We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Coleen Greco a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Coleen, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
When my son was 10, he attempted suicide. As you might imagine that brought my family of 4 to our knees and my world was shattered. Initially I did not handle it well, eating and drinking my way up to weights I had not seen since my pregnancies. I hired a nutrition coach to help me regain control of my life.
As I had progressed through the program, and at this point had lost 35 of the 52 lbs I would lose in total, I asked him to help me develop strategies so I would never regain the weight – my thought was “let’s just do this once, ok?” and he said “I’m not your therapist”. I was horrified, and at the same time, I saw an opportunity.
That was the day that the Joyologist was born and I repaired myself and my family using joy at the center of it all.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a Joyologist. I help women feel amazing in their own skin while also removing the limiting beliefs that keep them feeling stuck. I do this through a combination of mindset coaching and nutrition coaching. I am also a public speaker, inspiring people around the world to reach their fullest potential and maximize the number of days we have left on this earth.
I educate women on the food they need to eat to fuel their bodies while reaching their physical fitness goals. I give them the tools they need to heal their guts, minds and hearts and return to the person they once knew and loved so deeply. I guide them toward establishing a firm foundation of self love, inner peace and all under the auspices of joy.
I am most proud of my clients when they have that lightbulb moment. The moment when everything clicks, the moment THEY see themselves on the path toward their greatest potential. It’s not enough for me to see it, they have to see it and want it too.
What sets me apart are my core values of joy, authenticity, kindness, joy, gratitude and positivity. I know how to guide these women because I am one of them. I was lost, felt hopeless and lacked the right support. I vowed that day to make it my life’s work to ensure no woman ever feels like that. I empower them to do the work, at the pace they are comfortable with and by the time we are done working together and have reached their goals, they return to their lives, a better more complete version of themselves. I do not want them to return. The lowest compliment I can receive is a renewal. I’d much rather do this once and be done with it, and stay in touch with them because we both want it, not because one or both of us needs it.
The main thing I want people to know is that I have their back every single step of the way. I will never leave their side but that means they need to show up everyday playing to win too. I can only want it as much as they do and I will give it 150%. They need to meet me halfway or this doesn’t work.
By priortizing themselves, their health and their wellbeing, they deliver a better product back to those they love. Putting themselves last hasn’t worked in the past so let’s try it this way and do it in a loving, supportive and positive environment where shame has no place and self deprecation is permanently banned. I tell my clients during their initial consult, “I will shame the shame right out of you!” let’s try to have fun with this, because we’ve all done it the other way and how did that work out for any of us?”
It’s work, sure but I will tell you from personal experience, simply existing your way through life, or the walking dead as I used to call myself is much much harder. Self love is the coziest, warmest blanket you’ll ever be wrapped up in. Let’s go get it!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
My authenticity. No question about it. People do business with people they know, like and trust. I am extremely vulnerable with my clients and we get really deep with what’s brought them here because they deserve to set those stories free and live the life they’ve always dreamed of. They can’t do that with excess baggage and pain. We tap into that pain, understand where it came from and set it free -it’s done it’s job.
The majority of people I work with feel as though no one could possibly understand what it’s like to be them but I can and do everyday. I share everything with them to allow them to see that yes, tough things happen, and they will continue to, but the victory is in the rebound. It’s in the work that happens in that in between stage. The one where you’ve decided your current state isn’t right, your future state is unattainable and your past state is a distant memory. This in between state is where the magic happens. It’s like a crossroads and it teaches us exactly what we need to know if we are prepared to listen.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
Yes 1000% yes. I have always had roles that are service oriented. It’s a bit corny to say but I am definitely a people person. My past careers have all lead me to where I am today. A place where I get to coach amazing humans to love themselves completely. A place where they feel valued, cared for and supported. Elements I never received in the majority of companies I’ve worked for.
I’m making the world a little bit better than I found it and I credit my horrible roles and horrible leadership for teaching me exactly what I needed to learn in order to become the coach that I am.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.coleengreco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecoleengreco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecoleengreco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coleengreco/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCldJiCH1SXkH1c4-Le7HoFA
Image Credits
Mary Gardella