146: {Interview} Unlocking Your Highest Potential with Brittany Anderson

In this engaging conversation, Brittany Anderson and I discuss the transformative power of online connections, the journey to becoming a coach, and the importance of clarity and confidence in personal growth. Brittany shares her insights on the significance of self-care for mothers, overcoming excuses, and the necessity of building a personal brand. The discussion emphasizes the role of coaching in achieving goals and the need to prioritize one's own well-being before helping others.

takeaways

• Meeting online is the new way to connect.
• Fitness challenges can unlock personal growth.
• Accountability is key to following through on goals.
• Clarity and confidence are essential for success.
• Coaching provides support and feedback for growth.
• Self-care is crucial for effective leadership.
• Excuses often mask a lack of prioritization.
• Building a personal brand is vital for success.
• Revisiting goals regularly keeps you aligned.
• Investing in coaching can accelerate your progress.

Connect further with Brittany HERE or on IG @brittanyandersoncoaching

Transcript

Caroline Pennington (00:01.346)
Welcome, Brittany.

Brittany (00:02.76)
Thank you so much, I'm so excited to be here.

Caroline Pennington (00:06.712)
So you and I have known we met online just like you meet any awesome person.

Brittany (00:11.6)
It seems like that these days, right? Like, I walked into a bar. No, it's...

Caroline Pennington (00:16.312)
Meeting online is the new way to meet people.

Brittany (00:18.664)
Totally. It really is. And you're an expert at it.

Caroline Pennington (00:22.37)
Whether it's LinkedIn or Instagram or Facebook or whatever medium you like to hang out on, just go meet people and get in the DMs, okay?

Brittany (00:29.968)
Absolutely. my gosh, that should just be your like dating slogan. You can start a whole new company.

Caroline Pennington (00:36.494)
Okay, so with Met Online, you're a certified high performance and accountability coach. You've got a podcast. You do speaking engagements. I wanna hear the story, like how did you get into it? How did you do it? Tell me all the things.

Brittany (00:51.584)
All the things, my gosh, well that's kind of a loaded question, but where do I start? So, yeah, going way back, like I have always just had this drive, I guess, for more and always did different sports and pushed my body and all the things. Then I had my kids and every time I had them, I would challenge myself with

something that I could do physically to get back into shape basically and get back time for myself. So that was a marathon and then triathlons and that kind of a thing. And through that I started to find, I guess, an unlock in myself but also in different networks of people that I was around and inspired by. And so...

long and short of it was I started coaching in a lot of different areas from fitness training to sports nutrition. But everything just kept coming back to the fact that oftentimes we know what we should be doing, but it is holding the consistency and the accountability required to actually follow through with it. so fast forward to kind of COVID days, 2020, where I was like,

There's a lot of us missing connection at the moment and there's a lot of us that are looking for that, you know, magic, magic sauce, if you will, as to like how to actually see through your goals. And I think that the alignment in both connection, community and accountability really sees us through with unlocking our next levels.

Caroline Pennington (02:37.806)
just learned something new about you and the fitness I knew that you did a lot in fitness and I know that you incorporate that in your business but I love that you just shared that you challenge yourself after every child that you had to accomplish the goal like what did that look like for you did you know like right after you had your children like what it was gonna be like the marathon the triathlon a competition whatever it was like how did you

Brittany (03:02.656)
No, like I think I was probably fairly naive going into it, but I had always been like an athletic kid on certain levels. so, yeah, my family kind of challenged me to, hey, if you guys do this, we get to go to New York and have this great vacation and I'll pay for it because we're also doing a marathon. And I'm like, sure, sign me up. I'm in, why not do a challenge? And I think that that's just part of me too. Like I will be up for a challenge. I am up for pushing.

my limits because I feel like that is where we learn so much about ourselves. And that is why also I strongly believe that sport has so much to teach us in life in all of the ways, but pushing our bodies when we are actually able to mentally say, no, I'm going to stop.

but also mentally push through that. There's a different level that you unlock in yourself. yeah, getting out of those comfort zones really allows us to do that tenfold in all of our life.

Caroline Pennington (04:07.374)
love that you just mentioned that and I'm with you. Like I'm a 6 a.m., five days a week, heavy lifting weights, girly, and then we'll do cardio on the weekends. But I feel like it's translated so much into my business and my mindset and everything that I do. And if you're listening to this and you work out in the morning is great and the afternoon is just better for you, that's fine as long as you're doing it.

Brittany (04:16.904)
Love it.

Brittany (04:29.18)
Move your body, change your mind, like literally. You move the energy.

Caroline Pennington (04:33.966)
Okay, so you work with mainly women, you help moms trade burnout for bold moves. What is the number one challenge that your clients are facing?

Brittany (04:45.192)
Honestly, when we all end up coming together yesterday, I kicked off like our new season of Momentum Collective, which is a mom's mastermind group where we work personally and professionally because I believe we are one person. So, you know, whether it's a personal goal or a professional goal, you know, spoiler alert, but it's all coming from us for the same person here. So the common denominator, all of us coming in yesterday was that level of connection and

being heard and seen for who we are. So that would be one. And the second would be the follow through, like actually building actionable items for your goals so that you know, kind of with a bit of strategy, how to start doing them. And as I said before, like it's the accountability piece where we can so quickly quit on ourselves, not hold the promises to ourselves.

And so why do we hold other people's promises and not our own? this is kind of what I feel is the great, you know, place for us all to be held together is coaching. I love it. I love the impact and I love what I do and I feel so fortunate.

Caroline Pennington (06:02.058)
If someone's listening to this and they're like, all right, I know I to be more accountable. I know I need to challenge myself more, but I have no clue where to start. What would you tell them?

Brittany (06:10.643)
First dive into your why. I mean that can really seem very surface but also why are you doing the thing? Like do you actually want to be doing that? Is that goal for you or is it for someone else? And starting there really getting aligned with your clarity marker in there. What does success look like to you if you're actually gonna see that through? Where's the attachment?

And is that maybe even an old goal or old vision of yourself that you don't even want anymore?

Caroline Pennington (06:46.91)
I'm really glad you brought that C word because that was my next question I had for you around clarity and confidence because I think a lot of times people are like, okay, I want to be successful. I want to do X, Y, Z, but I don't know where to start or I don't know anything about it. And so they just make excuses and they don't start. And then a year or two years later, it's like the same thing and the same loophole. it's like, all right, that's not how we're supposed to go through life. So I want to hear more from you on the importance of

Having clarity and confidence. Why is getting clear on those two things the game changer and so important?

Brittany (07:19.773)
So clarity and confidence, I think, come together and not at the same time. Like, I feel like confidence is really something that we build by being in action, by actually doing, not being held back by, you know, the fear, the imposter syndrome, because those are the things where we build the confidence. Do you notice, like, when you do something hard, how good it feels afterwards? Like, when we're living in that, I strongly believe that that is where that muscle gets flexed and that builds.

And so, but the clarity point of that comes in, we're not gonna do the thing unless we know why we're doing the thing in the first place.

Caroline Pennington (08:01.388)
Yeah, those things, mean, I feel like you have to have both and it's okay if you start with one and then you build the confidence. let's say you have the clarity and then you build the confidence. What do you think about that?

Brittany (08:16.317)
Well, and you say you just got to start with one and you just have to start and be okay with sometimes we start things and they change. And we have to give ourselves permission for, I think sometimes that failure also, because I truly believe there isn't failure. It's all a lesson. It's all feedback. It's all maybe, as I said before, like we've gotten to a place where maybe that doesn't actually align with us anymore as we're like navigating what this feels like in the moment.

Clarity is literally every, like you can revisit your goals. You should be looking at them daily if they're actually important to you, but you should be like reanalyzing the deep part of that goal, probably every quarter, let's say, as a minimum, so that you can actually re-identify with why you're doing that and why you're so passionate about it in the first place.

Caroline Pennington (09:08.886)
And it's okay if it changes. Like I've had so many pivots and guess what? Like nobody cares. Like it's not a big deal. So it's okay to be fluid if your goals change or whatever you're doing is changing.

Brittany (09:21.735)
I think that's so important, right? Like I think that we get so caught up and that's why people do have the fear to even start in the first place, right? Because, what will people think? Well, let's be honest. Most people aren't even watching what you're doing. And if you are like figuring out your life and it's successful for you in whatever you measure success as, then why do you even care? Right?

Caroline Pennington (09:46.773)
man, I could go off about this. Like, yes, to all of the things and you don't need to let anybody hold you back like your creepy uncle or your stepsister or your friend at church like no, who cares? Like, boot them out of your Facebook land, your LinkedIn land, who cares? Like they don't deserve to be part of your network anyways. And if they're just gonna hold you back.

Brittany (09:49.307)
Yeah. No.

Brittany (10:00.318)
Block them, just block them all on social if they're.

Brittany (10:13.395)
Totally.

Caroline Pennington (10:15.03)
Like for what? Like what are they doing with their lives?

Brittany (10:18.077)
Totally, and I feel like whenever we feel judgment from someone, it's their own, that's their own insecurity, that's their own issue, that's their own cast onto you. And so just like live your life. But I have a question for you. Do you feel like this comes with age? Like as we become more confident because we have all of these life lessons that we've had to walk through already?

Caroline Pennington (10:44.138)
Yes, because and all yes and also how much I care about any of other stuff like is so much less now that I'm older. In my 20s, I was like, you know, worried about everything looking perfect and people thought and like people's opinions and things they said to me like really mattered. I cared and now that I'm in my 30s now late 30s and I just don't care and especially like if they're not doing what I want to be doing.

I'm like, well, what are you doing with your life anyways?

Brittany (11:16.403)
Totally, yeah, I totally agree. I think it's just like, it is experience, it is age, and again, building that like confidence muscle because the more that we do that, the more we are able to say like, yeah, no, that doesn't work for me. And that like no is actually a full sentence.

Caroline Pennington (11:33.102)
Yes, I love that. Okay. So why is coaching so important? How are you in coach? Why is that so important? I don't care if you are in fitness or in business or in podcasting or whatever. Like, why does every single person need a coach?

Brittany (11:51.175)
because we need someone that's in our corner for us, but also that's not going to sugarcoat it. Like that we actually will stand up for and to and be pushed a little bit further, right? I think that being able, my clients, like some of them say, I have you in my back pocket. Like I'm that person where they're like, okay, I did the thing. Like here is what I need next. And look how much further you can get in life and

quicker, but not that we're like, not that it's a race, but like how long has it taken you already to do the thing that you're at now where you probably could have done it 10 times faster if you had someone that was just like giving you that gentle nudge a little bit more. And also having someone else's opinions, right? Like not opinions, just more so like feedback, I guess would be the better word.

Caroline Pennington (12:44.78)
Yeah, I love that. think hiring a coach is like the the supercharger and yes, to anyone listening, hiring a coach costs money. Yes, it costs time for you to spend with them, but it's so, so worth it. Like anything that I've done, I've had a coach for is like 10x my results and it's, you know.

Brittany (13:02.224)
Yeah, agree. Yeah, I feel like it's like the single best thing I finally did for myself. Like, we all invest in so many things and don't think about it, right? You go to the gym, you have a trainer, you like for me, if I like want to do a race, I hire like a coaching plan. We pay for like physio, massage, like all the different things. And it's like, why wouldn't we hire someone to help us, whatever it is that we are trying to get to the next platform in?

Like, why wouldn't you do that? To me, it's kind of like brainless. And the minute I started to do that and flip that on, you know, switch inside of my mind, was, it has been the best investment. I will never look back and I continuously do it because you can't just quit.

Caroline Pennington (13:44.757)
And same, mean, just think about like how much money you spend at Starbucks or going out to eat or on whatever, in the blank, stupid stuff. And like, you could really just not do that for a month and hire a coach or, know, make a couple of changes.

Brittany (13:57.735)
Totally. It's about, it's not about finding money, right? It's about like reallocating what's actually important. And I mean, I'm sure you've heard this, like there's either show me your bank account and I'll show you what you value or, you know, show me your calendar. I'll show you where you're spending your most time. Like are those things actually aligning with the person that you want to be?

Caroline Pennington (14:18.884)
that's so good. Okay, so I hear you talk about this a lot online. I love that you do this because a lot of times as women, we put others and everyone else first. I don't care if it's our families, our husbands, our kids, our significant others, our dogs, our parents, whatever fill in the blank. Why is it so important for us to fill our own cup first before others?

Brittany (14:43.858)
Well, think about it this way. If you don't have your health, what do you have? You won't be able to show up for anyone. And if you are depleting yourself constantly, you will basically ground out. You will burn out. You will be resentful. And on the side of moms that I talk about because I coach moms so much is that we afford our kids all of these things, and we hope the best for them. like,

We know kids don't listen, they watch. we have to lead by example. So if you're gonna tell your kids like, you gotta go like make sure you're working out like four days a week, move your body for your mind and everything else and you're not doing it and you're sitting on your couch or whatever, do you think they're gonna do that? No. Right? So fill yourself so that you can be so energized, so fueled in all of the things that fill your bucket so that you can

align with your kids or whoever is watching, whoever you're leading, because we're all leaders in some capacity. There's someone always watching, whoever, you know, your spouse, your external family, whoever it is, you're always a leader. And how you're leading, how you're showing up is the biggest, I think, like, identity almost to how people can align with you and see what you truly value.

Caroline Pennington (16:10.274)
You probably hear this a lot from people as I don't have the time or I don't have the whatever fill in the blank. Like why is that just an excuse and how can they overcome it?

Brittany (16:21.02)
Well, it is just an excuse. I actually hate that. I absolutely hate that. And then when they're like, I won't get up 15 minutes earlier or whatever, it's like, okay, well, you do have the time. Look at what other people do in a day. And everyone still has the same 24 hours in a day. And so going back to the calendar thing, what you are prioritizing if you're actually wanting to make a new habit.

you're gonna have to look at your calendar and see where you're spending that extra time. I guarantee you most of us are scrolling on the phone, sitting on the computer, not doing the things that are filling our bucket to better ourselves.

Caroline Pennington (16:59.854)
So true, which is why I always talk about building a personal brand because I'm like, look, you're sitting there doom scrolling anyways, you're online, like might as well put some content out there and start building a personal brand. I don't care what niche you're in or what you do for a living. Like every single person needs a personal brand. And if you just spent that same time, you look, you spent looking at other people's stuff, creating your own stuff. You will have a different life in a year.

Brittany (17:26.192)
my gosh, I totally agree. And I love that you said that about the personal run. I totally agree with you because you don't choose to work with a business. You choose to work with that person, right? And so being able to, going back to the personal versus professional, we're still the same one person. And so, you know, we don't close the door and like all of a sudden you're what, like Cruella DeVille on one side and you know, like, no, like you have to align with who you are and those values are still going to be the same.

Caroline Pennington (17:36.483)
Yes.

Brittany (17:54.694)
So what is your personal brand that builds that authentic self, that builds the influence of the people that you want to align with? That's personal and professional altogether.

Caroline Pennington (18:06.19)
Yeah, at the end of the day, they're doing business with you. I don't care what kind of company you have or own or how big it is or whatever. At the end of the day, it's to you. And so what's it gonna be like to work with you?

Brittany (18:15.771)
Yeah, precisely. And how do you show up in that? And I think that even using, going back to social, even using social for that, most people don't even really have websites anymore because the minute that we're hiring for something, I'll go on social and take a look at this person's background, right? And what they're posting and whatnot because that is where you almost get a, not live, but recorded resume of what they are, right?

Caroline Pennington (18:45.26)
Yeah, one million percent.

Brittany (18:46.883)
Yeah.

Caroline Pennington (18:49.174)
Okay, so what is lighting up with some of the clients that you're working with right now?

Brittany (18:53.273)
my gosh. Well, inside of the collective that we just kicked off, feel like September is just an alignment of a new year. It feels like new year in so many ways because we come off of summer where everyone is a little bit more still on vacation doing all the exciting different things. And then September brings like routine and alignment. And so it's really exciting at this time of year, just like January for a lot of people too, to

really reset and realign with their goals like we were talking about. I think that those need to be done quarterly at least to reevaluate if you're still on the right track and if you even really want to be there. One client is going for $2 million by the end of this quarter and the other one is trying to lose a little bit of weight and get stronger. so it's amazing how all of these different types of goals still

all come together and align so beautifully in one cohesive group.

Caroline Pennington (19:54.338)
I love that. So how can our listeners find you?

Brittany (19:57.521)
The best is on Instagram, shocking, but at Brittany Anderson Coaching. I'm also on LinkedIn. I'm trying to be better there, thanks to Caroline, but we'll get there one day, I think. Yes, trying to get better there, but definitely Instagram or BrittAnderson.com. I lead women in the Momentum Collective Mastermind. It's a monthly mastermind group where we actually meet weekly.

and I also coached one-on-one. So yeah, all the things.

Caroline Pennington (20:31.086)
and I'll put the links in the show notes. Thanks, Brittany.

Brittany (20:34.715)
Thank you.