Laura Gmeinder joins Tonya Dawn Recla as they dive into the intricacies of personal growth and the power of authenticity. Laura is a top rated speaker, coach and business consultant. She is an In Business Magazine “40 Under 40” honored for her business savvy and civic contributions. Listen in as they discuss how to show up powerfully in career, relationships, and life.
Hello, everybody! This is Tonya Dawn Recla, your Super Power Expert and I’m really excited to have with me today, Laura Gmeinder. She is… she’s just very delightful! That’s a great word for her. What I loved when I was looking into her and kindaoncept of the passion igniters. So I’m really excited to talk about that today. We’re gonna go over the concept of personal growth through authenticity and you know, how to embody that, how to talk about, how to be that in the world. And so if you, let me fill into, so she does coaching, where she really works with people in that kind of practical applications space which I really adore. You know we talk to a lot of folks who integrate the you know when you talk about things like passion and do your work in the world and stuff like that there’s a decent amount of integration that goes into tying together some of those kinds of upper-level concepts with the actual action steps that have to go into making that occur here. And she’s a great embodiment of that piece. And, so I’m really excited to have her on the show. Please join me in welcoming Laura. Welcome Laura. Thank you so much for coming on.
I am so excited. Thank you for having me here.
Oh, absolutely! It’s our pleasure.
And so, I feel like we were really circling around a cool concept with regards to personal growth and authenticity piece. But before we jump into that let’s talk a little bit about what are your superpowers?
My superpower is being a Passion Igniter.
I think my superpower is being a Passion Igniter and to me, that really is about the energy, the way that the energy comes into the room before you do even. And I am one of those people that life excites me. And people connect with that energy, I think, and not only that but when I see people and meet them I see like that was the bigger version of themselves, that dream, that goal they had to accomplish and kind of what that looks like to be excited for them and about them and to know that they can do that so much more.
I think it’s so powerful and I love what you just said about your energy kind of precedes you know that we work a lot in the superpower experts and specifically in our member group the super-powered net around the idea of both mastering your personal power as well as managing your individual resonance so most people are really, really highly unaware of the fact that they are emitting that kind of these signals or that they’re asking for things or they’re you know portraying things that they’re not aware of. And it’s only once you become aware of that. In my opinion that is true authenticity. So, it’s one thing to be aware of your thoughts and your emotions but unless you’re in touch with that energy signature that you’re sending out there it’s like you’re incongruent.
Yes, I used to have a little sign on my door that said, “How do you want to show up?”
I love that!
I used to be a perfectionist and overcommit and so often things would come up for me. You know, appointments, meetings and volunteering and all the things I was involved in.
And by the time I cope up, it’s almost like you’re happy you have to leave home. Like I don’t know if I want to do this but I said I would. So, it was really that big reminder to say, “What’s with that mindset when you said Yes?” Sometimes, I even do it again, you know going back to that energy piece. But I’m such an extrovert. But sometimes I’m at home recharging my batteries. But then to know that I’m going to go out, I’m going connect with people, I’m going to do things that I love and just you know reframing that has a different mindset. Saying that I have to do this because I said I want it.
I think that’s really powerful and it takes, you know, I contend that a big part of the reason why people don’t dive into some of those concepts is, it takes you to know living in a responsible way or taking responsibility for what exists in your life to a whole new level. However, you know what, once people get to a certain level their own growth is like that really is the next thing you know personal growth doesn’t stop with your thoughts you know. And in a lot of people you know even now it’s becoming more commonplace for people to talk about emotions. But I think we’re doing everyone at this service if we don’t acknowledge that there’s this kind of energy piece that we are all talking about. I think especially in the business executive coaching arena is that it still has this perception of being a little bit Woo for the Corporate Environment. However, if you start looking at some of the companies that are really being successful in this evolving kind of market landscape that we’re in the middle of they are attending to it maybe they’re not bringing astrologers and psychics into doing their business strategy with them although a lot of them do it.
Things like intuition and energy and spirituality in the workplace.
They are starting to talk about things like intuition and energy and spirituality and what does that look like from a whole person show up in the workplace.
I think that’s so awesome.
And I think that integration piece we’ve talked in a series of our episodes here about the concept of bringing the business world in the kind of spiritual world same space and that’s a big part of what superpower experts represent and we attract a lot of folks who are the bridges between those two worlds. What do you see moving forward in that space?
Well, here I locally do some events disrupt where we talk about how that in general what’s happening in the workplace isn’t really supporting the whole person and what it is that will play for the thought leaders for the people that are really wanting something different to be able to have those conversations be able to move the needle and to be able to impact their organization. Or maybe they’re just not in the right organization at the right time. And to say that you have that choice every day where you’re showing up for or what you’re doing how you’re doing that. And maybe it’s even the call to you to share a different philosophy or idea with your team. You know we are all part of being engaged, is the growth in the learning and sometimes that’s neglected in the corporate world.
And I think it can feel like this huge chasm that you’re looking outside it’s like you have these ideas and this maybe you are getting an intuitive hit sitting there. I remember when my husband and I met teaching at the intelligence Special Agent course and I remember sitting there and you know I had already started to unfold this concept of being the messenger.
And then something like God and I were in close communion with you know what was coming next for me. And I remember that kind of this pivotal moment of making a fact and saying OK I will. I will say these things. You know it will work.
And you know it was like way can I take that back. Because I’d be sitting at work and all said and that information would come through and I’m like seriously guys like you and I just put some caveats on this and say OK I’ll do this here but not here.
Yeah.
And it was funny is that once I got over that again it looked like this giant chasm the second I jump if you will. I looked back and realized it was just a little hump step.
It was like yes it wasn’t that radical and I’d be talking about God, Spirituality.Energy or environment. But it wasn’t weird. I was the only one making it weird I guess is how I could say that.
Or even sometimes to like what I saw and you know are they a lot of time you hear people talk about their intuition was kind of more of oh you just have this gut-feel and it was always connected with hiring which you know being in H.R. it’s just such a gray murky area to see how you can verbalize that more and really support it with the interview and the conversations that you had and this person’s work history like what does that look like.
H.R. is not that different from counter intel in the sense that is my assessment. My husband I run a corporate counterintelligence firm even today that curriculum teaches mechanical due diligence as well as intuitive to deal.
Yeah.
And both are crucial in that environment. And so it was interesting to me to start tying those pieces together because here I was like reading Tarot cards is like this counterintelligence is like what is bizarre, but we have so many stories of people “coming out of the closet” as having some sort of a spiritual, metaphysical or energetic practice and really thinking like it’s the weirdest thing in the world or people are going to shame you or whatever the case may be but usually you what one of the things I encourage people that most people are starving just to connect with people who are being authentic. And, so it’s like who are you hiding. Ironically people already know that they’re late that’s not a surprise to me. Like, of course, your spiritual intuition, I don’t know who we think we’re fooling.
When you’ve had those situations where you met some minor settlement to someone’s energy is just off and it’s like something’s going on but then we are programmed to think about us in the story we tell ourselves that it must be awesome.
And I was talking to one of my friends and she said she had this big meeting and she thought that it was going just terrible because the conversation wasn’t flowing easy and she thought they had these great connections that were going be beneficial and two-thirds of the way into the meeting the woman was the under-sheriff that she has the most important event of her business and career later that is all she can think about. So, she not present in that meeting exchange with my friend she could pick up on that. She kept thinking oh it must be me she must not be interested in what I’m saying and just kind of those pieces of it.
Predisposed superpowers
And they’re such a powerful perspective. And that’s one of the reasons why with the superpower network we are so keen on helping people understand what they’re predisposed superpowers are because some of it is that mind reading some people are true. And really learning like what or what’s this bag of tricks really brought home with. Certainly, we’re all capable of harnessing all of them. But there are certain things that are happening under the surface that most people are completely unaware of. And if you don’t realize that you’re predisposed to mind reading in 90 to 95 percent of the thoughts that you’re hearing aren’t your own. And then you try to interpret them. It can be really challenging. Now the beautiful thing is on the other side of that it’s such an amazing gift when you’re working with people not because you get to be way noisy but because you’re able to kind of separate those person’s different headspace. We can either cut the meeting short or I can just honor that and say if you have something on your mind we can address this later. And, so it starts to break down and create a much more authentic kind of communication arena for people. And I like that example, anyway, we were talking today with large minds about personal growth through authenticity. We’re going to take a quick break and then when we come back we’re going to share with you some practical kind of tips on how you can start to harness this to a higher and higher level.
Stay with us. We’re going to take a break and we’ll be right back with you one moment.
We’re back you listening to the Super Power Up! podcast where here today will borage minder and we’re talking about personal growth through authenticity. One of my favorite topics so Laura what can we offer to folks about how authenticity is and what it is not because I think there’s a lot of misconceptions about that. How would you answer that?
Inner leader
I always refer to it more as kind of the inner leader and being thoughtful on how I want to show up in a way that aligns with my values and the impact I’m trying to make.
That’s amazing. I like that. I think a lot of people think of authenticity you have to share your deepest darkest secrets or I also see a lot of people equating it to consistency and I don’t abide by the need for consistency a lot. I think that we’re multifaceted beings. And so, there’s like this essence of us that is often that we can be authentic, we are the soul, the true self and I call it the super self because then cute superpower appraises but this kind of bigness of us in the divinity the source energy.
But then like how we show up every day what outfit we wear, what culture we want to subculture we want to abide by all this other stuff is like that’s play. A lot of people think that if I like classical music but then I want to go and listen and dance around in this most pit somehow, I’m being inconsistent and that’s not authentic.
How would you address that?
I think that’s such a great point for me sometimes I almost get that visual of turtle were a lot of days I do need to be in my shower even if I don’t feel like it. I’ll try to poke my head out where there will be opportunities where I am able to share something or act in a way that I’m trying to be courageous. I’m trying to do something new. So, it’s not that I’m not aligned. Other days with authenticity is just where I am in those days and who I’m blessed. And I think that’s going to look and feel different for everyone.
That’s perfect. And ultimately I think we’re doing ourselves a disservice if we think that we have to somehow be a certain way all the time you know and that’s why I like the idea of I really resonated with the concept of you know operating in the frequency of what you know there may be moments of my existence I don’t particularly like and I’m not particularly pleased with it and still I can operate in those frequencies like the frequency above or what I call the frequency and there’s a consistent thread there for me to kind of thread and hold onto and then the rest of it is truly play. You know it’s kind of how I look at it. That is powerful stuff. Let’s talk a little bit about the transitions from H.R. into this world because I know that a big challenge for a lot of our listeners is how they’re hearing the call. They know they want to do something different. They know that they’re not totally fulfilled.
How did you make that leap?
How did you make that leap?
It was a long process for me. But, in a way that was engaging and beautiful that I really was called to reflect on who I was and the impact that I wanted to make.
I have 14 years career in total and the first seven years are great. I love my company and my co-workers. I was making great money, getting promotions, raises all those things. But then it kind of started to get to a point where the bomb from a promotion, for example, wasn’t that same warm fuzzy that I would once get. And, at the same time, I was doing a lot with community and leadership in some of those pieces. And I was putting so much energy and money into the community that it started to go back to the office activity part. I’m like why can’t this person show up in my proper role like why can’t I get energized and be so passionate about this. And in reality, that it just it was the right for me at the right time and it was safe for a while but once I really harness my courage to say that there’s something more out there that I’m supposed to be doing. So, I did take some career change workshops because I just felt stuff like that I didn’t know what to do next and the family came to me like I’m waiting here for the next thing and it’s not coming so it’s up to me to make that next step to take that first action. And still, some of those pieces of the workshop were known reflections where people were coming up to me.
Breaks at lunches wanting advice and wanting to talk to things and that was kind of the aha moment from that coaching is I like that and so if I could paraphrase some way in terms of a helpful tip for folks you got to “just do it” you’re never ready.
Lay a misconception that there is this moment where it’s like heavens open and it’s like you can help people.
It’s good to see you. It’s going to fall in my lap and it’s yeah.
I was going to say and end it in that part. There are so much power and freedom in saying you know what I’m not perfect and I’m going to do it anyway. I know there’s nothing I can help. There are people out there you’re who call that impact life, for a while, it was a struggle it was like I said I had a safety I had security like the things that you need to thrive. And that’s why I was so successful in my community leadership roles but it ultimately wasn’t the most fulfilling for me.
That’s a great way to look. So what other advice can we offer to folks you know other than to just do it is funny because all this advice always sounds trite and cliché but it’s like it works for folks like there’s a reason why people always say you know I recently had a moment of like the concept of perseverance and continuity you know magical things occurred when we hit the year our 100 episodes mark. I guess it was like we did it, sometimes you put your head down and just do it and just get through it. I guess that it sounds right and it is easy for you to say but. Well, it is easy to say, easier to do. The challenge is managing all the pieces and parts of information that are not that.
Because in one day or it’s day one and you are the only person that can make that choice for yourself one day or day one. I like that. It’s like let’s do it. You know just today that day you can just take one little action. I know for me it was a lot of self-reflection. And really getting to know myself and my emotions and being ok who for I was like I am really fat with low self-esteem and I was really kind of scared of the world so a lot of the choices that we’re making were trying to keep me safe.
But, at the same time it wasn’t giving me the challenge that wasn’t giving me the excitement that I was looking for and really in the world and we were talking earlier about when things I was certain I read in adult education but that was something I almost completely forgot about myself and that would have never come up with me sharing my story back at that point.
And now with such a foundation for my business for other things and I’m trying to do as private and I think sometimes we kind of gather up these little tools and stuff. I have both of my degrees are in Intercultural Communication and critical race theory and stuff. And that was a huge.
Yes definitely.
Well very cool. It’s been delightful chatting with you. I know folks want to know where they can find out more about you, where can we send them.
Thank you. You so feel free to visit my website. It’s lauragmeinder.com
Perfect. Very cool and it’s been a lot of fun talking with you.
I appreciate! You’re real, kind of grounded down to earth concepts and in your heart. I know it’s beautiful how you’re sharing that with the world and I appreciate the work you’re doing.
Thank you so much, I really enjoyed talking to you.
Very cool and to all of you out there as always appreciate your loyalty and until next time go out and uncover your super powers and change the world. Take care everyone.
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