Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Shea LeJeune of Lafayette

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Shea LeJeune . Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Shea, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
My morning routine is simple but sacred. Tuesday through Friday I wake up around 6:30 a.m. I wake my three younger children, and once they start breakfast, I wake my two older children. We gather around the dining room table as a family, my husband and I, with coffee in hand and read the Bible together, and have a brief prayer time. Then we grab water bottles and backpacks, and I take the elementary kids to school. I return and spend about an hour with my older kids before taking them to middle school. After drop-off I eat breakfast and take my daily walk.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I became fascinated with mental health as a teenager — curious about what it meant to understand one’s self, and how to cultivate growth and healing in my life. Some of my family members struggled with serious mental illness and addiction, which made me realize how important it was to learn to care for myself and invest in long-term well-being.
At 21 I began attending a weekly inner‑healing group and discovered how much I had stuffed down emotionally, along with the childhood dysfunction that needed to be unlocked and worked through. At 24 I experienced a mental health crisis that developed into a severe anxiety disorder (I write about this in my memoir, Becoming Shea). That season left me determined to help others who’d been let down by the mental health system — to offer more than labels and medication, and to reclaim the power of community, trauma work, and holistic healing.
In 2021 I trained as a life coach through David Key’s NLP and hypnosis program and launched a coaching practice. I built a following on TikTok and attracted a steady stream of clients in those early years, but when algorithms shifted, the market flooded, and I experienced several family losses, I refocused my energy on finishing my memoir. In 2024 I went back to work, mostly while supporting parents.
As the mother of five children born within six years, I know overwhelm intimately. I bring both lived experience and formal training to parents who feel stretched thin, offering practical tools alongside emotional and spiritual support so they don’t have to walk the journey alone.
My work is rooted in my beliefs and authentic personality. As a passionate artist, I believe true growth is organic and spiritual — not rigid or robotic. Real transformation happens when we integrate our emotions, our bodies, and our purpose. I help clients adopt simple, practical practices that free them to focus on their hearts, their passions, and their futures.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Put simply: distrust.
Whether betrayal was intentional or the result of thousands of tiny decisions over the years, distrust woven into our memories is hard to release. Our anger, and fear are rooted in real experiences, and letting them go can feel unsafe. That distrust is based in reality — releasing those offenses often feels like lowering our guard.
The journey to reconciliation is complex, especially with family, and must be taken one step at a time. Whether we seek total restoration or small improvements depends largely on the nature of the relationship and the other person’s commitment. If the person we’re trying to reconcile with isn’t interested in a healthy, supportive relationship or lacks the emotional capacity to support us, it’s often not worth the effort. In those cases, it may be healthier to keep the relationship at the level of an acquaintanceship.
Over the last decade I’ve learned to let go of relationships that no longer serve me — not because I don’t care, and not always by going no contact, but because I know my energy is precious. I want to invest in long-lasting, committed relationships where both people are dedicated to healing and working through challenges together. I especially value connections where both parties have the emotional capacity to listen and to be heard.
I am far from perfect and have my own selfishness, self-centeredness, and poor communication at times. Still, my goal is always growth — in listening, in understanding, and in setting boundaries when I’m being treated poorly. I no longer allow people to walk over me or betray me without natural consequences for those relationships.
The journey back to trusting connection can seem long and difficult, but it has often proven worthwhile in my life. Many avoid that journey out of fear that things haven’t changed or old patterns will repeat. If I believe healing and growth are possible for myself, I must also hold space for that possibility in others. Not everyone deserves my time or energy, but if someone is genuinely trying to learn and grow, I’m inclined to give them that opportunity — approaching the relationship from a new perspective after time and mutual effort have been invested to rebuild trust.
If distrustful behavior has severed a relationship, only slow, deliberate effort and the rebuilding of trust can organically restore that connection. In some cases, however, it may not be wise to rekindle those ties.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
For one, success stroked my ego and made me feel like I had everything together. However, when things got hard—when I felt pain or confusion—those were the moments that catalysted transformation.
There’s always a wall of confusion before learning something new. Research shows that if we push through that discomfort, we can reach the other side and experience growth. Some people avoid that discomfort and choose not to open their minds to new ideas. But when we’re experiencing pain or duress, we’re often more willing to push through confusion, realizing it’s the only way to move beyond our pain.
About a year ago, I felt discouraged by a lack of clarity and direction, and even when I did have a clear focus, it didn’t seem to attract people to my business the way that I had hoped. I wasn’t finding new clients, and I wasn’t making any money. In moments like that, I had to decide why I was doing this work and whether it was truly worth my time. When my job felt more like a hobby because it wasn’t generating income, I still found joy in it!
The part of my business that started coming naturally was public speaking. One event led to another, and soon I was speaking almost every month for five months. It felt effortless and fulfilling, especially as I saw how many people I could impact at once. What an incredible gift to be given a stage—and what an honor that anyone would value what I had to share – to open themselves up and be impacted by it.
But my speaking engagements wouldn’t have had the same meaning, power, or impact if I hadn’t traversed difficult seasons, endured pain, and struggled through various challenges. I wouldn’t have a story to tell if I hadn’t experienced the suffering I went through.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
I’ve struggled with this question for years.
There is an element of persona that I have carried in my social media life. On TikTok, I’m hypegirl. Yet, I am extremely authentic, even in my social media.
If I’m having a bad day, I either won’t post a happy post, or I’ll tell you about my bad day.
I refuse to put forth a happy image when I’m genuinely feeling discouraged or unhappy.
Mostly because I think that it set us up for unfair expectations.
If all the people I follow on social media seem to have it all together, and always be happy – It gives me very little room for my own feelings. It might even give me shame for not being more like them.
I would rather be a real and authentic example of humanity. The ups and downs, the challenges are real. It’s very vulnerable to live a life so open, and there are definitely times where I pull back from social media for weeks at a time, I don’t want to live with a pressure to constantly be open.
However, I have found that when I am open, people have related more to my story and been able to see themselves in my challenges. I’ve also received valuable support and encouragement from strangers, that I can’t quite explain the powerful of. Strangers have become friends supporting each other, through rough chapters.
While the public version of myself doesn’t give you all the information in real time, I choose authenticity about the information presented. And, I try to let my goofy sense of humor shine through, and not only my super serious self, which is what I tend to project.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days. 
I’m definitely ballet dancing, and contemporary dancing (rather than tapping). Yet, I actually break out into dance, squeal, and hop around when I get excited, like a few weeks ago. One of my kids came in from the next room to ask me what was wrong. He heard a little scream. I get to beam with joy and pride and tell them that I am so pleased to have finally published my book and have it in my hands! It is the culmination of four years of work and I am so very proud of myself. When I am the most happy, I find myself dancing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sheacoaching.com
• Instagram: Hypegirl.Shea
• Facebook: Shea Coaching
• Youtube: @sheacoaching
• Other: Tiktok : hypegirl.Shea
  Book on Amazom : Becoming Shea

Image Credits
Sita Brandon