37: Moms Who Inspire - A Chat With Kimberly!

In this heartfelt and empowering episode of Group X Appeal with Kimberly Spreen-Glick and Terry Shorter, co-host Kimberly  opens up about her personal journey navigating motherhood while building her fitness career and business. With refreshing honesty, she shares the real challenges of mom guilt, the power of community support, and her philosophy of replacing "perfect balance" with authentic alignment and harmony. If you've ever felt torn between pursuing your passions and being present for your children, Kimberly's wisdom will inspire you to lead with love and intention.

What You'll Learn:

• ✅ Why community support is the #1 game-changer for working mothers
• ✅ Why "work-life balance" is a myth
• ✅ The meditation practice that transformed Kimberly's decision-making process
• ✅ Why saying no to opportunities can actually create more freedom and success
• ✅ How following your passions sets a powerful example for your children
• ✅ Practical strategies to navigate mom guilt and embrace self-care without shame
• ✅ The mindset shift that makes everything in life possible

Perfect for fitness professionals, entrepreneurs, and any parent who refuses to choose between career ambitions and family devotion. Get ready for actionable wisdom that proves you can build your dreams while cherishing every precious moment with your children.

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Questions or topic ideas? Email us @ groupxappeal@gmail.com

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Stay Connected with Kimberly:
- @kimberlyspreenglick on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
- email: kimberly@theinspiredlifeuniversity.com
- website: www.theinspiredlifeuniversity.com

Stay Connected with Terry:
- @terryshorter on Instagram & Facebook
- email: terry@rippedplanet.com
- website: www.rippedplanet.com

Transcript

This episode is extra special because I get to turn the spotlight on someone who's not only my cohost, my collaborator and my friend, but my sister from another Mr. Kimberly Spreen Glick.

It's a name you many of you know and have come to love and she's a nationally recognized educator, former senior director of group fitness for lifetime, a transformational coach and a fierce advocate for living with purpose. But what you may not know is the depth of strength and intention she brings to her role as a mother. Kimberly has not only raised an incredible young man, but has also helped raise an entire generation of fitness professionals.

through her leadership and mentorship. In honor of Mother's Day and the incredible working moms in our fitness world, today we get to hear her story. The challenges, the breakthroughs, the messy middle, and the magic of it all. Get ready to be inspired by the woman behind the mic.

Kimberly/terry (01:36)
We are here during Moms Who Inspire the series that we've started here at the top of May and as you heard we've got your very own Miss Kimberly Spreen Glick to share her story and we've got several questions that I'm excited to ask Kimberly because we pose these questions to our other guests Angela Davies and Doris Thews as well and you're gonna get to hear a different perspective from your co-host

here on Group X Appeal, Glick. Are you excited? I'm so excited. Are you nervous at all? mean, part of me is like, oh, there are so many amazing moms out there. We should look for other perspectives. And then the other part of me is like, yeah, I love the idea of being able to share my experience being a mom and in the industry and doing what we do. Awesome. Well, it's it's a.

It's definitely a pleasure to have you and a gift to the listeners out there. It's my chair. Listen, that is your chair. Unless Bob sitting. Hey, So we're going to kick this thing off because I know you have some, some really great insight and experience and probably some fun stories to share as well. And we haven't had Kimberly back in the hot seat. I think since episode number two, is that right?

believe it was something like that. Yeah. Episode number two or episode number three. So if you haven't heard that one, you got to make sure you go back to listen to who is Kimberly Spreen Glick. That one might give you TMI. I'm not sure. There was quite a bit of really juicy information in that one. We finished filming that one. I'm like, I think I may have shared too much. Well, in that one, there was some really great information, but this is definitely from a different perspective. This is from the mama's perspective that I think, um, well,

that I know will absolutely inspire anyone who's listening. So we're going to kick this thing off. You ready for this? All right. So question number one. Yes, sir. We live in a world today where it's, of course, not uncommon for women to become mothers and work outside the family. Yeah. Right. so and others like yourself even take on more of an entrepreneurial route. And so the question is, what inspired you to start your own business while raising a family?

Oh, good question. So prior to having my son, I had a career, full time, a very full time career in the fitness industry. Cause that's when I was in my director role. Um, and I had been full time since, you know, I was in my late teens, 19 into 20, um, either as a personal trainer, then getting into management and all that fun stuff and making the shift to go down the entrepreneurial route actually has a lot to do with being a mom.

as scary as it is, it was an interesting dichotomy here because there was part of me that really wanted to stay in my nice comfy corporate role after I had Tyler because you've got the guaranteed paycheck, you got the 401k, you've got the paid vacation, you got the job security. I did pretty well in that role. So the security was there for me to stay. I felt had it had

I started having desires to go out on my own prior to having Tyler. I had jumped in a heartbeat. But because I had Tyler and I'm a mom, I felt like a greater responsibility. I started to feel like, okay, if it were just me, I'd take the leap of I would take the risk in a heartbeat. But because now I've got a responsibility for my family, maybe I should just stay safe. And then I started to find myself through meditation.

Visiting a different perspective and that perspective was Down the road when my son becomes an adult and he finds himself in a position to stay safe and in a role in a job that you know covers his bills and you know, he does well with or to follow his heart and soul and his passion his passion exactly his icky guy, we could guy what would I tell him to do and without hesitation

The sensation was you follow your purpose. You follow your passion. You follow your heart. When you follow your heart, cannot get lost. Yeah. It's just not possible. And so when I came out, I came out of that meditation, like I was passed out or something, but when I, when I came to, um, but when I kind of felt that, that, that kind of vision resonate.

I realized, I'm like, well, if that's the advice I would give, then that's the example I need to set. You need to live it. Yeah. So when I, when I created the inspired life university with a desire to, you know, support heart centered fitness and wellness pros to make a bigger impact on the world and bigger income, I was definitely driven by that, by helping others make a difference in the world. That's why I call them difference makers. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. I hope so. ⁓ but I had a secondary why.

That continued to drive me and that is to set the example for my son of what it looks like to follow your heart and to really let your passion lead the way in life and so yeah, I was like and that's probably that's probably not a backup why but that's probably Equally is important. Absolutely right that drives you from ones, you know, maybe coming up short one day or kind of is your heavier focused on one. Yeah

than the other, it could be different the next day. It varies. week, Mm-hmm. I love it. Well, it's good to have ⁓ that support why, or that secondary why. All the we can get, right? Yes. Fuel for the journey. Whatever we need. Picks us up. we can get for the fire, that definitely helps. I love it. And it's so easy for people to just settle and just kind of live status quo. So meditation was the entryway. Yeah. Yeah. The gateway. Because it's so easy to stay safe. It is.

It is awesome, especially with the the cushy cushy job and like you said the security a lot of hours But it was it was otherwise cushy Because you knew you knew it inside and out I had already been doing it for 12 years Second nature, know that kind of job security of I know what I'm doing. I do it Well, I get paid well made it hard made it really hard. I'm sure of that for sure I don't regret it for a moment. Good for you

So what's one of the biggest challenges so far that you faced as a working mom in the fitness industry? And how did you or how do you overcome it? You know, I think one of the biggest challenges is knowing for myself as a recovering people pleaser. I'm sure that might resonate with a few listeners out there, but as a recovering people pleaser, when to say yes and when to say no, remembering, you know what my

what my whys are and what my personal mission is in the work that I wanna do and realizing I don't have to say yes to everything. And in fact, by saying no to certain opportunities, it's what gives me the freedom to live the life I wanna be living and to be the kind of mom I wanna be because.

Another big reason for the shift, other than setting an example for my son was also to be the kind of mom I wanted to be for Tyler. If I were still in that director role, I would be missing Taekwondo tests. I would not always be able to take him to school and pick him up from school and play the violin in front of 2000 people today. today, got to watch Tyler play violin beautifully in front of over 2000 people at his school, at their Mayfair event. Like first chair.

like status too. Yes, yes. And it was just, it was just amazing. I will, I'm going to eat the microphone apparently. ⁓ But the fact that I got to be there for that, I didn't have to miss that. don't have to miss things that are important to him, which is fantastic because they're important to me. So being able to be the kind of mom I want to be is really was another huge impetus for even going down the entrepreneurial route. But I had to stay with, cause when you're in a more of a corporate role,

Your yes and no is pretty laid out. It's like this is what you're focused on. It's very structured. This is what you're working on. Anything else comes up, you got to say no, because this is your, your, you focus. But when you go in entrepreneurial now kind of the world is your oyster. You could, you could go do this. You could go do that. You could go do this. You could take this opportunity and that opportunity. And so that's probably been the biggest challenge is really coming back to.

My mission coming back to my why and making sure that I honor those things And make sure that every time I say yes It contributes to the life. want to be living the vision I have for that and the kind of mom I want to be good for you Yeah, because there's a lot of a lot of distractions out there a few So many distractions i'm distracting you right now. No, not at all. I'm focused. I'm in this I am present. I am here in it doing it

Well, good for you. So yes, just the ability to know when to say yes, when to say no to things. think that's a very common challenge for a lot of people, especially business owners where you feel like you have so much latitude. And like you said, you can go move in any direction that you pretty much want to, but hopefully in the direction of your goals and your overall purpose. So good for you. So what does your support system look like when it comes to it?

The people that are there for you, whether they're friends family, you know, and how important is community for you? gosh communities everything Community is absolutely everything community is why I do what I do the desire to build something as much as I You know, I love lifetime. I still teach with lifetime. I've been with this organization for over 25 years I adore the mission the vision everything about it. I can't imagine ever not being with lifetime. However

when I decided to create the Inspired Life University, it became a platform that allowed me to serve beyond lifetime. So I have a lot of people I work with that I know through lifetime, but many others that I know through the industry from conferences and things like that that I've met outside of that kind of full-time role that I had for so long. And they're all my community. It's why I created the Wellness Leadership Association is to be able to have a...

community of like-minded souls where we get to come together and support each other a couple of times a month and all of us wanting to do the work that we do. So they support me on the vision and I do my best to support them. We support each other. It's very much a collaborative approach. And then when it comes to the mom side, know, Tyler happens to have a fantastic dad, a crazy guy in the industry. Some might know name Rob. And you know, he, he and I work

really, really well together and we always have to co-parent with Tyler. There are days that he's with Rob, there are days that he's with me and we have set days, but if something comes up and we need to shift our schedules, we do it. And you know, when Tyler was younger and he used to travel with us all the time, ⁓ my gosh, between the grandparents, so my mom, Rob's parents, and then my brother Brian and my sister-in-law, Jean, they were like the village that was helping raise Tyler.

Cause when we were on the road all the time, having them with us, we couldn't have done it otherwise with all the empower events, the conferences, trips for lifetime. And to this day, there's no way I could juggle things without Gary and Barbara Glick. Sure. Known as Papa and grandma G and they live in Irvine. And they also listen to this podcast too. So in fact, at the end of every podcast, when we say, ⁓

Have a great day, it's a great day to have. I actually got that from Papa. I love it. Yeah, he's the one that inspired me to buy the mug and say it at the end of all my classes and such. I love it. But yeah, having them so close and they adore Tyler and my gosh, Tyler adores them, like thinks they are superheroes and he's right, they are. They have been the greatest support anyone could have hoped for and I know my mom would be too if she were here. She's just on the other side of the country. ⁓

Yeah, for him to have grandparents that want so much to spend time with him. And honestly, it takes away a lot of the hardship. And you've got to lean on your community. You've got to, whether it is family, whether it is when it comes to parenting, whether it's other parents, which we've certainly done, working with other parents from his school for pick up and drop off, or hey, can Tyler go home with Luca today and I'll pick him up a couple hours later because I've got a meeting or whatever the case may be.

Having the ability to lean on people like that and then allow them to lean on you When you're able to support them, it's it's so powerful. Yeah, you know we are as we've talked about before we're hardwired for connection, right? Social beings. Yeah, and the fact that this gives us an opportunity to continue to deepen that connection It's a gift. That's awesome. Well, you know without them. That's the definition of truly taking a village, right?

my gosh, the largest village on the planet has raised my son. Like there's just, well, everyone, everyone has done a great job at, ⁓ you know, helping out putting their, putting their, ⁓ their time, their energy, their love out there that support out there for you. So, and it reflects in the type of person that big tie is. yeah.

He's just a good He's good people. Good people. Good job, happens to think this guy's a superhero, which is pretty cool. No, I don't have my keep on today, though. No, it's not tucked in. I'm about to put it in in just a minute. All right, cool. So next question. Many of our listeners, struggle. They may perhaps struggle with mom guilt, right? Or burnout, perhaps. So what advice, Kimberly, would you give some women trying to or even mother figures out there?

trying to prioritize their health and dreams while caring for their families. Yeah. I would say in the last couple of years, something has really surfaced for me when it comes to this, because I remember a time and probably every parent has felt this, who does both work and parenting. You're parenting and then you feel guilty because you should be getting work done and then you're working, but you feel guilty because you should be with your kid or kids.

And it's like, when are you ever fully present focused on the task at hand or the experience at hand? And so it's crazy making. And I think that what leads us down that path of crazy making often is this desire for what we call balance. We want balance. Well, I'm nerd out for a second here. you think about the traditional definition of balance, it's equal parts.

it's being able to have, you know, let's imagine a scale when you've got something on either end of the scale, they're even, right? Well, you had mentioned earlier, like one day I might have to focus a bit more on one why and another day I might have, might get to focus a bit more on a different why. And I think life is like that. I no longer use the concept of life balance. I no longer use the word balance for me. It's about alignment and harmony because in a given day,

I'm not gonna be able to nurture all the priorities in my life that matter to me. It's just, it's not how it typically plays out. There may be a random day where that happens, but. Yeah, between my teaching and being a mom to Tyler and the online platform and my friendships like you, my family, to think that you'd need to juggle that every day to create balance and nurture everything, it's crazy. Right, and so to be able to,

recognize that one day might be 80 % about the work you want to do. And the next day you get almost no work done and 80 % is spent with your, your child or, you know, with family or with friends. And the next day, 80 % of your time is spent on self care. Maybe you go out for a walk or get a massage or whatever the case may be, but recognizing that is going to fluctuate from one priority to the other. And the wiser approach for me has been to step back. And I typically look at a week. Right.

And over the course of a week, am I predominantly making choices with what to do with my time, my focus, and my energy that is in alignment with what I value most, with what I consider my highest priorities? And if so, I'm good with that. Good on you. Yeah. And so I create harmony in that way. I just kind of let it flow, letting myself off the hook if.

I don't really get to see my son one day because I've got a busy schedule work-wise. And then when I do get the next day with my son, I'm all there. Quality time, me and him. Yeah. I think when we can do that, we can let ourselves off the hook and kind of release that mom guilt. Be guilt free. Yeah, be present wherever you are, whatever you're doing, there. Who has ever said that? Wherever you are, be all there. I know, that sounds...

I don't remember who said that. said it. Maya Angelou. It's not, it's a man. Is it? We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out. We'll have to. Maybe we'll add it on social media or something. We'll leave it in the notes. Or if you all know. Yeah, let us know. Who said the quote, wherever you are, be all there? I feel like his name starts with a J. Jermaine Jackson? Yes, I think that was it. It's a song.

I think you nailed on him. Got it. No need to leave a comment. We got it. Nailed it. please do. So, ⁓ so if you can go back Kimberly to your younger self, okay. Just starting out as a working mom. Yeah. That's the first thing you would do. I love it. And this was the second thing you do and what direction would you give, ⁓ to help you on your journey after you tell yourself how cute you are?

One bit of direction I would give is to reassure her of a couple of things. One, this journey is not always easy, but you can find ease. And that comes through, you know, a willingness to be mindful, to be present, to practice, not just self care, but extreme self care so that

Ooh, I like extreme self care. Self care is just not workshop called the art of extreme self care. Oh, I like that. Because when you can fill your cup, as Ayanna Von Sant said, I shared in that episode early on, may my cup runneth over so that I may be of service and give freely to those around me. But what's in the cup is mine and don't you touch it. You know, you've really. Better watch yourself. You've got to be.

very intent on guarding your time and energy because no one else is going to do it for you. That's right. No one else is going to do it for you. No one else is going to create boundaries for your own self care. And when you do that and when you practice mindfulness, whether it's meditation, gratitude practice, I recommend all the above time in nature, then you can find a sense of ease so that even when things go cray cray,

Cause they will. Cause they will. And things will go wrong and you'll make mistakes and life will knock you to your knees. A you'll be able to get up faster and B you won't get knocked down as often at all, you know, cause the storms will come, but you've built a fortress. Sure. Won't hurt as much. Yeah. And then the other thing is everything is figure outable and that comes from Marie Forleo. So I can't take credit, but Marie Forleo

and listener over the years. And she always used to say, everything is figure outable. And then I would also say that even though that's the case, you don't have to have it all figured out right now. Right. You know, so often we feel like not only do I have to have it figured out, but I have to have it figured out right now. And we to do it well. There's the other part. Perfectly, if not well. Right.

Um, even like when we set goals for ourselves, it's almost like we don't want to budge and take the first step until we kind of know all the steps. We to have it all figured out, know that it's going to go the way we want it to go. No, everything is figured, figure out a bowl along the way. Just one step at a time. Don't drive yourself crazy by thinking that you have to have everything figured out. Like, um, Martin Luther King Jr. Said, take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step. And I found that to be.

incredibly true and incredibly powerful because action creates confidence and clarity. So when you take a step, when you take action in your life to do anything personally, professionally, you'll just logically gain from that knowledge, ⁓ lessons learned, things that went well, things that didn't go well. And through that additional knowledge, you gain clarity and confidence to be able to take the next step. So you gotta trust in that.

Trust the process. Yeah. Even you jump in a car and you use your GPS, right? It doesn't lay out the entire route these days. Can you imagine if it just said it all at once and you had to remember it? Like, what? That would be a nightmare. No, thank you. Yeah. So it's just one ⁓ direction at a time because that's pretty much all we can digest anyway. Absolutely. And a GPS does not judge. it never does. Never judge. A GPS is never like, but how did you get here?

No, it just needs to know where you are, where you want to go. think our internal GPS is the same. Where am I? Where do I want to go? Point A, point B. And then in that car, if you make a wrong turn, what does the GPS do? It's a really quick reroute. Rerouting, right? Your internal GPS does the same thing. So just trust that you're going to be okay and figure it out along the way. You're good. Slam dunk. Slam dunk. Is that how you slam dunk? It's like that, That's exactly how you do it.

It's like a soft high five. a little high five. That was cute slash slam dunk. Like it was like a combo.

dunk in the high five at the same time. I love it. So, um, anything else that you wanted to share any other words of wisdom as a mom? If there is anything else that you could share, cause you already shared with your other self, how cute you are. Number one, and then just take one step at a You know, it's so cliche, but since we're talking specifically about, you know, being a mom, cherish,

every moment because it goes so fast. think we take that statement for granted so much, so often. It's a bumper sticker. it's so true. It is so true. Yeah. cherish every moment and have fun along the way. Yeah. Yeah. We don't get these, we don't get these moments back. Yes, you can shoot video footage and pictures and all that stuff, but there's, there's nothing that's ever going to replace like being in that moment and loving and

being appreciative and so grateful for those those simple moments too. They don't have to be big milestones or big celebrations or triumphs. It's true. Right. So great advice. And ⁓ Kimberly, we thank you so much for opening up your heart and sharing your story. It's just really a super powerful reminder that motherhood is not a limitation. not a limitation at all. It is a force.

and a force that fuels purpose, shapes leadership, you know, and deepens our capacity to serve. And you've shown us what it means to lead with love, to live with intention and to rise again and again, no matter what the season, right? No matter what the season. So I know every single listener, especially the working moms out there, the entrepreneurial minded moms are walking away feeling, you know, seen.

supported and empowered as well. hope so. I hope so too. know so. I know so. So you're an inspiration to, to so many people, including myself. And it's such a, ⁓ a pleasure and an honor to have the chance to sit close together and share how these little, these little talks, these fireside chats. I love it. So that is it for our, ⁓ episode number 37 with Kimberly Spreen Glick.

And please let us know what you love most and what else should they do? Comment, like, share, subscribe. All the things. Right? All the stuff. Share the episode, download, follow us on the different platforms. We're primarily Instagram, but Instagram, Facebook, YouTube for sure. If you want to see the shenanigans on video. And that's where you can certainly comment and any of the podcast platforms. So all the podcast platforms. All of them.

But we just really appreciate your support. We're having a lot of fun being of service in this way. Absolutely. So thanks for supporting us. Yes. Thank you so much and make sure you tune in to the next one as well, where we will be featuring another mom who inspires. Absolutely. Ms. Sarah Cooperman Sarah Cooperman. An icon in our industry. legend in our industry. So we're excited to have her and thank you so much again, Kimberly, for sharing your insight, your background, experience and your inspiration.

So until next time, we encourage you as always to make it a great day and why, Kimberly? Because it's a great day to have, right, Papa? Take care. Much love.