Building HER with Katja Lillian

Choosing Your Hard & the Inspiration You Need to KEEP GOING w/ Jazz Leaf

• Katja Thacker

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THE BIG SHIFT IS NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT!

The Big Shift is my 3 month life transformation program. 

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.

Click HERE for all the details & to claim your spot!

In this episode, I am joined by Jazz Leaf.

Jazz ditched the 9-to-5 grind after 6 years in corporate America to pursue her passion: cooking. She is a certified Nutritional Therapist Practitioner and former NBA athlete private chef. After years of meal prep, catering, cooking classes and private cheffing, she recently made the move to be a full-time food blogger. Jazz specializes in quick, no-fuss recipes—30 minutes, 10 ingredients max. And she's a new mom to a toddler! She has a weekly newsletter on Substack where I share simple go-to meals for busy people with simple hacks and swaps to save time in the kitchen. Every Friday you get an email sent to your inbox with a new recipe, and you get a free Trader Joe's Cookbook of 20 easy Trader Joe's recipes when you subscribe!

In this episode, we discuss the following: 

  • How her car accident in 2019 changed her life
  • Why you need to choose your hard
  • Her experience with me as a 1:1 client & why she joined TBS twice
  • Her passion for food & the #1 reason why she hasn't quit
  • Her "If Not Now, Then When" approach to getting help

You can find Jazz here -->


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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. 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'm joined by jazz leaf, jazz ditch, the nine. Nine to five grind after six years in corporate America to pursue her. Her passion cooking. She is a certified nutritional therapist. Just practitioner and former NBA athlete, private chef. After years of meal prep, catering, cooking classes. And private Scheffing she recently made the move to be a full time. Food blogger. Jazz specializes in quick. No fuss. Recipes, 30 minutes, 10 ingredients, max. And she's a new mom to a toddler. She has a weekly newsletter. Letter on sub stack where she shares simple go-to meals for. Busy people with simple hacks and swaps to save time in the kitchen. Every Friday, you guys can get an email sent. To your inbox with a new recipe and you get a free. A free trader Joe's cookbook of 20 easy trader Joe's recipe. Appease when you subscribe link is in the show notes below. So jazz and I met junior year of college through. Through our boyfriends at the time now, husbands, they played basketball. Together. We kept in touch over the years and fast forward. Forward to year 2020. She became not only a. One-on-one client of mine, but also joined the big shift. Shift my group life transformation program twice. In our conversation today, jazz opens up about her. Car accident in 2019 and how that changed her life. How writing has been a powerful way to process her thoughts. And emotions. How meditation has allowed her to cultivate. Mindfulness, how movement has been essential for her. Physical and mental wellbeing. The power morning, sunlight. Sunlight has when starting her day. Her passion for food. How she grew a multi six figure business. Her. Her experience and my group life transformation program, the big. Shift. And so much more. You guys are in for a real treat. Today without further ado. Let's get to the episode. 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. Jazz Leaf. Welcome to the Building Her podcast. I'm so, so, so excited to have you. I don't even feel like you're a guest. You're like my best friend. So this is going to be fun. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me. You're welcome. I know we've been talking about this for a while, so I'm happy that we finally got our schedules aligned and making this happen. I also feel like everyone in my audience already knows you. So they're like jazz. Duh. Of course she's on the podcast. But for those that don't know you, maybe they're newer to who jazz is, or they're not familiar with our background or our history. Why don't you just give a brief little introduction and then we'll go ahead and get started. Okay, perfect. Hi, I'm Jazz Leaf, and I am a content creator in the food space. So I have an Instagram, a TikTok, I'm on YouTube, and I just create healthy recipes. All of them are 30 minutes or less, 10 ingredients or less, and Katya and I have been best friends for a long, long time. And just for anyone that doesn't know, a little fun fact about Katya is that she's been talking about doing this podcast for like over five years and just thinking about like Doing the podcast, making it become a real thing, and the fact that I hopped on now and I just told her, I'm like, you did it, girl! I cannot believe it's been five years. Has it really been that long where I've been talking about it? I think you were talking about it back when you were living in Chicago, even. Wow. Yeah. I mean, that makes sense, but it's just crazy how time flies and how something like that does take a long time for you to get the bandwidth and the headspace and the mentorship to finally get something off the ground and make it happen. So yeah, very, very cool. Thanks for taking me down memory lane. Yeah, girl. Yeah, no, it's crazy. We've known each other for so long. I, I remember where we met it was, was it Azusa at Burton Troy's place and, so for those that don't know, our husbands played basketball together in college. And so jazz and I met through them and I just, I feel like we hit it off. Right from the get go. And then we stayed in touch and we were into the same things. And when we moved to the Midwest, we also moved together essentially. And I don't know, I felt like the stars always just aligned with big life changes. I just feel like you're a sister more than a friend. So yeah, I'm very grateful. You said it. Yeah. So, I mean, we have so much to talk about today, but I think for those that don't know jazz did my one on one program back in 2020. And then she also did the big shift twice. So I would love to Just for us to start there in terms of like going back to 2020, if you can, by the way, I know that at this point it's like five years ago, but crazy. Yeah. What, what led you to coaching in the first place? Like, like what was the draw? What was the pull? Because I have a lot of people who listen and they're they're on the fence about coaching, or they might not really know what coaching is. And a lot of people confuse coaching with therapy and you know what I mean? So as someone who has been through it and has worked with a coach, what was your experience like and why did you get started in the first place? Yeah, totally. Okay, so, I will preface this by saying that I don't really open up too much on social media, like, I keep it very Like, it's all about food, and so I'm just gonna get deep, and I'm just gonna be vulnerable here, and I just hope that it resonates. And so, in 2020, I started with Katya because of a huge life change that happened in 2019. So in 2019, I had moved to Florida, and I was biking to the beach, and no helmet, just like, with my flip flops. It was 8 in the morning, I was going to a yoga class, and I was hit by a car coming from behind me. So the lady fell asleep at the wheel, and she swerved into the bike lane, she hit me, I went into her windshield, and then I fell back on the ground. And I woke up on the ground, and I was like, what just happened? Okay, so that, I just need to say that like, that was like pre jazz, and then this is like post jazz. So in 2019 was like the big, big shift for me. And. Before I was hit by the car, I was go, go, go. I, I was a private chef, I worked long hours, morning to night, I like barely slept. I said yes to every single opportunity, total entrepreneur, like didn't know which way my life was going to go to, but I just knew I was saying yes to every single decision and like everything that came my way and I was always doing things for other people and it was just like, can you do that? Yes, I can. Do I need rest? No, I don't. Like very hustle. Okay. So that was 2019 and what's crazy is that when I was hit by the car like a month before, like I. Felt like I had signs, like, being burnt out, like, slow down universe, was like, you gotta chill. And I just didn't listen to that. And then 2019, when I was hit by the car, the craziest part is that I remember specifically my intuition being like, can you please ride your bike on the sidewalk? And I was like, no. I'm not gonna do that. Like, what do you mean I'm in the bike lane? How weird would it be if I went into the sidewalk with my bike where the runners are and the dog walkers are and the walkers are? Like, that's not gonna work. Like, I'm in a huge bike cruiser. And so I remember specifically, saying no to my intuition, and then boom, I was hit by a car. And so after that moment, of course, I'm really, really lucky because I only had some, you know, I had a huge concussion, but I had like a broken foot, some road rash. But at the end of the day, I was able to like, live. So I knew that changes need to happen and I wasn't able to walk for a month. I had a lot of brain damage that I was working through. So this person that was like, so go, go, go, and said yes to everything, all of a sudden, They couldn't do any of it. Like, so, to the point where my husband had to hold me like a baby in the shower because I couldn't even stand myself. Like, had to help me go to the bathroom. Like, can you just imagine? I know there's people out there that are like that. Like, that are just like, Yeah, I got it. I can do it. I do everything. And then all of a sudden put in this humbling position where it's like, Alright, here you go. Now you can't do any of it. What really matters? And so during that time when I couldn't walk and I couldn't cook and I couldn't work and I couldn't work out. What did I have time for? The only thing my brain had the capacity for was journaling, meditating, being quiet. And that is when I started that whole shift into that, into this new persona. And I took it as like, I will always listen to my intuition now and I Always honor that. And so in 2020, when I started working with you, that was because I was like, okay, let's make a shift. I knew something needed to happen. I knew I had never done any sort of self work and I had really gained a lot of like respect for this whole, I guess, just slowing down life. And I wanted to get to know myself a little bit more. So that's why I started with the program with you at first. And then that led into the big shift. Yeah. Wow. I just thank you first of all for being vulnerable and sharing all of that with us, because to your point on social media, you don't share this side of your life too much, even though I feel like I've seen, you know, bits and pieces but, but just to bring that here for the audience, I think is really special because that's exactly what this podcast is for is to peel back the layers for, for the raw, the real, the truth especially behind it. It is. Someone's social media account, or you know what I mean? Like, like to see what's really going on. I think it's super powerful. So thank you. It's really. It's really interesting how you mentioned the pre jazz and the post jazz. I can totally relate with that. I always say my versions are Katya 1. 0 and Katya 2. 0 pre and post my Tony Robbins experience. So obviously it wasn't as horrible as, as a car accident as yours, but it was still a moment that. Kind of like broke my pattern, like a, like a wake up call as well, where I was like, Ooh, okay, I'm not going to live this way anymore. I'm going to live this way much more. And that was also my start to doing like the inner work and the journaling and the meditation, as you mentioned in terms of one on one coaching and then the big shift as well. What, what did you? What was the biggest difference, I guess, for you in a one on one capacity and then in a group capacity? What were the differences and what did you like better? Okay. So I have to say that in 2020, that was when it was one on one and I was a different version of myself than I was in 2024 when I joined the program, like four years later. And I have to, I do have to also say that in 2024, I had a baby, right? Or so I had in 2023, I had a baby. And so I was a mother in 2024 when I joined the program. So it's almost like I can't even compare because I'm just, I'm a completely different person. And I think in 2020, what was amazing was just like the start of it. And I needed like a little bit of hope. To figure out what the heck was going on in my life. And like what direction I wanted to take my career like I said, I was really go, go, go. And I was saying yes to everything. And, so, in 2020 when I joined you one on one, I felt like it was helpful because we got to kind of narrow down what I needed to do. And I got like some one on one attention with that. But then in 2024 when I joined your crew I remember going through, like, so many huge shifts, like, feeling certain ways and not knowing if it was, like, okay to feel that way in society. And, you know, like, let me just give you an example. Like, I lived in California, and we lived by my family and my husband's family. I mean, not by, but in the same state. And so, you know, I thought that that's kind of how the way it should be when you have a kid. Like, you should just be around your family because they come help out and stuff. But like, we were both so unaligned there. Like, Troy didn't love his job. I felt like I was just working so much. California is a little hectic for us. We wanted a little more slow pace. We weren't by the ocean. We wanted a home. We weren't living in a home. We were living in an apartment. Like, there's all these little things. And so then when I had, like, and I had felt that I wasn't super aligned, but I was like, but I guess this is just the way it should be. Like, I should just be I have to be close to my family because I'm just, I have a daughter now and this is just kind of, it is what it is. I just have to work hard and I guess weekends are just for kind of catching up and so that really only means we have like two days together with my husband and my baby and that's the days we can do things and, you know, Monday through Friday is grind and we just have to work and I was like paying my nanny to like take care of Olive so that I could work more and it's just like so backwards and I'm like this doesn't feel right and so that's kind of In 2024, when I joined your big shift, I remember, like, talking about these things within, like, a safe group. Like, there was, I think there were, like, I don't know, maybe 12 or 15 girls that had joined, and I had expressed how I felt. And all the girls were like, Girlfriend, do what you want to do. It almost, like, gave me validation. It wasn't just you, it was like, this whole group of girls that I knew had my back, and like, whatever I wanted to do, and whatever I believed I could do, they also believed I could do. So it almost gave me this sense of like, you're not crazy. Like, you can, you can create this life that you dream of, even if it goes against what you think. think or society or what others think are right for you. And I think it was also interesting to hear other people's stories because I remember when I shared my story about how I felt, like a lot of the other girls opened up and said, my family is, you know, my family is kind of the same and we kind of are in the same situation. And I don't also don't know what to do. And it was really nice to know that I wasn't alone and just to know that like, you know, that's okay. It's normal to feel these ways. And it's nice to know that you have other people that also feel that way. And so you're less lonely in that way. Yeah, gosh, I resonate with so much that you said, because again, I've had my own experience and my own journey with that. I think it always came down to me putting almost like society and everybody else's beliefs and opinions on a pedestal. Like, oh, well, everyone else is doing it this way and they're all going to college and they're all getting the degrees and they're all getting the good job. I'm using air quotes here. And that must be just the way it is. So they all know, right. And I don't. And then also with my epiphany and my aha moment, I realized no one knows anything. It's just the system that has been built over years and years and years, but we can also change and we can also live differently. And so it sounds like. That was your experience with society and entering motherhood. There's so much noise out there and opinions, especially whether it's family, your network, your community, or just at mass. Right. So what was the turning point for you? Do you feel like you had to feel enough like discomfort? With then realizing, okay, this is not it, or was it more of just like this whisper, like that intuitive ping that just kept happening and trying to tell you like, this is not the way you should live your life. Like, like, what was that turning point for you? It's a total combination of both because in the big shift, there were certain exercises. So we met Every other week for a good chunk of time, and like I say, like, I would never ever carve out an hour and a half during, like, a work week, during the work day, to try to, like, work on myself. I just won't. Even though I love this kind of stuff, I will spend 15 minutes meditating or journaling. But that doesn't cover much when you're talking about, like, layering what you want and your dreams and your goals. And so there's all these, like, journal prompts that we did and discussions that we had and work that you gave us that, like, helped me figure out exactly what I wanted. And I didn't know what I wanted when I first started The Big Shift. I just kind of went into it knowing, like, eh. I'm not super happy. Like, I just went into it knowing like, I don't, I feel like I deserve a little bit more. Or I feel like there's something missing in my life. Like, I literally did not know. I just knew that I needed to change and I was called to sign up. And so when I did that, when we did all of those journal prompts, I just realized, whoa, like, I don't want to be here. I don't really like this life. And I felt like I was settling if I stayed. And one other thing that I know is that life is hard. Regardless, like, it is, it is just, it is going to. It is a little bit difficult, and there are going to be things that don't work your way. And so it's like choosing what kind of hard you want. Do you want the hard, or did I want the hard, where it was just like staying in that situation because society family, friends, masses, like you said, said that this is the right way to do it and everyone else is doing it this way? Well, everyone else is doing it this way. Or, is it that I'm gonna just go out of the comfort zone, take a risk, and do something different? And I guess I should say that the risk, or whatever, quote unquote risk, and the change that I felt after the entire program, going through the entire program, was that we moved out of California. So, I'm not in California anymore. I moved away from all of my family. It was one of the hardest decisions because of that exact reason of like, this is against society. This isn't what everyone else is doing. But through those journal prompts, like I, kind of circling back, it was all of that that I realized, Oh man, I don't think I want to be here. And so, I guess that's my long answer. I love long answers. We can be here for hours. That's okay. No, you, you said a couple of things that hit home for me where you mentioned it just didn't feel right. So I think that's so powerful because a lot of people, you know, they think one way. And again, the whole conversation about society knows better and everyone else is doing it this way. And it's kind of like from an perspective, right? We, we assume we make up a story. But the feeling that you have day in and day out is so strong and so powerful. So if anyone is listening and you don't feel as good and you don't feel like you have clarity, you don't feel like you have like passion and this lust for life. It's like, then there's something going on there. There might be something missing it could be like family related. Yours was motherhood related. It could be body related. It could be job related. Like, like we don't know what area, like you mentioned, I don't know what's wrong, but I just felt like I deserved better that there was. More out there. And I think that's really powerful to pay attention to the feeling that you have and then trust that the answers will come. I think with what you mentioned about having a safe group to talk to and and to just be vulnerable with and this is Safe space is huge and that's exactly why I have group coaching because you don't have that in your immediate family sometimes or with coworkers or even friends. I think a lot of us wear a social mask and we're not honest and that's. You know, that's nothing against family or friends, but I don't think the environment allows for these types of conversations. And so that is why you have to invest and find a group that does give you that environment to be honest and open. I feel like it's so healing and releasing. Do you feel the same? Yeah, totally. I mean, even, I've only been in Florida for a month, but this whole decision has been, like, it's so freeing to know I did what was best for me. Like, I can't even tell you, I can't, I, I cannot put it into words, if you can even get my vibe right now. I can literally, like, I'm stumbling because I just can't believe that I did it. Because it is so much easier. easier to just freaking stay in that situation because you're like, you got the stable job, you got the family that you can call here and there, you got the, you're, you're already moved in, you know, like, you know, things around yourself. And so in this situation, it's freaking hard to move across the country with a baby and like, just kind of take that risk. But listen, this is one thing I learned in your program. And I'm like, so passionate about this. Everyone's like, why are you doing this? I'm like, I because I can also change my mind. Nothing is like a hundred percent. Like, what the hell is everyone freaking out about? Right? Like, what? I'm, I'm sorry. I'm just getting really passionate because it's like, why? So what? Okay, so what? So what then? We, then, okay, then we can also reverse the decision. We can also do whatever we want. Like, it doesn't have to be like, this is it for the rest of your life. And so I just get really passionate about it because when you, When I understood that I could change my mind, like, with thought and with intention and with intuition, I can always change my mind. And then it just became easy, you know? Girl, that was a mic drop moment. Let's just pause on that one. I love the passion. And do not say sorry. Like, keep it going. You said a couple of big things. So, You, you mentioned also that you would never set aside time on a biweekly basis for 90 minutes to journal, to meditate, to write, like to do this work on your own. And that's so real because I feel like that's a lot of people, right? We always do. De prioritize ourselves and essentially doing the inner work. Because I think one, we don't know what we'll find on the other end, especially if you're new to it, you just don't know the power in that. And two, sometimes we might be afraid of what comes up. I think deep down, we all know what would make us happy and what we actually want. But then to your point, to actually do something about it and perhaps disappoint others around you and, and hear. I don't know, passive aggressive comments and opinions and tell you you're wrong or whatever it is, we, we try to avoid that discomfort. And so to your point, it's much safer and easier. I'm using air quotes again to just say what, because we think that's safe. Yeah. Totally. Absolutely. A hundred percent. Yeah. It's so much easier to stay put. It's like less resistance. It's just kind of going with the flow. Like I said, going with society. Yeah. Yeah. I think what you said with choosing your heart is spot on. I lit up when you said that because yeah, it might be hard to change your mind and make a new decision and move cross country. Hello. I did the same thing. California to Chicago, Chicago to Florida. Yeah. Yeah. I don't have family over here, but Florida lights me up. The lifestyle, the sunshine, my house, my pool, my yard, like everything about it. I wake up every day and I'm like, ah, right. Like peace and excitement. So that was hard temporarily to make that decision. But. On the other side, it would have been also really hard to stay in my situation for years and years and years, whether it was California or Chicago, knowing deep down I'm so unhappy and miserable. That's also hard. So I love that you said. Yeah, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was going to say, it's it's like either your happiness or other people's happiness. I feel like it's kind of a choice, because regardless if you decide that you want to do something for yourself, it might make other people a little bit unhappy. But then if you want to please other people in your life, I'm talking, when I say you, I'm talking about myself, by the way, because I've just had a lot of experience with this. So, when I want to please other people in my life, then I'm the one that's unhappy. So at the end of the day, like, when you put your head on your pillow, it's like, who did you want to, who are you living for? Is it like for yourself or is it for someone else? And so that was something really important and that's another practice that I, Have adopted is like at the very end of the night I'll just lay my head on my pillow before I like read a journal or anything Like I just sit in silence and i'll reflect on the day figure out like what did I like? What did I not like? Was there anything that I could improve on? It's not crazy It's just like a little bit of reflection and I always try to figure out like was there something that made me uncomfortable? Was there something that I did that I didn't really like? and Every time I come back to it, I just think like, was I happy today? Like, did I do something for myself? Like, did I live in alignment? And that's really helpful because then, if you're not living in alignment, it can always be like a reminder. Okay, like, tomorrow, maybe I'm not going to wake up and, like, scroll on my phone because I remember at the end of the day, like, I didn't feel too great about it. So it's just like these small decisions that you can make for yourself. for yourself and, like, realize you're making them, and that's what I did, and it's just one step, a tiny step closer to getting, like, that ideal life, and it's not gonna happen overnight. At least I know that. It's just a work in progress, but at least, like, there's small steps that we can take into that direction that we want to go into. Yeah, yeah, I love that. I think that's so beautiful, especially this nightly inner check in, let's call it, because it does reconnect with yourself and your values and your belief system on a very small scale and short, but just a little check in instead of like numbing and avoiding and scrolling and all the things we choose to do. Yeah. What you said was also so profound, and I feel like everyone needs to hear this, is you can change your mind. So, I work with so many people who are so afraid, right, to quit their job, their soul sucking job, or move cross country, or move internationally. I know a girl who just moved to Bali, and she's like, I'm out! Peace! Right? Like, so excited. Heck yeah. And people really have a hard time with these decisions because their mind tends to go first to the worst case, right? What if, so I'm going to use you as your, as an example, when you were in California and you thought about moving to Florida, right? I'm sure there were some thoughts of what if I moved to Florida and I don't like it. What if I moved to Florida and. It was the wrong decision and I regret it. What if, whatever, right? Your, your mind kind of goes there in spirals. And so what I always coach and teach is like, okay, that that's one option, but what's the other option? Let's not forget about the, what if. best case scenario. I had to do the same thing when I moved. I was like, well, what if I moved to Florida and I love it? What if I moved to Florida and we do find a house? What if I moved to Florida? And it was the best decision I've ever made. It's like we can choose to live in both worlds. And so I would much rather choose to live in the best case. And then alongside that. Knowing, if I move to Florida, let's face that fear and the worst case does happen and I hate it, you can change your mind. Like, that's so powerful. When did that click for you? When was that like a moment? Well, you, you were the one that kind of walked through it in one of the big shift weeks. Yeah, it was actually your girlfriend. So you, you were, I remember I was talking about it in the big shift and just saying like. You know, we can change our mind if we want to. And it's as simple as, like, the negative to positive mind. And I remember you. You were like, I love my life. I remember, I remember this vividly. It was like one presentation. And you were like, I love my life. Like, I love it. And I was like, I want to get like that. Like, I was like, I, I want that. She really loves her life. Like, I want to feel that too. I deserve that. And I think every single person listening deserves that. But you. I had to take so many risks and, you know, get out of your comfort zone to take, to make it to where you are now. And I knew that I also needed to do the same. Lots of things needed to change. There was no getting to that point, like if I had stayed where I was. So it was your example, to be honest with you, that I was like, I think I want to follow that. And yeah, it was like those little, yeah, it was just like those little steps. Talks that you had, and I don't know if you know this, I think I've told you this a few times, but the way you explain things resonates with me a lot. It's not, it's like not hard to understand, and you say it in a way where my brain registers it, and so by just sharing what's on your mind and the way you explain certain things, it doesn't feel difficult to grasp. I've read tons and tons of self help books, and it just, I have to read one page 1, 000 times in order to understand what it's saying, but with you I just felt like it was in one ear and I really, like, it hit it. So you do a really good job at explaining those things. Wow. Thank you so much. It's so funny. I asked you that question. I didn't realize it came from me. That's awesome. Yeah, no, I, I think the, the experience or maybe the energy I should say that you feel and felt during the big shift is truly like me genuinely. Loving my life and loving what I do as a career. And I think there's an energy that translates over without me, even honestly, knowing it or like trying or forcing it. Right. And not even looking for like an outcome or a result. It's just me. It's like this embodiment of your values and belief systems. And I think that's what translates over. It's kind of like what you mentioned earlier. Either you are happy or you make everyone else happy. And so with that, it's like, okay, if I were to choose to make everyone else happy, I'm now a watered down version of myself because I'm unhappy. There's an energy to that. It's like, what version of jazz do your, does your family even get then when you are only focused on making them happy? Mm-Hmm. You see what I mean? Mm-Hmm. Versus if you focus and choose. Jazz is happiness. That's not a watered down version. That's this like glowing version of jazz where everyone else gets to benefit in your life even though you're putting yourself first. Totally. Yeah, you said it. It's not that hard. See, like you're saying it again. It's not that hard. You just, I mean, I always just listen to you and I'm like, it's really not that hard. Why do we all complicate it? Yeah. I think out of fear, the worries, the doubts. Also, if it's new, I remember I was the first one in my family to leave a cushy job and start this online business. And then also in the coaching personal development world, like I was the first one. So I think that was also a little scary for me, just because you're stepping into unknown territory. And because of that, everyone else who hasn't done that yet, even if they're your loved ones, yeah. They put their fears and limiting beliefs on you. And so then you start to self doubt you start to think, Ooh, is this right? And it really is like this leadership go first mentality that you need to have to kind of like show and prove, no, this is, this is right for me. Right. I'll be okay. Do you, do you feel the same way? Or can you resonate with that? Yeah, I do. And one of the big parts that I resonate with is because I had a baby and she's getting older now, right? She's 18 months. So she's starting to understand emotion. And I know she's understanding confidence and decisions. I Get it like I feel that vibe like sometimes when I'm sad she I see the little frown on her face Look at me with a frown and i'm like that is like crazy. They're absorbing everything and so i'm and that's one of the reasons I invested in the big shift at that when I did was because I knew that I needed to Get myself under track because she's analyzing me everything and she is absorbing everything so if I can just like Figure out myself and get to a point where I feel happy and I feel confident in my decisions and I feel You good in every decision I make and like just learn to make those decisions for myself. I, I lost it for a little while. I lost making those decisions for myself and so if I can do that then I'm just setting an example for her and all it's going to do is I don't need to like teach her what to do. I can just lead. I can just be myself, and that is all that I can do. And so I remember feeling that throughout the entire course of those three months. I was like, just learning more and more about myself, who I want to be, and I knew that it was going to tumble into her life. Wow. That's so beautiful. I mean, yeah, they're sponges. I can't believe now at 18 months, she recognizes your emotion and she frowns. Like, That's, that's kind of sad and cute and beautiful at the same time. I think what you mentioned earlier I want to circle back to not putting time into inner work. Like you mentioned, I would never set aside 90 minutes every other week, but now I know you've, How you have adopted some practices like writing and meditation and movement and you have these it sounds like non negotiables majority of the time because of that Change that jazz 1. 0 and jazz 2. 0 after your car accident. Could you talk to us a little bit more about some of the daily practices that you incorporate that really put your mindset into a good place and a good headspace so that you can continue being this version of jazz. Yeah, so Andrew Huberman talks about this and how important sunlight is first thing in the morning because it basically sets you up for your circadian rhythm, meaning that when you can get outside and you get out, out of your house and just get fresh air, fresh sunlight, then it basically sets you up makes your body stop producing melatonin, so then at night you can become tired again. It's just like natural energy. It's like a boost to coffee or whatever. It's a cup of coffee. And so I started adopting that practice where I go outside first thing when the sun comes up and I'll just get fresh air. I didn't have grass back in California, but now I do. So I put my feet in the grass and you taught me this, but I habit stack. So I was like, okay, well, I love Getting fresh air, but maybe I can couple that with something else. So sometimes I journal So sometimes I take a pen and paper out there and I just journal and by journal I mean like It doesn't have to be that crazy. Like sometimes I just write so I just write whatever comes to mind Maybe it's just affirmations like I might write, I am proud of myself, like, a hundred times, and that's it. And then sometimes I might write what I believe or what I think or what if I'm working through, like, a little problem in my head, I'll just, like, kind of write through it, and, okay, well, I didn't feel that great when I said this. Why was that? Why did I say that? And then I'll kind of kind of, you know, Go through and just freely write and like have zero judgment and the reason why is because I know no one's going to read That journal like it's a very safe space for me I don't really let anyone read it because I don't even know what's coming what's going in in that journal And so I have that when I can do that in the morning sun and then I also might do a meditation one morning in the morning sun. I use the app Superhuman. I think I showed that to you because it's so amazing because it has like all these different affirmations and like this beautiful music and sometimes I just listen to songs. Sometimes I just listen to the music on the on the app and other times it says it's like a breathing exercise. So all it is is just trying to couple like a few things that I know are going to basically take me away from technology for 10 minutes and just give me some fresh sunlight. Before I had a baby I was pretty religious about it. I would do it every single morning, first thing in the morning and now I don't have the flexibility of taking 15 minutes uninterrupted by myself. Like, a lot of the time Olive is with me and so what that looks like now is she'll come outside with me and she'll play in the grass and I'll be bare feet in the grass too. My phone will be inside and I'm just teaching her like deep breaths too. Like, we're giggling, we're playing, I'm like doing some stretches, she's copying me. So I'm adopting it. for my lifestyle now and I don't take it super seriously in terms of like, okay, it is, it is 7 a. m. I must be outside at 7 a. m. and my feet will be in the grass and da da, like it's just ever evolving. And so just as long as I can get outside that, that's great too. If you, like, I love getting a walk in and one of the things that I've done is walking really makes me feel good. And so I got like a standing desk or like I put a desk on my treadmill. And so while I'm doing my work and whatever I need to do on the computer, I can also get some movement in and steps in and that just makes me feel really good because I'm kind of doing something for myself as well. So those are just some small things. Yeah, yeah, I've seen the videos where you're in your backyard and all of his copying like your yoga pose. It's the most adorable thing ever. I, I, I really like that you do have, let's say, I don't want to say a daily practice, but again, It's like a majority of the time where you do try to get the morning sunlight and the movement and no technology. It's like those little things that you're doing is a daily practice, even though every day it might look a little different and it doesn't happen at 7 a. m. Right. That kind of thing. And I think that's really, really important because I think a lot of people, there's like a misconception where Okay, something's wrong in my life. And so I'm going to journal once and I'm going to close that journal and my life has changed and everything is fine. It's like, no, like this is a practice to think more often positive and optimistic. And one of my clients told me she thinks I live in la la land and I'm like, well, it's a practice, you know, like I live. My mindset lives in opportunity and dream and potential and like all of abundance because of my daily practice, because of my meditation, because of my journaling, because of my movement, because of my outdoor nature time. It's not like I'm consuming news and scrolling on social media and I just have this amazing mindset. Do you, do you feel the same in terms of your daily practice and what it has given you? Yeah, a hundred percent because I remember postpartum like one month after it's actually one of my friends Just texted me about this last night and she's having a baby and she's like, hey What goals did you set for yourself postpartum? And I'm gonna tie this back to what your what your question was and I remember that I didn't set any goals And so for the first month, it was just like survival kind of and I like did Got rid of like my morning sunlight. I even quit my meditation app because I wasn't using it I just like stopped using it And I remember feeling so crappy like I was not in a good head space and then so one month later I was like, all right. I don't care what it is. I will make it work and i'll do my morning sunlight I'll get my meditation in whether it's like just sitting there with a baby like outside in the sun Getting some fresh air and I remember it made such a big difference So I texted her that i'm like if you can do that, like that's great Just set like some sort of standard for yourself to like get outside and and just like change your clothes or whatever for postpartum. That makes a huge difference but yeah, I noticed a huge difference when I stopped doing it and I think it's kind of a fun experiment to like When when you can test that difference of like what you feel without it versus with it, like, it is really, really interesting. And so now even like when I go on vacation or when I go somewhere else, like, it is a part of my practice. Like even so much that my husband, Troy, he, oh, he's always like, well, did you do your meditation yet? Did you go outside? And I'm like, well, will you come with me? Right? So it always looks different on, on vacation or when we're not in home, in our home. But it's so much so that other people around me recognize that it makes me a little bit of a better person too. You know what it is? It's like, it's like, it's more primed, more primed to like handle quote unquote stress that the day brings, like when you're even keeled. Like a little more stoic, versus like reacting right when you wake up in the morning of like the craziness in the world, and just a little more like peace, so. Yes, ah, spot on. Jim Quick is that brain doctor, I don't know if you follow him on Instagram, but he always talks about his morning routine, and I, he's like very religious about it. about it. I do think it's like timestamped and all that stuff. But he talks about it. It's essential for him because he, it primes his mind so that it's much more proactive for everything happening in the day versus reactive to what happens. And so that's exactly what you just said. It's like, you're mentally stronger to handle more shit throughout the day. Totally. Yeah. And it, and it really does fall on the basics. Like I just had a Call with a client yesterday and she was feeling really bad, really negative headspace, got emotional. And I was like, okay, well, what are we doing like in our day to day? Cause I don't, obviously I'm not there with her in person. Right. So I had to kind of peel back the layers and ask those questions. And it turns out she's not drinking water. She didn't work out in two weeks. She's not reading books. She's not meditating. She barely got fresh air with a walk. And I was like, what? So that's it. Like, let's drink more water. Let's go outside. Let's get some movement. And just after, I think it was 24 hours of being mindful of that, she was like, I am already feeling better. And so I think a lot of people just underestimate the basics. They're like, something's wrong with me. And it must be, you know, it's like, no, no, no. Yeah, and I feel like another easy thing is that I, I, I know that like sometimes I overcomplicate it. I'm like, but I don't have time for a 30 minute workout. What's like, okay, well, just can you walk around the block for three minutes? Like that even makes me feel better. So just like realizing that it doesn't have to be like all or nothing. It can be like, well, as much as you can do. Like. If I don't have a 10 minutes to meditate, well maybe I'm just putting like a breathing thing on for like two minutes, you know, even just something like that. It's like those small things and that's when you need it most, like when you're stressed, right? Like at least that's when I need it the most. Yeah, absolutely. Again, don't underestimate the basics or even the time associated to it. Half the time. My Pilates workouts are like 20, 30 minutes. So sometimes 10 minutes, like if I just want that booty burn, there's a 10 minute workout and I feel great. Amazing. Staying on the same topic of feeling good and amazing, obviously we know that you have a passion for food and food is also hello up there in terms of priorities. Talk to us about food. Talk to us about your passion. How did we get started into it? Why do you think you're so passionate about food? Number one. And number two, what do you eat on a regular basis? I'd love to hear. I tore my ACL when I was in high school, and the doctor had told me, and it was my senior year and I was on the basketball team, and they were like, alright, you're not gonna be able to step foot in the gym this year, and I was so sad. And so I, I was young, I mean I was 17 years old, this was back in 2008, like this was a long time ago. Nutrition and like Instagram and online blogs, like were not a thing. thing to know what to eat and all that. So I took matters into my own hands and I was like, is there a way that I could heal my body quicker with food? Like I was, I wonder. And so I always had a passion that way and I did. I turned to food and in six months I was able to like actually work out and I was really impressed with speed. With myself and then I kind of did the same thing in 2019 when I got hit by the car. I ate an Extremely anti inflammatory diet and I did that because I wanted to heal my brain and I was going through that really bad concussion so I'm super passionate about food and nutrition and using it as medicine like I guess as a supplementation to it because It's so powerful if we can like eat the right foods. It can make a world's difference in your day to day and in your healing journey. And I noticed that firsthand. I like cut out all anti inflammatory, all inflammatory, everything back in 2019. And it really did me well. And so that's kind of where the passion came from. And now I just know, I know I can feel really good with good quality food. And I, try my best to make sure that's in the house like at all times and then little things that I eat I'm like I'm really big on simple meals that don't take much effort because I remember this was something that was lacking was when I was a private chef to I was actually I didn't say this but I was a private chef to NBA athletes before I was hit by the car and I worked long hours and I I remember cooking these extravagant, beautiful, delicious meals, but then when it came to myself, I was eating like a PB& J rice cake, or like some cereal at the end of the night because I just didn't really have time, and I felt like, ugh, like I wish there was a way that I could eat like, just better food, and it would nourish me a little bit better, but like, not, not go out and buy a whole bunch of ingredients, and so, now my day to day, especially with running a business, and having a family, and just like wanting time for, morning sunlight movement. I've noticed how to make simple meals that are like very low hanging fruits. So I get like frozen veggies from Costco, the Pura Vida, they have like this amazing line. And then I get like some steaks. Chicken sausage, and it's all frozen, and I just throw it in the air fryer or the skillet first thing in the morning. It literally takes five minutes, and it's cooking while I'm doing my morning sunlight and morning yoga with Olive. And it's like, you know, it's just like a little bit of veggies, high protein, starts the day. I don't give much to it. thought to it. And I think that's when everything changed. It's like, I don't obsess over it. I just know that it's going to fuel me and I want to make sure I don't eat anything that's going to make me groggy for the day. And so just starting the morning with like some high protein and some veggies is really, really important. And then I always have stuff for, for smoothies on hand and not the smoothies where I'm adding a bunch of mango and strawberries and blueberries, but like I'm loading the smoothie up with frozen avocado, frozen cauliflower, frozen zucchini, flaxseeds and coconut water and some protein powder. And I'm telling you, like, you can't even taste any of those veggies and it's just like tons of fiber and amazing how the avocado is really great for your brain health and your skin and for satiation and the flaxseed same. It'll help you poop. It'll help you feel really good. And so just, just eating that kind of stuff and like a smoothie is just five minutes, right? And then just dinner is always a little bit different every night, but I feel like through those small things that you figure out what works for your body and like some things that it's not too complicated, it is much easier and less overwhelming when you break it down like that versus like every meal needs to be this extravagant thing. Oh, and another thing is I don't eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I eat when I'm hungry. I eat in the morning when I wake up, and then maybe I'll eat at like, I don't know, like today I ate at 10, so I ate at 7 and then 10, and after this podcast I'll probably have another snack again, and then I'll have dinner. Like, it's just eat when you're hungry, it's again kind of talking about what we talked about earlier, like, society says you should have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and your lunch break is at 12, and da da da da da, and so it's kind of nice to break that up and just eat when you're hungry and I think that's another big thing that it's not overcom we don't need to overcomplicate it, just honor your body. What a concept. Everyone, you heard it here first, when you're hungry. I love that. I especially I guess I should go back cause this is January. When I was pregnant, my hunger cues were all over the place. And so I would wake up 7am and I'm hungry before that wasn't really the case. Maybe it was more like 9, 10am I was hungry. And so understanding that your body changes and mood changes, and there's just so much that goes into it. And so it's like that intuitive practice of, am I hungry? What am I craving? What do I want? And just eat it. I think there's so many rules around it. So yeah, I love your intuitive approach. Obviously you're very passionate about food and I just love following you and I love your recipes. I've tried so many at this point, but I've also followed your journey and clearly we've known each other for so long. I would, I guess my question for you, cause there's a lot of Early and aspiring coaches, but also just early like business owners, right? Like they, I think we all have a passion to do something. And there was a girl in the big shift who loved fashion and started an Instagram account with fashion, you know, and it's just so amazing to see, but I think a lot of people quit or, you know, again, the mindset of, Oh no, what if this doesn't work out the fear, the rejection. So what do you think has really contributed to your success? As a content creator and really just sticking to it for years and years and years. Was it inner work? Was it another aha moment was an experience? Was it all of it? Well, what do you think was the biggest contributor? Well, I worked in corporate America for six years before I started my own business and it was the not wanting to go back to corporate America. That's like, as simple as it was, I was like, I am not going to ruin this. I will work as hard as I need to to make sure I don't have to go back. And I, I actually went like, probably four years without making much money. Like, really, that's when I was like, taking every opportunity and saying yes to everything because I was determined to make it work and I didn't know which direction it was going to go in. So I kind of said yes to everything. And I feel, Troy and I always talk about this because we're both like, entrepreneurs and we're both like, very Let's do it. Like, let's, let's, let's go with it, and we believe in ourselves a lot. And we talk about this a lot, like, I think everyone can do it. It's just kind of hard to, a lot of people just kind of give up. I don't know, I don't mean to be discouraging, but that's the truth. It's like, how bad do you want it? How bad do you want it? I didn't want to go back to corporate America at all and that's how bad I wanted it that I would get up in the mornings and make sure that I do this and that and work on my business and late at night and just I just it's a little bit of a sacrifice in the beginning but I think that if we can like push through and just continue staying with the why of like why is it that we want this like what's the reason behind it and not wanting to go back to the past self and like Just all of that then it makes a big difference and I think another thing that maybe burns people out is that they lose sight of like who they are. And so I've always tried to stay authentic with who I am, why I show up on social media, what, you know, I'm in the food business, so it's a little bit different, but like I'm always eating. I'm eating every day. So if I can just show up and share what I'm eating, why I'm eating it, what I'm grocery shopping, like what I'm doing, and just stay authentic to myself, then it's less likely to get burnout because you're just being yourself. And so I think with new businesses, you could just stay to the why and really stay true to who you are and not get like All off track based on what other people think, or what you should do, or your business success, and don't let your ego get in the way, and don't have the money reflect how you show up. Like if, all of those different things it's, it's really helpful. I always try to think back to who I was in, you know, 2009 sorry, not 2019, 2009 when I graduated high school with this, like, ACL injury. And, like, I just wanted to to food to heal my body. I just think back to that old self of mine, and I just think like, what, how would she have shown up? Like, how, you know, she doesn't know about money or Instagram followers or brand partnerships or opportunity or ego or any of that. Like, she just, she's just like, this is what I'm eating and it's making me feel good, you know? And so I think that just staying true to that is, you can't go wrong, right? Yeah. Yeah. I love that you took the words right out of my mouth because I was going to say, I think people quit and give up because they're so focused on the results and the outcome that the shiny sexy thing that we have in our head. And it's like, well, we miss out on the whole like fun part of this journey, not to be cliche, but it's true. Like, you know, me when I was doing tone it up workouts. Back in Chicago, I also loved wellness and I was going down that path. I, I didn't know anything about the business side of it. I was just like, I love this workout and I love this meetup and I love these people and sweaty selfies. Like that was why I was doing it. And just to kind of snowballed, you know, one thing led to another. So I guess trusting that path. I want to be mindful of your time. I know we're wrapping up here. I have a few questions left. Just more for the audience. The doors for the big shift are open right now. We'll start here soon. I think it's already next week. If there's a girl listening and she's on the fence about Investing in general or finding a coach, and investing and getting help. What would you say to her? What would be like one tip or advice if she's on the fence of choosing to do this type of work? So if not now, then when? Simple, because I went through the accident of almost, you know, losing my life. And I know firsthand that not every And so why not just live in that alignment, in that dream of our lives, like starting now? What are, are we waiting for the right time, but never is going to be the right time, right? It's, oh, there's always going to be something. So just taking the plunge because we want to feel good now. It's, I, that would be my, my best set of advice. And if, you know, one thing for me is I knew that if I was going to monetarily, you you know, what's the word that I'm looking for? Invest in, in a program like this. I knew, I believed with all of my heart that because it was going to help me live in alignment, then that money was going to come back to me in some way or another. And I was, I was a big believer in that. And so, if, if it's whether it's like, this is not the right time, well, one is. And then if it's monetarily, it's like, well, it'll come back. It'll come back because you're doing this for yourself. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I love that. Such sound advice. I actually have a mantra. I say every dollar I spend comes back to be multiplied. And I really believe that. Yes. Constantly. I say that up here. What are you working on? What, what can people find with what you've launched or are you in the middle of launching anything and then where can people find you? I'm on social media on everything at jazleaf j a z z l e a f. So Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, all of that. And then I have a weekly newsletter that goes out and it's on Substack. And it's really fun because it's like a, it's basically like, I'll give you a grocery list and I'll give you a quick recipe that you can make the next week. And it's all exclusive. So it's kind of like what I'm cooking and what you can make next week. So you don't really have to think about it. And there's like an archive of like, over like 120 recipes and I have all of my cookbooks. So all of them are all on my website and they're, they're really easy. Like all of them are really meant to be 30 minutes or less, 10 ingredients or less ingredients that you have in your pantry. A lot of them are gluten free, dairy free even some of them without meat. So I kind of have everything all across the board and I always, I'm always up to connect. I'm always up for questions in the kitchen and my sense of style of teaching is just like beginner cooks. So people don't feel comfortable in the kitchen. And they. I'm, I'm the girl. I'm not going to be the girl that's going to use these big, fancy words and techniques in the kitchen. Like, I never went to culinary school. I was self taught. I just want people to feel comfortable in the kitchen and my whole goal is to make people want to cook at home more than go out and eat. Yeah. Thank you so much. Your goal is absolutely accomplished because I know I feel much more comfortable in the kitchen now because of you. I, I joined your cooking classes back in the day and I remember I had uncles and aunts and friends visit me one year and I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm cooking for like 10, 15 people. What am I doing? I don't know. And you had your chicken enchilada recipe and it was so good. So easy and everyone was raving about it. I was like, thank you. So you made me look good. Thank you for that. I love that. Well, thank you so much for joining the podcast today. I'm sure you'll be back for a part two. People will love, love this conversation. And again, just thank you for opening up and being vulnerable about your experience. I so, so, so appreciate it. Oh, yeah. I'm an open book. If anyone wants to DM me their experience or if they just want to chat, I'm totally open to doing that. Thank you for having me on. It was always, it's always so fun talking and I hope that this resonated with some people out there and they don't, they feel a little less alone knowing that I am also going through the same thing and I've gone through something similar. I know they absolutely will. So, thank you guys. We'll see you next time. Thank you. Bye.