We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Casey Jourdan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Casey, thanks for 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.

My husband and I sat in the Mangy Moose bar in Jackson Hole, WY. It was the first day of our honeymoon, and we were discussing what’s next. What does life look like now that we’ve checked off this step? I told him I wanted to quit my job and start my own business. I didn’t necessarily mean right that minute, but my long-term goal was entrepreneurship. He totally supported the idea, to the point that we spent the next hour or so talking logistics and finances and decided I’d put in notice after our honeymoon.

What was a “someday I’d like to…” dream immediately became my reality. Because I asked, because I dare say it out loud. I think that was the first time I’d even mentioned that idea to him. I knew he’d support me when the time was right. I was a bit shocked (and thrilled) when he said there was no reason to wait and now was the right time. What started as a chat about future ideas and dreams in an old saloon in Wyoming changed everything.

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

I’m a personal growth coach for late-realizing and late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults. I fell into this particular niche after a long and windy road to get here. The short version of the story starts with me being wounded in Iraq and sustaining A traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress. Years later, I got my master’s in rehabilitation and mental health counseling. In more recent years, I’ve realized that I have ADHD and am very likely autistic.

Working in various self-help and personal growth spaces, I realized many services and resources exist for neurotypical people and don’t work for folks with neurodivergent minds. That’s where I shifted my business to focus on supporting folks in learning about their own mind, their unique needs, and how to build a more neuro-affirming life.

A rapidly growing number of people are just realizing in their 30s forties and even older that they are neurodivergent. They are dealing with something like ADHD, autism, or a combination, all of which are often complicated by anxiety, depression, and or post-traumatic stress.

Often, coming to this realization is also a part of hitting a bout of massive burnout in which they realize they cannot keep living life as they were. These realizations can really rock a person to their core. There’s a combination of massive relief realizing that they weren’t just the weird kid or the lazy kid and that there was a reason for it. But with that relief also often comes grief about what their life might have been like if they had known sooner and had more support.

When folks come to work with me, there are usually two parts to the work we do. Typically, when we get started, they’re looking for very tactical logical strategies for improving how they manage their time and self-care and make day-to-day living less hard. But as we navigate the strategies often, we also encounter a lot of mindset work to be done.

As I mentioned, many of these folks grew up being told they are too loud, weird, shy, too much, or not enough. And all those messages become internalized, often with a hefty dose of shame.

As people get more accepting of their neurodivergent identity and learn what that means, we can start to untangle that shame and all of the weight of society’s expectations on them. I help them explore how they want to show up in the world versus how they have been showing up. And then creating the action strategies, communication, boundaries, and strategies to start doing just that.

Nothing brings me more joy than seeing my clients find joy and comfort in their skin again. Helping them to trust themselves and accept themselves wholly and deeply is an absolute honor and privilege to get to support and witness.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Do you want to talk about the time I was wounded in Iraq while deployed there, our infertility struggles, or when my husband was diagnosed with cancer… lol. I can’t help but laugh when I look back on my life sometimes and see some of the obstacles I’ve navigated. How can that all be my life?! (My husband is doing great, so I’ll tell you about the infertility cause that one was life-changing. We went through a lot of IVF, 4 miscarriages, and ended up childless.

Both of us leaned into that, though. We could be miserable for the rest of our lives or embrace what we’ve got, lean into the change, and create new opportunities. Choosing to lean into the evolution and create a new life plan spurred much of my work today. We get so fixated on one path or story that we’re terrified to even look at what else our life could be. But you might find something even more exciting when you take the blinders off and look. Do I wish things worked out differently and we’d had a baby? Sure. But damn, I love the life we’ve been creating since that decision, and I have no regrets.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Quit more stuff. I don’t know about you, but I was raised with a “don’t quit” attitude. Quitting was failing, and that was to be avoided at all costs. But over the years, I realized there’s a difference between quitting cause it’s hard and quitting cause it’s not the right fit.

I’ve started to embrace quitting more often. I still love trying new things (did I mention I have ADHD? Haha!). I used to be ashamed of how often my hobbies changed. But now I embrace it and enjoy it. Some things stick around for a while. Sometimes, I quit and never look back. Whether it’s a job, relationship, or hobby, we’ve got to look more closely at why we want to keep going and whether quitting wouldn’t be healthier/safer. We only have so much time and energy; quit the things that aren’t serving you.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.caseyjourdan.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caseyjourdan
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfs6ZzO6Hvkp1GR5VAewIqA
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@caseyjourdan