In our work together for 10 months, Rejoy:
Quit her unfulfilling 9-5 immediately
Revamped her freelance business and started increased her rates and is sustaining her life solely on art
Confidently claimed being a muralist and built steady clientele and getting dream gigs that push her growth as an artist
People are seeking Rejoy and asking her to paint for them now
Stepping into the leader she wants to be and improving her professional and personal relationships
Below are some quotes pulled from her interview where we dive into her coaching experience, achievements, and the realness.
What made you choose to work with me?
“If I’m going to have someone to help me out, I would like someone to kind of have that same ambition, motivation and same drive.”
How has working with self-identified WOC impacted our work together?
“It worked really well…[in my own experience] I’m used to being the only woman of color in the room or being the only woman in the room. I’ve done some therapy in the past and I don’t think I ever worked with anyone who was of color or sometimes even the same gender…I think being able to work with someone who just might have gone through the same things that you have specifically as a woman and specifically as a woman of color is so comforting. I don’t have to explain so much…a lot of my perspective is going to be through a cultural lens...”
What were the goals you wanted to work on going into coaching? And what did you get out of it as a result?
“Several goals…I think he biggest goal for me was really just realizing that I can make changes in my life. Initially the bigger goal was 1: I wanted to go to to Mexico [as a traveling muralist and live off art] and 2. I wanted to just believe in my own business. I’ve been doing freelance for some time, but I just didn’t really have that confidence that it would be a real thing. Another goal was getting out of my job that didn’t resonate me at all and made me so unhappy. I just felt really stuck. It was trying to find really the momentum to go forward…the overall picture was just moving forward, how to get unstuck.”
Tell us a little bit about the work it took to claim all this for yourself:
“It was a lot. It didn’t happen over night obviously. I feel like the small steps that I took, like you said just putting it on my status [being a professional muralist], just that alone was actually hard for me to do. But being scared and doing it helped me show up in other areas of my life. I was like ‘alright, if I can do that, then I can tell someone. Ok, that was scary. I just told them I’m a muralist.” And then so forth. It’s also telling myself that, it’s like stepping into the person I want to be….”
“A think I really loved that Nadia showed me was curiosity. Saying not as a negative thing to be scared, but seeing it as [asking] ‘what is this? What’s behind this fear?’ It helped me change perspective when I get into those sticky situations [when stuck on moving forward]…Just noticing those fears and being able to move forward with it helped out a lot.”
“I think just learning how to sit with that discomfort changed me so much…I think to really change is to be able to sit with that discomfort and then transform it into a forward motion. Was I successful all the time? No, sometimes I stepped backwards and was like ‘oh gosh!’”
What type of leader are you now after this work? What are the biggest takeaways and achievements you’ve gotten out of negotiating?
“Taking a risk. Just taking that risk. Again, knowing what [number] might be uncomfortable to you, and just being able to ask for what you want. I feel like I’d just grown up used to being really nice and small to people and kind of letting them walk all over me…and now I think as a leader, I realize I also have a say in things. I can take up space in this room. I don’t always need to move aside for other people all the time…I could occupy the same space. They could meet me halfway. I think that was the biggest takeaway for me…taking that risk to ask for what I want. Facing rejection, facing failure…just being able to present and surprised—which is so awesome!”
“The things that I do, I’m worth this number, and before I wasn’t able to say it. I would shy away from it and would go lower and lower. So I thought of number and then I added 30% on top of that! …why not try to push myself a little bit and add 30% on top of that…I did it and they didn’t even question it! I was like WHAT, are you kidding me?! … Just learning how to toss these numbers out—it’s more transactional for me.”
“I’m going to increase their value with what I’m going to provide for them. Centering myself around a number was grounding. That’s how it became more transactional for me…It was really cool to separate myself from thinking oh, I’m not worth this money, to being like yeah, I’m worth it. I’m going to show up for this person or my job…that’s how I was able to take out the heavier emotional factors.”
Other thoughts on coaching:
“It blows my mind. I feel like I’ve just been so focused on every two weeks I get a challenge. I get so focused on the challenge and the forward movement, and also backwards and then moving forwards. And then all of a sudden 10 months goes by, and I look back on where I was before and I’m just like ‘wow.’ I didn’t realize I ran that far, or I climbed this crazy mountain. I’m a totally different person from before. I’m still Rejoy and still who I am. What was really cool was highlighting the best parts of me.”
What’s the most important thing people should know about coaching with me?
“I think the most important thing is that you’re very genuine and you truly care about me and believed in me. You believed that I could step into the person that I want to be and you showed it by noticing the little nuances about my tone of voice, facial expressions—which has allowed me to mimic that and mirror that for myself. Really tuning in on the nuances… learning the little things about yourself is awesome…what is here in the present? Taking care of what’s here in the moment. Those are the most important things to take away from the coaching sessions.”
Is there anything else you’d like to add before we end this interview?
“Another thing I wanted to add to the last question—One of the most important things is that you’re really silly! I feel like sometimes when people think of coaching they think they really have to be serious about certain things, and you know what, you can be silly. And it’s great! It helped me laugh a little [more].”
“To close it off, last thing I really want to say is truly I’m really grateful to have worked with such a dynamic person… like I said at the beginning, having that cultural lens, that knowledge, that understanding — it’s going to be hard to work with someone else, honestly, you set a high bar… I’m really happy that I got to work with you and you specifically… I picked Nadia because she’s Nadia. You’re you, I like you as a person. You’re unique and I’m glad I got to work with you.”