Meet Jenn Johnson

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jenn Johnson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jenn below.

Hi Jenn, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I’ll never forget sitting in the Ohio Theatre at the Summit of Greatness, listening to Ed Mylett speak. He so passionatly said (and I swear he looked right me), “You are most qualified to help the person you used to be”.

In that moment, I realized how many stories I had been carrying. Stories that told me I wasn’t ready, that I didn’t have it all figured out, that I couldn’t be a coach until my own life was perfectly in order. That one sentence sliced through all of it. It reminded me that my power didn’t come from perfection, it came from experience.

I didn’t need to have every answer. I just needed to stay committed to becoming a better version of myself than I was last week.

When I looked back, I saw everything I had already overcome: Being a single mom for seven years, raising my son almost entirely on my own (with a lot of love and help from my mom), working my way up from wrapping muffins in a bakery to earning a marketing role with Costco, then going back to school at 40 to finally pursue something that felt meaningful.

Each of those steps was proof that I was already doing the work – The inner and outer work of growth, courage, and persistence. And that’s exactly what I now help other women do.

So when imposter syndrome creeps in, I remind myself: I’m not here because I’ve mastered life. I’m here because I’ve lived it. And there are so many women who are standing where I once stood, ready to rise, and I’m deeply qualified to walk beside them.

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?

I’m a PCC certified life coach through ICF, speaker, and retreat facilitator who helps women rewrite the stories they’ve been carrying. The ones that quietly shape how they see themselves, what they believe they deserve, and what they allow themselves to pursue.

Most of the women I work with are high-achieving, big-hearted women who look like they have it all together on the outside, but on the inside, they’re tired and they’re craving more peace, purpose, and connection. My work is about helping them reconnect with who they are beneath the titles, expectations, and “shoulds,” so they can create lives and careers that actually feel as good as they look.

What excites me most about this work is watching women remember their power. Not the kind that’s loud or performative, but the quiet, grounded confidence that comes from knowing who you are and what you want. My work with my clients is always about real growth, real connection, and real joy.

But I didn’t grow up thinking I was going to do anything extraordinary. I grew up believing I wasn’t smart enough for college. I was diagnosed with ADHD later in life, but as a kid in the late ’80s and early ’90s, we didn’t have the understanding we do now, and the stigma around it left me feeling broken. I barely graduated high school and carried that story for years: “College isn’t for me, I’m not smart enough, I’ll never be able to do what other people do”.

So I did what I knew. I worked in the bar and restaurant industry for years. There’s nothing wrong with that path, it serves a purpose for many people! But for me, it became a limitation I didn’t even realize I’d placed on myself. It was safe. It was familiar. And I told myself it was all I was qualified for.

Then I had my son at 35, and everything changed. I was working late nights, coming home at 3 a.m., and realized I couldn’t keep living that way with a baby at home. That’s when I applied for a job at Costco. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was steady and it was a start. From there, something inside me reignited.

A few years later, I decided to go back to school because I knew I wanted to help people, even if I didn’t yet know how. I enrolled in college for social work at 40 years old and just a few weeks later, the world shut down. Overnight, I went from a campus filled with support to sitting alone at my kitchen table trying to figure it out. But I did. My first semester back in college, after 20 years, I made the Dean’s List with a 4.0 GPA.

That moment changed everything. It wasn’t about the grade; it was about proving to myself that I was capable of more than I’d ever believed. It gave me the courage to finally listen to the quiet voice that, that inner knowing: “You were meant to help people heal”.

A few years later, I launched my coaching business and that began the work I now get to do every single day, helping women rewrite their stories and reclaim their joy.

Around that same time, I began attending ACA (Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families) meetings. It was there that I learned what true inner child healing looked like. For the first time, I gave myself permission to feel, to grieve, and to reconnect with the younger version of me I had long silenced.

About a year later, my now husband and I took my 11-year-old son to Disney World, and what happened there was nothing short of transformational. Between the roller coasters, laughter, and fireworks, I found a version of myself I didn’t even know I was missing – The little girl who never got to be carefree or fully seen. The healing that came through joy and play was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

A month later, I made a declaration that I would host a retreat at Disney for women craving that same kind of release and reconnection. And now, it’s happening. From October 16–20, I’ll be leading Once Upon a Healing – A retreat dedicated to helping women heal through laughter, play, and joy.

Each year, I also lead Vision & Victory – A yearlong coaching program for women ready to live with clarity and intention. The program runs from January through December and includes three all-inclusive retreats, weekly one-on-one coaching, and monthly planning sessions that help women stay aligned, focused, and fulfilled throughout the year.

By the end of the year, I’m launching my newest project — Rapid Rise: Growth on the Go — A podcast designed to help women grow personally and professionally through short, actionable conversations that inspire reflection and courage in the middle of real life.

I feel deeply honored to do this work because healing doesn’t only happen through pain or struggle. Sometimes, the most ompactful healing comes through joy.

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?

Looking back, I’d say the three most impactful qualities in my journey have been learning to trust my intuition, my ability to sit with people in their pain, and allowing fear to become my guide instead of my enemy.

For a long time, I ignored my intuition, that quiet inner knowing that always seemed to know before I did. I’d rationalize it, talk myself out of it, or listen to what made logical sense instead of what felt true. But life has a way of teaching you that your intuition isn’t there to hurt you, it’s there to protect and direct you. Now, I don’t just listen to it; I let it lead. It guides how I make decisions in my life, how I parent, and how I coach. It’s rarely loud or dramatic – It’s a whisper – But it’s always right.

The second is my ability to sit with people in their pain. One of the most transactional things we do as humans is ask someone, “How are you?” – And then move on before we ever hear the real answer. But when you take the time to truly be with someone in their pain, not fix them, not cheerlead them, not make it tidy or comfortable, but just be there. That’s where the real healing begins. Holding space for people in their rawness is one of the greatest honors of my work. It’s where I see courage at its purest.

And finally, I’ve learned to let fear be my guide. For most of my life, fear felt like something to avoid or push away. Now, I see it differently. When I feel that knot in my stomach, the urge to run, or the quick judgment that surfaces out of nowhere, that’s not danger. That’s a doorway. It’s pointing me toward something that’s ready to be healed, expanded, or seen. Every time I’ve chosen to get curious about my fear instead of resisting it, I’ve grown.

So if I could give any advice to someone early in their journey, it would be this:
Trust what your gut already knows. Let people be messy and meet them there. And when fear shows up, don’t run from it – Listen! Because what you’re most afraid to look at is often exactly where your next breakthrough is waiting.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I feel overwhelmed, the very first thing I do is get into action.

The easiest thing to do when you’re overwhelmed is to freeze, and I’ve learned that staying still only feeds the feeling. So I start by doing a brain dump. I write down everything that’s swirling in my head! Big things, small things, random things… All of it. Once it’s on paper, I sort it into categories and decide what actually needs my attention today. The rest gets saved for tomorrow.

I also love lists. There’s something so grounding about seeing tasks written out and crossing them off one by one. But one of my favorite hacks, especially when my ADHD brain wants to spiral, is hour tracking. I literally write down what I do each hour. For example, under 8 a.m. I might write: Paid phone bill, checked email, sent contract, took the dog out. Under 9 a.m.: Created newsletter, scrolled Instagram, made breakfast.

Doing this shows me three things:
1- Where I’m wasting time.
2 – How much I’m actually capable of in a day (so I stop beating myself up).
3 – It keeps me from wandering into the kitchen or down the Instagram rabbit hole when I’m supposed to be working.

And when all else fails, I step outside. I stand in the grass barefoot, tilt my face toward the sun, and breathe. I imagine the overwhelm leaving my body through my feet and releasing into the ground. It’s a simple reset, but it works. Every time!

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Image Credits

Stephanie Meyer
Sabrina Suarez

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