The Benefits of Coaching with Brittany Canaski

In this episode Bagel & guest, Brittany Canaski break down the benefits of coaching, how it differs from other helping relationships and share their own stories about personal and professional growth. Brittany brings a warm and authentic voice to her work, as well as a unique perspective both hiring a coach and now training to become a certified one herself. Listen in for a deep conversation on how coaching can help you tap into your strengths, remove roadblocks, and align with your values to live a more meaningful life.

Guest Bio: Brittany is the founder of Hello Velocity, a coaching and consulting business that empowers ambitious professionals and small business owners to get unstuck. After feeling stuck last year, she hired a life coach and transformed her life in ways she hadn't even dreamed of yet. Brittany enjoys yoga, traveling, trying new beers at local breweries, and thinks that both cats and dogs are pretty great.

You can find Brittany and connect with her on Instagram @HelloVelocityCo
You can also connect with Brittany on Facebook at Hello Velocity Co. or email her at brittany@hellovelocity.co.

Mentioned in this Episode:

• FYT Virtual Assistants
• Live Your Values Podcast
• LYV on Facebook
• LYV on Instragram

Connect with us @lyvshow on social to continue the values conversation!

Chapters

• 1:18 Welcome Guest
• 3:27 Ice Breaker
• 6:31 Brittany's Values
• 13:23 Consequences of compromising values
• 14:58 Letting go of control
• 20:13 The Benefits of Coaching
• 21:16 Life By Design
• 25:37 Empowering
• 28:11 Stumbling Blocks
• 30:11 How did investing in yourself and learning your values affect a career choice?
• 34:21 Interviewing is a 2-way street
• 36:21 Becoming a Coach
• 40:55 Benefits of working with a coach
• 41:11 Why hire a coach?
• 44:49 Who's not fit for coaching?
• 46:09 Difference between coaching and consulting
• 47:38 Lessons in early days of coaching and consulting
• 49:13 Tips for considering coaching
• 50:26 Wrap-up and connecting with Brittany

Transcript

Bagel: 0:00

Hey there, this is Bagel. Thanks for checking out this episode of the Live Your Values podcast. You probably clicked on this episode because you are or at some point have been. interested in learning more about coaching whether around life, business, career sports, or some other area of your life that matters to you. Perhaps you're wondering what working with a coach is all about or what the heck the differences between a coach consultant, a counselor, a mentor advisor, you know, those people that say they can help you. In this episode with Brittany Kaneski of Hello Velocity, we break down the benefits of coaching, how it differs from other helping relationships and share our own stories about personal and professional growth. Brittany brings a warm and authentic voice to her work, and I'm super grateful and excited for what she shares with us in this episode. So pour yourself a nice brew and let's dive into episode four of the Live Your Values podcast, Welcome to the live, your values podcast. I'm your host Mike Bagel. And today I'm excited to welcome our guest for today's episode and a fellow coworker of mine. Brittany Canaski. I always feel funny saying that because we're not coworkers, but we work in the same coworking space. So maybe there's a better way to say it. Brittany is the founder of Hello Velocity, a coaching and consulting business that empowers ambitious professionals and small business owners to get unstuck. After feeling stuck last year, she hired a life coach and transformed her life in ways she hadn't even dreamed of yet. Brittany enjoys yoga, traveling, trying new beers at local breweries and thinks that both cats and dogs are pretty great. And I personally feel lucky to have met Brittany around the time that she started down the path of coaching and her new business. sAnd I'm honored to speak with her today about her journey and have her share a little bit about her experience with coaching. So. Welcome to the show, Brittany, how are you doing?

Brittany: 2:04

Thanks, Mike. I am doing pretty good today. Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Bagel: 2:10

Yeah. Excited to have you. I know we're kind of in a little bit of a strange time right now at the time of recording this How have you been coping with quarantine and staying at home and all that?

Brittany: 2:22

Yeah, I'm still taking it day by day, to be honest. Like it was, it's a lot every day. But it ebbs and flows and yeah, I mean, I'm trying to be grateful for everything I do have and for the time at home and. yeah, getting back into cooking more. And I don't know, a couple of shows that, you know, shows that we can watch here and little things like that. So trying to, you know, get through it day by day.

Bagel: 2:48

Yeah, for sure. And in reading your bio, it's like man trying new beers to local breweries. Sounds pretty awesome right now. I can't wait till the day that we can do that again.

Brittany: 2:58

Yeah, same with traveling. Like it almost hurt me to type it out. Like this is so sad. All my favorite things I can't really do right now. And, but yeah, soon, soon we'll get back to it.

Bagel: 3:08

It's tough. It's tough. I know there's lots of just kind of like dreaming right now. Like what are the things we'll be able to do hopefully sooner rather than later. That actually ties right into the icebreaker question I wanted to ask you, which I did not send you an advance. So this is definitely impromptu. So. Is there one thing that you've done while you've been staying at home the last couple of weeks, that you are excited to share with people in real life? Once you're able to?

Brittany: 3:39

Oh, once I'm able to. So a couple of things come to mind of things that I've done that have been kind of silly and fun. I actually just want to share openly with people now. And I've been just telling the story because I think it's been inspiring for people is that two weeks ago it was my boyfriend's birthday. And of course he was bummed out that we couldn't go anywhere and do anything. We had a trip plan that we had to cancel, so I was getting excited for him. Because he wasn't. And I was trying to think of all the things that we could do at home. So I got up early that morning and I decorated the whole house with anything I could find around the house that was even potentially related to birthdays, but then also not related to birthdays. So I even found we had like big pool floaties that I bought for a beach trip that I had never used. So I blew those up and had them set up in the living room, but like a cooler of beer and like ready to just like chill out in the afternoon. So yeah, I think that's a fun story to share with people right now is a little inspiration.

Bagel: 4:44

That is pretty fun. So what was his reaction?

Brittany: 4:47

Oh, he just, when he walked out of the bedroom, just laughing at like, I don't know, seven in the morning. Cause I was up since like five doing all this stuff. Cause I was so excited. Yeah. He was laughing pretty hard. He's like, this is great. Yeah,

Bagel: 5:00

That's a lot of fun. And so the drinking started at 7:00 AM then.

Brittany: 5:05

Unfortunately it did not, but you know, early afternoon for sure.

Bagel: 5:10

Gotcha. That's a lot of fun. Just in these times it's just figuring out ways to have fun and be creative with what you got, you know. It's all you can do. Well, cool. I'm glad you're making the most of your time and still getting to celebrate things. That's really nice to hear. So for our listeners to get to know you a little bit, do you want to share just a little bit about your background and maybe something meaningful that you're working on right now?

Brittany: 5:35

Yeah. So. You had a great intro. Thank you for that. So, yeah, I just started my own coaching and consulting business earlier this year. So back in January, I officially launched that. So that is something exciting that I'm continuing to work on. And also with that is my coaching training. So I am on month 9 out of 12 in that process. So that's been a long and very insightful journey and I'm super excited how far I've come and also a little sad that it feels like it's ending soon. So those are the two big things going on for me right now. I'd say

Bagel: 6:13

Yeah, it's crazy to think. I remember when you told me you had just gotten accepted into the coaching program. It's hard to believe that was probably like almost a year ago at this point.

Brittany: 6:22

Yeah, it was last summer.

Bagel: 6:24

Yeah. Time still, in some ways, it feels like it's flying. And so as you know, this show is called Live Your Values. And so one of the things I'm asking our guests to do is, if you're comfortable to share, like, what are some of your top values in your life? It could be professional, personal, any combination. What are some of the things that you feel like you have to hold really true to yourself?

Brittany: 6:46

Yeah, I love this question because that's a lot of the work I've been doing in coaching has been. Finding out what those values even are. That's why I hired a life coach last year is that I felt a little bit lost around that. And I wanted more clarity because I wanted, I knew I wanted more out of life, but I knew I needed it to align with my values and felt a little bit lost as to how to explain that. So the ones, a lot of the ones I've learned over the last year, year and a half. The biggest one is empowerment. I believe that's like my number one value. That's my purpose in life is to empower myself and others around me. Hence the coaching and consulting business fits in perfectly with that. But also just in my day to day life. I see that as sort of my guiding light of a value and then a couple others. I would say, curiosity is a good one for me too. I always loved learning and growing, like, obviously I took on a year long training program. Like I'm not afraid to learn new things as an adult. But I'm also always doing new things and, you know, like I said, traveling and trying new beers. I think it all comes back to trying new things or learning something new or growing a skill. Yeah. And then maybe one more, clarity is another discipline. And again, that aligns to what I mentioned about last year. Trying to get that clarity around my vision or my values and purpose on life. So I just know how foundational that is for me is having that clarity and always being aligned with that. So, yeah, I see clarity is just alignment on my values, my purpose. And without that clarity is when I get a little lost and, don't feel as confident in what I'm doing.

Bagel: 8:32

Yeah, that's awesome. That ties in so well with our mission, which is to help people discover and align and practice their core values. So I, I love that you're talking about kind of those, especially those first two steps right there. And I can see how empowerment, curiosity, clarity, all are sort of interconnected as well. And it sounds like they're all focused a bit on like growth and sort of improvement and bettering yourself and getting more clarity around what steps you might need to take in order to do that for you or for others. Which I think is really cool. What are some ways that that has kind of played out maybe recently in the work that you do or in your life? How have you seen empowerment actually exercised with your daily life?

Brittany: 9:21

Yeah, empowerment definitely comes up every day for me. And it's funny because it was a word in part of my life coach training. I had to choose what my life purpose was and that word came up and I thought it was too obvious. Cause I'm like, Oh, everyone uses that word. And, you know, I use it all the time and it's funny now looking back I had such resistance to it because it was so ingrained in my daily life. I thought it was too obvious or too simple, but really it can be that simple, especially for me. So, yeah, it's funny that I actually just use it as a word a lot. But for a better example, like I've seen, I've always been drawn to the idea of like women's equality. And it's always something I'm trying to do is, you know, bring up other women too and make people more aware of when there are inequalities. So I know I've always had that soft spot when I see something that is, you know, it's not quite there. Or, you know, there is some inequality in the situation. So I'm seeing empowerment being sort of what is driving my business as well as like I'm gravitating towards female clients. Even though I wasn't really intending for that, but I'm just drawn to that kind of clientele where it's women trying to grow a business or start a business or grow in their professional career or, you know, anything sort of empowering, you know, and they need that support in order to be more empowered too. So, yeah, I see it daily from that perspective.

Bagel: 10:59

Yeah. And that makes a lot of sense. It sounds like it's meaningful to you. And to some extent you probably connect with that idea and maybe feel like you're in the position to empower others to kind of help navigate some of those inequalities. I think that's really cool. Another thought I just had around that too was you mentioned that the word was maybe too simple or overused. I can totally relate to that feeling. For me it's the word authentic or authenticity, where especially in, I feel like an online business in the last few years of just being part of those communities. I've just over, I've heard that word so many times and it's almost feels like there's like a negative association now with the word, But as I was starting to put together, my thoughts and ideas and my vision for the podcast and for where this was going. You know, I realized like one of the values had to be to share authentically. And I did have that same resistance as you're just talking about with that word for me,"authentic." And I was just like, but that's what I need. That's what I'm trying to go for. So it's almost. I don't know if you felt this way, but I almost had to wrestle with it and then sort of take it as my own and say,"no, this is the word that I want to use." It doesn't matter if other people have has nothing to do with it. Did you feel that sort of thing at all?

Brittany: 12:18

Yeah, definitely. And another thing, part of that story is when I was working with a coach to choose that word. She asked me,"what if it doesn't have to be hard? What if it's as simple as a word that resonates for you and it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks or where you've heard it elsewhere." What if it's just, yeah. Take it as your own, like you said, it can be as simple as that. Like why do we have to complicate everything.

Bagel: 12:42

Yeah, that's amazing. That's such simple advice too.

Brittany: 12:46

So simple, but yeah, mind blown. Okay.

Bagel: 12:51

I want to take a moment to really call out this simple yet powerful exercise Brittany went through. Her coach simply asked her the question. What if it doesn't have to be hard, mind blown indeed. After listening back to this, I started to think about how much time, energy and pain I could've saved myself. If I just asked myself this simple question. What if it doesn't have to be so hard, can you think of an example in your life where this can apply? That's great. I like that. Any of the values you mentioned, empowerment, curiosity, or clarity. Can you think of a time where you didn't emphasize it or it wasn't included or it wasn't prioritized? And if there was a consequence to that in like your everyday life or a situation you were in?

Brittany: 13:40

Yeah, I would say that's exactly the point I was at before I got coaching. Or before I hired a life coach, I felt super lost and really stuck in my day to day life. Like I, you know, had the"good job" and was able to work remotely. And at that time, everyone thought that was a dream job, even though now at everyones working remotely and already sick of it. So now everyone understands. But yeah,

Bagel: 14:08

of turn.

Brittany: 14:08

Exactly. Yeah. Had the dream work from home job and it was before that, everything I thought I wanted. But then after being in it for a year, felt kind of stagnant and it wasn't really pushing me like I needed it to be, I realized now. So yeah, with that. And then even it started to kind of linger into my personal life of just, you know, what am I going to stand for that I want to do? Like, I would go along with whatever other people wanted to do and not really consider what I wanted to do. So yeah, it was a time of being a little bit lost and doing things for other people and not for myself.

Bagel: 14:48

Yeah. That's awesome. And then speaks to empowerment on its own there too, which is pretty cool. Kind of ties into theme there.

Brittany: 14:56

Yeah.

Bagel: 14:58

Can you think of any values maybe you once held that have become less important in your life or maybe anything you see others value that to you it's like now that's not really a big deal?

Brittany: 15:11

Ooh, I have a really good one for this actually is control. People always talk about wanting control and thinking of it, or a lot of people think of it as such a positive thing. But I've learned for me that it's actually can be a detrimental relationship for me and control. So I tend to, or I used to be, I call myself a recovering perfectionist because I used to demand, you know, perfectionism and have control over everything and everything had to be a hundred percent as good as it could be or as good as I could be. And it was actually very draining on myself and, you know, going back to not having my values before that, it was almost like that was my one value is perfectionism. And it was very externally driven. Like I had to be perfect in the eyes of everyone else. And in the eyes of whatever I thought in my head was the correct way to be in whatever that situation was. So like being that employee or being the girlfriend or being, you know, sister or whatever my role is in each situation that deemed how I would behave instead of my actual values of who I want to be and what's important to me. So that's when I realized it was externally versus internally driven.

Bagel: 16:35

I have to call out this amazing breakthrough that Brittany describes of letting go of perfectionism in the light of others and moving towards a values based life. By no means an easy feat, but having been working with a coach myself through this exact challenge, I can truly speak to the transformation that begins to occur when you let go of the idea that others define your success. When we realize that feeling confident and fulfilled starts with self acceptance we can really start to grow Yeah. So, I'm over here listening, like, man, I could use a lesson on that. Cause I'm not even quite at the recovery stage. I think I'm still borderline on that perfectionism train and I've been trying to hop off, but I can't seem to do it. And I'm sure there are other people listening that are on one side or the other that too. But what changed? Like what happened to kind of help you let go of that control that perfectionism? It sounds like, I don't know if you're completely over it, but it sounds like you figure it out how to manage it. Or how to not let it maybe take over your life in some ways.

Brittany: 17:41

Yeah, I don't know. Maybe we need a 12 step program. I know there's a lot of us out there. But yeah, I think. I mean, coaching being coached definitely helped me even realize that this was a thing that I was doing and that I was holding onto it so tightly that it, like I said, dictated basically every situation that I was in for the most part. Whether it was professional, personal social, anything like that. So yeah, I think just becoming more aware of it and noticing all the different areas of my life that it was bleeding into and you know, thinking of how it could go differently. To be honest, it's like, well, what would it look like if I didn't do that? One thing that I always do, like, what's a different thing I could do. And what's possible from there. And like how much of a, a relief would that be to me as a person. And then without all of that stress I was putting on myself I can show up more as just a human being and not as the Robot Brittany is what I call my perfectionism, you know, alter ego, yeah, Robot Brittany. I mean, she does still come out sometimes, but now I'm able to notice it in the moment usually. And yeah, try to think about it a little more and just be aware of it, notice it, and then choose something else.

Bagel: 19:02

Yeah, that's great. And it shows a lot of maturity and I think some courage to be able to have that awareness and then, you know, figure out what to do to change it. Even if you didn't know all the answers,

Brittany: 19:14

Yeah. And even like, you know, calling it Robot Brittany helps too. Because calling me Robot Brittany because yeah I can make light of it and it's not, again, it can quickly turn into another perfectionism. Like, Oh, I can never do that. You know, it's not. I don't want to be mad at myself when it comes out or make it wrong, make myself wrong. It's making myself aware of it and be like, yeah, I can laugh about it too. And be like, Oh, that was silly. Why did I do that? That's okay. I'll try it again. Or, you know, next time.

Bagel: 19:47

Yeah, it sounds like there's an element of forgiveness there too for yourself and being kind to yourself to know that like those expectations maybe are far too high. And we're human and all that sort of thing. Which is nice. Also, if I had a nickel for every time a friend called me Robot Bagel, I'd be a very rich, rich, rich man. It was kind of a joke growing up so I can totally relate. So that's, I think that's a really nice segue into the topic that I asked you to come and speak about today, which is the benefits of coaching. And, I suspect there was some of that learning and self-growth that you just talked about maybe came from coaching. I'm not sure you can tell us, but, I'm curious to start with just hearing a little bit about your decision to take on a coach yourself. And I know that you are currently in training for becoming a coach and getting that certification. And we'll talk about that as well, but I'm first curious about the other side of you, deciding to take on a coach for yourself.

Brittany: 20:49

Yeah, so. I mentioned earlier that time in my life where I thought, you know, I was doing all the things I was supposed to be doing or wanting to be doing but then still felt kind of stuck and lost and just uninspired in my day to day life. That's when I decided to hire a life coach. So I had done some research. I had read some books. That were, you know, kind of those self help books. The one I really like, I think it's called Life By Design, which is super interesting. And that was kinda my segue into coaching is, learning to think about your life as a choice and that you can design the life that you want to create. And it's not that life is happening at you. You are completely capable of choosing and identifying what you like, what works for you, what doesn't work for you. And then moving in that direction. So that got me thinking. And then, yeah, there was, a local yoga teacher that I followed on Instagram who also coached and I saw her post about coaching and I think it was just, the timing was right. I saw the posts, I said, okay, I'm curious, what is this? What is this all about? So I got on a phone call with her. And yeah. Within 30 minutes, I love telling this story. Within 30 minutes she had me crying and I was not expecting that whatsoever. I thought it was going to be a here's what coaching looks like, you know, here's the timing, commitmen, here's the price commitment. Here's all the things. But she was able to pick up on stuff about me within those 30 minutes that I've never heard from anyone around me in my life that I've known forever. But that I knew like as soon as she said it, I knew it was true and it really hit home for me. As, you know, things like she kinda, I think perfectionism may have been one of the things she picked up on. There were a couple, but just a couple of things that she picked up on that I wasn't even aware of. But when she said it, I knew it was true. And I knew I wanted to do something about it. And I wanted to, I knew that it was in my way from what I wanted to create. So I was, I was pretty sold immediately on the concept just of working with her.

Bagel: 22:58

Yeah. I feel like a reaction to what happened there could go one of two ways. Like if someone, someone makes you cry you're either like this person knows what's up or let me run the hell outta here. Cause this is scary. Not necessarily even because the person did something weird, but maybe because for some people it's uncomfortable and they're like, maybe don't want to address it. So it sounds like you went the other way. It sounds like you leaned into it and you recognized that there were things that you wanted to work on. And like you said, things that you wanted to remove or kind of get out of the way. I know you've alluded to a few of these already but, what were some of the benefits for you? What were some of the ways that you've, that you've been impacted positively or, or in any way by, being in that coaching relationship?

Brittany: 23:41

Yeah, so many ways. I always tell people that, you know, coaching has changed my life so much and yeah. So it's hard to pick just one or a couple, but I think to boil it down is really just learning so much about myself and why I do the things that I do and the idea that not everyone thinks the same way that I do. You know, I think that's always a big thing to kind of get over yourself and to know that people aren't mind readers. And, you know, you may have certain expectations in your head for yourself or others and just kind of recognizing that and then knowing and owning the responsibility that I have for my life. And, you know, if there's something that I want that I'm fully capable of doing it. It's just a matter of how to get there and figuring out those roadblocks and figuring out the milestones to get there. But yeah. And also knowing that sometimes we need help to get there. So I think that was the place I was at when I hired my coach is knowing that there was a gap between where I wanted to be and where I was today. And I, I knew I wasn't able to get there by myself.

Bagel: 24:54

Yeah. Again, another thing that takes courage to admit to yourself, it's like, I think especially these perfectionist, like myself. I can, say with assurance that I often don't rely on support. And I don't ask for that help. And I know a lot of people struggle with that. So the fact that you are able to say, you know what, like I have this vision, or maybe you got some help kind of clarifying what that was for yourself. And then recognizing that you couldn't do it alone, I think is, is a huge step. You talked about the fact that this really allowed you to take on that vision and to go head first and dive into what it is that you really wanted. And it sounds like it made more things possible for you. Is there an example you want to share about what something you've been able to do now that you felt empowered through a coaching experience?

Brittany: 25:44

Yeah. Great use of the word empowered first of all.

Bagel: 25:48

Just trying to tie it all in.

Brittany: 25:50

Love it. Yeah, no. The big idea. So, yeah, like you were saying, I originally started coaching to help with my vision of what I wanted. So I knew I wasn't happy in my day job. So I knew I wanted a new job and through coaching I first of all, was able to lay out all of these new ideas for myself. All these different paths I could go. And at first I list out there like six different things I can do or wanting to do or interested in. And I thought first off I'm like, I need to pick one. And then of course another simple question that my coach asked me, why can't you do it all? Like, Whoa, okay. No, one's really asked me that before. So let me look at it in a new way. And maybe it was five things. But yeah, one of them was, you know, finding a new job. One of them was talking to my boss about my current job to ask for a promotion, thinking that might help and make me want to stay. And then a couple were like some side business things or like things for fun that I was more passionate about. Not necessarily for work work, but just for things to keep me more passionate and excited. And then the last was starting a business and that was something that was like a lifetime goal, like never thought would actually do anytime soon. And then within eight months of that conversation with my coach, I had gotten that promotion at my day job. Then two months later, I got a new job that was way more aligned with my values for my full time job. And then I had done the side projects that I was talking about for fun. And then I had started my own business as well. And to think like, yeah, eight months before my jaw dropped when she said, well, why not do it all? And then I somehow did it all because it was amazing.

Bagel: 27:40

It is amazing. I definitely want people to hear that and not that you know, everyone's streams are going to just automatically become realized if they just decided to work with a coach. Obviously you have to put work into your life and work towards those goals. But the fact that someone empowered you to say like, yes, I can go for all these things. Why not? If this is what I really want. And then the steps that you took to actually go and work towards them and to try to achieve them, I think is really cool. So I commend you for that. I'm curious, were there any stumbling blocks along the way for any of those four, I think you mentioned four, different things that sort of became a reality for you that you set out to do or accomplish. Were there any roadblocks or any stumbling blocks? Or at any point you were like questioning like whether or not that's something you really wanted to do?

Brittany: 28:31

Yeah, there were stumbling roadblocks probably for all of them. And the one for getting a new job the one stumbling block is that when I first started applying for jobs I came at it probably more from my perfectionism tendencies. And that I saw this one job, actually the job hadn't been posted yet. It was like, I heard, you know, word on the street this company that I really, really liked the company. Was going to be posting a job. And I was like, Oh, I want to work for that company. It doesn't even matter what the role is. So I just started like researching everything I could think of that they could possibly ask in an interview before they even posted the job. So I spent a lot of time down that path. Now I know it was like wasting my energy. Because it was more like reactionary, like, Oh, what if they ask this? What if they ask that? Instead of actually aligning again, looking at my values, like aligning my values with the job and with the company. Because then when they did finally post the job, four months later, you know, four months was a long time to wait for it, first of all. But then second of all, after I had done all that research, they posted the job and it did not sit well with me. You know, like I knew it wasn't actually what I wanted to do because of course, four months also I've learned a lot about myself and I continued to grow. And then at that point I knew in my gut more than, you know, any of the research could show me. I knew that it wasn't a good fit. So then when my new job did come around with a different company, when I did find that one, I knew immediately that it was exactly what I needed and what I wanted.

Bagel: 30:10

Yeah, and I want to dig into that for just a minute because I do think navigating career transitions are a big thing for lots of adults. And yeah, I have friends constantly calling me because I used to be a career counselor to chat about this in detail. And so I think it's a really important topic. And, just for context, like in career counseling, when I did that with college students primarily, we often tie values to career fulfillment. There's a lot of studies out there that show that it's more closely tied to fulfillment in life than other things like skills and interests and personality. And so there's a huge emphasis. And part of why I'm doing this podcast is because I know how important those values are. So to zoom back into what you just said. I'm curious, what were the clues in the job that you didn't take and what were the clues in the job you did take that told you that this aligned or didn't align?

Brittany: 31:10

Okay. Yeah, I think I had had time, like I said, there were probably four months between when I first started thinking about it and when I actually saw the job posting. So at first I was coming at it from values of the company and the company is a nonprofit and I thought, you know, I'm going to give back to the world. It's going to be, you know, sunshine and rainbows and everything will be great. And I'll feel like a good person cause I'm doing good things. So that was my, I realized now is sort of my surface level value conversation. But between that and the four months later, I had done the work on what my actual values as me, you know, what got that clarity around it. So I was able to actually just sit down outside of any job description, outside of any company view and I just wrote down, what am I looking for in a company? What am I looking for in a role? And what am I looking for in a boss? And having that as sort of my guiding light, and knowing what I really wanted out of it and getting clear about what I wasn't getting in my current job that I needed. Cause that was also part of my conversation in what was missing in my current job and talking with my boss and asking for promotion, like that was a difficult conversation to have. Because it was, you know, talking about what was missing for me. So I had to do all of that difficult work in order to realize what I did want and what what that standard new standard was for me. So yeah, I had that sort of as my internal gut checklist of knowing immediately, like if I would thrive in that situation or not.

Bagel: 32:49

Hold the phone. Okay. You now have a homework assignment. After you're through listening to this episode, I want you to do what Brittany calls the quote unquote difficult work. Undeterred by friends, coworkers, family, the media, or any external force. I want you to take the time to sit with a pen and paper or your favorite note taking app and truly list out what it is that you desire in a job. A boss, a team, a work environment, then list out the hard nos for the same. The things that, you know, won't work for you and you need to avoid like the plague. Even though this conversation with Brittany is career focused. This is the true first step to living a life of meaning and fulfillment. Getting clear on what matters to you and applying it to the areas of life that matter. Yeah. That's so great to hear that you did that work to figure out both what you were looking for, like what that ideal looked like. And also take stock of where you were at, you know, with your current role and what you did have it's easy to idealize. Like this would be amazing, I would love this and that, but then there's the reality of taking stock of what's the current situation. Like, and sometimes even when you're sifting through things that you don't like or are going well, you start to find little diamonds in the rough you're like, well, actually, even though this manager is like this, she's also like that. And I actually appreciate that. And so it starts to help clarify some things and help you move forward.

Brittany: 34:20

Yeah. Yeah. And I would say also for the next step in the job search process, when you're interviewing with the company too. Like I mentioned, I had written out, like what I wanted or values in a boss. And that when I went into the interview process, I looked at it as if I was interviewing them as much as they were interviewing me. And that was the number one piece of advice I have ever gotten about interviewing and that I keep telling everyone, cause that was so, so helpful to be really straight and direct with what I need out of a manager in order to thrive and put that on the table, you know, in my interview. And you know, if they don't like it, then I shouldn't work for them. And just being really, really bold and confident about it. And Hey, if it fits what you want, then they will see that you will see that and it'll work out. But you can't hide who you are and what you want, and then expect it to happen when you start the job.

Bagel: 35:15

Yeah. That's so awesome. I'm so pumped to hear that. You're valuing yourself, which is super important And yes, interviewing is a two way street because oftentimes people feel like they're the ones that are in a, maybe feel a little desperate or like they're the ones who need to be picked, but that's not the reality. I mean, maybe in certain economic conditions. Yes. But for the most part, it should be viewed as like, this is you making a decision about them. Just as much as they're making a decision about you, because it should be the right fit. And while not everyone in the world is lucky enough to be able to make that decision. If you've got some different prospects and you've got some different opportunities, I think really taking the time to think about what you're looking for and what you value is important because thats your job. I mean, we all know you're spending two thirds of your life at a minimum, typically at work or doing work. Even if you're working at home these days, it's taking up a big portion of your life. And so, at a minimum I think you want it to be something you enjoy and if not, at least some fulfillment in your life too. So very cool that you did that. We'll switch gears a little bit, and we'll talk about you deciding to pursue your coaching certification and this pursuit of becoming a coach yourself. And so, I know you and I have talked a little bit about that, but if you want to share a little bit with the listeners. Like what factored into that decision? And how things are going you're about, what, three quarters of the way through the program so far, right?

Brittany: 36:45

Yeah. So it's, it's funny that life coaching brought me to life coaching, I dunno, is that funny or just again, very obvious. But yeah, it's finding those values that I was looking for in coaching, in my coaching sessions with my coach. And as I learned more about the process, knowing what it created for me and then just seeing the possibility of me doing that for other people. Like my coach, at one point after one of our sessions, we were having a conversation and she just kind of threw out there based on a question that I had asked, she said, Oh, you'd be a really good coach. And as soon as she said that, I just felt, it felt it in my gut. Like, it felt like everything clicked into place. And felt like, you know, I kept thinking on it for a couple of weeks of like, wow, why can't I shake this feeling? Like, you know she probably just says that to everyone. And of course doubting myself and, you know, having all these conversations with myself and then realizing like, the more I thought about it, the more I felt like all of my natural skills and values really lend itself really well to coaching. And again, the empowerment piece, it comes back to that. Like, that's huge for me and knowing that, now knowing that's like my purpose on life is coaching is the best way I can think to achieve that and to create possibility for other people. And I remember also thinking my, again, arguments to myself and my head about it, of are you sure you really want to do this? Was just thinking if I could help one person, the way that my coach has helped me I would be a hundred percent fulfilled and more fulfilled than I've ever been in any of my full time jobs.

Bagel: 38:37

That's so amazing and then so important to have those expectations set for yourself when you're pursuing something new. Whether it's a new career or even just a side project or a hobby or like anything in your life where you're like, okay, what will this provide? How will this serve me?Those kinds of questions. And if you get really clear on that, not that the expectations need to be very low. They just need to be where they're actually at. And for you, if it was being able to help one person would help you feel like this huge sense of fulfillment and feel like you had purpose that's a pretty good sign that that's the right thing to pursue. And also when you've achieved that one thing, which I assume you've helped some people so far. I know you've helped me already and lots of ways. And we've had some ways we've helped each other. So like, it must be a good feeling to know like, okay, I'm on my way to doing this. I want to stress the importance of setting expectations for yourself, as well as aligning those expectations to what matters to you. Notice how Brittany brought into focus, her value of empowerment to this new career choice and made it clear to herself that helping just one person feel empowered would bring her a sense of fulfillment. What if you were to write down one thing you could do this week that would make you feel fulfilled? How does it relate to your values? Start small and see where it takes you.

Brittany: 40:01

Yeah, I'd say I had wrapped up with one of my first clients a couple of months ago and she wrote me the sweetest card at the end of just how much I'd helped her and how much I've changed her life. And honestly that again, that was all I ever wanted in all of this. And knowing that I did exactly that was so moving and so humbling and just seeing it there and writing. Like having that proof that everything up to this point has been worth it. It was monumental and feeling that I will never be able to compare it to anything else.

Bagel: 40:35

Yeah, that's so cool. And I think gratitude is such a powerful thing. And when you receive it from others you're truly feeling like you're making a difference in some way. And especially if it helps you feel fulfilled and it aligns with expectations and the goals you set for yourself it's pretty hard not to feel good about that. For others out there who are considering, whether coaching might be the right fit for them, whether it's life coaching, business coaching, or any other aspects of it. What do you feel like are some benefits of working with a coach? I know you've kind of talked about your own experience. And I will say I'll give the disclosure right here that Brittany actually referred me to a coach in training in her program. And I've been working with that coach now for, I think almost six months. Actually maybe more than six months now and that has been a very valuable relationship. It's been really helpful for personal growth and things like that. So, I can talk a little bit about benefits from my point of view. But I'm curious from yours first, what are some of the benefits others might anticipate from a coaching relationship?

Brittany: 41:48

Yeah, so I think some of the big ones are kind of what we've alluded to, but to put it really generally is getting super clear on what you want in your life. And maybe questioning your current goals if they're not happening, you know, why aren't they happening? Is that really what you want? Like you say, you want this thing and then you're doing everything, but the thing, so let's talk about what's happening, to not make it happen. So that's one great way to look at it is like, from a future goal oriented aspect, like what do you really want? And is that what you really want? Let's talk about that. And then identifying those roadblocks that are getting in the way, because there there's always going to be something in the way. Even if it's a goal that you do really want, there will always be something else that comes up or something that's gonna get in your way. So it's awesome to see people just get really remotivated on what they want to achieve. And thinking through how they've done certain things their whole life and not realize that it was actually, you know, potentially holding them back. Like my perfectionism. I always thought that was a great thing all through school. Like honestly, of course I was a straight a student being this perfectionism. So I just thought that was such a great thing. And then to now be able to look at life from a different lens and know that yeah, it's good for certain things, but it's not helpful for a lot of other things. So learning to see other ways that it could go, learning to see yourself in a way you had never seen yourself before too is huge.

Bagel: 43:30

I think that's really powerful and I feel very similarly that that has been the biggest help for me, having a coach as well as working through those roadblocks. First, identifying the things that I really care about and really want to do, this being the example, this this podcas t which is really cool. And I feel proud at this point to even just be recording episodes and hopefully by the time this is published there'll be more things up like a website and maybe some blog posts and whatever else, but jus t getting that focus to figure out like, this is what I've been really wanting to do. And just figuring out what it looked like and the best outlet for it. But I can definitely speak to having the coach to reflect back to me on those roadblocks and things. Especially the ones that I was sort of setting in front of myself, you know, which we all tend to do in different ways but there was a lot of self doubt that I had to overcome to even get to this point. And I think, I truthfully, I probably wouldn't be here doing this if I had not been working with a coach to some degree. So I do think there's a lot of power in it and I'm sure for everybody it's gonna be a little bit of a different relationship, but I see the value in that kind of like you described. On the other side of the coin, who might not be a good fit for having a coach. Have you come across anyone yourself where you've kind of had to say, you know what, I don't think this is a good fit for you right now, or anything along those lines?

Brittany: 45:02

Yeah, I'd say there's maybe a couple of different ways to look at it. There's definitely people that aren't open or ready for coaching. So like I mentioned earlier, when I first had that call with my coach, my soon to be coach and how I was crying. And we kind of talked about like, you can go one or two ways with that. Like, there's plenty of people that maybe say they want coaching or say they want to do things differently, but then they aren't actually open to this sort of relationship because it can be confronting. You know, where as coaches we are I like to say calling you out on your bullshit, like in a way that no one else in your life will do it. And it's completely direct and uncensored, and some people aren't ready for that, or aren't willing to hear that and want to stay and swim around in their pile of bullshit, you know, and, and that's okay. And you know, I'm not here to change their mind and I'm not here to create the life that they want. They're the ones that have to do all the work. So, that would be one type of person. And then the second is, I'd say people who just want the answers. So that's like the big difference between coaching and consulting, I explain to people is that consultants are the expert in a certain subject matter and you are paying them for that knowledge. Where a coach is here to help you become more aware, like we've talked about of where you want to be, and what's getting in the way. So it's, with coaching, the client is the expert of their own life. And I'm not going to tell you how to live your life. I'm just here to be curious and ask you questions about why you're doing things the way you're doing them. And yeah. There's no, like secret answer that we're holding back here as coaches. Like we're not, we don't have some manual that we're following with specific questions or specific answers. Yeah, it's all up to the client. So the client has to be really open, curious, willing, and, willing to do the work as well.

Bagel: 47:07

Yeah, that's great. I really appreciate the distinction between those two. So I think it may help anyone listening to figure out which one of those two relationships they're looking for. Whether it's personally or professionally, and just helping them understand those differences so that they can be educated about when they do hire one or the other. If they choose to do so, what those expectations are, and hopefully a good coach or consultant would go over that with them. But I think it's always helpful to kind of share an overview. So I appreciate that. With that distinction in what you're doing, you mentioned you're offering both consulting and coaching in the business that you're now running Hello Velocity. Do you want to share any of your aha moments or any big lessons you've learned so far as a young business owner?

Brittany: 47:57

Oh, what a general question.

Bagel: 47:59

It is a little broad.

Brittany: 48:00

Yeah. I would say when it comes to coaching, yeah. I think kind of what I said before is that not everyone's ready for coaching, despite what they say. So getting really clear with new clients before they're clients and what they want, what they're looking for me and like really setting up those agreements before we start an actual relationship. And then that's actually held true now for the consulting side is just being super clear, upfront before anyone signs any paperwork. Like what do you actually want from me? And what do I need from you? And are we both willing and capable of doing these things and being again, super direct and straight. That's my favorite thing I've learned about from coaching or learn how to be from coaching training, is just being really straight with people. This is what I need, and if you're not able to meet that, then you know, we shouldn't work together and not being attached to it. Instead of just being, you know, intentional with what I need and being focused on the result and not being attached to it.

Bagel: 49:10

Yeah, I think that's really wise. The last question is what's one tip you might have for others who are considering working with a coach or becoming a coach?

Brittany: 49:22

I would say if you're looking for a coach and maybe you're already in talks with one, definitely just ask them as many questions as you need to. I know my story is kind of probably unusual where I just knew that I needed to work with her. But for everyone else, I recommend ask around, get recommendations, maybe ask for a referral of one of their previous clients. I've done that for other coaches, or for my coach. I've given referrals where I just hop on a call with someone and say, Hey, here's my experience. And then they can decide for themselves if that's what they want. So again, getting super clear because there are a lot of people right now calling themselves coaches and probably the majority of them, if not the vast majority, have only done maybe two hours of training online or, you know, a couple of hours here or there. But there are, you know, big differences in coaches. So make sure you find the right fit for you.

Bagel: 50:24

That makes sense. Well, do you want to share just how people can connect with you, with your company, social, or any upcoming announcements or anything? Anything like that that you want to share with our audience?

Brittany: 50:34

Yeah, people can find me on Facebook and Instagram at Hello Velocity Co and you can email me, Brittany B R I T T A N Y at hello velocity.co. And something fun I'm working on right now is doing a virtual workshop. I had done one in person and actually Mike, you were there. Yeah, and it was super fun and I was so excited to do more. And then two days later COVID hit the US and no one was gathering in groups anymore. So I've decided to turn that virtual. So stay tuned for some announcements on social media about that.

Bagel: 51:10

Very cool. I'm excited for you. I know a lot of businesses are, are pivoting and figuring out how to do things virtually and online right now. I have no doubt that you will succeed. I really enjoyed your workshop when I attended, feels like it was such a long time ago. But, Brittany is a good friend and co worker in the coworking space together. I still don't know the right way to say that, coworking friend? I don't know. We'll find some phrase to use in the future, but definitely check out her business. and thank you so much for being on the show. Really appreciate it.

Brittany: 51:43

Yeah. Thanks for having me. This was fun.

Bagel: 51:51

I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Live Your Values podcast. If you like what you heard, please hit subscribe in your podcast app so you get notified about all new episodes of the Live Your Values podcast with me,"Bagel." Special thanks to Emma Peck for logo design, Danielle Gelber for marketing strategy, and my team at Free Your Time Virtual Assistants for operations support. Until next time.... Get out there and LYV!