Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: The body absolutely keeps the score. So if we can release that trauma that we've been carrying since we were five years old out of our bodies, maybe we'll alleviate some pain. Maybe we will prevent people from getting on pain medication and narcotics in the first place. There's so many what ifs that I'm like. That's kind of where I lean in with that open curiosity from my own lived experiences. And I really just want to build the awareness and build access.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: Welcome to the society Gal podcast, where trailblazing female entrepreneurs and creatives come together to spark change and build their dreams. This is where your passion meets purpose. And together we're crafting a future where everyone has the tools to succeed.
Hey, everyone, welcome to the society Gal podcast. We have Taylor on with us today and we are so excited to be talking all about what she does in the coaching industry, unique things she brings to the coaching industry, and her amazing life story that we're going to talk all about today that is so, so inspiring. So, Taylor, go ahead and introduce yourself. What you do and how you got to this place today of being a life coach.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Yes. Thank you so much for having me. So, hello, everybody, Taylor Brothers. Many things about me that are fun and hilarious that we'll get into. But I am a nurse by trade. I've been a nurse for almost 15 years. Long time in healthcare management, mom of five, wife, sister, daughter, all of the things. And in coaching in this phase of my life right now, I am the CEO and founder of Metanoia innovative solutions and I provide transformational life coaching along with breath work, theta healing and Reiki. I'm also an astrology and human design geek, something I just absolutely love to dive into and just recently became a published author. So kind of doing a lot of things, a lot of forward momentum and breaking a lot of barriers.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: That's awesome. Tell us a little bit about your story because you've been a nurse for a long time, which is amazing, and a mom of five, so there's a lot going on here, a lot of amazing things you've accomplished, which is so sweet to see as a mother of five doing that, as I'm a mother of five, too. And so tell us where you were before becoming a life coach and how did you come to this place of helping other people and how did you get to this place of improving your own life from that?
[00:02:26] Speaker A: So I'll take it super. Way back. I became a mom when I was 15, which is not common at all. It is not anybody's dream to be like, oh, I'm going to have a baby when I'm 15 and then another one when I'm 19. And I basically became an adult overnight, had very adult responsibilities. My oldest daughter is now 21, my youngest is 13. So it's very strange to be not even 40 yet. And people are like, you have a 21 year old. And I'm like, yes, I do. So the hustle and drive was built into me from a young age, having little people that I was responsible for. I've had my children their whole lives, so I do have an incredibly supportive and loving family that this wouldn't have been possible without them. But there's a lot of things that change and manifest very quickly and you don't even have a chance to realize what has happened and what is happening. And I say it jokingly now, but I still don't think I'm qualified to be a parent because it's just such a whole other level of human life responsibility. But I became a nurse. I originally wanted to be a broadcast journalism. So one of my other hacks and fun facts is I have like 50 different voices that I use at different times. But I thought, you know what? That's going to take a really long time to finish school and establish myself. And my grandmother was a nurse, so I started peeking around in healthcare like, okay, what can I do? What can I do? How can I do this? And I ended up becoming a nurse and I'm an LPN. So I'm originally from the east coast, Midwest and the US, and now I live on the west coast, a licensed practical nurse. And the fun part of that is I was actually going to LPN school to get into RN school quicker because I always have to find my ways. And I ended up getting into the administrative side. So I would have full time administrative jobs because it worked better for my life. Where you're like, Monday through Friday, nine to five, instead of the rotating schedules and the weekends and having small children, I'm like, okay, let me see what this is about. And I ended up really liking it and excelling at it. So my husband literally has always called me, he's like, you're a paperwork nurse. And I'm like, that's fine, but I still have a nursing license. There's that piece of it. So, yeah, most of my career has been between home care and reproductive health. And the common thread that I've discovered is this advocacy piece and speaking and bringing voice for people that don't have it or helping them to advocate for what they want and making that possible, bringing people home from nursing homes or helping them avoid nursing home placement if that was their choice. So there's that common thread of like, wait a second, you don't just get to tell me what to do, which is very much my. I'm an Aquarius rising. So it's funny, we're doing this podcast today on the first day of Aquarius season and Pluto moving into Aquarius. But there has always been this nature know sovereignty and people being able to have choice and have the right information to make the best decisions for themselves. And despite having access to a lot of this information, when you're trapped in a particular mindset of that hustle culture, it will swallow you up. So I was definitely doing all of the things and excelling and being for everyone else until I got to that breaking point of total disconnection from myself. Like I didn't recognize myself anymore. I had accomplished all these things. The resume is great, the family's great, and I was like dead inside. And when is the last time I did something that I liked to do or something that was a hobby of mine and I fell pretty hard. I will never discount that the fall wasn't as hard as the rise. But coming back, being a little bit older, opening myself up to the possibilities and not limiting myself into this mindset of I just have to work hard, get a better job, make more money, and then that's how I'm going to be happy and expand myself outside of that. To really say, well, what is limitless? What does that actually mean? And through a multitude of ways, I'm here, I'm like, I'm just. Day by day, I'm just like, okay, universe, God, source, what are we doing today? So, yeah, I'm here. And my ultimate goal with the creation of the business was to create a legacy. I really want to impact and change the world, and I want my children to be having a much different conversation when they're doing this in 15 or 20 years. And to really let them know and show them that they also have that power. They don't have to almost kill themselves to say like, wait a second, I don't like this. Can I do something else?
[00:07:05] Speaker B: It's okay to change. And I love the questions you asked yourself, and you were so aware. And when we were talking before, I love how you said, I get to do something about this. I get to do something about my life if I want to change it. And I loved when you said that because you do have a choice and look at amazing not only to other people around you, but especially your family and your kids seeing you do this and better yourself. And you were talking about it before, but tell us a little bit about how you've gotten into the life coaching industry, because I know you started improving on yourself and found those resources, but how did you kind of get to that place where you're like, I want to also help other people do this? What was your journey from there to now, coaching other people?
[00:07:44] Speaker A: So my first coach that I ever hired for myself was really right after I'm also sober, so I'll share that aspect of my life that I do not consume any mind altering substances, but alcohol was my poison, essentially, and it's super prominent in healthcare, but that's a whole other conversation. I recognized that alcohol wasn't the problem. And it's like, oh, the problem is actually you. And I'm like, oh. I thought, no, that's not how that works. The very first thing that I did was I didn't even know what I was doing, actually. This is like, where the divine guidance really just steps in of. I came across a woman of color, and she was a trauma coach, and we just started having conversation on social media. Like so many things are, this was fall of 2022, so when I say it's super recent in my life, it's super recent. And I completed her program, which the focus was trauma. And the insights that I got between that coaching therapy, of course, as a nurse, I will never tell anybody, like, don't see your therapist or stop taking your meds or anything like that. Through prioritizing myself for the first time ever, which I hadn't done since I was 14 or 15 before I literally gave birth, it was interesting to start learning about myself again and the fact that a stranger at the time could do that and not be again. Being a nurse, I'm like, I work with these highly qualified specialists and people that have gone to school for decades, and I kind of had this one way set of thinking that if the doctor, if the medical system couldn't fix it, that that's what it was. So it really expanded and shifted. And I know I was mentioning I had always wanted to get into coaching and consulting, but I didn't even realize that what I had were limiting beliefs. I'm like, well, who's going to listen to this young black girl that doesn't have a master's, doesn't have a doctorate? So I had all these stories in my own head that no one had ever told me that made me think that it wasn't even possible for me to be that. So then I doubled down in my career and I said, well, if I can't do what I want to do, I'm going to do what I can do and I'm going to do it really well and I'm going to still make, you know, me and I'm still going to make it an impact and I'm still going to make a difference. So having that experience and being essentially this blank slate really allowed me to explore and ask questions. I'm a serial question asker of like, well, how did you start your business? Well, how did you do this? And I started working with her in the fall and January of 2022, literally on January 6, I wrote a post about this a little while ago. I had no money, no clue what I was doing or how I was about to do it. But I filed my LLC and I hired my coach in the same day, both on payment plans, and I just made a decision that I trusted and I have continued to follow those steps every single day.
[00:10:42] Speaker B: Yeah, I love how having your perspective in being a nurse of what can only be done like those limiting kind of insights and how you open yourself to a whole other world of how people can help other people. And now that you're able to do that, which is really amazing, and how you just took that leap and saw the amazing impact, even though you felt like you weren't ready, it seemed like you were so driven and ready to make that leap, you just knew, which has you here today developing that amazing business. So getting into the life coaching or the coaching industry and the lack of diversity you've been seeing in the coaching industry and how you want to bring that into the coaching industry through your business, because I know you're like, let's go big. I want to make an impact and I love that drive from you. And so what are you seeing now and what is lacking and how are you going to bring that what it needs more of in the industry, the.
[00:11:30] Speaker A: More I learn about myself and this is where the astrology and the human design come in as we're entering the age of Aquarius that everybody's talking about because these major energetic shifts are happening and the more I've learned about myself in my chart, I don't mind having the uncomfortable conversations. I literally posted a couple of days ago and said true or false, is race and or difference a hard topic to have? Those. I do have training in like Dei and stuff, so I can manage those conversations appropriately. But there is this diversity but when I started my first healing certification, which was breath work, nobody looked like me in the class. My first coaching programs, like a $10,000 investment, there was like two or three. And I've started doing market research questions now, reaching out to BIPOC people, people from the LGBTQ community, any marginalized populations, and really calling them forward and saying, I want to talk to you and I want to understand. I know my own experiences, but how does this make you feel, and what can we do about it? Because we pay to play as well. We're not getting any discount or any special treatment by being marginalized. But it's super scary when you're in this group coaching of 100 people and there's two marginalized people, it's hard to insert your voice. It's hard to have that six, seven figure coach talking at you. And when you're bringing forth your questions, there's a different layer of depth that someone without the studies, without the lived experience, they're amazing people. I have thankfully, not had a bad experience, but there's that depth they just can't bring. They might want to bring it. They might bring awareness to it. But there are certain conversations that I can have with people that at least even with the modalities that I do, I was raised Christian. I even went to catholic school. I still believe in God. But there was this fear of, that's witchcraft, that's the devil, oracle, tarot, all this stuff, crystals, the moon cycles, and I'm like, it's science. What do you mean? The planet is here in this degree, and this is what it means. So there's a lot to unpack that is generational, ancestral, and there are things that I'm still working through on a daily basis because, yeah, I kind of woke up one day in this thought process of like, well, what if? And being able to ask, but also being able to deal with people and places and things around you, not fully understanding what you're doing and having their own fears and biases and limiting beliefs. So to then kind of step into this particular realm of coaching and healing and starting a company with that as the foundation. And I'm like, well, if people get coaching and healing and continue to take their medication if they need it and go to therapy and do all this stuff, the body absolutely keeps the score. So if we can release that trauma that we've been carrying since we were five years old out of our bodies, maybe we'll alleviate some pain. Maybe we will prevent people from getting on pain medication and narcotics in the first place, there's so many what ifs that I'm like, so that's kind of where I lean in with that open curiosity from my own lived experiences and I really just want to build the awareness and build access. Like, yes, I have higher ticket programs, but I also have lower ticket programs. I also do payment plans because I started on payment plans. So those are things that are super near and dear to me where I've had a coach say, well, you need to pick if you're coaching men or women. And I said, my company is antiracist, gender inclusive and trauma informed. I'm not choosing to say this particular thing. And they're like, well, you have to. That's part of niching down. And I'm like, I don't have to do anything. So knowing that truth about myself, that I just really want to be open. There's so many restrictive places in the world and my company, what I do is not going to be one of them and like standing sometimes by myself. But as I have put myself out there, the more that I do stuff like this and just share, people actually are way more interested in these topics than I think it's shown visibly. So I've already started to experience this shift and even having people come back and be like, well, Taylor, can you tell me a little bit more about breath work? And I'm like, yes, absolutely. Do you want to try a session? That is the stuff that absolutely lights me up is to go from curious to then experiencing it and being, wow, this stuff is actually really life changing. And no, you don't have to be rich or be a millionaire. I always pictured this middle aged, white identified woman in a flowy skirt on a beach. Prayer and meditation of like, that's what it looks like.
[00:16:08] Speaker B: Those are the pictures that you see everywhere.
[00:16:10] Speaker A: It is. I meditate every day. My brain is super active. My meditation is not quiet. I love guided meditation. There's so many different ways to connect with yourself and really helping people co create that process in something that is sustainable and meaningful for them.
[00:16:26] Speaker B: Yeah, thank you for sharing that. About your insights of the coaching industry. I feel like just your life story, your life experiences, you sharing those things on your platform and just making your story so much more public really is what opens the gate for so many people that don't see themselves in a typical advertisement for meditation or for yoga or for a more holistical approach to their life. So that's why I'm so glad you're on this podcast, because so many people will hear this and say, yeah, what is breath work? How did she get to this place of more mindfulness? Your story, I think, is so amazing. And I don't know if we talked about this yet, but you were a contributor to a book, right?
[00:17:02] Speaker A: Yeah, I took part in the compilation. We had a book called Awakening. I say hat it's still available on Amazon, but awakening the power within. And it is women sharing our stories. So there's different levels know, grief and healing and different processes in our own words and our own lives, basically. So, yeah, it was nice because I've always loved to write and read. Those have been passions since I was a little kid. And again, in prioritizing myself and my passion and doing the work that I'm doing, to be able to share this stuff openly and freely, releasing myself from the shame, releasing myself from the guilt, knowing that once I put this chapter out there, I have no more control. And I am a Virgo, son. So, like, a Virgo letting go of control and just being like, okay is very. But yeah, super, super honored to have been a part of that. The women, the stories are absolutely incredible. And we hit international bestseller status in the US, Australia, and Canada, which was like flooring and surreal. Oh, my gosh, this is happening. And processing that and celebrating the little wins. So definitely looking forward to doing more projects like that in the future, whether they are solo or joint. But even the growth in that container of us women coming together and just lifting each other up, it was such a beautiful experience.
[00:18:26] Speaker B: Everyone needs to check out that book and we'll put it in the show notes. But stories are so powerful. Just like I was talking about. They are so powerful. Someone just reading your story and saying, wow, I can do it. If she has five kids, she's been a nurse for this long, and now she's changing her life. Just that story can ignite somebody on the inside. So that's such a beautiful project to be a part of, especially of all different voices of all different life experiences. I do want to just go over one more thing because I know you had so much to share today, but I want to hear a little bit about kind of how you help your people. How do you help your people that come to you? How do you help them get from point A to point B? What do you do? You did talk about breath work. What are some things that you do? What journey do you take people through?
[00:19:06] Speaker A: So my signature program is called inception. I love words. And inception is really an invitation back to yourself. So it is a combination of the coaching and the healing modalities that I'm able to provide. And my theory is to invite you back inside so that you can do whatever the hell you want, which is whatever. If you want to start a business, I am capable of helping you with that. I've also built an amazing network. So if there's something that I don't do or something that's beyond where I am, I'm such a collaborator that I am like, hey, let me do a warm intro to you with this program, this coach. Like, I can vouch for this person. So for me, inception is like this deeply personal and transformative experience. And I love that I offer three different modalities myself because if somebody's uncomfortable with a certain aspect or doesn't want to go down that route, we do not have to. And it doesn't mean that they can't successfully get results and complete my program. So for me, it's all about the client. Of course, myself, I get the fulfillment of being able to help, but people can also book those individual sessions so you don't have to be in the coaching program or container to see me regularly for breath work, theta healing, or Reiki. And I have just recently started, I shouldn't say recently started, but it's not on my offerings yet. But I also do Oracle and tarot cards. And the more I study astrology, I don't know if I'll ever be able to read birth charts. But I like to know that information about my clients whenever possible. So I know how to speak to them and what's meaningful for them and kind of give them the way that I use astrology and human design personally give them those tools and that information so they can just have that awareness to make the best decisions they can for them. So ultimately it is that healing from the inside out and not continuing to focus on fixing and managing everything around you, but being able to get back in touch with you. You're healing what your soul needs, what you as a person consciously want to heal. And bringing that subconscious stuff to the conscious and making those decisions, if you don't know it's there, you can't fix it. And you might not want to fix it, and that's okay too. So that is the journey of inception is like really bringing you back in so you can stand back on your own and do whatever it is that you desire to do and be supported with that.
[00:21:28] Speaker B: Yeah, just like when you were talking before about how you felt so disconnected in your life even though you achieved so much. And that was the disconnection of the inside of the connection within yourself. And I love how you said bringing the subconscious to the conscious or bringing things forward, and even reading over your brand and everything you do talk about meaning in your life, purpose in your life. Why are you here? What are you doing here? And how can you kind of find that path for yourself? And I thought that was really beautiful to just find that meaning, because it is there. It is there. And I feel like some people don't think they're not important. They're not enough. There's nothing for them. They're so small, and they don't have an impact. You already spoke to that, but you are like, I'm going to make an impact, and I'm going to change people's lives. And other people have that power to do that, too. So I love how these things like breath work. I don't know if anybody's experienced breath work. I've experienced it. It's a really beautiful, active, meditative practice for me. It is. I know coaches do it differently, but modalities you're talking about, I feel like, are all meditative practices that really just center on yourself and focus on yourself to really discover for yourself. I feel like your container helps people take the time to do that. I think it's so hard for us to take the time to do that. We can watch YouTube videos and like, yeah, that'll be great for me to do.
[00:22:39] Speaker A: The first things that I did when I was building my business, and it was supposed to be a freebie, but I write, so it's like 30, 40 pages or something. But I wrote this ebook on compassion fatigue, and I am a person that I love to consume information. That's the Virgo. But I give actionable tools, even in my freebies and stuff. I'm like, here's this information. Oh, and here's this app that I use. Here's this free app that I use because, no, people don't want to spend $500 to try something out. It's really about, not only can I guide you through these modalities, but we can co create a practice while you're in the container of what can you give three minutes for every day? What can you do five minutes for yourself every day? And even if you start with the three to five minutes, because you have five children, because you have a job, you have all these responsibilities, there's always an opportunity. It's about creating the time. We all have the same 24 hours in the day. So does it mean you wake up five minutes earlier or does it mean you go to sleep five minutes later? There's so many different aspects that you can use to connect back into yourself. So it's that awareness of bringing that forward and you making the decision of, like, actually, I'm a priority. I'm just as important as my spouse and my kids and the animals and the job. I'm actually that important, too. So I'm going to do a little bit to serve myself. And the fuller you are with yourself in those holistic ways, you're pouring from a full cup all the time, so you have more to give. You have more quality relationships. Your job gets a little bit easier because you have a different perspective. So all of the things, the health, wealth and relationships, the big three of coaching, all of that can improve once you improve the relationship with yourself.
[00:24:24] Speaker B: Yourself, I think it's always yourself first. And I love how you said not focusing so much on the outside aspects because I feel like when we focus on the outside things, especially as women and as mothers, we just give, give, give. Like, that's just our nature. We're giving, giving, giving until we have nothing left. Just like your story. I mean, I've been there, too, as a mother, and you just give, give, give, and you're like, I can't give anymore. Personally, I've been coached before, but having a coach like Taylor for it's, yes, you can look at a freebie or a YouTube video, but having someone there that has lived a similar life experience to you, that is a mother or someone who is speaking to you and that can be there with you and be like, yes, let's make something that's going to work for you in your life. Being aware, tuning into who that person is, that's what coaches do. I think that's what's so amazing about coaches is just being able to make this custom plan for this person, what's going to work for you in your life and being attuned to that of, yes, that works. Yes, that doesn't work. Let me give you some pointers here and let's do this. Let's have this encouragement, words, affirmations, just like, you can do this, I've done this, you can do it, too. So I think that's what's beautiful about what you do is being that person that can be like, you got this. And also the accountability partner, too. Like, you get coaching through, right? And let's make a custom thing for you because not every recommendation from somebody, just like you talked about in your experience with the coach, that was not the same ethnicity, didn't have the same life experience, just can't get to that depth with you that now you can bring to other people in your community, which is really beautiful. So, Taylor, is there anything else you want to share with us today before we get off? I feel like we had a wonderful conversation about your journey and your perspective in the coaching industry and what you bring, which is an awesome thing. Is there anything else you want to discuss?
[00:25:59] Speaker A: So I continue to have these massive revelations and everything happens when it's supposed to happen, but I think I'll leave this with that revelation, which is that ultimately I was trying to figure out still myself. Like, I'm an active learner. I still have coaches and mentors, and I probably always will. And the biggest thing that I have this takeaway this week is that I want to help others create a deep knowing in themselves that they are also strong enough to create the change that they wish to be and see in the world. I've been struggling with my niche and the messaging and all this stuff, and those words came out of me. I had to go back and watch the recording because I'm like, what did I say? But it was so true and I was so tapped into my body and what is the feeling that is under the content and the stuff and all of the things that we have to do? What is the feeling? What is the purpose? And that was it. It's like, oh, so simple, yet so complicated. But exactly what we were kind of discussing is everybody can do anything. Everyone, each and every one of us is limitless. And we're not limited by our circumstances unless we allow ourselves to be. So I challenge people listening to this to get quiet for a few seconds, a few minutes, if you can, and really start to listen to your own inner voice and see what she or they are telling you and go from that.
[00:27:22] Speaker B: Thank you for sharing that. Well, thank you so much, Taylor, for being on this podcast and sharing your wonderful story and that amazing bam. Ending and challenge for everyone on the podcast or who's listening in. Taylor, where can we find you? Where can our community find you?
[00:27:36] Speaker A: Oh, I'm everywhere, y'all. I am on Facebook, my website. I don't spend a ton of time on TikTok. I kind of dread it. But Instagram, Taylor A. Carruthers on Facebook and metanoia, innovative solutions. My business pages on Facebook and Instagram are the easiest ways to get a hold of me. And then I'll make sure I get the links for my website and all of that fun stuff. I offer a free enlightenment call. So, yeah. Look forward to meeting and talking to more people.
[00:28:03] Speaker B: Yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for sharing, and thank you for being on. Thank you.
