7 Key Decisions I've Made To Transform My Life

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In this episode, I discuss the following: 

• The difference between Katja 1.0 and Katja 2.0
• My struggles throughout the years 
• What shifted inside me after Tony Robbins
• The 7 decisions I made that transformed my life
• How I tune out the noise and listen to my own intuition

In case you missed it:

• The Experience That Changed My Life
• 7 Mindset Shifts That Healed My Negative Body Image

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Transcript

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Hello everyone, welcome back to the building her podcast. Before we dive in to today's episode, I have a huge announcement. It is so exciting and it's happening right now. If you have been dreaming of more for your life, more self love, more confidence, more happiness, more abundance, more freedom. And you're ready to speed up that process, then this could be exactly the thing you're looking for. The big shift is here. It's back and doors are open. The big shift is my three month life transformation program. It's where the shift inside shifts the outside. It is designed to reconnect with your intuition, tap into your potential, learn to visualize, clear out the limiting beliefs in your subconscious mind, and master the art of manifestation. Now, it is called the Life Transformation Program for a reason, because it is a collection of the content that not only changed my life, And when I say collection, what I mean is it's a decade's worth of material reduced down to just 90 days. Talk about speeding up time. You're welcome. This content allowed me to step into my healthiest and most confident self, courage to start my own business and the mindset to attract more love, opportunities, and money into my life for Years. So if you're ready to change your habits and patterns so that you can rise up, quit your job, start a business, commit to your health, travel more, attract abundance, be happier, less anxious than the big shift is for you. This is a 12 week group coaching program with bi weekly live calls with me, over 15 video trainings, journal prompts, a vault of guest expert workshops, my must read personal development books, and annual access to all of the content inside. If you're on this personal development path and you're finally ready to invest in yourself in a way that is bigger than reading a book or watching yet another YouTube video, and you're ready to go from being inspired to actually applying these things and implementing them into your life so that you can become the version of yourself that has everything she wants, deserves, and desires, then I invite you to join us. The doors are open and the price is at its lowest right now, because we have dropped the cost of this program by over 500. Now is the time to join us before the price goes up. Click the link in the show notes below or head over to my Instagram profile at katia. lillian. You can click the link in my bio there. There is also a saved highlight labeled TBS on my Instagram profile, where you can see all kinds of testimonials, the women who have taken this program, the topics we cover, and so much more. If this feels like an align next step for you, let's make this upcoming year your best year yet. All right, let's get into this week's episode. Where I will be sharing seven key decisions I've made to transform. Hey, my name is Katya Lillian, and I am obsessed with all things mindset, personal development, and helping you build the best version of yourself. I'm a women's life and mindset coach and an entrepreneur who started a fun hobby of posting hashtag sweaty selfies, grew a successful side hustle, and now I run a six figure coaching business. I teach you the secret of building a life that aligns with your deepest values and one that you wake up excited for. This podcast is designed to expand your mind and channel. Challenge the status quo. So get ready to uplevel your life and let's start building her. Hello everyone. And welcome back to the building her podcast. I am so excited for every single episode. You guys know this, and I really do try to do a good job of. Explaining my story, but sharing and highlighting the lessons learned and the, the key milestones of my journey so that you have so much that you can take away from each episode and truly apply it to your life. That's always podcast. And so when I thought about today's episode, I really needed to share. this version of like Katya 1. 0 and then Katya 2. 0 and that's the easiest way I can explain it because Katya 1. 0 was so different, such a different version than Katya 2. 0 and I'm gonna Just dive in and start talking about my journey as Katya 1. 0, and then I will, I will note the transition over into Katya 2. 0. You guys will already be able to pick some things up, I believe, of, you know, the differences between the two, but I will highlight the differences at the end. And I will highlight those seven key decisions I made as Katya 2. 0 so that you can really get a good idea of the difference between both versions. Believe me, this took a while to come up with because, you know, over time and personal development years go by, you don't remember this stuff. So I really needed to go back into the archive. So, I don't know how long this episode will be. I, I hope I can shorten it and make it digestible for you all. So that again, it's easy to understand, but also implement into your life. So let's dive in. All right. So Katya 1. 0 as far as I can remember, it really does start back in high school. So High school, I was obviously already tall, I was 5'11 I only was worried about getting good grades, playing tennis, because I made varsity as a freshman, whoop, whoop, and my friends, and then I met Bert, of course, end of junior year, if you guys are familiar with my story. Now, during those years, I just followed the book, if you will, like safe, traditional, get good grades, straight A's. Play good at tennis, you know all the things those are my priorities, but at the same time The duality of it right because it really was such a great time and great upbringing and childhood But at the same time internally I was struggling because I was so insecure with my body image And so I, yeah, I never healed that until later on, which I'll get to, but pretty much all four years of high school, I really did struggle with that. I remember specific situations where I bought shoes that were too small on purpose because I was so insecure about my foot size. Which now I think, you know, I look back and I'm like, well, of course, like you're six foot and you're going to have these size six shoes. Like that would look awkward, but yeah, I don't know. It was just a weird insecurity with shoe size. And then I. Also had a weird insecurity with food, meaning like I didn't want anyone to see me eat my food. I remember like at lunch, not every time, but sometimes, and granted this was around a boy I liked, but I would hide my sandwich and when he like looked away or something, I would take a bite and then Hide my sandwich under the table again, like just bizarre behavior. And I actually outlined my entire body image story in another episode. I will link it below in the show notes. So I won't dive too deep into that, but regardless, you understand body image issues was so insecure with what I looked like and how tall I was. So end of junior year in high school, you know, you start getting that pressure for college and, and what college you want to go to. And then obviously that's based off of what you're majoring in and all the things, but I had no idea what I wanted to do. So I went to Bakersfield college, which is a junior college in California. And I chose that because I had originally went to an orientation, I believe it was CSU San Bernardino, and my older sister had gone there, so she recommended it to me. So I went there for like a weekend, I stayed at her house, and I remember after the first day being at that orientation, I just came home sobbing. I was like, I can't do this. Like everything about it felt scary and uncomfortable and just not right. That was my intuition talking, but I didn't have the language to say that was my intuition at the time. So I just came back crying and I called my mom and I was like, I can't do this. Like, this is not it. And so I went back home after that weekend, but then, you know, obviously no plan. So, it's crazy. It's like, you know, the universe heard me because then I got a phone call the very next. Stay from my tennis teammate in high school. She was one year older than me and she was already playing tennis for this junior college. And she was like, well, we actually need another tennis player. We have one spot open. Like, do you want to come for a tryout? And I was like, Oh my gosh, like abso fucking lutely that was like a no brainer. Right? So I went right away, tried out. They loved me. Got on the team. And so I went to junior college, but I do remember that I was insecure about that too, just because of how everyone looked at junior college at the time. And people in my world and my reality obviously didn't really see it as a great school, right? They would much rather have me go to CSU, but I picked Bakersfield college and I'm super So glad I did because it gave me those two years of gen ed to figure out a little bit more of what I liked and during that time I had picked my major for the CSU that I ultimately transferred to. But I picked it because of one class that I had at BC, and it was interpersonal communications, which was just how to communicate and how to talk within your family dynamic, and I don't know, it was just so interesting to me. I can't even really explain it, but it just like, it had me hooked right away. It also helped that my professor, Was super healthy, super fit, like just embodied this amazing, healthy person that I had always dreamt of because of my tennis career. And I just totally identified myself as this healthy athlete. And so he fit the bill for me. So I just loved him already as a person, but then also it translated into the class material. I also remember he made his own bread and then he would make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and. So I think I have the class like once a week. So every like Wednesday, let's say I would get my 3 and be ready to pay for this PB& J. It's so cute when I reflect back on this now. But yeah, so, That made my experience amazing. And I met one of my best friends also on that tennis team. And we still talk to, to, we still talk today, Emily, if you're listening, shout out to you, but yeah, after two years, then I transferred to CSU Northridge. So just. down south in Los Angeles and still didn't really know what I wanted but I know junior year you do need to choose a major and so I chose communication studies again based off of that one class I took at BC. I liked the classes and I loved the people that I was around but But I wouldn't say I was like truly passionate about it. I was still definitely like, you know, disorganized and not sure. And I definitely wouldn't say passionate and didn't have clarity, but I just kind of was going with the flow, still struggling with body image at this point because I had lived with three other girls in our apartment, our two bedroom apartment, we shared rooms. in North Hollywood. And they were so tiny. So they were shorter than me and very, very skinny. And at that age, I still compared myself to them and wanted to be smaller and skinnier like them. I just hated standing out literally. And so I tried to make myself smaller and that led to a, an eating disorder, which was binge eating. So I wouldn't eat in front of them. And then pretty much anytime I had the apartment by myself, I would eat, or if I, you know, was in between classes or something completely away from them, then I would eat. But yeah, something about being around them. I just wouldn't eat. So that was college and at the end of college, my last semester in senior year, I got an internship at a social media agency. Did I care for social media or this agency? No, but it was an internship. It looked good on my resume that I would need eventually for a job. So I said, yes. And I went to Culver city. Now, since this was an internship, it was like once or twice a week. So not that bad. But later on I did get hired by them full time once I graduated. And then it was every single day and the traffic was horrendous. Oh my gosh. It was an hour and a half there, hour and a half back. So three hours round trip every single day in bumper to bumper traffic in Los Angeles. I was tired by the time I got to the office. And I was tired by the time I got home, right? So, it was definitely something that I had to learn through. Let's call it growing pains. But, it was very, like, flashy. Because, again, it was down close to Los Angeles. And, we got to work with cool celebrities. So, like, It sounds so funny now, but like walk a flock of flame or I will never forget on my first day on the job, I went to Shay Mitchell's house. She's the actress from pretty little liars. If you're familiar, she's also the founder of Bay's travel, the luggage brand. Anyways. So the first day on the job, we were invited into Shay Mitchell's house. For our interview, like for our meeting, basically what we did is her content plan. Since she hired us as her social media agency and by the, at that time too, it was kind of new and on the rise. Right. So that was just so cool. And I was like, Oh, I should be grateful. Like, this is awesome. Because From an outside perspective, everyone's like, why you work with celebrities? That's so cool. But on the inside, like I fucking hated it, you know, I was like yeah, cool. I think I was also going through an identity crisis because obviously now I didn't have tennis anymore. And so I had this identity of an athlete the whole time, which made me appreciate my height more. Which helped my body image insecurities, but now I didn't have that anymore. So now it was kind of like a blank slate again, right? I was asking the question, now what? And after six months anyways, on this job, I got fired. Yes, I got fired. And I remember I was so sad. I called my mom on the way home. I was just like hyperventilating. I was like, mom, hi. And she couldn't even understand me, but I think she understood what was going on. I think I had to text her after that call. But yeah, after six months got fired and that was a huge turning point for me Because up until this point I had trusted the system and I went down the traditional route Again, getting all the good grades in high school Getting the college degree Getting my bachelor's and just kind of like playing it safe and wanting that route to be safe because that's what I was told it would be safe, but then I get fired. And so, I think that's where my distrust started to grow in the system and also distrust in the people that told me to go down this path, right? Because when I got fired, it's like no one was there to help me or support me, of course, emotionally, but still, like, it was on me to, well, get back up and go find a new job and get more money and, you know, it was on me, though. And so I think that's where my eyes and my mind expanded a little bit in terms of like, okay, maybe these people don't know everything, right? They came off of that pedestal. And also that the system is probably not perfect. It's a little broken. And that's where I started to challenge the world that we lived in a little bit. Right. And that was the first time where I ever did that, where I ever challenged. But. Now, of course, you know, in hindsight, I'm so grateful. I was fired for all of that to happen. And those thought patterns I do have to say, though, it was hard because I fell into a three month depression. I will never forget that. We were still, I was still living with my roommates, different ones at the time, but still two bedroom and I laid in bed and I binge watched Breaking Bad all summer basically for three months. I remember one of my roommates had to come and knock on the door and he was like, Are you okay? And I was like, yeah, I'm okay. Or, you know, whatever I said. So at the end of three months, I think also my unemployment ran out. And so I was like, all right, well, we're going to sit here and mope and woe is me and victim, victim, victim, where we're going to get our booties up and we're going to do something about it. So I finally got up and I got an interview at Apple One Agency. For those that don't know, it's a temp agency. So basically you go to them, you tell them what you like, what you don't like, and it's their job to place you in a job that is hiring, right? I didn't know that. I just applied for Apple one agency. And within like an hour, I got an email like, congratulations, you've booked an interview. And I thought it was with them. So like for their company. So, so excited. I was like, Oh my gosh, I got another job. That was so easy. manifested that shit, even though I didn't know what manifestation was at the time. And I go the next day and it dawned on me probably halfway through the interview. Oh, this isn't an interview for them. They're just here to help me get an interview with someone else. Got it. So after, I don't know, weeks, maybe more months, I landed at a school. Actually, I don't know if most of you guys know that. But I took a temp job at, yeah, some elementary school and it's so funny because I chose it because it was a private elementary school and they had advertised, like, this is where celebrity kids go and I was like, Oh my gosh, that's so cool. Just think about that thought process with little Katya. So I go and hated it and never saw a celebrity. I was like, what? This is shitty and this is not fun. And I was just at a front desk basically the whole time. I was kind of like a receptionist girl. It worked for me though at the time because I did get some money and then. Since it was a school, I got all the holidays off and got to go home and see my family, which I really, really needed at that time. So again, in hindsight, very grateful that I had that little temp job. But I think at a certain point, after maybe three months or six months, the temp agency asks you like, Okay, so like, do you like this? Do you want to stay long term or do you want to go somewhere else? And then I told them I want to go somewhere else. This isn't it for me. So then they found me my tech job, which is the one that I've been at for, gosh, just under a decade. And I remember when I got there, there were jerseys hanging up, there were TVs playing sports, there were young employees. The conference table was a ping pong table. I had an interview with four different people. The CEO was super nice. so tall. Another girl was my height. I was like, Oh my gosh, my people, I found them. It felt so exciting and right. And I was like, this is it. It tied me back obviously to my athlete identity and tennis and all that stuff. So that's why I landed there. I, I got hired. I, I don't know the next day. And then yeah, I was just there for under a decade. Now, again, love the people, love the work, all the, or love the job. But I didn't really care for like the, the actual stuff that I was doing, right, with, with software and. Behind the computer. But it was so good for me through those, you know, formative young 20 years because it really allowed me to separate from my identity as a tennis athlete and re identify as something else. Two years with this company, then we were able to go to Tony Robbins, the CEO paid for sales and account management to go. And that was life changing, which I won't get into too much because I have an entire episode devoted to that experience alone. So I will link it in the show notes below. Okay, so pausing here, the takeaway from Katya 1. 0 is I was just kind of like going with the flow of life, right? I had no direction, no purpose, no passion, no clarity. I just kind of was like, cool, a job, and they'll pay me money. Let's go. With that, I felt lots of anxiety. I never felt like I was doing a good enough job. Again, I was still struggling with body image all the way up until my Tony Robbins experience. I felt a lot of stress, which turned into a lot of digestive issues very indecisive. And in the rare event I made a decision, I then questioned that decision. I always wanted to fit in. I was super shy. I never. spoke up for myself. I was insecure in my appearance, which I was still binge eating. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. My whole mindset was just, I want safe. I want traditional, I want comfort. And that was it. Right? My money mindset was rooted in lack and scarcity. When I first started at that tech company, I think my salary was 24, 000. As a temp. And then when I got hired on full time, it bumped up to 28, 000. So, so just let that number sink in. And I was I was excited for that number. I was like, Oh my gosh, this is great. Now granted I'll, you know, be nice to myself. I mean, I was super young. I was 22, 23, something like that. So that was a lot of money for me, but I didn't really like ever vouch for myself. I never asked for a raise. I never asked for a promotion. I just let everything happen to me, you know, versus actually like. Going and asking and getting it kind of thing. So that's Katya 1. 0. Okay. I did it in like 20 minutes. Not too bad. So now let's get into the decisions that I made as Katya 2. 0. So again, this is before. Post Tony Robbins, where I felt like reborn. And again, if you're not familiar with that story, I highly recommend checking out my other episode, which is completely devoted to that experience. So as Katya 2. 0, the first decision I made to transform my life is that I leaned back into fitness, which was of course, my first love. So at Tony Robbins, I was able to heal my tennis story and rewrite that story. I had viewed myself as a failure because I didn't go further than my two years at junior college. And I. Had it just so hard with that identity crisis, right? Of, of being an athlete. And then now what? And so it turned me away from fitness. I actually had gained 15 pounds junior year of college because I didn't even look at fitness the same way, just, just a fitness lifestyle. Cause I always paired it with tennis. And so what I was able to do at Tony Robbins is, find gratitude for that chapter in my life. And, you know, thank goodness I had two more years with tennis versus just the four in high school, right? Cause I was almost about to go to that other college. So when I healed and rewrote that story What I was able to do is go back into fitness and find a new love for it. Right? So I started making more time for it and I didn't care where it would lead me. I wasn't trying to like restart tennis or anything like that. I was just like, huh. I just genuinely love fitness and having a healthy lifestyle. I just enjoyed it. So let me just make more time for it. So again, I didn't go for a result. I didn't go to lose weight. I didn't go to have it turned into something job wise. I just really loved fitness. And so I made more time for it. What that led to was actually Tone It Up. Tone It Up was a nutrition and fitness program founded by Katrina Scott and Karina Dawn. And I started going to Tone It Up meetups and I went to one, I think it was in Manhattan Beach, where Katrina Scott was from at the time. And they hosted like a retreat there. There and I went with one of my coworkers and friends at the time and it was so much fun and I don't know, I just had like no care in the world. I just went out of pure enjoyment. So that was the first decision I made was just to make more time for things that I truly love for the pure enjoyment of it. Not. Thinking or, or wanting it to go into anything. The second decision I made to transform my life was moving to Chicago. So once I it was like two years after Tony Robbins, I had already started going down to Santa Monica every single weekend to visit one of my best friends there at the time. And I just. I don't know. I lived it up with her. We went to restaurants. We went to the beach. We went to her cute little condo. I think we started a blog called Happy Tribe where we would go interview people, random strangers that we would meet and just ask like, what makes you happy? And just kind of like, you know, fucked around and had fun with it. But that was pretty much every weekend. And I remember my identity was shifting and starting to grow because I was doing new things and different than Katya 1. 0. And I remember I had thought. I was like, I'm not going to live here forever. Like there's going to be an opportunity that comes up that is going to take me out of LA. I don't know what that is, but I just had this feeling, right? And sure enough my friend, from Santa Monica, the one I was visiting, she told me, I'm going to move to Thailand to teach English. Do you want to come? And at that time I was like, Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing, Thailand. And she was going for a year, but I was also with Bert and we lived together. And so I was like, Ooh, is Bert going to come with me to Thailand? Like we should probably talk about this. And so then we talked about it and for the longest time, Oh my gosh, probably like, six months or so I was sitting with the idea and Bert was sitting with the idea and then my CEO from my tech company also approached me didn't know anything about obviously my, my Thailand desire. And he was like, do you see yourself in LA for life? And I was like no, I didn't know how to answer. And he was like, well, we've got an opportunity in Chicago. I think you'd be a good fit. Maybe, you know, think about it, talk to Bert, and then we can discuss it a bit more. So now I had like a pros and cons list that I made between Chicago and Thailand, right? It was like a fork in the road. I was like, what do I do? And then ultimately, obviously, we decided to go to Chicago together and we packed up the car. We road tripped it cross country. Bert had never been to Chicago before. We were just like, fuck it, YOLO. And we were just so ready and hungry for like a new adventure because when you have such a massive identity shift and this rebirth experience that I had had in Tony Robbins, it's like you outgrow the people around you. You outgrow the city you're in, like you're craving new, you're craving an adventure. And so Chicago was the Was the one for me. So yeah, we did it and we had no friends there. We had no family there, no coworkers there. I moved by myself for work cause it was to start an office out there. So anyways. Moving to Chicago was huge because with this new identity that I was building and really like challenging the system and the status quo and, you know, this healed version of Katya, Chicago became my playground, meaning I just tried shit and I just went and did stuff that lit me up. Anything that sounded fun, I said yes to. Anything that pulled me away from fun, I said no to. It was a very, like, crystal clear, black and white type of feeling I would receive. So, in Chicago, there was more Tone It Up meetups, because they were national, and so. That's where I started. I started to meet people through Tone It Up meetups and then ClassPass, the app. I used that as well to hop around from studio to studio, where I also met more people. So still under that fitness umbrella, and I just loved it so much. I had So much fun. I documented my journey on Instagram. Was that easy? No, but tone it up, incentivized us to take sweaty selfies. And so I did it more for like the community and for the women that I was meeting, not for like vanity or metrics. Right. So it was really rooted in this creative outlet. And then because I was documenting more, I was growing a little bit. I started working with brands. One of the biggest brands was Tidal Boxing. I led my first workout class there. Like everything just kind of had this ripple effect or domino effect. And I was again just having fun. I did not get paid for years. I think my first Brand payment was 50 for an advertised story. I think I had to like highlight a song or something, but I didn't do it for the money. I just did it for fun because you know, this was all in my free time separate from my tech company, which now, by the way, I was remote and so what that all also allowed me to do is. Move away and, you know, really create my own life separate from my co workers, from my bosses. Like I was on this island. My boss was in LA. We had a weekly call. And so it was so fun because I was tasting freedom and I also started to have a schedule that wasn't a nine to five anymore. I didn't need to go into an office. I was like, huh. It's 10 a. m. What do I want to do? Maybe my work is done or maybe I don't have a call until 3 p. m. Like I was tasting that freedom and I wanted more. The, the third decision I made to transform my life is that I started traveling more. So once I moved to Chicago, that was August. August 2018, perhaps, I have to check that year, but my friend, remember from Santa Monica, she went through with it and moved to Thailand. And so that winter I skipped Christmas with my family and I went to Thailand to go visit her for two weeks. It was one of the best trips of my life. It also was very healing because, not healing, but just like. Reassuring that I had made the right decision because although I love Thailand, I didn't love the lifestyle. I didn't love her setup. I didn't love the teaching aspect. Like it just wasn't me. And so I think if I had said yes to Thailand, I would have been following her footsteps and her dream because she wanted to be a teacher as a career, like that was her profession, but I did not. So it would have been just like, a blip on the timeline, like Thailand for a year, but then afterwards I would have been like, well, now what? Because I don't want to teach, right? So I was really happy that I went to go see her and visit for vacation, but not that I had moved there. After Thailand, we also went to Belize, we went to Cuba, and then Bert and I, a year later, went to Paris, Amsterdam, Germany. I just kind of lived it up. And again, I had some So much freedom with my remote situation. And also my company allowed us to have unlimited PTO. Of course, as long as you get your work done, right? So. That was awesome. And with travel, I think you guys already know how I view it, but I believe it's one of the best investments you can make in yourself because of the ROI that you get, right? Or you should say the invisible ROI because it gets you out of your bubble. It gets you out of your reality shell. You force yourself out of your comfort zone. I will never forget when we went to Cuba, not a lot of people spoke English. And so I was forced to speak Spanish. And yes, I took two years in high school, but I didn't remember. I was like, hola, como estas? But after day four, I was so impressed with how much came back to me. And I also was confident with the locals. I was like, okay, Katya, like we're building confidence over here. Right. But how cool is that to be able to practice that in Cuba from. You know, California or at that time, Chicago, and then just meeting different walks of life and different people from all over the world. What it also did for me is it expanded my mind to how much opportunity and abundance was out there, right? Because I think when you're stuck at a job, or you've been there for so long, that's your world. That's your reality. Whether you like it or not, it's true. That's what it becomes. And so sometimes it's hard for you to think outside of that box and be like, no, there's so much more out there, right? I have so many clients I work with that want to quit their job, but they feel uneasy about it because they're like, well, who else is going to hire me? And, oh, what if I lose my money? And, oh, I don't know. What if there's something. You know, there's not something better out there for me. I'm like, that's a very lack and scarcity mindset. You need to go on a trip, you need to go meet people and be reminded of how many jobs are out there. I remember we came back, I think it was from Belize. And we had met people who created sense for a living and they worked with hotels, you know, when you walk into a hotel, I'm thinking like Vegas or I'm thinking of like Westin or Four Seasons. There's always like a sense. Smell in the lobby. That's very inviting and smells amazing, but there's someone that actually creates that scent and then works with the hotel to sell them that scent. Like what? I had no idea that existed like those types of examples, right? On a global scale. Yeah. There are a lot of fucking jobs out there and there are a lot of ways to make money out there. And so it just was a constant reminder to me of how. big and how massive this world is. Right? So it gave me this freedom, but also like comfort, that worst case scenario, something happens with my job or I get fired, or I do end up quitting one day that I'm going to be fine because there's so much other opportunity out there. Okay. Fourth decision I made to transform my life. I hired my very first. First life coach. And you guys, when I did this, I nearly shit my pants. I'm not going to lie. First of all, my context. So some background, no one in my family has ever worked with a coach. No one in my family is really into personal development or even reading those books or, you know, listening to podcasts besides my mom now. But I digress. So when I considered a coach, it was very scary because it was just unknown territory to me. I didn't know what coaching was. I didn't know if it was a scam. All of those thoughts came into my head. But what I do remember is that I felt this pull because of my Tony Robbins experience, which was now Years ago at this point, but there was still something that was on my heart for coaching and I was like, okay What what is this whole coaching thing? Like Tony Robbins was a life coach before he became the big Tony Robbins And so maybe there are other coaches out there that I can work with in like a different capacity, right? So I was curious I started asking those questions. I Googled life coach one time and this woman's coach page popped up and all of the words, all of the language resonated with me on such a deep level. Shout out to Jenny for your marketing skills. Because I didn't know who Jenny was. Her name was Coach Jenny. I didn't see her on Instagram. I didn't know anything about her. She was not a referral. It was literally this one marketing page that just spoke to me and talk about divine timing because I was like, okay, this is it. And we had a consultation call. It was maybe like 20, 30 minutes, super quick. I just loved her energy. She was super funny. She made me feel so comfortable right away. And I was like, okay, we're going to do this. And if I got into my head about this decision, I absolutely, I absolutely would have said no. Because I could have been afraid I, it was 900 for a three month program. I have never spent or invested 900 on myself, let alone a coach who I did not know. So that was a lot of money for me at that time. And so I was like, Ooh, I don't know. I could spend that 900 somewhere else. I could have caved to people. to fear. I could have, I thought she was a scam. What if she just takes my money and then I never hear from her again? So many thoughts went through my head, but the feeling energetically that I had was like, she's fucking awesome. Oh my gosh. I love her. I love her energy. I love this conversation. I felt really good. I felt like I could trust her. And so I made my decision from my feeling versus my head, my logic. And I'm so glad I did. And I always recommend to my clients to do the same because your feeling is tapping into your intuition, right? And that's where we want to make those decisions from. Now, when I reflect back, it was the best decision I made. It was again, my first life coach, and she gave me a concept that was so, so, so powerful for me in those days, because I was side hustling, still tech company, and then Instagram blogging, brand partnerships, that kind of stuff. So I wasn't coaching yet. And I was It was really hard for me because I had this identity crisis of, you know, do I work here at my tech company? Do I go all in on my Instagram? Even though that absolutely did not replace my income, I was making, you know, Maybe hundreds of dollars tops a thousand, but definitely not, you know, on a recurring basis and monthly and all that stuff. And it was an identity crisis and I felt guilty for not giving it my all at my tech company and I felt like they were going to find out and whatever story was in my head. And so she had told me. Katya, your job is financial oxygen. That is it. You don't care about climbing the corporate ladder. You don't care about a promotion. You don't care about any of that. That's noise because what you really care about based off of this conversation and what you've told me is you care about this freedom lifestyle. You care about making your own schedule. You care about wellness. You care about fitness. You care about mental health. You care about all this stuff. stuff. And so while you work on that, to give you more energy and mental clarity and more headspace, you need to view your job as just financial oxygen. There's no identity there anymore. And just those two words, financial oxygen, helped me so much break free from. My tech company and like giving a shit of what they would think about me. And I was able to put more energy and more time and more effort into my side hustle. What it also led to was me developing my own coaching program because I witnessed Then her structure, her price point, how she held calls. Like that was my first example. And so once I graduated from her program, I felt so much more confident to now also launch my own program based off of her program structure. Of course, there were elements that were different and true to me and what I wanted to share and sell. But at least I had a foundation, right? I had something to go off of. So I came up with a six week program for 600 and I actually signed 10 clients that way in 2020 and I made 6, 000 and that 6, 000 I, it was huge to me, right? The floodgates in my mind opened up and I was like, holy shit, this is possible. So it was just like, I mean, the 900 led to 6, 000 like, hello, we'll take it. I think that's a good investment. The fifth decision I made to transform my life, I moved to Florida. So context 2020, we're in Chicago, we're in a studio box apartment. It was 483 square feet. Yes, I remember that. And it was during COVID. So we were in this High you know, high rise with amenities. That's what we wanted. We wanted the pool. We wanted the gym. We wanted the sauna. We wanted all that stuff and COVID happened. They shut that all down. And so we were literally stuck in a box on like the 26th floor. Great ass view. No balcony, unfortunately, but great view. And then, yeah, just tight corners and you really do start to get a little stir crazy. Anytime I needed to go outside, it obviously was cold in the winter there in Chicago, but I would bundle up and I would go walk and freeze my ass off. But I was like, Oh, at least I got some fresh air. Jesus. So we just, we're so over Chicago because of that COVID experience, luckily and gratefully, nothing serious happened to our health or loved ones, but just our living environment was Yeah. Uncomfortable. Let's say. And so when it started to get better and you know, places were starting to open up again, we had traveled to Florida to visit Bert's dad at the time he lived in West Palm beach. And then we went to the other coast here in St. Petersburg to visit our two best friends at the time. And that trip had changed everything. I was like, you guys live out. doors and you have an ocean and you have a yard and you have a boat and you have sunshine. I think I'm missing out in Chicago. And so that started the conversation of moving to Florida. And it took us a year, but then we eventually did move August, 2021. We bought a house. And we got the sunshine and we got the yard and we got the outdoor lifestyle and we got the pool and we got more space than 483 square feet. And so I remember that time vividly because, again, COVID and all the tension and things like that. A lot of people were like, Why are you moving to Florida? So number one, political reasons. Number two, buying a house at the top of the market, right? Everything, all the values were just ballooned up. But I was like, in my head, I was like, no one knows our current living situation. No one else is here in this box with us. No one else is living here in Chicago that is giving us this advice of don't move. Don't buy a house. don't do anything. And so I really had to cut out the noise and I had to make a decision from my heart, my gut, my intuition. Obviously Bert as well, we had to come together on this decision, but I am so fucking happy. I didn't listen to anyone and I followed my own voice and Yeah, I just, I'm so grateful for making that decision. Katya 1. 0 would have never made that decision. Are you kidding me? She would have listened to everyone but herself. And so, yeah, I'm just so proud of the move because that leads me to my sixth decision I made to transform my life. I hired my second coach, which happened to be a business coach. So when I was in Florida, had the house, all the things, I felt a certain sense of security and stability that I've never felt before. I think you just feel that when you do buy your first home. And that's where the question started to creep up of how do I replace my income now? Like, how does this move to Florida really change me, my identity and how. Serious I am with my side hustle. And so I hired my second coach my business coach. And this was Rob dial. If you guys are familiar, he is the host of the wildly popular podcast, the mindset mentor. And it's so funny how it happened because just quick tangent, my mom of all people sent me this. one of his podcast episodes. She was like, thinking of you thought you might like this has nothing to do with money, has nothing to do with replace your income, like nothing, just a personal development mindset episode. But at the end he asked for a screenshot and then tag him on social media, which I had already been doing with other podcasts. So it was like a no brainer to me. So I did it and I was so shocked. that Rob, at the time I thought it was Rob, DM'd me and he asked me questions about finances and goals and very straight to the point and got me on a consultation call. And then when it was not Rob who was on the consultation call, I was like, Oh, I probably wasn't DMing Rob, but you know, his team and. The whole process works. So, yeah, I got onto a consultation and timing and everything again, with what I wanted to do. They're like, you can absolutely replace your income. And then some, this is the program. It's three months. And so, yeah, it was a no brainer. I signed up and I had made them with his coaching and mentorship and his team and all the calls and everything. I made six figures in one year. And I was like, holy shit, I just replaced my income, which leads me to my last decision I made to transform my life. I quit my job and it was not easy. Although I had replaced my income and although I had wanted this for so long and it felt so right, it was still so hard because I was working with them for nearly a decade and I loved the people there, especially the ones that. We're there for as long as me. That's my CEO. That's leadership. That's Ashley, the girl who had originally interviewed me and she was the same height as me. Right? Like, you have history with these people and I'm just so grateful also for the entire journey and all of the opportunity I was given and, right? Like, it's all love, but at the same time, my heart is pulling me in this direction of, you know, Go off on your own, be self employed, start this coaching business, or, you know, take it seriously and grow, grow, grow. So, I, I did it. I had to have some hard conversations, and I finally left and that was the ultimate up level for me because it was like a, like, holy shit. I finally left after a decade, but then also the amount of energy and love that I was able to pour into my business even more so. I didn't even think it was possible. And into my clients. And that's when I launched my podcast. Cause now I had the time and the bandwidth for it. I was like, okay, we're, we've got something here. Let's keep growing. So yeah, it was the best decision. Okay, so that wraps up my seven decisions that I made to transform my life, so I just want to highlight a few takeaways from that. So, with this Katya 2. 0 version maybe you notice already some differences between 1. 0 or, you know, these decisions that I've made. But the number one takeaway I got from reflecting and going into the archive and realizing these differences is that I did not care what others thought about my decisions because I realized it's my life. I have to take charge if I want peace and happiness and, you know, just, just that. Yeah, I guess I would say peace and happiness when I lay my head on the pillow at night, right? Like, no one's living in my house. No one's living in my reality. No one's building my business. Like, that is all on me. And so, I have an incredible amount of self love. Self validation and self trust in my decision making skills now because simply, it's my life. Like, I have to pay my bills. And that's such a full circle moment for me too, because again, when I was fired way back when from my first big girl job, that was it. That was the realization of like, Oh, like, like no one's going to come and save me. Right. I have to save myself. I have to watch out for myself. And I don't mean that in a bitter negative way at all. I mean it in such a positive, empowering way, right? Like I'm accountable for all my decisions, whether they are right or wrong or, or I fuck up or something like it's still me that has to live with it at the end of the day. And so I get to make all the decisions that I want to, and then. enjoy or suffer the consequences, but either way, I'm going to be okay. Another takeaway was my curiosity that I have. So when I make big decisions like the Chicago example, or all the traveling that I did, or moving to Florida or buying a house, like those are big decisions because it's financial, it's time, it's, It's away from loved ones, like, like huge change comes with those big decisions. But my lens, my perspective behind each one was curiosity, right? Like I wonder how amazing Chicago will be. And worst case, I don't like Chicago, cool. Let's move somewhere else or let's move back to L. A. Like we can always make different decisions and different choices. But what made it less scary was always curiosity of like, I wonder how amazing this will be. I wonder how we're going to like it. I wonder who we're going to meet. I wonder what type of experiences we're going to have. That lens of curiosity makes making decisions so much fun. Another take, take away, I make choices out of feeling, not logic. So I mentioned this when I hired my first life coach, but yeah, I could have totally gotten in my head and let fear take over and be like, Oh my gosh, 900 is a lot of money for me. And Oh my gosh, she could be a saint. Scam and she's just going to take my money and oh my gosh, what if she's not helpful and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I felt like this is right. This is true. I love her. She's so funny. Like there was like this energy dynamic between us and so I just did it off a feeling and not logic. Like it did not make sense to my family. It did not make sense to my close friends at the time. Bert was actually the only one who supported my decision because at first he's like, 900? What? What? But he also knew how I was struggling. He knew what I was working on. He's obviously the one who sees all of the behind the scenes. So he was like, I support you. Like, I don't know anything about life coaching. I've never hired my first coach, but I support you and your decision. And that's all I needed to hear. Okay. Two more takeaways. I listened to my intuition. More by cutting out the noise, which are people's opinions. And I made decisions from a place of internal self validation versus needing external validation. So again, when we made the decision to move to Florida, or when we made the decision to buy a house, or even when I made the decision to quit my job, even though I had replaced my income. People were always telling me, don't do it. Don't move to Florida. Don't buy a house. Don't quit your job. You have an amazing job. Why would you quit your cushy, comfy job? You've been there for a decade. You're, you're, you know, you're good. But it's like, no one again lives in my shoes. They don't know how I feel on the inside and it is up to me and it is my. choice and it's in my power to do whatever the fuck I want to do for my well being. And so I listen to my intuition more. And the way I do that is again, I cut out the noise. I journal on it. I meditate on it. We breathe and the answer always comes. Last takeaway, I took more risks. So hiring my coaches, quitting my job, like there is never a guarantee of results. I absolutely could have hired my life coach and she absolutely could have been a scam and taken my 900 and I never would have seen her again. Right? There is no guarantee. But. I'm okay with that risk factor because here's my biggest point with risk. It's like which risk would you rather take? The risk of fucking around and finding out and basing your decisions off of what if it does work out and based off of feeling and intuition and fun and curiosity or The risk of playing it safe, getting to the end of your life with regret, and now stuck with the idea, what if I had just tried and went for it? Both are risks. But it's which risk are you willing to take? I would much rather. Take the risk of the first scenario. I do not want to get to the end of my life and play small and play safe for this illusion of safety. It does not exist. So that's it. That's what I got for you this week. If anything about this episode resonated with you, please do me a favor, take a screenshot of this podcast and post it on your stories and tag me at katia. lillian. I would love to connect with you. So. Thank you in advance, and I appreciate you.