We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelsea Koenreich a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

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Kelsea, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

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The biggest risk I’ve ver taken was completely letting go of my identity and rebuilding my life. After my third arrest, I had finally hit rock bottom and knew that if I didn’t change – I wasn’t going to ever be happy, or live much longer. After getting out of jail I remember sitting on my bed in a puddle of tears because I knew I would have to change everything about my life, my friendships, my conversations, my habits, where I went, how I took care of myself…everything. On that day in 2010 committed to never going back to my old way of life. Since I made that choice I married my best friend who I just celebrated our 10 year anniversary with, we have three beautiful children, we bought an incredible home with space for us to live and play – and I’ve built a successful business mentoring women and speaking to audiences to change the way people move and live in the world today. If I hadn’t said goodbye to the old identity and allowed myself to rebuild, I wouldn’t have anything I have today.

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Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

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I got into mentoring women and sharing my story after I overcame my self-destructive behaviors and committed to my physical and mental health. I started transforming women in the health and fitness space in 2011 which naturally led to the personal development space as I began to go deeper with clients and share more of my story of turning my life around. As I gained more traction and my visibility grew, I realized I had a gift to transform more than people’s bodies, but also their minds and the actions they took on a daily basis. I have a unique ability to see blind spots and easily craft strategies and steps for people to overcome the obstacles that are preventing them from where they want to be in their lives and businesses. My skillset lies in transforming humans by shifting their perspectives, changing habits and patterns, offering new solutions and opening their eyes to what’s truly possible. I speak to audiences ranging from small groups to full rooms and mentor women privately who are willing to take action to achieve the goals they have for their lives and businesses. What sets me apart is that I deeply care about the success of my clients and audiences, I am willing to challenge their resistance and say the things others might be too afraid to say if it will help them to move forward. It is impossible to work with me in any capacity and not feel ignited, invigorated and ready to forge your own path. My clients are ambitious, high-achieving, goal-driven women, but they are held back by fear, shame, self-doubt and will quickly burn themselves out, sometimes sacrificing their relationships or their own mental or physical well-being. I teach them how to build success without sacrifice and overcome the fears holding thumbtack so that they can reach their potential, reconnect to their power and live their true purpose.

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Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

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I believe that in our lifetimes our business needs to be set up to pivot, and instead of thinking of it as a pivot – looking at it as following the natural progression of human evolution. No business is the same now as when it started, the goal should be to continue getting better.

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I reached a point in my fitness coaching career where I had been suppressing my desire to open up a new avenue with life coaching and speaking. I kept telling myself that my business was succeeding, clients were coming in, and I didn’t need to change anything, but my fulfillment was fading. I found myself not as excited to teach women how to eat and workout. I wanted more and I wanted to use the story and experience I had to help people on a deeper level.

I finally made the choice that I would let the fitness part of my business go and no longer offer those services, I trusted that if I followed my heart – I would succeed. I shared this story with my audience, I committed to myself that this is the direction I was going in, and I didn’t look back.

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It was absolutely the right choice, I have helped people all over the world transform their lives, businesses and relationships. I’ve been given opportunities to mentor young women, speak to audiences about a variety of topics and share my story in my book. All because I trusted and followed my heart.

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What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

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The biggest lesson I’ve had to unlearn is that success isn’t about money, cars, houses and luxury items. It’s about who you become and who you are in your journey. Success is a feeling that is determined like you, and if you believe you are successful – you are. If you believe that you don’t have what you need to be successful yet, you will continue to believe that as you grow and feel like you are never quite there.

 

You can have joy, fulfillment, presence and peace while also having ambition, drive, and a hunger for more. After many years in business I became so obsessed with always climbing the next mountain that I forgot to look back and see every mountain I’ve already conquered, I got so stuck in forward momentum that if I wasn’t moving I felt like something was wrong.

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The truth is, the luxurious life only feels good when you are enjoying the journey along the way. No amount of money will make you successful, it’s only how you define it.