Women Like Me Stories & Business
🎧 Introducing "Women Like Me Stories & Business" - The Inspiring Business and Story Podcast by Julie Fairhurst! 🎙️
Julie Fairhurst is a speaker, movement leader, and the force behind Women Like Me. She doesn’t just host conversations, she pulls truth out of the places most people hide it.
As the founder of Women Like Me, she has helped hundreds of women tell the stories they thought they’d take to their grave, and turn them into something powerful. This isn’t about writing. It’s about being seen.
Women Like Me Stories & Business
Why Change Feels So Hard | Janine Lequay on Burnout, Reinvention & the DO IT Method
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Change can flatten you even when you are “good at change.”
One day, you are steady in your routines, and the next, you are facing a layoff, burnout, loss, a career pivot, or a life transition you did not ask for. Then the question hits hard: now what?
In this episode of the Women Like Me Stories & Business Podcast, Julie Fairhurst sits down with Janine Lequay, Change Strategist, Coach, and Author, to talk about why so many people feel scattered, overwhelmed, and disconnected during major transitions — and why that feeling is often a missing process, not a personal flaw.
Janine brings 15 years of organizational change management experience into real life, where the stakes are personal, and the tools are rarely taught. Julie and Janine explore why our brains cling to comfort, why discomfort is a normal biological response to change, and how isolation can make transition feel even heavier.
Janine also shares her powerful GPS metaphor for personal change: you cannot get where you are going if you do not first name where you are starting from. From there, the conversation moves into overwhelm versus failure, burnout signs such as autopilot and avoidance, and the relief that comes from internal alignment instead of chasing everyone else’s expectations.
You will also hear Janine explain her DO IT Change Method in simple, practical language: Discover, Own, Implement, Transform. This framework helps people navigate career pivots, identity shifts, burnout recovery, personal reinvention, and life transitions by taking small steps that build momentum.
This conversation is a reminder that change is not always linear, and feeling overwhelmed does not mean you are failing. Sometimes you simply need a clearer map, a steadier process, and the courage to take the next honest step.
Julie and Janine also discuss community support, why your career is not your identity, and Janine’s vision for teaching kids how to navigate change with intention.
If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend in transition, and leave a review so more people can find tools for change management, burnout recovery, reinvention, and personal growth.
What change are you standing on the edge of right now?
Learn more about Janine Lequay:
Soleil Edge: https://soleiledge.com/
www.doitchangemethod.com
www.mychangearchetype.com
If this conversation stirred something in you… good. That’s where change begins.
Make sure you’re subscribed, share this with someone who needs it, and if you’re ready to tell your story, step into your voice, or build a life that actually feels like yours… You’re in the right place.
I’m Julie Fairhurst, and this is where stories turn into power.
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Welcome And The Change Problem
SPEAKER_02Hi everyone. Welcome to another episode of Women Like Me Stories and Business. I have a sweet lady on here today, and I can't wait to dive into what she's got to tell us. I love doing these podcasts because I learned so much. So I'm going to learn and you're going to learn as well. So today on the Women Like Me podcast, I'm joined by Janie Lequet. I hope I got that right. And she is a change strategist, a coach, an author, and the creator of Do It Change Method. Janie has, or I'm sorry, Janine, sorry, Janine spent 15 years helping Fortune 500 companies navigate complex change, but after her own personal and professional collapse, she realized something powerful. Corporations often have better tools for managing change than people do. So most of us are left to wing it through career pivots, loss, reinvention, burnout. Burnout's not good, family transitions, and personal crisis. Then we wonder why we feel overwhelmed, scattered, or stuck, or afraid. So Janine's message is both practical and deeply human. You are not bad at change. You may simply be missing the right process. So in this conversation, it is for anyone who's standing on the edge of change and wondering, like we all do, now what? So, Janine, thank you so much for being here. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and a little bit about the work that you do?
SPEAKER_00Sure, absolutely. First, I would like to say thank you, Julie, for having me. I am excited to engage in this conversation. Of course, like you said, uh change is my thing, right? I have spent years studying it and in the corporate setting, uh, really, again, like you said, helping organizations navigate uh big changes. What I found for myself, what started as a personal journey, I always considered that I was great at change. So anything that came up, whether it was a relocation, career pivot, whatever it is, whatever life threw at me, I felt that I could always generally uh, you know, navigate it quite well. Uh and that shifted when I was laid off in December 2024. So I was helping people navigate change. And at this point, when I was laid off, I started to uh
A Layoff That Rewrote Everything
SPEAKER_00try to figure out what my next steps were, right? So where do I go from here? And granted, a year prior to that, the contract that I had ended, and so I was in a similar boat, but this time it just hit really differently. I guess the timing of it, where I was in my life, I just felt like this space where, like you said, what do I do next? Where do I go from here? And so that turned into a year-long journey of trying to figure out where I go, how do I pivot, utilizing a lot of what I've learned in organizational change management. And while I was trying to navigate that space, that's where my framework was born because I realized that, as you so eloquently stated, what organizations have spent so much on building and manifesting and growing, we don't do in our own lives. And I decided to how do I simplify what currently exists in the business world? How do I simplify that for individuals to help them navigate change? And that process is actually what helped me uh find my own footing. So I'm speaking firsthand. Yes, I was speaking firsthand about what it can do, you know, and how it helps you navigate with intention.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Wow, wow. So you help people understand why change feels difficult. So why do so many of us struggle when life shifts and we need to change or pivot?
SPEAKER_00Sure. I, you know, talk about this in my book because we're supposed to. That's our anatomy, right? That's how we're made up. And there's nothing wrong with
Why Change Triggers Fear
SPEAKER_00how we respond because our body likes comfort. Our body likes patterns, right? Um, and that's why it says, okay, you know, you have a pattern, you set a schedule, how you wake up. We respond well to that. So when something shifts, we naturally go into fear mode. And it's very similar to what about when we get sick or even when we start working out, right? Our muscles are resisting, and that is a natural response. What happens because change touches so many aspects of our life, we start to question is this normal? Am I doing the right thing? You know, the confidence starts lacking, uh, and all of these things again, because it touches so many facets of life, then it becomes much harder for us to be able to process and understand uh the landscape that has shifted around us. Uh and I think that we don't take the time necessary to understand that space.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. It's funny as your talk, I thought to myself, my my son a couple of years ago, he said to me, we were having a little tiff, and he said, You've changed. And I and I got defensive and I said, I have not. And then I thought about it. And I thought, well, of course I've changed. Thank God I've changed. Right? We're meant to change. So I I get what you're saying. It can for for many of us that have been in the same job, the same, you know, like you say, those patterns. And then something comes in and says, oh no, you you've got to do something else now. It can be pretty darn scary.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Absolutely. And you know, I even liken it to think of the career of your dreams, right? Or the company of your dreams, whatever it is, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Even on your first day, you're nervous. What happens? You start to again question yourself, right? Can I do this? Am I going to be what everybody expects me to be? It's natural. And this is something that you wanted, right? Or you choose to move to a new city because you're so excited. But once you get there, then you start to question, right? You start to again get nervous because naturally we are in a space that is uncomfortable because it's different. It's not something that we're used to. Uh, and so stretching ourselves and understanding that I think is really the first step is saying this is normal. So I talk about in the book all of these thoughts and notions that we have in our mind about change and how we feel. You know, we often feel like we're on an island on our own. And this is why I want to talk about change and have these conversations because the more and more you have them, the more people realize, wait, that's how I felt. That's how I feel. I'm going through that too. I already went through that, right? And because generally, when we start to experience these things, we isolate instead of seeking community and seeking others and saying, hey, this is what I'm feeling, this is what I'm going through, you know? And again, and it's normal, all of it's normal. And I don't know where that thought, you know, came from that it's not okay and it's not supposed to happen this way. I say change is the evolution of the individual. I mean, you know, we've been changing since the start of time. So why now do we again look at it as such a negative thing, right? We look at it as such disruption, and that's really the conversation and the thought process that I want to change.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. What happens emotionally and mentally when people face major transitions without a process?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Uh so I liken it to a GPS, right? We can't figure out where we're going if we don't know we're starting from. We need those two points. And so when something shifts, if we didn't have a starting point, it's
Start Where You Actually Are
SPEAKER_00gonna be impossible for us to navigate that space, right? Um certainly again if we don't know where we're going. So when something shifts, we need to take the time to figure out our current reality. So what's the reality, right? Where am I? What is my starting point? This is what's happened around me, this is what's happened to me. Sometimes it's changed that we didn't choose, or this is something that I know I need to affect, right? I need to implement. And so identifying that starting point, I think is key. And we skip that all too often. I feel like we're swept up by all the external factors around us, and then we're just again going along a journey, we don't even know where we're headed. And so, what happens to us now emotionally, I mean, it just becomes either autopilot or a whirlwind that we're just again caught up in everything that's happening around us, and we're trying to catch our footing, but we can't because we haven't really taken the time to process, right? Right. And I talk about this in organizations. When a change happens in an organization, yes, the organization has made a decision, or again, even to an organization, it could be an external factor of the economy, right? And now something has shifted. What does that mean for the individual? And I think that's what we're missing, and what I'm really working on in my business is to get people to identify intentional change comes from within. We have to do the work, we have to align internally to understand the landscape and to be able to move with confidence. If we don't take the time to do that, where do we go? We just keep getting, you know, spun around in all these external factors with no real direction. And the only way that the direction comes is from identifying our starting point, what that means for us, and where we want to go. And then we can map all the pieces in between.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, for sure. What are some of the signs that someone is not actually failing? They are simply overwhelmed by change.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Uh, that's such a good question, right? And I think it could be different for everybody. And, you know, I know
Overwhelmed Does Not Mean Failing
SPEAKER_00this sounds I I definitely don't want to go into toxic positivity, right? That's like everything's all, you know, glass flavors. Um but you know, the failure aspect, what is failing as an individual, right? Like we said, we're all evolving, we're all trying to work towards something, and the journey just looks really different for a lot of us. And I say, and even in the worst of times, even in the worst of decisions, right, there's still growth and opportunity that can come from it. And it's really our mindset and how we choose to look at that, whether we grow, right? As I expressed to you, you know, last year was a really tough year for me. And I found myself, you know, drinking more than I should have been. I found myself, I couldn't focus, right? So some of the decisions that I normally would make, I wasn't making them clearly. But what I found though, even coming out of that, now I had space that I can compare to and be like, ooh, that wasn't the direction that I wanted to go, right? And again, I can look at that as opportunity to say, okay, those are missed steps, those aren't spaces and places that I wanted to go, but there was a lot that I learned from being there. There's a lot that I was able to take from it. And so again, now that I'm able to identify the direction that I'm heading, I can use those as stepping stones, as again, opportunities for growth to be able to move forward. So I would say to directly answer your question the signs of I would say maybe change, hesitation, right? Stuckness, as we use a lot, right? Um being stuck. Look within, understand again that landscape around you, and then maybe you realize you're actually not as far off course as you thought you were.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00I I I just I think it's different for everybody. It's different for everybody. And so that's actually something that I created, which is uh a change archetype assessment that helps people identify how they naturally respond to shifting environments, right? So it's an assessment, 120 questions. So it's not, you know, a quick assessment, it's something that you actually take your time to work through, you know, to understand how you respond. And what I've realized is again in this space of change, it's a one-size-fits-all, right? Everyone's like, well, push through, right? You're gonna be okay. Come on, get up, you know, it's gonna be okay, just keep going. And with the change assessment, it helps us identify that people process and receive change differently. And what gets us motivated to move is also different from individual to individual. So I'll use uh two examples. I'm an activator, and activator, I when something shifts, I don't process a lot. I have to move. I have to. If I stay anywhere too long, that's when it feels very heavy on me. Um, when I start taking in too much information, that's when I get too overwhelmed. And so for me, it's again like, all right, what are we gonna do next? I'm I'm already at the solution before the change has even fully you know taken place. Um, my husband is an analyzer, and so for him, like we're total opposites in that regard. He needs all the information, everybody, like every piece of information known to mankind. He's like, bring it on. I need all of it, right? And so when you look at that and just look at naturally, again, the same change event, the same situation, he will receive differently than I do, and how we get unstuck and we move through it is different from individual to individual. And so a lot of the signs that we may identify as hesitation or being stuck really just might be how you receive the change, and that might just be an indicator to you something has shifted. And I need to again go into discovery, which is the first first part of my framework, go into discovery to figure out what has shifted, what does it mean for me, where am I going?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. What do you think people misunderstand about change?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Absolutely, one of the things that we were just talking about that the discomfort is a sign that something's wrong, that you know, we aren't supposed to respond certain ways. So I think that's the number one myth around change. Again,
Seeing Opportunity Inside Upheaval
SPEAKER_00our body, once it's something that we are not used to, we are going to react. Our body does it physically and we're doing it mentally and emotionally. That's what we're designed to do. So I would say that's the number one thing. I also think that how we look at change as disruption is a major problem, right? And it's become, again, this just thing that everything is oh, change overload, too much change, change, change. It just feels bad and it doesn't feel good anymore. It feels like something's being done to us. And again, I look at it, it's all evolution. That's how we grow, right? You know, the worst change are one, I would say one of the worst changes, losing someone, right? I lost my mom 10 years ago. Actually, the 25th of May was her 10-year anniversary. My daughter's birthday is May 7th, and I literally had a newborn May 7th, and my mom passed away May 25th. And it was, you know, a tough time, a really difficult time. And so I know what it is to be in a really uh difficult space trying to navigate multiple changes at one time. And so, and like I said, grief is one of those, you know, absolutely probably one of the worst changes that we can go through. But also it's part of life. Right? Yes, I'm about the evolution of the individual. You know, we're we're all born and we all exit at some point. That is part of life. Um, and how we choose to deal with that and how we choose again to grow from it, how we choose to look at that person's life, all of that is you know, part of again who we become as individuals as we continue to progress and grow, right? And so I think that's key is any change that happens, not trying to minimize the change, but there's almost no change that millions haven't been through already, right?
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00What makes the difference is how we choose to move through it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I think that's where again, as individuals, we try to figure that space out, you know, and do the best that we can, of course, in how we move through it.
SPEAKER_02My one of my I have several brothers, and one of my brothers called me a couple of years ago and said, My little dog just died. My girlfriend left me, and I just got fired from my 25-year job.
SPEAKER_00Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02And we had silence, and I thought to myself, uh-oh. And I said, Congratulations, you're free. Wow, what is coming next?
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_02And he went and it just he shifted from it because I don't know what to say. Right. And he, but I could hear him, and he said, Oh, and I said, Well, you were unhappy, you didn't like living where you're living. You've been complaining about that job for years. You know, your poor little doggie, you loved, but you know, it was like the universe said, okay, we're gonna free up all in a week and off you go. And and that was a couple of years ago, and the growth and the change that I've seen in him is amazing.
SPEAKER_00That's beautiful. That's cool. And you know, and it really, and I think that's the key of what I'm saying, right? Or the essence of what I'm saying is it's how we choose to look at the opportunity. You know, of course, we know the glass half full, the glass half empty, right? There's that, but but it's really true, right? We can look at something like that. I mean, those are three major um, those are major, oh yeah, right. And a different sister could have had a very different response that could have completely changed how he processed and how he moved through that change. Um, but seeing it as an opportunity that's like you're free now. Like again, these are things like you were complaining about, and how many people we stay stuck in a job, as you said, right? We're unhappy, but it's comfortable. We know where the paycheck is coming from, we know the landscape, right? Um, and so we stay, and then bam, we're laid off, we lose our job, however, it happens. Yeah, we have no choice at that point but to pivot. We have no choice now but to do something different. And how many times do we hear it was so great? And actually, I didn't look at it as a blessing, but it surely was.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes. I was I was fired from a job many years ago, cried for a whole weekend. Yeah, I thought, oh my, you know, embarrassed and hurt feelings and all of that. But it was the best thing that happened to me because it allowed me to pivot to where I needed to go.
SPEAKER_00Wow, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh in disguise, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And we don't see that sometimes when we're in it because we're in it. But but you know, you just try to look at it as a positive, just in terms of, okay, well, the universe has freed me up. So what am I gonna do now? Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, for sure. And that's you know, I will tell you, Julie, so the framework that I created exactly for that space, right? Because when we're in it, how do we move through it? That's really the difficult part, right? It's because, like, again, you're in the middle of this storm and you're trying to process all these things. And the first part of the framework is discover. So that's again identifying what is the reality. So I've been fired for the from this job, right? Was it my dream job? So we have to ask the right questions. Was it my dream job? What did I learn from it? Why was I there? What was the value? How can I utilize the skills that I learned moving forward? There's so many questions that can help us clean uh paint a clearer picture, right? And then you realize, again, maybe that really was a blessing because I was going to spend my time somewhere and I've realized I don't even like it, but I was gonna stay there because of whatever reason, right? Yes. Um, once you start asking those questions, and then we are able to, I say clarity comes from doing, not from over processing and overthinking. Once you start making movements, once you little steps, things start to become clearer. And so as you're, you know, moving through and you're like, okay, so that wasn't the job I wanted. I didn't like this, I didn't like that, and you start trying different things, you get closer to where you want to be when you ask the right questions, right?
SPEAKER_02Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a life is a path, that's for sure. And there's all sorts of twists and turns. Yeah. So what about burnout and exhaustion?
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02For st for people starting over, like I know for myself, I was burnt out for a while, and then I pivoted to something different. But but what do you say to people? Do they
Burnout Signs And Internal Alignment
SPEAKER_02even what I realize is burn first of all is burnout is real. It's not pretend. It's a real thing. So, what do people who were in that state do?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Uh, so I will say one of the things about burnout, like you said, it's real, but it is definitely one of those things that you don't even realize is happening. Yeah. And I would say that was me last year, right? I literally just juggling so many hats again, got laid off, caring for three children. My husband travels a lot. I decided I was gonna pursue my coaching, uh, executive coaching, life coaching, and start a coaching business. I mean, it was just a lot, right? I'm the go-to, everybody talks to me, everybody comes to me. So I'm managing all of these different aspects. And it was a lot, and hanging out and drinking, as I told you, right? Yeah. Um, because it was that little bit of freedom, that getaway. So a little bit of sleep. I I don't need a lot of sleep. I need sleep, but not a lot. But I was really pushing the limit then, right? So all of these things, and I didn't even realize it because I was also an autopilot, and that's the thing. Burnout, like, I mean, you're just an autopilot, you just you do this with your eyes closed, you know? Yeah. Um but I think where again this entire change framework comes in is stopping for a second and just realigning. And when you stop, whether you decide to do it Weekly, just do a temperature check. How am I doing? Right? Where am I going? What am I doing? Am I closer to where where I where I want to be? What are the things that matter to me? Am I doing too much? Like, you know, really just stopping and asking. Without stopping and asking ourselves those questions, without realigning, then again, we will get caught up in the burnout and realize that so many things that we're doing as we're responding again to the external factors are moving us further and further away from internal alignment, which again is going to burn us out way quicker than anything else. My husband has said to me, he's like, you know, you're doing more now than you were last year. But you seem so much calmer. And I was like, because I'm more aligned. Yes. Because I'm more aligned. Because the things that I'm doing are actually again aligned with what I'm trying to accomplish. They are actually aligned with how I feel about myself internally, right? And so they don't, they're not as heavy for me as all of the things that were moving me further and further away from where I actually wanted to be and needed to be. And so I think again, that internal alignment when you look within and identify again where you want to be and what you're working toward is key because then you start to realize a lot of the things that are burning you out, they're burning you out because they do not meet that internal alignment. They're just adding a lot of pressure because again, you're being whipped up by all of these external things that are coming at you and you're just trying to manage them.
SPEAKER_02And I think too that it's it's it's you know, it's time for a change. It's time to pivot. For myself, when I noticed I was burnt out, I I what I noticed was I'm not answering my phone. I'm going, oh, I'm gonna have to go. I'm gonna have to go out, I'm gonna have to deal with this. And so avoidance started happening. And then of course I started losing customers, and then I went, okay, you gotta make a decision here, girl, because you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But it's um little things like that. And if you can notice them, you can notice catch yourself and then do whatever needs to be done. But if you get to full burnout mode, it takes a long time to come out of that.
SPEAKER_00It does, it does, and oftentimes it can cause a collapse, and that is you're climbing out of the collapse, and that's when you start noticing. And like I said, that was me, right? I literally was burnt out, I collapsed, and like nothing was aligned. And I was doing things at the time, like so I used to play soccer way back, way back when. Yeah, right. But I never really liked working out or going to the gym. I love playing sports, but never really worked out. Last year, I was like riding my bike. I was like a riding bike champion, right? And my husband's like, Are you okay? And I'm like, Oh, well, I'm great, right? You know, and the reality was I was so far removed again from who I am that I was just trying to do positive things that made sense that I knew I should have been doing. That was the most committed to working out that I'd been. Even my sister was like, You're riding your bike again. And I was like, I am. Oh right. And again, it was something positive I was trying to do. But again, the irony in it, it was just it was me pulling out a straw because I knew it was something good and positive that I should be doing, but it truly isn't something that I genuinely do, right? Right. Yeah and so again, burnout can look it come in so many different forms and ways. And that's where, again, knowing who you are and what works for you, like you said, you know, not answering phone calls. I mean, for some people, that's their natural thing, they just don't like talking to people, period, right? Yeah, yeah, that's just who they are. But for you, you identify that and you're like, okay, wait a minute, something's not right here because you enjoy engaging with people, and when the culture comes in, you're happily on the you know, call. My husband's very much like that. My husband, like, I mean, I've never seen someone take so many phone calls in a day, and I don't know how he does it, and then he's still talking to you, and I'm like, how right? Like it's it's just amazing to me. Yeah, but like you said, when he starts becoming burnt out or overwhelmed, he starts reclusing. And so you know immediately, all right, something's wrong, right? Yes, yeah, and so yeah, but those are the that's the key of again understanding you because what works for Julie won't work for me. But oftentimes we utilize other people's benchmarks, other people's expectations, what we see from other people, try to attribute it to ourselves, and then when we miss the mark, we're like, I don't understand what happened, but because we weren't looking in the right place, right? Absolutely. We weren't looking at what works for us or what doesn't work for us or what are the signs for us. I can't tell anybody what their burnout signs are. Those are things that again, you have to really work through and understand what is my core orientation. And when I start moving from that, why? What does that mean? Right? Those are things that I think, you know, obviously a space like this helps us kind of talk through, helps us understand, helps us kind of notice, you know, and that's the key is we have to take the time to do it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, for sure. So let's talk about your do-it-change method. Can you walk us through what do it stands for?
SPEAKER_00Sure, absolutely. So do it stands for discover, own, implement, transform.
Discover Own Implement Transform
SPEAKER_01Oh, yep.
SPEAKER_00And the reason why I had do it, again, working in an organizational change space and being a practitioner, I realized that so many of the resources and tools were really for practitioners. The everyday person is not gonna utilize it, it's not gonna register. And so I was like, what is something that the everyday person can remember and that they can align to? And that's where do it was born. And so I was like, because every time people talk to me, I'm like, just do it, do it, do it, you know? Yes, I was like, oh man, it's the perfect acronym. And so discover is really identifying, as I was saying earlier, your current state, taking the time to understand what is the climate, what has shifted, how has it impacted me, right? Um, when I say I liken that to organizational change in the profession, when a change is happening, we do a stakeholder analysis, right? Meaning who's being impacted by the change. We do an impact analysis, how are they being impacted, right? So we rate them, who's being impacted. Um, we look at a readiness assessment, how ready is the organization and these different levels of people for the change. So there's so much that goes into it that we do not do from an individual perspective, right? And so I took all of those that I learned and organizational change management and put that into this framework so that people now can utilize it for movement. So all that goes into discover, understanding what the true climate is, and then also identifying what the future state is, right? A CEO does not agree to spend $10 million because things are turning upside down if he doesn't know what the end result is supposed to be, right? So the same way we need to know where we're going, right? Yes, at least a general idea of where we're going before we just commit, right? So that's what the discover phase is about. Really understanding what our current reality is, what the entire landscape is around that, and where we're trying to go, right? So defining those, the starting point and the future desired state. Ownership is the next step. And I actually think for me, ownership is the most critical piece of the framework. This is where you determine how you're going to engage with the change. Um, so this is the mindset shift that we were talking about earlier, right? Um, we have lots of choices in ownership. We look at what is within our control. What are we wasting our energy on, right? Because oftentimes we waste our energy on things that we can't control. If we take an inventory and actually determine what's in within my control, now we start to feel empowered and we start to identify that doesn't matter what the change is, you have choices, you have options. You need to choose how you're going to move forward. And so those two phases uh fall into our planning phases. And some people are great in that space, right? Yeah. Um, once we decide how we're going to move forward, that's when we get into the action phases, which is the implementation and the transformation. And this is where we actually start defining, identifying small steps that we can take to get to that desired future state. I say small steps and I emphasize small steps because oftentimes our mind, we think I made a decision to move, I'm moving next week. Like it doesn't like no, that's not how it happens, right? It takes some time. I need to do my research. You know, maybe I commit to researching three cities a month, right? Taking small steps. And in the book, I talk about, you know, the implementation. We have this vision, and I blame the movies because it has this idea that it has to be this amazing jump, right? Like once we decide to make a change, it has to be this amazing thing, and the transformation, the skies open up, and you know, the rain comes down, and you're like, oh, I'm transformed. So we have this idea in our mind. And it's like, it doesn't happen like that. Small, consistent, little steps. That's what builds momentum, that's what gets us toward our desired state, right? And then transformation is really being able to identify when those wins, right, as you move along, as you're getting closer, and when you're finally in that desired state, uh, what that actually looks like. What would that mean for you? And so we identify that in the transformation. So it's a full process that what we've identified again with the archetype assessments. Again, some people are great at certain phases and other people aren't. So it helps you identify uh where you naturally move through, right? And then where your difficulty may lie and how you can overcome and how you can spend a little bit more time in those various phases.
SPEAKER_02So so important to have that because sometimes we're just we're well, we're blind to the problem or we're, you know, or we don't, I don't know. Just it's so good to know that you can that there's I these identifying things that can help you to understand what direction you should go.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, a hundred percent. And you know, like I said, so much time and money has been spent in organizational change management. And when I look at that, I'm just like, why haven't we again utilized some of these methods for our own lives, right? They're effective. And so it's like when you take a step back, and then you know, you'd asked me a question earlier about one of the greatest myths about change, or sorry, one of the way that you stated, it was one of the misconceptions about change. Yes, yes, and that change is linear, right? I think that is one of the biggest myths, biggest misconceptions that people think when I make a decision to move in a direction, it's just like this. That is not change. Change is a curve. There are peaks, there are valleys, it's all of the in-between. And I think that's also a lot of what scares us, right? Because once we start going down in that valley, it's like, ah, what's happening, right? Yes. But again, changes like this. Some days are great, some days aren't. Some days you're gonna feel like you could take over the world, other days you're like, oh my gosh, worst decision I ever made in life. And all of that is perfectly normal. So when I think about the framework and we talk about the things that you can expect along the way, right? And you know, we educate and we talk about that. What can you expect as you are navigating this change, especially from your change archetype? What are the things that are going to be red flags for you? What are the things that you can expect to encounter as an analyzer, as an activator, right? When we have that knowledge and that awareness, and then also when we have the community to help us navigate that space, uh, I mean, it's it's just huge. It makes the world of difference, you know? And the framework, you can go back into it. So we start moving, we take some steps, then we're like, ugh, as I was telling you earlier, probably not the best idea. Sometimes we have to go back into discovery, and that's okay. Sometimes we have to go back and be like, hmm, okay, that didn't work out quite how I expected it to. Now what's my current reality? Because now it's shifted, right? So now we go back in, we ask the right questions, and we decide how we're gonna move forward. So it's something that you can literally just keep going back to and keep working through. As another change happens, as the same change, you know, it really is a grounding in a shifting world.
SPEAKER_02Well, what about our identity? Why do you think that change threatens our identity?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Uh, because it's wrapped up in so much of ourselves, right? If you think about any one change, it touches so much.
When Change Shakes Your Identity
SPEAKER_00It touches the people that we love, right? It touches what we think about ourselves, it touches our finances, it touches, right? So when we add up all of the changes, and those are the ones that become, you know, in the book, I talk about the different types of change, you know. So those that we seek, those that, you know, are normal, everyday changes, those that are life-altering changes. The greater the stakes, the more things it touches. And when it touches more things, that's where it really starts to go to our identity. Because our identity is, you know, who we are as a family, who we associate with, the things that we invest our time in, right? The things that we invest our money in, our efforts. And when those things start to shift, that's where it starts to rock who we are as people.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, and I think that's where, you know, even I you see my thing, your career is not uh your identity. We've wrapped ourselves in our career so much that, you know, again, when there is a layoff or when a job loss in general, we start to question our entire existence, right? Well, am I this great person? Am I that good? Am I this? Am I that? It's not like we have chosen to wrap our identity into a career or into something that we enjoy or that we're doing. And it's like, no, all of these pieces make our identity. All of these things, right? Not any one thing. And without one of those pieces, that doesn't mean we aren't who we are. Yes. Right? We still are who we are. But a big part of it is who are we? I remember last year my husband asked me, he said, Well, who are you? And I literally got up and I slammed my phone on the concrete and I broke it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did, I did. And I am like the furthest thing from an aggressive person. But it was that moment he asked me that question, and I realized I didn't have an answer. Ah, and like, so I mean, the the breaking of the phone was just really that, you know, that frustration that I was like, I don't know. And I literally said that, and I got up and I stormed off because I didn't know how to answer the question because I was really in that space because so much had shifted, and I at the time hadn't done the work to understand what shifted around me and the impact it was having. That again, I was just getting swept up by everything that was just happening and moving further and further away from who I was. Um, and that moment really was a turning point, you know, because that that phone breaking, it was more than the phone breaking. It was me breaking down, realizing I did not know who I was in everything that was happening around me.
SPEAKER_02Wow. Well, what what advice would you give to a woman who's still trying to rebuild her life after she's held everybody else together?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that absolutely I get that. Guilty,
Rebuilding After Holding Everyone Up
SPEAKER_00right?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00I would say again, take the time. This is not it's it's this kind of not a plug for my book, but I really do believe it's effective. Take the time to go through the framework. I think it puts you in a completely different frame of mind. You know, the the questions that I ask, the questions that are posed, you never think to ask them right in a very cohesive way that helps you to understand again, this is where I'm starting from. This is what's broken around me, this is what I still have, you know, this is who I still am, and this is where I would like to go. Understanding all of those questions, understanding again that entire landscape and environment without it, where do you go? Right? And that's where I feel like we continuously just keep moving without stopping for a second to understand what we're moving toward. And that's for me, I would say stop for a second and understand what you are working toward and understand what you're bringing to the table. Understand what you have within you, right? And start from that place, not from what everybody is telling you, not from the expectations, not from again holding up what everybody else expects of you and wants of you and tells you that you should be doing or shouldn't be doing. Go inside. So that would be my biggest piece of advice. Go inside.
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_00Stop looking outside.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, I want everyone to know that if you would like to reach out to Janine, we're gonna have all of her information in the show notes. And we should have the link to your book in there as well. So we'll have that there as well. So if any of you want to reach out to her or you want to purchase her book, it is the 120 questions in the book.
SPEAKER_00No, no, no. So that's an actual assessment, right? And so we'll share the link for that as well. Okay. So once you complete the assessment, you get a report. Uh, it's eye-opening. I promise you, it's it's an interesting one to say the least. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And then the other last thing that I would like to say, Julie, um, for people to join on Thursdays, I do it's called the change experience. So it's from 12 to 1 p.m. Um you can register, get the website. It's just a space to come in, join in, and let's just talk about what we're experiencing. So it is a pressure-free zone. It's to build community. Again, that whole like, I understand that other people are going through it too. So what are you doing? We bring it to the forefront because we don't have enough spaces and places to have conversations about what we're experiencing and all the changes that are happening. And this again is a judgment-free zone. Come on in, have some open conversation. It's it's really been a great space. So that's Thursday from which time? 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
SPEAKER_0212 to 1 p.m. And what time zone are you in?
SPEAKER_00Eastern Standard.
SPEAKER_02Eastern Standard. Okay, perfect. Okay. Thank you. Wow, well, that's that's fabulous to have. It's like it's almost like a mini mastermind to to to really help get clear. And sometimes we just need to sit and listen. Yep. Or say what what's going on and and and hopefully get some some good feedback. Wow.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Wow. Well, I have one last question for you. What's the legacy you hope to build through your work?
SPEAKER_00Oh my gosh, what a beautiful question. The legacy, I really want to change the way that people think about change, right? We again look at it as disruptive. And I think if
Community Support And A Legacy For Kids
SPEAKER_00we can go inside, get internally aligned, then we'll start to see change in a very different way. And as I said, as the evolution of the individual. As I express us, Julie, I have three children. I'm also creating a workbook for children because I think if we're able to help children from earlier navigate all of the changes that they're going to experience for a lifetime, again, that will just create a totally different generation of adults that know how to navigate change with intention instead of being swept up by all of the storms that we're guaranteed to encounter.
SPEAKER_02Wow, I just got shivers when you said that. That's wow, that's that's a wonderful thing. Yeah, we need to really help kids. I mean, it's important for kids to be kids and live their life, but they also need to know that, you know, it's it's not all fairy tales and unicorns.
SPEAKER_00Exactly correct. It is not as you get older. But you know, I would say, Julie, even as kids, right? Yes, yes, friends, the friends change, they can schools, parents move, and so from a kid's perspective, and this is where again that empowerment really comes from, kids feel like all of these changes are happening to them. Yeah, and so getting them to understand you still have a choice and how you engage with that change. So your parents move and you should change schools. I know that really sucks. I understand all of your feelings are valid around it, but you still have a choice. So you the change event is that your parents moved and you had to change schools. Yeah. What's the reality? I know you don't have you don't have the same friends, you know. So you get children to start to understand what that landscape means for them, right? Yes, but they still have a choice in how they move forward. And if they can understand that from children, any change again that we're guaranteed to experience as we continue to grow, right? Going from middle school to high school, right? Their first relationship, graduating from high school, deciding to go to college, what your first job is going to be. All of those things are going to shift. You're guaranteed to experience them. How do you move through it with intention? How do you take control of the change instead of letting it sweep you up? And now you're just reacting. And that's where I feel like that's the legacy that I would like to leave, you know, for my own children, for children, everybody else's children, and for again, even adults who we we weren't taught this as kids.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Wow, that's that's a beautiful thing. I appreciate that you're doing that.
unknownWell, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Thank you so much, Janine, for being willing to be so open and share all of your ideas and concepts and everything that you've learned. And that's what I think people need to understand is that is that we don't know what we don't know.
SPEAKER_00What we don't know, right?
SPEAKER_02And and you know, there's stuff you don't know that you don't know. So, but we all learn from each other. And it's just, I love it. I just I just love it. So I appreciate you being so willing. Now, remember, everybody, we're gonna have the link to her book and the link to her website. So, how you can reach out. If you want to take that 120 question assessment, sounds pretty interesting. You want to pick up her book or if there's anything else she can help you with. So don't hesitate
Links, Kindness, And Goodbye
SPEAKER_02to reach out because we all need a little help and we all need clarity. And uh and we're all meant to change. So be kind to yourself out there.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. It was awesome. I appreciate you so much for creating a space. Uh, like you said, just to learn, to share. It was really great. So I appreciate you so much.
SPEAKER_02Oh, well, thank you so much. Okay, everybody, that's it for now. So we'll see you next time. Take care, everyone. Bye bye.