We were lucky to catch up with Audra Leininger recently and have shared our conversation below.
Audra, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
Learning to take risks has been a theme in my life; however, I have had more opportunities to take risks in the past six years than ever before. About 11 years ago, I decided to give up my dream of living in the mountains (Lake Tahoe) to move back to Michigan and pursue my master’s degree. I had too many things on my plate while trying to survive in Lake Tahoe, and I knew I couldn’t add the additional time and debt to the mix while there. I was never going to move back to Michigan, but once I made the decision to work at my alma mater and live at my mom’s house to afford this decision, I was all in. However, once I arrived back in Michigan, I was less than thrilled with living in Southern Michigan. My heart longed for the outdoors.
After two years, I found a position open in Gaylord (Northern Michigan) with the university. I moved “Up North” as we lovingly refer to Northern Michigan, lived in little A-frame cabin I bought, and completed my MBA. We didn’t have mountains, but I could hike, bike, camp, and explore to my heart’s desire. I loved it.
About 3 1/2 years later, my risk taking adventures took on a whole new level. I wanted to begin investing, and I knew I had enough money saved up I could afford another cabin if I could find something similarly priced as the cabin I already owned. Literally, a month after that realization, I drove home and found the cabin next door for sale – for the same price as my A-frame! I scheduled a showing right away and made an offer within the week. It was scary. I used all of my savings to purchase this new house, but I knew it was the right next step for me. Within a few short months, I had my A-frame ready to list on Airbnb. Airbnb was just gaining popularity when I moved from Lake Tahoe back to Michigan. I loved the idea of using my passion for hospitality to host others in my adorable Up North cabin and help them have an incredible experience during their getaway. It went over very well, and I absolutely loved having my own business. It brought so much joy and fulfillment to my life.
It also gave me the confidence to quit my job. After working in Gaylord for 5 years, I knew I needed a change. I had a little money saved and I had my Airbnb, and I decided I needed a break. I had some ideas brewing in me regarding some business opportunities, but I didn’t have any time to think through them or begin pursuing them. So, I quit my job in order to have a “sabbatical of sorts.” This felt like a huge risk to me. All of my risks up to this point were scary and felt big in and of themselves, but quitting my job was monumental. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t really have that much saved up. I knew I could pay my bills for a couple of months, but that’s about it. I had no idea what I would be doing next. I just knew I needed to let go and give myself space to think and be creative. I longed to have an opportunity for creative expression. I also wanted to help other people pursue their dreams and goals – and I knew I needed to practice it in my own life if I wanted to help others.
So, I let go. With zero plans.
The very last day of my job, after my last meeting of the day, I opened up Facebook and saw a friend from Alaska posted he needed a breakfast chef for his fishing lodge to finish the last month of the season. I had never cooked professionally, though I LOVE cooking and baking and do so all the time. I decided to offer my abilities. Cooking and baking in Alaska for a month – how fun is that?! I had the time now.
Little did I know, this would help provide for the next season of my life. I went to cook breakfast in Alaska for the month. And believe me when I say I worked! The job was 7 days a week, 10-12 hour days. I went to bed at 6pm and started between 2-3 am. Every day. It was grueling – and one of the longest months of my life. However, I loved it. I loved having a creative outlet. I loved serving and interacting with the guests. I loved helping make their experiences unforgettable. And I made enough money to help provide for my “sabbatical of sorts” – which I did not expect.
The rest of the year, I spent time pursuing creativity and working through the list of things I wanted to accomplish during my time away from work. I really wanted to finish decorating my new house, but I knew I would have spend some money to do so. I didn’t want to go into additional debt without a job, but I realized if I went back to Alaska to work in the summer, I could list my house on Airbnb while I was away. I wouldn’t have to pay my mortgage while working in Alaska, and it could help pay for my remodeling projects. So, that’s what I did. I withdrew my remaining 401k money to pay myself to remodel my house, I taught myself how to sew, and I worked incredibly hard to make my new little house a fun, attractive place to stay on Airbnb. It was so fun. And after renting my house for a summer on Airbnb, I made enough money to pay off my investment.
During that first full summer in Alaska, I met a girl who came to fish in Alaska to celebrate her 40th birthday. Both she and her husband chose to accomplish life dreams to celebrate their big milestones. I realized I was going to be 40 in just over a year, and I hadn’t even thought about what I wanted to do. She challenged me to consider it while she was there. While talking with her, we both decided Banff National Park was high on my list and a most excellent choice. However, I had also been intentionally going after my dreams for years. Maybe I could pursue 40 dreams by the time I turned 40 years old? I could start that December, when I turned 39 and use my 39th year of life to complete my 40 dreams.
As fun as this sounded, it was also a big risk. I was renting both houses on Airbnb, and I was able to live most of the year from the money I made in Alaska that summer. I had also started contracting to develop and promote a website for Northeast Michigan that provided some money, but not a huge amount. Basically, I was able to live on a meager budget while still being away from a conventional job. I wasn’t sure how I would go about paying for these dreams. I knew I needed to take this step, though. It felt like an investment into my life dream I couldn’t risk NOT doing. If I wanted to help others accomplish their dreams and goals, I had to take that step for myself. Again.
So, I did. It was a most incredible year. It was exhausting. Seriously. Pursuing 40 dreams in a year felt like a part-time job. As much fun as it is to travel, it’s also exhausting to be on the move continuously. However, I had to stay on top of my list if I was going to complete everything that year. I checked off my last two US states, visited a friend in Oregon and saw Multnomah falls, explored Virgin Islands National Park, drove to Alaska and road-tripped out west before and after the drive, visited New York City during Christmas, and completed huge projects at both of my houses – just to name a few. On a smaller scale,I read Gone With the Wind and watched the movie, tried cross-country skiing for the first time since 5th grade camp, and sledded down the dune climb at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It was an incredible year, full of so much fun and joy and beauty. I felt like I was on beauty overload by the end. But you know what? I found I needed the deluge of accomplishing dreams to heal my brain from years of disappointment. It felt so incredibly wonderful to accomplish things and have the freedom to pursue things that had been in my heart for so long. It was a very healing experience. Yes, it cost a lot of money. However, I also found I made more money that year from all of my “gigs.” I probably spent between $25,000-$30,000 on pursuing my 40 dreams – and I had all of it paid off within 3 months of accomplishing them.
That year changed my life. It gave me a new confidence to go after impossible things. I gave me confidence to pursue big dreams and I have since found hard dreams “doable.” For example, I paid off a large mountain of debt in 8 months the following year. I lost a large amount of weight and have been able to maintain it and stay healthy. I tripled my income the following year, compared to what I used to make working full-time, year-round. I launched my dream coaching course to help others pursue their dreams, and have had an incredible opportunity to impact the Northeast Michigan region through our website project.
Little did I know what would transpire when I decided to quit my job and give myself room to create over 4 years ago. I ended up working in Alaska three full summers after that initial month. I have continued a successful Airbnb business. I’ve successfully written multiple grants to continue my website project for Northeast Michigan, and have had the opportunity to make some impacts on our region through that work. I’ve launched my dream coaching business. Although it’s still small, it’s alive! I’ve started creating videos and growing in the advertising and marketing realms. I have plans to write a book and continue creating workbooks for my dream coaching business. I continually feel as though I’m being stretched every year, but it has been so incredibly life-giving to have opportunities for creative expression. It’s been rewarding to see how these projects grow and develop – and know I can provide for myself through these outlets. I still have my moments. I still feel as though there’s a great deal of unknown at times, and I often feel I’m still in transition. However, I have a lot more confidence and peace in the unknowns because of my experiences these past 4 1/2 years.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I outlined much of my story and how I entered into my current lifestyle and pursuits through taking a series of risks; however, I would say this lifestyle of risk started for me while I was living in Lake Tahoe. I met with a lady who was looking to sell her cake business. Although I loved baking, I really had no business thinking I could purchase and run a cake business at that time. However, my meeting with her changed my life forever. I mentioned to her that I was planning to make an Eiffel Tower cake for my friend’s birthday. She asked if I was making it 3-D, which of course I was not. She chastised me and let me know that in the cake business, you have to let your first answer be yes. You say yes – and then you figure it out. That forever changed me. I really felt God used that conversation in my life to help me realize just how much I was limiting myself by saying no. I needed to let my first answer be yes – and figure it out.
Honestly, that shift in my thinking also led to me accumulating a large amount of debt. Even so, I found my newfound ability to say yes also helped me pay off that debt years later. By learning how to say yes, I also learned how to create wealth – not limit my lifestyle to my current income. It’s not necessarily a process I would encourage others to take, but it was a process I needed to work through to shift my mindset. Through this time of my life, I learned to not say no just because something felt impossible or intimidating or hard. I gave myself the freedom (and time!) to figure out a way to go about accomplishing the goals and tasks. Sometimes the end results look different than I initially imagined, but quite often the results are also better than I imagined!
I find myself pursuing a number of different avenues – everything from developing and promoting websites, marketing, creating regional influence and change, helping folks learn how to dream and begin accomplishing their dreams, coaching people through their issues to discover practical ways to get “unstuck” and begin forward movement, creating community and connection, providing hospitality, and creating amazing experiences for folks. Although these various outlets seem very different, I find the underlying theme is bringing hope, inspiration, and motivation to people. I love finding creative solutions to help solve their problems, building bridges and bringing people together to work toward a common goal, tackling the intimidating or impossible challenges. and seeing transformation and change on the other side. I love the challenge of doing hard things, bringing ideas to life, and helping people in the process of change. I have been incredibly excited about working as a life coach to help people learn how to accomplish their dreams and find joy in their life, but I’ve also learned I love using the same techniques to help communities and/or regions shift and move forward to accomplish their goals. The work is not always “fun.” In fact, sometimes it is very tedious and challenging. However, seeing the end results make the hard work worthwhile.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I feel as though I’m still in the middle of this pivot, but I would love to share how it came about and what transpired in hopes it may help others.
As I mentioned, I quite my “real job” about 4 1/2 years ago. I spent the next 3 summers working as a breakfast chef at a fishing lodge in Alaska. I made great money, as I made as much in a summer as I used to make working full-time, year round. I was also able to rent out my house along with my full-time Airbnb while I was away. It was a lot of work, but great money.
However, this past summer, I really felt the need to stay home in Michigan. I knew my contract work with the Northeast Michigan website was going to require more time and creative thought than my exhausted brain and limited free time in Alaska would allow. I also had some health issues I needed to work through. Although it was a hit for me financially, I had a very strong feeling I needed to pivot.
I’m still unsure what the end result will be; however, I did have the opportunity to teach some friends how to cook and make a shift toward healthier eating. This is something I’ve wanted to do for years! I happened to have a long-term guest at my Airbnb for 6 weeks this summer. During that exact time, my friends reached out to me to ask if I could help them. The wife needed some extra help in the kitchen and learning how to make some dietary substitutions, and the husband was trying to lose some weight. They received their dietary restrictions the same day of our initial meeting. I spent the next six weeks teaching her how to cook, working to help integrate vegetables into their meals, and showing them how to make substitutions into their diet. I even had a coaching session with him at the end. It was an incredible step in a positive direction toward my life goals. Along with meeting with them, they connected me with the wellness business they were using. That business happens to have a teaching kitchen that is rentable – and they would love to have me teach cooking classes. They also have loads of people that would be interested in meal prep options if I could find a licensed kitchen to use.
All of these things feel like amazing, money making opportunities for my future. I learned I absolutely love 1 on 1 coaching, and would like to pursue that more, as well. I am unable to pursue these options at this moment in time, as I’m working on some other huge projects with the website work, but it gave me some hope for my next steps.
Interestingly enough, Alaska also had a tougher season this year and the tips were much less than usual. Also, because I had long-term guests in my Airbnb, my Airbnb money was less. I was able to make decent money since I cleaned the Airbnb, but I could have potentially taken a hit had I outsourced my cleaning as I usually do in Alaska. I’m still connecting the dots to see how things will work out in the future, but I can say my choice to pivot this past summer did help me from having some pitfalls financially – and could open up some doors for money making opportunities in the future.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Shortly after moving to Gaylord (Northern Michigan) in November 2014, I went to the ER in the middle of the night with my first panic attack. I had no idea what was going on, but I thought maybe I was having a heart attack. Come to find out, the stress of moving to a new town, buying my first house, starting a new job, and being gifted extra responsibilities that were the equivalent of a new job on top of my new job were a little too much for my system to handle. On top of that, I was considering starting my MBA in March 2015 – four months later. Completing my masters degree was the reason I moved back to Michigan, and the cohort needed me to join in order to get approval to start. If I backed out, our group wouldn’t start – and I would be delayed in achieving my goal.
I still remember that time clearly. I got very little sleep and stayed up all night waiting to hear answers about what was going on with me. The doctor basically told me I needed to relax and rest and take a break more. I had an event I had to attend that day and the next 1.5 hours from my house. Originally, I was planning to drive back and forth to the event both days; however, with my new situation unfolding, I asked permission to get a hotel room. I stopped by my house to grab some clothes and found a pipe had burst in my bathroom and water was gushing everywhere. Thankfully, I had an experience a month prior when I thought I had frozen pipes – only to find out one of my electrical wires was bad and needed to be replaced by the power company. Even though it was a stressful time a month prior, I learned exactly what I needed to do in this situation. I turned the water pump off in the breaker box, threw some towels down on the floor, and left to stay in my hotel all weekend 1.5 hours away. I came back just in time to help the plumber fix the pipe.
This all took place about a month before the start of the MBA program. I debated moving forward, as I still had incredible amounts of anxiety I was dealing with, which was a new experience for me. I knew my group needed me to start, so I decided to move forward.
Little did I know that was exactly what I needed to do that year. It was so incredibly helpful to have a group of people to meet with every week, to push through the intimidation of starting a masters program, and find out how much I loved learning about all things business related. It helped me feel more confident in my new position, and gave me the confidence necessary to grow into who I am today. I learned how to stand up for myself, how to stand up for others, and it provided a foundation for my desire to be an entrepreneur and life coach/consultant in the future. Working through the intimidating goals and realizing I could do the hard work – and excel at it – was a transformative time in my life. I’m so thankful I chose to move forward despite the obstacles I had to overcome to do so.
Contact Info:
- Website: NE Michigan: www.northeastmichigan.org & The Road to Gold Dream Coaching: https://theroadtogold.mn.co/
- Instagram: NE Michigan: https://www.instagram.com/northeastmichigan/
- Facebook: NE Michigan: https://www.facebook.com/mibeautifulnortheast & Personal: https://www.facebook.com/audra.leininger/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audra-leininger-82363aa2/
- Youtube: NE Michigan: https://www.youtube.com/@nemichiganroomtobreathe & The Road to Gold: https://www.youtube.com/@theroadtogold555
- Other: – The Road to Gold Dream Store (workbook): https://the-road-to-gold.myshopify.com/ – The Dream Activation Course (online): https://theroadtogold.mn.co/share/ZDJetdcTJ9l9s14t?utm_source=manual