Women In Wellness: Holly Jean Jackson On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Take Responsibility-Own Your Journey. Healing is an inside job. Building your legacy starts with you. Take responsibility today for your life and your health. As soon as you do this, you will be unstoppable. Release the lens of victimhood.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Holly Jean Jackson.

Holly Jean Jackson, Holistic Business Coach, helps business leaders love their life and business again. Taking a holistic approach, she helps clients get their groove back physically, mentally, and emotionally. Holly sets three core tenants: health, clarity, and business. In fine-tuning these, clients can live the life of their dreams today.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

For years, I struggled with crippling fear and anxiety. This forced me to shy away from the things that challenged me most.

It took a face-to-face confrontation with a bear on a backpacking trip to learn that I was powerful.

Confronted by this animal, my instincts took over and instead of running from my fear. I charged at it with all my might. Two amazing things happened. The bear left me alone and I finally realized that I could handle anything that came across my path.

We all need to conquer our own self-limitations if we’re ever to get what we want in life.

Since then, I left my very lucrative, successful job. I got tired of climbing the corporate ladder only to face layoff after layoff. I decided I wanted a different way of life. I wanted to define and build success on my own terms.

I started out as a health coach but realized I wanted to offer the full package to those go getters. For the action takers out there, who wanted a different way of life. I got certified as a life coach. I attained two certifications including mastery credentials in transformational coaching. This means I can help business owners 360 degrees.

Having a holistic coach is crucial. They can help you see the blind spots in your health and keep your health foundation strong.

They can guide you to clarity in your life. Discovering your values, your goals, and the legacy you wish to leave behind. Oftentimes clients are building a business that’s not aligned with what they want. We must define success on our own terms. Otherwise, we will never design the life we want. This takes intention and guidance.

I help my clients not only in their health and life but on how to scale their business to serve and heal more people. I help them design the best path forward. Based on their needs, goals, values, and the legacy they want to leave in this world. We work together in partnership to scale their business to the next level. I help them through a combined approach of coaching and consulting.

My clients walk away clear on what action they need to take next. They walk away inspired and ready to take action. They walk away clear instead of overwhelmed so they can be the healer they need to be.

I am passionate about the health and wellness community. Because these leaders have a ripple effect. We need more hope, healing, and inspiration in our world. These are our new front line workers. We must support them. Cheer them on when things get tough. Support them when the world needs them most.

I believe that we all deserve to be living the life of our dreams. And that requires us being healthy and clear on what that means. The health and wellness community are the foundation to make this a reality.

It’s my goal to help them be successful. So that we can spread healing and inspiration like wildfire throughout the world

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I have learned that when I am open to the flow of things in my life and business that miraculous things just fall into place. For example, I shared with my coach a year ago that I wanted to write a book. But I was forcing the process. I was trying to take on too much. I wasn’t walking my talk. So, she suggested waiting.

She said, “Holly when the time is right you will meet an amazing book coach and publisher and that’s when you know it’s time to start writing your first book.” And you know what? She was right.

A few months later, I met my publisher who coached me through all my excuses for not writing the book. She broke it down for me. Helped me put it into three books instead of one. Coached me through the process of how to write a solid book that would help heal lives and reach business owners.

Nine months after meeting the right person at the right time, I published my first solo book! It’s called Inspiration Contagion, Health Secrets for Raving Success. The book hit #1 new release status in two categories and was a bestseller on Amazon in three categories. What an amazing experience!

If you still don’t believe…here’s another story…. I knew I wanted to scale my impact. I wanted to help entrepreneurs and business owners who were struggling during the pandemic. Through several serendipitous moments, I came to the idea of starting a room on Clubhouse. But it didn’t work. I tried it with another coach on the west coast. Then we pulled in a marketing contact of mine I met through his podcast show.

The coach bailed on the program. But Matt suggested we move our idea to Livestreaming. We now have a successful livestream show that helps hundreds of business owners grow their business. We also launched a mastermind focused on community, growth, and FUN. In our Business Builder Ninja Community our members walk away with a clear path, a community to combat isolation, a safe space to share fears and challenges, and a place to celebrate small and big wins along their journey.

The power of flow and collaboration are real. Lean into that. I promise you it works.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The biggest mistake I made was trying to serve everyone. This is something my clients struggle with as well. But the sooner you define your niche, the better off you and your clients will be.

Get specific. Know exactly who you want to work with. Know who you can help. Get clear on the problem you solve for them.

Share who your product, service, and program are NOT for. Marketing and growth in our business is about attracting the right clients. But it’s also about pushing away those who aren’t a fit. If you want action takers, say that. If you want clients who trust you, be clear about that.

I have two non-negotiables when working with clients. My clients must trust me. And you must be an action taker, no matter what life throws your way. The trust part is key. Because coaching and even marketing consulting requires a partnership built on trust. If you don’t trust me, I can’t help you grow yourself or your business. If you aren’t willing to take action, nothing will change.

I’m not a miracle worker. Life and challenges are a constant. I want to work with clients who commit and are passionate and willing to take action no matter what happens.

Niche down. Get clear on the problem you solve. Know exactly who you want to work with. This will move mountains in your business.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

As the pandemic continues, it’s clear that health is the most important thing. Without it, we can’t do anything. I want to help support our front-line workers. With the pandemic, this means supporting our health and wellness workers. I want them to have the tools to be healers. To free up their time to work their magic.

I work with health and wellness business owners. I help them with their strategy and roadmap forward. Clearing out all the noise and providing a clear path forward. I provide marketing consulting for those who don’t get the marketing side of things and don’t have time to touch it. I help them grow to serve a broader client base…. without burn out and overwhelm.

We all need better health. When we are in pain, we can’t get clear on what we want. We can’t define success on our own terms. We can’t be the parents, spouse, friend, and leaders we wish to be. We can’t help anyone until we are healthy.

The best way I can have a larger impact on the world is through helping healers reach more people. I help massage therapist, coaches, acupuncturists, and holistic wellness centers. I help chiropractors and all healers reach a wider audience. We’re in this together. Why not start from a healthy foundation?

If you know someone with incredible healing talents, I would love to talk with them. If you are in health and wellness and want to help more people, I would love to talk.

We need you to heal our world. You are the front-line workers. You are here to help us shape the next generation. You’re worth it. You’ve got this!

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1) Build your morning routine. How this looks is different for each of us. But start experimenting with what works for you. Here are some ideas to help you get started. Consider meditation, visualization, journaling, gratitude lists, affirmations, exercise, movement, and writing.

When I show up for me every morning, my day goes better. My morning routine has changed over the years and seasons. My morning routine consists of meditation, energy work and visualization. I also use intention setting, tune into my values, work with my mantra, exercise, and writing. That’s a lot and it ebbs and flows. Each day looks a bit different.

Before I had a morning routine, I never got much done. I wasn’t clear on what I needed to do. I wasn’t tuned into my own energy or needs. I would show up as the smallest version of myself. But when I fine-tuned my morning routine, now I show up as the best version of me. I know what I need to do to take care of myself. If I need to make adjustments that day. I can hear my intuition which serves me so well in my business.

It’s powerful work. Take the time to discover the morning routine that works for you. It will change your life forever. You’ll find yourself having more energy. Getting more done. Happier. Let me know how it goes and what’s in your routine. You’ve got this!

2) Build Your Stress Buster and Self-Care Toolkit. Stress isn’t going anywhere. And our brains and bodies don’t know the difference between good and bad stress. Stress is stress and it wreaks havoc on our bodies.

So, you must learn tools and strategies to cope with your stress. From breath work activities to doing yoga. From working out to going on a walk with a friend. Figure out what works for you to manage your stress. My book has a whole chapter on stress and how toxic it is. And the tools you need to combat it.

One great tool for managing stress is to make self-care a priority. Many of us have no idea what we need for self-care. I would argue most of us think self-care is selfish. I am here to tell you self-care is necessary. You can’t combat stress without it. You can’t be healthy without it.

Build out your self-care menu. What brings you the most nourishment? What heals you from the inside out? How do you refuel and recharge your batteries? For some of us, it’s being around our community. For others, we need time alone to retreat and reflect.

Play with it. Experiment. Make time to build out your self-care menu. It will help you combat stress and up-level your toolkit for better health. There’s an entire separate chapter in my book on self-care with examples of how to build your toolkit. If you need more inspiration, check it out.

Before I had my toolkit to manage my stress and up-level my self-care, I suffered. I was a shadow of who I am. I was running on empty. I was burnt out. Overwhelmed. Then one day, I had a severe concussion. I couldn’t work for 7 months. This forced me to work on managing my stress. I had to do everything it took to heal my brain. And a big part of that was managing my stress and taking the best care of me I could.

This was a transformative moment. I don’t want you to wait to hit rock bottom before you build out your toolkit. Learn from my lessons. You don’t want to learn the hard way. It’s painful. My book has everything you need to make lasting change that works. Check it out. You’re worth it. You’ve got this!

3) Make Sleep a Priority. Stop fooling yourself. You can’t survive on less sleep. Science shows us we need at least 7 hours of sleep each night for our bodies to heal. But we live in a society where sleep isn’t valued. Where we celebrate people who pull all-nighters. Where we embrace workaholics.

But the truth is we all need sleep. We can’t survive without it. And the more you fight it, the faster you are digging your own grave. Sleeping less shortens your life span.

When we sleep it allows our bodies to heal. Our brains can process emotional situations. We come back stronger the next day with solutions when we sleep.

Convinced? But not sure where to start? Start with unplugging an hour before bedtime. No Wi-Fi, no cell phone, no bright lights. Do something relaxing to unwind. This will help you fall asleep faster and sleep better.

Need more tools and ideas? Check out my book, Inspiration Contagion, Health Secrets for Raving Success. I have an entire chapter dedicated to this topic.

I used to struggle with insomnia for years. And then I had my concussion which forced me to fine tune how I managed stress. A big part of that was optimizing my sleep. I became obsessed with sleep. Now, I rarely have trouble falling asleep. And I have a toolkit with strategies in it that work when I get off track.

I hope you start catching more ZZZZ’s. You’re worth it. Your body and brain are craving that time to rest and heal. And I promise you will get a lot more done when you get more sleep.

4) Shift Your Thinking. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “Mindset is everything” over and over. That’s because there’s truth and wisdom in that statement. We are stuck with the thoughts we have in our minds. It can cloud or clutter our experience, our perspective and how we show up in the world when it’s off.

The thoughts and beliefs in our minds influence how we approach life. How we show up. How we see the world. Wouldn’t it be great if you could shift your thoughts to serve you? To help you go after your dreams and passion?

You can! And it’s never too late to get started. Today is the day. This moment is the moment. The first step is to become aware of what you’re thinking. Start tuning in to how you speak to yourself. The thoughts you have around experiences. How often you are thinking rather than listening or being in the moment. Jot it down on a piece of paper.

Most of us will discover that a lot of our thoughts are negative. It can be alarming at first. Know you’re not alone. We all have thoughts we need to work on.

Now that you’re aware of your thoughts, you can start working with them. You can even dig deeper and uncover your limiting beliefs. To learn more on that check out my book and the chapter on mental health and shifting our talk.

Now when you have a negative thought, you can step back, take a breath, and choose another thought. Say hey that’s an interesting thought but I don’t believe you. I choose to think something else. Then replace that negative thought with something positive. And if you’re beating yourself up about something, imagine what your best friend would tell you. Replace your negative thinking with what they would tell you. Shifting our mental talk takes a great deal of patience, curiosity, and compassion.

I used to think the worst possible thoughts about myself. I was in an abusive marriage. From that I came to believe that I was ugly, fat, a bad person, terrible at communication and unworthy of love. Crazy right? And yet I believed that for years. When I got out of that marriage, I started working with a therapist. I did a step study on codependency, and surrounding myself with loving, kind people. I discovered that those thoughts were so far from reality.

Now I know I am beautiful, amazing, inspiring. I am fun, loyal, a deep relationship connector, wonderful at communication, and fit. I know how to work with my thoughts when they spiral to a negative lens. I have the tools I need to get out of the rabbit hole. Because it is an ongoing battle. Healing is a lifetime journey. But we are all worth it. You’re worth it. Get started on your journey today!

5) Take Responsibility-Own Your Journey. Healing is an inside job. Building your legacy starts with you. Take responsibility today for your life and your health. As soon as you do this, you will be unstoppable. Release the lens of victimhood.

Once you have a solid health foundation, it’s much easier to get clarity. Clarity around what success means to you. Don’t let others define success for you. This will only leave you chasing after a ladder you don’t want to climb. Building on a foundation that won’t bring you happiness…. but instead, burnout and overwhelm.

Build your compass. Dig into what your life priorities are. Define your core values. Build your community. Design your life the way you want it. Go after your dreams. Check things off your bucket list.

The secret to happiness and raving success is to take action. Take one small step towards your dreams. But make sure you are going after your dream…. not someone else’s.

I used to blame others for my unhappiness or failures. Then one day I realized that I am responsible for how my life turns out. The only thing we have control of is our response, our perspective, our actions and how we show up in the world. I choose to show up as an empowered, inspiring connector. I am here to help spread inspiration and healing like a contagion. To combat fear, darkness, and desperation. Together, we are capable of unlimited potential. The stronger you grow, the stronger I grow. The happier you are, the happier I am. It’s all connected. So, take responsibility for your journey. Pay it forward. Help someone else do the same. We’ve got this!

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Inspiration Contagion is the movement of my lifetime. It is the legacy I want to be remembered for. I want to help others find inspiration from within. Discover that spark that lets you know you can do anything you put your mind to. Including building the health foundation you need to show up for you, your family, your community, and your business.

You deserve to live the life of your dreams. I believe in you.

If you want to be part of the movement, follow the Inspiration Contagion podcast. Buy a copy of the first book. Follow me on social media. Join my email list.

This is just the beginning!

I want to spread inspiration like wildfire across the world. And eventually I want to use what I learn and the leaders I meet along the way to develop a non-profit for children ages 13–16.

To help them learn soft skills like entrepreneurship, community, communications, mindfulness, etc. I want our kids to have every resource available for them to be who they want to be. For them to shine brightly with their gifts. For them to define success on their own terms.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

There are so many things I wish someone told me. Where to start?

1. The biggest thing I wish someone told me was to get out of your own way. And that to do so I would need coaches and mentors to show me my blind spots. This would have saved a lot of time. Having a mentor and coaches to help you grow is essential. When we try to go it alone, we cap our potential. We limit our thinking. When we surround ourselves with people who are just a few steps ahead of us, we learn. We grow. Even when we surround ourselves with peers, we tap into new ideas, fresh perspectives, and inspiration.Spend time with people who inspire you to grow, help you learn, and give you a kick in the butt when you need it to stay on track.
2. It’s not a sprint but rather a marathon. Enjoy the journey. Every single step. The more you can celebrate every small win, every step you take towards your goal, every setback you recover from, and every lesson you learn, the happier you will be. It allows you to enjoy the journey. To weather the storms. To remain passionate, inspired, and energized. If you don’t celebrate the wins, what’s the point? If you don’t have people you love to celebrate with, what’s it for? If you aren’t taking steps towards your dream, who’s dream are you chasing? It takes time to do anything worthwhile. Be patient. Be patient with yourself, with your business, with your clients, with your loved ones, and with the process. Building a business takes time and dedication. Make sure you are building a business that you love. That supports your life priorities. That’s aligned to your core values. That’s your dream. You have the choice to design your life. Make sure you’re designing it based on what you really want and need. You’ve got this! I believe in you.
3. Growth and learning are lifelong. The day we stop growing, we start digging our own grave. The day we think we know everything, we stop growing. We stop getting curious. We stop serving our clients. We become irrelevant. The only thing that remains true in this world is that change is constant. It’s inevitable. We can’t fight it. Stop resisting it. Accept it. Continue to learn and grow with the world as it changes. We can always make ourselves better. We always have stuff to work on. Things to let go of. People to forgive. Beliefs we can up level. As the seasons change, there’s always something new for us to learn. People come and go. Some come into our lives for a season. Some come into it for a reason. And others stick by our side for life. Find your people. Learn from every single soul that crosses your path. The moment you wake up and realize that every person we meet is meant to teach us something, is the moment the world becomes your teacher. Release control. You don’t have it. Set goals. Make your plans. But be ready to adjust. The better equipped we are to pivot and flow, the more successful and happier we will be. The more we cling tight to the way things used to be, the more we will struggle and suffer. And ultimately become irrelevant.
4. Your mindset impacts your life and business potential. This is not a woo-woo thing. It’s real. I’ve worked with hundreds of clients. When they get stuck but are doing all the right things but not getting the results, we dig into their mindset. I can’t tell you how many times a client has a low sales conversion process and its related to their relationship with money. When I ask them to write a letter to money and share everything they think and believe about money, it’s a transformative exercise. They realize how much pressure they put on money. Oftentimes, they have a negative outlook about money.
   Once we uncover this, we can take steps to fix it. And when we do, guess what? Their sales conversion goes out the roof! They start selling to almost every client that’s a great fit.
   Clients who are coming from corporate America to build their business have a lot of unlearning to do. Marketing for your own business is a completely different mindset than the corporate space. It’s more intimate. It’s more vulnerable. You are the business. It’s your baby.
   That’s a lot of pressure. We work through their beliefs around it. We work through how they are showing up in their marketing. In their founder story and their why story. Once we uncover these and get them tuned into their values and what they want their legacy to be, they can show up in a new way. And it helps them find amazing clients. Regardless of what it is, mindset is usually the problem when you aren’t getting the results but taking the right actions. Instead of treating the symptoms, it’s my goal to find the root cause and then to heal that. Because then you can do anything!
5. Collaboration is where the magic happens. It’s not a weakness to work with others or to ask for their help. It’s a huge strength. I’m currently reading the book Big Potential by Shawn Achor. In it, he shares research proving that the biggest factor behind success are the people you surround yourself with.

When we try to build something alone in isolation, we limit our potential. When we remain open to collaboration and surround ourselves with smart, inspired people, we thrive! When we help others grow, we grow even more.

How can you tap into your big potential? Consider joining a mastermind. Find a coach and a mentor. Find peers who you admire. Build strong relationships where you support your friendships and partnerships equally.

It needs to be a mutually beneficial relationship for it to help you “super bounce”. Shawn shares in his book that when we work with others who are also trying to grow it allows us to super bounce. We get even more benefit when we help each other grow.

What communities, networks, and groups do you need to join to help you super bounce? Who can help you grow and stay inspired? Who can you help grow today? What relationships do you need to nurture because you let them fall by the wayside?

The more you invest in people, the better you become. The more you connect with your community, the more you amplify your impact. Because when we invest in others success, they are equally invested in our success.

So why not get out there and help each other super bounce? I hope you are inspired. I hope this helped. I’d love to hear how your super bounce building is going. Reach out to me on social anytime. It’s all about people. I would love to hear from YOU.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

I believe that mindset and thus mental health are the foundation to better health and raving success. There’s not enough support around mental health. People working with a therapist or counselor are ridiculed. Admitting you need help is looked down upon. When it should be embraced.

There is nothing braver then taking the time to work through your stuff. It shows wisdom, vulnerability, and a desire to be the best version of you. So why do we feel so uncomfortable talking about the important stuff? Why do we shy away from emotion? Why do we run and hide or numb out from our pain?

It’s because we don’t know how to work with mental health as a society. We don’t understand it enough. There isn’t enough education on it in our schools. There isn’t enough awareness out there for how to help people. It shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of experts alone. This is something we need to band together as a community to heal.

We are better together. When we leave others behind to suffer with depression, anxiety, stress, or more serious mental health conditions, we all suffer. When we show up with curiosity, compassion, and kindness we thrive. We all need to show up as more compassionate humans in our communities, workplaces, homes, and networks.

Take responsibility for the big problems we face in the world. Learn about mental health. Because today more than ever we are facing an epidemic of depression and loneliness like we have never seen. And loneliness has huge negative implications for our physical health. Just like stress kills, so too does isolation. We need each other.

That’s why I wrote my book and have my podcast. To spread inspiration, healing, and light. We are fighting fear, darkness, and hopelessness. The solution is that we each take our stand. That we band together. That we become part of the solution. Otherwise, we will never grow. We will continue to decline.

Who can you help today? How can you show up as the best version of you? What’s stopping you from doing that? Go do that. Make it your top priority. Pay it forward.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

I would love to hear from you. What are your health goals for 2022? What action will you take today to get 1% closer to them?

And if you read my book, what did you think about it? Better yet, if you loved it, post your review on Amazon and Good Reads.

Remember, I believe in you. You’re not alone. You’ve got this!

Thank you for these fantastic insights!