Meet Jaime Fleres

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jaime Fleres a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jaime, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?

Self-care for me is more a lifestyle and devotion to practice than a set of to-dos. While my personal practice is non-negotiable, being a single mother and working full time in a dynamic leadership role requires that my self-care be nimble, flexible and able to move with my life. All the things I do connect me more deeply to myself, allow me to slow down to the speed of my body, and create spaciousness in my being so I can hear my soul.

Some of my non-negotiables include time in nature, solitude, daily dance or physical movement, and meditation, which I see more as a deep conversation with my soul or deepest self. In my best moments, I practice my self care first thing every morning, before the world gets my time, energy and attention. My ideal length of time for self-care is anywhere from 1-3 hours. Yet, some days it looks like dancing in my kitchen while making pancakes, taking a few deep breaths between calls, or putting my feet on the earth for a few moments during a busy day.

I couldn’t function as a leader and serve clients to the extent that I do without my practices. They are my foundation, upon which I build everything else in my life. If they are not strong and sturdy, nothing I build in my life will be either. My practices keep my intuitive energy strong and my connection to myself clear. This helps me show up in greatest service to others.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I founded Whale Song in 2017, two decades into a long career as a professional writer, author and college professor.

I have been coaching, mentoring, editing, and guiding creatives professionally since 2003. I also hold certifications in yoga, Qoya embodied movement, integrative somatic trauma therapy, advanced energy medicine, and other healing modalities.

I’ve worked with hundreds of writers of memoir, self-help + personal development, spiritual and other non-fiction works.

Whale Song is a creative agency specializing in helping visionary change agents write transformational non-fiction books. We show creative professionals on a mission how to write the book that can only be born through them. We help people express themselves – authentically, creatively, powerfully – through writing to make a meaningful contribution to themselves and the world.

We value deep, meaningful, soulful processes over the quick, formulaic, so-called “easy” approach to writing a book. Our work is holistic – we care about and support YOU as a human, not just your words on a page.

We hold writing in reverence as a wild, powerful, creative process, rather than just a way to make money and influence people. While these things have their place in our life, we hold that relationship between you and your creation most essential.

We serve creatives, not the publishing industry. We inform our clients about the industry but don’t exist within or preach from it. We come from the therapeutic writing and personal transformation worlds, not some big publishing house.

We get our clients because we are you.

We offer book coaching, editing and publishing services; retreats and workshops, online courses and more. You can find us at JaimeFleres.com

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three qualities I think have contributed to my success are: relational skill building, commitment to personal growth, and resilience.

Building relational skills has benefited me in myriad ways. I’ve taken weeklong workshops in learning to listen well and deeply and master the art of mirroring. I’ve spent years practicing non-violent communication. This helps people feel deeply seen and heard by me, and ultimately safe with me, which is imperative given the deeply vulnerable and meaningful processes I guide my clients through.

My commitment to personal growth has supported my success in myriad ways as well. One, I’m ever-evolving into the most potent and true expression of my being. I am devoted to personal responsibility and my values, which help me shine as a leader. I am in competition with no one and focus only on how to be the best me I can be. Further, as a coach to those writing about personal growth, I deeply understand the realms in which they are writing and can contribute far more than editorial skills to their journey into authorship. I really get what they are trying to share and can use my embodied skills and understanding to support their journey. My own personal growth journey has made me strong, stable, reliable and trustworthy, which I think others appreciate about me.

Resilience. Lastly, becoming the leader I am today (and will continue to become) has required a high level of grit, tenacity and resilience. I have succeeded because I have refused to give up, even when it would have made a lot of sense to throw in the towel. I’ve gotten up after every “failure”- after feeling it fully, I’ve brushed myself off and tried again. I’ve leaned into rough edges and found the path forward, even when it was narrow and undefined. Getting out of my comfort zone again and again with a growth mindset and a willingness to keep finding the way has been essential on my journey.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

I heard once from a fellow entrepreneur: “new level, new devil.” This whole year is one big massive upleveling experience for me professionally, which is both thrilling and challenging. My business is growing into territory I have never been in before. I am learning new leadership skills, time management efficiencies, work-life balance, discernment, and team building strategies, while serving a full clientele + waitlist. I love the ways that my business grows me as a person and invites me into a greater expression of myself. Having a growth mindset and a willingness to be nimble, humble, confident, and clear with myself are key to how I am meeting these new challenges. It’s easy to get caught in the momentum of all the opportunities and lose my ground. So I have to be extra mindful to make space for myself, the practices that nourish me, my relationships, and solitude. I am also being challenged to keep orienting to the choices in front of me from a place of deep connection to my intentions instead of knee-jerk reacting to requests and demands from the world around me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jaimefleres.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/whalesongcreative

Image Credits

Santiago Gabay Photography