We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amy Sullivan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amy below.
Amy, appreciate you joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” Before my coaching/yoga career, I was a marketer for 15 years, including time at some early-stage startups. At one such startup, we had done our market research, knew our target audience, and defined our brand. Still, I found myself agonizing and scrutinizing over every minute detail of our marketing content, from copy to images to ideal time to post. My desire for perfectionism, pleasing my boss, and an underlying fear of failure paralyzed me into inaction. I experienced similar frustrations among fellow leadership, as we debated whether or not to launch the app before it was “complete”. The saving grace came from working with a seasoned consultant/leadership coach who reminded us that we were making “educated guesses” of what would bode well with our audience, but we needed to put it out there to be sure. See what works and make adjustments. If we waited until everything was done and perfect, we’d be out of time and out of funding. He was right. We learned a ton from getting our app out into the hands of the people.
This lesson has kept me pushing forward repeatedly as I’ve changed careers and started my businesses. “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good” gave me the courage to teach my first yoga class. ( I was terrified). It gives me the gentle nudge I need to push past fear and hesitation to put myself out there, to try out new client offerings, different content, asking for referrals, etc. This quote and lesson remind me that it’s ok to try and it’s ok to fail. It is through action that we experience the most learning, growth, and success.
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 am a 500hr-RYT yoga instructor, holistic health coach, and certified diet and nutrition specialist currently residing in Los Angeles & San Diego. I grew up in San Diego, taking my first steps on the beach and spending much of my childhood near or in the water. I’ve always felt most at home and alive when I’m out in nature. I also started yoga with my grandma when I was just 4. She took me to her Iyengar classes for seniors and my yogi life began. Young me never imagined I’d do this for a living, but in hindsight, all of my experiences, joyous and challenging, were readying me for this stage & bringing me down this path.
I believe some of the richest moments in our lives are derived from immersing ourselves in the experience, allowing learning and connection with ourselves and others. In addition to my work, that looks like building community & relationships, making art & playing music, personal inner work, lots of yoga, and exploring and learning new things. I love to travel and when I go somewhere new I like to do 3 things: 1. Take a cooking class (or at least eat where the locals go) 2. Take a yoga class (or some connection to spirit and movement) 3. Put on my monofin and mermaid (so far in Croatia, Mexico, Cambodia & Vietnam).
My path to becoming a wellness practitioner was long & windy. From an early age, fitness and nutrition were top of mind. Not always for healthy reasons. I was 6 feet tall by 8th grade, larger than most of my peers. I often felt too big, too fat, too much everything, and not enough something. I developed an eating disorder in high school and a large part of my inner life’s work into my late 30s was learning to find my voice, heal my relationship with food, and love myself.
As a young adult, I settled on marketing as a career. It offered security, prestige, and a solid income. I aligned myself with companies whose products I felt “good” about. Most were wellness-oriented, including startups, established corporations, and a yoga studio chain. In each case, I was close to the source of things I aligned with, but often felt removed from any direct service to the community.
My corporate career gave me two huge gifts. Firstly, it taught me how to build and grow a brand from the ground up. Secondly, it taught me about stress and the struggle for work-life balance. I developed skills and habits to integrate more wellness and self-care into my busy workday.
The momentum to change careers began with the death of my mother. I joined a startup in its infancy stages at the beginning of January 2019. My mom passed away from a tough battle with cancer at the end of that same month. My world was rocked and forever changed.
I continued in a blur for the next 6 months. Working, not grieving, handling my mother’s affairs. Barely existing. At the end of April, I went on a yoga retreat in the desert where I found a lot of tears and even more clarity. In June I quit my job and signed up for yoga teacher training. I had no intention of teaching yoga when I signed up. It was just something I had kept on my bucket list for years. I spent the remainder of 2019 grieving, creating recipes for my food blog, and ruminating on my next steps, driven by the realization that life is precious and short.
2020 hit and with the lockdown, I completed coaching and nutrition training. I wove my passions and talents into several offerings all designed to help people tap into their inner sparkle. I teach yoga online and in studio. I offer digital cook-a-longs to help make healthy eating approachable and fun. I host workshops and talks on topics including meditation, stress reduction, and journaling in private formats as well as for businesses seeking to enhance wellness for their staff.
I also work with clients privately for cooking, yoga, and a 12-week coaching program, centered around the 5 M’s of wellness: Mindset, Movement, Me Time, Meals, and Motivation. The program is designed for busy people who know they need to manage their health but aren’t quite sure how to put it all together. They might be a 9 to 5er or making a big life change like retirement. They are stressed, exhausted, and a little unsure of their worth. Our time together starts with meeting folks where they’re at. I help them enhance what is working and learn new skills to build healthier habits to suit their goals.
My philosophy with all these offerings is take what you need in this moment and leave the rest. I am here to guide and inspire you on your journey toward optimal health and create a safe space to practice getting reacquainted with and empowered by that inner sparkle that makes you uniquely and splendidly you!
When I think about my career thus far, I am most proud of taking the leap, shifting from the corporate space to the wellness place. That leap was a lot of tiny leaps along with some failures, setbacks, and a lot of trust and faith. It meant redefining what success looks like, less about title and more about making a positive impact. It meant starting as a beginner again. It also meant putting myself out there. Training and certifications can only get you so far. The day I raised my hand, terrified, and said I was ready to teach was when everything changed and started falling into place. I found my voice, my confidence, and my samskara (purpose).
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Listening, seeing, and holding space for students and clients. Finding optimal health is a personal experience. It is more than simply following a diet and exercise plan. Often there are emotions, sometimes traumas involved with someone’s decision to seek help or show up on their yoga mat. Some people can’t yet identify what is wrong, they simply know they need help. As a practitioner, it’s important to identify what your students/clients need, often when they can’t see it themselves. That might mean, customizing a yoga pose, or recipe to make it more approachable for them. It might mean letting them talk and feel heard and seen. Creating this space is empowering to clients to help them progress further and create a connection.
The business bonus of listening and truly connecting is creating happy, repeat customers who will evangelize on your behalf. I find this method works quite well for business partnership opportunities as well.
Have you ever had to pivot?
A few months into the pandemic, most of Los Angeles was still sheltering in place. I was trying to launch my coaching and yoga teaching. I saw so many teachers and studios offering classes online on social media as well as Zoom. I didn’t have a community yet, so began reaching out to local yoga studios. I offered to teach online, for free, in the hopes that I could also teach in the studio when things opened back up. I heard a lot of “no’s” during this time. It was discouraging.
Finally, I got an opportunity for a meeting. They had plenty of yoga teachers, but they noticed I had a nutrition background. As we talked we and came up with a different community event, a cook-a-long. I immediately said, yes, and then ended the meeting in a bit of a panic. I didn’t feel ready to teach a group of strangers how to cook. Would they like the recipes? Would they like me?
I took some deep breaths, acknowledged my fears, and then got to work. I started applying my current assets to a new cook angle. I took our agreed-upon theme (healthy comfort foods) and started to build a menu that could be cooked in under 90 minutes. I grabbed nutrition resources I used with coaching clients to create some talking points during the class. Then it was all about recipe testing, practicing, talking to my co-host about the class attendees, and a little YOLO attitude.
It all worked out. The first class was a success. We did 2 more together as a partnership and I’ve carried cook-a-longs into my regular array of offerings. People love them, and so do I.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.myaspirezen.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aspirezen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aspirezen
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-sullivan-a9a37b4/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aspirehealth