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

Claire, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career

I would love to see educational systems incorporate tools specifically designed to support students through the process of self-discovery. Can you imagine what the world would be like If all adolescents were taught how to get to know themselves beyond the surface level? I believe a massive shift would happen on a collective level if the youth learned how to recognize the difference between what is actually true to them vs. what is an external judgment/expectation that they have started to identify with. I have personally found astrology & Human Design to be instrumental tools in the self-discovery process (for myself & with clients), but students and education systems can use whatever tools work best for them as long as this process of self-inquiry & exploration leads to a deeper understanding of self!

For adolescents specifically, I believe that the elevated self-awareness that comes from this process would be invaluable. Not only would this process of self-discovery support young people in understanding the motivations & triggers behind their thoughts/habits/behaviors, but I believe it would also help them to better understand and leverage their strengths as well. Deep self-understanding would likely open young people up to more compassion (for themselves and others) too, which they would ideally then carry into adulthood.

I find it interesting that one of the core purposes of education is to prime our youth for their future career paths, but I rarely hear about curriculum designed to identify and hone their unique talents and core values. I personally wish that self-understanding had been nurtured in me at a younger age as I found myself extremely dissatisfied with my “successful” & respectable 6-figure career before I even turned 30. I was so confused…it was exactly what I had worked hard to achieve, I was good at it, I was making the income I had dreamed of, I had lived up to everyone’s expectations of me…but I HATED the life I had created for myself even though nothing was “wrong” with it. I felt like I was successfully executing someone else’s dream life, but it wasn’t meant for me! This was so troubling because not long after recognizing how much I disliked where my life was heading and how I was spending my energy on a daily basis, I realized that I had NO idea what would feel better to me. I knew I didn’t want *this,* but I had no idea what I DID want.

What were my natural gifts and skill sets outside of the context of my industry? What did I actually value if not this (because it’s what I thought I wanted)? What was MY definition of “success” since realizing it wasn’t this? This felt like a full blown quarter-life crisis and it launched me down the path of deconditioning and self-discovery so I could figure out who I was beneath all of the labels that had been placed on me over the course of my life.

It was challenging as I had already put a lot of my resources (time/energy/money) into the life I’d built for myself and I didn’t necessarily want to burn it all down to start from scratch, but I also knew I couldn’t continue living this way forever. As I continued peeling back the layers of myself, I remember thinking how valuable it would’ve been to have intimately known these core parts of myself earlier so I could’ve taken them into consideration as I built my life. Without that self-connection, I simply went through the motions doing exactly what was expected of me each step of the way; living on autopilot for a couple of decades.

As a result of diving down the rabbit hole of self-discovery as I closed out my twenties, I left my corporate career to build my own business that allowed me to leverage my unique skill sets and better honor my needs. I’ve now been working as a coach and consultant for nearly 2 years and I cannot adequately articulate how much every layer of my life has been positively impacted. After prioritizing self-discovery and actually addressing what was out of alignment in my life, I feel like I am able to live as my most authentic self, no matter the setting, for the first time in my life! My relationships are stronger, deeper, and more honest. My work is genuinely fulfilling and I’m excited to wake up each morning.

I could go on, but I share my story simply to say that I know first-hand how life changing it can be to truly know yourself. I believe that this seemingly simple addition to the educational system could have a drastic impact on society as a whole if executed properly. So many adults across all demographics feel like they are stuck in unfulfilling relationships and careers and I would love it if the future generations simply understood themselves better to help minimize this all-too-common reality.

Approaching self-discovery with patience, compassion, and a willingness to see yourself in a new way requires intention and I think that if we introduced this method to adolescents, it could be a game changer. Even if they saw it as an assignment or it didn’t resonate with them in the moment, the likelihood of them learning from the experience and potentially wanting to go deeper with it later in life would be higher than if it had never been introduced to them in the first place!

Claire, 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 find it challenging to summarize myself with labels and titles, but at the moment I’d say I’m a perspective shifter, curiosity sparker, and astrology + Human Design enthusiast! In my work, I guide people who feel frustrated, unfulfilled, and disconnected from themselves to understand their uniqueness on an energetic level. Through learning how to trust their inner wisdom & leverage their natural gifts, I help my clients to expand their self-perspective & self-compassion so they have the capacity to activate their potential. This process of energetic self-mastery helps clients to create their own personalized path to freedom and flow in all areas of their lives.

I currently work with clients in a 1:1 capacity to offer customized support as they can first learn about themselves on an energetic level, and then integrate what they have learned into their daily lives to create more alignment & fulfillment. As I write this, I am also in the process of launching a small group program in collaboration with Meraki Media Management called Empowered Entrepreneurship: Marketing through a Human Design Lens beginning in mid-May. This will be an intimate coaching container designed to help intuitive entrepreneurs curate their offerings, work schedule, and marketing to better align with their unique energy vs. modeling their business off of what worked for another person.

Many astrologers & Human Design specialists like to focus on the transits & what’s energetically occurring right now. I absolutely see the value in this, but I personally like to support people in developing a deep understanding in themselves first & foremost. To me, the transits are secondary, but understanding your own chart is foundational when it comes to realigning your energy to create a more fulfilling life for yourself. The transits can add so much context and validation to what you’re currently experiencing, but first, I think it’s more valuable to learn about yourself intimately so you can monitor how/when/with whom your energy is being activated in certain ways.

Because of my focus on self-discovery, I tend to work with people who are going through major life transitions such as career changes, moving, relationship changes, spiritual awakenings, etc. to help them find clarity during this time of uncertainty. I also tend to work well with people who are dissatisfied with their lives in some capacity and they are no longer willing to continue putting up with their current situation, but they don’t know what to change or where to start. I can personally relate to both of these experiences and used these tools to support and guide me through similar times in my own life. I will never tell my clients what they “should” or “should not” be doing with their lives, but I will help them to see themselves as a whole and strengthen their connection with their own inner knowing so they can navigate life with more confidence and less stress.

Some of the most common takeaways I hear from clients are:
*This was more insightful than therapy
*I feel seen in a way that I never have before. I feel like I have permission to be who I am without shame.
*I feel like things in my life are finally falling into place after making adjustments based on this information

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

When I started offering birth chart readings, I was still fully immersed in my corporate career. I was simply interested in astrology since it had taught me so much about myself and wanted to learn more about the people around me, so I read charts for anyone willing to share their information with me. After several months, this picked up to the point where I decided to start charging a small fee to read charts as it was taking up a lot of my time and energy and I still had a full-time career to maintain.

Fast forward about a year and I decided to invest myself by hiring a business coach to support me in turning this side hustle into a sustainable business. My plan was to have a strong foundation built in my side business before taking the leap from my stable corporate career, but I quickly learned that my full-time job was taking up far too much of my time and energy for me to effectively build out the work that I actually enjoyed doing.

I actually had a momentary breakdown that resulted in me crying daily begging for clarity around what my next steps should be – once my side hustle became official, I couldn’t stand my corporate role anymore but I was terrified to leave the stability and embark on a new and uncertain journey. I felt like the only two options were:
1) to push through this challenging period and potentially burn myself out to build my business and working full-time in a high stress, demanding job
2) quit my job and go all in on my business, which would mean I’d be building it from a place of *needing* it work from a financial perspective

Neither of these felt right, and it left me feeling frustrated, confused, and trapped by my own circumstances. After weeks of wallowing, I finally decided enough was enough. I recognized that I was the only thing holding me back and that I could make this transition however I wanted to! I knew that my corporate role had to be eliminated as it was keeping me from moving forward and no longer aligned with any of my core values, but I could still find a part-time role doing something else that better suited me. The week before I quit, I picked up some contractor work that could not have been a better fit – it allowed me to show up as my genuine self, it taught me how to be an entrepreneur by working for one, and it didn’t take away from the time and energy that I wanted to dedicate to my own business.

It’s been nearly 2 years since then and I am still doing the contract work while running my business and I could not be more grateful for the career I have built for myself. I have been able to build my business with integrity and let it evolve with me because I don’t have the pressure of needing it to replace my six-figure income overnight. I think everyone’s path is unique and for me, this was the perfect amount of stability and growth for me to actually turn my side hustle into a successful career!

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

Coming from a childhood and then early adulthood/career path that prioritized traditional success and “hard work”, I have had to unlearn that there is a single path and destination when it comes to success.

My family motto growing up, courtesy of my Ivy League grandfather, was “Good enough is not enough. It is ever the enemy of the best.” At a young age, I learned that excelling in education and hitting milestones that other people expected you to achieve was the most direct path to gaining respect and getting more opportunities for success.

Growing up surrounded by this mindset did help me to instill high standards for myself, but it also taught me to focus on outcomes – if I failed to be the best, it must be because I wasn’t working hard enough.

Once I reached the corporate world, I learned very quickly that the goal post was always moving and what was remarkable yesterday, was already not enough for today now that a new precedent had been set. Everything was outcome focused, which eventually led to my burning out and feeling like a failure despite being one of the top consultants at my former employer. From what I’ve seen, this outcome-focused, constant need for “more” is quite common in the corporate world across many industries, and it’s not sustainable long term!
As I pivoted and started my own career outside of the corporate space, one of my biggest lessons has been unlearning that NONSTOP hard work = success. After only a few months as an entrepreneur, I found that I was repeating the same over-hustling patterns that had been ingrained in me, and I realized that I’d continue finding myself in this position (no matter what work I was doing) unless I made a change.

A large part of this deconditioning involved redefining what “success” means to ME. This required me to identify what my personal core values were so I could reshape what success would feel like for me based on this. This sounds so simple, but it resulted in a paradigm shift for me because I was able to see that the traditional markers for success barely covered what the word meant for me, personally. I remember having an ah-ha moment realizing why I had been so frustrated with the “successful” life I had built for myself – it was based on the external definition of success, not my own definition of the word.

The process of unwinding this belief and the actions that result from it has been an ongoing evolution for me. I’ve made it a yearly practice to check in with myself to make sure that last year’s core values are still in alignment with who I am currently so I can allow my work and my success to evolve with me. I can genuinely say that the success I am currently experiencing feels more sustainable than ever before. My new formula for success involves honoring the ebb and flow of my energy and motivation levels while making sure that I feel in harmony with what matters most to me on a daily basis. I encourage everyone to define their own version of success so they can create a life that aligns with this, instead of what they feel they “should” be doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.clairecampagna.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claire.campagna/

Image Credits
Julia Fay Photography