We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Karolyn Mckinley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Karolyn below.
Karolyn, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I know a lot of people consider their ‘purpose’ to be something related to their work in the world, but for me it’s more than that, it’s simply about being the truest, most authentic version of me – to follow my heart.
It’s like Paul Coelho said:
“Maybe the journey isn’t about becoming anything.
Maybe it’s about unbecoming everything that isn’t really you, so that you can be who you were meant to be in the first place. ”
That said, I haven’t always been brave enough to be that, and so I’ve had significant choice points throughout my life to get clear on who I am, and to stand up for that, or suffer the consequences of my resistance.
Which usually showed up as some mysterious ailment that wouldn’t clear up until I got back into alignment.
One such time stands out as being a major catalyst for putting me on the path to what I’m doing now as a coach and a therapist, which is the perfect match to support my full expression and interests.
I was in my late twenties, and newly married.
My former husband and I had just gotten back from a 5-month bike trip through Australia and New Zealand, and we were staying with friends in California while we figured out our next move.
Even though I had had all that time on my bike to think about what I wanted to do with my life, I didn’t have a clear plan for what that looked like when I got home.
But one day, while I was out laying in my friend’s hammock thinking about it all, I felt this big whoosh of emotion, and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude, coupled with a rock-solid desire to give back and be of service, overcame me.
So much so, that I called out to the powers-that-be that might be listening, that I was committed to that vision and could they help me make it happen.
Imagine my surprise then, when I landed in the ER within days of that declaration because of debilitating anxiety and panic attacks!
Which made absolutely NO sense, as I was in the best shape of my life and had no prior history of anxiety or depression.
It literally came out of the blue!
And not only that, I was afraid to drive and didn’t want to leave the house.
I didn’t know what in the world was happening to me, but I knew I needed help in figuring it out.
Because I didn’t want to take drugs just to mask it.
So as providence would have it, I happened upon an article in a local magazine about spiritual awakening and the signs and symptoms of a kundalini crisis. I had all of them.
I reached out to the author of the article and they put me in touch with a local therapist who worked with people experiencing what I was going through.
And it was through that divinely-guided connection that I not only healed in rapid time, but I discovered how much I loved the work my therapist did with me, and so applied to graduate school to become a therapist too.
It was also through her mentoring that I owned how deeply interested I was in exploring the spiritual side of life, and answering the big questions about why we’re here, and what our purpose is as humans.
It felt like coming home to myself, as I had always been curious about such things as a child, and had all kinds of mystical experiences that I was reluctant to talk about because I didn’t want people to think I was weird or reject me.
But it still took many years, and lots of similarly challenging experiences to fully own the truth of who I am, and what I’m here to do.
Which is to own my magic and help you do that too!
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 coach and a therapist, but in reality I am so much more than that, and so are YOU!
In truth, we came here to create a life we love – that stretches, evolves and expands us in ways that are meaningful to our soul’s journey.
So that’ll always include some challenges, but when you understand how to use them as catalysts instead of obstacles, there’s really nothing to fear when they do arise.
Rather, I see fear as fuel, as a signal that I’m out of alignment or needing to push outside my familiar comfort zone.
Learning how to hang in the tension of going for what’s new and unknown vs. collapsing back into what I already know is safe for me to do, or be, accounts for a lot of what I’ve been able to accomplish and create.
And when I look back over my life, my greatest challenges always put me on a path to deeper understanding, connection and love for myself and others, so I welcome them.
They also helped me understand and serve my clients better.
And I’m glad I was a therapist before I became a coach, because it adds so much depth to the work I do now, which is primarily about helping people deeply know and claim their unique genius, their ‘greatness’. That’s how you truly thrive!
Because as a therapist, I understand what blocks and prevents people from doing that; which is usually all the ways you were programmed and had to adapt as a child to your environment in order to survive.
It’s because the minute you were born you had to figure out how the world works and who you needed to be in order to fit in and feel loved and safe.
Unfortunately that often means who you truly are, the genius part of you, likely had to take a back seat while you focused on getting those survival needs met.
And for most people, that doesn’t change much over their lifetime.
That is until you start questioning why you’re not feeling more satisfied and fulfilled.
Or maybe its when you lose your job, or a significant relationship goes south, or you have a health or financial crisis. Those are the things that usually inspire people to seek out a therapist or a coach like me.
And that’s why I love combining those two roles.
As therapist I can trace the roots of your dissatisfaction with life and help you heal that, but as a coach, my job is to help you dream way bigger than you ever have, and give you all the tools to make those dreams come true!
But what makes my work really different is that I can tap in and intuitively pick up what’s possible for you to create i.e. the potential you haven’t yet claimed or expressed, or even know about.
I can name what that is even if I don’t know much about you, perhaps even more so, because the less I know about you, then I’m not clouding that intuitive knowing with information that might influence what I pick up about you.
People are often surprised by what I share with them, because they don’t often feel so seen or understood. They’ve rarely let themselves believe they can be, or do, what I see they are actually capable of – their greatness, in all its glory!
But it’s my absolute greatest joy to help them own it and become it!
And my favorite way to do that is both working 1:1 with people and leading small group masterminds, where we dig in deep and support each other in going after our biggest dreams.
I also offer various masterclasses on different topics related to self-growth and transformation from time to time, so I invite you to reach out or get on my email list if you want to find out more about what’s coming up and how to work with me.
I’d love to help you create a life you love and where you’re truly thriving!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My advice to whoever is reading this….this is what I know for sure, but took me a lifetime to learn:
There’s a reality where life is simple, more ease-filled, rich and abundant.
That flows from alignment, creative self-expression, connection and service.
Where you truly thrive, instead of using all your energy just to survive.
But it requires three things of you:
1) Getting honest about what you truly desire,
2) Braving up to claim it,
3) And following your heart, no matter what.
Even, and especially, when you don’t yet have evidence of it working or have an entirely clear path forward.
It takes courage to fully trust your intuition to guide you in taking your next steps, instead of your fears.
And then following through, and taking action on the guidance you’re given.
But when you do, it’ll lead you to a life you truly love and more!
And by the way, you don’t need to excavate all of your wounds, or fix what you believe is wrong with you before you can go for what you want.
Why? Because you’re not the sum total of what happened to you.
You’re SO much more than that!
And I get you used what happened to you in the past in hopes of answering this question: “Why do I hurt?”
And then created stories around that to make it mean something about you whether you’re aware of that or not ….that you’re somehow not lovable, worthy, or enough.
Not capable, or perfect enough.
That maybe you don’t belong.
But it’s mostly those stories that are in the way of creating what you desire.
Fortunately they’re all lies.
You’re not inherently broken, therefore you don’t need fixing.
Time to write a new story about what’s possible my friend.
That you’re here to express the magic that is in you, as you.
So you can see it everywhere when you do.
You don’t manifest what you want.
You manifest who you’re being.
So what if you didn’t have to ‘learn how to love yourself’, but learn to love BEING yourself, as the way to living a beautiful life?
Would you like that?
To be the match to what you desire right now?
No more waiting.
No more fixing.
Just creating what you’d love?
Or better yet, how about you follow your highest excitement, and let life surprise you!
If you do that, your life will be amazing, everything and more than you could ever dream.
I’d love that for you. ❤️
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
My ideal client is simply the one who is willing to go on the journey of embodying that they were born worthy and nothing has changed. Once you do that, the universe starts opening doors to make it a reality!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alchemyofliving.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karolyn_mckinley/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alchemyofliving/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/services/page/31430b3249b08a7722/
- Other: Insight Timer is where I have some of my most popular guided meditations posted.:
https://insig.ht/XYLF9D5k7Pb?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=live_stream_share
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