Kristel Bauer is a former clinician turned entrepreneur, speaker, and podcast host. Kristel joins us to share her powerful insights on corporate wellness, leadership, mindset, performance, personal development, and success. Together, we uncover the connection between individual priorities and overall well-being, and how it impacts work and career development.
How Kristel changed her life
As the host of the Live Greatly Podcast and founder of a company under the same name, Kristel realized the power of positive spaces, and wanted to help people create and enjoy vibrant company cultures. Kristel’s experience in Integrative Psychiatry and Integrative Medicine offer her a unique perspective to team building, mental well-being, helping people unlock high power habits and peak performance.
In this eye-opening episode, we delve into Kristel’s path from being a Physician Assistant to a wellness expert and the big life changes that shifted her perspective. We discuss the importance of embracing a mindset shift around self-care and the challenges of balancing achievement with personal wellness.
Kristel’s key takeaways:
- The problem with some self-care routines
- Self-belief vs. fear of failure
- Powerful 2-minute motivation strategies
- Biggest takeaways since starting a podcast
- Managing opinions of others and impact on confidence
- The benefits of mentorship
- Tackling time management
We also dig into some personal anecdotes, real-world examples, and testimonials, providing valuable advice and inspiration for those seeking to make a positive change in their own lives and careers.
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Listen to Kristel’s episode
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Links
- Learn more about Live Greatly
- Sign up for my weekly newsletter!
Episode Chapters
- How would you describe yourself to someone? 0:02
- Becoming an integrative medicine practitioner. 2:55
- The importance of taking care of yourself and your health. 8:53
- It’s not selfish to want. 11:40
- Enjoy the process instead of the goal. 15:49
- How do you carve out time for self care? 18:40
- How did you narrow down your focus on social media? 23:40
- Narrowing down your episodes to two minutes. 28:48
- Relationships: 2 Be yourself. 31:36
- Being proud of yourself and going for it. 37:53
- How to decide who matters most. 40:17
- How do you manage your time? 46:14
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Transcript
Sonya Looney 0:02
It’s so fun to meet you, Kristel, I want to dive into your story because I think a lot of the reasons why people love podcasts and people love speakers like yourself is that they can see themselves in somebody else’s story. And as I was learning about you, I could definitely feel, you know, a sense of relatability with you. So I guess my first question is, you know, a lot of us wear many hats in our lives. How would you describe yourself and what you do to somebody?
Kristel Bauer 0:27
Ooh, good question, Sonya. Well, thank you for having me. First off, super excited to be here. Well, the hats that I have worn have definitely changed and huge shift for me probably over the past six years. But currently, I am a mom, a wife, and you know, family, friends all that’s incredibly important to me. And also, I’m a speaker. So I do a lot of speaking around wellness topics, corporate wellness, and I left clinical practice. So I was officially trained as a physician assistant. So kind of went through this traditional medical training, got my Master’s practice as a PA in some different areas of medicine. And then I practiced an integrative psychiatry for, for a bit and I furthered my education, I became an integrative medicine fellow with Dr. Andrew Wiles program through university Arizona. And when I graduated from that I knew I wanted to branch out, I wanted to just get away from the one on one clinical, I wanted to reach a wider audience wanted to share my message kind of for a larger group. So that’s when I started my my company live greatly, which is educational platform to help inspire and motivate and help people have wellbeing and happiness and success in their personal and professional lives. So that takes on a few different forms. But currently, it’s the speaking business. And then I also have a podcast called Live greatly. And yeah, those are the big things and just trying to reach people and help them reignite their spark find more happiness and meaning and fulfillment in their lives.
Sonya Looney 2:05
I love that. And the world definitely needs more of that. And something that kind of came to mind is that. So one way that I was, you know, looking at using Oh, that I relate to her is I almost went to PA school, I have my master’s in engineering. And I was like, I don’t want to do this. And I went back to school did all the pre med stuff did all the volunteer work, went to visit schools was going to vote I was going to apply and then my anomic racing started going well. So I ended up never going to PA school. But the reason why I wanted to go it was because I wanted to help people find better wellness in their lives. And it’s so interesting how you can do that in many different ways. And it sounds like you decided intentionally to walk away from being a physician’s assistant and into this new role. So, you know, making that decision, I’m sure wasn’t an easy one, because there’s a sunk cost of all the time and the income that you were probably making, you know, easier than starting your own business. So can you tell me about that transition?
Kristel Bauer 2:55
Yeah, totally. Well, what was interesting for me was, I feel like my life has different chapters, I think we all kind of have different chapters in our lives, but there was the pre children era, where, you know, I was in some different areas of medicine, wellness as a whole and well being as a whole oddly enough, as a PA, it wasn’t huge on my radar, I think I was much more tapped into the like the disease management system at that point. And, and you’re treating a condition and, and kind of more textbook, I guess, based on my clinical experience, and what I’ve been trained at in school, and then when I became pregnant, my views on that shifted, I started to think about how I was treating myself how I was taking care of my body and all the different elements that go into wellness and well being and all the rest of it. So that was kind of my my start into motherhood and getting more into maybe a more holistic view of, of health, right? It’s not just like, Oh, you have a condition and you treat it, it’s like, oh, there’s so many things that go into our happiness and our mental health and our physical health and all of it. So then after I had my our first daughter, I was home with our kids for six years. So I did the stay at home mom thing. Then I went back and you know, I like I said I practiced in integrative psychiatry, so I had like, a taste of all of these different worlds. And I really, at that point, I had gotten to know myself better. So I started to really understand what what I was good at what I naturally gravitated towards what I loved what stressed me out, you know, all those things that sometimes we aren’t paying attention to when you’re just going through the motions. And for me at that point when I was working, or I had been home with our kids, and my mom had a stage four cancer diagnosis. So that was really hard. really eye opening really shocking and It made me kind of took the layers off of fear, in some ways about failure or fear of not doing the right thing or making the wrong choice. I just was like, You know what, we have one life, and I want to live it well. And I want to make sure that I am really trying to reach my ultimate potential, whatever I’m here to do, I want to be able to try my hardest to have an impact to live a fulfilling life, to inspire my children to be there for friends and family and help others too. And so that just, it took away, I guess, the fear of making a big shift in my life. So when I had been practicing clinically, and I had this level of awareness about myself, and I guess some of my talents, what I liked what I didn’t like, I realized that the clinical practice for me, at that point was really draining. It was it was the one on one for me, I was I was carrying at home, even if I had great self care, I had great stress management, you know, I was checking all the boxes. I’ve been doing my integrative medicine fellowship, like I knew all of the things, right, all of the things you’re supposed to do. But what it came down to was, that just wasn’t the right fit for me. And I realized I had been teaching a little bit. I did a class for a master’s program where I got my masters as a PA, and I taught this group of PA students, and I finished and I felt different. I was like, Wow, I feel like lighter. I don’t, I feel like that was really, I felt really good, really invigorating. And that was an aha moment. For me, I feel really different now than I do when I’m finished at the end of the day of seeing patients back to back. So that started to just get the wheels turning about, like, maybe I need to think about making a shift. And then it was having people in my life who I guess helped me not be afraid to go for it. I felt supported my husband and family, I felt like they had my back, like integrative medicine fellowship, I was with some incredible physicians and healthcare providers who are like, yeah, like, go for it, you know, so I think it was more being surrounded by people who supported me, and then having the courage to try and be like, you know, what I’m gonna follow. Like, it’s my passion. And this, this idea I have where I think I can really figure it out as I go. And it’s been great. I mean, it’s not all, it’s definitely not easy by any means. But when you think when you’re passionate about something, when there’s a purpose, and a drive, and a personal mission behind what you’re doing, it makes it all worth it. And it makes it much more exciting and fun.
Sonya Looney 7:44
I think something interesting that people assigned to happiness is that it’s always easy. And there’s so many different types of happiness, and the type of happiness a eudaimonia, where you feel meaning and purpose doesn’t mean that it always feels good in the moment. Yeah, but it’s like a deeper sense of fulfillment.
Kristel Bauer 8:00
Totally, it helps manage those setbacks and challenges which are a part of life part of any career, there’s going to be setbacks and challenges and bumps in the road. You have to be resilient, but it’s so much easier to do when you feel like I am on the right path. You know, this is like part of what resonates with me my core values. And I totally agree with that.
Sonya Looney 8:23
It sounds like you have, you know, a strong intuition and mind body connection, because you said, you were checking all the boxes for self care while you were a PA and a lot of people might resonate with this, like I’m doing all these things, too. But I still don’t feel good in my life. And that you were aware enough of how you felt after you taught. So like, where did you learn this mind body connection to be that intuitive to know how these things were affecting you?
Kristel Bauer 8:47
I again, I didn’t, I didn’t always have that. And definitely not definitely did not always have that. I started to pay again, more attention to some of this stuff when I was pregnant. And I started just to think about well being and wellness as a whole I started practicing yoga here and there. I just started to dabble,
Sonya Looney 9:07
let’s say and I might interrupt for a sec. What about what is it about being pregnant that made you look in the mirror and say, Wait a second, like I might be doing things differently in the future.
Kristel Bauer 9:16
I was thinking about someone other than myself. It just it raised the level of importance on me taking care of me. It wasn’t just about me, you know, it was about, you know, our children and our family. So it it raised the stakes, I guess. I just I think it had a whole new meaning a whole new level to it. And I really wanted to be a great example for our kids. And yeah, it just opened my eyes and a lot of ways I don’t know, I think I grew up and in the best way possible with with that. But yeah, I think so I started to just become more aware about that. And then honestly, a lot of shifts in my life happened around the time when my mom had her diagnosis Because I just I think I had a deeper spiritual connection throughout that. And I really did a lot of soul searching around that and was looking into all different areas of medicine and all it helped me do some of that personal inner work about my with myself in regards to Okay, where am I holding myself back? what are maybe some limiting beliefs I’ve never even thought of I didn’t, they weren’t on my radar. So I started to get more interested in psychology. And you know, I had been working in integrative psychiatry. So just thinking about what are maybe some of the patterns that I had, which don’t serve me and then Reclaiming my power to choose again, and to be able to choose a new path. And I think it was just a big aha moment for me, like, get off the hamster wheel, you don’t have to just keep doing the same thing over and over. Like, we all have a choice. Sometimes we forget that or we don’t realize that because we’re so busy. But you know, we can always choose again, we can always approach things in a new way we can perceive things in a new way we can interpret things in a new way. So yeah, I think it was just all of the above. But really, that pivotal time for me was in alignment with some of that, that really hard time with my mom.
Sonya Looney 11:16
Yeah, and something that I wanted to just bring up and poke out a little bit is that when you said when I was pregnant is whenever I started changing the way that I viewed how I take care of myself, because it impacts more than just me. And I think a lot of parents after their kids are born or moms after they are no longer pregnant, stopped taking care of themselves in the same way that they were when they were pregnant, because they don’t have the baby inside them anymore. But I would argue and I’m a big advocate for taking care of yourself. And it’s not selfish to want if you want to go for a mountain bike ride, for example. And you have kids, like that’s okay. So you know, how do you practice in your in your life? Now, you know, you have a lot going on, you have kids to continue to say, Wait a second, I’m taking care of myself, but I’m doing it number one, yes, because I deserve it. But also, because this impacts more than just me.
Kristel Bauer 12:04
totally right. I know, if you don’t take care of yourself, like you’re not going to be able to show up as the best version of you for your kids or at work or for your family or for your friends and all of the above. But that’s a mindset shift. I think it’s getting out of the mentality. Like it’s selfish. It’s not selfish, I think it’s smart. And you have to just be aware number one, if you’re feeling that way. And if you’re thinking that way about situations, if you’re feeling like oh, this is really selfish, if I take carve out a piece of time to work out or So recognize like, that is not a fact. So that’s just a thought that pops into your head and maybe a belief that’s there and doesn’t make it true. So it’s does that serve you and then it’s trying to go down a path where you’re really supporting your health, and then you’re setting an example for your kids. Now another thing too, with with our family, like we’re very active family, so I try and incorporate movement and exercise just into the family dynamic, you know, and now that our kids are older, so like on the weekends, I’ll be like, anybody want to go on a run with me? You know, stuff like that, where it’s trying to include them, as well. But yeah, I think it’s just comes down to that mindset and having awareness, if you do find yourself feeling guilty about taking time for yourself, recognizing that that’s not true.
Sonya Looney 13:18
So you started your podcast live greatly, like you’re a public speaker, you’re a writer, and there’s lots of these things that will start some people have difficulty starting. But after you start, I think is actually the harder part because starting it’s new, it’s exciting, you know, you see immediate improvement, because it’s a new thing. So from a consistency and sustainability piece. How have you tackled that part? Whenever maybe things aren’t moving as quickly as they were right when you first started?
Kristel Bauer 13:46
Oh, my gosh, such a good question. I thought it was going to be so, so much easier. So and yeah, it was one of those things where I’m like, oh, you know, it’s this is gonna happen, I thought it was gonna happen much faster. Let’s say that, you know, getting to where I am now, I thought that that this would have been within the first year, you know, but that’s just not how it works. It’s really takes time to build relationships, build platforms, but I had someone on my show early on that said, you know, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and they had started a business in a company. And that helped, you know, getting insight from others in business helped recognizing it takes time. And for me, I, as I said, like, I felt really connected to what I was doing. I felt like I was following my passion. I was really excited about it. And so I knew I just had to give it the time it deserved to see what it could turn into. So I think we were I was thankful that we were in a position where my husband was bringing in is bringing regular income like we were in a position where we could do that we’re not everybody can so very like thankful for that. But I think it just was that again that level of knowing like I’m I Am I on the right path. But that said, I did have to fine tune along the way. Like when I first started, I felt like I was putting way too many things out there, I wasn’t quite sure what to focus on. So I was like dabbling in a lot of different things, I had a really wide net. And then with experience and time, I was able to really kind of narrow down and focus more on what made sense from like a business perspective, what made sense from a time management perspective. So big learning curve for me, big learning curve, but I was thankful that I really was part of it every step of the way. I don’t know if you do like your own podcast editing and all that. But like, every step of the way, with the marketing and the podcasts, like I learned how to do it, I ran with it, I, I messed up, and then I would tweak it, I would adjust it. So it’s just it’s been fun. hard sometimes, but fun.
Sonya Looney 15:53
Yeah, it sounds like it’s really important to really enjoy the process itself, instead of focusing on Well, in one year, I’m going to be here or I’m going to, you know, maybe I’ll feel this way about myself in one year, and enjoying the learning process, because it’s going to always be that way.
Kristel Bauer 16:11
Totally. And it’s funny, because I had set these goals for myself, right? Like, I want to do a TEDx talk, for example, that was a goal I’d had for myself. And then you you achieve that, and you reach that, and then it’s like, oh, cool, but then it’s not like this huge thing. Like you anticipate when you’re starting out, like when I started that felt really far away, or I felt like, oh, that’s going to be a reach. And then you’re there. And it’s in sometimes I think, it’s things don’t get celebrated as much when they’re kind of drawn out. But it’s, that’s why it’s so important to enjoy the journey. Because those moments of achievement, where you achieve that goal that’s short lived, you know, it’s, it’s like it’s really about, you have to love what you’re doing. Because when you do achieve that goal, like, you know, that was exciting, but it wasn’t like this huge, enormous pivotal moment that I had built it up to be in my head when I first set that goal for myself.
Sonya Looney 17:07
Yeah, I think this is something that is very interesting. And something I think about a lot as well, because, of course, we have an idea of something that we want to become, or you know, a direction that we want to go. And it does seem like a really big deal whenever you’re setting that goal, but you grow as a person on your way to that achievement. So when you get it, it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal anymore. Whereas if you reflect back to yourself, like everyone listening to just take a second, think back to yourself five years ago, and think of where you are today. And I guarantee you some of those things that you’ve done, you’re you would you would if you were yourself five years ago today, that would be a huge deal. But who you are today is probably like, Well, okay, what’s next, like that wasn’t as satisfying as I was hoping it would be.
Kristel Bauer 17:46
I love what you said, there, I think that that’s a very good way of explaining it, it’s because you’re not the same person, when that goal happens that you’re different than when you set the goal. And I think that’s fat on it’s like, it doesn’t feel so far fetched, because you’ve been working towards that, and you’ve been growing. But I do think that is just sometimes taking those moments, to reflect and to quiet down and to just think give yourself that inner encouragement and that encouragement of like I’m doing a good job, you know, like, give yourself a pat on the back. And be proud of yourself for where you are. And then and then also take time to then give yourself that motivation for wherever it is that you’re looking to move forward.
Sonya Looney 18:27
I think a lot of us don’t take time to let those achievements land like I’m a coach. And that’s one of the biggest things that people really enjoy is actually taking the time each week that we meet to say what went well about last week? Because many of us don’t do that. So for you like how do you actually carve out that time? Or do you carve out that time?
Kristel Bauer 18:45
You know, I am not very structured anymore with this stuff. I used to be very structured as far as like self care regimen and this amount of time in the morning for this and then I’m going to do that. And I found, to be honest, that was stressing me out. Just being like, Oh, I have to do this, I have to do that. And I realized that I’m like, alright, well, let’s, let’s shift that. Let’s switch that up. So at this point, now, I do take time for myself one way or another every single day. And I do carve out even if it’s two minutes, a little time first thing in the morning, a little time before, it’s like getting breakfast ready for the kids and all of that. And that is my time to just like sit and just be with myself, set my intentions for the day. express gratitude for where things are at. And I also do the same thing at night. So even again, if it’s two, three minutes, sometimes it’s longer, but just having that moment to like take a breath and reflect a little bit and that has really helped me it’s been a really grounding practice for me to stay connected to like my personal mission, who I am what’s really important, which it’s easy to lose sight of that Sometimes if things get busy and stressful, so yeah, definitely morning and night. And then sometimes vacations, I think like getting away, can help me gain a higher perspective. Sometimes if I’m out of the environment that I’m in all the time, that helps me just reflect and get the bigger picture.
Sonya Looney 20:18
Yeah, like when you’re in your environment you’re so busy doing and then when you’re on vacation, you’re being so that you can appreciate the doing piece. Totally, totally. Yeah, thanks for pointing out that self care routines can be blown way out of proportion. Like I actually think this is a big problem right now, like, on podcast, people are always asking, you know, what’s your morning routine and all this and that and are like, are you doing a cold plunge, and then people start feeling less than because they don’t have this amazing routine in the morning, or they get up in there. Okay, so yeah, the self care routines that people have can become really stressful, because everybody puts so much weight on them of, you know, this elaborate thing, or, you know, they wake up in the morning, and then I’ll go on their phone first thing, which is great that people don’t do that. But I think a lot of people do so that if you are doing that, then now you feel bad about yourself. Like you should be putting your phone in the other room and having the room at 67 degrees and like having you know all the things. And when self care becomes stressful and feels like something you should do in a box you have to check off, it’s actually not serving its purpose anymore. So thanks for pointing out that it doesn’t need to be complex, it could be as simple as two minutes, let me just have some gratitude from where I’m at. Or if it feels good, it can be this really long, complex thing. Oh, my gosh,
Kristel Bauer 21:42
totally. I actually was just talking with a friend about this yesterday. And she was feeling a little bit overwhelmed about like, all these changes. And she’s like, you know, I want to do this, I want to do that. But I feel like I just want to do one thing at a time. I’m like, that is spot on. I went through this complete overwhelm of too much information, when I was going through my training. And I was working in this integrative psychiatry practice, which also was a functional medicine practice. So I was doing some training and functional medicine from pharm, then I was doing my integrative medicine fellowship. And all this information was coming in about your health and things that could be harmful, right? Environmental Products, you’re using food, and I was like, Okay, we have to be, we have to be perfect with all this, it’s like raised the bar of the level of harm. All these things could cause and I started to make me feel anxious thinking about all these things that could potentially cause you know, have carcinogenic properties, or this or that. And I felt so stressed where I was trying to be perfect in all of these areas. And then I was able to put it all in perspective and like take a breath, and just be like, Alright, I’m going to do the best that I can. I’m going to make some changes here in the air when they’re accessible. And the way that I like to live now is like the majority of the time I like to make good choices. I like to buy products that I think are good for me good for our kids, good for our family. But there are going to be exceptions, there are going to be times where you know, we don’t eat well, or, yeah, I use a product that I wouldn’t normally want to use. And I’m I just tell myself, it’s okay. I don’t have to be perfect all the time. We don’t have to be perfect all the time. We just have to try and do the best we can. And sometimes that’s like one step at a time to move you closer to where you want to be.
Sonya Looney 23:34
Something I love to tell people is choose not to be perfect.
Kristel Bauer 23:37
Oh, right. Yeah. Right. I know, being perfect. It just it doesn’t work. And it’s no fun. It’s really stressful. Yeah.
Sonya Looney 23:44
So I have a question for you. You said that whenever you first started, you had a lot of different things on your mind, things that you loved. I think a first world first world problem is having too many options, too many opportunities, too many different ways. You could go in your life or in your business. So how did you narrow it down?
Kristel Bauer 24:00
Well, I think the issue there is I was very new. Well, not even very, I was completely new to media, the media space and social media. I was not on social media before I started my business. I didn’t have an Instagram account. I didn’t have a LinkedIn account. I used fate. I didn’t start Facebook until I had had our son like which was that that logo. So I guess my point is, I was not one to be like all tech savvy and on social and posting and sharing. And so for me, it was completely new as far as marketing and branding, figuring out the platforms. And so I was taking in a lot of information and trying to get, I guess, to learn from all these different platforms, and there are so many different opinions about what to do and how to do it. And so I was trying a lot of things like oh, let’s see if that works. Let’s see if that works. So it was more for me trial and error. It was finding my own way. Getting some and tours who I trusted I, I, in the beginning, you know, there’s so many people coming at you, you’re getting like your inbox flooded with, like, selling different things. And I can help you with this. I can help you with that. And so I really just found some people that I could trust that could help guide a little bit. I learned as I went, but yeah, definitely trial and error was the way that I have gotten to where I am now.
Sonya Looney 25:24
Failure, being willing to fail, like I heard you say multiple times, like, Oh, it’s okay to fail. And when I had this big picture perspective with the unfortunate diagnosis of your mom, like it gave you a different perspective around failure,
Kristel Bauer 25:35
right? Yeah, definitely did. And failure is something that I actually I just had someone on my show who I loved what she said. And do you mind if I share who it is? Oh, yeah, please. Okay. Yeah, so I just had a llama class. So she was a tennis champion, who, um, she’s the CEO of Billie Jean King enterprises. We’re a tennis family. So, but tennis growing up to Oh, did you so she won, she won the US Open for doubles. She was used to be world number one doubles, tennis player. But she said something I loved. And she said it’s feedback, not failure. And I love that it’s like it’s, I think failure has this connotation. Like, it’s really bad avoided at all costs. So I think that we do need to come up with a new way to look at that. Maybe a new word, I don’t know. But yeah, I loved the idea of it’s feedback, not failure that she shared, which I think really resonates with how that mindset shift that I had going going forward.
Sonya Looney 26:32
I think that, you know, over the last 10 to 15 years, the way that we have our way, the way we access information has changed a lot. Like we have all these amazing podcasts, all these great guests, we have YouTube, and the way that we can learn about failure or mindset. I don’t think that in the past, you could learn in the same way about these things. So it seems like future generations will not be viewing it in the same way that we are and all of us are having to reprogram ourselves over time. But as part of the general conversation and general narrative, it’s I’m hoping that with all this information, words, like growth mindset words, like feedback, instead of failure, those won’t be a thing that people are talking about 10 years from now,
Kristel Bauer 27:15
right now, I totally agree. I think a lot of times, it’s the fear of judgment, or the fear of fear of failure that are that’s holding people back from making a move that will really serve them that that will lead to them being much more happier, more fulfilled in their lives. And if they can get comfortable with the idea of just those setbacks, that will happen, I think that people can really start to follow the path that will make them a lot happier in their lives.
Sonya Looney 27:42
That question just sort of pops in my mind, and I don’t have an answer. But fear of failure versus self belief, like are those on opposite ends of the spectrum? Or, you know, could you still have fear of failure while you have self belief?
Kristel Bauer 27:56
Oh, my gosh, 100%. So I think, um, self belief is knowing you’re gonna figure it out, like, you’re gonna, you’re gonna shift you’re gonna adapt, you believe in yourself, you believe in your ability to figure things out as you go, and to be able to take that feedback and make the necessary adjustments that kind of like you can handle whatever comes your way. And I think being in alignment with your personal mission, helps with that, it helps you just feel like I’ve got this, whatever it is, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not going to have setbacks, or that you can’t, you know, something that you try doesn’t work out the way that you want. So I think it’s, they can coexist, but it’s being able to shift and adapt, I think as we go, and as we grow, and as we learn.
Sonya Looney 28:40
That’s a great way to apply both and thinking I can believe in myself, and I can still be afraid to feel failure, and I can still take action on the things that I want to do. Totally. So you’ve been doing your podcast, it’s a top 1% podcast and has some incredible episodes. You have some of these two minute motivation episodes. I think you do it every single week. How do you narrow it down to get it out in two minutes?
Kristel Bauer 29:03
I take the episode that I did that week with the conversation I had with the person and I try and pull one topic that we covered. So like for example, like feedback, not failure. Right? I could take that. And then I can do a two minute episode where I just highlight some of the main points around that and I think the world that we’re living in with social media and YouTube and all this stuff, it’s like attention spans I think are some people are just shorter, or they don’t have a lot of time. So if you can get a digestible snippet that hopefully can stick like you will you’re paying attention you’re focused, you’re gonna absorb it that hopefully can help people go about their day feeling a little bit more inspired. So that’s that’s what I like to do. I I go into my episodes just, I’m not very stringent with things. Oops, I just hit my mic, but I’m not very stringent with things with my episode. As well kind of sit down and I’ll just brainstorm for a few minutes, see what comes to mind. And then sometimes I’ll do a few takes on my episodes before it for it turns out the way I want it.
Sonya Looney 30:11
Yeah, it’s incredibly difficult for the listeners to narrow it down to two minutes, especially a big idea. And that is a special takes a special work ethic or practice to be able to take a really big idea, and make it as concise as you do.
Kristel Bauer 30:24
Oh, thank you. And you know, another thing I, I don’t know if you experienced this, but doing being on social media, so doing little clips on Instagram or LinkedIn, I feel like that’s the same kind of concept except with podcasts, then you’re speaking good civility, the verbal. So that I think has helped to just getting practice, trying to condense these ideas so that people are like, it catches their attention, and they’re excited to learn about it.
Sonya Looney 30:52
I think starting a podcast is one of the best things people can do. And I mean, even if you don’t continue with it over for the long haul, just for a conversation skills for the courage to reach out to somebody and maybe it doesn’t work out, maybe it does for you what have been the take biggest takeaways in starting your podcast, maybe pick like three or five,
Kristel Bauer 31:11
I’ve learned so much. One huge takeaway was just the how important relationships are. And that has been relationship building, through my show, and just in life, it’s been pivotal for my personal life and my professional life. So just some of the opportunities as well that have come from building relationships for my show, it’s been really amazing. So I think relationships. Number two, I think trying to be or having practice being at ease with yourself dealing or talking with all different types of people. So I know when I started, I think the first guests that I had on, that was a more visible guests, I remember being all nervous. And it just took practice to just remember, like, we’re all just we’re all people, we’re all in the same boat here. Some of us have different talents, different professions, different experiences. But going into it, I think just from a more level place of really just trying to get to know the person and approaching it with curiosity. So that’s gotten better with time just to be able to have those conversations and, and not build people up too much beforehand. I don’t know if that makes sense. But just I think sometimes if you if you’re thinking I’m going to be talking to a celebrity or, or you know, it can be built up in your head a little bit versus like, I’m just talking with the person to find out about whatever it is we’re gonna be talking about, and try and make sure you can get their insights that they want to share. So that perspective shift for me of just not building it up. Too much has helped me. So definitely relationships, that piece. What else with podcasting, courage, takes a lot of courage, I think especially in the beginning, it’s gotten so much easier now. But I was so nervous with my first podcast episode. So nervous. And that ties into the fear of judgment, what are people going to say? What if they get a really mean review? And that has gotten easier with time and just being able to be like, Oh, if they like it? Amazing. I hope it helps them. And if not, I tried my best is what it is, can’t control that. So those are the three that come to mind.
Sonya Looney 33:22
The fear of other people’s opinions is a really big fear for a lot of people. And you said over time, it’s gotten easier. So what specifically has made that easier?
Kristel Bauer 33:35
I think repetition, maybe it does just like anything else practice, you know, and recognizing that I’m doing the best that I can I think self compassion. I’m not perfect. Like you said, like, What did you say strive to not be perfect, you know, not trying to be perfect. I’m not trying to be perfect. When I first started speaking to I remember thinking, Oh, do I have to be like Tony Robbins? Or do I have to be like, these speakers who are these like huge motivational speakers and that’s not my style. And I was talking with someone they’re like, you just have to be you. So that take the pressure off, it took the pressure off me just be like, Alright, all I have to do is show up as me. I don’t have to pretend or act like someone else to try and act like I know what I’m doing. I can just show up as me. So I think it’s time practice and then just having that mindset of like, it’s going to be what it’s going to be like all I can do is control me and how I show up.
Sonya Looney 34:32
That authenticity piece is so important but so hard to practice and my husband always says that to me like if I’m doing a Keynote or I’m have a big podcast guests coming on. And yeah, you know, you want them to like you and you want to come across, you know, as competent and my husband’s always like, just be yourself and it’ll be fine. But sometimes it’s so hard for us to be ourselves because we want other people to like us and it’s embarrassing for a lot of us to admit. I just want other people to like me, but we are a social species and that Not wanting to please other people is really in their
Kristel Bauer 35:03
right, I think, and I heard this somewhere. So I’m not claiming ownership over this statement. But it was, you can want people to like you, I think everybody will or shouldn’t say, everybody, the majority of people, they want people to like them that is natural. But it’s that versus needing people to like you. So it’s recognizing the difference you want people to like you. But if they don’t like, it’s not like I need them to like, you’re gonna be okay, that’ll be alright. So I think it’s just recognizing the difference there and trying to be trying to just have a good relationship with yourself and taking the time to dedicate to yourself, to be kind to yourself. And that helps. I think, throughout this whole journey, and especially if you’re looking to grow personally, professionally, you’re going to be uncomfortable, you’re going to put yourself out there, you’re going to be in new situations, you’re probably going to say something that you’ll be embarrassed about later, because you’re nervous, like that happens, that’s part of growth, and be proud of yourself for trying be proud of yourself and putting yourself out there. And at the end of the day, I think all of us, we don’t need to take ourselves so seriously all the time either. Think the majority of the time, the other person has no recollection of what happened, it was no big deal on their end, we overanalyze ourselves and give ourselves a hard time much more than we need to.
Sonya Looney 36:24
Something else that just came up when, whenever you were describing that is that you said get a little bit uncomfortable. And I think that a lot of people listening and just people in general, are probably more open to physical discomfort, like people will train for a marathon for the very first time knowing that it’s going to be physically difficult to do that, or, you know, a number of races, or whatever the things are that people are doing. But doing things that make people emotionally uncomfortable, are a lot harder for people like even having a difficult conversation with a loved one about something where you’re standing up for yourself or the emotional discomfort of not being perfect whenever you’re putting things out for the world to judge. So you know, what are your comments on managing emotional discomfort? You said self compassion is one of them.
Kristel Bauer 37:06
Compassion and recognize that the a lot of these emotions will pass. So they’re fleeting. And learning how to handle strong emotions, like learning how to handle discomfort, I think is really important when you’re working to grow personally and professionally. Because that social uncomfortableness or what some people have called impostor syndrome, like I’ve talked with so many people who are extremely visible and extremely successful in the, in the sense of being like financially successful, and having the visibility in the media space. And a lot of them deal with impostor syndrome or feeling uncomfortable in situations. So it’s recognizing that that feeling is natural, it’s normal, when you’re in a new environment, if you’re feeling like out of your element. And for me, it’s just been being proud of myself for doing that and for going for it. So again, it’s that mindset, mindset shift of like, good for you. And it’s okay that I feel this way. Like, I used to be so afraid of public speaking back in college. I was terrified of it. I hated it, I would avoid it at all costs because of that feeling. And now I speak for a living, which is bizarre, but in
Sonya Looney 38:20
college you looking forward to now I’d be like, What the?
Kristel Bauer 38:23
What are you doing? No, I would I would never have guessed. No way, there’s no possible way I would have thought I’d be doing what I’m doing now. But that was a process. And it was learning to embrace that feeling when it is for the greater good of growth. And I think what helped me embrace that was the perspective shift of this is my one life. I don’t want to not live up to my potential because I was afraid because I was limiting myself because I was worried what other people would think like, at the end of the day, when you’re at the end of your life, like you are not going to care at all about those little details like, oh, that person judged me. Who cares? You know, it’s more the bigger picture, the bigger perspective, which that has helped me make huge leaps in my personal and professional life. Just to be just to go for it. And recognize that, you know, you’re gonna feel uncomfortable when you’re pushing out of your zone. Whether that’s public speaking, whether it’s making new friends, whether it’s, you know, it’s trying to take on a leadership role in your career or running that marathon, whatever it is, like, that’s part of it. And so, think just Yeah, give yourself a pat on the back and keep going and those emotions, get comfortable with it and they will pass now they’re not forever.
Sonya Looney 39:50
Yeah, acceptance of the motion, just saying it’s okay, on top of all the things I want to pull on this opinion thread a little bit. So you mentioned that relationships are A big thing that you’ve noticed that podcasts have have helped grow for you. In the Harvard study of adult development, relationships are the one number one most important thing for our well being. But in terms of opinions, we don’t live in a vacuum, there are other people’s opinions that actually do matter to us. So how have you decided whose opinions matter other than your own?
Kristel Bauer 40:21
I think it’s people that are in your inner circle, at least for me, that’s for me, like my inner circle, that my decisions are impacting them. So my family, you know, my husband, that and then I think that’s like, that’s kind of my core. I’m not at this point in my life anyways, looking for validation from a bunch of other people in my life. College me definitely would have been looking for validation from everyone in my like, friend group. And at this point, though, for me, it was more tuning into myself tuning into what I really want to do with my life, what’s important to me, what’s meaningful to me, having that conversation with my husband, my, you know, my partner about like, Does this make sense for our family for our lives together? So that’s kind of where that’s kind of where I’m at. But I think it’s really going to be dependent on the person and who, you know, what are they trying to achieve? What are they trying to do? And plus, like, I was getting insights from other people. When I first started a little bit, as far as like, I was looking for people who had had podcasts, you know, like, what was their journey, like? So it’s not, I’m not saying I’m not getting anyone’s opinions or perspectives, but more when it comes to like, the core decisions. It was really it came down to me tuning into myself, and then my family.
Sonya Looney 41:46
Yeah, and it sounds like the the core values is a huge leading driver for you like is what I’m doing in alignment with these values, and the meaning and purpose that I’m trying to put out into the world. And if that, if that’s in line, then the opinion of others doesn’t really matter as much.
Kristel Bauer 42:02
Right? And then ultimately, you know, having, since I didn’t have a business background, it’s like, well, then it also needs to make sense from a financial perspective. And the business model, like that, I think, was the aftermath. For me, it was first like purpose and meaning and all this stuff. And then it’s like, oh, and how can I make money from that?
Sonya Looney 42:20
You know, it’s, it’s a big thing for people. And for a lot of people, you know, they aren’t, quote, successful in that realm, like they will go after something that they’re passionate about. And I think this is probably the more common story than not is, people want to be able to make money doing the thing that they love. And then they realize, well, this actually isn’t working. So like, what advice or comments do you have for those people? I think
Kristel Bauer 42:42
that is so unique to the person. But like, like, for me, it was a lot of trial and error. And I’m still like finagling that piece. Like I’m not where I want to be with that piece. So I think it’s on my journey, it’s really been learning and fine tuning, and time and growth. And then also this like mentorship. So talking with other people. I’ve met people, I’ve had people on my show where I’m like, they’re doing what, where I want to be in the next few years, and having the courage to ask them for their insights and their help, and getting some amazing feedback. So I think it’s also being courageous enough to ask, and to try and learn and be open to trying things a new way. But again, relationships for me with that one has been really, really helpful.
Sonya Looney 43:31
I think a lot of people really want mentors. And they think, Well, how do I how do I get a mentor? Because from what I understand, it’s not as simple as just emailing somebody that you just met and saying, Hey, will you be my mentor? So like, How have you grown these relationships so that they can be mentorship relationships?
Kristel Bauer 43:48
My podcast? Honestly, my podcast, it’s been people I’ve had on, and then they’ve introduced me to someone, and then that’s, it’s just that’s really what it’s been. It’s been building relationships through conversations through my show. So I think it’s when you’re on a podcast with somebody, you’re having some deeper conversation, sometimes you’re building connection, you’re building trust. And then if you have the courage to then ask for help, or you continue that conversation on I think that opens the door for more possibilities as well, that said, Not everybody’s gonna want to start a podcast. So you know, maybe I think it’s just depending on what the person is looking to do. But I definitely feel like maybe some networking groups are, there has to be some sort of like connection. I feel like to really be able to develop that relationship where people really care enough. I mean, I don’t know I’m sure that there’s different programs, you can do mentorships programs where you’ve never had a conversation with a person I’m sure that’s out there. But at least for me, it’s been helpful to have some sort of relationship with the person first.
Sonya Looney 44:58
Yeah, no, this is that’s a really challenging question because it’s very broad. And I think that a lot of us will think, Well, I want like the best person who’s ever done that thing to be my mentor, which that actually might not be an attainable thing. But something that’s come up for me with mentorship is realizing that you don’t have to know somebody for them to be your mentor, it’d be a lot more helpful if they could give you direct feedback. But this is what this is like, you talking on this podcast, you’re mentoring a ton of different people right now, even if they never meet you or never talk to you. Because they might say, Well, what’s Krystal doing? I’m gonna go look at her model. And maybe I can emulate that, like what you said you are doing.
Kristel Bauer 45:33
Right, right. And I know I’ve had people reach out to me now being like, or I’ve had pas, for example, a PA be like, how did you get to do what you’re doing now? And I’m always open to, you know, helping people, if there’s some sort of like connection there where I feel like, Oh, I see, like, I was there at one point, you know, so I want to be able to kind of pay it forward. And all the lessons that I’ve had, or I’ve had people reach out, like, how did you get into speaking or you know, different things. So I do think that you can reach out to people and you never know, you know, those people might respond. And they might be really excited and happy to help and share feedback. And then I do know that other people have programs, and there’s like business coaching programs. And I mean, on LinkedIn, I see this stuff all the time. So there are definitely things out there where, where people can have support and help with it, too.
Sonya Looney 46:23
How do you manage time, because whenever you own your business, and this is something that I bump up against is you could literally work 24 hours a day, and that’s not good for anybody. Yeah, how do you manage the drive and the time balance with I want to spend time with my family, I want to go for runs, I want to watch tennis matches on TV.
Kristel Bauer 46:43
So it makes it kind of easy for me because I have committed to working to some extent when the kids are at school, and then when my kids are home, I make every effort to not be working. So I still have like stuff will come in, like I’ll respond briefly to things when they’re here. But I really try and have all the other big, chunky stuff done. Now that doesn’t always happen. But that’s really my goal. So my goal is to try and structure my day based on whatever it is I have to do or whatever speaking engagements are coming up, I have to prep for calls I have. So that I can do it in that window when my kids are at school or a camp. And then I also play tennis. So like I before this, I was out playing tennis, and then I know each day what I have to do. And so I just kind of slot it, which is nice when you work for yourself, where you know, I’ll be doing interviews or recording certain times. Speaking engagements, like I know those are in advance so I can prepare for those as needed. But it’s really nice to have that flexibility. I feel very blessed like I can really arrange my schedule so that it works for our family.
Sonya Looney 47:53
Yeah, and it also takes discipline and not in a negative way. But discipline to do the thing that you said you’re going to do on your calendar. And you and I were talking about this a little bit on my end, like how sometimes I don’t hold the commitment that I said I was going to do in my business because I let something else slide in. So you know, how do you hold that boundary around some of the hats that you have to wear in the discipline to make sure that you spend the time doing that thing?
Kristel Bauer 48:15
Who priorities? I think it sounds sometimes it’s easy to put stuff off? If I’m not as excited about it. I think that’s just everybody. Like if you’re, if you’re like, Oh, I kind of have to do that, you know, it’s not something you’re like says I can’t wait to do them. Why like stuff like that, right? You have to organize all that stuff that comes with having your own business. Like, I know, I will put that stuff off if if I have too much time. So I just I put it in my calendar, I set the alert, I look ahead, I’m like, alright, that’s the day. Now I’m not gonna lie there, there have been times where that alert goes off. I’m like, push to the next day. But I know I have a good feel of my schedule where I know like, this has to get done by this time. And I give myself enough wiggle room where I have the flexibility then where I know like, if something comes up, I don’t have to be stuck on like 100% How to do at that time. I give could I create cushion around those types of things. So I think it’s knowing yourself. And if you can make it fun, that helps. Like if there’s a way to make something that you don’t want to do a little bit more enjoyable. Maybe it’s like I’m going to sit outside on my patio and do it. But if you can, or you know I’m going to go get a cup of my favorite tea or my favorite coffee. I’m going to sit down I’m gonna get it done. But I think if I can just tie something I enjoy to that task. It makes it a little bit easier to
Sonya Looney 49:41
I’ve heard you say on other podcasts that you love coffee. So to round this out on the light note. What’s what’s your favorite coffee right now?
Kristel Bauer 49:48
You know I have been drinking mushroom coffee for a bit so Dr. Andrew Weil through my fellowship he is a fan of certain kinds of mushrooms. Some of these not Send me he likes certain kinds of mushrooms and not others, but I’ve had the four Sigmatic mushroom coffee. And it’s called Think. And it has a couple of different kinds of mushrooms in there. And so that’s what I’ve been doing. That’s what I have in the morning. I don’t have coffee, other than in the morning, but yeah, that’s, that’s been my go to, but I’ll switch it up like sometimes I’ll do a little bit of mushroom coffee and then I’ll go back to just organic. Something from the grocery store.
Sonya Looney 50:26
Coffee. Nice. Well, where can people find your podcasts and your website and learn more about you?
Kristel Bauer 50:32
Totally. So my website is www.livegreatly.com The podcast is called Live Greatly. It’s available on all the platforms and I’m on Instagram. I’m on LinkedIn. Sometimes I post on Twitter, but mostly LinkedIn, and Instagram so they can find me there. And yeah, this has been super fun.
Sonya Looney 50:51
Thanks so much. I’m so glad you came on and it was fun to get to know you.
Kristel Bauer 50:54
Thank you so much, Sonya. I really appreciate it.