Welcome to the Anything But Average podcast where I will teach you how to create a coaching business one step at a time. I’m Lindsey Mango, a life coach passionate about helping you create the life of your wildest dreams by creating a coaching business. Let’s get started.
Hello, and welcome to another week and another episode of Anything But Average. Guys, how are you? I hope you’re having a beautiful week. I’m super excited because this week I have a guest. This guest is in the Anything But Average coach mastermind.
She actually started in Anything But Average and then this is her first round of the mastermind. And her story and journey is just so good. As soon as we were planning out these interviews I was like, “I know exactly who I have to have on the podcast.”
So Jillian Clothier, is that how you say it?
Jillian: That is, yes.
Lindsey: Perfect, is a life coach who helps women learn how to show up for themselves so they can show up for their lives. Welcome, Jillian.
Jillian: Thank you. I’m so happy to be here.
Lindsey: So good. Well let’s start all the way back kind of at the beginning of your journey. However far back you want to go and just kind of how you got to starting a coaching business.
Jillian: Okay. Well about four years ago we were moving our life from Arizona up to Washington. And we were unpacking boxes and I found this business plan that I had written when I was probably 24 or 25 years old for a wellness center that I was going to build. And I was going to be what I had called a motivational coach.
And I think that at that point in my life I had so strongly recognized that people my age, that kind of quarter century age, were feeling lost and I was so often the person that people would come to for guidance and advice and a listening ear and all of that good stuff. And I thought, you know, I could create a really cool business around this and involve the health side of things.
And so I had like this pipe dream and then life took over and I kept moving forward with my corporate job and climbing that ladder. And then I got married and had kiddos and it had always kind of been in the back of my mind that I wanted to do this thing when the time was right.
And so we were moving our life up to Washington and I found that business plan and I literally just broke down in tears. It had been 10 full years about since I had written that. And I’m like, there’s never going to be the right time, there’s just like right now.
And so I really started pondering the thought of creating something. And again, back then I don’t even think that, I mean, life coach just wasn’t even really a term that was widely known. And so the more I explored it I knew exactly. Like I had heard of life coaching since then and I had scored a couple of certification programs.
And so I completed a certification program thinking that was going to be exactly what I needed to have the courage and all the things required to actually launch. I completed that and then I sat with it for a while thinking maybe the right time would come along again.
So I was always waiting for this ideal timing and this ideal circumstance, and for my kids to be the right age, and for our other businesses to be at a certain point. And I came across your page, I still don’t even know how.
But somehow I rolled across your page and you had written this post about the fact that you might not ever feel ready. And I attended a free training of yours and I’m like, this is it. This is what I need. I need someone to help me determine when I can launch even when I don’t feel ready because maybe that’s just not a thing.
And so I joined ABA and the week after I joined you were doing, I can’t remember if it was 14 or 15 days to your first or next client.
Lindsey: 15 days, yeah.
Jillian: Yeah, 15 days to your first or next client. And I literally decided, I had gotten my pictures taken the month before and I’m like I have zero excuses. I have zero reasons, I’m in the program, she’s doing this 15 days to my first client, I’m just going to launch.
And so I launched the next day and I signed my first client the next week and about a month later I signed my second client. And here I am, a full year later, I actually just hit my year anniversary right at the end of July, and yeah I have helped over 100 people in some capacity in this last year.
Lindsey: What? 100 people. What does it feel like to say that?
Jillian: Wild and also like of course at the same time, which really show my level of belief. Because I knew once I launched that’s what was going to happen, but I had to do the work first.
Lindsey: And what was the, like if you could describe what the work was, like what was it for you?
Jillian: Just the layers of limiting belief. And I’ll be totally honest, I launched before I was ready because that was the whole idea. And then I signed a few clients. And then I really spent a solid amount of time, I had done quite a bit of coaching work prior to that, and then also just in ABA really soaking in all of the work around the limiting beliefs that were keeping me from the results that I really wanted, both in and out of my business.
So I think that that’s what’s really been the game changer for me, is all the work that I’ve done has equally applied in and out of my business. And so not only have I created this incredible business, I’ve also simultaneously created a life that I didn’t even really know was possible, and a version of me more than anything.
So the limiting beliefs, I actually just wrote a post about them today, so they’re good and fresh. It’s like I wasn’t educated enough, I didn’t finish college so I had always had this really strong belief around the fact that I wasn’t educated enough. That I wasn’t experienced enough, that I was too old to start over, that was a big one. And just really feeling like I was competent enough or qualified enough to go after this business and this life that I so badly wanted.
Lindsey: So good. And how do you feel like you got past those things? Because I’m sure a lot of the listeners are like, “Oh, yep, check, check, check. Yep, that’s me.”
Jillian: Yeah. Lots of coaching. Lots and lots of coaching from you, and tons of self-coaching, just around the idea that those are just beliefs, those are just thoughts, and they only have power if I give them power.
And so I’ve really leaned into this belief, especially over the last six months, which has really been when everything has kind of taken off. I guess maybe more like eight months now because it was right near the end of last year that I just decided that I can have it all.
And I like drew a line in the sand of like there is no thought, no belief, nothing from my past, that can keep me from that. And so just that, that like all in belief and then really spreading that to my clients and watching my life change and their lives change has changed everything.
Lindsey: So good. So let’s dig even in more about this journey, or like let’s talk more about your journey. You said you signed a couple of clients and then the beliefs like bubbled to the surface. Was it those same beliefs you were getting stuck at?
I remember a live coaching call when you were trying to fill a group and we were coaching on filling the rest of the spots. And I just, I don’t know if you remember that, but I just remember I felt like it was such a pivotal shift. And I would love for you to share that if you do remember it.
Jillian: Yes, I do. And this is actually probably one of the biggest shifts in my business and in my life too, that I like really remember kind of putting a stake in the ground. And you said, “Why are you doing this group program? Like where is this coming from?” Which is so valuable. Like it’s such a valuable thing to really evaluate like where are our decisions actually coming from?
And I remember telling you this is what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to bring together groups of women and coach them and allow them to be part of something bigger. But I was really getting stuck in this belief that it almost felt at some point like it was a burden to them in some way.
And I remember you going, “What if you just decided to have fun? What if you just decided to let this be fun?” And I have been such a grinder, that is another belief that kept showing up over and over, is like I’m an achiever, I’m a doer, I don’t fail.
So lots of very ego driven beliefs driving my results for so long. That’s why I had the results in my life up until that point, is because I worked for them. And so I had this belief that it was always tied to the amount of work that I was doing and how hard I was grinding and all of those wonderful things that can keep us stuck for so long.
But what clicked for me is everything can feel fun if I let it. And so this was so huge and I’m so glad you brought this up because like the next week I decided I’m just going to show up and have fun. And whatever happens happens with this group. And before I knew it, it was in the last week of my launch and I had 16 people signed up.
Lindsey: I remember that. I was like, wait a minute, we coached like last week and you had like two and you sounded like you were miserable. And, then you showed up and you’re like I signed 16 people, and I was like, “What?”
Jillian: Yeah, it was just the craziest thing. And I remember just everything I posted, everything I shared, everything I talked to people about in person, friends, and everywhere, I just let it be fun, I let it be light. Like there’s no such thing as it being a burden and being light and fun at the same time.
And so I just let it be light. And then we had like the most incredible experience. I did a final 40, like the last 40 days of 2021 and it was so fun and so cool. So it was just like everything can feel like this, if I let it.
Lindsey: And I feel like this is such a huge, just like example of what the room, what the mastermind is about. Because I think once you sign your first couple of clients in coaching, I think sometimes our brains, and I think people do this at the beginning too, but like our brains are like, “Oh my gosh, this is serious now, like we have a business.” And it’s like I always joke that I feel like our brains like run out and we grab it and it was fun and light and easy.
And then all of a sudden it like turns into this very hard thing and something we have to take so serious and put all this pressure on ourselves about. And that’s what keeps you from creating massive results in your coaching business, but also it keeps you from living the life you really want.
And I think you’re such a beautiful example of this. Like when you were having fun, and it’s like you’re always having fun on your business now, it seems.
Jillian: Yes.
Lindsey: And when you’re having fun you are the example, right? Because you just said like I help women learn how to show up for themselves so they can show up for their lives. When you’re showing up for yourself from fun and joy, you are leading by example. How much of that do you feel plays a role? Because that’s such a huge component of this room, is being an example of what you teach.
And it can be really challenging because it’s like the more you want the result and you like grip it and like push and force, the more you step out of being the example and it kind of becomes this compound effect where you’re like, “But, wait, we got to push harder.” And then that just keeps, like you get further and further.
How do you feel like showing up with fun and that unattachment from the result and just showing up to serve helped you be the example? And how did that contribute to the results you created then and the results you’ve created up until now?
Jillian: It’s everything. It is everything. And I think that even though a lot of what we talk about in coaching is really big, hard stuff. Like it’s not to make light of the things that we’re actually working on, but it’s this idea that we have access to lighten up. We have access to approach things in a way that feels good and light and fun. And that’s available to us all the time, even when we’re working through really hard stuff.
And you actually reminded me of something when you were talking, is my entire brand is built around this idea of like choosing you, of women learning how to choose themselves to show up for themselves so they can show up for their life.
And so much of that comes from the fact that when we moved four years ago and I found that business plan, the thing that brought me to tears was I remembered that back in my early 20s I wasn’t so consumed about what everyone else wanted and whatever anyone else needed.
And that’s what probably at the time gave me the courage to write that business plan. And I think that we can so easily lose sight of that as we go through life, that sometimes it feels easier to just do whatever makes everyone else the most happy and kind of take that path of least resistance.
And then we wake up, I don’t know, 10 years later like I did going, “I’ve checked all the boxes. I have the job, I have the house, I have the husband, I have the kids, I have an incredible family, I have amazing friends. Why do I not feel like things are light and fun?”
And that was it for me. I’m like because you have decided that all these wonderful people and all these amazing things in your life take priority over what’s actually true and right to you. And I think that it was that drive that gave me the courage to go, “You’re not alone in this. There are other women that also need this message that it can feel light and fun to return to yourself and to show up for yourself.”
And we just get to rewire those thoughts and beliefs to allow you to do that. And so that’s what creates the results in my life. That’s what has now created these ridiculously incredible results for my clients, it’s because I get to share that belief with them that it can feel like that.
Lindsey: Yes, and that’s because you choose it over and over again, even when it’s uncomfortable, right? Even when your brain shows up and wants to take over and do its thing. It’s like when you’re choosing you, you are lit up, you are on fire. And people can, it’s like you don’t even have to say anything, people can just feel it.
You do say all the things online and you share your message, but it’s like people just know it and they think like, I want what she’s having, just because I can feel it.
Jillian: Right and getting to spare this belief that we don’t have to wait for the right time. Well, first of all, there’s not really a right time, right? And that we don’t have to wait for the right time, or the perfect timing to start creating this life. Like we can have it all right now.
And the beauty in that is that we can create consistency with what we already have to lean into those feelings as we continue to move forward in our journey. And I think that’s the coolest thing.
As I think about all the ways this has impacted my life, even outside of my businesses, my husband and I have embraced this mantra like why not us and why not now? And so at the end of last year, I mean, we had decided, when we retire or the kids are out of the house, we’re going to split our time between Arizona and Idaho. And that was going to kind of be the retirement plan.
And then we’re like, wait a minute, why would we wait until then? Why can’t we just do that now? We can have sunshine in our lives every single day if we want. And so we did that. We jumped at that at the end of last year of like we’re going to create this now because we can.
And there were so many reasons that that was crazy. There were so many people that thought that was crazy. And we’re like, but we can have it all. We can have it all right now, even while we have kids we can be snowbirds. Who gets to tell us that we can’t, you know? And so it’s such a fun thought to go, what other container of my life can I apply this way of thinking?
Lindsey: Yes, I just wrote that down, why not us and why not now? So good. So tell me more about when you, you were in ABA, you got these awesome results, and then you decided to be in the mastermind. Like tell me more about that part of your journey.
Jillian: Yeah, I love ABA so much. And I think I just kept having this thought of like the mastermind is like 10 feet closer to your message, your work that you spread so incredibly. And being in a room that’s more intimate with women that are in a similar place and a similar journey, I just knew that that’s where I was going to be.
And I didn’t even hesitate for a second. I almost applied for the first round even though I had just launched and I didn’t have the qualifications that I needed or whatever. And so I was like, I mean, you’ve just launched, you’ve have only been in ABA for a month, like let’s give it a minute.
And so I remember going like, “As soon as she opens up for the next round, I’m going to be in that room.” And so much of it was the belief that my next level of belief in myself was within me, but that room was going to bring it out.
Lindsey: So good. And what’s happened since being in the room?
Jillian: Yeah, I mean, honestly, I think about it and being one of the newer, like there’s so many incredible coaches in there that have been in there for a few rounds. And so I really feel like the first few months I was able to sit back and receive coaching through other people’s coaching, and that felt really good and right to me.
And it has shifted so many things for me. My belief in what I’m doing and how I’m living my life has been solidified so hugely. And just taking in the incredible coaching that happens every week alongside women who are on a similar journey as you is so powerful. And it’s that level of connection, that honestly, you just don’t come across in day to day life, right?
And so it’s just that continual reminder that it, the more we lean into this work, the more we lean into the belief fully, that we can have it all. I think I’m so drawn to the name of your program because it is anything but average, this life we can choose to live. And so watching so many people do that in that group and then knowing that I belong right in there with them has been so empowering.
Lindsey: So good. And what is it, like you just celebrated in the group not that long ago, right, you were saying at the beginning, your one year anniversary of having your coaching business. How has stepping into this room, stepping into this version of you, like what has that actually created in your business and in your life?
Jillian: So I hit my one year anniversary and I literally, so I set a goal at the beginning of $50,000 I wanted to make it my first year. And I literally hit it the week before my one year anniversary by like $7.
Lindsey: So fun. So good.
Jillian: Yeah, and but honestly, like the greatest shift that has happened in being in that room is how I was able to actually recognize what else happened in that first year. That that dollar amount, of course, was such an amazing visual representation of what had happened, but it says nothing about what’s actually happened in the last year.
And I think the mastermind has allowed me to simmer in that. It’s allowed me to truly simmer in and celebrate everything that happened in that first year, transformational things within me. And then I literally have spent time, as I’ve been coaching and as I went through the workbook, building my belief using tangible evidence of my client transformations. And it’s just so telling that I’m right where I’m supposed to be and that the power is within that.
And that’s really, like I think that’s what I would say. On top of all the incredible coaching and all of that, it’s that I was able to recognize what else happened in this last year. And that doesn’t even tap into what’s happened outside of coaching, right? Like my marriage, my parenting, all of it.
Lindsey: Yeah, how has it impacted those things?
Jillian: Oh my gosh.
Lindsey: Because I think that’s such a, I’ve been thinking about that a lot as the next round comes. And I’m like this is, there’s so many amazing mastermind rooms out there, but I feel like it’s usually very focused on like one thing. And I think that’s kind of the beauty of this room, is that when I was writing some of the content for the launch I was like, this is the room where you get to have it all like. This is the room that I want to be in because this is what we’re all here to do.
We’re all here to create, of course, amazing businesses that change the world and change people’s lives and make tons of money. And we’re also here, like we’re doing that because we want to live out our dream, our why not us, why not now dream of our life.
Jillian: Yes.
Lindsey: So what other things, as you’ve become this different person what other things has it created for you?
Jillian: Yeah, so I think when I heard you talking about the next round and that I really am feeling that energy of like how it’s going to show up. And to be honest with you, it really already has for me. But I think that the shift in how it can equally apply to both our business and our life is just, it’s just going to be so transformational. I cannot wait.
But the thought of being able to have it all, like I can have it all and I don’t have to wait, I don’t have to follow anyone else’s rules has completely changed the way I live my life in and out of my business. And so obviously one of the examples is we now school year down in Arizona, and then we summer up in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, which is just like a freaking dream. I can’t even believe that that’s real life.
Lindsey: I know, I hear your saying that and I’m like, “What? People do that?” That’s amazing.
Jillian: Maybe not but we do now, right? And so like that alone is just, like it blows my mind over and over. And just in my marriage my husband and I have been together since we were 20. And so 20 years of all the different versions of us. And I literally feel like we grew up together because there’s just so much change that happens in your 20s and 30s.
Lindsey: Yeah, oh my gosh.
Jillian: And so thank God we’re not the same people we were in our 20s. But the version of us that we are now and the way that we are able to see every single step of our journey as a stepping stone to what we have now has been the most incredible gift.
And our belief, like building this belief for myself around the fact that I can have it all, but what does that actually mean for us? The amount of conversations and points of connection that we have had over the last few years, because of this work has literally created a marriage that I didn’t even know was possible for us.
And I remember writing down two years ago that I have an exceptional marriage, I have a thriving coaching business, and I am a patient, present mom, amongst a few other things. But those three were always my top three, outside of me being in exceptional physical and mental health, because I’m trying to always remember to put myself at the top of that list, knowing what that does for everything else.
But when I think of that, like I’m tearing up now thinking like those things are true.
Lindsey: Yeah, I’m crying over here.
Jillian: Yeah, those things are true and it doesn’t mean that it’s perfect every day. But it means that I keep choosing it all the time, every day. And so the way that it has shown up in our marriage, I can’t even explain it. It shifted it completely.
We have this, I share this all the time, but we have this kind of inside joke where we say hashtag same team. And it’s like our recognition and reminder to each other that we both are working towards a common goal. And every day, we have the opportunity to contribute to that and we choose it over and over. And when one of us doesn’t, the other person reminds us with a hashtag same team text or, you know, message or whatever.
And it’s just, that’s just fun and light, like going back to that kind of idea that it can be fun and light even when things can feel hard and heavy. And so we keep choosing that.
And with every level of growth, you know, they say like new level, new devil. That has been true for us, but we embrace it. We used to run from that and now we just fully embrace it. And it’s the coolest thing. It feels like a partnership, right?
And then my parenting, I could go on and on about the parenting. But needless to say, my kids talk about brains all the time.
Lindsey: That is so cool.
Jillian: You might welcome that into your future, yes. They’re like, “Oh, mom’s talking about brains again.” But just really empowering them with the tools that I know are so applicable to them at their age and knowing how that’s going to serve them in their life is just, it’s just gold.
And I feel so incredibly blessed that the timing of this aligned in a way that I could show up for them in that way as a parent. And it’s also allowed me to choose what type of parent I want to be. And I think I used to think that it was almost kind of pre-wired a little bit based on our parents and what we knew.
And now I’m like, no, every single day, I can start over and choose something different. And I can continue to work towards being the most patient and present mom and they’re going to know that for their whole life that that was my goal. And so it’s just, it’s just incredible that you can choose it. Every day you get to choose how you show up.
Lindsey: That’s so amazing.
Jillian: And my daughter has declared that now she would like to be a life coach, she’s seven.
Lindsey: How fun.
Jillian: And so yes, she has decided yes, she does come to your talk every day and she’s like, “I know that I can help people, mom.” I’m like, “I know you can too, babe.”
Lindsey: Oh my gosh, how does that feel?
Jillian: Oh, it like gives me chills. Like I mentioned earlier she loves to sit in my office with me and help out like, “Can I do one of those videos with you?” And I’m like, “Absolutely, jump out over here, girl.” So yes, she knows, they both know a lot. They understand what this is and I’m like, imagine being seven and nine and knowing that and then taking that into your life. Like she’s like, “I’m going to help so many people.” I’m like, “I know.”
Lindsey: That is so fun to think about.
Jillian: Yeah, it’s so cute.
Lindsey: I love it. So what would you say to somebody who’s listening to this episode and they’ve thought about joining the room and they’re just kind of considering the decision. What would you share with them?
Jillian: I would ask them to imagine putting themselves in that room and knowing that the belief that they’re working on leaning into waits for them in that room.
Lindsey: That’s so good.
Jillian: Yeah, I mean, that’s really the magic of what happens when you’re in a room like that where truly anything is possible and you have compassion, and support, and next level coaching happening every single week and as often as you want in between in the group. There’s no way around it, if you’re coming in to build your belief you will absolutely get what you came for.
Lindsey: So good. What do you feel like is the biggest belief you stepped into when you stepped into the room? I think you might have said it earlier, but I’m just asking again.
Jillian: Yeah, that I can have it all. And that I get to define what having it all means to me and it doesn’t have to look the same as anybody else.
Lindsey: So good. Jillian, thank you so much for sharing your journey and your story. I know it’s just the beginning, I can’t wait to see what you do next.
Jillian: It’s my pleasure. Thank you for having me.
Lindsey: Yeah, of course. Will you share with everyone where they can follow you and connect with you?
Jillian: Yes, I am on Instagram, @jillian.clothier.coaching. I’m on Facebook at Jillian Clothier, and my website is Jillianclothier.coaching.com.
Lindsey: Perfect, we will make sure to link those in the show notes. And if you are ready to join the room, why not you? And why not now? Go to lindseymangocoaching.com/ A, B as in boy, A coach. Applications open September 15th. I’ll talk to you guys soon. Thank you so much, Jillian.
Jillian: Thank you.
Lindsey: Bye.
Jillian: Bye.
If you’re ready to take this work deeper and create your own coaching business, join us in Anything But Average where I will walk you through the step by step process to become a coach, start your coaching business, and start signing clients. Go to lindseymangocoaching.com/anythingbutaverage and I will see you on the inside.
