Season 1: Beyond the Block: Rewiring the Beliefs Beneath Your Limits with Jill Martin

In this episode of Progress in Practice, Charlie Reading sits down with Jill Martin, founder of Impact Business Consultancy, to get under the bonnet of how we really operate as humans and why the founder is always the biggest block in the business.

Jill works with impact and purpose-driven entrepreneurs who are already high-achieving, but know they're not accessing everything they have to give. Rather than managing limitations or working around them, her approach undoes the beliefs beneath them; combining a creative orientation, neuroscience, somatic work, identity, nervous system regulation and the superconscious.

Jill shares her own story of spending 20 years in corporate, watching herself burn out despite being super fit and healthy, and turning the transformational lifestyle that saved her into a business. This is a fascinating, honest conversation about the science emerging behind what many would dismiss as woo-woo, and why your business can only ever grow to the capacity of its founder.

Key Talking Points

• Who Jill serves: impact and purpose-driven entrepreneurs who know there's more in them, but can't quite access it
• The three-part approach: connecting to what you want to create, who you need to be to hold it, and clearing the resistance in between
• Why a creative orientation beats problem-solving — if your focus is on the problem, it's still on the problem
• Rewiring the brain: neuroplasticity, and why the brain doesn't know the difference between reality and imagination
• Working somatically: why trauma, beliefs and limitations live in the body as well as the mind
• Identity as one of the strongest drivers of human behaviour — and why the nervous system has to feel safe before you can expand into a new one
• The superconscious explained: a field of information that's recorded how every event in your life landed
• Jill's story: 20 years in corporate, burning out despite doing everything "right", and turning her transformation into her business
• The advice she'd give her younger self: don't live the life that's expected of you — follow your intuition and live more fearlessly
• The wisdom she'd pass on: learn who you really are by connecting to what lights you up
• Why the business can only ever grow to the capacity of the founder
• Jill's biggest obstacle: herself — and the friction between easing back in her mid-50s and making a real impact
• The daily practice that underpins it all: heart-brain coherence and the HeartMath research behind it

About the Guest

Jill Martin is the founder of Impact Business Consultancy, working with impact and purpose-driven entrepreneurs to clear the limitations standing between them and their greater potential. After 20 years in the corporate world, during which she watched herself burn out despite doing everything right, Jill began exploring what was happening beneath the surface. That exploration became a lifestyle, and eventually a business, drawing on neuroscience, epigenetics, somatic work, identity and the superconscious to help founders not just manage their blocks, but undo them at the root.

Find Out More

• Website: https://impact-bc.com/
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jill-martin-98a83815

Resources Mentioned

• The Superconscious Path and You're Not Broken by Chris Duncan
• The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
• Becoming Supernatural by Dr Joe Dispenza
• William Whitecloud
• HeartMath research on heart-brain coherence
• Charlie's goal-setting session: https://thetrusted.team/the-ultimate-guide-to-building-a-limitless-life/

About the Podcast

Progress in Practice is brought to you by The Trusted Team — helping professional service business owners build scalable, saleable businesses while working less and enjoying more.

Find out more: https://thetrusted.team

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If this episode resonated, make sure you follow the podcast and leave a rating and review. It helps more founders discover these conversations and allows us to bring you even better guests.

Until next time, keep making progress in practice.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Welcome to Progress in Practice, where we explore what it really takes to build and sustain a professional service business. The hard lessons, the smart moves, the uncomfortable truths. Because success leaves clues if you're willing to look for them. I'm Charlie Redding. Let's dive in. So, Jill, welcome to the Progress in Practice podcast. I'm really looking forward to chatting to you and getting a little bit more sort of under the bonnet of how we operate as humans. I know obviously a reasonable amount about your business. I'm really excited to talk about this. But um, I'd like you to explain to people that don't know anything about you, you know, who it is that you serve, how do you help them, and what makes you different to other people.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Okay, well, first of all, thank you for inviting me. So who I work with are impact and purpose-driven entrepreneurs who are already doing well, they're already high functioning, high achieving, but they're very aware that they're not quite accessing everything that they've got to give. They know there's more to them, more that they can offer, but somehow there's just some stuff in the way that they just, you know, that means they just can't access that greater potential that they know they have. So yeah, I help them basically clear what's in the way and connect to that higher functioning version of themselves.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Brilliant. And how do you do that?

SPEAKER_00 1:32

So, in essence, I'd say there's three parts to it. Firstly, they're connecting to a what they want to create in their business, but also who they need to be to support and hold and live as that creation. Then the gap between where they are now and who that future version of them is that can hold that. And then I clear everything that's in between. So all the resistance that's blocking those two, the you know, in between those two places, that's what I'm working to clear out. And at the root of it, not just managing what's in the way and finding ways of working around it, but actually undoing the beliefs, the limitations that are beneath what's causing them to feel that friction.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Interesting. And and so there's obviously lots of different coaches and mentors and things like that out there. What makes what you do different to the wide array of coaches that are out there?

SPEAKER_00 2:30

So this might take a little while to explain because there's quite a few differences, just to warn you. The first is the framework that I use. So the context of how we work, I'd call a creative orientation. So most people are generally working from yes, I want to create this, but their focus tends to be on problem resolution, problem solving. But if your focus is on the problem, it even if it's solving it, it's still on the problem, rather on this bigger context of what you're actually looking to create. So we're always looking at that future point of what are you creating and who do you need to be to create that and to live in that reality. Then there's the neuroscience bit that comes in. You'll be very aware that the brain is plastic, it can be changed. I'm sure you're also aware that the brain doesn't know the difference between reality and what you perceive as reality or even your imagination. So I'm working to rewire the brain and clear the stuff, the junk created by our traumatic experiences, our conditioning, all that stuff that's getting in the way. So I'm working to not just manage, like I said before, but actually rewire the brain. I then have an epigenetic component, which is where I'm working somatically with the body, because trauma and beliefs and limitations live in the body as well as in the mind. So we're training the body and teaching the body how to release that, but also to be the new version of view, which also then brings me on to identity. And from doing Tony Robbins' work, you will know that identity is one of the biggest, strongest drivers of human behavior. We'll do almost anything not to behave in accordance with who we believe we are. But the who you believe you are in current reality is different to the A, who you actually are before all those beliefs and limitations came in, but also the who you need to be to live and have that reality that you're looking to create. So we're working on the identity piece as well, but the nervous system also can get in the way of that. Because think of the nervous system as like the container for that identity and for who you are. So the nervous system has to feel safe. It's totally geared towards keeping you safe and holding you in your limitation in safety because that's known. So we have to make sure that the nervous system is comfortable with your expansion into this new identity. And then the last piece, almost there, is this idea of higher intelligence. So tuning into this a bigger field, a higher intelligence, where we can get, or we can pinpoint what are the origin events that have created these limitations, and what are the particular events that we need to get to that are gonna give you the specific shift that you need to get to now within the context of your business of your business to take it and you forward?

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Amazing. Amazing. It does make sense, and um, and I think it's a fascinating area that kind of we're only just maybe starting, or many of us are only just starting to sort of scratch the surface on. What's the story behind why you do what you do?

SPEAKER_00 5:47

So I guess my story essentially was my own limitation. Because what I do now didn't really start until I hit my 40s or my late 30s, because I was in corporate for 20 years, was becoming really quite unwell in many ways, was very aware that I was burning myself out, was super healthy, so ate really well, was super strong, super fit, but was also super aware that I was causing the destruction of my own health in how I was working and how I was living. And life was work at that point. So it was all about how I was working. So I knew it was something in me that was causing this destructive pattern, but I didn't know what it was, I didn't understand it. So there began my exploration of what's going on beneath the surface that's causing me to ultimately damage myself. And so I started working in transformation, I started unraveling the wiring and the picture that was me, and that essentially became my lifestyle. And then when I left corporate when I was 40, I became a partner in a transformational business. But through various challenges with that, I've ended up basically with half a business on my own, needing to expand my skill set to make it work and to supplement the income, the gent well, the revenue of the business. So I turned my personal interest and what had become my lifestyle, a transformational lifestyle, into a business skill set.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Amazing.

SPEAKER_00 7:22

And quite a long story short, you know, a lot of learning, a lot of going deeper and deeper and deeper and exploring different modalities and different aspects of science came to where I am now.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Well, I think that's where a lot of the best businesses are born from, isn't it? Is is I need to fix this for me, and I found this out on my journey, and now I want to share it with others and help other people in that same way. So so that's that's really cool. If you could go back to your younger self and perhaps while you're in the corporate world, and give yourself a memo with some advice, what would it, what would it be and and why?

SPEAKER_00 7:58

I would say don't live your life in a way that's expected of you. It's like follow your own path, live with courage, discover who you are, and yeah, really just live more fearlessly and trust that that what comes up is kind of the right path. Follow your intuition that I guess it's like this the body connection is really important. It's the doing what feels right and tuning into the intuition of that, not just doing what's expected and what you know convention says is the right path to follow.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

So having read uh, and I know we chatted recently about the fact that I read um Dan Brown's latest book, The Secret of Secrets. I've just finished a book called the Um Subconscious, sorry, the Superconscious Path.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

It's a Chris Duncan book, yes? It is well, yes. Oh, really?

SPEAKER_01 8:53

An excellent book. Uh and I've nearly finished his latest, or his other one, which is You're Not Broken, I think, isn't it? Yeah. Um so I'm really interested in it exploring this. Where do you see, like, where where do you see the the superconscious and where does it play a role in in what we're talking about here?

SPEAKER_00 9:10

So a couple of ways. Firstly, I think as a field of information, the superconscious can be really important as a guiding force. So think of a lot of people are familiar with the subconscious. I'll just explain it in this way. So the subconscious is what's really running the show. The subconscious is where all your limiting beliefs live and are formed, largely by about the age of seven. So we're all living in these limiting structures that we've created by ourselves, you know, just by what our superconscious is trying to do to protect us and help us function with each other and in the context of the world. But superconscious, think of it as a field of information. So we're getting into quantum physics here, that has recorded everything that's ever happened to you. So it knows specifically how every event in your life landed. Think of it as a database, essentially. But it also can connect if you want to get to hear what are the specific things that are in the way or that have caused those blockages that are in the way now. But then bigger than that, the unified field, which is also superconscious, it's just different terminology, is a field of possibility. So someone like Dr. Joe Dispenser, who many people have heard of as well, is taking people into this quantum field, this field of possibility, where anything and everything becomes possible, both in terms of what you can learn, but also who you can become, and also what's possible in your external environment.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

Amazing. What blows my mind about this subject is that like it all sounds a bit woo-woo if we if we're all completely honest, and yet the evidence that is being is being put forward by these different sources, these different people, these different research makes it more and more compelling. And we probably don't really understand what's going on, but we know there's way more going on than we understand. Based on this topic, if you could leave no money, no inheritance to a next generation, but just one sort of piece of wisdom, what would that be and why?

SPEAKER_00 11:31

I think it would be learn about who you really are. So, and how do you do that? Because most people think they know who they are, but they know who their ego version of them is, they don't know who they really are. So you find that out by living life, by connecting to what lights you up, what fills you with joy, and that's who you really are. That's your essence. When you're most in kind of personal freedom and in flow, that's you being you. So do more of what helps you discover that, and then build a life around that with courage, with passion, and then you're literally living as you in your freedom. So, and I think that is a very happy place to be. That doesn't mean stuff in life doesn't happen, it doesn't mean there aren't challenges, but if you can live from that deeper connection to who you are in your freedom, it's a much more fluid and evolutionary but also happy place to be.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

That's incredible, isn't it? And you know, and in today's society or today's world, it's never been easier to build a business that you're around what you're passionate about. And in an AI-driven world, it's never been sort of cheaper or faster. So it's this huge, it's incredible opportunity, it's an incredible, incredible privilege, but you do have to design it yourself, don't you? You can't just kind of go with the flow.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Absolutely, and that's where I think the creative structure comes back. You need to know what it is you want to create and who you need to be to live that, because I think one of the big things about business is the business can only ever grow to the capacity of the founder. So you have to know where you're going, but also become that person and also allow the space for possibility and freezing freedom. So trusting what comes up, allowing opportunities to come in instead of trying to control everything. And control is a very fear-based, you know, behavior pattern. So it's that blend of freedom, possibility, but having that clear vision, knowing who you are, and then just going for it.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

Brilliant, brilliant. And what's the biggest obstacle uh blocking you from achieving your own goals at the moment?

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Well, it would be me. But that it that is part of the belief of the work that I do, that it's always the founder who is the biggest block in the business. Because you can have strategies, you can have plans, but it's down to are you able to execute? Are you able to step up and do what's required? And that comes down to the person. So for me now, I'm in my mid-50s, I'm at that stage of life where I don't have as much energy as I used to, have a very different hormonal makeup to my, which impacts everything. So there's part of me that would love to be slowing down and easing back and just enjoying life a lot more. Um, but then there's this other part of me that's super passionate about what I do, and also has pivoted into working with impact entrepreneurs and really wants to pursue that. So there's that friction in me between not wanting to work in the way I used to, which was destructive to me as well, but also wanting to make stuff happen and make a real impact.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

And and that's kind of, I mean, it's a common obstacle that people suffer, isn't it? Because I mean, I know you've seen me talk about um about how I do goal setting and what I call the six spheres of success, but you know, people often just set goals in one area of their life, don't they? And they uh and they wonder why that's yeah, like let's say they set business goals, they wonder why they've got this great business, but their marriage has failed and they're not as fit and healthy. So by having goals in different areas, you kind of can create that balance. So um I know you've seen this this session before, but I'll drop for anyone else, I'll drop the a link in the show notes to um to that session on goal setting.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

Yeah, because I think I learned the hard way that it can't be all about work.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

So, you know, and my body still almost carries the scars of that. There's certain things, certain ways that my body functions that are like a residue of that period. So I think you do have to have balance. But the reality is if you structure it correctly, if you work in a way that isn't just pushing and forcing, which you can waste a huge amount of energy on that, but you're clearing those limitations, clearing the blocks, you can work in a more effortless way, which for the nervous system from an energy point of view is really helpful and supportive. So, although I have this conflict for me, my work is to create a business that allows for both.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

Brilliant. And what what we've already mentioned a couple of books, but what other books or frameworks or mentors have helped you on your journey and where is it visible in your life or business today?

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Okay, so I would say it's a daily practice, coherence. So HeartMath, who you may have heard of, have done, and they're a multi-billion company who've done a huge amount of research talking about kind of bringing science to the woo-woo, but who've done a huge amount of research showing that when you can bring the electromagnetic field of the heart and brain into coherence with each other, you work in a much more intelligent or you access a much more intelligent and creative and intuitive space. And then off the back of that, I would say people like Dr. Joe Dispenser becoming supernatural, William Whitecloud. So these aren't business books, but I think they're useful to business people because, like you said, a lot for a lot of people, this kind of work can be a little on the not quite sure about this, it's not very familiar, it's a little out there. But there is with Dr. Dodo can't even say his name, Dr. Joe Dispenser, that is the science to show what coherence is and looks like with the kind of ECGs of the brain and the heart, and he can show what coherence looks like.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

And I think that's what's really interesting about this subject, isn't it? Is that we're just starting to see the scientific evidence for what sort of people in their heart have known has been going on somehow, but we're now starting to see some which which obviously helps people be kind of be able to adopt this this stuff. Where where's the best place for if if somebody's listening to this and thinking, I'd love to know more about this, I'd love to chat to Jill about this, where's the best place for people to to find you?

SPEAKER_00 18:18

So my website, firstly, uh impact hyphen, BC, impactbusinessconsultancy. LinkedIn, Jill, Jill Martin, and my Instagram, a Jill Martin.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Brilliant. Jill, it is like I I find this subject really interesting, and I think I think where you're now targeting this business is an is a huge area for growth in the um in the coming years. Because like I said, it feels like we're just starting to scratch the surface of it, but we're also just starting to see the science that backs what a lot of people are talking talking about. So I think this is really interesting, and I'd really encourage people to to check this out. Um so uh so yeah, Jill, it's been an absolute pleasure chatting to you. Thank you so much for for coming onto Progress in Practice. I think there's a whole load that people can explore here. Um, and as a reminder, the Progress in Practice podcast is brought to you by the Trusted Team that helps you build a saleable and scalable business. I'll put a link in the show notes to the goal setting session I talked about. Um and Julie, it just leads me to say a huge thank you. Thank you. Obviously, I've done a session with you on this and I found it incredibly helpful, and I encourage other people to reach out and do the same. So thank you very much for coming on.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

Thank you, thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

If this conversation resonated, you'll find more support, structure, and community inside the Trusted Team, where ambitious service-based founders come to build businesses that are scalable, saleable, and sustainable. You can find out more at thetrusted.team. And if you're enjoying progress in practice, please make sure you follow the show and leave a rating and review. It really helps more founders find these conversations and to bring you better and better guests. So until the next time, keep progressing.