(Please note, this video was filmed at the beginning of 2016. Since then, Kim’s business has grown immensely. See results below.)

HER STORY

When I found I Heart Coaching, I was coming out of probably the most difficult three-year period of my life, with the hardest part occurring only seven months prior. I actually used to joke that someone was playing games with my life.

It started in 2012 with a back injury that prevented me from doing much physically for nine months which, being an athlete competing in endurance races, was really difficult for me.

During this time, my husband, who I had been with for seven years, and I separated and ultimately divorced and stopped speaking.

At that time, I decided to move across the country to pursue my lifelong dream of living in Colorado.  I was working remotely for a Chicago-based company and had the flexibility to do that.

While I was so glad to be living one of my dreams and did some really amazing things, I had a lot of negative self-talk saying that I didn’t deserve to be there.

I later learned (through I Heart Coaching) that I was totally upper-limiting myself while I was there.

And then, I lost my job due to budget cuts. It was strange because I felt like I knew it was coming.  Looking back, I wholeheartedly believe it was because I constantly believed that I didn’t deserve to be in Colorado. And, whatever we focus on expands.  So the Universe responded and removed the means that I had used to get and stay there. At that time, I had to decide whether I should try to find a job there or return to Chicago and find a job closer to home. I chose the latter, partially because I was dating someone back in that area but mostly because I didn’t really feel deserving of living in my dream place.

Fast forward a few months later to the beginning of 2015 – my safety was put into jeopardy by the man I was dating. That next day, I called a mover and got myself and my belongings out of the house we were sharing while he was at work.

It was empowering and devastating all at the same time. Empowering because I finally stood up for myself after a long period of time. Devastating for all the loss associated, and I was essentially homeless.

I lived in intense fear that I’d run into him. My belongings went into storage and I spent the next two months crashing with friends and family while I tried to make sense of it all.

As I sorted through the emotions and reflected back on the past three years, I realized that I had been living in intense fear and allowing everyone and everything be at the wheel of my life.

Prior to this three-year period, I had been extremely adventurous, had HUGE dreams, and lived without fear.

And that was the day I decided that I would reconnect with the younger, fearless version of myself and finally live an authentic and amazing life.

STARTING HER BUSINESS

I’ve been in the Training and Development space for a decade. In my field, I’ve been known as an expert and am looked to for guidance and direction.  In fact, I quickly made a name for myself in the field and was offered a part-time teaching position at the graduate level, teaching and coaching aspiring T&D professionals to make the transition into the field.

While I’ve enjoyed this field, I always felt there was something missing. Training has always afforded me to work in my zone of excellence by helping others, but not until I had the unique opportunity to run a full-scale coaching program with the internal employees did I realize that is my zone of genius.

And at that time, I realized that I had a deep desire to serve many others others beyond my organization in a similar way.

And so I began dreaming about starting my own business.

However, I didn’t take action right away. My biggest challenges to overcome were within myself. Every time I would try to move forward, life challenges or intense fear would pop up and I wouldn’t make much progress. While I had dealt with much of my past, I still had a lot of negative self-talk and fear going on that were 100% holding me back.

That inner voice kept creeping in, telling me that I didn’t deserve to go after my dreams. And I found a lot of ways to block myself from working toward my version of success.

INVESTING IN HER DREAMS   

And then one day in late summer 2015, Emily’s ad for a 4-part training audio popped up. Every single thing that she said in those audios resonated deep within me. I listened to them twice so that I could soak up all of the information she was sharing. And I knew right then and there that I had been given a gift in my pursuit to live an authentic and amazing life – I was being given the gift of having the path for success shown to me.

I signed up that very day; I didn’t even bother with a discovery call because I knew in my heart of hearts that this was the path for me!

As far as coming up with the money for IHC, the Universe responded. I had made a decision in early summer that I was going to go through with starting my business. I didn’t know how, but I finally decided to just do it!  And about a month before I knew about this program, I received an inheritance that covered all of the regular program plus a good part of the VIP track.

RESULTS SHE’S ACHIEVED SINCE STARTING THE PROGRAM

I am now living one of my dreams – running my own business.

Mindset: My mindset has been completely transformed. Before starting this program, I always focused on the negative – I actually thought that was the only way. I used to think if I nurtured the negative things, they would get better and things would be great. However, I was WAY wrong.  Before I started the program I had no idea how much power I had over my own thoughts, nor did I have the tools. What I learned during the mindset modules was a huge game-changer for me. I have this program to thank for giving me the tools to feel a greater sense of self. And nurturing the positive things has not only made each day really great, but has been attracting some really incredible things into my life.

Business: Within just two weeks of telling others about my business, I landed three clients. I didn’t even have a website! I was just sending a Google doc with my services written out on it! And within one month of launching my website I had two 5-figure months back-to-back, and I just had my third 5-figure month in a row!

I get to work in my zone of genius all day long supporting others to launch their businesses or take them to the next level by streamlining and automating everything. I’m so excited to get out of bed in the morning so that I can find more and better ways to serve my clients. I literally don’t recognize my life from a year ago.

REACHING HER GOALS

I’m now taking consistent steps every day.  Marie Forleo has a really amazing quote that hangs above my computer, “Clarity comes from being engaged in something – not thinking about it.” Emily and James speak about that quote a lot on the calls, and one day it hit me.

I finally realized that I had been thinking about starting a business for years, but i didn’t do anything with it. So I wasn’t going anywhere.

Even though I didn’t really know how I was going to make it all happen or 100% where I was going, I just made forward progress every day.  And once I started doing that, I got SO much clarity.  I recently explained it to someone like I was initially standing in this fog, not really sure where I was or where I was going. However, I just did something every day to move forward. And then one day, I came to a clearing, the fog lifted, and I could see this incredible, expansive landscape. And I finally knew where I was and where I was going next.

I’m showing up and being visible. This can be hugely scary. However, it’s been imperative in connecting me with the right people and giving me even more clarity. I used to be so scared to be visible, even to my friends. I refused to post photos of myself online that didn’t include me hiding behind a bike helmet and sunglasses. A defining moment for me was when I changed my profile picture on Facebook to one of me dressed nice. Instantly, I had people messaging me about the photo. A few I had never met mentioned that they realized that they had no idea what I looked like until that very moment. And others, who had met me in person, said that it was nice to see my face and I should post pictures like that more often. Until then, I had no idea how much I was truly hiding — from others and from myself. 

I’m making time. I used to hold myself back by being too busy, and I could have done the same with this program. However, I cleared my schedule and made time to make all of this happen. I said no to some things I might have typically said yes to in the past.

I’m embracing fear when it shows up. I used to let this delay me and hold me back for days. But no longer. Fear is always going to be part of the picture. Elizabeth Gilbert writes a lot about that in her book, “Big Magic”.  However, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I’ve learned to use fear as an indicator that I’m on the right path. It’s really helped me stay on course!

I’m connecting with others. One of my favorite quotes is: “Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great” (Mark Twain). I have learned this to be so true through my connections with others who are at the same or greater vibrational level. They motivate and inspire me on a daily basis, and I continue to up-level and gain more clarity through these connections.

FINAL TIPS

Invest in yourself. We only get one chance at this life, and we each deserve to live an authentic, fulfilled life that we love! We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so we might as well live each day as fully and happily as we can.

This program was one of the best investments I have ever made.

Be easy on yourself. Emily often talks about how starting a business is the best personal development program you can ever go through. She’s 100% right. She makes you dig really, really deep and I can guarantee it will stir up some stuff in you. But she and James also give you the tools to handle those things as they come up and for the rest of your life.

I was on a call the first time Emily used the phrase “you can either be scared or rich.”

Everyone in the program was blown away by those words. It’s so true. If you are scared about this journey, it’s okay and natural. But you have big dreams and deep desires, and you absolutely deserve to have them come true.   And if “rich” isn’t the word that resonates with you, then replace it with whatever your heart’s desire is: “You can be scared or ______.” The point is, don’t let fear hold you back.  Take a leap and go after your dreams. I promise you that you will surprise yourself in a thousand different, positive ways. You are capable of so much more than you think you are.