We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jen Graziano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jen below.
Jen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
I have a sign in my bedroom that I’ve had for a very long time. It says “leap, and the net will appear”. It reminds me to take chances, take risks, and go after my dreams. As we all know, it’s easier said than done. I’ve taken pretty big risks in my life, some calculated and some just being young.
My first big risk was moving out to California from Connecticut 10 days after I turned 21 with my college boyfriend. I had $300 to my name and a college degree. I went from living with 5 of us in a two bedroom apartment in El Cajon, sleeping on mattresses on the floor to living in living in downtown La Jolla, a 5 minute walk to the beach. I’ve always been a hard worker and I worked my way to get here, but that was a huge risk.
Twenty-four years later I found myself taking the risk to leave my corporate job to start Random Happiness, Inc. I was working at one of the top cybersecurity companies in the world, working with CIOs , CTOs, and technology executives at some of the the largest companies in San Diego and Orange County. I had everything to gain to stay and at the time I was leaving I was actually being given more accounts. I knew in my heart that the timing to start my business was at that very moment, and that it was something that I had to do. I took the leap, created my website and business cards, and started my journey as the owner of Random Happiness, Inc. I just hit my year mark this month and I don’t regret it at all. I’ve been able to help a lot of people and feel completely in my purpose.
Jen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’ve always known I wanted to create a company called Random Happiness. In my early 20’s I thought it would be a fun boutique store. I decided to stay in the corporate world for security, but after I turned 40 everything changed, and my company found its true purpose.
In June of 2018, I had the traumatic experience of witnessing someone I knew drown in Cabo. As you can imagine, it was extremely sad. Following that experience, I had terrible PTSD. I kept seeing the drowning, whether I had my eyes closed or open and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I went to therapy for over two years to work on it, but it didn’t help the way I needed it to. (Of course therapy is a wonderful practice, this was just my experience.) I eventually suppressed it and tried to move on with my life.
In April of 2021, I experienced reiki for the first time through a mutual friend. It was only after reiki that I felt like myself again. It took two sessions. Reiki helped me so much that I wanted to become a practitioner myself. At the same time, I began learning about tarot. I came to realize that I had clairsentience and could feel the energy of which cards to pull.
In May of 2022, I began my reiki journey and became certified through the same teachers that had taught the friend that worked on me. By this time, I understood the tarot cards very clearly and received clear messages that I needed to help people. It was around this time that I also learned about Human Design, which is a tool of understanding yourself and how you give out energy and receive energy from those around you. I learned so much about myself and others. I began practicing on friends every weekend and after work. “Reiki Sundays” became a regular thing. In July of 2022, I created Random Happiness officially and filed as an S-Corp with a friend’s help. I opened a bank account and ordered a company credit card, but I was still working at my corporate job full time. I set a goal/timeline that by January of 2023 I would start Random Happiness, Inc. full time.
In January of 2023, I let my corporate job know that I would be leaving to start my own company. In full transparency, it was not easy at all. The week before I gave notice I couldn’t leave the couch. I was terrified, like a deer in headlights. I had worked so hard to get to the place I was, and I was about to give it all up. It literally felt like I was jumping off a cliff, but I did it. It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
Random Happiness focuses on the mind, body, and spirit, which is not unique. What I do think is unique is the approach. I incorporate the elements of reiki, tarot, and human design into my practice. Reiki is a healing modality where the practitioner helps the client’s own body to heal itself through channeling universal life force energy. Tarot helps to answer questions and provide guidance. Human Design provides a foundation of understanding to help make sense of things and gives useful recommendations to experiment with. This combination helps a person see themselves, understand themselves, and take care of themselves from many different viewpoints. It’s extremely rewarding to see the impact and to know that I can make a difference in people’s lives in some way.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was how I thought I should live my life. I believed in working as hard as I could, filling my day with as many activities as I could, and going after everything I wanted. This sounds amazing, right?
What I learned through Human Design is that I’m meant for opportunities to come to me and my job is to follow my gut feeling if it’s something I should pursue or not. I’m not meant to have a calendar full of activities non-stop. I’m meant to pursue the things that light me up and that make me magnetic. It’s important for me to leave open space in my calendar so that what’s meant for me has a place to come into my life. I also learned that I don’t have to complete the endless to-do list I have in my head. Slowing down is actually more effective than working at hyper-speed every day.
Unlearning the conditioning I’ve followed and learning what’s best for me energetically has been a life-changer. Since I started experimenting with my Human Design I’ve had the most amazing opportunities come my way. For example, I just started singing in a band at age 46 for the first time in my life. It’s so much fun! I’ve become more magnetic and am able to spread more happiness to those around me as well.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’ve pivoted quite a bit in my life. The biggest pivot is the story I shared about leaving the corporate tech world to pursue my company.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.randomhappiness4life.com
- Instagram: @randomhappiness4life
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RandomHappiness4Life
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifergraziano/