We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Lehr recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer , thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
I grew up in a rural area and both my parents worked. So my siblings and I had to do a lot of work, from housework to cooking to gardening to cleaning to shoveling snow. I learned that work was part of survival. This is the ground of self-discipline. Also, I saw my father work on his illustrations and art and saw the discipline he had. Later, when I was learning to paint, I would set up a still life and paint for an hour, then take a 10-minute break, then paint for another hour and so on. This was while I was still a teenager. So I learned to focus. I learned it takes persistent effort for a result. I learned to delay gratification to bring to life whatever it was I wanted to accomplish.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As a child, I wanted to be a dancer, a writer, and a veterinarian. But there were no opportunities to be a dancer, and I could not tolerate blood or pain, so becoming a veterinarian was out. I have journaled and written since I was small. I had a long and winding path to the person I am now. Because I had very low self-esteem as a child, once I got out into the world and relationships, I eventually realized I had to heal this part of myself. During this journey, I went from training as an artist to taking many creative writing courses, working in the motion picture industry (in the camera department), and becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist. All the while, I was working on healing myself, whether through personal self-work, 12-step work, personal therapy, or training to become a therapist. As I worked as a therapist, I became aware of how many couples needed more help than they could afford. I got the idea of creating an educational platform that would help individuals and couples. I took a lot of advanced training to have the foundation I needed to create this platform – now the WeConcile App. My background skills also came into play because starting a business requires a bucketload of skills. Especially a start-up where one or two people do everything. We are really proud of the WeConcile app. We’ve just added the WeConcile Wizard, which is an AI chat where the users can access all of the content via the questions they ask. We are currently working on improvements and marketing.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The most impactful qualities, skills and areas of knowledge on my journey have been my ability to heal myself and others, developing my intuition, and my persistence. To heal, you must know that you want to self actualize and develop to your fullest potential. Once you decide you want this, life will throw possibilities to you. You simply have to chose them. To develop your intuition, you must honor that part of yourself. Journaling helps. Learning to listen to your inner voice takes time and practice. To develop persistence, you must believe in yourself and continue despite the obstacles. What is life but obstacle after obstacle anyway? And if you were to stop, would you be any happier? Probably not. So persist away!
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
When I was a teenager, I read a book about Albert Schweitzer. Albert was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. I think reading about a man who was so developed in so many areas set up a map of what was possible for me. We don’t have to be just one thing. We can be exemplary in many ways, in many different fields. Why should we just be good at one thing? Why can’t we help the world while also being an artist or a writer? Why can’t we do what others feel may be impossible?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://weconcile.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weconcile/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeConcile/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-j-lehr-5846718/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsd-X1BvZv4l4jKkWQmsZ7Q
- Other: https://www.jenniferlehrmft.com/
