We were lucky to catch up with Cassandra McCall recently and have shared our conversation below.
Cassandra, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I love this question so much. This is something my clients ask a lot… as in, “what is my purpose?” and “how do I find it?” or the one everyone asked you as a kid “what do you want to be when you grow up?” As if our purpose is one destination, but in reality, it’s more of a “choose your own adventure” and you can certainly have multiple purposes as you change and decide to pivot. I bought into that single destination theory early on, and I thought I had to find what that was, like there was some missing key I just didn’t have. As a teenager, I wanted to be an artist and costume designer, but my parents pushed me to go to school to find a “real job.” As a daughter of small business owners, they instinctively knew the trials & tribulations of working for yourself, and prodded me to love the idea of a stable, corporate job. I realize now they meant well, but this put me on a path of mistrusting myself and doing what others expected of me, rather than following what lit me up inside.
On paper, I’ve done some incredible things, in fancy-titled corporate roles, private jets with celebrities but none of it brought me joy. I followed the titles and the money because that’s what I thought would bring me happiness and what was expected of me: to climb some rickety corporate ladder that ended at a glass ceiling — it felt soulless and unfulfilling. When my Mom passed away, it was a sobering realization that I had no freaking idea who I really was and what the heck I wanted to “be.” I was 30 years old, and up until that point, I lived for others and had lost myself along the way. I knew that this needed to change, to figure out my own footing in the world. I started following what really lit me up, taking risks and chances that the old me would never in a million years have done. I was scared sh*tless as it meant quitting a cushy yet boring job to start my own business. I cashed out my savings, and had a few short glory years before 2020 and lost it all. And I found myself asking this question all over again. So once again, I started asking myself lots of questions, dusting myself off and starting over.
Looking back, I realize my purpose was primarily due to the tapestry of the stops and starts, scenic routes and detours: part Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, part Beetlejuice, part Never Ending Story. All of this was paving the way for me to truly learn more about myself, and rediscover what really lit me up, and how to trust my intuition and trust that I could figure it out. My purpose is supporting others to reconnect deeper to themselves, to ask the soulful questions and not be afraid to look within. To take risks and bet on themselves, to trust their instincts and coax out their personal “method to their magic” — because I believe it’s why we are here. To share our own innate magic with others, however we can. My purpose is to support creative & neurospicy entrepreneurs with holistic tools and practical skills to help them succeed, so that they can make a greater positive impact for themselves and the world. It allows my own creative, queer, neurospicy, inner child to heal, and help others who find themselves at a crossroads. I believe we all have a map, but sometimes you just need a guide or a translator.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My purpose now is supporting others to reconnect deeper to themselves, to trust their instincts and coax out their personal brand of magic to create a wildly successful business or career and help to leave this world a better place. Through my journey as a polymath, I’ve taken decades to perfect my unique blend of creative, holistic, yet practical business coaching and consulting; and it feels so good to help others along their journey too.
Prior to my current work, I spent 25 years in operations and administration, building scalable systems and creating sustainable business strategies for million dollar brands, beginning to mid-stage entrepreneurs, and small business owners of all flavors.
As a regenerative business coach, I work with creatives and neurospicy folx who know they have something special to share, but get overwhelmed at how to scale, grow or pivot. I help them feel more aligned with themselves, more grounded in the proverbial grind, and create systems for both internal and external transformation. As a meditation teacher, astrologer and akashic record practitioner, I love helping my clients connect deeper with their soul, explore their purpose and cast off the “shoulds.”
My programs are at the intersection of the holistic and the practical, and three times a year I run my signature 90 day bootcamp called “Spirit and Systems: How to Run Your Business without Losing Your Soul,” which weaves together creative and neurospicy-friendly business coaching, marketing and automations along with inner work and personal transformation. I also offer bespoke 6 month individual coaching packages, and one-off Systems Strategy Sessions, where I can support a client with their business growth and strategy from a neurodivergent standpoint. Spirit and Systems ™ starts back late July, and I’m currently working on my launch of a podcast, under the same name.
I also run community-supported sliding scale workshops every new and full moon for those who want to call in new beginnings for themselves or their business, or cast off things that are no longer serving them. You can find all of this at cassandramccall.com, or on instagram at @spiritandsystems. My other brand, fillingthevessel houses most of my metaphysical work – if business coaching doesn’t interest you, but transformational inner work does. You can find out more by going to fillingthevessel.com.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three qualities that have been the most impactful in my journey are: curiosity, kindness and perseverance. Curiosity is behind my zest for knowledge and has followed me since I was a kid. I genuinely want to know what makes people tick, why people do the things they do, the stories we tell ourselves and others, and it comes down to understanding. I love inquiring about why and how people think the way they do, what their values are, where they learned them from. Curiosity has gotten me into some good trouble, and it also helped me to crawl out of several really dark places when I couldn’t see the path forward. If I had to distill my entire journey as a human, it would come down to curiosity.
Maya Angelou’s quote, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” while I worry that it might sound trite, her quote is written on every fiber of my being. It’s connected with my personal and business values, which connects back to integrity and kindness. It looks like showing up and doing the things you say you’ll do, and also creating and upholding your boundaries to stand firm knowing whether something is a “F*ck Yes or a Hell No.” That to me is kindness. It’s about respect for yourself and for others, and having personal and professional integrity. Honesty, I am still learning how to be kinder to myself — it’s easier for me to be kind to others first, although in my 40s, it’s getting easier.
Which brings us to perseverance, and this has been the hardest and most rewarding quality to embody. Many, many times I’ve wanted to give up, either on myself, my business, and even my family and walk away. As a rambunctious, rebellious teen, I idolized Thelma and Louise at the end — where they drove off the cliff — and frankly NOT saying “F*ck it” is perseverance. It’s a funny bedfellow with frustration and struggle, but also joy, love and happiness. The upside is that it brought me a perspective that I wouldn’t have today.
For anyone who is early in their journey, or even if you’re starting over in your 30s or 40s practicing kindness with yourself can be challenging but it’s so so worth it. I love John Lennon’s quote: “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” This and, practice kindness towards others. We really don’t know what internal battles people are fighting.
If you can, get curious and ask yourself four questions when you feel stuck or find yourself in a stressful situation:
Question 1: Is it true?
Question 2: Can you absolutely know it’s true?
Question 3: How do you react—what happens—when you believe that thought?
Question 4: Who would you be without the thought?
These are the basis of The Work by Byron Katie, which is also a pillar of my coaching certifications and meditation teachings.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
If I had to pick another quality, it would be collaboration. I truly believe in the adage, “if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” I can’t possibly do nor see all the cool and impactful things in this life on my own, and collaboration I believe is how we make this world a more equitable, loving, sustainable and regenerative place for our current generations, and those to come.
I would love to collaborate with other curious folx who are also on a mission to change the way entrepreneurs and small business owners have access to capital and lending (aka more money to the 99% please), those who are inspired by kindness, curiosity and perseverance, those who have audiences both large and small who would potentially benefit from connecting and collaborating with an empowered, spirit-full business coach and meditation teacher, and other creatives and neurospicy folx who want to connect. As someone smart once said, your network is your net worth, and I really love meeting and working with others, teaching, speaking, listening, learning and sharing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cassandramccall.com // www.fillingthevessel.com
- Instagram: @spiritandsystems
Image Credits
Lacey Moranville
