Meet Jennie Armstrong

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

Hi Jennie, 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.

Here’s the thing: A lot has been written about imposter syndrome, but I believe most advice is surface-level (“Just believe in yourself!”) and doesn’t actually get to what’s going on underneath.

For me, imposter syndrome was rooted in toxic perfectionism. I understood what my imposter syndrome was causing: an inability to take action on my biggest dreams and keeping me in a place of judgment. But it wasn’t until I started doing inner child work that I was able to uncover the why.

Perfectionism is a way we both cause emotional self-harm (because we have set a bar we can never reach) and also gives us an out from claiming and going for the things we truly desire.

The emotions underlying my imposter syndrome were 1) a desire for safety, which made me play small and be risk-adverse and 2) a fear of repercussions if I didn’t do things “perfectly.”

Once you do the work to understand what is driving your imposter syndrome, you can start healing your nervous system and taking big leaps in service of your biggest dreams. You’ll be able to unwind old stories that aren’t true anymore and meet your highest self right where you’re at in the present.

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?

My big “why” is that I want to see as many women as possible in positions of power or running their own businesses or organizations that are dedicated to social good. I love being able to support women at every step of that journey so that we can avoid burnout, bring our magic, and make the biggest impact possible.

I became an entrepreneur in 2016 during peak #girlboss fervor, and I never understood wanting to re-create the same patriarchal box I had left behind.

Instead, I wanted to redefine what “making it” looked like. To build an entirely new way of running a business and growing as a leader, including:

— Leading with my intuition
— Prioritizing 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 over 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 (aka moving from “go” energy to “flow” energy)
— Embracing that work happens in seasons and isn’t a static experience
— Valuing collaboration over competition
— Replacing people-pleasing with strong boundaries

This is what feminine leadership looks like, and I fully embraced it.

𝗧𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲.

It is centered on being wholly inclusive, leading with love, centering our creativity and intuition, and knowing that authenticity and magnetism comes from our vulnerability.

After nearly 9 years of running my own creative agency and consulting company and serving as a State Representative in Alaska’s Legislature, I am now focusing all of my efforts on coaching and supporting other mission-driven consultants who are looking for someone to support them at the intersection of strategy and intuition.

Our flagship course, The Legacy Collective, is an all-in-one brand kit, strategy and storytelling-fueled website template, and comprehensive course on defining and launching your business. Learn more: https://www.wildawakecreative.com/legacy

We’ve also recently launched our waitlist for Consultant Catalyst, which will launch in early 2025. This is a membership program with a robust course and group coaching. Consultants will have access to everything from:

— an attorney-vetted contract and legal templates library
— a robust personal and leadership development program
— all of the templates and processes from my own consulting practice (Asana templates and training, proposals, SOPs, and anything else you could ever need in running your business)
— live coaching, guest teachers, a book club, in person events, and so much more!
— the entire Legacy Collective course

Learn more: https://www.wildawakecreative.com/catalyst-waitlist

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?

These are the three most important things every entrepreneur needs:

1) Daily non-negotiables: How do you show up for yourself every day, no matter what? These non-negotiables turn into habits that end up having a waterfall effect, spurring other positive habits in your life. My current non-negotiables are: walk, meditate, journal, and don’t start or end my day with my phone.

2) Mindset + embodiment work: As a leader, your mindset becomes the company’s mindset, and the ceiling for what you think you can achieve becomes the company’s ceiling. The more time you spend uncovering your limiting beliefs and healing your nervous system, the more you will find peace and success in your business.

3) Strong systems + operations: So many businesses fail not because the founder isn’t brilliant or the idea isn’t great, but because strong project management and repeatable systems aren’t in place. This is the most important investment you can make from day one in your business if you want to scale and sustain with ease.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

I’ve read a lot of self-help and business books over the years, and one of the most impactful ones has been Bending Reality by Victoria Song. After reading this book twice, here are two of my favorite learnings:

“Your rate of expansion is equal to the rate at which you’re releasing contractions.”
— I believe fiercely that manifesting and positive mindset work isn’t sustainable without also doing inner child and shadow work. We can only hold onto expansion if we’ve also worked to face our contractions.

“I feel scared… and I love that!”
— A powerful way to rewire your brain when faced with uncomfortable emotions is to allow yourself to feel safe while experiencing that emotion. By adding “…and I love that!” to the end of each “I feel angry/helpless/lonely/etc” statement. we create a new pathway in our mind. If we silo our emotions instead of integrating them, we can’t reach full expansion and it keeps our nervous system wound up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wildawakecreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wild_awake_creative/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniemarmstrong/