In this unstoppable episode, Jaclyn Strominger, Founder of Leap To Your Success, shares how she guides high-achievers to transcend their limits and make bold leaps forward, fostering a culture of confidence and excellence.
You will discover:
– How we lose sight of our dreams and how we can get them back
– Why so many founders, entrepreneurs, and CEOs have self-doubt/imposter syndrome
– Why reaching a goal often leaves us asking, “Now what?”
Episode Transcript
Scott Ritzheimer
Hello, hello and welcome. Welcome, once again to the secrets of the high demand coach podcast. And I am here with yet another high demand coach with us today is the one and only Jaclyn Strominger. She is a high achiever success coach with over 30 years of experience. Her journey began in magazine publishing, embracing entrepreneurship in 2013 she now empowers professionals to excel through a holistic approach that enhances inner strength and outer confidence. Her coaching aims to enable high achievers to make strategic leaps in their careers and their lives, providing support and accountability through challenges and victories alike. The essence of her work is achieved when clients surpass their goals, which is a testament to everything that she stands for. And she’s here with us today. Jacqueline, so excited to have you here, so excited to dive into those even the couple minutes we got to share ahead of time, just been a lot of fun. So I’m looking forward to this conversation. I want to start off out of the gate, and I think this might surprise some folks. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe I’m just kind of in my own world. But what I’ve found in working with high achievers, working with founders, working with entrepreneurs, CEOs, folks that a lot of us look up to as kind of, you know, they must be so confident, they must be so, you know, amazing. I’ve found that self doubt is every bit as common in that group, if not more, than in other populations. And I was just wondering, have you seen the same thing, and if so, like, how does that happen?
Jaclyn Strominger
So first of all, Scott, thank you for having me on such a pleasure to be here. And yes, I would say 100% so many people who are high achievers do have that self doubt or the imposter syndrome. It creeps in because it’s like, oh my god, am I really here? Am I really doing what I’ve what I’m, what I set forth out to be doing? And it’s that validation. And they’re like, I can’t believe I’m here. And so many people have it. I mean, the greatest CEOs have have had it. You know, name them, right? And a lot of times again, it creeps in that, that confident, that imposter syndrome creeps in because they have achieved it. They knew they could do it but they haven’t. It’s like, grasping the fact that they can still maintain it and that they’re really there, and it’s like, oh my God, I’ve done this. Is someone gonna find out that I shouldn’t be here, and in actuality, it’s, it’s helping them, once they have that, it’s helping them change their brain and change the the wording and that what they’re saying to them, you know, what they’re saying to themselves is really important. It’s really shifting. I hate it’s like, it’s interviews. It’s shifting their mindset, but it’s shifting what I call the communication that they say to themselves every day.
Scott Ritzheimer
Right. Right? It’s almost a little cruel. Not that it’s all bad. There’s lots of good things that come from high it, but you kind of work at work and work and think that you’re going to get there, right, and and then you get there, and it’s like, I still have to work really hard, and like you’re saying now, I have to protect all of it. I think that for a lot of folks, it’s almost a little disillusioning in the sense that we think that we can outrun our imposter syndrome by just achieving more by doing more. But I found it just seems like it always catches up. Is that the case? And if so, how do we actually overcome it? What are the changes we need to make?
Jaclyn Strominger
So I it’s, well, there’s two things that you said in there that that I just want to share. So first, I think a lot of times we get to where we want to go, and then it’s like, Okay, now what? Because there’s that, that lack of fulfillment in getting to, you know, to point a like, Oh, I’m here. And it’s like, the now what? And it’s, it’s again, it’s not as fulfilling as we think it is. So you want to keep going after and keep going after. So there’s a two fold thing that I believe that needs to happen, is that we need to change what we’re saying to ourselves, number one, and number two, and how we’re speaking. That’s so important. But number two is really looking at what we are going after, and not necessarily the why, but the want and, and where do we want to go once we’re there and, and I will be first to tell you I was one of those people. I reached this pinnacle in my career, and I was so excited to get to this position. And I got there, and I thought, Okay, now what? How do I maintain it? Am I gonna? People gotta think I’m afraid, because if I don’t maintain it, but I got here, and it doesn’t feel so great. I mean, it’s yes. I can, I could put a plaque on the wall, but when it, when it came down to it, it’s that was going out for the wrong thing, at least in my mind, what I what I needed to focus on. And so when we switched that, and we changed what the focus is on, and where we want to go, be sore, and now that that apostasis, imposter syndrome doesn’t creep in, but our focus changes on what we’re going after, and the business part of it kind of happens, but we see the goals differently and they become more fulfilling.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, and I’d be interested your take on this. For me, it seems like it’s not so much like, Have you chosen the right or wrong goals? There’s lots of people come out and say, This is always a wrong goal, or this is always a right goal. But I’ve found much more importantly than that is what are the right goals for you? Like, are you actually setting your goals? Are you pursuing someone else’s vision for your life? Where do you stand on it.
Jaclyn Strominger
So, huge proponent on each and every one of us, CEO, entrepreneur, person who’s moving up in their career. We each have to have our own set of goals, but it’s all those goals are tied back to our personal mission. And I talk a lot about I have this framework. It’s the LEAP framework, and it starts with leveraging communication. And the leveraging communication is the communication that we say to ourselves in our mission and our mantra statement, looking at and dissecting, what is my achievement code? What’s your achievement code? What’s that achievement code that we need to live by that guides that our guiding force behind us. And how does that work into that mission statement, and then how does that work into the goals that I’m setting for me, both my business and my life and I and I really feel that everybody has their own has their own mission, and that we need to start whether you’re again, no matter where you are in your life, in your career or your business, we need to start by being, first and foremost, the CEOs of our own life. And it starts up here, right? So if you like, think about, you know, I’ll appear that I’m the CEO of my life, and then I have my my personal part and my family, and then I’ve got my business, but it those the code that we live by in our mission starts at the top, and they kind of funnel down into both our business and our life.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, that’s so true
Jaclyn Strominger
And it’s gonna and it’s gonna be so different, like your your goals and your mission may be very different from mine, and our values may be different. But the key is, if you’re running your business and you’re an entrepreneur, the people that you’re bringing in and that that achievement code that you’re living by, that’s also going to create the energy, and as I always say, the that’s the E and the in the LEAP is that vibe is going to attract the right tribe, the right clients, the right partners, and we need to, and again, it incorporates also into that mission.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. So we’ve got someone listening today. They’re already achieving at a very high level. Their friends and family are kind of looking at them saying, like, you’ve got this all figured out, you know. But like, why should someone who’s already performing in a highway. Why should they pursue coaching? And what should they look for in a coach?
Jaclyn Strominger
Oh, God, this is such a great question. So first and foremost, I think everybody, when they’re you know, when you first get out of college, through all throughout your life, I think a coach is there to hold you accountable and to keep you focused on that mission. And we always have to know that the coach is there to help you redefine the mission. Your mission is not something that you just set today and close the book on it and forget about it. It’s evolving. It’s always moving with you. And I, I I believe that everybody needs to have a coach, because those actionable items that we want, it’s hard to hold ourselves accountable. And yes, you could be in a mastermind, and I think those are great, but that one on one, holding you accountable to where you want to go happens in the coaching relationship? Yeah, the coach is there to help you measure, as I like to say, MMA, measure, monitor and adjust your life and your business throughout every stage and age.
Scott Ritzheimer
Right? One of the things, and I couldn’t agree more with that, one of the things I’ve also found that a coach does go back to on your earlier points is to help us navigate the now, what moments, right? It’s one of those things, like, you don’t know this, you succeeded, you accomplish something, and then, you know, especially high achievers find themselves just like, well, now what do I do? You know what? What’s next? Um. I was working with a client, and they did all this work of just kind of freeing themselves up to be the executives they needed to be for the company, right? They they trained folks at delegate. It was awesome. And he came into associates, kind of, like, I don’t know what to do with my hands, you know, it was like, you know, Ricky Bobby moment, you know, and, and I realized it’s like, that’s, that’s actually the perfect time, because you can have someone who can take that outside perspective and really challenge the way that you’re thinking, the way that you’re, you’re behaving, and provide the support through that whole process when folks reach that. Now, what moment, what what advice do you find yourself giving to them more often than not.
Jaclyn Strominger
when they reach that now, what moment we go back to what that mission is, and see what they want, like, what did where did they start? What do they want? And where do they see themselves? You know, in six months, five years, like, where do they want to see themselves? And sometimes it’s, I’m running, I’m I’ve gotten to the point where I can be the person that’s running the company. I don’t need to be in the company, and it creates a different path. Or maybe it’s, oh, I want to do more, or it’s creating the, maybe the philanthropic part of their life. So it really comes back to defining, again, what their mission is. And I think it’s, I think it’s so important that each and every one of us look at that mission and where we want to be in both in our business and our life, and when we get to that now, what? Okay, now I get to do the next thing. And that’s also what I think, the what I love about coaching people is that we can, we can keep those next things on the horizon, and it’s, it’s, it becomes more fluid, versus a stopping point, like, Oh, now what? Oh, I know where to go, Yeah, I have a path. Or if we do need to change the path, we can do it.
Scott Ritzheimer
Right right? And not having to navigate that a lot. There’s just something to be said for that. It’s really important. I love that. I love also that you’ve tied kind of business and life. I found particularly entrepreneurs can, can be guilty of being so dialed in on their business mission, right? And they’re so aligned at the beginning, but they just drift further and further as organization gets bigger and success changes that we they don’t take the opportunity to come back and say, Hey, not just business, but life as well. What would you say for someone who’s who’s feeling that, let’s take an entrepreneur, for example, they’ve kind of built the business. They’ve achieved the goals. But they’re wondering like, is this really it? How do you help them to kind of clarify not just the next hill to die on as a business, but their mission in life?
Jaclyn Strominger
Well, one of the things that we do is that we start looking at where you know what they’re what you break out a lot of people, you use a the wheel of life, of this, I call it the circle of life, and you look at those eight different core things that make that up, whether it’s your personal finance, your relationships, your family, your spirituality, and look at where those all are ranking. And then we want to see is that, you know, where are you in all of those areas. And if there’s something that’s out of alignment and not at like a 10, what do we need to focus on? And then it’s also really driving in and really honing in and thinking, like, not to be corny, but it’s like really helping people find their dreams and get back to it. Because sometimes what ends up happening, you know, is that we we keep going and we’re moving, and we’re doing our business, and sometimes we lose sight of really what that ultimate dream was, and it can change. So we want to bring them back to that, and we start again by looking at the circle of life, and those elements that make up, make that up, and also looking at the direction that they’re going, because they could have built this great business. And instead of saying no, almost like not the now what it’s, what can we do next? What’s the next thing that we can accomplish? It’s going to be the next thing that’s going to fuel my soul with the business, or maybe it’s the point in time where they do need to make as we as I love to say, level up or level out. Is that the point? And we kind of look at that.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, we had a guest on in the past who framed it so well. He said, It’s not have to, it’s get to, right? You can get to this moment where you shift and it’s a new skill set. It’s really it’s really fascinating. So Jaclyn, there’s a question I like to ask all my guests. I’m eager to hear what you have to say. But the question is this, what is the biggest secret you wish wasn’t a secret at all? What’s that one thing that you wish everybody watching or listening today knew?
Jaclyn Strominger
Scott, I have quite a few, but there I would say, what are the biggest secrets? And I guess it’s, you know, then no secrets are really secret, because they’re all out there. But to remember that you are your brand and that networking is not something that networking is really important, and that as we are moving through our business and as an entrepreneur, don’t forget to stay connected with people, because it’s really important, and it does help you stay true to your mission, because you have to be out there connecting. So if you can be out there connecting and you know who you are and what you are and what you want, it’ll help you stay focused.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, so good, so good. So Jaclyn, there’s some folks listening, and it’s just everywhere is resonating with them. They want to know how they can find more out about you, the work that you do, potentially even start working with you as their coach. How can they find more out about you? Where can they go next?
Jaclyn Strominger
The best thing to do is go to my website, go to leaptoyoursuccess.com. And I have an amazing free journal. It’s called the unstoppable achievers journal, about helping people be unstoppable. Grab the journal and what’s the greatest thing is, I invite everybody to grab the complimentary call that comes with it. There’s a QR code in there. So go to my website, leaptoyoursuccess.com.
Scott Ritzheimer
Fantastic, excellent. Well, Jaclyn, thanks for being on the show. Just an honor and privilege having you here, and for those of you watching and listening, you know your time and attention mean the world to us. I hope you got as much out of this conversation as I know I did, and I cannot wait to see you next time. Take care.
Contact Jaclyn Strominger
Jaclyn Strominger is a High Achiever Success Coach with over thirty years of experience. Her journey began in magazine publishing. Embracing entrepreneurship in 2013, she now empowers professionals to excel through a holistic approach that enhances inner strength and outer confidence. Her coaching aims to enable high achievers to make strategic leaps in their careers and lives, providing support and accountability through challenges and victories. The essence of her work is achieved when clients surpass their goals, which is a testament to everything she stands for.
Want to learn more about Jaclyn Strominger’s work at Leap To Your Success? Check out her website at https://leaptoyoursuccess.com/ and get your copy of her Unstoppable Achievers Journal for free!
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