We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angie Spartz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angie below.

Angie, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

When I was in 7th grade we did a mythology unit in our English class. I remember hearing the story of the the Phoenix and instantly feeling a connection to it. I didn’t know exactly why at the time, but that story hit differently than the others, and I intuitively knew it would play an important role in my life. I realized why later. Fast forward a number of years, and I found myself with my own Phoenix story, doing healing work to rise from the ashes.

As I made the decision to start my business, I knew the focus of my company would be to help others who were seeking their own transformation stories – others who wanted more from life, who wanted to shed the “shoulds” and shame so they could fully love their life feeling confident, empowered, and free. Immediately the image of the Phoenix came to me, and I knew that would be the name of my company.

What’s been really fun is to see how others respond to my company’s name. I speak and vendor at a number of events, and it has been remarkable how many people have said they feel connected to the Phoenix and were drawn to me because of it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Although psychology, personal development, and working with others to help them live satisfying and healthy lives that they LOVE was a passion of mine since high school, it took going on my own transformation journey before I fully stepped into doing it.

I spent years trying to be everything I thought I “should” be. The message I received was that who I innately was wasn’t good enough. I needed to be quieter, calmer, talk less, thank others when they hurt me (because it must have been my fault), and put everyone else’s desires and needs ahead of mine. So I did that. I became
-A diligent, straight-A student
-A practical, down-to-earth thinker
-Someone who only took calculated risks
-A hard-working, nose-to-the-grindstone employee
-A team player (aka a people-pleaser and “Yes” person).
-A “perfect” wife

On the surface it looked like I was very successful. I graduated summa cum laude, worked in Big 5 Accounting then for large corporations and the Department of Defense, was married to a successful entrepreneur, had 3 great kids, we built 3 homes and were debt-free, I volunteered in the community, and more.

But if you scratched below the surface, what you found was that all those years of striving to be what I “should” vs letting out my real spark had gotten me lots of inward turmoil.

-The marriage that looked great on the surface was toxic – filled with arguments, abandonment, and emotional abuse
-I dreaded hearing the alarm clock in the morning and having to go to work
-I became the yeller I swore I would never be – feeling like the only way I would be heard at home was if I was yelling, and even then it might be a pointless attempt.
-I had chronic anxiety and overwhelm
-I was so physically drained I had to roll the car windows down in the middle of Minnesota winters to keep myself awake while driving
-In addition to the tiredness, I had digestive issues; chronic tension in my shoulders, neck, and low-back; and TMJ that had gotten so bad at one point I could barely chew white bread because of the pain.

All those “shoulds” and shame were crushing me, until one day when I came across a blog talking about another woman’s transformation. As I read her story I knew it was time for mine. I began a journey of uncovering who I REALLY was, burning away the “shoulds” and shame to let my real energy, my spark, out.

What I discovered during that process was that embracing who I was designed to be – talkative, loud, warm energy and all – brought peace and success in a totally different way. For the first time in my life I could look in the mirror and love what I saw. I was no longer judging myself and everyone around me all day long. Safe people who helped me feel seen, heard, understood, and appreciated came into my life. I was starting to LOVE my life.

Going through that process confirmed that it was time to follow my passion and desire for helping others. I dove into learning and getting certifications so I could help others have their own transformation stories – so they could rise like a Phoenix and LOVE their life too. I am certified as a Tiny Habits Coach, as well as in Emotion Code, Yoga 200 RYT, Intuition Gifts, Entourage, and Reiki II.

One thing I’ve learned is that no matter what a person’s journey is (long, short, intense, meandering), it is exactly what they need for their life story. Every step and experience along the way contributes to the beauty of the process and the lessons learned. I see that in my own journey. At first I was frustrated with myself for not trusting my intuition back in high school when it was leading me to follow my passion for the helping/healing fields. But now I see that the years I spent in accounting and trying to hide my real self played a huge part in making me the type of coach I am today. I needed those experiences to do my own learning and growing and also to understand my clients at a deeper level.

I have first-hand experience understanding the pressures and challenges that arise in a corporate setting. I also understand the impact releasing the shackles of “shoulds” and shame has in those settings and in all other areas of life. When clients work with me I am able to bring that experience along with a unique combination of practical and energetic tools to help them uncover their spark so they can fully LOVE their life.

You may have heard the hurt people hurt people. It is also true that healed people heal people. My mission is to create a future where people feel empowered, courageous and free to claim their gifts, show up authentically, and thereby help heal the world. When we release the shackles of “shoulds” and shame, we do just that.

Since everyone is in a different place in their journey, I prioritize meeting them where they are at. One way I do this is by offering lots of options for the process. If someone is just starting out or dipping their toe in the water, going to a short workshop might be the best option. If they love learning and growing with others a group program might be right for them. If they want to have a weekend to do a deep-dive while also getting a break from their regular schedule, a retreat could be just the answer. If they want to go all in and get personalized help and attention, working 1:1 is an excellent way to go. I offer all of these options so people can feel comfortable as they step into their transformation.

One thing that is the same no matter where people start their journey is that I care deeply about them and know that the best healing happens when they feel seen and heard. I bring empathy, knowledge, and passion to all of my work. There is almost nothing better than seeing someone’s face light up as they have an aha moment because it means they are about to release the shackles and rise from the ashes.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I started my business one of my mentors told me to be prepared to keep doing my own healing work because owning a business has a way of bringing to the forefront our own fears and limiting beliefs.

Boy, was she right. Throughout this entrepreneurship journey there have been days that I have questioned why I chose to do this. They were the days when the marketing felt overwhelming or I felt lonely working from home or I heard about someone else who decided to step away from their business to get a job working for someone else.

On those days I had what I call my “ugly prayers” – conversation with my spiritual support team where I yelled and swore with tears streaming down my face, asking if I was really supposed to be doing this. After those “ugly prayers” I would get out one of my tools so I could practice what I preach. I would sit with the feelings, letting myself fully feel them, discover what fears or beliefs were under the feelings, and then use tools to help shift them.

Each time I realized it was an opportunity to know myself better, to learn, and to grow at a deeper level. Each time within less than a day of my “ugly prayer” I had multiple clients reach out to either share an aha they had, let me know how much they appreciated me, or schedule a session. And each time I knew it happened so I could both understand and help my clients at a deeper level.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

There have been so many lessons I’ve had to unlearn. One of the deepest was an ancestral belief that it’s not good to mention what someone is doing well, or put another way, that the way to get better is to focus on what needs improvement vs what you are doing well. My grandma would say, “I don’t compliment people because that would just make them arrogant.” And this belief didn’t come just from my mom’s side of the family. My dad’s side of the family has a lot of perfectionism and focus on what can be improved vs what’s being done well too.

As I was going through my transformation process, I became aware of how much this belief had impacted my life. I spent most of my life living in anxiety-inducing perfectionism, constantly seeking ways to improve, noticing every flaw, never feeling like anything was good enough. In fact I hated when people would say “It’s good enough” because I felt that by definition that meant it could be better. While that may be true, I had not stopped to considered what the cost of making it better would be. The cost was strain on my relationships, anxiety, overwhelm, and adrenal fatigue.

Working on shifting and releasing that belief has brought so much joy, excitement, and success both in my personal life and my business. During a transformation process some beliefs shift very readily and others peel away layer by layer. The process for unlearning this belief has been a layer by layer process. I make a conscious effort each day to notice and celebrate both big and small things that I have done and that my kids have done. I also owe a ton of gratitude to my friends and mentors. They lovingly point out if they notice me shifting from a celebration-focus to a critical focus.

What’s interesting is that behavior science has shown that small celebrations like a high five or compliment right after a success (even a really small success) is incredibly beneficial for growth and positive behavior. It leads to the release of dopamine in our brain, which wires the brain to want to do that behavior more. So celebrating the things we and others are doing well is a great way to wire the brain for more and more positive feelings, behaviors, and success. Whereas pointing out what we “should” work on leads to de-motivation or shame-based motivation. It feels very empowering to be embracing shifting the pattern in my family and embracing celebration!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.angiespartz.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angie.spartz
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-spartz-30119037/

Image Credits
JoJo’s Photos & Studio (headshot photo)