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

Julia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

My life has been a series of risks. I wouldn’t have discovered the person I am today and the person I am returning to if it hadn’t been for my risk-taking lifestyle. Taking a risk requires a profound faith in the unknown. We don’t yet know ourselves prior to the risk we embark on, but we trust that the risk grants opportunity. I might admit that my earliest risk occurred in childhood when I asked myself, “Who is Julia?” in the mirror one day. The decision to self-actualize early in life was most likely my greatest risk. But that’s not a very entertaining story, is it? The risk that may have brought me to this precise moment dates back to 2018. I was an actor in LA seeking any opportunity to perform and expand my visibility. Amid the world’s most well-known film town, I worked in theater. This time, Shakespeare, to be exact. I am not a Shakespearean actor, but the risk of auditioning and sticking around once cast was perhaps the smallest risk I took in this story. After weeks of rehearsing, making deep connections with my cast, and questioning the legitimacy of the production company we were grinding away for, I realized the behind-the-scenes flaws. So much so that when my expected devout dedication to both the show and the process dwindled due to misplaced arbitrary expectations and treatment, my director and I went head to head. My previously mentioned decision to risk my life for the question “Who is Julia?” has been the compass in my ability to suss out when a situation isn’t in alignment for my highest good (or the highest good of others, for that matter). I won’t go into details for the sake of everyone’s well-being, but when I emotionally voiced my disdain to my director regarding the ethics and environment of this production, one of those cinematic moments happened in real life. I quit as I was fired. I looked at the cast as they gazed in awe, confirming that I had spoken to the collective feeling. As I left the theater, I got in my car and cried for a second. Not because I was fired. But I had spent so long hustling and convincing myself that my worth and talent equated to my ability to obtain a job offered by another person in power. In the heat of the moment, I took one last look at the building, received hugs from my stunned cast mates and coworkers, and said, “Break legs on the show, guys, but mark my words; this place won’t last.” I called my mom as I drove the dreaded LA one-hour commute back. I spilled my heart over what happened and how I would change. I had always ruminated on the possibility of doing something with my ability to read people, effectively communicate emotions, and provide support and guidance to those who seek me out. I had imagined life as a therapist, a life coach, a service provider, or a healer of some sort. But I stored that vision away in favor of my other talents. I’m going to be honest; choosing to be an actor wasn’t quite the most societally accepted or lucrative decision and often elicited a similar response to what life coaching evokes. However! On this car ride, after leaving the complexity of Shakespeare behind me, I told my mom what I knew to be true at that moment. I would change my life and embrace who I had been storing on the back burner. I was going back to school. I was going to get a Master’s degree in psychology, and I was going to pursue a life of helping others. I would still perform and act. But I was hungry for something deeper. I was in search of a richer fulfillment. I wanted to be known for being Julia, not the one-note characters I made a living on. That day, on that car ride, I took a risk that ultimately changed and shaped the life I am living now. Cut to the present. I got my Masters degree in psychology. I got a job at a counseling clinic, only to accept that traditional therapy wasn’t my calling. I had ignored and evaded the vision of who I am long enough, hoping I might somehow slip into the societal mold my abilities offered others. But the risks continued. I left the counseling world and got certified as a life coach. I traveled the world and participated in immersive healing retreats. I collaborated and consulted with professional healers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who showed me what was possible. I could cast myself in any role I desired. Today, I own and run a coaching company highlighting the importance of granting yourself permission. I offer myself as the permission slip to let down the masks we craft or are crafted for us in favor of slipping into our authenticity. I may not be performing great works of art anymore, but I am standing in front of crowds and sharing my stories. I now receive applause and praise for being myself and sharing my truth. In doing so, I have successfully created a conscious community with my coaching, interactive events, and expression portals. This success doesn’t mean I don’t stumble through decisions or falter in my efforts, but when I return to the question, “Who is Julia?” I utilize my ability to take a risk to align myself with what feels good. We can never know what lies on the other end of a risk. I have found it is the humility, hope, and willingness to try, make mistakes, fail, and not know the outcome that measures the quality of a risk. I could’ve never known Shakespeare would be why I became a self-help advocate and professional. But I often think about this quote from the play I walked away from: “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” I’ll leave it to you to dissect its meaning, though I find solace in its synchronicity to my story and relationship to risks. If something feels off, it is. Taking the risk of turning the compass dial in a new direction and following that is scary. But fear isn’t just a survival tactic; it’s the largest indicator of opportunity. Who is Julia? She’s a risk taker and a happy one at that. Oh, and that theater company I mentioned? They shut down one year later.

Julia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an experience collector, spirit junkie, food-loving, dancing queen, goddess of expression, and a coach of the human condition. I am Julia Henning. As a Mastery Method certified life coach with a Master’s degree in Psychology, education in many holistic wellness practices, a performing and voice-over career, and years of event planning under my belt, my business is a charcuterie board of immersive self-development. You know that friend you call when you need a little tough love or reminder to keep going? That would be me. I’ve dedicated myself to studying self-development, mastering manifestation, loving myself deeply, and designing a life I love waking up to every day. I created my coaching business and The Permission Portal container to hold space for individuals seeking a profound permission slip to be themselves in a world where conditioning and external influences ask us to wear a mask in order to survive.

I aim to eliminate the illusion of who you should be and embrace who you want to be. To support, help activate, and transform the life you want. I am a big personality with an even bigger heart. That is my special sauce and I offer it to those who seek me out. I focus on raising consciousness so behavior and process can align with desire and intention. When we examine where our consciousness relates to what we are doing, we can turn the dial of our behaviors toward what we actually want out of life. I assist others in helping them understand why they think and feel the way they do so that they can create new pathways of purpose for themselves. As a conscious life and relationship coach, I offer one-on-one coaching containers to clients seeking life expansion, support, and relief. My coaching utilizes somatic, emotional, mental, behavioral, and unconscious practices. These tools highlight what goals align with your value system and the vision for your life, where we can raise consciousness, and how to release blocks so you and your life are on the same page. I offer conscious relationship coaching that grants permission and support in becoming aware and accepting of interpersonal relationships and dynamics. We examine obstacles, celebrate strengths, and support aligned actions toward personal fulfillment and compassionate communication. In addition to one-on-one coaching, I will soon offer and lead an interactive mastermind program in a group coaching container that explores transformation in a community setting with various expert guest speakers. This ability to connect with other people while simultaneously working towards a goal is a powerful world-building experience and often elicits profound lifelong relationships.

I love hosting retreats for this reason all over the world. Integrating my coaching with immersive and educational workshops, expert guest speakers, culturally appropriate ceremonies, travel, community, and pleasure-filled experiences is a hands-on and fast way to understand who you are and what you want out of life. Retreats grant you the space and time to reflect and reassess your conditioned ways of being. It is an invitation for you and your life to get on the same page quite literally and in real time, with like-minded and open-hearted individuals. Your body will thank you for the restorative attention. Your mind will wander with notions of what is possible. Your spirit will soar with gratitude for the permission you grant yourself. And your heart will heal with the connections you make. A retreat from the world is a return to yourself. When I host a retreat, I find it to be an opportunity to make the mundane magical. This is also why I co-host The Backyard Banquets in Los Angeles with my creative partner and producer, Claire Chapelli. We are a community-focused event that aims to elevate mindfulness and wellness in an approachable and digestible way. We believe that communal conversations and open sharing can be powerful tools for personal growth and building a supportive community. The Backyard Banquet is a Permission Portal event that provides a safe and welcoming space for open-minded conversations about what it means to be human. Our Sharemonies encourage personal reflection and bonding from a place of reception and curiosity. Each month, we offer workshops and services led by me and community members, designed to provide you with tools to integrate mindfulness into your daily practice and inspire you to live more authentically and expansively. It is a nourishing night of mind, body, and spirit. We believe that collective healing is best served in the moment IRL. Whether you want to dip a toe or deep dive, we encourage expression and expansion in a safe and supportive space.

One of my favorite aspects of the work I do is when I get to express the human condition in creative ways. This year, I produced The Permission Portal podcast. I invite listeners to join me in exploring the big questions and even bigger feelings about what it means to be alive. Casual right!? What is the human in being? I offer my experiences, stories, connections, wisdom, and questions to listeners who might need that permission slip to be a human, whatever that means. I deep dive with special guests, thought leaders, experts, and pleasure seekers in collaborative conversations about the human condition. From philosophy to psychology, inner child to inner demons, sorcery to sexuality, I tap into it all.

When I am asked about my business and what I do, I am often met with a polite head nod and at times, an insistent nudge to explain “what I actually do”. Though life coaching has been in the mainstream for decades, many do not always understand the difference between coaching and therapy. With a Master’s in psychology, I consider myself to be a friend of therapy. I am not a therapist. I encourage therapy as a gateway to the emotional conversations we take action on in coaching. Depending on where you are in your healing journey, therapy can be an effective window into the life you’ve lived. I frame coaching as a manual to the life you get to create and therapy as maintenance. My favorite thing about coaching is that I am in the trenches of change with an individual when they decide to take tangible steps towards aligned action. As a coach, I get involved with my clients’ transformation from their decision to show up to something unknown to the moment they get to celebrate their deeper desires. Coaching is a personal and interactive healing method where growth is measurable and the connection is key in creating change.

You will go from feeling as though:
You have to keep postponing your dreams
You have to protect your inner child
You have to keep up with society’s expectations
You have to worry about what other people think
You have to hustle to keep up
You have to deny who you are and what you want

To feeling like you can finally:
Live the life on your vision board
Identify and heal your inner blocks
Revel in what matters to you
Celebrate your special sauce
Do things on your own time
Remove the role cast upon you and be the star of your story

I am and always will be my own first client. Everything I experience becomes relevant to what and how I coach others. I love that this vocation requires me to take risks, be courageous in my pursuit to be myself and share myself and that I get to support individuals who believe life is worth living and making the most of. I make the most out of my life and my passion for being alive is what I believe supports my ability to serve a higher good.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

In almost every job position I’ve held, I have found the success of any team or project is the energy of its leader. My father taught me at a very young age that being a leader and being a boss are two very different things. While a boss may effectively manage a team, a leader successfully inspires a collective. With many career pivots and business hiccups along the way, I understood that to be a strong leader, you must understand what you are asking of your team. In working with my team, I am sure to clearly communicate my business vision, my deeper desires behind business goals, and what I believe is possible in the business as a whole. The ability to have and share a vision is essential, as is the ability to delegate. Managing a team requires you to be humble about what you cannot do on your own and inspire another person who may be more qualified for the position. As a leader, motivating your team with purposeful delegation is important. A team member will work more diligently and more positively when they believe what they are offering to the vision is useful and specifically pertains to their skillset. My father taught me to be kind, humble, and generous. I take care of my team so they can take care of me. That is my honest advice. These character traits are what foster innovation, create a cohesive environment, and support genuine connections. Trust, respect, and connection are crucial for any new business owner. Trust your gut about who you enlist to work with you on your vision; if something feels off, it is; don’t waste your time finding out. Connect with your team about what is working and what isn’t, and be ready to actively listen and accept what is said and felt. Respect your team by acknowledging their efforts and celebrating their wins, while reminding them any failure is a lesson to progress. These are the people you will be sharing yourself with and asking to support your goals, be selective and be sincere in your world-building.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me has been through events and word of mouth. As my work is very interactive and specific to the individual’s needs, I have found that a client or collaborator’s testimonial elicits the most results in the clients I commonly onboard. Through events, individuals can immerse themselves in the experience of coaching and feel the effects of my coaching curriculum. I utilize social media and podcasting to onboard new clients and community, but I find when someone can express themselves freely to another about their coaching journey, the recipient can see, hear, feel, and momentarily absorb the coaching experience through a version of energetic osmosis, thus inspiring them to take action for themselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.iamjuliahenning.com
• Instagram: @iamjuliahenning @thepermissionportal
• The Permission Portal Podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-permission-portal/id1666412776
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/65JVWI9BDXsMW614h8JjTG?si=d3ad1f14cc4541bd

Image Credits
Zander Fieschko (photo 1/8) Daniel Mannes (photo 2/3/7) Amanda Pieper (photo 4/5) Max Baker (photo 6)