From Salon to Strength: How Katy Transformed Her Life & Built a Community of Empowered Women

In this episode of Her Purpose, I chat with Katy Johnson, founder of Awaken Athletics, a thriving all-women’s gym based in Washington. Katy shares her powerful journey from hair stylist to fitness and nutrition coach, revealing how she found her purpose by following her passion for empowering women through fitness.

We dive into:
✅ How Katy turned her passion for fitness into a thriving business
✅ The challenge of leaving something you’ve poured your heart and soul into
✅ Building confidence through small, consistent actions
✅ Navigating the fear of charging for your worth and owning your value
✅ The power of community and authentic connection in helping women awaken their highest selves

Katy’s story is a testament to taking messy action, embracing failure as part of the process, and living in alignment with your truth. She’s created a powerful, welcoming space for women to feel seen, supported, and celebrated.

Listen in and be inspired by Katy’s journey of courage, growth, and fulfillment!

Find Katy Johnson at:
💪 Website: Awaken-Athletics.com
📲 Instagram: @katy_awakenathletics

Keywords

fitness, coaching, self-worth, women empowerment, community, personal growth, nutrition, mindset, gratitude, entrepreneurship

Summary

In this conversation, Katy Johnson shares her journey from feeling inadequate in fitness to becoming a successful coach and gym owner. She discusses the importance of self-worth, community, and the transformative power of fitness for women. Katy emphasizes the need for personal growth, the challenges of entrepreneurship, and the significance of gratitude and mindset in achieving one's goals. She also highlights her commitment to empowering women through fitness and creating a supportive environment where they can thrive.

Takeaways

Katy always felt active but struggled with self-confidence.
She found her passion for fitness through CrossFit.
Katy transitioned from hairdressing to coaching after discovering her love for fitness.
Building a community was essential for her coaching journey.
Self-worth plays a crucial role in pricing services.
Creating a positive environment in fitness helps build confidence.
Living in truth leads to opportunities and connections.
Empowering women through fitness can transform their lives.
Self-care is vital for maintaining confidence and energy.
Embracing failure and taking messy action is part of growth.

Chapters

00:00 Katy's Journey into Fitness
02:54 Finding Purpose in Coaching
05:56 Building a Community and Overcoming Challenges
08:52 Monetizing Passion and Overcoming Self-Doubt
11:48 Creating a Supportive Environment for Women
14:55 Investing in Growth and Building Confidence
17:59 Living in Your Truth and Manifesting Goals
20:45 The Importance of Self-Care and Fitness
23:57 Counseling Through Coaching and Human Connection
27:41 From Waitressing to Entrepreneurship
30:48 Mindset Shifts for Success
35:36 The Power of Gratitude and Presence
40:16 Starting Small: The Journey to Meditation
43:19 Creating Community and Connection
45:47 Embracing Failure and Taking Action

Aligned & Ascending is an 8-week space where I help you get clear on your next step, your message, your offers—all of it—so you can stop second-guessing everything and actually build the purpose-driven business you’ve been thinking about.

So if you’re craving clarity and momentum—and a business that feels like you—DM me the word ALIGN on Instagram to get all the info.

Transcript

Katy Johnson (00:00)
Thank

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (00:01)
Absolutely.

So you have been running Awaken Athletics for five years. I want to talk a little bit about your passion about fitness. When you were growing up, was fitness always a huge part of your life?

Katy Johnson (00:17)
It definitely was I was always active, but I definitely compared myself to a lot of my friends around me because for some reason, I always had like the most athletic friends that were all really great at sports and stuff. So I always saw myself as not athletic. But I tried, you know, I always tried to stay moving. And in high school, I did track I did cheerleading. Some people argue about sport or not. But

And I was more drawn to like the individual sports. I think partly because I didn't view myself as this super athletic person. And so I kind of had control over, well, if I'm just doing it by myself, then I'm not affecting anyone else, you know? And so, yeah, I was active, but you know, I wasn't a star athlete by any means either.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (01:11)
point though, did you see yourself running? I love that your gym is an all women's gym. I just have to say, I love that. I don't think you see that often, but I love that. And I'm sure we'll get into more of the story behind that. at that point in your life, what did you view was purpose or what did you see yourself living out your purpose? What does that look like?

Katy Johnson (01:17)
Yes.

Oh gosh, I didn't know at that point. And I think I really, in my younger years was very caught up in the comparison game and constantly comparing myself to what other people were doing and really based myself worth off of that. And so I had a lot of friends that were like, oh, I know exactly what I'm going to college for. I know my path and I always felt a little bit.

loss like man I don't really know that like what's wrong with me and so I mean I definitely obviously gradually figured it out over time but I do feel like I figured it out a lot slower than other people but now looking back I'm so thankful for that too.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (02:17)
still say, I don't know what I want to be when I grow up and I'm in my 40s, so you're fine. So what did you do for work coming out of high school?

Katy Johnson (02:22)
Exactly.

So I was definitely always very attracted to service jobs and helping people. At one point I really thought I was gonna be a counselor because I just really liked to help other people, make them feel good. And I actually ended up going to hair school. I did hair for eight years first. And I loved it for a period of time because when women come in, you're making them feel really good about themselves. yes.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (02:46)
No.

And you're a counselor.

Katy Johnson (02:56)
And you're seriously at the same time. And so I, I was feeling that need of helping other people, but I still didn't like love it. You know, it wasn't my life's passion at that point. So that was about eight years. And then in the middle of that is when I found CrossFit. And that's when I started to dabble in working out more and actually having like a really,

just consistent routine with working out. And then that's when it started clicking for me like, I think fitness is my thing.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (03:31)
Now what about it made you feel like this is, what made you feel alive when you were practicing fitness regularly?

Katy Johnson (03:41)
Well, back to struggling with self-confidence, there was something about going in and working out and pushing my body that gave me confidence. It did something mentally, not only physically, but mentally. I just felt awesome when I left the gym. And that, I think, is what really started to turn for me. was like, okay, well, if I'm feeling this way, I feel like other people, obviously, are gonna feel this way.

So that's when I'm like, well, I think I wanna start dabbling and coaching and helping other people in that way. So then I started juggling doing hair and coaching at the same time. I got my coaching certificate and then started doing the two and then eventually I had to choose, okay, which one do I really wanna fully invest my time in?

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (04:32)
How long into coaching did you feel this is the path that I'm meant to be on? This is far more fulfilling.

Katy Johnson (04:41)
I think it was pretty quick, but then it's like finding like, okay, well I went to hair school for you how long and I invested all of this time and energy into doing that. So am I just gonna leave that now or you know?

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (04:56)
Yeah, do you struggle

with, my gosh, people are gonna think, what is she doing now?

Katy Johnson (05:00)
Right, and for a while I was wearing all the hats because I was doing the coaching before doing hair, then I would go do hair, and then I would do the coaching after that. And then I started getting into the nutrition side of it because nutrition and fitness go together. So then I became a nutrition coach. So then I'm being all these different things. And I just knew that pull.

for the nutrition and fitness was so much stronger than doing hair that I feel like it naturally over time, you come to that point where you either reach major burnout or you have to choose, you know, and I was like, okay, I'm just gonna take the leap and I'm gonna do this full time. And it was scary because, you know, you're totally switching gears, but it ended up paying off in the end for sure.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (05:53)
When

you were coaching, where were you coaching out of? Someone else's gym?

Katy Johnson (05:59)
Yeah, so the relationship I was in at the time at the very beginning of he introduced me to CrossFit and he was just dabbling in it as well. And so he had kind of a little baby gym at the time. And then we slowly together basically took on that gym and built it up over the course of like eight plus years.

And so I pretty much grew my entire fitness career, my clientele, everything in that one gym.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (06:37)
And that

was what happened to that gym.

Katy Johnson (06:40)
It's it's still it's actually still alive and well, however At the time I had to make a choice when that relationship ended to either stay there and I just didn't think that was the healthiest choice Or just walk away from it basically and you know, it was it was tough because my name wasn't on anything legally

although I gave my heart and soul and everything to that gym, I had to walk away from it. And so I walked away and, you know, it's one of those things where it was really, really tough at the time, but in hindsight, I was like, that was exactly what was supposed to happen. And the gym is still going today, but actually one of my best friends bought it. another woman that I've...

competed with and trained alongside for years. So it's an amazing place now. Super happy for her but

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (07:39)
When you say that that was a tough time, but that was meant to happen, what about that experience was tough and what parts made you feel that wasn't the right, leaving wasn't the right choice?

Katy Johnson (07:52)
Yeah, it was, you know, when you give your heart and soul to something for so many years and I also grew so much in that gym as a person, you know, I learned so many life lessons. I formed so many close relationships. The relationships built within those four walls are irreplaceable. You know, when you, you see most of those people more than you see your own family at the time because it's day in and day out and

So, you know, when you invest your heart and soul into something, but I knew that at that point, like that relationship was no longer good for me. So I needed to just restart and yeah, it turned into something so much better.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (08:44)
But there had to have been fears there as far as going out on your own. At that point, were you looking at, I'm going to start another gym?

Katy Johnson (08:50)
yeah.

Not really. I actually so that kind of ended right around COVID or right before. And so it almost naturally let me kind of go out because all the gyms were shutting down, you know, so a lot of our classes were going virtual. So I did agree to still coach virtual classes. But it gave that separation, you know, where I wasn't going into the gym every day there. And so

Then I ended up creating a home gym at my new house, just a little home gym. And we live in a pretty small town. So the community is small and there was a few girls who reached out to me, hey, are you doing workouts at your house right now? Like, can I come over and work out with you? And so, oh sure, know, so pretty soon five girls turned into 10 girls. And then I'm like,

Okay, I think I need to start monetizing my time here because it felt like a little more than just a workout with girlfriends. So I started.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (10:03)
How did you, that

is huge. Okay, I wanna dive into that because a lot of people, especially if they never had charged, a lot of people struggle with transitioning to charging for something, a service they're providing. What advice would you give to the woman that is providing a service like that but is struggling with monetizing?

Katy Johnson (10:10)
Mm-hmm.

yeah, and this is huge because I struggled I've had to do so much personal work on myself with the whole relationship with money and just really in charging for my time and my services. I think it's tough when you're in a service industry like that because it's really easy to undermine what you're worth and be like, yeah, well, you're my friend. So you can just come work out or work out for, you know, dirt cheap or whatever.

Um, and I did that at first I I was letting people come and work out and I was like, oh this feels kind of unofficial because it's just like at my house and so I won't charge you that much and then As time went on I realized how much energy I was expending doing that and like, okay Well, I'm not getting paid enough for this at all if I'm gonna make this a career and so I think that

Really when you take a step back and you think about that exchange of time for money and your energy for money Time and your energy is priceless really but if you want it to be something that people number one respect and Value your services for you have to put a price on it and you have to put a price on it That you feel comfortable about you can't think like well, I don't know that seems kind of high. I don't want to

Charge that because I'm afraid they won't come when deep down that's really what you know, you should charge And so I I've learned to kind of take a step back and be like, okay What do I feel like I'm worth and what do I feel at the end of the day if I'm charging this? I feel like that exchange is enough for me energetically to be able to sustain this business and so it definitely took trial and error and

to not charging enough to then evolving it and being able or having to say, okay, we're doing a price increase, which is also a tough thing, but it was learned over time for sure.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (12:34)
Yeah, I think when you understand the value and the transformation that you're offering, then you have more confidence to charge or raise your prices. So how did you, did you work on your belief system around the value that you provide? Or did you always know there was value in what you were providing?

Katy Johnson (12:52)
Mm-hmm

I I've always known but I still always had that little like creeping self doubt in there. well, like I know people want to come work out with me but like, it's I'm still like not doing as much as like that person over there or the comparison game of like, well, you know, just not ever thinking I'm quite as good as the next person or the next trainer.

Although I have people knocking at my door constantly asking to come it's a crazy game we play in our own mind of convincing ourselves that like we aren't You know worth whatever that is. So

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (13:43)
How many of the women in

your gym would be surprised to hear that you have those thoughts?

Katy Johnson (13:50)
I mean, I think a lot for sure. Like, and the women in my gym are amazing. And honestly, I think that they're a huge reason why I like have the confidence I do today because you know, my whole thing is no matter what, I'm going to show up for them. You know, I've made this commitment and I created this space and they're willing to come and show up every day. So I'm here to show up for them. And I think honestly together.

we have built each other's confidence. And that's like what's so beautiful about the gym is that, you know, it works both ways. Although they may see me as the leader and the coach, that is always confident, you know, that's not always the case. So.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (14:35)
It's not. It's so not. think anytime that you're in a position to breathe life into other people, they have no idea how much life that their growth breathes back into you.

Katy Johnson (14:46)
Absolutely. Yeah.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (14:48)
So when you

say you created this space, did you have a shop at home that was empty or did you have to build a shop? How did that start?

Katy Johnson (14:58)
So we had a shop with an empty, like we created an empty space in the shop and it was pretty small at the time. So it's not at the house we're at now, but it was pretty small and I had minimal equipment, but it's amazing what you can do with just a few things. And.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (15:23)
Yeah, like how much

would you say you invested financially in starting this new gym?

Katy Johnson (15:29)
I mean, I started with so little and I think, you over the course of five years, I mean, I've had to probably invested 20 to $30,000 just, you know, but it's like incrementally, it's slow, it's little bits and it's constantly reinvesting back into the business. And if you look at that number as like a big hole, it's like, that's a lot of money. But when, you know, I just kept made the commitment that, okay, you know, I have just a few things right now.

But every month I'm just gonna get another thing and I'm gonna grow it a little bit more. And so then we moved and a huge part of that was a bigger shop. And so now I have a much bigger space, just gradually adding to it every single month basically. And with that, more clients come. And if you build it and you provide a positive

Environment that solves a problem that people are looking for, know, they it will happen for sure

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (16:36)
If you build it, they will come. That's what I thought you were going to say. It's so true. Going back to the comparison, how have you, I guess, harnessed that thought? Or how have you gotten rid of that thought? Or do you still have it?

Katy Johnson (16:38)
Exactly.

I definitely still have it, but it's much more faint. And I think that just, I tell this to people like in their workouts, know, the more that you come and you just put in the work and you show yourself that you can do it, the confidence builds on its own. And I think that's what's happened with me in business is that I just continue to show up and to see it grown to what it

grown to now and it just continues to expand and opportunities. mean, honestly, even this podcast, I have to tell you this side note. One of my 2025 goals at the beginning of the year was I truly believe that something that I really need to do this year is connect with other women and put myself out there into the world and the community. And I saw that, you know, in speaking and podcasts.

And so this is just like a prime example. I'm a big believer in manifesting and just like vocalizing and putting out there what you want. And so you reached out to me and here we are.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (18:03)
So crazy to me because

I reached out to you because I could see the passion in your content. We have a mutual friend. We were not connected. But I saw you shouting out this is I was so inspired by the way you shout out your members, the way you spoke about them. I thought this woman is very passionate, obviously, about the difference that she's making in these women's lives. That's the woman I want to talk to. I want to hear your story. How awesome that you manifested that into your life.

Katy Johnson (18:24)
Please.

Right and it's cool and it's just those little moments that we can easily look past to you know that they build confidence in our lives that okay I am on the right track you know and I am living out my life's passion and it's just I believe that if we're living in our truth we get those green lights and we continue to get those green lights and if it's not for us life will show us that for sure we just have to be in tune

to listen to it.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (19:01)
Yeah, how many

times in your life have you had red lights or were you operating or working in a way that did not feel like you were in line with your truth?

Katy Johnson (19:11)
So many times, so many times, but I do think that those times are so important as well because they shape us. But I think for me, though, if I'm not living in my truth, I feel really exhausted in a bad way. There's like the good exhausted and the bad exhausted, and it's just that you're reaching and reaching and you just can't, it's not working.

And usually there's a reason why it's not working. And so if I, if I ever feel stuck in a place like that, I try to take a step back and be like, okay, why is this not working? Am I forcing it? And usually I'm trying to force something that's just not for me.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (19:52)
And yet when

you're living in your truth, how much does it feel like flow?

Katy Johnson (19:58)
it feels so good. And it feels, it's not easy necessarily. Like you're still working hard. You're still getting up and doing all the things, but it feels like you don't have to force it. And you won't have to sit there and search for the answers. It just, yeah, it feels like you're living your purpose.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (20:24)
Yeah, it's hard to describe other than you know, for me, you know you're making an impact for others and you're seeing growth in other people. So what about your life is going to help someone else in their path and their journey? And for you, fitness and how you feel about yourself, why is that so important to you that you want to share that with other women?

Katy Johnson (20:31)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I mean, I think that again through my own personal journey I've just seen, know, when all of us women are not so different, you know, we all have so many of the same struggles of trying to find our purpose. And we're wearing all the hats of wife, mother, friend, a lot of business owner, whatever it is.

and struggle with self confidence or yeah, just trying to do it all. And I really wanted to take the lessons that I've learned from that and provide a space for women where they can come in and forget all of it if they need to for an hour or work through it even and or come in and find a group of women where

It's so cool sometimes as an instructor to take a step back because I'll just hear the women having different conversations of they're forming these relationships that are so supportive and so positive just from coming into the gym together for an hour every day and That's a support system that every woman needs I believe

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (22:07)
How many women have you seen come into your community that you've built, then go on to transform their lives outside of the gym because of the environment that they've experienced inside your walls?

Katy Johnson (22:19)
I mean, I think every single one of them in some way, it's the best thing to watch someone come in on their first day and they're nervous and they're scared and they're scared of what other people think and then to come in and be welcome and you just see that confidence grow, that self worth grow and then it...

it translates into their everyday lives. It's different for every woman and how that translates, it does, it has a direct impact and whether it's in their relationships or their jobs. But it's, I feel so blessed to be in that position that they trust me to be vulnerable physically and emotionally when they come into the gym and

It's, you know, it I don't take it lightly at all.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (23:18)
Was there a time in your life where you didn't have self-confidence because you weren't investing in your physical fitness?

Katy Johnson (23:27)
yeah, yes. There was definitely, mean, younger like high school years, you I did of course the whole like starvation diet where, you know, you're barely eating nothing just to be skinny. And there was time early twenties where, you know, I was probably drank too much or ate fried food too much, you know, and there's those phases of life where I look back and like, gosh, how did I do that?

Now I have one margarita and I'm like, you feel it the next day. But yeah, but.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (24:00)
I'm sorry.

Life over 40. I don't know if you're over 40. I am over 40. You don't look over 40.

Katy Johnson (24:08)
Almost I'm close

But yeah, and it's it's funny how you you know, just evolve and think wow I used to treat my body that way and Honestly, even there was a time where I was too extreme with my fitness too, you know, it can be the other side as well where I Was obsessing over it. And so I think that is a huge thing too that

I can help women with is the extremes. You don't want any of those extremes because any of them can be unhealthy to a degree.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (24:48)
Absolutely. It's interesting. Our purpose isn't just tied to our work. It's not just tied to our physical fitness alone. It's not just tied to our marriage. It's not just tied to our role as a mom. There are so many aspects of our purpose in this life. Physical fitness is such an important piece in how you're able to give to others the more that you give to yourself, the more you're able to give to others.

And I think that's something that you learn as you get older, realizing I can't pour from an empty cup. And if I'm not investing back into myself, how can I show up for others in the best way possible? So I think that's so key for women to learn that lesson and to do it from a place of honoring your body and respecting your body and loving your body instead of, hate my body. I don't like the way I look. I want to look differently. It's all about honor and respect, right?

Katy Johnson (25:22)
Yeah.

And that's something that I love about fitness and the way that we do things here is because it's actually just respecting your body and praising it for what it can do and what it's capable of. It's not beating it down because you you dislike it or you hate a certain part of your body. I try to create a really positive atmosphere of celebrating like, know, hey, you just lifted 10 pounds more than you did last week or

you know, it's celebrating what your body can do versus what it just looks like.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (26:15)
Absolutely. Do you feel you love the counseling aspect that you still get to provide in what you do?

Katy Johnson (26:24)
yeah, for sure. mean, it's just, comes with, with coaching. You know, it's, you put people in a vulnerable state like that and everything usually spills out, but I love it. I do because it connects, it connects you with people, you know, and what is life if we don't have that human connection? That's what it's all about. And you know, it's, I don't want to go.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (26:37)
Yeah.

Katy Johnson (26:52)
clock in and out and you know I've never been someone that could work for someone else or clock in and out it's just not in my DNA nothing not that there's anything wrong with that but I just crave that that connection with people and going deeper and having those conversations of like hey you're feeling not great today why is that like let's dig deeper

you know, is it your sleep? Is it your routine? Like, and then, you know, we usually unpack all kinds of things, but it, it's really, it's just as rewarding to have those conversations as it is like the work, the workouts as well.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (27:38)
Now you said earlier that you were in the service industry, you did other jobs where you did clock in.

Katy Johnson (27:44)
I did, yeah.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (27:45)
I did

also, and I'm the same as you. I started out as a waitress and now I think I could never clock in. I could never do that. And obviously it serves a purpose, but compare and contrast work in a way that you don't feel is fulfilling to what you feel is, what you do now. How is it different?

Katy Johnson (27:58)
Yes.

Yeah.

I mean the jobs that I did in the past I feel like they were just stepping stones and they have their purpose but They just they didn't light me up. They didn't give me energy they You're just trying to get by and get through it versus like actually be able to be in it and enjoy it and

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (28:28)
Now were you

raised to know that? Did you see that growing up that there's a different way?

Katy Johnson (28:34)
No,

no, which is funny. I mean, my dad was in sales my entire life and he clocked in and out every single day. And my mom did the same. She was stay at home mom for most of the time. But yeah, the entrepreneurial side of me, I'm honestly not really sure where that came from.

But I've always been that way from a young age, like like doing hair. was like, I can run my own business doing this. So I'm going to do that, you know, and

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (29:08)
But you didn't see that. So

did you read books? Did you have friends? Was there other families around you?

Katy Johnson (29:14)
Yeah, there was I definitely had friends and family, family friends that ran their own businesses. And I think I saw that. And I saw the freedom that they had with that. I never I I've been asked this question many times like, Oh, well, who's your role model? Like, who did you look up to? Did you know and I can't say that there's one in

particular person that I was like, they, you know, they created their own business and they got after it, it was kind of just this something like thing that happened organically in me. I think when I became a trainer, I did, we were kind of part of another bigger gym. So I was still working under someone and I just didn't like to be told what to do. And so was like, okay, well, yeah, so like, okay, well, if I can do

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (30:07)
You're like, totally.

Katy Johnson (30:11)
what I love, what I can tell myself what to do and create my own thing, then I'm gonna go that route. So.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (30:19)
But you actually work more.

Katy Johnson (30:21)
my gosh, way more. mean, yeah, and you're not, you're not a business owner, an entrepreneur, if you don't question your sanity at least a couple of times a week. I'm like, I mean, there's definitely been times where, you know, and I will say with awaken, there was a period of time in the first couple of years where I didn't fully commit. Like I didn't jump in with both. I kind of had one foot in one foot out thinking like, okay, is this really gonna work?

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (30:23)
But when you want to.

Yeah.

Katy Johnson (30:51)
Like, I make this a full-time thing? What does that even look like? You can get overwhelmed too with like, what does it even look like to like run a gym? And how am I even gonna make that happen? And like we were saying earlier, when I just took the little baby steps, I finally just kind of hit this point where I was like, okay, I have to go all in. If this is gonna work, like I have to jump in with both feet. And the second that I did that, I mean, it was like, took off like wildfire.

and

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (31:21)
What

did you change in how you showed up? Just your mindset?

Katy Johnson (31:28)
Yeah, I think it was a huge mindset shift. I wrote this down because it's a book that honestly like really changed me. It's and I'm gonna forget the author right now but it's called high performance habits. I don't know if you've read it. But it's so good. And anyone I mean, anyone can benefit but especially like women in business. And it's just those tiny little daily habits.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (31:33)
What sparked that?

Not that one.

Katy Johnson (31:58)
the things we say to ourselves in our own head, showing up daily with a sense of joy, that's a huge one, is living by the line of bring the joy. So every time, every day when you show up, you're bringing the joy to everyone around you. And because it can get easy to get stuck in that monotonous day-to-day grind and be like,

to do this again, I got like a long day, am I going to survive instead deciding like, no, I'm going to like get up and I'm gonna bring the joy to other people and for my own self. And that's something that really shifted for me. And also deciding to be fully present with every person that walks in my jam. And for that hour, like, when they come into my jam, that's their hour.

You know, I mean that's a lot of times for women. That's the only hour they make for themselves only

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (32:59)
What

change though that made you realize I'm not being fully present, I'm not operating in gratitude and what I have to create here?

Katy Johnson (33:10)
I think I found myself some days like being just that like being a little bit grumpy to put it just plainly just like and I think part of that is the overwhelm of business ownership sometimes and being like, my gosh, there's like all these things that I want to do and because right as of right now I'm a one man show. I'm the only instructor and I coach seven to eight hours.

classes a day and you know, it's a full schedule and it can feel like a lot sometimes and I just kind of let the heaviness and the weight of like all of the responsibility of that weigh me down a little bit and like because when you own a business like it's up to you whether you succeed or fail and sometimes that can be really overwhelming and too for me I think knowing like okay I have all these women in here that

are depending on me every single day and I need to show up for them. And I think I kind of let that overwhelm me a little bit. And then when I decided to change my internal thoughts about it, everything changed for sure.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (34:28)
It's so interesting that how we think about things impacts everything about our lives. How we look at what we're doing for the day, how we look at how we get to show up, the framing that we get to put around what we're doing. How does it feel now knowing that you are showing up? I see that in your content. I would say joy is a word that I saw in your content. I love that you celebrated a woman that was pregnant and

Katy Johnson (34:33)
Mm-hmm.

my-

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (34:55)
how she's showing up, how cool, but how does it feel to show up knowing that you're operating from a place of gratitude? I guess where did you learn that space? Was there a book? Was there a podcast? Was there an experience that said you need to be operating in gratitude and not overwhelmed?

Katy Johnson (35:18)
Yeah, I think I got to a point where I was kind of tired of feeling overwhelmed. And I do a lot of work on myself. And just because, you know, I have to in order to, I have to fill my own cup in order to give to others. yeah.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (35:40)
What does that look like? So when you

say work on yourself, what does that look like?

Katy Johnson (35:44)
I get up every morning and I immediately do a meditation. So I have like several different meditation apps I follow and it kind of it just gives me doesn't have to be long and I am NOT like perfect at meditating I don't think there's any perfect way to do it But I for a long time I stayed away from it. So was like, I don't even know what that looks like but I more and more I've gotten into that just to give myself that moment before like the busy day starts to calm my mind

and feel centered and no phone, no phone. get up and do the meditation. I journal and I always start my journal off with what I'm grateful for first. And then another book that's actually changed my life in a lot of ways is called the desire map. And it's really cool because it's mapping out your goals by how you want to feel in your life, not by

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (36:16)
So no phone.

Katy Johnson (36:42)
Just like want to achieve achieve achieve and so I start my day with what I'm grateful for and how do I want to feel today and Those two things are like huge for setting the tone and then I will get out any other things I need to get out really quick and then I Always try to kind of put myself together because you know when you feel good then you can play good and so I I get up early, but I still try to put myself together

Set my start my day even if the whole meditation journal takes 10 minutes, you know, it's better than nothing for me and then I'm I like to break up my day with like going for a walk or Even just having my own little quiet times spread throughout the day even if it's five minutes to recenter and that's when I love to listen to podcasts or audio books and pretty much all the ones I listen to are like self

help things like your podcast, you know, where it's inspiring me and it's helping me grow as a person and learn in business as well. Yeah.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (37:49)
That's so

me too. I'm constantly listening to something that is fueling my brain, causing me to think about things differently, maybe opening up my mind to something new and different, or reminding me of something that I haven't been focusing on. It's constant.

Katy Johnson (38:05)
Yeah,

yeah it is I know sometimes I'm like, okay I think I'm just gonna like actually go for a walk and not listen to anything because

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (38:13)
Have you?

Have you actually ever done that? It's so hard.

Katy Johnson (38:17)
It is, it is, because I'm like, I mean, it's definitely in my personality to be, and I think it's a lot of women who are entrepreneurs to be like, you know, you always have to be go, go, go learning or, you know, utilizing the most of your time and every hour of your whole day. Another one, another app I use is called Activations. And if you haven't heard of it, you should check it out. Cause if you are on a

or even if you're in the car or anything, it's kind of a little bit opposite of meditation. They talk you through it and it just helps put your mind in like a really positive place or helps you channel your thoughts into like wherever you want them to go, whether it's like positive thinking about money or like de-stressing or whatever it is. So I do those a lot too.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (39:12)
activations, I'll totally download.

Katy Johnson (39:14)
Yeah, it's called the,

it's called Superhuman App.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (39:20)
Oh, I think I know. I have seen that. I follow someone online that is part of that. She's one of the women that's part of that. Katie, is it Katie, please?

Katy Johnson (39:22)
Really good.

really? Yeah, yeah I think it was-

Is it what?

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (39:39)
Katie Fleece, does that name sound familiar? I'll have to send it to you and see if that's who it is. But yeah, it's interesting, like I said, how we think about things, how we think about money, and understanding that we have control over reframing those thoughts. And we have subconscious beliefs about money, about ourselves, about the world around us, that it takes intentional thought to rewire those beliefs, but it's absolutely possible. What advice would you give to the woman that's listening that

Katy Johnson (39:41)
I don't know. I don't know.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (40:08)
wants to live in joy and gratitude and maybe hasn't started meditation, but wants to go down that path more, what would you tell her?

Katy Johnson (40:20)
just start and then know that it takes that just like working out, know, it takes showing up every single day and just committing to the process of it. And even if it's three minutes, even if it's five minutes, you know, start small and eventually, you know, carve out time. Most women need to like in their calendar, carve out the time. Otherwise it's not gonna happen and commit to that.

and eventually it just becomes a habit. you know, accountability is huge too. I even tell my closest friends still like, hey, I've got off track doing these routines and I know I feel my best when I'm doing it. So keep me on track.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (41:10)
That is the most powerful way to create a new habit is having an accountability partner that you check in with. It's far more impactful than writing a goal down, having a vision board, making a plan. Accountability is the number one way to actually instill that habit. So smart. So as far as your goals, you wanna be speaking more. What do you see yourself providing in the world in 2025 and beyond that you haven't already been providing?

Katy Johnson (41:27)
Yes.

Well, you know my gym is all about connecting with women and helping women My my slogan I guess you could call is like awaken your highest self and I just want women to connect with their deepest highest self like what makes them feel absolutely a hundred percent like themselves and connected to themselves and

And I don't know if you saw me and my friend and business partner now, we've started doing women's retreats. And yeah, so we've done one a year for the past couple of years. And then we've been doing like pop-up events where we're doing yoga and breath work and where it reminds me a lot of you because we're bringing in women and highlighting their business or their talent or whatever it is. So they'll come in and teach or whatever it is that they do. And so.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (42:18)
how cool!

Katy Johnson (42:40)
Outside of the gym, we've really been stepping out and creating these experiences for women where they can connect on a different level in that way. so, you know, and again, it's all happened in a way where I've just, we kind of put the idea out there and then the pieces start to fall into place. And so that's my goal really is just to continue to connect with other women like you, like,

women who have businesses and talent that want to connect and share. you know, I think when women come together and do that, it's a really, really powerful thing.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (43:22)
I think we get these little ideas, they're like little embers of something that we think, that might be fun, that might be empowering, that might be exciting. And then we talk ourselves out of it. And we need that courage to pursue it. And that's my whole goal is that women hear these stories and hear they had an idea and they went after it and they created something amazing with it. But we all also have those thoughts of what if it doesn't work? What if it's a waste? What if no one shows up? What if it doesn't work? Like those all happen for all of us.

Katy Johnson (43:32)
Mm-hmm.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (43:50)
What is the best advice that you've ever received, either in business or in living in purpose for you?

Katy Johnson (43:59)
I think honestly just...

taking messy action. had a business coach that said, take messy action and you're gonna mess up, you're gonna trip up and you're gonna probably feel dumb once in a while, but it's better than not taking action at all. And I think that that is something that's probably had the most impact on me because for a long time I got caught up in like having all the answers and.

Having all my ducks in a row before I took any steps and once I just started Taking the action and creating that momentum You know it it just snowballs from there. So I go ahead go ahead

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (44:44)
Did you have, sorry. Did

you have to grow to understand or accept failure as not, failure is such a strong word, but did you work on accepting that that's a part of the process and that is what helps you learn what your customer actually needs, what the process, to tweak the process?

Katy Johnson (45:08)
Yeah, definitely. I think that we can be so scared of failure and so scared of messing up. And I think it's the fear, for me, was like, what if they see me fail? And what if they see me, they're gonna judge me, I guess is what you're afraid of, I don't know. And I think honestly, in the end, I've realized that people connect to you and they respect you more when you can be like, hey, I messed up or hey, I...

I failed 10 times to get here because we all do it. So when we can just do that and accept it and embrace it, it actually connects us more with the people around us.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (45:42)
So.

gives ourselves more grace in understanding that's just part of the process and that's when people see us fail and get back up again, it gives them the courage to do the same. So what is one thing that you wish people knew about you or knew better about you?

Katy Johnson (45:57)
Thank

Yes.

That's good question.

I think that one thing I hear a lot, I think in the gym, because I've been in the fitness world for a long time, they're like, well, of course, you can do that, you're you. I hear that a lot. I think the one thing I want people to know is I'm exactly like everybody else. And I've had times where I've been really scared and I've failed and I've been unsure and...

It might look different for me than someone else but you know, I'm I'm just like you and we are all in this together and It's really at the end of the day. It's just my desire to connect with other women so that we can truly truly live our best life

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (47:10)
Absolutely. You get to lend your clients your confidence and strength little by little and you're building into their future. But you're not taking the thing I love about what you do is that in that line of work that in I think any way that we're showing up in the world and empowering other women, it's never taking anything from our own light. It's lighting that flame in somebody else that never takes anything away from you. We all we all get to grow as people.

Katy Johnson (47:36)
Mm-hmm.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (47:38)
by sharing our struggles, by sharing our strengths, by sharing our journey, by sharing our joy, all of it, we rise. I love the awakened, what is your quote? I've seen it a couple of times.

Katy Johnson (47:44)
Mm-hmm.

Awaken your highest self.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (47:53)
Awaken your highest self. Yes, I love that. That's what we do when we share our authentic selves with the people around us. Where, if you are local to, what town do you live in?

Katy Johnson (47:59)
Mm-hmm.

the little town of Winlock, which is Yeah, it's Basically just south of I have you heard of like Centralia the Twin Cities and try to in Washington. So I'm just south of that Yeah

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (48:08)
I've never heard of that!

Yeah. Mm-hmm. OK. I knew that

you were in Oregon, but I wasn't sure what city in Oregon. If anyone is in Oregon and close by, how can they find you?

Katy Johnson (48:24)
Washington.

I'm in Washington. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (48:31)
Oh, it is in Washington. Oh, that makes so

much sense because Sarah lived in Washington. So I thought, where did I see Oregon? I swear I saw Oregon somewhere. I don't know why.

Katy Johnson (48:43)
Sarah is I think has a lot going on in Oregon, but Yeah, Washington, but yes, so You can find me on my website awaken athletics calm the wake and dash athletics calm and You can connect with me there. I do also do offer some virtual training and nutrition coaching in there as well

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (48:47)
Maybe.

Katy Johnson (49:10)
But yeah, if you're local you can come in and try a free class and Community is awesome and super welcoming. So

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (49:19)
wanna look into your retreats, that sounds amazing.

Katy Johnson (49:23)
Yes, if you go on my website, there's a spot where you can check that out as well. Wow. So nice chatting with you. So fun. Thank you.

Kindra0015@hotmail.com (49:29)
Awesome. Well, thanks for spending your day with me. It was so nice to chat with you.

Bye.