We recently connected with Kristina Eisenhower and have shared our conversation below.

Kristina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

I’m a multipassionate, so I have a strong aversion to the concept of one. I’ve never been able to land on one singular focus that I want to throw all my energy into. I need variety, and crave diversity, so I experiment with lots of different things.

When I first decided to leave academic advising, and go into coaching, that seemed like an easy step. It fit in terms of professional experience and background. I mean, the students were a very diverse population with a variety of different problems to help solve.

But the more I studied coaching and learned about entrepreneurship, the more discouraged and deflated I got. Everyone just wanted to put me in a box or make me a cookie cutter of their design. They wanted me to “niche down” to one specific person who has one specific issue for me to address with my one specific service or product. Not only was that impossible for me to do, I refused to do it!

Because I’m a bit of a rebel–someone who’s always up for a challenge. I take on these kinds of notions with a passion. If it’s something I believe in or something I want, I simply take it on as my next learning opportunity–an experiment in which I cannot fail. I can only get more data to feed into my desire to keep creating my life, by MY design.

So, I held fast to my idea of having a business that could and would serve anyone stuck, lost, bored, unsure, and in a funk. And that’s everyone at some point in their life. That’s how I know what I offer clients is worthwhile–that low-vibe feeling is a basic human condition that we find ourselves in (repeatedly). The operative word in that sentence is “human” and I say that because every single person on this planet ALSO shares the innate quality of being creative.

I get a lot of naysayers at that comment, but it’s quite logical when you think about it like this. You are both the creation and the creator of life. You received that gift at birth; it’s your birthright. And I see it as your responsibility also–to use it to help you solve problems, achieve goals, turn dreams into reality, and live your most vibrant, colorful, high-spirited life. That’s how to succeed at “Kaleido Living!” (the name of my business)

Kristina, 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?

Kristina Eisenhower is a Creative Empowerment Coach, an author and a…SCREECH! I’m right here, writing this myself. I’m not a 3rd person, I’m #1 as they say! So, let’s start this again. From the top!

Hi there! I’m Kristina, founder of Kaleidoliving.com, a Positive Disruptor, and the creatrix of Conscious Energy Oracle Cards and the Creative Energy Playbook program. My mission is to prove to you that as a human being, you are a creative being. Whether or not you consider yourself an artist makes no difference (I don’t, by the way.) But what does make a difference is that you use this innate gift to create a more meaningful, joyful and colorful life for yourself.

I’m a high-energy, high-spirited, multipassionate who’s a big believer in the transformative power of creativity, especially where it intersects with personal growth. My coaching practice, online courses, extra-curricular activities, and my latest book, *The Art of Positive Disruption: A Krizillion Ways to Create a Kaleidoscopic Life* are just a few examples of how I embody and radiate the essence of Kaleido Living.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Ooh, I love this question because I believe pivots are required to truly live and create the life of your dreams. And they go far beyond just business or career moves. There’s no doubt that a pivot can create a big impact in one’s life, but the actual pivot doesn’t have to be huge. One of the pillars of my business is “Action is Alchemy”, so I continually remind folks that even the slightest shift in perspective, location, or action can quality as a pivot.

It’s all about taking charge of your own change. So for me, as a multipassionate, pivoting comes easily and naturally. You know, it just one of the symptoms of “Shiny Object Syndrome,” which actually serves as a source of inspiration for me. Probably the most powerful pivots I’ve made in my life weren’t specifically about business, but rather were decisions to change the way I showed up in the world. They were definitely born in my heart and soul, and manifested as energetic shifts, which permeated many areas of my life.

Just “showing up” was a pivot for me. Since becoming a Creative Empowerment Coach, which happened at the same time as the pandemic, all of my work is done from home and most of the energy I pour into it is done behind the scenes. And while I appreciated the time and quiet surroundings, I was feeling completely isolated, invisible, and uninspired. Everything seemed dark and confined, my mind was cloudy and confused. THIS was NOT the vision of living a creative life that I had imagined. So, I gathered up some the “shiny objects” I used to be so enamored with–things like the oracle card deck I created, a new journal and colored pens, and a pair of Salomon’s walking shoes, and pivoted into a new daily ritual. I’d pull an oracle card and read it’s meaning, then use it as a journaling prompt. Writing as much or as little as came to me about it. Then with my walking shoes on, I’d set out to move my body, clear my mind, and lift my spirits in the sunlight, and fresh air of the day.

Like I said, they can be simple shifts, but pivoting in these ever-so slight ways can (and did) yield big gains. By using that time to pivot into showing up, asking for guidance, and interacting in the bigger world, my desire to be seen, heard, and valued led to a healthier, more confident, more energetic me. It truly showed and shone in my relationship, my personal appearance, and in my creative work.

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

To be sure, hurdles, roadblocks, hairpin curves, and even reversals are all part of the entrepreneurial path. But I think what makes the difference is the mindset of the entrepreneur and how they bounce back from setbacks or unexpected events.

For me, resilience means looking at what others see as challenges, and finding the opportunity in them to learn a lesson or advance a goal, maybe even have a laugh. It feels like a message calling me to face the reality head on, be stretched, and improvise, knowing that the stress is not permanent. It’s about attitude and self-efficacy, and about adaptability and taking action to find deeper meaning in life. It’s like that quote that says, “Blessed are the flexible for they don’t get bent out of shape.” wink

So, that’s what I try to do whenever I’m faced with a setback, hardship or crisis. Instead of powering through, and pushing aside my feelings, I go inward and listen for the lesson, write out my feelings in my journal, literally practice flexibility (through yoga), to get back into a creative flow.

These are the simple tools I used when my mother died rather quickly and unexpectedly while I was in the midst of writing my book, “The Art of Positive Disruption: A Krizillion Ways to Create a Kaleidoscopic Life.” I had various deadlines on the calendar, meetings with editors of all kinds, and the publisher pushing the marketing on me all at the same time. And each morning when I woke up and realized that my mother wasn’t in this world with me anymore, I had a choice. I could freak out, have a melt down, pitch a fit about the untimeliness of this event–all things that would surely resurface with each thought of her throughout the day or weeks to come. OR I could take an hour, first thing, and focus on myself, my whole self–my body, my mind, and my spirit.

So, that’s what I did. I would start by doing some silly stretches, not serious yoga poses–stuff that made me feel lighter and more like the everyday, quirky me–tightly curling and then spreading my toes and yelling, “Yabba dabba doo!” like Fred Flintstone did on the cartoon when I was a kid, and making funny faces by rolling my eyes, wrinkling my nose, sucking in my cheeks, swishing my lips from side to side, and letting out some audible exhales that made the sound of, “Ha. Ha. Ha.” Sometimes, I might continue with actual yoga poses–maybe some twists to detoxify or some warrior stances for strength, but always ending in Savasana.

That’s where I get still and listen. Your intuition doesn’t scream or shout, so you need to get quiet and secluded from external noises in order to hear the whispers and subtle stirrings. Those are the messages you want to record, whether you understand them immediately or not.

So, I wrote them down in my journal, and followed that up with questions, which were usually like, “WTF does that mean?” LOL. And if I heard something that sounded like a lesson, I wrote out my feelings about it. Even now, that usually looks like me “shoulding all over the place” but at least it’s out of me and on the page. I have often gone back and reframed it as “What could I do differently now?” And let me tell you, shifting from “what I should have done” to “what could I do now” is such a great catharsis. It’s like a creativity conduit for me!

In fact, taking this time every day to experience my own aliveness is what allowed me to finish the book on schedule, and include a chapter called, “Good Grief” (about creating your own ideal life epilogue). That’s one of the lessons I learned: that if you don’t have a death plan, your funeral could wind up looking like Black Friday at Walmart. LOL. Oh, and of course, I dedicated the book to my mom.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kaleidoliving.com
• Instagram: @kaleidokristina
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaleidokristina/

Image Credits
Kristina Eisenhower Kristian Golick