Episode 221

The Silent Stress That's Sabotaging Your Business (Even When Life Looks Fine) | Jen Yundt Coles

Published on: 14th November, 2025

I feel like I'm doing everything right. I meditate. I have boundaries. My life is actually pretty good. So why do I still feel burnt out? Why can't I keep up with my business the way I want to? Why does it feel like something's still off?

If that sounds like you, this episode is going to connect some dots you didn't even know needed connecting.

Jen Yundt Coles is a functional medicine health coach, SIBO specialist, and someone who literally had a heart attack from stress she didn't even realize was stress. In this conversation, we talk about the hidden stressors that are quietly sabotaging your business with chronic illness—and what to do about it.

We talk about:

  • Why your gut health is directly messing with your business decisions, your creativity, and your energy
  • The types of stress you're not even counting (and how they're stacking up in your body)
  • What happens when you keep pushing through until your body literally forces you to stop

This episode is for you if:

  • You disappear when you don't feel well and then feel like you're starting all over again every time you come back
  • You can't keep up with the pace everyone says you should be moving at
  • You know you need better systems but strategy alone isn't fixing what's actually wrong

Listen for:

  • Why your body might be in fight-or-flight mode even when your life looks fine on paper
  • The question Jen asks herself every single morning that changed how she runs her sustainable business
  • How to actually run a business with chronic illness without feeling like you're always proving yourself

The truth: You're not broken. You're not lazy. Your body is trying to tell you something—and when you finally listen, building your business gets so much easier.

🎧 Want to learn more about today’s guest?

Visit CraftedToThrive.com for guest details, key takeaways, and extra links mentioned in this episode.

🌿 If you’re navigating entrepreneurship and chronic illness, or simply craving a more sustainable way to grow your business without sacrificing your health, energy, or self-care priorities, explore Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP).

CYAP is my voice-first business system designed for women entrepreneurs, creatives, and women with chronic illness who want sustainable growth and burnout support while keeping life and wellness first.

It helps you use your voice and story to build a business with systems and strategies that run smoothly, so your work supports your life, not the other way around.

⭐ Enjoyed this conversation? Leave a review and share it with another CEO woman or creative entrepreneur growing a health-first, sustainable business.

📱 Stay connected: Follow me on Instagram.

Transcript
Jen Coles:

And after all of these things that have, you know, literally

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hit me on the head to make me slow

down, I've finally realized even in

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the last few years that I don't have to

hustle to prove my worthiness anymore.

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I can own my expertise, I can speak my

truth, my real talk, tell it like it is.

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I don't have to be buffered or filtered.

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Right.

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Those people who get that are gonna be

the ones who are attracted to my business.

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Speaker 5: Welcome to Business

with Chronic Illness, the Globally

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Ranked podcast for women living

with chronic illness who want to

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start and grow a business online.

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I'm your host, Nikita Williams and I

went from living a normal life to all

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of a sudden being in constant pain

with no answers to being diagnosed

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with multiple chronic illnesses.

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And trying to make a livable income.

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I faced the challenge of adapting

traditional business advice to fit

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my unique circumstances with chronic

illness, feeling frustrated and more

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burned out than I already was while

managing my chronic illness to becoming

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an award-winning coach or the flexible,

sustainable online coaching business.

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I found the surprisingly simple

steps to starting growing a

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profitable business without

compromising my health or my peace.

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Since then, I've helped dozens of women

just like you learn how to do the same.

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If you're ready to create a thriving

business that aligns with your lifestyle

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and wellbeing, you're in the right place.

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Together, we're shifting the narrative

of what's possible for women with

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chronic illness and how we make a living.

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This is business with chronic illness.

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Hey everybody.

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I am really excited to

have Jen on the show.

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We are going to talk about burnout

and we're gonna talk about some

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other things in your health and

your gut and all of that jazz.

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But Jen, before we get in, I'd

love for you to like introduce

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yourself as if someone were to ask

you, like, what is it that you do?

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Jen Coles: Yeah.

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Hey Nikita, I'm so glad to be here

and I'm glad that we finally connected

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after rescheduling a few times, which I

think is the name of the game sometimes

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when you're dealing with business

and chronic illness, by the way.

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Absolutely.

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So, so yeah.

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My name is Jen Coles.

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I am a functional medicine health coach.

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I'm also the SIBO coach, so I'm

a gut health strategist, and

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that's sort of like my do, right?

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But I also like to, you know.

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I think about other things

that I like to do that I don't

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put myself in that single box.

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Yeah.

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So not to just completely label myself,

but I'm also an aspiring brocker.

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I'm a writer.

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Cool.

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I'm a home renovator.

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I'm a gluten-free baker.

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I'm a mama to two college kids, and I'm

somebody who's just been on a personal

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mission to not only overcome my own

chronic health issues, but to really

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inspire my fellow go-getter women.

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To internalize this idea of the gut brain

performance and creativity connection.

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So maybe we can talk about that today too.

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Absolutely.

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But's just a little bit about me.

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Well, that is

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Speaker 5: first of all, rocker.

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Cool.

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I'm one of my best friends.

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She's like, I feel like

she's like a secret rocker.

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Like in the sense of like, yeah, she's

like very soft spoken, but if you put

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some like real hardcore rock, rock

music eighties, she's like in it.

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Right.

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And I feel like, I'm like, when you said

that, I'm like, I kind of get the vibe.

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I kind of get the vibe.

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Jen Coles: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So I play guitar.

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That's kind of my sanity.

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That's awesome.

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And I've been writing my own songs

for several years now, and who

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knows, maybe one day I'll be brave

and and sing them out to somebody.

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But for right now, I'm just,

like I said, I'm kind of a secret

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rocker too, like in my bedroom.

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Speaker 5: I love that.

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I love that.

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How long have you been playing the guitar?

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Jen Coles: Oh gosh.

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Well.

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Probably since my late teens.

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I had a boyfriend in high

school and we were in a band

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together, so that was really fun.

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And we just made all kinds of

noise and then years went by, I

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was having babies and all of that

kind of stuff, how life changes.

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And my husband ended up actually

buying me an acoustic guitar.

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So I started to write, you know, try

to relearn to actually learn how to

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play instead of just making noise.

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Both: Yeah.

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And

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Jen Coles: also I just, I grew up

with my dad playing guitar, so it

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was always something that I really.

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Admired and wanted to learn how to do too.

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So that's kind of where I'm at with that.

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Speaker 5: Yeah.

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That's so cool.

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I feel, to your point, you were

mentioning about creativity and I feel

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like creativity is such a huge aspect

of healing, of growing, of coping,

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exploring, like it's such a thing,

uh, powerful tool, even if you're not

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like the traditional creative, I guess

whatever people would call traditional.

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Yeah.

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But I'd love to hear about how did you.

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To like, how did being a SIBO coach,

how did this love of what you do

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and finding those, those different

nuances, they're very niche.

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So what led you to this path?

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Jen Coles: Yeah, yeah.

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So like, I'm sure most of your

guests, I got here from my

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own personal journey, right?

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And so that was a, you know, a lifelong

decades long struggles with digestive

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health, digestive issues, rather.

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And you know, kind of first started

off of like chronic constipation

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pretty much my whole childhood

and teen years and continued into

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my first part of my marriage.

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I had been in a couple of car accidents,

so really suffering from some chronic

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pain syndromes as well, and really sort

of being dismissed or, you know, not

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fully seen by my medical practitioners

and feeling frustrated and really sort

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of ending up feeling isolated and alone.

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And really depressed,

to tell you the truth.

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Yeah,

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Speaker 5: yeah.

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Jen Coles: And, you know, finally

got to this place where it

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was so much stress on my body.

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'cause like I said, I'm kind

of a go-getter and I've got all

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these things I wanna get done.

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And at the time I owned a gluten-free

bakery and was really just like running

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myself ragged, like getting up before the

sun and, and you know, raising elementary

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school kids and all of that stuff.

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Goes with all, you know, being a

mom and an entrepreneur and and

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all that kind of chaos, right?

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Yeah, yeah.

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Eventually all those health issues

kind of compounded and I ended up

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with broken heart syndrome, which is

essentially like having a heart attack,

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a heart event, just from sheer stress.

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Usually it happens to like elderly people

who have lost their spouse after a long

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time 'cause it's just so heartbreaking.

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You know, traumatic.

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So that's what happened.

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And that was kind of my, one

of my first wake up calls.

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And after that was sort of my

first taste of functional medicine.

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And that sort of led me to,

uh, learning about sibo.

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That was my first introduction to that.

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She's like, Hey, why don't you

test yourself for some SIBO here?

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I was like, what's that?

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Everyone just tells me I

have IBS like such a generic

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catchall, you know, diagnosis.

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And so that was kind of my first.

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Dive into that whole world and

because I have sort of a science

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research geek out type of brain.

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Brain, yeah.

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I just kind of went down my own

rabbit hole and tried to, to

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help myself because there be,

you know, I got to a point where.

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I was seeing my gastroenterologist and

she was like, Jen, I think you know

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more about SIBO than I do at this point.

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I dunno how to help you.

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Here are some antidepressants.

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So I was like, no, thank you.

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That's not what I need.

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Although obviously not passing

judgment on anyone who's using those,

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you know, to get through their day.

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But that was not the

answer for me personally.

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That really motivated me to go

back to school, to go to health

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coaching, go through a program,

and then I said, you know what?

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I just need more science and I need more

evidence, and I need all the things.

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So I decided to put myself through

functional medicine school while I

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was coaching and you know, eventually

was able to help myself overcome the

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sibo, which by the way, SIBO stands for

small intestinal bacterial overgrowth,

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which is very niche like you said.

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And word got out that I was

doing that helping myself and

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other people in my practice.

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So I decided to rebrand as the SIBO coach,

and that's kind of where I'm at now.

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But to answer sort of the backdoor

question that you asked me was kind

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of trying to implement or incorporate

creativity, enjoy activators into my

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practice, teaching my clients, or you

know, helping guide them, I guess rather.

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On how to sort of

uplevel their creativity.

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It doesn't, you know, we don't

have to put a label on it.

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You don't have to be a painter or a

musician, but there are so many ways

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that we can incorporate more ways

of finding joy, resetting into our

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parasympathetic nervous system and

all of that so that we can be more

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successful in our healing journey.

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Yeah.

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And more successful in like daily

life or like, you know, whether

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that's being an entrepreneur

or a mom or both, or whatever.

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Did that answer your question?

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Yeah, no, it did.

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Speaker 5: I think, I think a lot of

us start on this journey to discover

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what we are getting from wherever we're

getting the support from is not enough.

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Right?

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Yeah.

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And we know, especially if we're,

we're researching, we're doing

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everything that we need to figure out

in our own, in our own bodies, right?

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Which is honestly.

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Really our responsibility to do.

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But it is also a lot of time and

it's a lot of, like, some of us

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don't have that researchy brain.

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It's overwhelming.

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I think I'm thankful for AI these days

for like helping that aspect of my

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health journey a little bit easier.

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Mm-hmm.

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To like, okay, I am researching this.

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Can you say this in like

a 10th grade language?

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Because I dunno what this

is saying to me right now.

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I knew when I got my aromatherapy

certification, I was just like.

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It took me a while because it's just a

different way of understanding words.

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We just don't hear, and we're not taught

about our bodies in this way, in such a

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detailed way, and it really has helped me.

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So I'm curious, Jen, like in

your journey of being like going

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through discovering you have sibo.

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How I wanna phrase this is kind of

more around like how does affect how

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you showed up in the world to support

your family financially as well as like

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managing your health, because that's

like a full, I feel like sometimes it's

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a double full-time job of trying to

figure out and learn and research and

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be a doctor basically for yourself.

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And you said you had a

gluten-free bakery business.

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You have kids.

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Like how did you manage that?

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Jen Coles: That's a really good question.

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And I think at the time I wasn't really

managing it, and that's why, and that's

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why I ended up with Broken Heart syndrome.

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Right.

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Speaker 5: Yeah.

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Jen Coles: But I think on the other

side of that, I think what I would say

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was, or is, and this is what I do in

my practice now, I'm always going to.

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Encourage you to be your own

best advocate, which I'm sure you

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talk a lot about on your show.

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Speaker 5: Absolutely.

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Especially

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Jen Coles: when you do have

chronic illness or do feel like

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you're being dismissed or unseen

or unheard or unsupported.

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It's important for you to understand

that yes, that is your responsibility.

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And adults feel quite heavy sometimes,

but no one else is gonna come save you.

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And once you kind of internalize that

idea, which is easier said than done.

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I think that sort of

plants that seed, right?

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And then you start doing little

things that start watering that seed.

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So today I'm gonna make sure I go

to bed on time tomorrow I'm gonna

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get up and get some sunshine in

my eyeballs as soon as I wake up.

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Right?

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Yeah.

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Things like that.

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Honestly, it's just the

really simple things.

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Starting out with those, I think what

began to make the difference for me

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when I sort of realized, okay, Jen.

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The go, go, go is actually gonna kill you.

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So you better slow down.

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And I don't know if there have been

episodes of self-sabotage or the

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universe just boning me on the head

and telling me, okay, slow down.

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But I've had so many accidents and

brain injuries in the last like 10 years

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where I finally figured out like, oh,

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I need to pause before I propel.

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So this is my thing now.

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I'm trying to teach this, trying

to get this message out to the

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importance of getting quiet, which is

something that we don't do very often

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in this crazy world, especially as

women who are wearing multiple hats.

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Getting quiet so we

can hear our intuition.

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I think we've gotten to a place, and

hopefully, I feel like we're sort of

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coming out of this now a little bit.

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There's a shift, but we've been in this

place where we outsource our intuition.

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Ooh, yes.

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Mm-hmm.

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Yeah, we do.

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And we defer to what other people

say or do, or we take advice

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from like online support groups

that really isn't customized.

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Us in our, you know, you know,

unique situation or environment.

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And I think that's really the key.

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I think individualized

medicine, personalized medicine

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is the way of the future.

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And I think dialing up that sort of

feminine power that we have, understanding

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that we have an innate ability

to heal ourselves, listening to

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what our symptoms are telling

us, remember that's information.

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When we're having some sort of

symptom and you know, sometimes I

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just start talking Nikita and I'm

like, where am I going with this?

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But no, I love it.

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I think it's a, I think that's

kind of where my journey took me.

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I started off with little simple

things and I'm still doing

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those simple things, by the way.

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Yeah.

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You never really graduate from those.

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You have to keep doing them.

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They're foundational.

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Sunshine and going on a walk and drinking

enough water and going to bed on time.

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All those boring things that

we say because it's not like

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a magic pill, but they were.

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Yeah,

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Speaker 5: yeah.

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No, I, I hear you.

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I think you're so right about

the outsourcing, our intuition.

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I, I think we all have

at some point, and if.

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If we're honest, have done it way more

and we can probably pinpoint when we've

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done it and what the effects were and

how it has, we're still dealing with

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the consequences of those things.

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I'm curious, 'cause you know, you

mentioned, you know, experiencing

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or having heart rate syndrome.

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Do you think it was a collective of.

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Choices.

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Choices or life like a specific

scenario that happened that really just

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impacted it or created that for you?

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Jen Coles: I dunno that it was one thing.

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I mean, I can kind of put my

finger on a couple things.

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I think what I would say was, is.

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Oh gosh.

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I don't know if I can put

this in a nutshell, but

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that's such a goofy question,

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so I'll try really quickly

off the top of my head.

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You know, one, like I said, I was

just driving myself into the ground.

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Speaker 5: Can you tell me a little bit

more about when you say driving yourself,

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because I think we say, um, I'm, I didn't

mean to interrupt, but I think Oh, no.

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We hear, oh, I think people say,

I'm like, yeah, I burnt out.

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I just was doing so much and I drove

myself and now I'm done and I'm better.

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And I'm like, but wait a minute.

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Like, can we name?

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No, it doesn't work that way.

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Like can we name what it was?

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Because I think we all give

ourselves like these little excuses,

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like, well, everybody does that.

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I'm like, you can't not do it like that.

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Like, you know what I'm saying?

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So I'm curious too, like, okay, when

you say drive, you're driving yourself.

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What did that look like on a day to day?

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Jen Coles: Yeah.

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I can tell you very specifically,

so like I said, I had two kids in

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elementary school and they were in a

Montessori school, so I was trying to

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be active at school, like participating

as a, you know, responsible parent.

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I was also Reno.

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Yeah.

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Renovating my home at the time

doing updates because that's

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just kind of like, I like to be

creative that way and do that.

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I had started new, a new business,

which was my gluten-free bakery.

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And so I had taken on more clients or you

know, businesses that would, you know,

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wanna sell my products and all of that

kind of stuff than I probably should have.

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I was getting up at like

three 30 every morning.

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Wow.

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To bake and deliver.

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I was doing the deliveries myself.

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And then I would go to the gym and work

out like crazy cardio and then come home

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and get my kids ready for school and then

they'd be at school and then I'd be back

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at the bakery baking for the next day.

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Then I would be off at three because

I wanted to be the mom who was home

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when their kids were home so that

I'd speed home and go pick them up.

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And they were both involved in

travel sports, and of course I

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was the mom who was like driving

them all around and really holding

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that responsibility as well.

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Both of my kids have gone through

emotional things at different points

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in their life, and at that time,

my older son was going through a

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depressive episode and tried to take

his life even at nine years old.

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Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry.

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So I held that as well, and at

the very same time, I was having

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relationship issues in my marriage.

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And having, you know, some disrupted

communication and, and other things

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going on that I, you know, obviously

don't need to talk about here.

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Yeah.

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I think all of that tied together with

having these chronic digestive issues

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and anxiety and worry all the time.

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My microbes, my chemistry,

my biology was out whack.

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I wasn't making myself.

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You know, my chemistry was off and

it's no wonder that I ended up with

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something like Broken heart syndrome.

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So I, I hope that answers your question.

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Yeah.

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Like, very specifically,

that's what I was doing.

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That's a

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Speaker 5: lot woman.

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I'm like, I'm like, oh my goodness.

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I mean, just, I, I know there

are people that get up early, but

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3:00 AM like that is, I'm like.

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And I'm sure you weren't going to

bed at like five, so like Yeah, no,

367

:

Jen Coles: I wasn't.

368

:

And that's the thing.

369

:

It's like, I think we think we can

do it because for a while we can,

370

:

our bodies will function for a

while in that place, you know, in

371

:

a survival mode to just keep going.

372

:

But eventually we need to rest, you know?

373

:

And I just didn't see that for myself.

374

:

I had a really high standard of what I

thought success meant or looked like.

375

:

I felt like I had to reach,

reach that expectation.

376

:

Some of that was self, you know,

self-inflicted and other, you know,

377

:

some of it was also just put on

me by other people, I think, or

378

:

that I allowed to be put on me.

379

:

And there was just a disconnect.

380

:

I had kind of lost myself, you know?

381

:

I was busy being a mom and an

entrepreneur, and those were the labels

382

:

I was wearing, and I forgot who Jen was.

383

:

So I think that was the key.

384

:

Speaker 5: Yeah.

385

:

You mentioned chemistry was off.

386

:

Yeah.

387

:

Can you tell us a little bit more

about what that means for you?

388

:

Jen Coles: Yeah, so in my case, and,

and this is the lens that I'm looking

389

:

through as a gut health strategist, right?

390

:

We have a diverse microbiome in our gut.

391

:

And typically it's in the large colon.

392

:

I'm gonna geek out for a second here.

393

:

Okay.

394

:

I'm

395

:

Both: fine with it.

396

:

Jen Coles: We can, we can hang.

397

:

Um, yeah, so, so in our large colon we

typically have a diverse microbiome.

398

:

It contains bacteria, viruses,

fungi, can't, you know.

399

:

Viruses, all kinds of things.

400

:

And when they're like hanging out and

being friends and you know, that kind

401

:

of thing, it's not usually a problem.

402

:

But when there becomes a bully on the

playground, we start having like some

403

:

symptoms and they may be those things that

we hear as IBS, you know, constipation,

404

:

diarrhea, gas, bloating, whatever.

405

:

Here's the thing that I do in my practice.

406

:

So there are a number of reasons

which we could talk about if you want.

407

:

So many reasons why someone

would end up with a small

408

:

intestinal bacterial overgrowth.

409

:

So the small colon is not sterile,

but it's not really the party place

410

:

for microbes to hang out, right?

411

:

That's the place that we're supposed to be

digesting in, assimilating our nutrients.

412

:

So when we do have a bacterial overgrowth

there, for instance, or you know,

413

:

fungal overgrowth or whatever it is.

414

:

It's causing inflammation,

wear and tear on that system.

415

:

And it's mechanism of being

able to give us the nutrients we

416

:

need from our food is impaired.

417

:

Yeah.

418

:

And so that includes things like

minerals and uh, certain types

419

:

of vitamins that help us with our

methylation and our detoxification.

420

:

Those nutrients are required for

neurotransmitters which affect our

421

:

mood and our thinking patterns.

422

:

Not to mention sex hormone

production and all of that, right?

423

:

Our drive, our get up and go, our

cognitive clarity, all sorts of things.

424

:

And it can lead to body pain,

syndromes, depression, anxiety, panic

425

:

disorders, all sorts of things besides

just the typical digestive issues,

426

:

types, symptoms that we hear about.

427

:

And so that's what I'm talking about,

chemistry, when we aren't able to.

428

:

Absorb and utilize those key nutrients

from our food or our supplements because

429

:

of some sort of dysbiotic environment

in the colon or the small colon, rather,

430

:

then we're putting ourselves in this

place where we're becoming essentially

431

:

malnourished because you know, we can

be eating all the right foods, but it

432

:

doesn't matter because the bugs are

eating our food before we are right.

433

:

And so that's, that's the kicker.

434

:

People don't sometimes like,

you know, connect those dots.

435

:

And so it's really important for

us to understand that whatever's

436

:

going on in your gut, that is

your leadership right there.

437

:

That is your CEO business mindset.

438

:

It's inside your gut.

439

:

If it's dysregulated or impaired or

suboptimal in some way, everything

440

:

else in your life could be impaired.

441

:

That includes.

442

:

Your focus at work.

443

:

That includes your creativity, that

includes your connection with other people

444

:

because you don't feel like yourself.

445

:

And list goes on and

446

:

Speaker 5: yeah, I'm gonna take

it out of, out of the moment.

447

:

Jen Coles: Yeah.

448

:

Speaker 5: Only for a second because

I think we actually have to go back

449

:

to it because I'm thinking, I think

when we hear terms like burnout and

450

:

all of this kind of stuff, and I have

several episodes about burnout and

451

:

just conversations around capacity and

energy and all of these different kind

452

:

of things with chronic illness, not

with chronic illness running a business.

453

:

I wonder if how your

gut is functioning like.

454

:

What's going on with your, if

you're paying, give you clues.

455

:

You are on the, on the pathway to burnout.

456

:

You do need to slow down.

457

:

Yeah, you do need to take more time

and you need to just stop thinking,

458

:

oh, this is just 'cause I had a bad

day or a bad couple of weeks because

459

:

it's cumulative from what I've

learned about the gut and how it.

460

:

Its own little brain down there.

461

:

So like if someone is experiencing

burnout right now and they're physically

462

:

experiencing it, is the gut a place

they need to really pay attention to?

463

:

Jen Coles: Yeah, and I think

that's the obvious answer, right?

464

:

Like, you knew that asking me the

question, but I mean, of course

465

:

that's the lens I'm looking through.

466

:

That's my training.

467

:

That's functional medicine.

468

:

Functional medicine will say, you know,

90 something percent of any kind of

469

:

other issue in your body is probably,

you know, rooted in the, in the gut.

470

:

But it's true things like, you know,

if our microbes are imbalanced.

471

:

That's sending a constant signal

through the vagus nerve to

472

:

the brain that we're not safe.

473

:

Right.

474

:

And I'm sure you've talked about

this on your show as well, but

475

:

you know, your microbes are

constantly serving your environment.

476

:

Like, is this safe?

477

:

Are we cool?

478

:

You know, is everybody

chill doing their thing?

479

:

Or are we like in a chaotic state?

480

:

Are there bullies on the playground?

481

:

What's happening?

482

:

And so that's sending a direct message

to your brain, even if you don't.

483

:

You know, intelligently comprehensive.

484

:

You're not aware

485

:

Speaker 5: of that.

486

:

If you're not aware, if

you're not considering that.

487

:

Right.

488

:

It still happening.

489

:

Exactly.

490

:

Just because you don't see it

doesn't mean it's not happening.

491

:

Right.

492

:

Right.

493

:

Jen Coles: And so here's the thing.

494

:

Actually, I'll, I'll tell a little story.

495

:

So I've had, well, clients say this a lot,

but I'm thinking of one specific client.

496

:

You know, I, we were talking about

stress and her stress level and

497

:

her ability to manage it and what

her capacity was and everything.

498

:

She says, you know, my

life is really great.

499

:

I love my husband.

500

:

My kids are doing wonderful.

501

:

I like my job, and my boss is pretty cool.

502

:

And, you know, so I'm not stressed.

503

:

You know, I meditate every day and,

and she tells me all this stuff and I

504

:

said, well, here's the real talk of it.

505

:

If you have some sort of

imbalance in your gut.

506

:

That is a physiological stressor that

your brain is interpreting as danger.

507

:

So even if you don't see any

stress on the outside of your

508

:

life, it's going on in the inside.

509

:

Absolutely.

510

:

And that'll keep you stuck in that cycle

of fight or flight running from the tiger.

511

:

All those things that we all know

as chronic illness sufferers.

512

:

Right?

513

:

Speaker 5: Yeah.

514

:

Jen Coles: And that makes it

really difficult for us to get

515

:

outta that and reset ourselves.

516

:

And so first being aware

of that is the key.

517

:

Speaker 5: Yeah.

518

:

I love that you shared that story

because I think a lot of us think,

519

:

to her point, my life is good.

520

:

Like not, I don't hear a lot of

people saying, my life is great.

521

:

Nothing's wrong, but most who

feel like I know how to manage

522

:

my stress and dah, dah, dah, dah.

523

:

Something I've been doing

a lot of research on is the

524

:

allostatic load of stress.

525

:

It's cumulative.

526

:

Mm-hmm.

527

:

And what happens to our body over time.

528

:

Even though you may have gotten

through the thing, like you've gotten

529

:

through the thing you got through.

530

:

Your body is still, hasn't

dealt with that stress.

531

:

It's still stored in your energy and

your, like in your physical body,

532

:

in your lot and your and your cells.

533

:

So you could say all day long, I'm not

stressed, but your body's yelling often

534

:

through symptoms and things like that,

that you're just trying to deal with the

535

:

symptoms versus the root cause of this.

536

:

But to your point.

537

:

I'm sharing this to say,

when I first started dealing

538

:

with my chronic illness, no.

539

:

I had no awareness of this.

540

:

I had no knowledge of this.

541

:

Like this was not something that you

were told or talked, it's talked about.

542

:

Mm-hmm.

543

:

We hear stress is bad for

you, but we don't hear.

544

:

Stress is killing you.

545

:

Like, like, like in that, in that

way, whether you see it or not.

546

:

And I think I really started to understand

the gut aspect of things when I started

547

:

working with a functional medicine doctor.

548

:

I mean a practitioner who was

also happened to be an md.

549

:

But that power of realizing that

your gut is like telling you so

550

:

much information, it's powerful.

551

:

And I kind of wanna switch

this into like talking about

552

:

business for a moment because.

553

:

There's foundations in our business, just

like there's foundations for our health.

554

:

And the energy and capacity we

have in order to explore and heal

555

:

our health are things we have

to do in our businesses as well.

556

:

There's foundations that we have

to tweak to do differently for us

557

:

that may not work for someone else.

558

:

And so, Jen, I know you sharing

like your experience as.

559

:

A coach supporting clients, but building

a business, also, experiencing your

560

:

own health challenges, healing your

own like issues going on, being a mom.

561

:

What are some foundational things as

a business owner that you had to tweak

562

:

for your own customization to make

this even possible for you to grow?

563

:

Jen Coles: Yeah.

564

:

Yeah.

565

:

That's such a dynamic question.

566

:

And before I answer it, yeah.

567

:

I'm gonna like reflect on

something you just said.

568

:

Yeah.

569

:

I think it's really important, and

I'm sure you've talked about this

570

:

with other guests, but it's really

important, and this is something

571

:

I try to teach my clients that.

572

:

There are so many

different types of stress.

573

:

I think it all just gets

bundled into like work stress.

574

:

Yeah.

575

:

But there's so many other kinds

of stress, like environmental,

576

:

what you're being exposed to.

577

:

Like maybe you're in a moldy home and

you don't even know it 'cause it's

578

:

like lurking in the walls, you know?

579

:

Yeah.

580

:

Or like a conversation that you

had with someone, like either it

581

:

was your spouse or your coworker.

582

:

Those things.

583

:

Or your parents are, or your parents

like, so those are exposures and

584

:

they can be stressors to the body.

585

:

So I just wanna.

586

:

Point that out, right?

587

:

I know that that for me was also

one huge thing that I had to

588

:

internalize and become really aware

of what that effect was on my body.

589

:

I'm in a toxic environment, both because

there's mold in here, but also because I

590

:

can't have a conversation with my husband.

591

:

Right.

592

:

So like thinking about it that way.

593

:

Speaker 5: Yeah.

594

:

Okay.

595

:

Jen Coles: So now to go

back to your other question.

596

:

Speaker 5: No, that's a powerful, I

mean that's, that's very powerful.

597

:

I think you're right.

598

:

We don't put it into terms like that.

599

:

There's multiple different

kinds of stress and Yeah.

600

:

Jen Coles: Kinds of stress, right?

601

:

Awareness

602

:

Speaker 5: is everything

when it comes to stress,

603

:

Jen Coles: for sure.

604

:

100%.

605

:

And to your point, yes, it is

often stored in your cells, right?

606

:

And interestingly, and

of course you know this.

607

:

From studying the somatics and the

gut health and everything that, you

608

:

know, grief and loss can be stored in

the lungs and the large intestine and

609

:

sadness and loneliness and not being

able to express yourself is stored in

610

:

the heart and the small intestines.

611

:

Right?

612

:

And so there's such a.

613

:

A really interesting energetic connection

there between all of those things.

614

:

But anyway.

615

:

Okay, so things that I've done in my

own practice while I'm continuing to

616

:

heal, and I wanna be clear on that.

617

:

I'm what I call a

recovering perfectionist.

618

:

Speaker 5: I

619

:

Jen Coles: love that.

620

:

Are we all trying to be

621

:

Speaker 5: that

622

:

Jen Coles: so.

623

:

I've lived my life up until this point.

624

:

Right.

625

:

So like just trying to show up and

put my face on and be professional

626

:

that I have it all together and I

don't want anyone to see my dirty

627

:

laundry and all of this kind of stuff.

628

:

Right?

629

:

Speaker 5: Yes.

630

:

Jen Coles: And I realize that sharing

part of that is really important

631

:

for people, not only to feel like

I'm relatable, but also that, you

632

:

know, I'm approachable, right?

633

:

So that's one thing.

634

:

The other thing too is that.

635

:

That I was gonna say was, yes, I'm

still going through my healing journey.

636

:

Yes, I've overcome sibo, but

I'm still dealing with like

637

:

chronic pain from car accidents.

638

:

You know, still tr like you probably

notice, I trip up my words sometimes.

639

:

I'm still healing from traumatic

brain injury and so, you know, I'm

640

:

a real person going through my own

thing, trying to navigate my business

641

:

and help my fellow go-getters in

the world, do what they wanna do.

642

:

And so for me, I sort of, I guess I'll

say technically that looks like I put

643

:

more space between my clients now.

644

:

I used to have them back to

back, to back, to back to back.

645

:

Speaker 5: Yeah.

646

:

Jen Coles: So I schedule in extra

time, whether that looks like prepping

647

:

notes or, you know, sending notes.

648

:

But also it looks like

going outside for a minute.

649

:

It looks like doing some Qigong and like

releasing the energy that I just absorbed.

650

:

It looks like playing fetch real quick

with my dog before I have to come back in.

651

:

And it looks like, you know, did

we hit it this at the beginning?

652

:

I don't remember now.

653

:

Talking about joy activators.

654

:

Speaker 5: Yeah, we, I was gonna

talk about that a little bit more.

655

:

I, I know you mentioned like

rocking out listening to music,

656

:

you know, those kind of things.

657

:

Yeah.

658

:

Jen Coles: Yeah, so I mean, even

the other night, no one was here.

659

:

It was just me and my dog,

and I was like, you know what?

660

:

I'm gonna put on my mix.

661

:

I turned it way up and I just

danced around for like an hour,

662

:

and I was totally exhausted and

I slept like a baby that night.

663

:

I love

664

:

Speaker 5: that.

665

:

Yes.

666

:

Jen Coles: But just it, it doesn't

have to be crazy like that, right?

667

:

It can be.

668

:

I'm gonna stare out the

window for five minutes.

669

:

And reset my gaze and put

myself into parasympathetic.

670

:

I'm gonna schedule some time for myself

tonight to take a really hot bath because

671

:

that's what I want, and I'm gonna light

my candle, right, and something special.

672

:

I'm gonna carve out some time this

weekend to call my friend that I

673

:

haven't talked to in a while, because

that is so nourishing for me and sort

674

:

of thinking about things like that.

675

:

So every day now, Nikita, when I

get up, I say, what do I need today?

676

:

And how am I gonna get it?

677

:

I learned this from one of my

therapists a long time ago.

678

:

Speaker 5: Yeah,

679

:

Jen Coles: and that's the thing,

every morning it's different because

680

:

I never know how I'm gonna feel in

the morning as a result of some of

681

:

these chronic conditions I have.

682

:

Both: Yeah.

683

:

Jen Coles: And so it's

a little unpredictable.

684

:

I mean, I can make plans, and this

is where that perfectionism came in.

685

:

I have my plans and I have my calendar

blocked off, and it's all color coded,

686

:

but sometimes I have to realize.

687

:

Not today.

688

:

Yeah, I gotta push that till tomorrow.

689

:

And so understanding

that flexibility is key.

690

:

Having some grace for myself,

and then really being an

691

:

example of that to my clients.

692

:

Speaker 5: Yeah.

693

:

Jen, you said so much in that I wanna talk

a little bit more about the, you call them

694

:

joy motivators, is that what you call it?

695

:

Joy

696

:

Jen Coles: activators.

697

:

Activators,

698

:

Speaker 5: yeah.

699

:

So I read a book by a coach who is a

positive psychologist specialist, and

700

:

so I, I, I did a whole tour, two and a

half years of like researching positive

701

:

psychology and this is one of those

aspects I, yeah, the way I learned

702

:

it was like happiness triggers, but.

703

:

This has been such a huge thing that

I don't think many of us think about

704

:

because we're too busy trying, surviving.

705

:

We're too busy trying to

self-care it, if that makes sense.

706

:

We're too busy like doing the checkbox of

what everybody says self-care is versus

707

:

finding those activators for, how did

you discover what your happiness or your,

708

:

your joy activators were for you in the.

709

:

Honestly, all of the things that you've

shared with us with your experience,

710

:

like how did you come back to them?

711

:

Because it sounds like at some point

they were not things you activated

712

:

because they were forgotten and life

happened, and things happened too.

713

:

Now they're a very

intentional part of your life.

714

:

Jen Coles: Yeah, and that's such a

good point too, because in my life

715

:

I experienced this personally, but

I see it in my, in my practice a lot

716

:

where someone who has chronic illness.

717

:

Well, I mean, they're

kind of depressed, right?

718

:

Yeah.

719

:

They're anxious.

720

:

We're, let's be wrong, let's stop.

721

:

Like thinking and sort of like

stuck in a body that's not working

722

:

because I feel like we all have

these really strong spirits and

723

:

things that we wanna do, right?

724

:

And we have this drive and this

passion, but we feel kind of stuck in

725

:

a body that's not working properly.

726

:

And so understanding that and then

understanding the connection of.

727

:

Ourselves every once in a while.

728

:

It doesn't have to be 24 7, but the

key is just little seeds here and

729

:

there, and then, you know, eventually

you start connecting some of those.

730

:

And so they're in a chain, but.

731

:

The goal is to, you know, like in my case,

I was like, what did I used to like to do?

732

:

And the reason why I came up, came up

with this idea is because a therapist

733

:

told me I didn't come up with it myself.

734

:

Right.

735

:

Yeah.

736

:

You,

737

:

Speaker 5: you asked for help.

738

:

Yeah, I asked for help.

739

:

Yeah.

740

:

Yeah.

741

:

That's the first thing y'all,

and you didn't get that ask

742

:

for help because you cannot.

743

:

I think that's the thing.

744

:

We cannot.

745

:

We think we're doing it.

746

:

I, I know with my therapist,

she's like, that is not doing it.

747

:

Like, she's like, that

is not, that's not it.

748

:

That's not, no.

749

:

Sorry.

750

:

Let's try that again.

751

:

Let's rework This let's

you know, so I think.

752

:

That's a huge piece of it.

753

:

Like you have to admit that you're

not gonna be the perfectionist

754

:

that unerect yourself like.

755

:

Jen Coles: Right.

756

:

That's exactly right.

757

:

So that's so, that's so

complicated right there.

758

:

Right.

759

:

So you said, so first of all, we know

we have to be our own best advocate

760

:

and we have to be willing to ask for

help because oh my gosh, some of us are

761

:

just trying to freaking do all of it.

762

:

Right.

763

:

Me included.

764

:

I just realized I cannot

do this all by myself.

765

:

I need to go ask for someone.

766

:

If the person you're talking to isn't

a good listener and cannot reflect

767

:

back to you what you are saying so

that you can hear yourself or giving

768

:

you some, you know, real, actual tools

to use on a daily basis to try to

769

:

implement some of this for change, I

would say find somebody else, right?

770

:

You don't want someone who's just

gonna keep you in negativity.

771

:

But you also don't want someone who's

just gonna gloss over everything.

772

:

Right?

773

:

You want someone who's gonna call you out

like you just said, you're not doing it.

774

:

Yeah.

775

:

So she's like, what did

you used to like to do?

776

:

So I started thinking about that and

I said, well, you know, obviously

777

:

I love baking, but I accidentally

turned it into my business and

778

:

now I don't love it anymore.

779

:

So now for fun.

780

:

Yeah.

781

:

And music was huge.

782

:

I kind of lost that for a little while.

783

:

That ability to feel deeply a different

frequency, and then connecting with other

784

:

people who understand that about me.

785

:

Right?

786

:

Yeah.

787

:

They don't have to be liking the

same exact music, but they get,

788

:

you know, they hear the beat.

789

:

They get what you're saying when you're

like, oh my gosh, this song, right?

790

:

Yeah.

791

:

Or something like that.

792

:

So you feel like someone sees you.

793

:

For me, I, I figured out, so I study,

I started studying human design and

794

:

I figured out that I was a projector.

795

:

And two of my superpowers

is my heart and my throat.

796

:

Those are my centers

where my power is held.

797

:

And so it's really important for me to

express things from my heart vocally,

798

:

whether that's talking to myself all

day long when there's no one here.

799

:

Or recording my voice or singing

or humming or doing whatever

800

:

that's activating for me.

801

:

So it's important for you to figure out,

you know, what you used to like doing.

802

:

Yeah.

803

:

And then if it's changed, just kind of

figure out, well, you know, I used to like

804

:

painting, but now I like, you know, sewing

or I used to like going outside, but now I

805

:

like to walk down by the river, you know?

806

:

If it needs to change, that's okay.

807

:

It doesn't have to be what you

were doing when you were 12.

808

:

Right, right.

809

:

Speaker 5: You know,

that's such a good point.

810

:

I used to love to

crochet when I was a kid.

811

:

Like I used to crochet

like a crazy person.

812

:

I dunno why.

813

:

And then I like stopped and I

picked it back up a few years ago

814

:

just to try to see, and I realized

that for me, crocheting wasn't

815

:

necessarily like a fun thing.

816

:

It was an escape thing.

817

:

It was a survival thing.

818

:

And now as an adult and as I continue

to grow and heal, it actually is not

819

:

that thing that I would wanna do.

820

:

It's like not a thing that I find

solace and excitement or creativity,

821

:

and it feels like, like I'm gonna have a

panic attack if I start doing it right.

822

:

And so I'm like, I used to beat

myself up being like, well,

823

:

that's the thing I used to be.

824

:

I had to really work through

understanding, well, why was it

825

:

a thing that I did before and

why isn't it serving me now?

826

:

Yeah.

827

:

And I think that's a huge part of,

it's like creativity can change and

828

:

how you view yourself will change.

829

:

Don't hold yourself all the time to

like this standard that you old idea you

830

:

are, be okay with it being different.

831

:

Jen Coles: Yeah, 100%.

832

:

And I will say this, as someone who's

about to turn 51 and heading into

833

:

like the second half of my life, we

can always be reinventing ourselves.

834

:

There's no reason for us to stay stuck.

835

:

Yeah.

836

:

In some other story or label that either

we put on ourselves or someone else did,

837

:

there's no reason for that whatsoever.

838

:

And I think sometimes when we are

stuck in a chronic health, yeah.

839

:

You know, cycle.

840

:

It feels a little scary or a little

risky or a little vulnerable to try

841

:

something new or to revisit something old.

842

:

You know, there's all kinds

of fears wrapped around that.

843

:

So really, like you said, being aware.

844

:

Where we're in that moment and

what we need and how we can get it.

845

:

So yeah.

846

:

I love that you said that though.

847

:

That's a really good point.

848

:

Speaker 5: Yeah, and

it's a work in progress.

849

:

It's still something, I think for me

personally, and I'm sure you would

850

:

probably agree, it's like, I think it's

a narrative we hear so often about,

851

:

especially with women, how we're.

852

:

There's almost this expectations.

853

:

We're not allowed to change.

854

:

We're not allowed to be different.

855

:

We're not allowed to change our mind.

856

:

Or if we, if we do, we're being

flaky, we're being indecisive,

857

:

we're being all of these things.

858

:

Yeah.

859

:

And so it's a huge conditioning

that we're working again, and I will

860

:

say that when I say conditioning

more so these days, I say stressor.

861

:

It's a stressor that we're working

against to really like be who we're, and

862

:

I find that specifically in businesses.

863

:

Like I learned this aspect about myself

because of being a business owner, of

864

:

realizing, oh man, I am holding myself to

things that just don't even make sense.

865

:

That's unrealistic that it's

not even possible for my life.

866

:

And if it was, it has to look

different than what I thought someone

867

:

else said it should look like.

868

:

So I'm curious, Jen, how, I know you

mentioned earlier about like you run.

869

:

Your client work a little differently

as far as like you're giving

870

:

yourself space and things like that.

871

:

When it comes to marketing and sales for

your business, how is that look like for

872

:

you in the scope of seeing everyone else

and how they show up in market and sell?

873

:

Yeah.

874

:

When it comes to their business.

875

:

So

876

:

Jen Coles: this is such a loaded question.

877

:

Oh my gosh.

878

:

I keep asking all these

loaded questions today.

879

:

I'm going Y'all too deep.

880

:

Okay.

881

:

So I can really speak.

882

:

So deeply to this question.

883

:

Okay, good.

884

:

So this is something that I have

struggled with and I'm just being

885

:

honest and vulnerable here, right?

886

:

I think when people see me out

in the world or they go to my

887

:

website, they're like, oh my

gosh, she totally has it together.

888

:

Well, maybe like 80% of the time I

have together, but like there's a good

889

:

hefty 20% where I'm like, oh my gosh,

what am I doing and questioning, right?

890

:

But here's the thing, I've hired.

891

:

Numerous different business

coaches and marketing, you know,

892

:

teams and all this kind of stuff.

893

:

And after a while I started to

realize, wow, I'm spending so much

894

:

money on all of this stuff for someone

else to tell me how they would do

895

:

it and not how it needs to be done.

896

:

For me, I'm unique, I'm special,

and I have certain needs, right?

897

:

As a person who's still going

through a healing journey.

898

:

A lot of those typical, stereotypical

things out there that you

899

:

know, work or like help you be

successful, don't work for me.

900

:

And after all of these things that

have, you know, literally hit me on

901

:

the head to make me slow down, I've

finally realized even in the last

902

:

few years that I don't have to hustle

to prove my worthiness anymore.

903

:

I can own my expertise.

904

:

I can speak my, my real

talk, tell it like it is.

905

:

I don't have to be or filtered right.

906

:

Those people who get that are gonna be

the ones who are attracted to my business.

907

:

Now, like I said, this has been a process

and a long time coming for me, and so I'm

908

:

trying to lean into that more and more.

909

:

I used to have this whole thing like,

oh my gosh, I have to batch all my

910

:

content and I gotta schedule it.

911

:

And it's like every day I

gotta do this and make a reel.

912

:

And it was too stressful.

913

:

And I think the energy that was coming

out was like not effective because.

914

:

I think in the, in the frequency

of, of all of that, I feel

915

:

like people could feel that.

916

:

Like, oh, is she stressed out?

917

:

You know, like,

918

:

Speaker 5: like, I don't wanna go, I don't

like the feeling of, I don't wanna be on

919

:

that same rollercoaster, if you will, of

like, I need to heal myself at this pace.

920

:

Jen Coles: Right,

921

:

Speaker 5: right.

922

:

Yeah.

923

:

Jen Coles: Yeah.

924

:

And so now I'm just like, oh, well I feel

called to post, so now I'm gonna do it.

925

:

I kind of lean into that ebb and flow.

926

:

Now also, like I said, with

the understanding of being

927

:

a projector in human design.

928

:

I understand now.

929

:

So here's an analogy.

930

:

The majority of people in

the world running a business

931

:

are what we call generators.

932

:

They're out on their surfboard and they're

constantly paddling, looking for the next

933

:

wave, and then they get up on the wave

and they go and they start all over again.

934

:

As a projector, I'm on my

paddleboard, but I'm just chilling

935

:

until the wave gets there.

936

:

And then I get up on the wave and I

do my thing and I'm super productive

937

:

and then it's time to to rest

again or reset or just maintain.

938

:

And so now that I know that about

myself, I run my business that way.

939

:

I run my personal health that way.

940

:

That's what my day looks like.

941

:

I know that there has to be

some sort of ebb and flow.

942

:

Like today I'm at a high and I did

like three podcast interviews, right?

943

:

Woo.

944

:

But you know, next week,

probably not, right?

945

:

Yeah.

946

:

So I have to be mindful of

what that looks like for me

947

:

and not compare myself anymore.

948

:

But I'm not constantly paddling because

that doesn't, that doesn't work for me.

949

:

Speaker 5: Yeah.

950

:

Jen Coles: So to answer your question.

951

:

I think that was the

answer to your question.

952

:

Speaker 5: Yeah.

953

:

What I heard you say is like.

954

:

Finding like marketing and

sales and running your business.

955

:

It used to feel like I'm

following like the steps.

956

:

I'm checking all the boxes, I'm doing

all the things that they say I should

957

:

do, and I'm following someone's blueprint

that they said that I should follow.

958

:

Yeah.

959

:

And now I'm like, yeah, I get the

foundation of how this works, but

960

:

I also know myself that how I'm

going to do it, it's gonna look

961

:

different and I'm gonna give myself

permission, the space and the capacity

962

:

to do it the way that works for me.

963

:

And that's just what.

964

:

Gonna work.

965

:

And I have faith and I believe, and

I have evidence that people will

966

:

find me because they have already.

967

:

Jen Coles: Yeah.

968

:

Yeah.

969

:

And here's the thing too, and it's so

related because I do this in my practice.

970

:

When someone comes in, I

don't have a blanket protocol

971

:

ready to just hand them over.

972

:

There's no magic pill.

973

:

There's no like exact step

that everyone is taking.

974

:

And so I realized, oh my gosh,

I'm teaching this every day to

975

:

my clients about their health.

976

:

Why am I not internalizing the same

message for me and building my business

977

:

and working my business every day?

978

:

Yeah.

979

:

It has to be unique to

me and feel good to me.

980

:

So yeah, that has been the biggest

change, I think over the last few years.

981

:

Yeah.

982

:

Yeah.

983

:

It's sort of like a grand enlightenment.

984

:

Speaker 5: It's all like

clicking and making sense.

985

:

Yeah, and you know, I think.

986

:

As a person who, like as

myself, starting a business.

987

:

Having a couple years, like,

what the heck is going on?

988

:

I dunno what's happening to like creating

like a system and a framework that's

989

:

literally based off of how I work with

my body in the sense of living with

990

:

chronic illness and giving it space

and constantly, you know, adjusting

991

:

and giving, you know, realizing it's

not gonna be always the same every.

992

:

Single day or year, it's

gonna look different.

993

:

I have had to take that approach in my

business because my body dictated that

994

:

like, and so I found with my clients too,

that, especially as a business coach, the

995

:

idea that business is business is actually

harming the business owner versus that

996

:

business is personal in the context of how

you choose to run your business has to.

997

:

Jen Coles: Yeah.

998

:

Not the other way around.

999

:

Speaker 5: Not the other way around.

:

00:48:38,685 --> 00:48:39,015

Right.

:

00:48:39,315 --> 00:48:43,125

And so I love hearing you say that too,

especially when it comes to health.

:

00:48:43,125 --> 00:48:45,195

Because I talk about this all the time.

:

00:48:45,195 --> 00:48:48,135

I'm like the whole healthcare system,

and we know this, but in general

:

00:48:48,135 --> 00:48:52,695

is so siloed that of course it's

almost impossible to understand what

:

00:48:52,695 --> 00:48:54,525

is holistically happening to you.

:

00:48:54,525 --> 00:48:58,485

And so this is why we take on this

responsibility that it is our own

:

00:48:58,935 --> 00:49:00,855

to take this holistic point of view.

:

00:49:01,859 --> 00:49:03,779

Holistic doesn't mean perfect.

:

00:49:03,810 --> 00:49:05,879

It doesn't mean there's

not gonna be bumps.

:

00:49:05,879 --> 00:49:09,120

It doesn't mean that you're gonna

like get it right the first,

:

00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:10,470

second, or even third time.

:

00:49:12,089 --> 00:49:12,540

Yeah, exactly.

:

00:49:12,540 --> 00:49:15,029

It's some tweaking that has to

happen, especially if you're taking

:

00:49:15,029 --> 00:49:18,750

in all of this information and all

of this data and trying to apply

:

00:49:18,750 --> 00:49:20,325

it to your specific circumstance.

:

00:49:21,225 --> 00:49:28,805

And so as a coach, as a, as a mom, as

you know, as an expert in the space, how.

:

00:49:29,775 --> 00:49:33,915

Are you facilitating that with

your clients, helping them to

:

00:49:33,915 --> 00:49:38,775

feel more empowered by the fact

that, hey, this success story

:

00:49:38,775 --> 00:49:39,945

is not gonna look like yours?

:

00:49:40,455 --> 00:49:42,285

Jen Coles: Yeah, that's

a really good question.

:

00:49:42,465 --> 00:49:47,779

I think that it just, I mean, gosh,

it's such a vague answer, but like I

:

00:49:47,835 --> 00:49:50,025

think it depends on who I'm talking to.

:

00:49:50,745 --> 00:49:53,835

So certain women are just looking for.

:

00:49:54,435 --> 00:49:55,485

Straight answers.

:

00:49:55,995 --> 00:49:56,235

Right?

:

00:49:56,565 --> 00:49:58,845

They don't wanna be asked any questions.

:

00:49:58,845 --> 00:50:00,555

They don't wanna dive any deeper.

:

00:50:01,125 --> 00:50:01,245

Yeah.

:

00:50:01,245 --> 00:50:02,535

But this is my challenge, right?

:

00:50:02,535 --> 00:50:04,125

This is kind of my superpower.

:

00:50:04,125 --> 00:50:06,795

I'm a total questioner

and an investigator.

:

00:50:06,795 --> 00:50:09,825

I will leave no stone unturned

for one of my clients, right?

:

00:50:09,825 --> 00:50:14,415

I'm always gonna try my best to

be their best cheerleader and

:

00:50:14,415 --> 00:50:16,634

their advocate to help them.

:

00:50:16,935 --> 00:50:18,585

But I'm not doing the work, right?

:

00:50:18,585 --> 00:50:20,775

I'm the guide, and this has been a shift.

:

00:50:21,915 --> 00:50:24,915

Personally as well, understanding

that quote unquote, I'm not the fixer

:

00:50:24,915 --> 00:50:29,655

anymore, I'm the guide, I'm the educator,

I'm the empowerment coach, right?

:

00:50:31,095 --> 00:50:33,555

Speaker 5: Coming from a

recovering fixer who used to have

:

00:50:33,555 --> 00:50:35,895

a program called The Fix, like

:

00:50:38,595 --> 00:50:39,795

recovering fixer.

:

00:50:39,795 --> 00:50:40,335

I get it.

:

00:50:42,435 --> 00:50:44,325

Jen Coles: And this is

transformational, right?

:

00:50:44,325 --> 00:50:44,385

Yeah.

:

00:50:44,385 --> 00:50:47,955

And so once you're starting

to lead from that place.

:

00:50:48,900 --> 00:50:51,900

As an entrepreneur, as a coach,

or whatever you're doing.

:

00:50:52,500 --> 00:50:57,810

Once you start leading from that place

and embodying that idea and walking

:

00:50:57,810 --> 00:51:04,350

that talk yourself, sometimes just your

presence for someone is enough, right?

:

00:51:04,350 --> 00:51:07,710

And sometimes you have to dig a little

deeper, peel away the layers of the

:

00:51:07,710 --> 00:51:09,270

onion, especially with gut health.

:

00:51:09,270 --> 00:51:11,940

There's lots of things that are

hiding around in your body because

:

00:51:11,940 --> 00:51:16,680

of that, and you know, emotionally,

physically, all the things I think.

:

00:51:17,415 --> 00:51:24,015

Maybe the biggest thing is just

encouraging my clients to check in for

:

00:51:24,015 --> 00:51:26,415

themselves, listen to what they're saying.

:

00:51:26,415 --> 00:51:27,855

Don't just take my word for it.

:

00:51:27,855 --> 00:51:32,355

Yes, I might be a SIBO expertise,

you know, but I don't know 100% about

:

00:51:32,355 --> 00:51:34,545

every 100% of everything, right?

:

00:51:34,845 --> 00:51:37,694

And especially because you're

a unique body and so am I.

:

00:51:37,694 --> 00:51:39,615

And what works for me

doesn't work for you.

:

00:51:40,395 --> 00:51:44,325

So I try to ingrain

that idea in my clients.

:

00:51:44,774 --> 00:51:48,194

And like we talked about earlier,

just understanding what kind of

:

00:51:48,855 --> 00:51:54,105

practices or rituals or habits

can we change or rewire and just

:

00:51:54,105 --> 00:51:55,964

really just have grace for yourself.

:

00:51:55,964 --> 00:51:56,024

Yeah.

:

00:51:56,174 --> 00:52:00,495

I tell my clients upfront when we're gonna

go on a SIBO journey together, girlfriend,

:

00:52:00,495 --> 00:52:01,995

this is gonna be a rollercoaster.

:

00:52:01,995 --> 00:52:04,154

Hold on tight, right?

:

00:52:04,335 --> 00:52:04,634

Both: Yeah.

:

00:52:04,634 --> 00:52:05,024

Because

:

00:52:05,024 --> 00:52:07,305

Jen Coles: nothing is linear, you know?

:

00:52:07,305 --> 00:52:07,365

Yeah.

:

00:52:07,365 --> 00:52:10,665

I always say that We kind of spiral

down and we get to the bottom, and

:

00:52:10,665 --> 00:52:12,314

that's when people are asking for help.

:

00:52:12,314 --> 00:52:12,944

Finally.

:

00:52:13,515 --> 00:52:15,645

But then the goal is to spiral back up.

:

00:52:15,645 --> 00:52:17,565

And it's not a, it's not a straight line.

:

00:52:17,565 --> 00:52:20,565

It's not even a diagonal,

it's a spiral even upward.

:

00:52:21,015 --> 00:52:21,165

Yeah.

:

00:52:21,170 --> 00:52:24,944

Maybe that's an important thing to

remember that I try to teach my clients.

:

00:52:25,575 --> 00:52:30,105

Speaker 5: Yeah, that's a

really, really good way.

:

00:52:30,105 --> 00:52:33,404

Saying it's a spiral because it isn't,

but isn't it, it's, it really is like,

:

00:52:33,404 --> 00:52:37,515

you know, I used to get really frustrated

with myself personally when I would

:

00:52:38,085 --> 00:52:40,750

like, once you like found the thing like.

:

00:52:41,115 --> 00:52:41,805

Your health.

:

00:52:41,865 --> 00:52:45,075

Your health, and you're like, oh,

I figured out why it does this

:

00:52:45,075 --> 00:52:46,544

and why my body's doing this.

:

00:52:46,544 --> 00:52:47,625

And you're like, oh, great.

:

00:52:48,104 --> 00:52:51,375

And then a couple years go by

and then you're like, wait,

:

00:52:51,375 --> 00:52:53,384

this is, this is different.

:

00:52:54,314 --> 00:52:55,214

This is different.

:

00:52:55,214 --> 00:52:56,145

This is happening.

:

00:52:56,475 --> 00:52:57,464

What has changed?

:

00:52:57,464 --> 00:52:59,834

And then the thing that used

to work doesn't work now.

:

00:52:59,834 --> 00:52:59,895

Yeah.

:

00:53:00,225 --> 00:53:03,584

And I used to get so

frustrated about that and like.

:

00:53:04,655 --> 00:53:06,155

Almost it felt defeated.

:

00:53:06,155 --> 00:53:07,745

Like I thought I already

went through this.

:

00:53:07,745 --> 00:53:09,785

It's the same thing you go through

in therapy where you're like, I

:

00:53:09,785 --> 00:53:11,045

thought I already dealt with this.

:

00:53:11,045 --> 00:53:12,245

And then some new level.

:

00:53:12,905 --> 00:53:13,355

Exactly.

:

00:53:13,355 --> 00:53:14,405

Side conversation happens.

:

00:53:14,405 --> 00:53:15,875

You're like, I'm not over this.

:

00:53:16,325 --> 00:53:19,085

It's the same thing with our bodies.

:

00:53:19,475 --> 00:53:21,755

And I also feel like it's

the same thing with business.

:

00:53:21,755 --> 00:53:22,385

I think.

:

00:53:22,965 --> 00:53:26,295

There are things you think you get

and you understand, but things are

:

00:53:26,295 --> 00:53:32,445

constantly changing, constantly outside

of you, and so to expect yourself to

:

00:53:32,445 --> 00:53:38,415

like know all there is to know and

never have to learn something new or

:

00:53:38,415 --> 00:53:43,305

unlearn, something that you learn that's

not serving you anymore is a stress.

:

00:53:44,310 --> 00:53:48,450

That takes away from your joy, that takes

away from the things that you wanna do.

:

00:53:48,870 --> 00:53:51,750

If someone's listening to this

gin right now who's like, girl,

:

00:53:51,750 --> 00:53:54,149

I feel this conversation so much.

:

00:53:54,870 --> 00:53:58,529

First, happiness triggers or happiness,

activators, please tell me more.

:

00:53:58,919 --> 00:54:02,460

And two, I suspect maybe I have sibo.

:

00:54:02,490 --> 00:54:07,680

I suspect that maybe there is a connection

between what's happening in my life and

:

00:54:07,680 --> 00:54:09,779

in my business is happening in my stomach.

:

00:54:09,779 --> 00:54:11,190

So what is, where would you.

:

00:54:12,270 --> 00:54:14,189

Direct them to go or where to start.

:

00:54:14,910 --> 00:54:15,149

Jen Coles: Yeah.

:

00:54:15,149 --> 00:54:19,140

Thank you for asking and I just wanna

reflect back on something you said really

:

00:54:19,140 --> 00:54:23,520

quickly was that it's so important to

understand that in a healing journey,

:

00:54:23,520 --> 00:54:27,569

whether it's emotional, physical, in

your business, lessons we're learning.

:

00:54:27,569 --> 00:54:30,660

So that spiral that's going upward,

remember we're always gonna come

:

00:54:30,660 --> 00:54:33,540

around to like a similar point,

but we're like a level higher.

:

00:54:34,319 --> 00:54:37,080

So, yeah, there are things that we

still need to sort out that will

:

00:54:37,080 --> 00:54:40,080

come back, but that doesn't mean

that we're defeated or that we fail.

:

00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:43,140

It just means that we're on

our way because we're slowly

:

00:54:43,680 --> 00:54:44,940

going up the next level.

:

00:54:44,940 --> 00:54:47,580

We just gotta check in with

that one thing real quick again,

:

00:54:47,580 --> 00:54:48,930

and then keep going, right?

:

00:54:49,560 --> 00:54:49,620

Speaker 5: Yeah.

:

00:54:49,620 --> 00:54:49,830

Yes.

:

00:54:49,830 --> 00:54:50,549

So true.

:

00:54:50,555 --> 00:54:51,134

It's, and, and it happens.

:

00:54:51,234 --> 00:54:51,455

It.

:

00:54:52,425 --> 00:54:56,595

That transition is faster than if

when you were spiraling down, right?

:

00:54:56,595 --> 00:54:56,685

Yeah.

:

00:54:56,740 --> 00:54:57,380

Because yeah,

:

00:54:57,495 --> 00:54:57,885

Both: for sure.

:

00:54:57,885 --> 00:54:58,035

When

:

00:54:58,035 --> 00:55:00,255

Speaker 5: you're spiraling down, you're,

you have no idea what's happening.

:

00:55:00,255 --> 00:55:04,545

It's like, yeah, and when you're going up,

it's like going up and down stairs, right?

:

00:55:04,545 --> 00:55:08,865

Like going, you know, going upstairs

is, feels a little heavier because

:

00:55:08,865 --> 00:55:12,735

you're kind of, anyway, the idea

is it, it's easier, the opposite

:

00:55:12,735 --> 00:55:14,580

direction and it doesn't last as long.

:

00:55:15,615 --> 00:55:16,365

Jen Coles: Exactly.

:

00:55:16,365 --> 00:55:16,845

Exactly.

:

00:55:16,845 --> 00:55:20,565

And because we are in a more elevated

state, it's easier to process and

:

00:55:20,565 --> 00:55:22,665

have grace because we're expanding.

:

00:55:22,665 --> 00:55:26,745

Once you get to the top of the spiral,

you are, you know, so much more expanded.

:

00:55:27,435 --> 00:55:29,654

Okay, so how people can find me?

:

00:55:29,775 --> 00:55:32,475

Well, you can check me out on my website.

:

00:55:32,475 --> 00:55:36,345

It's www the cbo coach.com.

:

00:55:37,154 --> 00:55:40,935

And that's where you can learn about

my personal story, my programs.

:

00:55:40,935 --> 00:55:44,115

I have lots of free resources

on there, including a quiz

:

00:55:44,115 --> 00:55:46,245

that's called, do I Have sibo?

:

00:55:46,845 --> 00:55:50,174

There's also one on there that if you

already know you have SIBO and you've been

:

00:55:50,174 --> 00:55:54,884

around this block a few times and you need

next steps, that's a good quiz to take.

:

00:55:55,515 --> 00:55:58,845

And then I also have a VIP program

where you just sign up for a day.

:

00:55:58,845 --> 00:56:02,444

It's like a super crazy intensive

for those kind of go-getter women

:

00:56:02,444 --> 00:56:05,085

who are ready to just be like,

sit down, let's get this done.

:

00:56:05,879 --> 00:56:08,370

And that's something I'm really

excited about doing now, but

:

00:56:08,370 --> 00:56:09,839

that's the best way to find me.

:

00:56:09,930 --> 00:56:10,230

Yeah,

:

00:56:10,350 --> 00:56:11,160

Speaker 5: I love that.

:

00:56:11,790 --> 00:56:15,569

I've been asking everyone to wrap

up the conversation this question,

:

00:56:15,569 --> 00:56:22,319

which is if there is anything that

you thought was true when you began

:

00:56:22,319 --> 00:56:25,410

in your business specifically that.

:

00:56:25,815 --> 00:56:29,055

You are like, this is a hundred

percent how it has to be or how it is.

:

00:56:29,565 --> 00:56:31,665

And now that you've

been in it for a while.

:

00:56:31,665 --> 00:56:31,755

Yeah.

:

00:56:32,565 --> 00:56:32,715

Jen Coles: That

:

00:56:32,715 --> 00:56:33,765

Speaker 5: you're like, that ain't true.

:

00:56:33,945 --> 00:56:34,665

That is crazy.

:

00:56:34,665 --> 00:56:35,685

I can't believe I thought that.

:

00:56:35,685 --> 00:56:36,795

Like what is that thing?

:

00:56:37,665 --> 00:56:38,745

Jen Coles: Oh gosh.

:

00:56:38,745 --> 00:56:45,495

Well, I would say probably that I

used to think my gut was the problem.

:

00:56:46,275 --> 00:56:49,455

It was the thing holding me

back from being the person that

:

00:56:49,455 --> 00:56:50,805

I wanted to be professionally.

:

00:56:51,045 --> 00:56:51,315

Right?

:

00:56:51,315 --> 00:56:53,700

Because I was like, oh, these

freaking symptoms, you know.

:

00:56:54,900 --> 00:56:59,100

But what I realize now is that that

sensitivity and that information

:

00:56:59,100 --> 00:57:00,600

was actually my superpower.

:

00:57:00,600 --> 00:57:04,590

It got me to where I'm now, and

it helps me be more empathetic

:

00:57:05,130 --> 00:57:06,960

and empowering to my clients.

:

00:57:07,410 --> 00:57:11,910

I think owning what we used to think

is our weakness as our strength and

:

00:57:11,910 --> 00:57:16,500

kind of flipping the script a little

bit is what will transform our business

:

00:57:16,500 --> 00:57:21,240

from feeling like we're stuck or we're

playing small to really expanding into

:

00:57:21,240 --> 00:57:22,530

being the person that we wanna be.

:

00:57:23,400 --> 00:57:24,960

Yeah, so good question.

:

00:57:24,960 --> 00:57:27,090

I don't know that this kind of

came off the top of my head,

:

00:57:27,090 --> 00:57:28,049

so that was like perfect.

:

00:57:28,049 --> 00:57:30,360

Speaker 5: It's almost like you knew

that I was gonna ask that question.

:

00:57:30,360 --> 00:57:31,529

That was very well said.

:

00:57:32,730 --> 00:57:33,779

That was a total surprise.

:

00:57:33,930 --> 00:57:34,110

Thank you.

:

00:57:34,110 --> 00:57:35,495

You're welcome.

:

00:57:35,565 --> 00:57:38,069

Well, thank you so much

for being on the show.

:

00:57:38,069 --> 00:57:39,660

I so appreciate you ladies.

:

00:57:40,049 --> 00:57:42,455

If you're listening or folks who

are listening, be sure to check

:

00:57:42,455 --> 00:57:44,549

out the show notes to find all

the links to connect with Jen.

:

00:57:45,840 --> 00:57:47,130

Jen Coles: Yes, thank you, Nikita.

:

00:57:47,130 --> 00:57:48,600

It's been such a pleasure.

:

00:57:49,200 --> 00:57:49,440

Speaker 5: Thank you.

:

00:57:56,580 --> 00:57:59,399

That's a wrap for this episode

of Business with Chronic Illness.

:

00:57:59,640 --> 00:58:03,240

If you would like to start and grow an

online coaching business with me, head

:

00:58:03,240 --> 00:58:06,420

to the show notes, to click a link to

book a sales call, and learn how to make.

:

00:58:06,460 --> 00:58:07,450

Money with chronic illness.

:

00:58:07,930 --> 00:58:12,460

You can also check out our website

at ww dot crafted to thrive.com.

:

00:58:12,640 --> 00:58:16,240

For this episode's, show notes and

join our email list to get exclusive

:

00:58:16,240 --> 00:58:20,680

content where I coach you on how to

chronically grow a profitable business

:

00:58:20,680 --> 00:58:22,000

while living with chronic illness.

:

00:58:22,150 --> 00:58:26,350

Until next time, remember,

yes, you are crafted to thrive.

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About the Podcast

Business With Chronic Illness: Simple Sustainable Growth and Burnout Healing For CEO Women
A podcast for entrepreneurs who want success while keeping their health first in business.
Running a business while living with chronic illness is not easy, and most business advice ignores the reality of burnout, living with autoimmune disorders, unpredictable energy, and navigating everyday health and wellness while starting and growing a business. That’s why this podcast is designed to help you build a business that works with your body, not against it.

If you’re a woman entrepreneur, creative, or CEO navigating chronic illness, burnout, or healing and recovering from hustle culture, this show is for you.

Every week, host Nikita Williams brings you simple, sustainable business strategies rooted in her four core content pillars:
• Business Systems and Operations: capacity-first planning, automation, and flare-proof operations.
• Sustainable Marketing and Sales: creative, voice-first strategies like podcasting that convert without social burnout.
• Mindset & Life with Chronic Illness: stories, resets, and tools to honor your health and energy.
• Empowering Entrepreneur Stories: real women building profitable businesses with chronic illness.

Expect a mix of coaching insights, practical strategies, and inspiring interviews delivered with warmth, realness, and the reminder that rest is a strategy and you can be successful at whatever pace you have right now.

As a globally-ranked podcast host (top 2.5%), award-winning business coach, and speaker, Nikita has built a six-figure business while navigating endometriosis, Hashimoto’s, Fibromyalgia, and chronic pain. She’s helped hundreds of women say yes to building profitable businesses that align with their health, life, and values.

Featured guests include thought leaders like Jasmine Star, Danielle Bayard Jackson, Natasha Samuel, and more.

Business With Chronic Illness is where women come to find support, clarity, and simple strategies to grow without the hustle.

Follow the show now so you don’t miss an episode, and visit craftedtothrive.com
to learn more, grab free resources, and join the community.
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About your host

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Nikita Williams

Welcome to Business with Chronic Illness — the podcast for women who are building big dreams with limited energy.
I’m Nikita Williams, and I know what it’s like to be living in pain, carrying a diagnosis (or several), and still wanting more — more purpose, more income, more alignment, more ease. After leaving behind a traditional path and navigating the emotional rollercoaster of chronic illness, I decided to rewrite the rules of success. And now? I help other women do the same.
Here, we have honest conversations about what it really takes to build a sustainable, profitable business when your health is unpredictable. No hustle culture. No toxic positivity. Just powerful stories, practical strategies, and mindset shifts that work — even on flare days.
You’ll hear from guests who get it, solo episodes from my heart to yours, and insights I’ve learned coaching dozens of women through launching and growing their dream businesses — on their terms.
Because business is personal. And when you build it that way, it not only becomes easier… it becomes life-giving.
💬 Tune in, take what you need, and know this: You Are Crafted To Thrive.