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Life and Work with Janeen Alley

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Janeen Alley.

Janeen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
For almost two decades, I have worked in the health space training, teaching, and coaching women to reach their goals with both fitness and nutrition. Even though the way I approach health has changed, my big motivator has always been my deep desire to help others feel confident, alive, and healthy.

One of the classes I put together about 10 years ago was a 6-week plant-based, nutrition class. After a while, I started noticing even though people loved the information I was sharing, they were having a difficult time bridging the gap between where they were and where they wanted to be. Wondering how I could help people make permanent changes, I started a deep study into the psychology of change and how to help people create lasting habits.

I feel like I have been my best client as I’ve implemented what I’ve learned. I’ve been able to overcome my struggle with depression, anxiety, and feelings of not being good enough. Not only have I reached my own health goals, completed three half-iron triathlons, and became a yoga instructor; but I’ve created a business to share what I’ve learned. In studying my own strengths of organization and productivity I’ve created a step-by-step way to weave this information into the nutrition and fitness course I teach my clients. This is what I LOVE! I love to see people make lasting changes and reach goals they’ve felt were unattainable.

Currently, I have an online health and life coaching business and I teach yoga locally. I love being able to work from home while coaching women who live all over the world. I have a weekly podcast called Vibrant Wellness for Busy Moms. I give away lots of free content – go have a listen! I have been married for almost 20 years and have four kids (ages 10, 12, 14, and 16). I home school my younger two.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Haha, no, it has not been a smooth road. To be honest, I’m pretty sure it’s a bumpy road for all entrepreneurs. You’re paving a new path; you’re doing something you’ve never done before – of course, it’s not going to be smooth sailing! I think the only thing I’ve done consistently is learned from my mistakes and gotten back up more often than I’ve been knocked down. THAT’S how you stay in the game.

One of my biggest struggles, that I think is pretty universal, has been a false belief that I wasn’t good enough when I started. I didn’t have a master’s degree, there was always more information to learn, there were people out there in the world who could do it better than me. Oh, my goodness, I wasted so much time comparing myself to others! And it totally kept me stuck!

The other false belief was I wasn’t capable – I wasn’t capable of building a website, starting a podcast, doing my bookkeeping, or just running a business in general. But guess what? I have done it all! When I started, I wanted to hire people to do all these things because I hadn’t been trained and I hadn’t taken any business classes and ALL the excuses! I didn’t want to mess it up or have things look unprofessional. If you are struggling with similar thoughts, I just want to tell you, all of those thoughts are irrelevant and not helpful. What I learned was I am capable of making my dreams come true! (And you are too!) I can teach myself to do ANYTHING. I can help people even if I don’t know all the tech stuff or all the health stuff even. Truth be told: NO ONE knows it all!

You can make a difference in the lives of other people just by showing up and sharing what you know and being yourself! You don’t have to have all the answers! I recently heard Stu McLaren say, “You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going!” So true!

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
The biggest thing that sets me apart from other health coaches is that I don’t start with food and fitness. I did this for years, but it doesn’t work. If your life already feels chaotic, or you’re constantly reacting to other’s requests for your time, and then you try to do more – it’s not going to be sustainable. I take a different approach. I teach women how to create personalized systems to set their lives up for success FIRST. They learn how to manage their thoughts, create more space and time in their lives so they get results – consistently. James Clear said, “We don’t rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems.” If your life is full of “broken” systems trying to cram more in, it will lead to more frustration!

Another thing that sets me apart from others is I’m relatable. I have four kids, a military husband who is currently living out of the country for the next year, I home school, I run a business… I have challenging things going on, but I still make time to take care of myself. My energy levels are UP, I look forward to each day and I LOVE my life.

I want my clients to feel the same way. Here’s why: I believe we each have a special spark to share with the world. Something unique only we have to give. When our energy is down the drain, we are in survival mode – doing just what it takes to make it to the end of the day. That is not living. And that, to me, is so tragic. There is MORE to life. I help my clients achieve amazing health so they can live a life that excites them!

I teach a transformational program online that empowers women to tackle the two biggest problems I hear: “I don’t have enough time… and I struggle to be consistent.” They want so badly to enjoy their beautiful life and family, but feel like they are constantly “behind,” feel emotionally spent, carrying extra weight, embarrassed about the way they look, feel like they give up too easily and cave to their cravings.

My clients go from feeling exhausted, frazzled and out-of-control with food to feeling like they own their time and know how to consistently make their health a priority – even with so many things going on! They learn how to create sustainable, long-lasting health for them and their family so they can have the energy and focus to live a life that matters to them.

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
I think the biggest barriers to female leadership is the status quo. And the mindset that women have (even if it is subconscious) about their capabilities as a human being to contribute on an equal playing field with men. The online world is definitely a male-dominated space. Even though there are LOTS of women crushing it online, the majority of people who have businesses online are men. That’s changing – there are more women starting businesses and getting out there every year – and it’s exciting!

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Image Credit:
Nicole Barker, Whitney Jones

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