Kelley Tyan: Redefining Bold- Choosing Faith Over Fear

Content Warning: cancer diagnosis

About This Episode

What happens when faith becomes your lifeline through life’s greatest challenges? Seventeen years after surviving breast cancer, Kelley Tyan transformed her journey into a catalyst for bold living. In this conversation, she shares how choosing faith over fear anchors her life and work as a transformational coach, bestselling author, and speaker. We explore her three-pillar approach of faith, fuel, and fitness, her SIMPLIFY framework for living with purpose and avoiding burnout, and her newest venture, a podcast with her daughter that turns vulnerability into healing. Whether you are facing health struggles, career obstacles, or seeking greater alignment, Kelley’s story offers both inspiration and practical tools for your own climb.

About Kelley Tyan

Kelley Tyan is a powerhouse speaker, bestselling author, and transformational coach dedicated to helping high-achieving women overcome obstacles, build resilience, and lead with confidence. With a background in business, fitness, and personal development, she empowers women to unlock their full potential in life, leadership, and wellness. As a keynote speaker and mentor, Kelley teaches women how to navigate challenges with strength, develop a winning mindset, and take bold action toward their goals. She is the bestselling author of Addicted to the Climb and The ONE Prayer, and the co-host of the inspiring, faith based podcast, Chosen by Jesus which she created with her daughter. 

Kelley’s own journey—from battling breast cancer to becoming a 4X National Bikini Champion—has shaped her mission to help others rise above adversity and create lasting transformation. She has been featured on ABC, iHeart Media, Cornerstone TV Network, Life Today with James Robison, Atlanta Live, and in publications such as Link2Us, Aspiring Magazine, and Thrive Today. Through her mentorship programs, speaking engagements, and leadership coaching, Kelley provides practical strategies for personal growth, mindset shifts, and achieving success in business, faith, and life. Her message is simple: Resilience is built through action, confidence is developed through challenge, and true success comes from leading yourself first.

Additional Resources

Website: kelleytyan.com

Free Download: A Guide for Living Courageously: kelleytyan.com/start-here

Instagram: @kelleytyan

YouTube: @ChosenByJesus-CBJ

Linkedin: @KelleyTyan

Transcript

Meet Kelly Tyan: Author & Coach

Speaker 1 0:07

Welcome to the Bold Lounge podcast. My name is Leigh Burgess and I will be your host. If you're anything like me, you love hearing inspiring stories of people who have gone on bold journeys and made a positive impact in the world. This podcast is all about those kinds of stories. Every week, we'll hear from someone who has taken a leap or embarked on an extraordinary journey. In addition to hearing their stories, we'll also learn about their bold growth mindset that they use to make things happen. Whether they face challenges or doubts along the way, they persisted and ultimately achieved their goals. These impactful stories will leave you feeling motivated and inspired to pursue your own bold journey. I believe everyone has a bold story waiting to be freed. Tune in and get ready to be inspired. Welcome to the Bold Lounge.

Speaker 1 1:00

Today we have Kelly Tyen. She is a powerhouse speaker, best-selling author and transformational coach who helps high-achieving women overcome obstacles, build resilience and lead with confidence. She is a breast cancer survivor who brings unmatched energy and authenticity to her message of strength and bold actions. She's also the author of Addicted to the Climb and the One Prayer, as well as co-host of the faith-based podcast Chosen by Jesus. Kelly inspires women to rise above adversity and create lasting transformation in life, leadership and wellness. She's been featured on ABC, iheartmedia, cornerstone Television and Inspiring Magazine and more. Her core belief is simple Resilience is built through action, confidence grows through challenge and true success begins with leading yourself first. Welcome to the Bold Lounge, kelly. I'm so excited to have you and looking forward to really jumping into your bold journey.

Speaker 2 1:56

I'm very excited to be here. I'm super excited to speak life into your listeners today.

Kelly's Definition of Being Bold

Speaker 1 2:02

Well, let's start off with being bold. Would love to hear your definition of bold. What does it look like in?

Speaker 2 2:06

your world. Really, the only thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word bold is my faith. Choosing faith over fear. That is how I live my life. It's become my way of life and it's all about showing up even when it's hard. Showing up in courage. I rely on God for everything in my life so that's how I can walk boldly through hard things and that's how I got here today. I'm very excited to talk all things bold.

Speaker 1 2:39

Yeah, definitely. What's a moment in your life where you lived aligned to your definition of being bold?

Speaker 2 2:43

Gosh, there's so many times I've had to be bold in my life. To point out, one significant moment was when I was told I had breast cancer. 17 years ago I was sitting watching TV. I found a lump on my breast and never thought anything. I actually didn't even go to the doctor for a few months. It wasn't until one of my best friends said did you get that checked out? I was like no, I didn't, because in my mind you never think that's going to happen to you. So when I did get the phone call, of course it rocked my world, shook my insides to the core, and I realized I really did have to choose to be bold. I had to choose to be courageous.

Speaker 2 3:26

Through that moment in my life I didn't want to go down. I didn't want to drown in my sorrow and my pity party Although I was afraid, of course, because I'm normal and I'm human. I cried, I did all the things, but that's where my faith became so strong. In my life I really had to lean on my faith and God gave me the courage every single day and the strength to just get up and keep going and just do what I had to. He called me to do and that's what I did and I got through it and it's been 17 years and I'm so grateful.

Speaker 2 4:01

I believe so strongly in the power of our thoughts and our words. What we speak out literally becomes our actions. Like, immediately, the moment I leaned into fear, my body would tremble. So I had to go faith over fear. I can do this, I'm bold, and I love that I can say bold 500 times during this show, because it's a choice to be bold and courageous. We're going to react in a certain way when things hit us, but what is our first response? Are you going to respond to the fear or are you going to react in faith? There comes a moment in our life where we all have to make these choices, really lean in on how are you speaking to yourself today? Like, what are you going through? Is it something really hard? Because guess what? You can talk yourself into the deep darkness that your situation might bring you, or you can speak life into that and walk out feeling peace, calm, comfort.

Speaker 1 4:56

Yeah, it really starts with your belief, right? So I think there's a reason for the things that happen to us. I believe that, and we do not understand them. You know the good things and the things that are not so good or bad in our lives, in the sense of truly being a role model of it. You are certainly walking the talk when it comes to that, thank you.

Speaker 2 5:19

Thank you and can I just add it's okay to feel your feelings, just don't feed it, because that's where that ripple can be nasty.

Speaker 1 5:28

Really, really important. You're not saying, be fearless, and you don't feel any fear at all. And I cause I don't think that would actually be very human, because you know it's meant to keep us safe. It's meant to say hey, look out for. It's meant to say, hey, you might get hurt or this could be. You know one way or the other, but let's know all the facts. But you also know your path is guided by something higher than you. I think that's really what you're, you're aligned with, and so it doesn't take away the fear. I think it gives you more peace to like move through the next steps that you have to go through, knowing that you're not alone.

Speaker 2 5:59

Absolutely yes. It's all about trusting when circumstances just don't make sense. That's really where my peace comes from. It's hard to do I'm not saying it's easy, but it's choosing again that word. It's like we all have a choice right At the end of the day. No one's forcing me to believe one way or another. It's what do I want to believe and how do I want to feel.

Speaker 1 6:21

So, yes, You've actually called. You have a new podcast that came out in February called Chosen by Jesus. So, speaking of choice, and you created that. Actually, you know you're co-hosting it, I think, with your daughter. Is that accurate? Yes, yeah, so tell us a little about why you wanted to create that and when we think about things that happen in our lives, how do we see them as chosen for this moment, for this event, for this experience? And they could be good or bad experiences, but tell me about chosen by Jesus. What's it about, and what's it like working with your daughter?

Speaker 2 6:54

Oh my gosh. First of all, it's a miracle that we're doing this. It's amazing. My daughter is 25 and she wasn't always the girl she is today, and so we had a rough. You know, mothers and daughters can have rough patches, especially in teenage years. So you know, faith was always in my home, like God was always talked about in my home. I never pushed my kids into any kind of faith, but I talked about it, I modeled it, I showed them what God was doing in my life and I prayed a lot over my kids. So my daughter found her own relationship with God and it's been a beautiful blessing. Our relationship has been amazing. But, my daughter, we've been through some things in our lives, the two of us.

Speaker 2 7:46

You'll have to listen to find out because, the first two episodes is our testimony and we wanted to share this because it was something we didn't talk about together for 20 years. So, lee, it was was. We both went through a lot of pain in our life and I don't want to spoil it, but we share it for the first time, our story. It's almost freedom for us. That's how we came together. We said you know what? There's people that need to hear our story, how we got through it and how faith plays a role in our life today. Faith plays a role in our life today.

Speaker 2 8:28

So the messaging of Chosen by Jesus is real talk between a mother and a daughter of things we both have been through and how God steps in the center and can move mountains when we lean on him. So it's been beautiful. We talk about all kinds of issues. You know how. You know the world is pulling us one way. What is social media doing to the youth and to us? My daughter had to come off social media for five years because she was suffering mentally. It was terrible and she likes that. She wants to talk about that, to help young girls coming up comparing themselves, even our age. I mean we do it too.

Speaker 1 9:02

Yeah, comparison happens at all ages, for sure.

Speaker 2 9:05

Yeah, so we're really hoping to empower people and to rise up in faith, and that's what Chosen by Jesus is all about. We feel everyone's chosen. It's just a matter of stepping into your calling and into God's call on your life, and that's what the message is in. The movement is about.

Reigniting Faith When It Falters

Speaker 1 9:24

Yeah, I think there was. As you were talking, I thought about a particular sermon that I had listened to that stuck with me for many, many years and it was really about when we keep, I think, doing the work or really, you know, focusing on something or being at something, and we're not sitting back and having faith that it will work out or it will come about, or, if it's meant for me, it will be right, like these are things people say, but I'm not sure our actions always align, even myself with like, oh, if it's meant for me, it'll happen. But here I am like working really hard, trying to get it and doing all the things and checking all the boxes and then going why didn't it work? You know, and I think, what the sermon really the bottom line of it and obviously said more eloquently than I'm doing here, but was like if you keep doing the work, you know God's going to sit back. He wants you to know. Obviously you have to do certain things and what I mean is not just like sitting there waiting for something to happen, but you know, really having faith, that's what's meant for you, what is planned for you already and known by God is going to happen, whether you believe it or not. Now you could make it potentially take longer, but he already knows that too, you know.

Speaker 1 10:30

So I think, in the sense of areas of like your book, I think obviously in your podcast, brings the book to life is how I would say it. But addictedicted to Climb really is like set up with the three F's, that's, faith, fuel and fitness, and those are the things that I think can help us understand even how to nurture and how to create and how to understand how we can, you know, really use those things in our life, and that you know the title of the book is Addicted to the Climb and you also have a book called the One Prayer. But I think you know those are some of the tools that you give people to use. So, excited about your podcast Sounds like the first two episodes we're going to learn a lot about you, your daughter and your journey. Really a lot of bold moves in there, for sure.

Speaker 2 11:10

A lot of bold. Oh my gosh, a lot of bold moves in there.

Speaker 1 11:13

Yes, you know I think the listeners know I work with my daughter and she's the co-founder of our company, and so, in the sense of that, I think there's also, you know, this experience that's very different than mother daughter. It's like wow. Like you know, this is an incredible woman coming into our own, having her own voice, standing in her value. I mean, these are things that I've seen and I've learned so much from her as well. So congratulations on that and having that opportunity, because not everyone has that either. So I'm very blessed to have that opportunity.

Speaker 2 11:43

I love that you said that, because it's so funny. I'm learning so much from her. Sometimes she's talking and I'm like looking at her, like wow, you've come a long way, right. I'm learning from her right now, like she's preaching, and I'm wow, it's such a blessing. So I do. I know it's not common and I feel very grateful for this moment in time and however long it goes is however long it's going to go.

Speaker 1 12:07

Exactly yeah, one of the things you talk about in the book is building stronger faith, even with grief. So for you, when your faith feels quiet or feels like it's diminishing a bit, how do you give it some energy or re-energize your faith when it's taken a hit, you know.

Speaker 2 12:26

I love that question. I've never been asked that after all these years.

Speaker 1 12:30

It's so good.

Speaker 2 12:32

You know what I love it so much? Because it happens. That's a real thing, that happens. Our faith isn't always on high For me, you know, when we do get in those lulls I have to go back and just be quiet.

Speaker 2 12:46

For me personally, when I feel not as excited or I haven't heard from God or I'm not spiritually moved in the moment, I'll just go and sit and maybe open up my Jesus Calling book. You know that's a devotional that I've had for 20 years. I've been using it forever. I'll read something that I know has sparked my faith in the past. I'll go to that thing because I know how excited it made me at one point. So, of course, the Bible, but I also have a few other devotionals that I love and I keep on my desk. So I'll go and read one of those and it will just spark me back again.

Speaker 2 13:26

I'll put on my favorite worship song. That will just get me excited again. You know, in my faith and that's all I need. Sometimes it's just even a song that, and I love Elevation Worship. Need. Sometimes it's just even a song that and I love Elevation Worship. If any of you know Elevation Worship great bands, great music and a lot of the words just speak to my spirit and soul. So I'll put that up, I'll blast it, and that's how I just bounce myself right back.

Speaker 1 13:50

Yeah, so like a way to like reignite, it sounds like at first, really, it's just getting quiet and being not alone, but just being in space with god, with the things that you feel feed that faith, and that's really what you're talking about to start off, and then it's like adding in the things that, uh, whether they reignite it or reinforce it or renew, it could be all of those, um, you know, music and devotionals and reading, and probably some journaling in there, potentially as well. But it starts with getting into a quieter space and not having a distraction for you to recenter, which someone could, you know, take that analogy back out to. You know being bold, like sometimes it's like, oh my gosh, like what am I doing? I don't feel like I have a vision.

Speaker 1 14:36

I've been there Like there's so much going on. There's just a lot going on. How do I get back to me? How do I get back to who I am? And how do I do that is by getting quieter, not by doing more, not by working harder, not by staying at it. You know, running into the wall again. It's actually stopping Right, and that sounds counterintuitive.

Speaker 1 14:55

It does, but it works, it works yeah, but what it does, I think you know. What you just described is you're getting aligned back right. You're getting alignment back, aligned with god, aligned with your purpose, aligned with who you are and who you're meant to be, which is already planned, you know. In that sense, that is what you're talking about, because our faith can be under fire at times and I think it's's not easy, but that again I go back to, that's the whole point of faith, of your belief and your belief in God. So, when you think about, you know, mindset right as a muscle, and one of your parts of Addicted to the Climb is around fitness. It's not only your physical fitness, which you know. You've won contests, you've. You know.

Addicted to the Climb

Speaker 1 15:38

Obviously you believe in health and wellness as a big piece of who you are and what you can be. You know through your fitness. What other fitness, when it comes to our mindset, do you think we need to use? For me, like it's something intentional, right that you do, I believe, with your mindset. And so, when it comes to faith in your mindset, what muscles do you use the most in the sense of strengthening there or making sure they're there? It's almost like the ingredients of faith, in a way.

Speaker 2 16:03

When I hear you say ingredients, it's my affirmations. You know like I have to fuel my mindset. What am I consuming on a daily, listening to, what am I taking into my space in my mind? I try to surround myself with really great affirmations like they're on my desk. I have sticky notes because I need to constantly remind myself because as humans, we fall into the prey of negativity Again. Comparing ourselves, somebody we see on social can just throw us off our whatever we're on a high that we're on social can just throw us off our whatever we're on a high that we're on and we can get down on ourselves. So for me it's. I use in my phone, I use my calendar a lot and I have affirmations in there every single day. So when I open my calendar, that's what I see and that helps me keep my faith muscles very strong.

Speaker 1 16:53

Yeah. So how you speak to yourself, right, you're starting with something I believe in. I think how you speak to yourself, right, you're starting with something I believe in. I think how you talk to yourself and, like you said earlier, what you put out, you're actually calling into the world. So like, oh, today is going to be miserable, oh, I can't believe it's raining which I've definitely said these days because it's been so rainy, you know but it's like I'm calling it in instead of like, wow, I think that I'm thankful for, like, what went right. I woke up, I can walk, I can see. I mean just those things that we take for granted, those are things to be thankful for. And then you know how you speak to yourself, you know all of these things that I think again, that we might not be saying to ourselves, really focusing in on the right things.

Speaker 2 17:33

What do you avoid? I've become really good at setting boundaries over the years. I mean that didn't come easy for me. I used to. You know, watch this and do this and hang around with them and I realized over the years now that I'm over 50, that you know. You become wiser as you get older and you realize things aren't serving you anymore. So learn to avoid. You know, even as far as television, what I watch on TV. I know how I react. I know how it makes me feel when it's toxic or negative and it's too sad it really affects me mentally. So I avoid that. You have to know yourself first so you can grow and thrive in life. And if you don't know yourself.

Speaker 2 18:18

First of all, sitting quiet plays a big role in that.

Speaker 1 18:21

I always say is it what you surround yourself with, what you engage with, who's around you too? As we evolve in our lives, I bet there's some people that you no longer have in your circle, because either you've evolved past maybe what their potential or capability is of, or you're not aligned anymore, or maybe it's just something that was, for a moment, a learning, and it's now a new season for you. So I think it's important to take stock of that on a regular basis to be sure you surround yourself with the right people and right ingredients to grow and to nurture. You know again, going back to faith you know fuel and fitness. We've been kind of talking about the fuel a little bit, but let's back up just really for the three sections of that book.

Speaker 1 19:09

Can you give an overview of each section? So addicted to the climb is really. It's divided up into those three sections Just so the listeners can understand. You know what it is when you say. You know addicted to the climb, what it means and how. These are the key things that we hone in on.

Speaker 2 19:25

Yes, so I love this. Addicted to the climb really came about. Over the course of my life I've had to climb my way out of a lot of deep, dark places and that's how addicted to the climb came about. I've realized I'm not a quitter. Obviously, I'm still going. I'm never going down without a fight. If God's for me, who can be against me? And I am addicted to the climb. I want to continuously climb.

Speaker 1 19:51

I think that's what it's all about, like I used to think it was an end goal, like a you know. Certainly corporate world was a title, it was a pay, it was a this or that.

Speaker 2 20:00

It's all about, like right now, and what you're doing with it and what you're impacting for good For sure, I'm a woman of perseverance and because I honestly grew up with a mother who was a woman of perseverance and that's what she modeled for me in my home my whole life, which was such a blessing to me, but addicted to part of, you know, mental health and physical health is as a whole.

The SIMPLIFY Framework

Speaker 2 20:34

It's so important for us not only to just go to the gym every day and work on our physical body, but it's really important for us to work on our mental state every single day, as we've been talking about all of it, and so the three pieces are just so meaningful to me. It's, you know, the faith is my life, it's my way of life, it's how I get up in the morning. Belief, faith brings me hope. And the fuel is how am I fueling myself? In my body, like we said, nutrition, what am I consuming? How am I fueling myself? My surroundings, who am I surrounded by? And fitness has just been so important to me. I had a fitness business for 11 years.

Speaker 1 21:15

You were a four times national bikini champion. Yes, but I mean that's not something everyone can say and obviously there's to be at that level. I don't even know, but I mean I've seen some, some things, the dedication that it takes, the locked in mindset of what it takes. Tell me a little bit about how that does play into who you are today and what it has taught you.

Speaker 2 21:40

I mean, that fitness journey was something else, just what you said it it was. First of all, I didn't even know what a fitness competition was. At that time I was 34 and somebody said what a girl I knew was like do you want to go to this weekend camp? It's a fitness camp to learn about competing. I was like, okay, because again for me, I'm a climber I'm like what, what's the next thing I can do? I'm always going wanting to go to that next level.

Speaker 2 22:07

So fitness has been part of my life since I was a teenager. So I learned about it that weekend, signed up for my first show, not knowing really what it entailed, but wow, what a journey. It wasn't even about the stage and the bikini and any of that. It was about okay, kelly, we're going to buckle up, let's see what you're made of, let's see how dedicated you can be. What's your commitment level going to look like? Are you going to persevere through the hard times? So I had to show myself how. To you know, I had to walk through this journey. It taught me really again how to persevere through hard times. It taught me how to be a committed woman. It taught me to have more integrity If I said I'm going to do this, I'm going to follow up and finish.

Speaker 2 22:54

You know, because I wanted to quit numerous times throughout the 14, 16 weeks I went into training and I did it four times. There were moments I was, there were moments I wanted to stop, but I really learned a great deal about myself, my dedication level and it really helped make me the woman I am today through going through all that and I'm so proud that I did it and, of course, the results that I got. Yeah, what made you stop? I said you know what? I'm going to go out, I'm happy where I'm at, I'm going to go out on top and I'm going to go back so I can balance my life now because it was, it was hard on the family. You know it was hard. I just wanted to get back to normal living for me and have balance in that.

Speaker 1 23:40

So that's where I stopped. Okay, so I like this as a great segue to kind of what I think one of the things that you've talked about is really making sure you're in alignment with your faith and who you are. But I think sometimes people might lose track of who they are. I know I did right Like I couldn't even look in the mirror, like I was like who is that person? Like I had, you know, let myself like physically go, you know, fitness wise and all those things, and I wasn't laid back and I was reactive and I was all these things because I was completely burnt out. But like, what are some of the things we can do to see those signs earlier and lean into faith more? How do you know you're out of alignment? What are some of the signals? And we know kind of what you do. The strategy is to get quiet, be present and kind of engage with your practices. But like, sometimes we think, oh, it's just I'm tired or I need to change my schedule and it's something deeper than that.

Speaker 2 24:32

It is, and I think it's like you know. You begin to get a little weary and you're not loving life anymore, Like you're losing that. You know excitement about things, and that's where faith to me just is everything. I have my answers, I get clear on what I'm supposed to be doing. God shows up when I'm low because I'm going right to him. I'm surrendering, Like I live by a framework. My framework is simplify, because I've been in those shoes where I felt burnt out. I felt, you know, I'm at my wits end. I don't even know what to do anymore. Simplify is, you know, I break it down.

Speaker 2 25:07

It's surrendering to God's plan. Sometimes we want to control everything in our purpose, know where we're supposed to be going, and sometimes it's just surrendering and asking God what is his plan for me? God, what do you have plans for me? Show me that plan. And I've found that through reading the Bible and then identifying what really matters managing my own energy. That's a big one for me. Like we said, it's what setting boundaries in our lives. You know, my P is always praying before I plan. Instead of just planning your whole life and planning everything, why don't you stop praying before you plan? Maybe God has a new way for you that you didn't know until you actually start praying about that, and he'll show you that through your prayers.

Speaker 2 25:56

And then letting go of distractions. A lot of us hold on and we create our own distractions, but we have to let go. I say a lot, let go and let God. And I really live on that phrase because I have to say that sometimes a hundred times in a day I try to hold on to things. You know the control that we all want, but then I in the I is all about investing in what brings me peace. So sometimes it's like what's going to bring you peace right now, in this, today, like not next week, not next, in July, If you're lacking peace and you're feeling weary, you're feeling anxious, stressed, maybe you're on the verge of burnout.

Speaker 2 26:40

Invest in what brings you peace, prioritize what matters to you. That's a big one that we all. We just go, go, go, because we're trying to see that, win that title or get a clap from people, you know, but at the end of the day it's our peace that needs to really be protected. And then my last two is focusing on the faith over fear. That's part of my. How do I simplify my life and yielding the why I end with is yielding to God's wisdom. That's a big one, and wisdom is everything Wisdom and discernment in your life can get you so far. So I learned how to simplify my life through this acronym and this is what I do. This is what I teach. It's all about simplifying so you can really magnify what matters to you in the end, so you don't hit those places of burnout.

Speaker 1 27:36

Yeah, cause that's that's like the definition of misalignment on so many levels being burnt out. You know you're not really paying attention to the things that are most important and ultimately it's misalignment with your values. For me, that's what it was and Ultimately it's misalignment with your values. For me that's what it was and I think a lot for a lot of people it is. I love that we end on simplify and I always love a good acronym.

Speaker 1 27:55

So thank you so much for being on the Bold Lounge. All the information about your books and how to find you and how to learn more about what you do and coaching and all your podcasts are down in the episode notes. Thank you again for being on the Bold Lounge. Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to the Bold Lounge podcast. Through the continuum of bold stories vulnerability to taking a leap you will meet more extraordinary people making a positive impact for others through their unique and important story. By highlighting these stories, we hope to inspire others and share the journey of those with a bold mindset. We hope you've enjoyed this podcast and look forward to sharing the next bold journey with you.