#BEYOUROWN MEETS JOCELYN KUHN

Jocelyn Kuhn has been running Your Best Life Daily since its launch in 2016. She is also a certified transitional and happiness/fulfillment coach and enjoys working with clients to overcome limiting beliefs, create new empowering stories and navigate change with grace. She is passionate about her mission and believes that by inspiring individuals to step into their own best-self and live with passion and purpose the world is a better place.   

Your Best Life Daily is a lifestyle site dedicated to motivating and inspiring people all over the world to live their own, unique best lives. Offering inspiring content, group and one-on-one coaching and powerful exercises, challenges and products, Your Best Life Daily puts people back into the driver’s seat and helps them rediscover their passion and purpose. 

In particular, Jocelyn empowers clients who are facing transitions to convert personal and professional challenges into high growth opportunities and thrive through transitional phases in their lives. Having already been through some pretty significant transitions in my her own life such as death, divorce, career transitions, blending a family, she feels extremely passionate about helping clients through what can be a very scary time. 

Never been the type to follow the 'easy' or 'certain' path in life, and rightly so, Your Best Life Daily was born from the vision that we aren't all the same. So we talk to Jocelyn about her new book that offers a 5 step process that reveals a way to successfully navigate the complexities and offers readers a fresh perspective on life’s tough moments.

Hey, Jocelyn, can you introduce yourself to us?

Hi, I’m Jocelyn - mom, wife, entrepreneur, coach, and creator - with a passion for inspiring and motivating people to live their best lives every day and thrive through the challenges of life. I run a lifestyle site called Your Best Life Daily, www.yourbestlifedaily.com, that provides thought-provoking content, products, and coaching, to help people live their best lives. I also have a book, Thriving through Transitions, due out this summer.

Can you tell us a little bit about you and your career background prior to Your Best Life Daily?

Prior to launching Your Best Life Daily I ran a successful business as a hairstylist for 13 years. I’ve also coached competitive volleyball for about the same length of time. It’s been a really fun journey to integrate so many of the lessons I learned from my time working behind the chair and my time as a coach on the court into my current coaching practice.

Can you talk about the journey since launching Your Best Life Daily?

It’s been a pretty wild ride! Your Best Life Daily was a dream of mine for a long time before I finally decided to launch in early 2017. I’ve always been passionate about the mission of motivating and inspiring people to live their own, UNIQUE best life and not just following along with the crowd, but for a long time, I felt like I was fulfilling that dream when someone sat in my chair to get their hair done.

In 2016 I finally hired a coach who challenged me to step up and stop playing small. Why inspire a few women each day when I could inspire a far greater reach online? And with that, YOUR BEST LIFE DAILY was born. Shortly after launching my mom was hit in a head-on collision where she was the only survivor. She was in the hospital for several weeks and had a long road to recovery which derailed my focus for a season. (I’m happy to say she is recovering well.) During that time I almost close to giving up on my dream because I felt defeated and like the momentum was gone.

Thanks to the support and encouragement of my coach and my tribe of supporters I persisted, slowly but surely, and I’ve continued to grow even if at some points it felt like I was barely crawling forward. Now, in just a few months I’ll be launching my first book, Thriving Through Transitions - a practical guide for turning life’s challenges into opportunities to thrive. I’ve grown a great transitional coaching practice helping people navigate the complexities of change, and as a happiness and coach, I’ve been able to help clients rediscover their passion and purpose in life. I feel so blessed and fulfilled by the work I get to do, and I have some exciting things in store for the future!

What qualifications or further study did you undertake?

When I decided to go into coaching I went through the ICF certification process and in-depth coach training through Coach Training Alliance. I’ve been an avid life-long learner, especially of the ‘self-help’ industry, so I’ve also done a ton of personal training.

I feel like beyond the formal training I’ve had, what really sets me apart from many coaches I know is my personal experience. I’ve been through quite a few difficult transitions (death, divorce, blending a family, career changes) so I have a deep level of understanding and empathy for clients navigating their own changes.

Prior to Your Best Life Daily, you ran a successful hair salon for 13 years, what made you want to make that switch to a completely different career field?

I went into doing hair for very specific reasons. I always wanted to be a mom and I wanted a career that was flexible and allowed me to make my own schedule and be with my kids as much as possible. I was good at it and I was able to fulfill my wish. I’m happy to say I’ve rarely had to miss a game or event for any of my kids, and I feel incredibly blessed for my time as a hair stylist because of the opportunities it afforded me. I’ve met some incredible people, some who’ve been in my life for a season, and some who’ll be with me forever.

But for as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to go into coaching. My clients would constantly be thanking me for their counseling session when they walked out the door. Beyond that the chemicals and being on my feet all day really started to get to me, so after 13 years of doing the same thing, I decided I really needed to be challenged again and I knew I was ready to make the change.

How was the transitioning process?

It has been a lot of stops and goes because I wanted to slowly phase out of doing hair and into my coaching practice and because of some of the life events that slowed me down. What’s been really amazing is how I’ve been able to embrace the process and trust that everything is happening exactly when and how it should. In the past, I would have been so stressed if things weren’t happening exactly how I thought they should, so learning to trust that the Universe is always happening FOR me has been a huge part of my spiritual growth.

How are you empowering your clients who are facing transitions to convert personal and professional challenges into high growth opportunities and thrive through transitional phases in their lives?

I created a 5 step process for navigating change that I use when working with clients on transitions. I talk about it in depth in my book, but the steps are:

1 the loss.2 the experience.3 centered in the present.4.Create a clear, exciting vision for the future.5 intentional action.

Obviously, this is an oversimplified outline of the work it takes to create a successful transition, but I’ve had a lot of success using this framework to help clients thrive.

You offer a variety of coaching packages, from Transitional Life coaching to Happiness and Fulfillment coaching, but which one is aspect of coaching to work on?

I think it’s the growth that happens within the process. It’s the text or phone call that a client sends when they finally have that ‘Aha’ moment. Within the coaching process, I really enjoy helping clients create a new and exciting plan for their future. So many people walk through life in a semi-deadened state, and to see the transformation that happens when someone finally breaks through their limiting beliefs and starts living with passion and purpose is one of the most beautiful experiences in the world. I really enjoy helping clients rediscover what that passion and purpose are!

Can you us what is the most seminal point in your career so far?

It would probably be completing my book. I wanted to write it for a long time, but never took the time to see it through to fruition, so I’m extremely excited and proud to get to share it with the world.

The most rewarding moment in your personal life?

Getting to be a mom to my 3 amazing children is by far the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, but another moment I’m really proud of is creating a non-profit at 22 for a girl in our community who had cancer.

We ended up remodeling their home with some amazing contractors and it was a huge undertaking that solidified my belief in my ability to accomplish anything I put my mind to. I had no idea how I would do it because I had never done anything like that before, but I knew I wanted to help and my heart was in the right place.

Any challenging times you have had to overcome? When were they and how did you learn to overcome them?

My dad passed away suddenly at 43. He was living with me at the time and I was the one who found him and had to tell all of my younger siblings.

Prior to that, we learned that he’d been living a double life and my life as I knew it took a dramatic turn from seemingly perfect to totally unbelievable in the matter of a year. It was an incredibly difficult time for my family. My dad was sentenced to 5 years in Federal Prison for the things he was secretly doing. It ended my parents married just shy of their 20 year anniversary. To say we were in shock would be an understatement. He had always been the dad who coached us, taught us all the valuable life-lessons about honesty and integrity, and was a pillar in the sports community. It was a hugely embarrassing time for my family as news stories surfaced about the stuff he was doing.

As hard as that time in my life was I can honestly say now that it all happened for me. I grew so much through that process, and it’s the reason I’m so passionate about helping people through their own transitions.

I also experienced sexual abuse at a young age, some pretty painful teenage years, divorce, blending a family and the death of several other family members, but I know I’m in control of how I choose to respond to each of those events, so while they’ve been difficult they also have all contributed greatly to who I am today and for that I’m very thankful.

Have you ever had to deal with any doubts of contention or lack of support from relatives or friends? If so how did you push through?

When I decided to make the move from doing hair, which I was very successful at, and move into coaching I had well-meaning people, people who love me a lot, question whether or not I was making a smart decision. It was really hard because I valued their opinion a lot and I had to work hard to overcome their opinions. One thing that really helped me with that is that people are always looking at life through their own limited perspectives and it wasn’t doing me any good to live within the limitations of other people’s experiences.

Have you ever had a coach? If so how has this benefitted you?

In fact, currently, I work with 3 different coaches and am part of 2 mastermind groups. I honestly wouldn’t have ever started my business without the help of coaches who believed in me and held me accountable. My coaches have helped me in so many aspects of life - balancing all of my roles and responsibilities, pushing through limiting beliefs, helping me clarify important actions, and holding me accountable for the things I say I want to do. I feel like working with my coaches has been life-changing, to say the least.

What outlets do use to market Your Best Life Daily?

Mainly I use Facebook, Instagram and a lot of word of mouth and networking. I’ve always believed that loyal support in smaller numbers is a much better approach to business than tons of followers who don’t really care about your work, so I’ve taken a very grassroots approach to growing my business. I love people, so serving the people who are loyal to me is always one of my top priorities and I believe businesses who do this well are rewarded accordingly.

Which methods are you using to build your audience and expand your network?

Mainly Facebook and Instagram. I’m also very involved in my community and several online communities and writing my book has definitely helped grow my audience. And of course, I always appreciate interviews like this one.

What is the best piece of advice you have received to date?

Shortly after my dad died I had a client come in and I was having a horrible day. I was really missing my dad. She proceeded to tell me about losing her son when he was 3 years old to drowning in the bathtub, and all of a sudden I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself.

She then gave me the best piece of advice I’ve ever received. She said, “You know, I don’t have any words that can take away the pain you’re feeling right now, but I’ll share with you a piece of advice I was given by another mother who lost her son.

On your very worst days, the days that seem hopeless, go do something kind for someone. You can do it in your father’s honor. You can add to his legacy. I’ve had some pretty bad days, but you know, you can’t be sad when you are giving to others, so I’ve learned to get out of my head and into my heart on those extra bad days.”

What would you tell your 18 year-old-self?

Probably to slow down and enjoy the ride. I had both of my boys by the time I was 21, and I’ve loved a lot of aspects of getting to be a young mom, but because I was still growing up myself, my kids had to go through a lot of the growth with me. Unfortunately, this often times meant I was always in a rush to get to the next phase. I didn’t have the security that I see a lot of my friends who’ve waited to have kids have, so when my boys were younger I always felt like I was in frantic stress mode and didn’t get to enjoy the whole experience. Now that I’m in my 30’s and they’re growing up so fast (my son is now about to pass me up in height) I just want time to slow down!

How do you create an evenly balanced work and personal life?

I always feel like I struggle with this. I’m so committed to being an actively involved parent that sometimes I feel like I just burn the candle at both ends. I feel like I’m always just hustling, but I’m so passionate about all the things I do that it never feels hard or draining.

Which other leading entrepreneurs and leading female pioneers do you also admire and why?

The woman I admire most from the last century was Mother Teresa. For as long as I can remember she has been someone I looked up to because of her love for the forgotten and hurting. She is one of those incredible humans who lived a life of selflessness and sacrifice. She understood that it is in giving that we receive. She taught us to do what is right even when we feel like it doesn’t matter. I love so many of her quotes but the one that stands out as my favorite is, “People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” I feel like this is the basis of everything I believe. We may not have a choice about the actions of others, but we always have a choice in how we respond.

I feel like I also need to include Oprah Winfrey. She is such an obvious choice, but she is such an inspiration for everything she’s gone through and everything she’s done for women.

Another less obvious choice that really impacted my life was Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret and The Magic. The Magic was one of the most life-changing books I’ve ever read. It’s a book about the magic of gratitude which I believe is the single most important aspect of life.

I have to include one guy here too. The person who’s changed my life personally more than anyone else would have to be Tony Robbins. He is such an amazing and inspiring person and I would be remised not to mention him.

What Youtube or online space channels are you watching currently?

I’m honestly not a big Youtuber. I actually rarely watch TV of any sort, but every once in a while I’ll watch something on GAIA. I love all the thought-provoking content on that network.

What is a good article or book you have read recently?

My reading list is a mile long. I loved The Untethered Soul which I just finished, but probably my books that I stumbled upon this past year were The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, The Sacred Journey and The Hidden School, all by Dan Millman. If you haven’t read them I highly recommend you do! Dan Millman has an incredible gift for presenting amazing lessons through the art of storytelling.

What does your Podcast playlist look like?

I absolutely love Lewis Howes’s School of Greatness. He does such fantastic interviews and I’ve been turned onto some of my greatest influences from listening to his show. 

Tony Robbins’s podcast is another one I just love. He always produces amazing content. 

I’ve recently been interested in bio-hacking and Dave Asprey has a great podcast called Bulletproof Radio where he interviews leading researchers in the space of biohacking and human potential. 

Lastly, Gretchen Rubin’s podcast, happier is one I listen to from time to time. She’s researched the science of happiness in depth and she offers some great insight into specific steps people can take to become happier and more fulfilled. 

Can you tell us about your Podcast that you are soon launching?

We’ve pushed back the launch date by a couple months, but by the end of summer we’ll be launching our podcast, Your Best Life Daily - inspirational interviews with ordinary people living out their own, unique best lives. The idea behind the podcast is to interview people who are living life on their own terms, who are happy and fulfilled and contributing to the world in unique and meaningful ways. 

What does success look like in your eyes?

Success for me personally is living out my mission - to inspire and motivate the world to live their own definition of happiness and success. It’s challenging the status quo. It’s raising my kids to be successful, kind, happy people who make their own, unique positive contribution to the world. It’s loving my children and husband unconditionally. It’s being a great daughter and sister and friend. It’s pushing myself to become the best version of myself I can be. 

What does #BEYOUROWN mean to you?

I love #BEYOUROWN because it embraces everything Your Best Life Daily also stands for - creating your OWN, unique identity and an idea of success, happiness, and fulfillment. It’s using your OWN gifts and talents. It’s following your OWN inner guidance. It’s living life on your OWN terms. It’s a beautiful and wonderful mission. 

Lastly, what is next for you  2018?

I’m really excited about my book. It’s set to launch in June. I’ll be doing a lot of stuff around the launch including a small book tour this summer. I’m also working on some courses that I’ll be releasing in the near future that go more in-depth with the process I outline in the book. Along with the book release, I’ll be starting some group coaching for different types of transitions. And by the end of the summer, I’ll be launching Your Best Life Daily Podcast. So lots of exciting things are happening in 2018! 

www.beyourown.org