A Brilliant Bad-Ass Leader You Should Know [#2] 

This year I’m introducing you to a few of my favorite peeps in an interview series called A Brilliant Bad-Ass Leader You Should Know because each of these brilliant folks offer sage advice & provocative perspectives that will shake up your thinking so you can be your biggest, most-brilliant, successful self too.

Here’s the second Bad-Ass that needs to be on your radar: Jenny Evans.

Imagine a CEO Rockstar who also happens to be a fitness fiend, combined with the DNA of a Cirque de Soleil performer… and you’ve got Jenny!

Jenny is a speaker and expert on resiliency, stress, confidence and human performance. She is the founder and CEO of PowerHouse Performance and author of the award-winning book The Resiliency rEvolution: Your Stress Solution for Life – 60 Seconds at a Time. And… she likes to dangle from flimsy sheets in midair. I kid you not! She’s an aerial performer.

Check out my quick interview with Jenny below.

Hugs,
AmyK

AmyK: Do you have any quotes you live by or think of often?

Jenny: The one that’s been taking up a lot of my headspace lately is “How you do anything is how you do everything”.  I use it in just about every aspect of my life when I’m thinking about slacking or cutting corners – from how I stay accountable to myself as an entrepreneur, how I show up in my workouts, to what kind of wife and mother I want to be. Integrity is so important, but especially when it comes to keeping commitments to ourselves that no one else knows about!

AmyK: Preach it! I truly believe that what you say and do behind closed doors when no one is looking is your true character and that truth seeps out. What is something you wish you would’ve realized earlier in your life? What does this realization give you now?

Jenny:  I spent years fighting with my body, trying to get it to look a certain way, having no idea that everything I was doing was totally wrong. It consumed a ridiculous amount of my energy that could have been spent on more important things and I was incredibly unhappy and stressed. Instead of working against my body – and brain – I now understand how to work with them. By exposing my body and brain to the right stimulus, I can get them to adapt in amazing ways. And how I look has very little to do with it. When you feel good in your body – strong, competent, energized and healthy – it changes how you show up in all areas of your life. I’m happy to say my energy is now spent on more important things…and helping others do the same.

AmyK: I think quite a few of us can relate to the body battle! And I agree – one of the things that I believe shines through and makes us the most beautiful is confidence. What is 1 nugget/gem you can share right now to significantly ignite brilliance in someone’s biz or personal life?

Jenny: You have to make yourself your top priority in order to have the confidence and energy to be great in other areas of your life. Your body – which includes your brain – is your most valuable asset. Be diabolical about getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Eat several small meals and snacks throughout the day to sustain high-quality energy. Get regular exercise. Okay, that was more than 1 nugget, but too bad!

AmyK: What habit or behavior have you pursued/implemented for at least a year that has most improved your life?

Jenny: This past year I decided to get rid of anything that made me want something I don’t have. Our consumeristic society tells us we don’t have enough, don’t look the right way and aren’t doing the right things. I unsubscribed to catalogs, retail emails and a fashion/lifestyle magazine I’d been getting for 20 years. I stopped going to gossip sites and stopped following certain people on social media. After a year of being more mindful about what I “consume”, I am more centered and content with what I have and who I am. I spend less mental energy on things I don’t have or what’s wrong with me or my home, and I’ve got more money in my bank account to boot!

AmyK: BRILLIANT advice. Game on! I’m going to start unsubscribing right now! And I’m going to take a 7-day social media detox. So what else do you do to fuel your own brilliance in business & happiness in life?

Jenny: My workouts are the cornerstones to both. They’re the best way to deal with stress (along with the occasional gin and tonic), they make me feel strong and confident and exercise keeps my energy up. Exercise changes my chemistry, which changes my mood and mental state. Most importantly, my workouts are also a way to practice my values and beliefs. I believe in a growth mindset, continual improvement, hard work and having new experiences…and committing to my exercise routine is an expression of all of them. Pushing myself through a tough workout gives me the confidence to get through other difficult situations I face in business or at home. Bring it!

AmyK: You do it bring it, Jenny!  Every. Day. And we’ll all be much more brilliant too when we respect our minds & bodies enough to lower our stress and up our resiliency.

Learn more about Jenny, buy her book AND DEFINITELY start “Hangin’ with Jenny!”

Jenny C. Evans, B.S., C.P.T., C.F.T.
Speaker. Author. Human Performance Expert.
PowerHouse Performance

An award-winning author and TEDx speaker, Jenny Evans is obsessed with human performance and has created a career and life designed around helping people maximize their potential. With a blend of confidence, creativity and passion, she inspires audiences to define and achieve success in both business and life…all in the face of the unrelenting demands of being a human in the 21st century. While stress reduction sounds great, no one’s job is going to start asking less of them – “The Resiliency rEvolution” helps people build their resiliency to stress, improve their performance, energy and even their health. “Unstuck: How to Think Differently, Act with Purpose and Work & Live Boldly” yanks people out of their ruts and their seats with tactics on how to think differently, act with purpose and work & live boldly. It even has a surprise aerial performance! “Confident You: Bold, Energized & Resilient” gets audiences to tap into and grow their confidence to create strong foundations for becoming powerful, purposeful leaders. Jenny’s dynamic and unforgettable sessions give your people the tools they need to thrive in today’s ever-changing, high stress world.