It’s About More than a Paycheck. Choose a Career that Will Heal You!

This is episode 168 here on Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

Me, well, my name is Kevin Lowe, your host, as always, and uh, well, I'm glad to have you here today.

Today, we are exploring a topic that was inspired by two of the past guests I had on the podcast.

One was Fitz Kohler, another was Jonathan Kinsler.

Both of them, two totally different stories, but both were woven together by a common theme.

And that was a career.

A career that did more than provide an income.

It was a career that lit them up.

It was a career that I feel helped to heal them.

So, what I'm talking about today is the incredible power that a career can have on our life.

When we find a career path that is truly meant for us, well, the possibilities are endless.

Because when we align our goals, our aspirations with who we are, what lights us up, well, then that means it's no longer a career.

It's just truly part of us.

It's what we are meant to be doing.

All too often in life, we fall into this trap of doing what we think we should be doing.

Talking about careers, for example.

Growing up, it's all about getting the best career, the career that's going to make the most money, the career that's going to look the most prestigious, the career that is quote unquote better than another.

Well, the truth of the matter is that one career is no better or worse than another.

They're each designed for individual people.

That's what makes this world unique.

That's what makes society cool, is that we're all different.

We all have our own unique gifts and passions.

And well, as we grow older and we switch from the age of going to school to the age of working, well, we get the opportunity to choose our career path.

Now, sometimes in life, as life often does, is that things end up choosing us because we may not think that it's the right thing for us, but for one reason or another, we fall into it.

And well, maybe we realize, wow, this was all meant to be, because this is truly what I was meant to be doing.

When we don't follow our own dreams, when we don't pursue a career that truly lights us up, when we don't show up to a career that is doing as much for us as we do for it, well, that's what leads to burnout.

That's what leads to depression.

That's what leads to unfulfillment.

Today, what I want to do is I want to share with you the stories of three individuals who have experienced the incredible healing power that a career can have.

A career that is aligned with who they are.

If this sounds entertaining, if this sounds like something that was meant for you to hear, well then, baby, just stay tuned because I have this here for you today.

Before continuing on with our topic today, I do want to remind you, you are not too late.

If you are listening to today's episode at the time of its release, well, you can still join my Ultimate Spring Challenge kicking off on Monday, March 20th.

I'm not going to close the doors and tell you, oops, sorry, you're late.

No go.

No, the parties that I host are way more inviting than that.

So even if it's after March 20th, please still head on over to let'shangout.live to join the private Facebook group where my 30-day ultimate spring challenge is taking place.

Like I said, it all kicks off on Monday, March 20th with challenge number one.

It's meant to make you bigger, better, stronger than you have ever been before.

So head on over to let'shangout.live to get signed up today.

Now, with that said, let's continue on with today's episode.

The first person that I want to talk to you about to share their story.

Well, it's my own story, because my own story illustrates what I'm trying to tell you.

Absolutely perfect.

I worked as a home-based travel agent for close to seven years.

I started my business in 2013 and wrapped up my journey as a travel agent in 2020.

So if I did the math right, I believe, yeah, that's seven years.

Now, during my time as a home-based travel agent, I loved it.

I got to build my own business.

Here I am, somebody who is completely blind, and yet I could run my own business.

I could book trips for my clients.

I could design incredible vacations.

How awesome was that?

And I loved it.

And for a long time I thought, man, this is the ticket.

This is what Kevin is meant to be doing.

But as time went on, as much as I loved it, as much as I had a passion for it, there kept being that voice in the back of my head that kept reminding me, you know, Kevin, I just don't know that this is actually what you're truly meant to be doing.

And well, I ignored that voice for a very long time.

Until all of a sudden, that voice turned into a roadblock.

And that roadblock, well, that was the 2020 pandemic.

What was going to be my best year on record as a travel agent quickly turned into the year that my travel agency ended.

Because inside of a week, everything that I had been working on was pretty much demolished.

As I like to say it, the travel agency took a nosedive into the shallow end of the swimming pool.

But here's the thing is that with all doors that close, new doors open.

And for me, I needed that door to be closed to allow me to explore new opportunities.

The new opportunity came in the way of this very podcast.

Now, back at the time, they are in the summer of 2020, I thought the podcast was going to be still based around travel because at that moment I didn't realize what was going on.

I still thought I was going to be a travel agent.

I still thought I was going to be booking vacations.

And so while locked away in quarantine, I thought, oh, I'll do a podcast to keep the dream of travel alive for my listeners.

Well, then life had other plans.

Because that podcast that was supposed to be about travel quickly evolved into what it is today.

Now, here's the thing: this is how I know that what I'm doing today, hosting a podcast, working as a life and business coach, this is how I know it's what I'm meant to be doing.

At least for the time being.

Because, well, I have no idea what next year will bring.

But for right now, I can tell you this is that this draws on my gifts, pulls on my heartstrings, lights me up more than anything else I've ever done.

Travel, it doesn't even come close.

Because when I'm in the studio doing an interview with somebody, whether they're right here in the same town where I live or on the other side of the globe, I'll find myself all of a sudden thinking, wow, this is right where I'm meant to be.

And there have been many times while in the middle of an interview, I will just quickly close my eyes and say a prayer, thanking God for putting me right here, because I can tell this is right where I'm meant to be.

And that right there is when you know, wow, I'm living in it.

This is where I'm meant to be.

Now, I don't know where this is going to lead, but that doesn't matter.

Because right now, right in the here and now, I know that this is for me.

Because to be honest, some days I may not want to jump into the studio and record another podcast.

But while I'm doing it, it lights me up.

I forget about all the other stresses of life.

I forget about how I was feeling before I hit record.

And so I guess you could say it kind of helps to just heal me.

And that's what I'm talking about today, is reminding you that if you're not happy where you are in life with what career you are doing, I'm telling you that there are more options out there.

Because whatever you're doing, it should light you up.

And you should say a prayer in the middle of your work day, praising God for putting you there.

Now that was my story.

But what about the other two people?

Well, one of those, well, you met a couple of episodes ago, and that was Fitz Kohler.

Fitz is a race announcer.

And even in the worst part of her life, diagnosed with breast cancer, undergoing the horrific effects of chemotherapy, Fitz kept working.

She kept traveling.

Her job required her to get on a plane and fly all over the country, staying in hotel rooms, getting up the next morning, getting dressed, and being out there at her best to be the race announcer.

Now, it wasn't easy for Fitz because if you listen to Fitz's interview, you would hear her talk about the struggles that she had, where she would land in a new city, she'd be in a new hotel room, not sleeping in the bed.

No, she was too sick for that.

She'd end up sleeping on the floor of the bathroom.

And yet the next morning, she would get up, she would get dressed, she would force herself to walk out that door and go do her job.

But it's at this point when it becomes not just a job, it becomes a career that healed her.

Because she explains that while at the starting line of these races that she was announcing, she felt no pain.

The energy from the crowd was electric.

Her energy was pumping.

She forgot all about what was going on in her life.

She forgot about breast cancer.

She forgot about chemotherapy.

She forgot about being so nauseous that she had to sleep on the bathroom floor.

She was living in her rainbow.

And that was because she had a career that she loved so much.

Because as much as she did for that career, that career did the same for her.

It was healing her each and every time she went into work that day.

That right there, my friend, is powerful.

If you can find a career that can light you up so much, that can fill you with such energy, enthusiasm, that you forget about the pain, you forget about the sickness, you forget about having cancer.

Well, baby, that's what you need to be doing.

And I am so grateful that Fitz Kohler found that.

Because that is what she has been doing, and that is what she still does today.

The third example, well, I introduced you to him just last week.

His name is Jonathan Kinsler.

Jonathan is a guy who I grew up with.

We went to school together.

We weren't best friends back in the day, but we knew each other.

And so I was excited to have John on the podcast after all these years.

Because John endured his own setbacks in life.

And that came with a tragic car accident that would result in a traumatic brain injury.

Now, it's one thing to have a physical injury that we know what to do with.

You put a band-aid on it, you go to the gym and you get the muscle stronger.

It's a whole nother thing when we're talking about the brain.

And so Jonathan Kensler was faced with a challenge he could have never imagined before.

The challenge of learning to just literally live again.

But why I mention John's story in the context of today's episode is because John had a passion for soccer.

He grew up playing soccer.

As he got older, he started coaching soccer.

And now here he is, having just had this near-death experience.

Literally, his life was saved by a difference of six inches.

Six inches is all that separated him and that car accident from dying that day.

Now he survived, but with this traumatic brain injury, an injury that would take a tragic toll on his life.

Yet he would push through it.

And with the amazing process of physical rehab, he would get back stronger.

And he would ultimately go on to coach the high school soccer team to a state championship.

Again, he had a career that was more than a career.

It was more than a passion.

It was a healing property for him.

It was a place of healing.

It was a place of reason, a place of purpose, of drive to keep him moving forward.

It was a career that lit him up.

And in my eyes, when I hear his story, it's a career that helped to heal him.

Again, if you're not living a life where you have something that's driving you forward that's gonna heal you when times go bad, well, think about things.

What could you change in your life today?

What could you do instead of what you're doing?

Is there something else that you would rather be doing?

Maybe not.

Maybe it's not something as dramatic as you changing careers.

Maybe it's you taking out a new hobby, doing something on your off time, something that's gonna light you up, that's going to drive you forward, something that's gonna heal you when you need healing.

That's what we're talking about inside of today's episode.

I'm gonna end with this.

If you're not waking up in the morning full of excitement, full of enthusiasm for what the day holds, well, maybe you need to make some changes.

Because I do not believe that we should be in a career or that we should just be living a life that doesn't light us up.

I don't.

Now, some people may say, well, Kevin, it's a job.

It puts food on the table.

And I understand that.

And sometimes in chapters of life, that's what matters.

We have to do what we have to do.

But what I'm talking about is a bigger picture.

Let's get past those initial things of survival, of putting food on the table, and let's look at you.

Because you know what?

I believe that you matter just as much.

Because a life that is unfulfilling is no life to live.

I want you to be living a life that lights you up, that heals you when you need healing, and that reminds you every day when you wake up that this is what life is all about.

My name is Kevin Lowe.

I'm the host of Grit, Grace, and Inspiration, as well as Transformational Life and Business Coach.

I hope you've enjoyed today's episode, but more than anything else, I hope that something I've said will be the spark you needed to light a fire inside of you to make a change.

And with that change, ooh, baby, the sky is the only look.

Hey, real quick before you go, I have one last thought to leave you with.

I of course hope that you've enjoyed today's episode, but more importantly, I want to remind you that I never want you to listen to an episode of this podcast to hear something that I have to say or that my guest has to share and think, wow, I wish I could be like them.

I wish I could overcome my own challenges and do the great things that they are doing, but I just can't.

Well, friend, that's where you're wrong.

unknown: You're wrong.

SPEAKER_00: You are capable.

You are able.

And you darn sure are deserving of having all that you can imagine in this life.

There's nothing special about me or any guests I have on this podcast.

We are all just normal people trying to make it in this life.

And so I encourage you to take a look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that you know what?

I can do it too.

Now, of course, if you would like help along that way, reach out to me.

Whether that's as a listener of this podcast, a friend, or if you'd like to work with me as a coach.

My contact information is inside of every episode's show notes, just like this one.

So go down, check out my contact information, and reach out to me today.

With that said, I encourage you to take on the day every day with great, grace, and inspiration.