Anyone else feel like this has been the longest, yet shortest year? It’s almost September. Yikes. Summer is winding down and I’m not ready for it. I’m already knee deep planning for the holidays and getting new illustrations ready to launch. With all the whirlwind of this year, this is the one project I always make time for -sharing a Monthly Muse. I love learning how others got their start, their journey, and how they continue to push forward. You could say I’m obsessed (my podcast list is riddled with how women are crushing it in the entrepreneurial area - second life pod, how i built this, etc). This month, our Muse is Brandyn Negri, founder of Live Your Yes. I first met Brandyn years ago. She was teaching yoga at the studio I went to. I took one of her classes and she quickly became my favorite teacher. There’s a reason for that- Brandyn has a way of coaching you and helping you see that you can do it! You can get past what’s holding you back and push forward to hit your goals. She applies this in her business as a Health Coach, but her tactics apply to more than just health, they can be applied to life. Read on to learn more about Brandyn and Live Your Yes.

Let's start at the beginning - what did you want to be when you were younger and did that play out into what you're doing now?

When I was younger, I knew I wanted to perform. I loved the excitement of playing sports, and performing on a stage doing lip sync contests. Yes- it has played out. I teach yoga, workshops, training, and coach groups of people.

Tell us a bit about your career journey and how it influenced you to create Live Your Yes.

I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 24 years old. I know how to hustle, and am great at connecting genuinely & seeing people. I started selling real estate in Sarasota, FL & eventually built a multi-state real estate company successfully. My life outlook changed after my kidney transplant, and I made an internal promise to myself to be healthy. As a result, I learned how to teach yoga, and opened a heated yoga studio. After closing the studio, I continued to teach yoga & support teacher training. Live Your Yes came into fruition as a result of a yoga client asking me to coach her. So LYY became an extension of teaching yoga, my promise to myself to be healthy, applying all my business skills, and doing what I do best; transforming people.

How do you define what a health coach is and how do they help?

A Health Coach is a supportive mentor who helps clients feel their best through food and lifestyle changes and personalized, one-on-one encouragement. To live a vibrant life, we all need holistic support. And as a Health Coach, that guidance and accountability – from exercise and nutrition to relationships, career, and spirituality – are the ingredients to transformation. My certification as a health coach is through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. The training teaches us to put bio-individuality into practice. Rather than pushing cookie-cutter, one-size-fits all wellness methods, we take a deeply personalized approach with every single client How a health coach helps their clients is to achieve their unique health goals. This can mean exercise and physical activity, weight loss, better stress management, holistic nutrition, chronic disease management, and much more

You have a chronic illness, but it doesn't slow you down! Can you share how you manage to balance that with the stresses of your own business?

I no longer have chronic illness because I had a kidney transplant. How I manage not getting common chronic diseases common post kidney transplant are my lifestyle choices (eating, yoga, outlets for stress, quality sleep, etc). Lifestyle choices can help eliminate a lot of chronic illnesses which is one of my driving passions for being a health coach.

What advice would you give to someone starting their own business?

There are zero guarantees when starting your own business. You must be comfortable with taking risks, and adapting to uncertainty. What looks good on paper when you are planning, isn’t always reality. Investment in personal development training! Get to know yourself on a deeper level & deal with past wounds/behaviors/beliefs that no longer serve you.

You're an inspiration - challenging others to follow their dreams to literally "Say yes" to anything they want to achieve - what keeps you going at the end of the day? What brings you back for more?

My commitment to myself post transplant keeps me going. This moment made me appreciate life on a different playing field. I am so grateful to feel good…and as long I get to keep waking up to a new day; I’m going to live it.

If you could tell your younger self anything, what would it be? Would you change anything?

I’d tell myself to always do what I know to be true in my heart; not what others think I should do. Yes, I would change the direction I chose. I would have listened to my English teacher who sat me down in high school, and told me to pursue a degree in the arts. She told me after watching me perform on stage I had a gift, and needed to be in front of people acting or teaching.. I didn’t because my mom told me I’d never make money being an actress. So- I pursued only careers with the ability to make money. Now that it’s come full circle, I love my life & I am doing what my English teacher told me; but it’s better than acting!.

Rapid Fire

• Morning bird or night owl: Morning

• Mountains or beach vacation: Mountains

• Favorite yoga pose: Wheel

• Go with the flow or control freak: go with the flow

• Coffee or Juice to start your day: coffee

• Dogs or cats: Dogs (2 french bulldogs)

Thanks Brandyn for sharing your journey. You can find Brandyn at Live Your Yes and on Instagram.

Do you know a woman crushing her goals? Would she make a great monthly muse? Email me or comment below. Let’s share the successes of women and get their work out there!