Actualizing Your Best Self: Healing, Growth & Bold Reinvention with Elizabeth Ormes

🎙️ Actualizing Your Best Self: Healing, Growth & Bold Reinvention with Elizabeth Ormes

Episode Summary

In this episode of The BOLD and Brilliant Podcast, Tracie sits down with psychotherapist and entrepreneur Elizabeth Ormes for a deeply honest conversation about healing, resilience, identity, and the courage to reinvent yourself. After nearly 30 years working in mental health systems—including the Department of Veterans Affairs, foster care, and domestic violence services—Elizabeth made the bold leap into entrepreneurship to create a more aligned and authentic way of serving others. Together, Tracie and Elizabeth explore mindset, neurodivergence, community, personal growth, and what it really means to evolve into your next chapter.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why healing and resilience begin with mindset and self-belief
• The difference between surviving and truly actualizing your best self
• How entrepreneurship often requires identity shifts and personal evolution
• Why community and connection are essential for growth and healing

Actionable Tips from This Episode

• Stay curious instead of rigid when life or business begins to shift
• Notice where you may be holding onto outdated expectations or identities
• Seek spaces and communities where you feel seen, supported, and aligned

Memorable Quote

“If it feels heavy, you’re probably doing something wrong.”

Bold Moment of the Episode

After decades working within large agencies and systems, Elizabeth made the bold decision to leave the security and structure of traditional employment to launch her own private practice. What began as a leap toward autonomy quickly became an even bigger transformation—opening the door to coaching, community-building, workshops, and a more expansive vision of how she could serve others.

About Elizabeth Ormes

Elizabeth Ormes, MA, LCPC, is a psychotherapist and the founder of Actualizing Your Best Self, PLLC. With nearly 30 years of experience in the mental health field, Elizabeth specializes in helping individuals—particularly women—navigate complex trauma, life transitions, neurodivergence, and identity shifts.

Her background includes work with the Department of Veterans Affairs, foster care systems, domestic violence organizations, and nonprofit agencies, giving her a deep understanding of resilience and human growth. Elizabeth is a Certified Domestic Violence Professional (CDVP) and a Level II Certified Clinical Trauma Professional.

As a neurodivergent professional herself, Elizabeth brings both clinical expertise and lived experience into her work, blending evidence-based practices with authentic, compassionate support. In 2026, she is expanding her work into coaching programs specifically designed for neurodivergent individuals seeking aligned growth, deeper relationships, and authentic self-understanding.

Connect with Elizabeth Ormes

• Psychology Today Profile: https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1466154
• Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/actualizing-your-best-self-pllc-112610909791
• Substack: https://elizabethactualizingyourbestself.substack.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@elizabethaybs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579176296723
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actualizingyourbestself
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethormesaybs

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Transcript

Tracie Root 0:00

are you ready to take bold action and live a life of brilliance? Welcome to the Bold and Brilliant Podcast, where women leaders share inspiring stories about daring decisions that shape their businesses, their lives, and their careers. Today, I'm with the fabulous and amazing Elizabeth Ormas. Elizabeth is a licensed clinical professional counselor and the founder of Actualizing Your Best Self, PLLC. With nearly 30 years of clinical experience, including work with the VA and specialized certification in complex trauma, Elizabeth has spent her career helping people unburden themselves from the past to reclaim their future. When working with therapy and coaching clients, Elizabeth's mission is simple: helping you bridge the gap between where you are and your most authentic self. As we talk, you'll hear Elizabeth share her journey of entrepreneurship, including one bold decision that created her path of what was next. Her story of resilience, risk-taking, and transformation will inspire, encourage, and support your personal and professional growth. Please help me to join... Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth to the Bold and Brilliant Podcast. Elizabeth, welcome to the podcast. I'm so excited to have you.

Elizabeth Ormes 1:27

Well, thanks for having me on your podcast, Tracie. I'm excited to be here and to chat with you.

Tracie Root 1:33

Absolutely. Well, I know, and we've been working on getting together for this for a while, so I'm really thrilled that it's finally taking place and we're gonna get this out to the people. Because you and I, like we've known each other just for, like for under a year. Mm-hmm. We have had a chance to get to know each other through lots of group activities, a few little conversations. But really, like I've read your story, but I haven't really heard you speak about it, and I'm really excited to introduce you and your story to people who haven't met you yet. That's the best thing, I think, about podcasts is you never know who it's gonna reach and who you might get a chance to inspire today. So it's gonna be super fun. Are you ready?

Elizabeth Ormes 2:16

I am always, uh, ready to talk to you. I, I love all of the activities that we've been in together, and just feel like I'm sitting down with, uh, a bestie over coffee to just chat. So I'm- Perfect ready to get started. Perfect.

Tracie Root 2:32

Same vibe, same, same. Okay. So Elizabeth, I, What I know about you is that you are a therapist, that you've been a therapist for way longer than it seems you can by looking at your face, and th- th- than, than it seems possible by looking at your face. And what I would love to do is have you go back to like kind of an origin story. Like, how did you decide that this was for you, and tell us a little bit about your journey of becoming the professional that you are and how you serve the world.

Elizabeth Ormes 3:05

Well, uh, I think my origin story is, is pretty similar to a lot of, uh, therapists in that I grew up, Well, first of all, thank you for saying that I look so young. At 51, I feel like I don't, I no longer look that young anymore. But so I am Gen X, and when I was growing up- Gen X. Yay Gen X, right? Yay Gen X. But when I was growing up, uh, I grew up in a family that you would say was, uh, functionally dysfunctional. Mm. So, you know, my, my, uh, mom had mental health issues. My, my younger brother had you know, uh, behavioral issues. My dad was always working. And then there was me, the, the quiet, oldest child- The good girl The girl keeping it all together and, you know, trying not to cause too many waves. So, I went, you know, to, to college and- Thought,"Well, maybe I'll study history, and then maybe I'll study biology or botany and then, oh, psychology. Ooh, better understanding of me and my family and, and, you know, that's, that would be good." And so I was at the University of Michigan and ended up with a degree in psychology and women's studies. And my father said to me as I'm graduating,"What are you gonna do with that?" Not a lot out there for a bachelor's level, so I went on to graduate school pretty quickly. Yes. And, uh, graduated in 1998 with a master's in counseling psychology and what's called rehabilitation teaching. Mm. So I worked with people who are blind and visually impaired, uh, people who with disabilities for the first part of my career. So working on adjustment issues, learning how to adapt and cope with a pretty significant, uh, change of life. And that was my, my- So were

Tracie Root 5:12

you working with people who, like, lost their vision as, like, as adults or as, as they were older and had to learn how to function in the world? Yeah, that seems like that would be really challenging.

Elizabeth Ormes 5:25

So, uh, I'm from Michigan originally. And if you know anything about Michigan, most of the time people show you their hand to show where they're from. Oh, yeah but I was working up in the UP. So I covered half of the Upper Peninsula. I worked with kids who were 14 and up, so they had vision loss at a very young age or were born. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Uh, all the way to older adults who lost their vision in their 80s. And, uh, so I worked all ages. All ages. All ages. Yeah.

Tracie Root 6:01

So what i- what would you say then what... So given that it was really, like, all demographics, right? Young, old, and everyone in between, what would you say was, like, the hardest, the hardest challenge that people came up with if they...'Cause, you know- Yeah you assume that someone who's a very young person, like, you learn at a early age and kids are resilient and, you know, you, you learn kind of what you need to, to learn to be able to move through the world. But someone who's already 50-something like you and me, if all of a sudden I lost... And I actually have a friend who in her 60s lost her vision and became legally blind and continues to stru- to, to have a reduction of her vision, and it was really hard to watch her struggle with how hard it was to, to accept- Mm-hmm that this was her new reality, and it wasn't going to get better.

Elizabeth Ormes 7:01

Mm-hmm. So what I didn't realize at the time, being a new person in the field- Mm-hmm and what, what wasn't really clear to a lot of it wasn't even brought up in the, the, the classes and the by my, my mentors and instructors was people's mindset, people's understanding. Yeah. You know, what, what, what the philosophy was was if you teach them how to, how to adapt, if you teach them,"Well, you don't have to... Yes, you're no longer have your vision, but you can learn to do the same things that you did before. Everything will be fine." But it, it really starts with a, with a mindset approach, and that's what I've been honing over, you know, my own, like almost 30 years now, so, uh, career, is that how people, like our core beliefs, and how people start off. So it's, it, it begins with like your parents and what they're teaching you and how- Mm-hmm well you can understand that your, your capabilities and whether you adapt or don't adapt really starts with your understanding.

Tracie Root 8:20

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The resilience and the like kind of grit and growth mindset- Yep. Yep and all of that kind of stuff. Yeah. That totally makes sense. My friend who struggled so much in her 60s, absolutely resilient mindset and beautiful support system, but I can also imagine people who might be like,"Why did this happen to me? I didn't... I'm a good person," or you know, or,"This happened to me because I'm not a good person," or like really blaming themselves for things that were out of their con- That's really challenging. So I bet you had, again, all ages and all of the, the, the breadth of those different kinds of self-talk. Right.

Elizabeth Ormes 9:05

Yeah. So like the, the young adults that I worked with it, a lot of it was whether their parents saw them as capable and whether they saw them as whether they, they resolved their own parental guilt and things- Mm that were not about the, the kids. So you know, if they, if they insulated them and didn't allow them to experience the world, then those kids were a little more fearful. They were a little- Mm-hmm less ready to, to take on challenges. Yeah. And really that's, that speaks to a lot of it I think for a lot of people. Did you work with

Tracie Root 9:41

not only the, the people who were, had lost their vision, but also with their parents when they were young, when, when you were working with younger people?

Elizabeth Ormes 9:49

Not at that time. I, I didn't do that. Uh, we did a little workshops. I, I- Mm-hmm I did trainings and workshops. I remember, uh, putting together a workshop, a, a one-day workshop for parents and kids, and my colleague, you know, we're, we divided up, like, what we were gonna be talking about. And I like fun. I like to come And I, I made this, this kind of this wizard costume to kinda come in and, and talk about, like, there's no magic wand, but yet we can do all these things. So I had, like, this I got this, like, uh, robe. I think it was, like, a, a graduation robe, and, like, hot glued all these sparkling gems to it. Awesome. And I had this funny hat, and it was just a li- You know, but yeah, talking We didn't do as much as I think we should back- Yeah back in that time. It would've been better that way. But yeah, it's definitely something that I know now

Tracie Root 10:48

is important. I love that. I love that. So, you know, okay, and I apologize because we really focused in on this, as I hadn't heard this before, so I was very intrigued. But let's, let's move on from there. So you worked with that group for a long time. Mm-hmm. And then tell me what happened after that and go on.

Elizabeth Ormes 11:07

Yeah, so, you know, I stuck with- in that, that realm for a while. I- if anybody knows about Escanaba Escanaba The Moonlight was a movie that came out about when I was living up there. Lots of trees, lots of deer, and lots of empty spaces. And I said I was in my, my late 20s, and I'm like,"Mm, I, I, I need something different." Most of my friends lived in Chicago, so I moved to Chicago. Mm. I worked for Epilepsy Foundation, and then I worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for a while. Mm. And so s- some pretty tough populations of people to work with. Mm-hmm. And then h- found my husband, got married, had kids, and then decided to work in domestic violence and sexual assault. And,'Cause that's easier. That's easier. Yeah. Of course. And then foster care. Yeah so I did that for, for a long time. And then, you know, uh, about a year, year and a half ago, I, I realized that I needed, I needed something different. I'd worked for everyone else. I worked for, you know, so many different types of agencies and, and places. And I said,"I need, I need more control for me." You know, I love my work. I love working with people. I love helping them to see things from a different perspective and how they can change once they kind of, Open up their eyes and mind to the, the change that, that is possible. And I wasn't feeling as fulfilled doing that for somebody else'cause they set some of the rules and, and things. Yeah. So I said,"I'm gonna take it on myself. I'm gonna start my own private practice." And boy, was that, uh- That's- Talk about having to be resilient and Yeah

Tracie Root 13:00

making it mindset. That's what we call that bold move, my friend. That's a big deal. I mean, it's a big deal for all of us who have been in corporate and left corporate and stuff, but, like, in the medical world, which, you know, you were a part of, are a part of, it's very regimented in what you can do and how you can do it, and the paperwork and the... You know, I mean, I don't, I don't have my personal experience, but everything that I know from doctors and nurses and therapists and everyone that I, that work in that world it's a lot to navigate, and you f- sometimes maybe feel like your hands are tied in certain ways, right? What was it specifically that... I mean, you mentioned that you wanted to, to, like, not have your hands tied as, so much and everything, but was there anything specifically that you knew that when you had your own practice you would do it differently than kind of how you had to do it when you're working for someone else?

Elizabeth Ormes 15:13

Yeah. So, you know, working with the, the clients and being able to, to set our path together with, with people who seek me out. So having more control over the type of clients, making sure that I'm a good fit for them- Mm as opposed to, you know, a lot of agencies- You can define work, it's there's a, there's a a, a thing that brings them to your door, like domestic violence or- An event you know, their child is in foster care, or the child is a foster child, right? And those are the things that open that door. But as a, as a therapist, it wasn't always, like,"Oh, well, you know, what are you s- what do you need, and am I the best fit?" Whereas now- Mm-hmm when it's my own practice, I can sit down, I can talk with them, I, we can talk about what their, what their particular issues are and go,"Okay. Yeah, I'm a really good fit for you. My approach, my my understanding of, of therapy is the right one for you." Because there's so many different ways to approach healing- Mm-hmm and change. And not every therapist is the right fit for every person seeking services.

Tracie Root 16:32

Absolutely. That makes so much sense. I mean, you know, it's the same in the coaching world. Obviously, we're all different personalities. You have different ways of doing things, and sometimes people are a fit just personality wise and sometimes they're not. So when you were working for someone else, often you would get just assigned a person, and they're your client whether or not you're a fit for them or not, right? Until you go through so many or whatever and you find that it's not going well and you have to switch out or something like that. But you, you have a period that you have, kind of have to, right?

Elizabeth Ormes 17:07

Yeah. Even as the clinical director, I had, you know... I, I, I ha- didn't have all complete control over who was coming in the door, right? Yeah. Right. You know, there's always somebody above you making decisions, and that was the, that was a thing. I could, I could, you know, take a look at, at folks coming in and going,"Okay," but everybody had to be assigned,

Tracie Root 17:30

right? Right. You could see, like, okay, this seems like the, the best choice, but- Mm-hmm you still have to figure it out from... That's before any conversations even happened, right? Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. You got it. I love that. All right. So you to- you made that super bold decision to leave your practice. Did you do that over time or, like, did you have to, like, cut it off and just take the leap?

Elizabeth Ormes 17:55

It was more of a cut off, take the leap. You know, I, I tell people, you know, like, I, I probably was already starting to see that I needed to, to make that shift, uh, a year or so before I did it. And you know, it, it... But it takes time to- It does kind of disengage from a system like that. And so- Yeah it, it took a while to, you know, have those conversations. And then once it was like, okay, yep, this is the, the writing's on the wall, it was... You know, it took... And then it was like, okay, quick, you know, once it... I s- I left the agency in February of 2025, and I started all the lovely process that you all know if you're an entrepreneur of establishing the business in February of 2025, and started seeing my first client in April of 2025 and, you know, slowly building from that point on.

Tracie Root 19:01

Yeah. Yeah,'cause it's not like other types of work where clients follow you. Because they're in that system kind of for a reason in a lot of cases, right? Especially, like you said, if they're in the foster system or if it's, you know, they're getting supported through a shelter program or whatever it might be. Like, they're in that system. They can't just,"Well, I wanna work with Elizabeth, so I'm just gonna go over there." It's a whole new world.

Elizabeth Ormes 19:28

Yeah. For the, for, like- For most people 100... Most of the most people. I did let a few of the foster parents know that, you know, I was... You know, just because, uh, you know, it's like,"Well, where's... What happened?" Yeah. Where'd you go? You know, where'd she go, right? And I, I did end up having, uh, a one client come over after about six months or so when he aged out of foster care. Mm-hmm. So I see him through- Oh, that's nice uh, a program called A Home Within, which is a total nonprofit matching up, uh, kids, former foster kids with therapists who agree to do the, the work with them for pro bono. So it's, uh, it's my way of giving back. It's my way of- Yeah being still connected to that community, and I'm such a proud person to have an opportunity to, to do that as I'm- Yeah establishing my own work.

Tracie Root 20:24

Yeah. That's beautiful. I bet that that kid just is so grateful to be able to continue a relationship on and not have to worry about, like you said, it's pro bono for... So, like, i- it- there's a... It's a program that you are still attached to even though you left that world.

Elizabeth Ormes 20:42

We could do an entire podcast all about the foster care system and the importance- Please do of continuity of- Oh, yeah of people in their lives. I I could talk about it all day. Well, I mean, I mean for

Tracie Root 20:54

anyone, for all of us, continuity. For any kid, continuity. But even more so, I mean, I can't even imagine, you know, how challenging it is to be those kids'cause- Mm-hmm you know, it's hard enough to just be a kid, let alone that in an unstable situation like that.

Elizabeth Ormes 21:12

Yep. Yep. Mm-hmm. I'm, I'm really happy to say that this is a, a, a young person who is probably as much as he is a survivor and is b- really beginning to thrive- Mm-hmm as a young adult, and I- That's just beautiful I, I'm, I'm happy to be partnered on his journey to, to support him.

Tracie Root 21:36

Yeah.

Elizabeth Ormes 21:36

I love that.

Tracie Root 21:37

It's really beautiful. Thank you for doing that because you never know, that kid could really do something in the world because of the support that he's getting from you right now. You never know. I, I, I,

Elizabeth Ormes 21:50

I, I love that you said that'cause he is someone who wants to give back, be a, be a motivational speaker- Oh, good to, he's a brilliant musician, artist. And I have no doubt that we'll be seeing and hearing his story- Oh, that's so beautiful in, in a few years. Mm. Uh,

Tracie Root 22:09

yep. It's just heart- heart touching. It touches my heart so much. Okay, so let's, we could, like you said, we could do a whole podcast on just talking about that whole thing and how amazing it is to support people who need that kind of help. But let's move on'cause we're gonna talk about you. Okay. So you started your practice a year ago, just over a year ago. I know you just celebrated your year anniversary, which is very exciting. And so talk a little bit about the entrepreneur side of the journey. I mean, obviously your work as a therapist has evolved a little bit because you, uh, because you have to because of how you get clients and, and all of that. But talk about, like, the business side of leaving a system that was giving you everything you needed and creating your own. Talk about that a little bit.

Elizabeth Ormes 23:02

So I would say that leaving working for others, having... I, I've done you know, administrative type work for those, those agencies and programs. I was a clinical director for foster care program supervisor. I had early on my career with the, the folks who are blind and visually impaired st- helped some people start their own businesses, you know? So I knew some of those fundamentals, but OMG. The doing it, being responsible for it myself, and then finding out all the little things. I mean, I was, uh, rapidly one of those folks who was like,"What am I, what's going on? Why am I, why, what am I supposed to be doing here? How am I supposed to be doing all of this? This is insane," you know? And, uh, you know, I'd always worked... I lo- I lo- I love being a part of communities. I love having that ability to talk to other people- Yeah and to hear their, hear from them and to share. And I felt, I, I realized, I'm like, I'm kind of isolated, you know? I found some- You know, clinical groups to belong to for that therapist side. You know, the, the piece that, that piece. But the entrepreneur side I was like, I, I don't... I feel lost. And- Yeah I had signed up for something on Eventbrite, and your Gather Community popped up for like I think it was the Biz Connect. And I was like,"Oh, this sounds interesting,"'cause you talk so much... I mean, Gather Community, right? And I was like,"All right, let's give it a chance," you know? And then from there, I, I, I just, I... A whole world opened up of female entrepreneurs giving and sharing and connecting and growing together. And you know, I... From, from there I- I'm, I'm still learning a lot. I'm s- I'm connecting with people, finding ways that help me to continue to be bold, you know, to take those next steps, right?'Cause I thought I was just gonna be in private practice. I thought I was gonna do individual sessions one on one for the rest of my career the next 25 years or so. And now I'm like, well, no, that... I, I think, you know, group work, some group community, maybe some, uh, you know, short, uh, workshop type programs, things like that. So I'm continuing to evolve this business in directions that I never anticipated when I started last February- Yeah. Mm-hmm and wrote my business plan and had this like model of like,"This is what it's gonna be. It's gonna be-" Here it is forever. Yeah.

Tracie Root 26:02

Yeah. Well, I love that. So what I want everyone who's listening to realize is that that's all of us. We're always evolving, right? Like the idea that, oh yeah, we wrote our business plan. People think like you write your business plan and it's like the Bible or it's like this thing that's never going to change, and even the Bible changes'cause there's different translations. Okay. Anyway. Uh, but the point is that there's... Like, it's intended to be a living document- Mm-hmm this business plan that we created, right? It's a snapshot of our current vision and goals and, and how tos and, and who we wanna serve and all that. But if we're gonna evolve as people, and as a therapist, like we, we know ev- we all have to continue to evolve. You're going forwards or backwards. There is no staying still in nature. So if we wanna keep going forward, that means that things are always gonna change. We have to keep changing that business plan. We have to keep changing how we- envision the future because there's no way that this one timeline that we created is going to stay the same. That's just not how the universe works. Things change. Mm-hmm. You know? Absolutely. And, and a lot of times it's things that are not, we never expected it to be the way, like, the direction that it goes. I love talking about unmet expectations, especially with anyone who experienced the pandemic, which is literally everyone, because it's all about un- unmet expectations. We thought our lives were gonna be one way, and they weren't, pretty quickly. And they're still not what we thought they would be five years ago, three years ago, two... Like, every year it's such a change, and that's just how the world is. So if we can stay resilient and full of growth mindset, then we can keep grow- going forward,'cause the alternative is going backwards, and that's not fun.

Elizabeth Ormes 28:12

Well, and it- it- it- it's impossible. We can't go back to the way... You can't put the genie back in the bottle. You can't go back to the past. Right? It's not a movie. Yeah. There's no time travel. Not at all. And, you know, I- I- I never expected... Like, if, if somebody had said to me last year, they said,"In a year from now, you're gonna have a, a group program, and that's gonna be, like, half of your focus, and you're gonna be doing monthly, you know, uh, Eventbrite events for community, and you're gonna be doing, you know, this, that, and the other thing," I would've, I would've laughed. I would've said,"That's- that's not me. That's not my plan." I'm not interested in that."That's not my vision." Yeah. That's not the plan. But I'm, I'm so glad that I do have that mindset of, you know, keep, keep evolving, keep going in the direction that the... feels right. Right? Yeah. Mm-hmm. It, you know,'cause if you get rigid and you get stuck in, you, it's, it's painful. It is painful when you try to like,"Oh, no, this is not what I wanna do," and- Right you can't, you can't get unstuck. Well, because

Tracie Root 29:34

then you're in that place of unmet expectations again, and no one, it's not fun. Like- Mm-hmm yeah. The, uh, the opportunity to stay curious about what, how things could be different, because they're gonna be. So what could that look like, and what do you want it to look like, and how can you create the path instead of just get, like, carried away with the river? Yeah.

Elizabeth Ormes 30:02

I love that, that curiosity, right? Be curious i- in what, what is going... What's the next evolution of what you're doing, and that's, that's where I'm at right now is just, you know, curiosity of, okay, is... You know, I, I'm open to every possibility that feels right. And you know, s- keeping what- what's working and then just letting things evolve and move forward. It's, it's fun. It's, it... I think part of being bold is to embrace, you know, what's fun about your directions, you know? Like- Yep if it's, if it feels heavy, there's prob- you're probably doing something wrong.

Tracie Root 30:49

Yeah. Well, or it's just not aligned for you, right? Right. You used a word that I love to use, the word open. When you're open to what could happen, right, you're li- like you're literally leaning into the possibility. And when you're closed, like, it's just like, ugh, stuck and stagnant and, and it can hurt, right? Mm-hmm. Think of like making a fist versus going, you know, like opening your hand. Like, that's- Mm just a much more expansive beautiful way to, to think about what's to come. The other thing that as you were talking about, like if it feels good, the word that came to my mind was aligned,'cause I've been doing a lot of interviews for our upcoming summit in the Gather community, and the word aligned is showing up in several people's conversations. And I think that that's a really big theme this year, 2026, is if you, if you feel aligned with your path with what feels good, and you're doing more of that, you're gonna feel more fulfilled, you're gonna be better at it, and people are gonna resonate with it more. And so when we're open and we're aligned with the direction that we're going, we're gonna feel like that's the right direction for us. It's gonna feel good.

Elizabeth Ormes 32:08

Mm-hmm. Yeah. This, this, this fire horse year- Yeah is one of those things where you can kind of get caught up in this momentum, right? Mm-hmm. And, you know, but you a- it- you, you want that momentum to be going in an aligned path, right? Yeah. And that's, that's the difference between, you know, if you're caught up in it and you're going in an alignment versus off into, you know, some path that doesn't feel right for you. Yeah. And- Well, think about horseback riding. Have

Tracie Root 32:44

you... Have you, you've been horseback riding?

Elizabeth Ormes 32:46

Mm-hmm.

Tracie Root 32:46

Right? Yep. So if pe- people out there who have ridden, right, you know that a horse is a lot bigger than you, and they can do whatever they want. That's true the goal is to guide them. Mm-hmm. And, you know, A, they can go whichever direction they want. If you really want them to turn, like you could force it, but it's not gonna be pretty. It's not gonna be fun. It's, like they could spin out and you could end up on the ground. But if you partner with them on that path and guide them, but also kind of allow them to take you, and be open to how that feels, then it's a lot more of an enjoyable experience. And fun.

Elizabeth Ormes 33:27

I remember being, uh, a, a kid and being paired up with a horse. It was, uh, like a Clydesdale. Mm-hmm. I'm, I'm only a little over five foot tall, and so as an eight-year-old kid, you can imagine I was probably one of the smallest little people at this, at the, the Girl Scout camp, and they paired me up with the biggest horse. Awesome. Because we, we were in alignment. Like, he was... His nature and my nature aligned, and I could get on his horse, on this horse's back, and we, we, we connected, and we went the right way and- Right he listened to me. And, but yeah, if, if you get onto a horse and you don't feel that, you can't... You're not in control and guiding them, oh yeah, they're, they're off eating, eating the hay or something over the fence, and you're like,"No, we're supposed to be on the trail. Come on."

Tracie Root 34:25

Totally. Totally. That's so true. I love that. Yeah, I love horseback riding. That's fun. Okay, my friend. So the way that you're serving your clients now, you are still doing one-on-one work. You're doing group activities. Like, tell us a little bit about, like, the sp- like your, I mean, your name, right? Actualizing Your Best Self. It gives us a vibe. Your thing says that it's providing in-person and telehealth connect- cons- counseling, so you're doing online, you're doing in-person. Tell us, like what is... If you're looking for a client or someone's looking to work with a therapist, like how are you guys gonna match up? What is your ideal client? What, how is it that you are uniquely serving them?

Elizabeth Ormes 35:09

Sure. Uh, so as you mentioned at the beginning, you know, uh, medical care and you know, mental health services, there are so many rules and restrictions regarding licensure and insurance and, and all of that. So- Hmm you know, I can only serve someone with insurance and licensed therapy in the state of Illinois. Okay. I would have to be licensed in every single state- Right the person was in in order to serve people outside of it. So what my, my group- work is and the the free kinds of, like, once a month women's healing circles, those are educational. Those are, More on the coaching side of things really on the coaching side of things, and it's about learning and understanding and applying to yourself the, the things that I know, that I have honed over, you know, my, my career to, to understand and to bring that to people so that they can apply it for themselves. And if they, you know, if they needed something more therapeutic, I can refer people to a provider in their, their home state or wherever. But so this is this is the new bold direction for me- I love it of understanding how you can coach and guide people on those, those mindset shifts, those, those understanding of you've got everything within you that you need- Mm to, to make some changes. So people that work best with me, whether it's coaching or therapy, is people who recognize that. They're ready for a change, they just don't know what it is that they need to change. Yeah. Usually it's women, kind of professional women, mid-life. They identify as maybe allied or within the LGBTQ IA plus community you know, for, uh... And, and they, they identify as some neurodivergent. You know, they, they may recognize autism or ADHD or having experienced trauma. Or at least the

Tracie Root 37:38

tendencies, tendencies that direction- Right even if they haven't been diagnosed, which for adults is very often.

Elizabeth Ormes 37:45

Exactly. Exactly. You know, it's, it's, they, they, they feel somehow, you know, n- not part of the typical society. You know? Yeah. They recognize that, that they think or that they feel or that they act in ways that kind of set them apart- Well, yeah from what they see around them. A little

Tracie Root 38:07

unusual compared to their people around them, yeah.

Elizabeth Ormes 38:10

Yeah. Quirky. I love that. Weird. Whatever they wanna call themselves. Yeah, whatever they wanna call it. You know? Yeah. I mean, that's me. I mean, I identify it just as much as I think my clients do. And so, you know, talk about alignment, right? Like, when you sit down with someone and you're like,"Oh, yeah, they get me," you know- Yeah that's, that's it.

Tracie Root 38:30

Well, and that's really, uh, what we need most out of someone who's offering this kind of support, whether it's therapy or coaching or whatever, like, that there's an understanding and a, a, I don't wanna say camaraderie'cause that feels like friendly, even though, y- you know, friendship is similar in that way. But really an, an understanding, like, that they've been seen by the person on the other side of the conversation, whether that's a friend or a coach or a therapist or a family member. Like, we all wanna be seen and recognized as who we really are. Mm-hmm. I love that. I love that. Yeah. Mm. So good. So this is, like, an evergreen situation, so I'm not gonna ask you what you have coming up. But you've referenced your healing circles and different things, so obviously we're gonna have the links to your website and everything in the show notes so that people can find you for whatever, you know, works for them. I will say it's May right now. In October, you're gonna be speaking at one of our events, which I'm very excited about. And, you know, Elizabeth, I also wanna kinda be sure to wrap up and thank you for... You know, ever since you've joined us in the Gather community, you've been effusive with your praise. Is that the right way of saying that? Like, you're like,"I love this." And it makes me so happy to have someone who, you know, we've never met in person. We're across the country from, halfway anyway, from each other. But that's the whole point. The same way that you're reaching people through Eventbrite or doing online group activities is the same reason why we're doing it, to reach people, to help people recognize that they're not alone in whatever they're trying to accomplish, and that with support and encouragement and friendship and being seen, we are all going to thrive more and be more aligned in the path that we're on. So I appreciate you because you've told me you appreciate us. We're like, we're one and the same, and it just makes me really happy to have you with us.

Elizabeth Ormes 40:34

That's what, you know, I, I really appreciate about these spaces that I've been introduced to. It's, it's, there's a, a mindset of abundance- Mm-hmm not scarcity. And there's room at the table. You know, there's room for all of us to thrive and to support each other. And, you know, when you have that that mindset of we're giving and collaborating and just working to, to improve the overall, you know- The world community out there,

Tracie Root 41:10

it's-

Elizabeth Ormes 41:10

Yep it really

Tracie Root 41:11

works. Absolutely. That's what I always tell people, you know, when I first started coaching. It's been 14 years for me. And, You know, I started off as a health coach because I had my own health journey, physical health journey. And I told people I didn't know that I wanted to change the world, I thought I just wanted to lose some weight. And, you know, I had the weight part handled, but from that point forward, it was all about helping people be seen and realize that they can do whatever it is that they put their mind to, especially when they connect with other people so that they are supported by community.

Elizabeth Ormes 41:48

Safety, connection, you know- Yep human beings, we, I mean, we cannot heal, we cannot thrive without connection. We're hardwired for it, you know? Absolutely. So we, you know, if, uh, I, any space that I can get into that is genuinely caring about community and about collaborating and about just connecting, I wanna be in there, and I wanna be- Yeah a part of it. And yeah, so I'm, I'm so happy to be, uh, in the Gather Community. I've, you know, been a VIP. You know, I've kind of like moving my way through and up and, and I just, I, I, I've been in enough spaces to hear several other people talk about,"I'm a G- I'm, I'm a Gather Community person for life." Like, they're on the creator level and they're like,"We're, we'll, we'll never, w- we never wanna leave." And I'm just like, that's, that's beautiful. The, those are the testimonials, right? Yeah. And the, tho- they're the ones that like, okay, well, you know, I definitely wanna take that, that opportunity to become a VIP and we'll see where we go from there. Yay. Oh, I love that so much. Thanks

Tracie Root 43:02

so much for that. You made my day. Whoo,'cause it's a busy week, and so, you know, you need those moments to, to lift you up. Okay. All right, Elizabeth, well, I think we've come to the end of our time, but I will put all of your links and everything in the show notes. And, you know, is there anything, like any final thought you wanna punctuate here at the end before we go?

Elizabeth Ormes 43:26

I love connecting with people. You know, e- even if, uh, even if you're not sure, if, if something about my, what I've said or, or talked about today resonates with, with you, you know, connect with me. I, I, I have a, you know, a 30-minute one-on-one, you know, free connect. I mean, maybe there's just something that you're, you've always wanted to ask or to find out about but you're kind of holding yourself back. Contact me. I'd love to talk and, and, you know, just connect with you, see if there's something I could do to help you. And, you know, that's why I'm on the podcast and why I'm, I'm looking to be on more podcasts and just talk about who I am, what my message is, and, and how I can really just- Be of service to, to more people,'cause I think that's w- what we're all here to do

Tracie Root 44:17

What life's all about, yep. Yeah. I love it. Well, thank you again, my friend. I really appreciate your time, being here on the podcast, and I just appreciate you being in the world and doing what you're doing,'cause it matters. And so thank you so much. Thank you. We'll see you soon. My little heart. Hearts. Yay. Oh, wait, we can do Zoom hearts'cause we're on Zoom- Oh, yeah for those who are watching.

Elizabeth Ormes 44:40

Boom. Did it do

Tracie Root 44:43

it? No.

Elizabeth Ormes 44:45

Oh. Oh, well. Well, I guess I'll just have to do it the, the old-fashioned way. Do the

Tracie Root 44:49

old-fashioned way. There you

Elizabeth Ormes 44:51

go. Put my little heart up. Yeah.

Tracie Root 44:53

All right, my friend, thank you so much. Talk to you soon. Thank you. Thank

Audio Only - All Participants 44:57

you. Bye. Bye.

45:00

Thank you for listening to the Bold and Brilliant podcast. I'm your host, Tracy Root, and I wanna invite you to check out the show notes, find out where you can connect with our guests, find out more about what I and the Gather community have to offer you, and be sure to subscribe to this podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks so much.