Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kristen Olson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kristen, 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?
Finding your purpose is no small task. Thinking about how you were as a young child is a good place to start. Before any real influence, what were you interested in? What toys did you play with? What questions did you ask your parents or activities did you like to do? From there, think about the things you love to do now (or have always loved doing) and what brings you joy. If you are serving your purpose, whatever it is, you will enjoy it. You should feel flow and in alignment- it can still be challenging, but always feel worth it. I think our purpose is written in the stars long before we think we get to choose it! It certainly took me a long time to dial into mine- I had to experience failure and success, try new things, get to myself on a deeper level and figure out what I actually cared about. Living a life of service and being useful was always important to me- long before I had the language to describe it. I loved coaching youth and high school lacrosse, I loved running a business, I loved bringing community together and finding creative ways to fund causes and events. I loved companies and brands doing things a different way and creative marketing- and this was before social media:) When I had enough time to experience things, figure out my passions and my strengths, and put it all together- it was clear that uniting mission driven humans to inspire positive change was the purpose and that comes via my podcast, Turmeric & Tequila™. I would never have guessed that was where I was headed as a young person, but it makes complete sense now. Good words to the wise, if you are seeking your purpose and unsure- keep digging and showing up, what you’re going to do might not be a thing yet, but it will be when you’re ready. Podcasting was not a thing when I was in high school- and here we are!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a lifelong athlete and have been an entrepreneur and coach for 20+ years . I am a former D1 collegiate athlete, playing lacrosse at George Mason University where I was a 3x captain. I am a 5x CrossFit Games athlete, taking 2nd in 2011 in the team division. I have coached lacrosse throughout my youth, was the Varsity Head Coach at Grandview HS for 9 seasons and established my first business, Colorado Rising Stars Lacrosse, LLC in 2004 upon my college graduation. I founded my consulting firm, KO Alliance, LLC in 2015 and started Turmeric & Tequila™, resident podcast of KO Alliance, LLC in 2019. Each personal and business step was inspired by the step prior- so it has all fit together one way or another.
KO Alliance, strategically aligns, partners, builds, and activates brands into the fitness, wellness, creative, and lifestyle spaces, creating mutually beneficial relationships for athletes, gyms, and companies at large. We focus on mission driven businesses and humans. We are strategic partnership experts: Cultivating culture, brand ambassadors, sponsorship, community building, and social media content and strategy.
And the podcast… Turmeric and Tequila™ is graceful disruption . We are a community of varsity humans questioning reality as we know it and proving it possible for seemingly opposing things to harmoniously coexist, in this world and within ourselves. It’s all better together. Reality is nothing more than applied meaning, so let’s break though society’s antiquated implied rules and expectations and break into authentic self-expression to see what’s possible for personal, professional, and worldly positive change. Join me and my guests as we share our purpose seeking journeys chasing the pull from within of success, failure, and truth- with self-expression, mental/physical health, entrepreneurship, diversity, and community as the foundations of the mission… we are challenging status quo one gracefully disruptive conversation at a time.
You will be inspired to be you and chase the dream, even if it doesn’t make sense to the rest of the world- it will soon.
Mission: To inspire positive radical social evolution.
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?
I am a major advocate for life skills through sports (or anything with a focused goal driven group when you are young: theater, cooking, scouts etc.). Being a lifelong athlete, I learned so much early on that really helped in my life journey on and off the field. From team skills, to confidence, to communication, I knew how to face challenges and find solutions before most. I would love to see every young person be able to be part of a team, group, or mission that can foster these necessary skills from the beginning. After college I started a business and I was often the only or one of a few women in the room. I had to lean heavy into my athletic and competitive experience to be confident enough to take up space and not only be part of the conversation, but work to lead it (hence the podcast). I think having a goal in mind as the North Star is always a good thing to have as well, when you know you are working toward something, it makes a lot of other decisions easier and keeps your priorities straight. I would always suggest that anyone, young or not, apply these athletic practices (skills) to all things in life- the uniform changes, but the game doesn’t:)
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Yes, I am seeking intentional mission driven partners for Turmeric & Tequila™! This is my 5th year as a podcaster, award nominated (year 1), consistently in the Mental Health Apple Podcast charts Top 200, over 250K downloads, and have over 2 million combined views on our YouTube page- and the first year I am opening it up to partners/sponsors. I have kept the cast and cast team tight and focused- AD free because like athletics, I needed the reps and wanted to get T&T to a place where we could not only bring on like minded, mission driven BIG partners, but also maintain my commitment to my own core values and deep responsibility to serving the community first- with the best team in the game.
On that note, I am more than thrilled to announce our very first Title Sponsor, LuxNeuro (www.LuxNeuro.com)! I am longtime advocate for brain and mental health and recipient of neurofeedback – so partnering with LuxNeuro was a perfect match! LuxNeuro’s mission is to unlock potential through confidential, evidence-based care that seamlessly merges conscious and subconscious realms, yielding transformative results- Brain mapping, neurofeedback, and counseling. Hear more about them and their amazing team on T&T soon.
If you vibe with the T&T mission, vision, values and my like-minded audience, and are seeking a mutually beneficial relationships (teammate), don’t hesitate to reach out ([email protected]). A T&T partnership/sponsorship is far more than basic branding and ads- I work to facilitate custom creative strategy with my 20+ years of marketing/branding experience blended into the podcast landscape- we aren’t playing the game, we are building.
Contact Info:
- Website:www.turmericandtequila.com , www.koalliance.com
- Instagram: @turmerictequila , @koalliance , @madonnashero
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/turmericandtequila/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kolson23/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TurmericTequila
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0syPzuYBD7w-PWBE2UBPog
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kristen-olson-266266361/32-t-t-podcast-ep32-the-whole
