Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh

E75: Coaching, Anti-Racism, and SOARing Beyond Limits through Personal Transformation

• Leila Carter & Anita Russell • Episode 75

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What makes Anita Russell with The Place to SOAR a good neighbor? 

What does it take to completely reinvent yourself after decades in a successful career? Anita Russell's remarkable journey from pharmaceutical research scientist to transformative life coach reveals the power of taking bold steps toward authentic purpose.

As founder of The Place to Soar (where SOAR stands for "step out and redesign"), Anita specializes in guiding clients through personal transformation – helping them bridge the gap between their current reality and desired future. Her approach centers on thought-provoking questions rather than prescriptive advice, creating those breakthrough moments when clients exclaim, "I never thought about it like that!"

While primarily working with established professional women seeking clarity in their careers and lives, Anita's impact extends far beyond individual coaching. Following George Floyd's murder in 2020, she launched the Inflection Point Podcast and developed an anti-racism workshop approaching this challenging topic through a personal transformation lens. Rather than confrontational activism, she facilitates gentle but honest self-examination, helping individuals recognize internal patterns and determine how they want to change – change that can ripple outward to transform organizations and communities.

"A life coach is not in the business of telling you what you should do," Anita explains. "A life coach is in the business of helping you discover what you should do." This collaborative partnership creates the space where development and growth happen, guided by each client's own desires and critical self-reflection.

Deeply rooted in faith and community, Anita balances her transformative work with family time and involvement with the Ujamaa Collective. Her ultimate mission resonates in her closing thoughts: "Whatever it is you're facing, that's what I will help you to walk through so that you can ultimately cross that bridge from where you are to where you truly desire to be."

Ready to discover your place to soar? Connect with Anita through her website (theplacetosoar.com), the InflexionPoint Podcast, or on LinkedIn and other social platforms. Your transformation journey awaits!

To learn more about The Place to SOAR go to: 

https://theplacetosoar.com

The Place to SOAR

(412)701-2573


Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a personal transformation expert?

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

I am. One might be closer than you think. One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, anita Russell, with the Place to Soar. Anita, how's it going?

Speaker 3:

It's going very well. I'm very excited to be here. I love doing podcasts, so it's a great opportunity.

Speaker 2:

We're so happy to have you and we're excited to learn all about you and your organization.

Speaker 3:

So please tell us more about your company. So the name of my company is the Place to Soar and that's Soar S-O-A-R, and the company actually came out of a very radical decision that I made back in like 2013,. I had worked in the pharmaceutical industry for a little over two decades almost 23 years or so in the pharmaceutical industry, and part of my career was related to research. So I was a pharmaceutical research, development scientist and all of that.

Speaker 3:

But midway through my career I made a dramatic decision. So this was the first episode of me sort of stepping out and redesigning myself, which is what the acronym actually stands for. So I made a decision to come out of the laboratory environment and move into a learning and development role. And then, about 10 years after that, I made an even more radical decision by leaving the company and just kind of going on this social entrepreneurship journey, and so again, the step out and redesign kind of reflected those really important decisions that I was making along the way that ultimately led to me establishing a company called the Place to Soar a company called the Place to Soar Excellent and what are some myths, or maybe misconceptions, in this industry?

Speaker 3:

that you'd like to address today. I would say so, foundationally, what I am is a life coach. So I'm a certified life coach and my focus is on personal transformation. And I think maybe sometimes when people hear the term life coach, they're not exactly sure what it means. And so I usually, when I'm working with a client or you know a new organization, I'll kind of explain to them where I'm coming from, who I am and why I do what I do.

Speaker 3:

But essentially, it's about personal transformation and it's about moving people from the place where they are in their lives to the place where they desire to be, and all of that space in between is where development happens, is where growth happens, and all of that. And so a life coach is not in the business of telling you what you should do. A life coach is in the business of helping you to discover what you should do, and it's all driven by your own desires. It's driven by your own critical self-reflection, so it's driven by all of the things that reside inside of you. My job is to bring all of that out.

Speaker 2:

Excellent. Now, who are your target customers and how are you attracting them to the business?

Speaker 3:

whenever we think of marketing as the heart of any organization, so for the most part I work with women, although not exclusively, and most of the time they are women who are older, and when I say older I mean generally women who are a little bit more established in their careers. So I've worked with women who are at various levels within their organization, but generally they're kind of older, a little bit more mature, and already have a strong sense of where they are, where they want to go, and they just need somebody to help them refine that as well. But then, on the other hand, part of what I do in that personal transformation work is anti-racism. So anti-racism kind of goes across an even broader spectrum, but for the most part it's women but I say that not exclusively that I work with. It seems like it's women who were drawn to me more so than than men, and so what I love about the work that I do and how I do it is that it's very collaborative, it's a partnership. Collaborative, it's a partnership, it's a way for myself and this other individual to lock arms together so that they end up getting what it is they want.

Speaker 3:

So if it's an individual that's coming to me and I've been in my career I'm feeling a little like I'm not really sure where I am anymore. I need some guidance. What should I be doing? And I step in and walk them through a process of discovery by simply asking questions. That's what I do for the most part is ask a lot of questions that help people to kind of dig down deeply into themselves to discover what is it that I'm looking for. So when I'm working with a client, the best response that I get that makes me feel like I'm really on the right track is when I ask them a question and their response is I never thought about it like that, and so that's part of what I do is getting that spark there. So you start thinking about things that you don't normally think about or that you haven't ever thought about before.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and whenever you're kind of confronting the difference between where you are now and where you want to be, sometimes looking at that space and the progress that needs to happen to get there is a bit uncomfortable right. Like having a mentor through that process can be so comforting for people, I'm sure so. Have you ever thought about possibly starting a podcast to help people through that discomfort?

Speaker 3:

I actually do have a podcast. It's called Inflection Point Podcast, and my podcast was actually birthed out of the murder of George Floyd back in 2020. So, myself and two other friends of mine, we got together and decided that we wanted to and kind of bringing my whole coaching approach is that I wanted to help people to get into a position or a mindset where they were willing to examine themselves, and out of that work I also created an anti-racism workshop. But for the most part, our podcast is really centered around the fact that in that moment we were propelled into a different space, right, and in that different space we can either go up or we can go down. And so I looked at that as being. We're in this inflection point right now and the question is what are we going to do about this? How are we going to move forward?

Speaker 3:

And so when I work with individuals, as an example, through the anti-racism activation program, I do it in a very gentle kind of way.

Speaker 3:

So I'm not a street tester, but I am an activist. But I do my activism through transformation, personal transformation at that individual level, which flows into the organizational level, which can then flow into the community level. But it can be very challenging when people are kind of starting to look at themselves within that kind of context, and it's about me helping you to be honest about what you see but also helping you to figure out do you want to stay in that space or do you want to move into something different, and when, most of the time, people want to move into something different. So that's always very gratifying to me because it's very sensitive kind of work and because I'm presenting it from that personal, that personal view. I literally force people to take a look at themselves within the context of some of those parameters, such as racism or diversity, equity, inclusion. I force people in a very gentle way to kind of take a look at themselves and what is residing inside of me. What do I want to change and how do I go about changing it?

Speaker 2:

Right, and it's one thing to say you want to change, but it's another thing to take the steps to enact that change Right.

Speaker 3:

From a life coaching perspective, I think that's what kind of makes a little bit of a difference. So I'm already in tune to this person, maybe going into some spaces that they're not comfortable with, or even spaces they've never really been in before, and so that life coaching aspect is a very strong part of my approach to anti-racism activation.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. I love that. Now, outside of work, Anita, what do you do for fun?

Speaker 3:

I have a lovely family. I have a wonderful husband who is a landscaper, and I often will go out sometimes on the truck, as we say to help him. I don't do it often, but I like doing that, and he does a lot to support me and my business as well. I love my family. I spend a lot of time with my family. I have two daughters and two grandsons One is almost 18 and the other one is five and so I spend a lot of time with them. I do a lot of work in my community. I'm very much connected to the Ujamaa Collective, and so that whole community engagement is so energizing for me. So those are some of the kind of things that I kind of like to do. I love the theater. I love, just like I said, just hanging out with family and being around people and having that good energy around me.

Speaker 2:

Oh very nice. Yeah, and I'm sure it's grounding also, sometimes to help your husband with the landscaping and just getting outside too, it's very nice. So, anita, what is one thing that should stick with our listeners about the place to soar?

Speaker 3:

The place to soar is exactly that. It's a place where you walk in and you receive what it is you need for your journey. You need for your journey. It's very customized. Whatever it is you're facing, that's what I will help you to walk through so that you can ultimately cross that bridge from where you are to where you truly desire to be. And I do that individually, I do that from a community basis, but I feel like that is what I was put on this planet to do. I'm a very faith-based woman. I believe in God. God is my guide for everything, and so I use all that spiritual energy. I bring all of that into the work that I do with individuals, because my goal is for them to get to the place where they feel incredible about themselves.

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you for being a change agent for good in our community. We really need more people for their own self-development, so thank you for that. How can our listeners learn more about the Place to Soar?

Speaker 3:

Well, my website definitely the place to go is theplacetosorecom. You can find out a lot of information about what it is I do. I have workshops that I offer, sort of self-driven learning options that I have there as well. I also have the podcast Inflection Point podcast, which is on Transformation Talk Radio. I'm very, very connected on LinkedIn. I love that platform. I do some Facebook, but mostly LinkedIn. If you want to really connect with me, that's the place to go. Those are there on Instagram and it's usually either the place to soar or Anita D Russell.

Speaker 2:

If you put those two things in, you will definitely find information about who I am Excellent. Well, Anita, we really appreciate your time today and having you as a guest on the show. We wish you and the organization the best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

It is my pleasure. I thank you for having me.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for being here, Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppittsburghcom. That's GNPPittsburghcom, or call 412-561-9956.