Meet Liz.
She’s a Health Coach, entrepreneur and one of my favorite humans in our WeWork coworking space. Liz is a gem, and learning more about her in this interview left me so inspired. I hope you get as much out of this Soul Chat as much as I did. Enjoy!
Name: Elizabeth Lynn Traines • Age: 31 • Hometown: Glencoe, IL • Profession: Health Coach • Website: liztraines.com
How did you decide you were going to start your own business?
“I knew from a young age that I eventually wanted my own business.
I would tell people that even in high school. I wasn’t quite sure what it would be, but I knew that I had an entrepreneurial spirit that wanted to be ignited.
After college graduation, though, I dove into the finance industry and worked in a really stressful corporate environment for 8 years. I worked crazy hours and was always answering to someone else. I just started realizing over time that I don’t fit into that mold and that I need flexibility in order to be happy and to lead an authentic lifestyle that works for me.
I had a series of “aha” moments. I had the “you’re quitting your job moment.” I had the “I don’t want to work for anyone else,” moment.
Once I realized what I wanted to do, whether it was coaching or social work, I knew I wanted to do it myself. I wanted it to be purely my vision and all of my effort going into what I was building.
It was worth taking the leap, but first, I had to have a feeling of what it is I really want to do.”
When did you realize you had to quit your finance job?
I made the decision to quit after a really stressful NYC-based project. My team would stay awake working until 2AM and then need to be up again by 7AM for days on end.
I was in the middle of Times Square walking back to my hotel when I had the epiphany. This was not how I wanted to live my life, and I was the only one that would put a stop to it. I realized that putting me and my health first was the most important thing to me, and it was time. I put in my notice once the project was over.
In the process of leaving, I had applied to some grad school programs. I was very much in the mindset of “you can’t quit your job without having something lined up.” I’d get in my head like, “what are you thinking?!” “You have to be able to tell people something!”
I was still in that mindset once I quit my job. I was just so scared to be like, “hey everyone, I’m not working!” I was stuck in the status quo and was doing what I ‘should’ do instead of doing what I wanted to do. So I initially started applying to social work grad school programs and that was what I would tell people.
Social work was getting at something that I’m very interested in. I love talking to people and learning their stories. I wanted to hopefully help people learn from things that I’ve gone through so I can prevent them from feeling pain that I’ve felt.
I think we can learn so much from each other and there’s not enough connection in our world. And there are aren’t enough ways to find your people so we can not feel so alone.”
Why not social work?
“I ended up applying to three social work programs…and I got rejected from all three. So a part of me was forced to be like, “ok, this plan is not going to work.”
There was no freak-out moment, which I thought I would have had. The old me would have had the freak-out moment and be like “What is my plan B? I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
I was so curious why I didn’t get in. I got rejected from three schools and I had social worker friends look over my applications. I thought I did all my due diligence to get the right things in my essays while staying true to myself. I was able to get feedback on my applications and one stood out from the University of Chicago. They basically told me that, based on my interests, it didn’t sound like ‘me.’ I wanted to work one-on-one with people– not drive policy change.
I thought to myself, “you know, I don’t think this is for me either.” So they did me a favor, it was not the right path.
How did you land on health coaching?
“I started looking into coaching programs after I got rejected. I signed up for one coaching program that I learned about through another coach. I was talking to people in different industries and different worlds to hone in on what I wanted to do.
In the meantime, I had two different friends that told me about their health coaching certification around the same time. They both thought it could be a really awesome program for me to do. Two different people told me about the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and I hadn’t heard anything about it before.
So I went to their website and then I called and there was a course starting soon. After reading about it and then talking to the people, I knew it sounded perfect. It just seemed like it coupled all of my interests, including health and wellness.
I did some corporate wellness stuff on the side of my old job. I got to experiment with different things and do some personal development at Accenture which was really cool.
They encouraged me to do a program that would get people moving and healthier and I ended up creating this global program to connect people in my finance group from all over the world. Over 150 people signed up and would share things like, “we’re taking a walk with our group in Singapore!” It was so awesome.
I knew how rewarding that experience was but it was a lot of work. I had a day job and trying to pull together powerpoints to summarize everything that happened in all these different offices became like a full-time job. And now, lo and behold, I’m doing something so similar for individuals, and hopefully on a grander scale as well!”
What was the biggest challenge you faced in this past year?
“My greatest challenge was staying true to myself in this whole process and not comparing myself to others.
It’s this balance of building a business off of what a market needs and then also what you want to build– and health coaching is very undefined. You can do so many different things which is the coolest thing and the toughest part.
I have so many different interests within health and wellness, and I had to decide what I wanted my main focus to be. If I had too many things I wanted to focus on, then I’m not great at anything. I wanted people to be able to say, “Oh, Liz does that. She can help you.”
So that has been really challenging. Going on social media and reading about other’s people’s websites, you’re just like “Oh, that sounds like me, and that definitely doesn’t.” Then there’s the, “OH NO, I should probably be doing that.”
At the beginning, I found myself doing things that I thought everyone else in health coaching was doing. I’d be like, “everyone is doing a cleanse right now, I have to do a cleanse!”
Now that I’m five months in, and I know that I don’t really want to do cleanses. I may end up doing it one-on-one with clients, but I don’t want to run giant cleanses. I want to run work-life balance workshops and goal-setting workshops.
I really want to help people focus on building a sustainable lifestyle while finding their most authentic and fulfilling sense of themselves…And then health happens.
When you’re really living in your moment and living in the best way you can, your weight just starts to fall off. It happens when you’re actually living your values and not according to what society tells you or what your family tells you or whomever it is that is influencing you.”
What makes your business unique?
“I don’t find many people that have this corporate experience to be like, “I get you.” I understand the daily grind. I understand the stressors of being at a big company, or even at a small company, maybe with a boss you don’t like or that you have differing views on your lifestyle.
I understand what motivates people. I understand the pressure of competition and the desire to succeed in whatever it is you’re doing, but I also know when it’s time to move on.
I can really help you navigate whatever situation you’re in to help you live a balanced, fulfilling life, or I can help you get out of that situation and start over while feeling like you have somebody.
A lot of people are like, “first I have to graduate college, then, OMG I have to get a job and I have to make money to sustain this lifestyle that I think I need.” Myself included.
But I got to take a step back from what I was living and reinvestigating what really mattered to me and what I valued. I like to think that I got to rebuild my lifestyle. I get to do the things I want to do and that I really enjoy doing. And then I built my career around it. It’s awesome that I’ve gotten to do it– I’m very grateful for it.
I think a lot of people have that opportunity but might not see it…or they might be scared of it. It’s probably fear, or savings, or slowing down, or stopping. People are scared of slowing down. They think it’s giving up or something. Slowing down can be really good to reexamine your beliefs and your world and what you want it to be.”
What’s the best thing that happened to you this year?
“This last year has been incredibly liberating. Trusting myself has probably been the biggest thing.
I was just so scared to be like “you’re totally going on out on a limb and going with your gut.” I knew I had gut feelings but I never listened to them. And I don’t think I was even aware of how much I was neglecting my gut.
So creating that trust with myself has been the best thing. It’s helping me navigate my life and not only my career. You know, with relationships, with friends, with boyfriends, just dating in general.
Now I just know and trust that if I go on two dates with somebody and I’m not feeling it, it’s probably not right. I used to be like “but it could happen, it could grow, it could be great!” And now I’m like “no, you’re wasting your time. You know yourself.”
I’m listening to myself and taking action from it so hopefully when it is the right one I’ll be like, “OMG YES! This is it!” It might be an instant thing but I won’t know until I know!”
What is one thing in your routine that you can’t imagine taking out?
Journaling is so important. It keeps me centered, it keeps me grateful. It helps me stay clear on what my priorities are.
That and breakfast. My breakfast routine has become so key. I get up and I make a bowl of something. It’s always a grain, a fruit, nuts, and then dried figs. I just take the time to eat it and drink coffee and relax for like, 15 minutes at home.
I didn’t used to make time for myself and it’s so important. It’s kind of my like my morning meditation or quiet time.
What piece of advice would you have given to your younger self?
“Trust your path. I was always so hung up on “what’s the right thing to do? What should I be doing?” I was always looking for something instead of living in the moment. That could go to my younger self, my older self and myself right now.
Whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish, if you are truly trying to accomplish that, you are on your authentic path to getting there. And don’t compare. It’s very hard not to do, and especially because you get inspired when you look at others. But there’s a difference between inspiration and comparing— it’s a fine line.
Just trust yourself and that you will find that path to get to wherever it is you want to go. You just have to let it be and stop overthinking.”
One final piece of advice?
Eat your greens! Food is your fuel. Healthy eating gives you the energy to get to where you want to go. So every time you eat the burgers and fries, fully enjoy them. But you’re probably going to feel like shit after and need more sleep and wake up feeling groggy the next day, so stay focused!
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