual abuse a little bit just over four years ago. And it was from that experience that I understood. I understood compassion in a way that I didn't even know was Possible because from that experience I realized that for it was when I finally forgave the man who did what he did to me, I really understood that forgiveness is not about letting the other person win, it's about setting ourselves free. And then I thought even deeper, even deeper level beyond that, the forgiveness was, I get to be compassionate for him and have compassion for him, because for anyone to even have the thought to do what he did to me, to anybody, it's clear that he's experienced some kind of suffering. On some level, something horrible must have happened to him. And we shame our, you know, we shame the abusers, we shame the convicts, the felons, the people who are out there causing harm to others. We lock them up, we put them away, throw away the key, and there's no rehabilitation in there. And so, you know, it really comes down to looking at like, on like the foundation level when we're kids. I mean, being a parent is the most important job ever. And oftentimes when we're children that we experience things or things happen to us that we start to build our story around who we are, our worthiness, you know, what we're capable of, not capable of. And it's in this lack of nurturing and the lack of rehabilitation that kind of perpetuates the cycle. So rather than being angry and putting out all this negative energy and hating men and wanting to create a victimization around myself, I set myself free by changing the story around the whole experience, finding compassion for him, really truly forgiving him, and ultimately using my voice, using that painful experience as my platform. And so I speak very publicly about it. And I look at a lot of the symptoms of experiences that we have as children. So most people who are overweight, who are obese have experienced sexual abuse of some kind in their life. And so there's a lot of fat shaming. Like we judge people for being overweight, we make them wrong for being overweight, but we don't really consider what could have possibly happened which triggered the sequence of events that created this symptom. I mean, being overweight is a symptom of a much bigger problem. And after my. And the reason why I became very compassionate about that is because after the sexual abuse, I remember at the time I was in the best shape of my life. I just gotten done doing a 90 day Paleo only different kind of fitness every day challenge. And I did like a whole video diary about it. I post a new video about it on my YouTube channel every day. And I was in incredible shape. My Body looked amazing. And so I kind of paired the two experiences of the sexual abuse. My body looking the way that it did and I shamed my body. I made myself wrong. I wanted to be unattractive. So I began binge eating and I gained like 30 pounds after the experience of being sexually abused. And so it was a lot of shame, a lot of fear. I remember. And I was living in Los Angeles at this time and I remember on the hottest days in la, I would wear full long sleeve sweatshirts, hoodies, like I didn't want any of my skin to be seen. And so I went into this total inward experience and really just was loathing my body and loathing my desire to have an attractive body. And so it took a lot of work. I was going through a series of transformational workshops at the same time and really got to work through all of my stuff, all my stories around it. And it really had me become even more passionate about what I'm up to today, which is supporting people in breaking through their fears, their limiting beliefs, getting on the other side of it and utilizing their stuff as their platform.

That is beautiful and thank you so much for sharing that as well. So you have so many different things that that could maybe cause anxiety, could cause overwhelm, good and bad. Right. Because even some of the good stuff can really make us feel anxious or overwhelmed or maybe we're not doing enough or we're not going fast enough or whatever that looks like. What is the key for you to deal with that and also to be present.

Yeah, you know, I think that something I will. It's a great question. Thank you for that. I think that something I will always be working on in my life, like we're always. I don't believe in having breakthroughs and then we're done. I believe that we're always living our breakthroughs and working through them and navigating through them and learning from them. And so I think that my breakthrough is always going to be knowing that I am doing quite a lot. I really am being effective in my messaging and I really am making a difference for a lot of people. But my ego conversation is you could be doing so much more, you could reach so many more people and self comparison like I experience comparing myself to other content providers and thought leaders. And so it's something that I'm aware of and having done all the work that I've done, I'm able to catch myself in it rather than be in the downward spiral of it because one negative thought begets another negative thought. Begets another negative thought. And so when I catch myself beginning to go in that downward spiral, I go, okay, so my physical sensations right now are I don't feel good, I don't feel joy, I don't feel uplifted, I don't feel vibrant right now. So what I'll tend to do is I'll either I'll call somebody and just talk it out loud. Because when I talk it out loud, then I just wind up laughing at myself. I'm like, I am doing amazing things. Then I just start talking to myself in a positive way. And then I begin the practice of self acknowledgement. Because that's something that we as humans don't do on a regular basis. And something that I have a lot of my clients do when they're in the self beat up or they're in the downward spiral is I have them write themselves a love letter. Because that self acknowledgement is something that is so awkward, it's so uncomfortable. And that's why I have my clients do it, is because when we're in the dance of things, in the dance with things that are uncomfortable, then there's just room for growth. That's all it is. And so really, truly giving ourselves permission to say, I am amazing, I love myself, I am so incredible. The work that I do is effective. I'm making a difference in the lives of people every single day and allowing ourselves to be in that, that, that thought process. Because we're going to expend energy on, on thinking one way or another. So you may as well choose one that feels good.

That's amazing. All the things you just said about, you know, writing it out, talking it out, it's really about releasing. It's, it's totally because for me, right when you said that, I'm like, I have to let things out. I have. I mean, it feels crazy when I first do it. Like it sounds like if you listened to, you know, working through something, you sound like a crazy person because you don't even know where to start because you can't actually say how you're feeling. There aren't necessari necessarily words for it right away. But if you allow yourself the space for maybe the crazy or this is uncomfortable or this just seems absolutely nuts. It's, it's beautiful what comes through. Once you work through the crazy. It's like, yes, you know, and I have that group of friends that, you know, my, my mastermind groups where we just, the first 10 minutes of some things we say, it's like, I don't even know what we're saying. Sometimes it feels like it's. It feels like it's in tongues or something. Like, this is a different language. And all of a sudden I'm like, do you know what I'm actually feeling? Do you know? It's really. That's amazing.

I totally know that world. Yes.

So is there something you've created for yourself? Like, I know you said you call a friend, but do you. What would you say for somebody that maybe doesn't feel like they have that space right now outside of the letter? Because I do think getting it out to friends is so important.

We all have our ways of releasing energy. And so for some people, for me, it's. Yoga is my everything. It's such a great release for me. Some people love to run. Some people love to swim in the ocean. I think that the most important way to acknowledge, the most effective way to let go of the stuff that's troubling anyone is first just to really be clear about what brings us the most joy. And then do that. Do that more than anything else. And when I'm in my stuff, sometimes I will turn my energy, Like, I'm so focused inward that I'll focus outward out. And when I'm focusing my energy outwards, and I'll go, you know, do something. Like, I'll go pay somebody a compliment, a random stranger. I'll make. I'll make an effort to focus my energy outwards. And I'll sometimes buy a random person Starbucks. Like, I'll be in line at Starbucks and I'll offer the person behind me that I want to get their coffee. And it's so funny because almost every single time I do this, people go, oh, no. Like, they're so. They will not. Like, they can't. They cannot handle receiving. And it's always an offer. I love it so much because the breakthrough for them is the moment that I drop in and I go, no, but I actually really want to. It'll be a gift to me if you let me give to you. It's giving me the opportunity to give to you, and I really would love to. And I said, I'm always practicing on receiving myself, so I really want to take a strong stand for you to receive in this moment rather than just being like, okay, fine, you don't want it, Whatever. I take that as an opportunity to do some work with them. I'm always looking for ways to make an impact to people. And I love buying people coffee because of the amount of discomfort that happens. Is like, it's so great. It's amazing.

I literally just let myself go there, and I squirmed a bit. I'm not gonna lie. Cause I'm like, oh, I could. I should totally do that. And I was like, okay, you're gonna have to work. I'm gonna have to work through this one and, like, get myself ready for that. So I'm gonna take the Jenna Starbucks challenge.

Awesome. I love it. I love it.

Okay, so I kind of feel like I just want to talk to you about everything, but I want to touch on this quick before we wrap. Up, up. Because I have so many amazing single friends, and I know on your website, I saw so much about relationships, and I was like, oh, girl, that is like a whole podcast I want to do with you, just on relationships. But I love that you said how to manifest your dream partner. Can you just give us a couple things that we could start focusing on or a couple things we should start taking our focus off of if we want to really manifest. Manifest our dream partner?

Yes, gladly. With absolute joy and delight. It would be my pleasure to support especially. Especially our fellow powerhouse women who are out there. I know that you and I have lots of those incredible women in life, and it's because it's who you are, it's who I am, and so we attract those kinds of women. And I learned a lot about what it means to really, truly be in a loving, committed relationship. I'm now married to my best friend. He's an incredible man. And I went through a lot of heartache. I went through a lot of challenges in relationships, failed relationship after failed relationship, because I was always looking for my man. I was the one who was doing the looking. I would see a guy that I liked, I would go after him. And so I was being the man. I was being the masculine energy in every single relationship. And so I found myself being on this mission to find my soulmate, and it just emasculated the man. It took the process pursuing away from him. So there was no hunt and there was no chase that was involved. And so I know that we as women, kind of like, well, I don't want to play games, and I want to be straightforward, and I know what I want, so I'm going to go after it. I'm going to get it. But ultimately, ladies, this is a huge message for all of my fellow powerhouse women. Stop looking for your man, number one. Number two, focus on being your best self. That's it. Because when you are focusing on loving yourself, on being in A loving, committed relationship with you, Then you glow. You radiate. You make healthy choices. You move your body every day. You surround yourself with incredible people, and it's when we are being our best selves that we radiate and we attract, and we're like the flame, not the moth.

That is super powerful. And one thing you just said, you associate with incredible people, because it's so funny, because I feel like I'm hunting for people. I'm like, oh, you know what? Oh, I just met this guy. This would be great for this person. So it's true, because when you hang out in groups of people who are all about whatever that is, love and health and wellness and giving back, it's like you kind of all attract each other.

Absolutely.

So if that's your focus, you probably are gonna expand the percentage of meeting some really incredible people. So that is so beautiful. I could really elaborate on that, but I'm not gonna keep you too much longer, and I want to make sure that everybody can find you. So what do you have going on right now? Where can we find you? Follow you? All the good stuff.

Yeah, you all can find me. I'm pretty easy to find on social media. My name is Jenna Phillipsballard, so that's my name on Instagram, on Facebook, and my website is also jennapilipsballard.com and you also can find out more about my company that I have with my husband down here in San Diego. We just moved down here a couple months ago, and we offered incredible trainings that support people in having breakthroughs in relationships, business, abundance, confidence, name it. We have a workshop for it. And so it's really powerful work, and we do that down here in San Diego. Our company is called Ascension leadership academy, and if you want to find out more information about that, you can go to our website, ascensionleadershipacademy.com I know it's a big mouthful, so the shortcut for that one is a lasandiego.com so. So tons of ways to reach out to me, and I would love to hear from all of you, and don't hesitate to contact me and ask me questions.

Girl, I'm not kidding. I really actually want to come to one of your workshops. I was just in San Diego all weekend too, But I'm gonna keep an eye on that because I'm super interested and you're not far?

No. Really close.

Yes. That is amazing. Okay, you guys, if you loved this episode as much as I did, make sure that you share it with a friend and Enjoy. Until next time, earn your happy.

Bye everyone.

Thank you guys so much for spending this time with me on the Earn your happy podcast. I am so glad that you stopped by. If you could take one second to share this episode with someone you think would love it, that would be absolutely amazing and we would be forever grateful. Also, please leave us a review Review if you feel so moved by going to itunes and leaving us an honest thought, an honest comment, Tell us what you think, Tell us what you want to hear more of. It would really help us out on our journey to helping thousands and thousands of people. Until then, don't forget to earn your happy. Thanks again guys. Bye Bye.