Unleashing Your Purpose: A Journey from Corporate Chains to Soul-Led Entrepreneurship with Kami Guildner

My guest today is Kami Guildner who is an advocate for women's voices and a coach for spirited entrepreneurs. She  joins me to share her own transformative journey from the corporate grind to the liberating world of purpose-driven entrepreneurship. Our candid discussion celebrates the power of community among women and the awe-inspiring ripple effect that comes from supporting and lifting each other. You'll be swept away by Kami's insights on how embracing your message and purpose can spark not just a personal flame but a collective fire of empowerment and intention.

In a world brimming with echo chambers, carving out a distinctive message is more crucial than ever, especially for entrepreneurs eager to truly connect with their audience. This episode explores the movement of women forging soul-led businesses, seeking more profound fulfillment and a more significant impact. We illuminate the path to merging spiritual callings with entrepreneurial spirit, challenging the myth that financial success and spiritual gifts can't coexist. You'll discover strategies for communicating your unique gifts and crafting a message that resonates and inspires action. So, tune in to unleash your inner spark and learn how to leave a legacy of purpose-driven work that will echo for generations to come.

Thank you for listening. If you are enjoying the podcast, please rate, subscribe and leave a review. The world needs to hear from my amazing guests bringing light to souls everywhere.

Cheers

Kami can be found here:

Kami Guildner
| 303-670-7244
| kami@kamiguildner.com
| www.kamiguildner.com

KIM:
https://www.kimduffselby.com/
kimduffselby@gmail.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome back, sparklers, to another episode of Ignite your Spark. I'm your host, Kim Duff Selby. As always, I want to thank you so much for tuning in, whatever brought you here, whether you found me randomly or an episode was shared with a friend. I thank you because you have a million choices when it comes to listening to podcasts and I want you to know that this podcast is about you and my guests, not about me. So I apologize in advance if I throw in too much about me, but I want you to know that I bring you these episodes to ignite your spark, to bring your life more joy and more purpose and help you find a passion if it's been missing. So thank you for tuning in and I appreciate, if you love this episode, if you would share it, if you would subscribe and if you would rate it, if you feel so motivated, because that helps us reach more people. Those silly algorithms, but you know how it is because I really want to share the light of my guests and really encourage everyone to shine the light that they have within. And thank you. And now on to my guest.

Speaker 1: 1:16

Today, my guest is Kami Gildner, and Kami believes and I love this that women's voices matter. Yeah, right on, let's call us feminists. She's a connector, a storyteller, a business coach for high-vibes, women entrepreneurs, and she helps people raise up their voice, vision and visibility. I love a good alliteration for impact and business growth. And she is the founder of the Extraordinary Women Ignite Conference oh you know, I love that and host of the award-winning Extraordinary Women Radio. She's a best-selling author of Fire Dancer your Spiral Journey to a Life of Passion and Purpose. Oh my gosh, I just I'm thrilled to talk with you today, kami. Thanks for joining me on Ignite, your Spark.

Speaker 3: 2:17

Oh, Kim, thank you for having me. And I just think our language, we share the same love language, and as soon as I saw I had the invitation from you, I'm like, yes, yes, I would love to be on your show. I know anybody who has Ignite or Spark or Joy in their talk Totally Exactly, we got fire going right.

Speaker 1: 2:34

Exactly. I just always feel that connection and I don't know about you, but it was divinely guided for me to call my brand Ignite your Spark in the pandemic when I started this and I'm just thrilled. It just resonates with me because when I find guests like you, it's like, oh, spark's on fire. I love it. Okay, before we get into your business and your soul and all that matters, I would love to ask you how do you ignite your Spark?

Speaker 3: 3:10

I love this question. I've heard you ask it, I've listened to some of your other episodes and I love this question. I ignite my Spark by really being in alignment with how I'm meant to make a difference when I'm serving, when I'm working with women that I work with and I've done my whole life to get to this point, to be able to do the work that I get to do today and so it's like I can look at all the journeys of all the things that got me to this place, and it's like, oh, it kind of all magically fits together. And so when I get to work with women, helping them do what they're meant to be doing in the world, we create a ripple effect together. And so it's like that lighting up, stepping into my purpose. But really embodying that and I think that's a big part of it is like how do I embody my message? How do I embody how I'm making a difference, how do I embody and how I serve, and so it's like just being in my body to be able to serve.

Speaker 1: 4:09

Yeah, yeah. Is there something in there about the ripple effect and that resonates so much with me? Because when I started my brand and I envision it, I envision us all with a sparkler in our hand and lighting someone else's sparkler.

Speaker 3: 4:25

In the front of us right and the light just goes. Oh, I love that vision.

Speaker 1: 4:29

Exactly, it keeps going and keeps going. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, and it's just a way of showing how important and how easy it is to light someone else's light, to help you.

Speaker 3: 4:46

I so agree, yeah, because if we can lift another up with our, whatever our gift is, if we can lift another up, then we're stronger together, and I think this is some of the beauty that we have as women is, we've been gathering together and circling in community for thousands and thousands of years, and it's our innate nature to do that, and so I think it's really it's special when we can light each other's sparklers, to let that light shine.

Speaker 1: 5:15

Yeah, just had a deja vu moment when you were talking. That was so bizarre. I was like oh, we've been here, we've done this before.

Speaker 3: 5:24

I love it. I know you do Well trust that, Totally trust that.

Speaker 1: 5:29

Yes, I have so many questions sort of how you got started on this path of working with women entrepreneurs in sort of a soul-based business. I imagine you didn't start out that way. That was a little bit of your origin story.

Speaker 3: 5:47

Yeah, no, I was very corporate. I didn't have a spiritual bone in my body. I was, you know, I was just in a space of I had been, you know, a single mom claiming the latter, you know, being in the corporate world, and that just wasn't. You know, spirituality wasn't even part of my vocabulary and in fact, I'd actually kind of shut some of it off. You know, like I had kind of blocked some of that out and I got laid off in 2008, which was one of the biggest blessings ever. Right, I said that I got laid off. It was the year 2008, when there wasn't a lot of VP and marketing jobs.

Speaker 3: 6:26

Around A month after I got laid off, I lost my father and that pause, you know, when I lost him, I started to pause. Like you know, what did my father teach me? And I really went down this pathway of you know, he taught me all these things about nature and family and you know, and I just was like I felt really disconnected from some of these things that had been intricately a part of who I was, and so I went on a kind of a personal quest for about a year and a half where I was trying to figure out what the heck I was meant to do, and I thought I was always going to go back to the corporate world. But the more you know, the deeper I got into this. You know the sabbatical of you well, and I wasn't calling it a sabbatical at the time, but that's truly what it was. When I got deeper into it, it was like I don't want to go back to that. But what the heck am I meant to do? Right, yeah, and so I was in this space of trying to figure out my what's next. I was working with a coach.

Speaker 3: 7:31

I was on the phone with her one day and I was in tears trying to figure out what am I supposed to be doing here, right? And she's like well, why don't you go out and breathe your horse's breath today? I was like, huh, well, I'd always been a horse person. I thought, well, that's an interesting suggestion, I'll try that. And I walked out to the barn.

Speaker 3: 7:52

It was a really cold, snowy day here in Colorado and I had this moment with one of my mayors and we were like breathing back and forth. It was a frosty, you know like you could see the steam from her breath and we're like breathing back and forth and I kind of rolled back and put my back on her back, like lean back into her, and I got it's like I got hit with a you know, this epiphany moment of you're not supposed to go back to the corporate world, you are meant to be doing something different and you're meant to start your own thing. And I was like holy smokes, what's you know. That was just.

Speaker 3: 8:31

It was so clear and I had met someone who had been doing equine guided coaching, and so that was kind of fresh in my mind. And you know, they were doing work with leadership and they were doing coaching with, you know, personal growth work and I was like that's just really fascinating. And it was the spark, if you will, that that led me to go oh my gosh, I'm supposed to be doing something different. And I took the leap. I became an equine guided coach.

Speaker 3: 9:01

Initially, I was coaching people in their, their pathway to their what's next. But then it became very apparent to me that I was the business coaching that my work was meant to be in. And just one more little side note to this is when I did decide to become a business coach, I was, you know, coaching women and it was, it was like all my women were jumping the ship from the corporate world and becoming their own, becoming an entrepreneur. So it was a very natural path for me and I've been coaching there.

Speaker 3: 9:32

And I did like a deep kind of what's the next evolution of my business planning piece, right, and I said, what does my business want to be? I got introspective, I was playing with the eclipse, I was doing all these things. What does my business want to be? And the message I got back was it wants to be a spirit business. And I was like what? And so there was this. I was like what, but I? But at that point I'd really gotten to the point where I really trusted the messages that were coming to me from a spiritual perspective you know, whether it was from nature or wherever and I was like, ok, I'm going to go with this. And it took a lot of courage to get out there and start talking about business coaching with a spiritual component to it. Right, having soul and strategy is part of the mix of what I do. So that's you know, probably longer than you wanted to hear.

Speaker 1: 10:30

No, no, not at all. I think it's really interesting and it's no surprise, of course, that you, in this part of your life, took what you had done in the previous part of your life and married it with this new awakening, with the spirituality, with the soul and strategy that you brought together. Yeah, not know that about the equine therapy I have been to. I went to an equine event. It wasn't, it was a group of us and we the woman was an equine, I guess therapist but yeah, group of us and we communicated with the horse and it was so beautiful. I mean, you just felt such a presence, being in the presence of such a magnificent animal.

Speaker 3: 11:15

Yeah, it's they, they, it's really powerful. Work on the perspective of it helps us, like, listen to our inner wisdom. And I can tell you, I don't think, I don't think I would have found my path into spirituality without the horses, because I was, I had already trusted that. You know, I'd had horses my whole life and I trusted that, that I felt different in the presence of horses, right, I felt grounded, I could tap into things that I couldn't tap into other in other places and I knew what it made my, my heart and soul feel like Right. So it was a really natural evolution to me to start experimenting with spirituality and then the other pieces started really wrapping back around, to be, you know, to be more holistic.

Speaker 1: 12:04

Yeah. Are you still connected to your horses? Do you still? Oh God, yeah, yeah, so I do.

Speaker 3: 12:09

I do a retreat with my, so I run mastermind programs for women entrepreneurs but as part of their package they get a weekend retreat with with the horses, and you know which is unique and different. Yes, and it's also something that it's like my clients can, you know, really break through, like head gains that are going on, or new ideas will drop in because we kind of get out of the clutter of all the stuff happening around us that you know we're in on a day to day basis, we're away from technology and when we quiet our mind in that sort of a way out in nature, but the biggest ideas come up or the like the. You know I'm doing this despite this fear, or in this, like all you know, everybody's experience is different, but it's also really magical.

Speaker 1: 12:57

Yeah, what you said is so vitally important for anyone, whether they are looking to be an entrepreneur, to start a business or just looking for what's next. Totally connecting and stepping outside of your technological arena is so important, and I know this because it's what I need to hear. You know I need to. When I take a walk, when I get out in nature, I find my life is just much calmer. Yeah, because I'm up and I think that every other person needs that, and what you offer these women, that's a very, very unique gift of a weekend with the horses. I mean, a lot of people do immersive weekends, but that's really connecting with not only a force greater and mightier than yourself because the horses are greater and mightier than we are but communicating with them in a different way.

Speaker 3: 14:00

Yeah, and it's you know they do. They like they'll bring messages in ways that it's not that I'm interpreting any message for anyone. It's like, you know, we're each person is really going deep inside and they're like what does that mean to you? And they're like, oh my gosh, you know, like there's insights that come forth and so we have this deep wisdom inside of us and I think the horses really help us tap into bringing that to life.

Speaker 1: 14:26

Yes, I think we all need something to help us, unless you are miraculous and able to become and still receive messages and many people are but I think it really helps, whether it's through a coach or stepping outside in nature. But I think we all need that guidance that I mean. We're human beings. We need other human beings, you know. We need people to bounce ideas off. We need people to reflect back to us what we've just said in a different way. Yeah, yeah, totally totally.

Speaker 1: 15:00

Do you find that the majority of the women with whom you work are going into soul led businesses, or is it a variety?

Speaker 3: 15:14

No, I definitely. I think that we just get to a point in our life where we're being called to do things in a different way, to be able to, you know, call to bring our gifts to light in a different way, to create a bigger impact. And a lot of my women came out of the corporate world at some point, you know, and they're like I don't want to do that anymore, right, I don't want to. So we get these callings saying, you know, we want, we want to do something different, and so we're listening to that and letting that come to life. And so, yes, I think I definitely attract people that that have this, this soulful bend to you know, a soulful calling is probably a better word that they're hearing this calling for something deeper in meaning and they want to make a bigger impact with who they are. And you're putting those two pieces together to really open up a pathway to to lasting impact, to legacy work that that you know, that we can put out into the world, to continue to make a difference.

Speaker 1: 16:23

Yes, A couple of things, so can we do? Don't you think, though, that now more than ever? I don't know how long you've been doing this exact business, but I feel like the time is right? Oh, totally 20 years ago, and people were not doing this.

Speaker 3: 16:39

Oh yeah, people would have thought I was crazy 20 years ago, right. I would have thought I was crazy 20 years ago.

Speaker 1: 16:44

Well, I've always had that spiritual side that I kept hidden in the closet for many years, and I think that many people have become and this is such a catchphrase enlightened, but for whatever. But I love how light comes into it, because more and more people are realizing, hey, there is more and I there's no accident to that that it is what is meant to be happening at this time, and people such as yourself are meant to lead others into finding their own purpose, passion and basically creating a life out of their passion. Yeah, because making money is not evil. We all need money. Money is energy, and so when people say, well, I had this gift and I don't, you know, so many spiritual people were for many years, right, oh, I think that's shifting. Yeah, I think it's shifting, absolutely. You know, people were like, well, I can't make money from this. Well, that was a good mindset too. Yeah, but obviously you are working with women to assist them on their journey to being a totally fulfilled, purpose driven person.

Speaker 3: 17:58

Yes, holistic person A holistic person.

Speaker 3: 18:02

Exactly. Yeah, no, it's definitely. I think that the timing and I even go back to I know so many people that are kind of in my line of work that left their whatever their former thing was like in the round 2008, and started building and started putting their pillars into place for their future, who we were going to become we had to go through our own journeys, our own work, to get to the places that we could actually be able to turn around and serve people, and I think 2008 was a pivotal point and I think there's been even since then. We've had COVID right.

Speaker 3: 18:40

You can go through those years. I mean there's been multiple times where people leave behind something old and they're being called to do something with a higher calling right, with a higher impact, if you will, and I think, by learning to trust those callings and to step into them and it can be really scary to do that. I mean I can think of times where I was like what the heck am I doing here, right, and you still do it anyway. And I think that there's been many of us that are being called to create a different kind of business world, a different kind of world, a different kind of way of being, and you know, I think that's what we see a lot of happening.

Speaker 1: 19:26

Yes, I, think you're absolutely right and what you just said. I think so many people also have that imposter syndrome. Well, I can't really do that. It may be something I really like, but I can't really do that.

Speaker 3: 19:38

And who am I to claim this right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I do think I mean that's and that's. I think that's the you know, you know, imposter syndrome. It can be the plain small in the mix of Of a calling, like if you're being called to do something and you just like you keep playing small, you're not serving the people that you've been called to. The support Right.

Speaker 1: 20:00

Yeah, I mean, it just resonates so deeply with me because people look at me and go, oh my gosh, you can do this, you can do that. I'm like, yeah, but I'm still not where I'm meant to be my calling and it's because I really want to take my message to stages yeah, speaking on stages, and yet I have that imposter syndrome. Who's gonna listen to me? You know, we all and I look at so many people who have fabulous gifts and they feel that they can't share them for X, y, z, reason number one being I'm too old.

Speaker 3: 20:33

You know, I get that a lot because, yeah, and that's why we got it, we're gonna turn that one down for sure. I work hard on that.

Speaker 1: 20:39

That's my message, not your spark at any age. You can do exactly. You can do exactly. Okay. Why don't just ask you a question About something that I read on your little sheet what is a one message for the world, and why does every entrepreneur need one? I like that question a lot. Ask you that to share that with my listeners.

Speaker 3: 21:04

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you know there's a lot of noise out there. If you can, you know, go online, you can. I mean this. We're just getting hit with thousands of messages every single day, and a lot of them are the same messages, because it's kind of rent, rents and repeat, it's Washington, you know. It's like you see that over and over again, some of the same messages, and I think, when we are truly being called to bring our work out into the world, it behooves us to really go deep into what is my, what is my message and how, how is it different than others and how do I want people to act and think and do differently because of the gifts that I'm bringing out into the world? So it's, it's Deep work in getting to a thought leadership message that's helps you stand out amongst all the noise and it's it's a way that we can tune into. This is what people need to know from me, right? This is the. This is when people think of me. They I want them to think of me in this light. So like, for example, mine, is it?

Speaker 3: 22:11

Women's wisdom is a medicine our earth needs and and To me, it's about bringing our wisdom, bringing our messages, bringing our, our Work out into the world and that's what's going to be changing some of the you know we've got a lot of crazy stuff going on in the world and when we tap into our gifts, of what we bring into the world as women, as leaders, as as as mothers, as sisters, as daughters, and and bring our voice out into the world and bold, brave ways, we do create change. And so that one message for the world is really about it's a thought leadership message that you can build your content strategy around. You know, content strategy goes right down to a level of you know strategy kind of it feels very linear, but it's not linear, it's, it's, it's a living, breathing, yeah, body of work that you're bringing out into the world.

Speaker 1: 23:08

And this doesn't have to be. When I'm listening to this, it's like certainly fits in with women entrepreneurs. But every single yeah as a message. It doesn't have to be yeah, going out and starting business. It can be you in your interactions with your family or your friends, totally everybody on your communities, right, yes, and I don't know how else to tell people that every single person has a light and a message and a gift, and I don't care if you're sharing that gift with five people or five hundred or five thousand. You should be sharing that gift.

Speaker 3: 23:42

Yeah, totally, totally and it's. I mean, we all have gone down this journey to get to this point. Where you're at and there's something that you're passionate about, that you want to create change around that you, that you feel strongly about that, lights you up. You're like I need to. You know it's like you're tapping into that and it doesn't matter if you're a business owner. You know, yes, at your PTA it can be. You know the whole spectrum of it can be, but it's like finding what it is. Do you want to be known for right?

Speaker 1: 24:11

now. How good so that? So creating a One message for the world is something that anybody can do. Yes, I think it would certainly be helpful, do you? I assume that's what you do in your coaching, but is there any little tip or trick you can get the listeners so that they could create their own one message?

Speaker 3: 24:31

Yeah, yeah, so a couple things. Let me tell you what it. What it is it's from the perspective of it's about. It's a statement that gets people to stop and think and act and do differently. Right, it's. It's like something to get them. Like what you know. You're getting them to pause and listen to what you have to say and they want to know more from it. From it it is. It's short and it's memorable, and what it's not is like somebody else's quote.

Speaker 3: 24:59

It's not a common statement that you hear all the time. Like you know, live your life and or step into your purpose and live your life. You know, I mean, that's just too benign. You need it to have more meat to it. And the question that I often pose it with is if the whole world could hear one message from you, what would that be? And one of the ways I find that works really well to go into that is to have like three people, you know, just sharing that question and spend like ten minutes on each person Saying if the hook, ask them, if the whole world could hear one message from you, what would it be? And you just start talking and somebody's capturing some of the words that you're saying and you're looking for that, that kind of Powerful message that people stop and go. That's it. That's it. You know it's people that it's. It's not something that you know like a. It doesn't sound like just a quote that everybody says, but it actually gets people to think and do differently.

Speaker 1: 26:04

Mmm, I Can't wait to try that and I actually wouldn't. It be cool if you could go to a party a dinner party or something and kind of have that kind of conversation. Yeah with, so that's a great.

Speaker 3: 26:15

It's a great you know, and you can just start to see where that goes. That's a great Conversation starter.

Speaker 1: 26:22

Oh yeah, it's really all about taking the time. When I, when I hear people wise people such as yourself say these things, I'm like I just need to sit down and do it, and I do. I do it because I'm in various programs, because you never too old to take new classes and learn new things and get coaching around your life. Yeah, it's just. I think it's just valuable for anybody you don't want to be stuck, and this is my whole thing. I see a lot of women in midlife and beyond that are stuck. Way to get unstuck is step out of your comfort zone or hire a coach or find a way to really come into Even if you're not sharing that message with the world, but to come into the message that would ground you and, yeah, hope you sure purpose right, yeah, yeah, totally, totally.

Speaker 1: 27:15

All right, tell me about this conference that you have.

Speaker 3: 27:18

Ah, my ignite conference. I just had my ninth annual ignite extraordinary women ignite conference and I love it. It's so much fun to bring a room full of women together and, yes, really bringing their voices to life. And it's about, you know, raising up, you know, helping them grow their businesses. It's, it's something I'll be doing it again next year. So, is it virtual or is it live? It's live, it's live, and we did do it, we in 2020. We, of course, did it virtually, but, and all the other years, we've been live and it's, you know, it's just a really fun, special thing for me. Oh, I would love to be a part of that. Oh, my god. Yeah, I think it's October 24 through 26 next year. And where do you hold it? In golden Colorado, in golden. Yeah, have you been there?

Speaker 1: 28:08

Yes, I have.

Speaker 3: 28:09

yes, oh cool.

Speaker 1: 28:10

Yes, oh, awesome. Before we wrap up, is there any other thing that you would like to share that's on your heart, with the listeners, or something about? I don't know your business, but not like in you know a Businessy way. But just yeah, that would Ignite a spark today.

Speaker 3: 28:31

Yeah, what I'd say is that each and every one of you has a gift and you're, you've been put on this earth for a reason, so find it. You know what you know, just go, and it takes inner work. It means like going deep inside and listening, and but make that space for yourself. It's such a gift for you and it's such a gift for all the others in the world. Yeah beautiful.

Speaker 1: 28:52

That's really my message. We are such in in alignment cammy with our goals and I am just Love loving that. You know you connected with Horses in order to really Find your inner spark and share your gifts with the world, and I can just see it coming through our screen here valuable you, it can be in assisting women on this journey to Finding their purpose and passion. So, thank you. And where people want to find you and work with you, do you work one-on-one or groups? How do you work with people?

Speaker 3: 29:36

Yes, I have mastermind programs. I have a couple different mastermind programs that I run and my website is cammygillnerdcom and if you go there you can I have it. I'm doing free classes a lot. In fact, I've got two free classes in this coming month, so there's always free classes on my calendar. You so when you get to my home page, you just go to the top. There's a banner that says get updates and at the top you put your information in and it will show you all my calendar that I've got coming up with free classes and free teachings.

Speaker 1: 30:11

Well, that's a generous gift. Thank you so much You're sharing with the world for free. Yeah, you bet Love it. Thank you so much, cammy. I am just delighted we connected and, from my heart spark to yours, I am just Grateful and my soul is on fire. So thank you.

Speaker 3: 30:30

Well, thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. I'm happy to know you and just I felt like we were meant to meet the meat. So thank you so much, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 30:41

I'm just on fire. I can feel the sparks coming out of me right now and, listeners, thank you for tuning in. I know that your spark has been ignited. I would invite you to go out and, if you have access to a horse, go out there and pet it and sometimes breathe their breath, or Maybe just in nature, to help you find your purpose, your passion, and please find your gift and share it, because we need your gift and we need your light. So, thanks for shining and see you next time. Oh, you, you, you, you you.