The Power of the Pivot: Jennifer Christenson on Reinventing Yourself with Purpose, Faith, and Fierce Resilience

What if the version of you five years from now is someone you can’t even imagine today?

In this deeply inspiring episode, I sit down with beauty tech founder and purpose-driven entrepreneur Jennifer Christensen, whose journey is a powerful testament to the freedom found in reinvention. From pursuing a career in medicine to launching her own talk show, from becoming a first runner-up in Miss Illinois to building a groundbreaking app that empowers women through personalized beauty—Jennifer has lived many lives in one.

But beneath every pivot is a deeper story: of faith, identity, resilience, and the courage to say, “I’m allowed to change.”

We talk about:
✨ Losing yourself in motherhood—and finding your power again
✨ Grieving the life you thought you’d live
✨ The myth of perfection and the freedom of being misunderstood
✨ Building purpose-driven businesses without losing yourself in the process
✨ How to move forward even when you don’t have it all figured out

Whether you’re in a season of transition or just craving the permission to pivot, this conversation will leave you grounded in grace and fired up to pursue your purpose.

This is your reminder: You’re not behind. You’re becoming.

Keywords

beauty tech, self-care, entrepreneurship, women empowerment, personal growth, authenticity, mentorship, resilience, technology, self-identity

Summary

In this conversation, Jennifer shares her journey of launching Face Trace, a beauty tech app designed to empower diverse women in their self-care routines. She discusses the importance of self-identity, the power of pivots in life and business, and the significance of mentorship and vulnerability. Jennifer emphasizes the need for women to embrace their authentic selves, learn from mistakes, and maintain a mindset of gratitude and resilience. The discussion also touches on the impact of personal experiences on professional growth and the importance of creating meaningful connections with others.

Takeaways

Face Trace empowers women to embrace their unique beauty.
Self-care is essential for personal fulfillment and joy.
Pivots in life can lead to unexpected opportunities.
Finding value in oneself is crucial for confidence.
Rediscovering identity is a common challenge for mothers.
Mistakes are learning opportunities, not failures.
Authenticity requires courage and self-acceptance.
Mentorship plays a vital role in personal and professional growth.
Vulnerability fosters deeper connections with others.
Daily gratitude practices enhance overall well-being.

Chapters

00:00 Empowering Beauty Through Technology
03:04 The Power of the Pivot
06:08 Navigating Life's Transitions
11:59 Embracing Authenticity and Courage
18:11 Building Meaningful Connections
23:58 Self-Empowerment and Daily Practices
30:42 The Importance of Being Seen and Understood
33:22 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Taking Action
35:12 Faith and Personal Growth
37:20 The Bible as a Guide for Life and Business
38:38 Navigating Life's Challenges and Grieving Loss
40:24 Letting Go of 'Shoulds' and Embracing Change
43:00 The Impermanence of Life and Success
44:18 Advice That Shapes Our Journey
45:40 The Impact of Perception and Intentions
50:28 Entrepreneurship and Solving Problems
54:53 Connecting and Sharing Stories

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

Kindra Morse (00:00)
And so I am so pumped to have this conversation with you. I know just a little bit about your background and what I do know, you're a powerhouse of a woman. You launched a beauty tech brand, Face Trace. So before we talk about purpose and what you know purpose to be today, talk just a little bit about what Face Trace is and what your mission is behind Face Trace.

Jennifer (00:21)
Yeah, thank you so much. I'm excited to be with you. So Face Trace is a mobile app. We've developed a software that teaches diverse women how to properly apply cosmetics ⁓ for their diverse facial features. So if you are trying to apply cosmetics, it's important that you do it specifically for your face shape, eye shape, skin tone, and eye color. And what the market offers you today is make up tutorials. And you might be following ⁓ methods that somebody uses to get a particular look.

⁓ in a way that is not best for you. So allowing women to have a customized solution for self-care was what we created with technology ⁓ using AI and AR. And I came up with this just because I learned that only 4 % of women in the world feel beautiful. And there's so many reasons why that would be true, right? We're constantly evolving, we're constantly changing. There's so much pressure, there's so many challenges. There's a lot of comparison, especially with the interplay of social media.

And ⁓ I saw a study that ⁓ called the lipstick effect that simply applying lipstick and not only boosted your self-esteem, but your cognitive abilities and your academic performance because think about it, it makes sense. Look better, feel better, right? Perform better. And so I know, especially as a mom and an entrepreneur that juggles a lot, just like all women, ⁓ you know, the first thing that we compromise is self-care. And when you compromise self-care, you become disconnected from yourself.

Kindra Morse (01:35)
you

Jennifer (01:50)
and your purpose and ⁓ you don't have the ultimate levels of joy in life. And ⁓ I wanted to create a solution that was convenient for women to have self care that made them feel good. And so here we are.

Kindra Morse (02:05)
my gosh, I can't wait to check it out. have not used it myself, but I'm so curious what it's.

Jennifer (02:08)
yeah. So

it's in a private mode right now for beta testers. So I've tested it with 1,500, and ⁓ that's kind of the challenge and journey of entrepreneurship. I started this like in the pandemic. And ⁓ so the journey of capital raising is tough in the kind of climate that we've been in. So I raised capital that got me to the first stage of building what we call our MVP, testing it with 1,500 users. And then, you know, we're working on the next stage, advancing it.

You know, that is something that happens in entrepreneurship is I always say the power of the pivot. You might start one way and think that you're going to use your technology or your business or whatever ⁓ in one direction. And then as you have conversations and in the market or with other, you know, business opportunities, you decide that you maybe want to go in a different way. So I'm exploring some other avenues for the tech and the software right now, ⁓ some licensing things. And so that's what we're working on today.

Kindra Morse (03:04)
What I find so inspiring about you is the power of the pivot. Let's dive into that because you have made major life pivots. Talk a little bit about what you first thought you wanted to do coming out of high school, going into college.

Jennifer (03:20)
Wow, yeah, I've had a lot of pivots. So I always call them the leap of faith, right? In entrepreneurship, we call it the pivot, but a leap of faith, that was when I first ⁓ started to learn these things. I had lived my whole life thinking I was gonna be a doctor. And I mean, from a very young little girl. That was what I studied. I was a science geek. I was the science fair winner. I was all those things. I was volunteering in hospitals, thousands of hours.

before I graduated high school. I was 15, I got my first job at a doctor's office, went to the University of Michigan because that's had a great med school and that's what I was gonna do. So I was pre-med there and I was in my second year of school and I just had a very entrepreneurial spirit and I wanted the opportunity to still help people and create impact but I didn't like two things. One, I didn't like the way insurance companies

have an impact on how you can practice medicine. That was bothersome to me that I wouldn't be able to treat patients in the way that I knew they would need me or other doctors and feel like my hands were tied. ⁓ And two, I felt like I'd be suffocated in the doctor's office and I realized there were more ways that I can help people or create impact without having to be a doctor, which is why I wanted to be a doctor. So I said, know,

Maybe I love to write and I wanted to have a talk show once upon a time and I ended up doing that in my lifetime. And I said, you know, I think I'm gonna go into the media and I can work in communities, I can have a voice, I can build a platform and create impact in a variety of ways from there. And so I said, okay, I will finish my medical school stuff, all my credits, I will add journalism on, had a new degree, was in psychology. If it doesn't work out, I'll just be a neurosurgeon because I've taken all the courses.

So it ended up working out. an intern. started as an intern at Fox News in Detroit, Southfield. ⁓ And I would, took 21 credits at a time. I did my internship at 5 p.m. I got home at two in the morning. I did my homework, went to school. ⁓ So I was reporting. I graduated from the University of Michigan a year early, because I was taking so many credits at a time. And I went into college with a lot of AP courses. So.

In that three years, ⁓ in that year that I was able to buy, I was able to explore, you know, a career path, maybe differently than my peers, because I gave myself an extra year to do that. So I came home to Chicago at the time, and then I started, ⁓ you know, pitching different shows to different networks. And I started working at WCIU in Chicago. I pitched a show called the Chicago Insider, and I was, I hosted it, I produced it.

And I was interviewing all the celebs and politicians and all kinds of people that came into town I was working with like I interviewed President Clinton and you know Beyonce and Kanye at the time and you know a lot of different congressmen are Rewalters I mean it was it was like they were like who's this young kid coming here because Chicago wasn't that sort of entertainment market so I did that and then It was 2008 and oh my god the market

crashed and everybody was getting laid off. Yeah. And I was like, wow, you know, I have to figure something out, but not just for me, was like, was looking at all these business owners and I had built this huge network. ⁓ especially being in the media and social media had just come out and I was one of the first Facebook kids cause I was a freshman in college in 2004. So I had a network that maybe virtually like nobody in the country, the world had yet.

Kindra Morse (06:40)
I remember that.

Jennifer (07:07)
because we, social media just started. So had thousands of people following me. And ⁓ I said, I wanna help these people promote their businesses. So I started a PR company with some girlfriends that were also in PR. And we used to have business events and marketing events and help people build their brands. It doing great. ⁓ And then one day a girlfriend calls me and says, I signed you up for Miss Illinois. And I was like, what?

Like that wasn't my thing. ⁓ And she's like, I was like, I'm not doing that. that's beauty isn't my thing. Like, you know, and also if I'm being honest at that point in my life, it wasn't something I was comfortable with. It was, I was actually like, I think I went through, I had to do a lot of ⁓ proving myself, especially being in medicine where people thought maybe I looked a certain way and they treated me a certain way because of it. And so was.

Kindra Morse (08:05)
Mm-hmm. ⁓

Jennifer (08:06)
I shied away from a lot and

Kindra Morse (08:08)
I don't want

to be known just for my beauty. I want to be known for my brains.

Jennifer (08:13)
Yeah, and well not just that, but people would just come to me and they weren't nice and um, man even to this day like if I think back that might make me cry right like it was tough and um, uh, god that's crazy how that can get you and you just don't even know like 20 more years i'm gonna leave now years later. Um, but um,

Kindra Morse (08:17)
Mm-hmm.

it gives you a chance.

I mean, takes you back to young life.

Jennifer (08:40)
Anyways, so she's like, don't worry about it. If they don't call you, they don't call you. And I was like, all right, whatever. Well, they called. And they're like, you we saw your photos, we read your background, we'd like to offer you this opportunity. At the time I was 26 and they were, and I said, thank you, but no, thank you. And they said, well, listen, you're gonna age out. You'll never have this opportunity again. And I was like, my God. Like, well, you know, I'm the kind of person if you tell me that never again, I'm like, I need to do this, right? So I did it.

And I ended up being the first runner up because I was too old to continue on. I was gonna age out, but I essentially won the damn thing, right? And I worked my butt off. I was the shortest girl, the oldest girl, the first time doing it. Other people were there for the seventh time, literally. And man, to relearn how to walk, to dance, to do all these things, I was boxing every day and working out three times a day.

It was a huge experience, but what it taught me was how to find your value in your work. had nothing to, well, it didn't teach me that, it revalidated what I knew. But now it was interesting because I was standing on a stage where people were looking at me in terms of what they thought of beauty. But for me, I had pride, I had no more... ⁓

thoughts of what other people were seeing. was completely internal. I was proud to stand up there in a bikini and a ball gown, didn't matter what, because I was like, I worked my ass off, honey, so think what you want. And I took that with me as a developing woman because it has allowed me to share with other women that your value is an internal thing. Find your pride in your journey, the hard times, the good times, all of it.

Kindra Morse (10:12)
Thank

Jennifer (10:31)
It will never be by what people see from the outside. And I'm a believer that perception is false. I am not a believer in perception. People always say, perception is the truth and it's what they see. Just because that's how you see it doesn't mean that's what it is. Ask somebody, right? you know, so ⁓ it was a big, a journey for me and a learning experience. then, you know, eventually I became a mom.

And I focused on that time. did some business things, you know, here and there, you know, working from home and independently as like an entrepreneur. But ⁓ I focused on raising my son. And then when he went to kindergarten full time, it was, it was interesting because I had a moment where a friend of mine said to me, Jennifer, remember when you used to, cause I used be very vocal on social media and remember when you used to do this? Remember when you achieved that? And I was like, I did? Like I had virtually, absolutely.

honestly forgotten. I didn't even remember I had done so many of those things in my life. And it showed me how much of myself that I lost because my new life as a mom was, you know, it's seven o'clock. my God, maybe I can shower now, know, pee. Right? Like, my God, I have to brush my teeth or I want to, you know, and okay, I the baby on the floor and a little thing. And, you know, while I'm trying to do all this stuff at one time and,

you lose yourself. And so when he went to school, I was looking at the markets and I was like, you know, ⁓ beauty is a big market. Tech is a big market. Let's bring them together and see what we can achieve for women. And so that's where we are.

Kindra Morse (12:12)
Oh my gosh, what an incredible story. so many pivots and so many things that I want to touch on. If a woman as powerful as you can forget who you are, no wonder so many moms forget their identity or forget who they are in this world when they're going through motherhood, right? And finding our way back to ourselves, understanding who are we in this world and what is the impact that we're meant to make. But going back to some of those different pivots, I know there's a lot of women that are in a season of transition that are wondering, how do I make this transition? How do I...

know that I'm on the right path. How do I know that I am making moves that I'm meant to make? Speak to some of those feelings that you've felt as you've made all these different transitions.

Jennifer (12:53)
I love that question and here's why. What I notice in many people is that they are so afraid to make mistakes. Personally, I am not. If something goes wrong, well, I'm a problem solver. I'm gonna fix it, okay? And I noticed that in a lot of people in a lot of businesses that they're so afraid that they're gonna make a mistake or something's gonna go wrong. They never start.

And ⁓ it's okay. It's okay if something doesn't go as planned. think honesty is the most liberating ⁓ virtue. Can we call it a virtue? Right. Virtue to have is, know, especially when I have business calls as an entrepreneur or do pitches, they'll say, you know, if I'm asked a question, I'll be like, well, honestly, I don't know that right now. I said, but here's what I'm doing to try to understand that information.

Here's what my hope is. This is what my intentions are. This is what I'm actively pursuing. This is what I'm going to try. But I don't know that answer. And I think having the ability to say, don't know is powerful. It's okay. ⁓ Having the ability to say that this, messed up. I made a mistake. Can you teach me? This isn't going how I thought. ⁓ You know, we are human. the minute that you accept that of yourself,

Kindra Morse (14:04)
Thanks, everyone.

Jennifer (14:20)
you will start to elevate and achieve in new ways that you probably would never have dreamed of. It's a really important thing to be able to do.

Kindra Morse (14:30)
Absolutely,

I'm with you. I don't think there's anything that is wrong. There's mistakes in some people's definition, but for me it's learning lessons. It's things that maybe just didn't work out. So it's ways of finding ways that will work out. I'm always experimenting and that's okay. As far as transitioning though, did you ever struggle with what is the world going to think of me now when I go from becoming a doctor to transitioning into media?

Is will I be judged for this or transitioning from media into business consultants? Am I going to be judged for this? Did you ever struggle with that?

Jennifer (15:04)
Yeah, it was a huge, that's when I called the leap of faith. It was a heartbreaking, devastating moment for me. I remember just sitting in a physics course at U of M and I just was writing brainstorming ideas of things that I wanted to do. And I literally just put my pencil down and I was like, I'm done. And they're like looking at me like, do you mean you're like, I'm done. And this isn't what I'm gonna do. And the...

turmoil inside for me. It was sad. was heartbreaking because I really did want to be a doctor. And I felt like I remember like I was letting my family down. I remember I even like called my grandfather because he would, oh, my daughter, Jenny, she, my granddaughter, she's going to be a doctor. And like, there was so much pride that people took in that idea that they had for you. And I remember calling him and telling him about it. And he was like, honey, whatever you want, he's going to make me happy. And I was like, okay.

And I think I was really stuck on that and you have to learn for yourself and for others that the vision of how you think your life is gonna go is gonna change a million times. Even if you do exactly what you said, that doesn't mean that that's what it's always gonna be. We can change and reinvent ourselves constantly. ⁓ actually it's liberating and you should be excited about that opportunity in life. You can always change your mind. You know, if you call me in the morning and say,

Kindra Morse (16:29)
you

Jennifer (16:30)
You know, obviously you want to be reliable, right? ⁓ But you you learn new information and as a result, you're supposed to change and evolve. You don't have to stay in one path constantly.

Kindra Morse (16:45)
We're always becoming different versions of ourselves. And the version of ourselves that we are today would never have made the same decisions before. But that's the beauty of it, that you get to make new decisions because of the new version of yourself that you've become. I think there's a lot of women that are living in what they believe someone else wants them to be versus stepping into this is the impact I know I'm called to make in the world. How does that courage feel for you?

Jennifer (17:12)
It is interesting because I think as you mature as a woman or man or have new life experiences, but I think especially as a woman, because there's a lot of different pressures on us of how we should be. ⁓ I was definitely raised in a house of how I should be. There weren't like many risk takers. And I think the older I got and the more triumph that I experienced.

⁓ I became much more secure in being able to say no. I became much more confident in who I am as a person and the definition of who Jennifer is and what my truth is inside, ⁓ comparative to how people see me or what they expect or what they hear when I say something as opposed to how I mean it. And then I think you start to align with people that ⁓

accept the authentic you and want to know that person and give you grace when you don't align with how they want you to be. And I think that's empowering. Does that answer that question?

Kindra Morse (18:24)
totally. It's interesting to me that you didn't see risk takers. What was it in the world that gave you the confidence to be a risk taker when you didn't grow up seeing that?

Jennifer (18:36)
Oh, see what it looks like when you're not. And I think in a lot of households, kids either grow up and they do exactly what their parents do or they do the opposite. I, you know, there's things of course that I, when it comes to particular values and ethics and things like that, I always align with my parents, but you know, they're very safe people. mom's also,

Kindra Morse (18:39)
Right, speak to that.

Jennifer (19:04)
It's interesting because so my mom's an immigrant. She's from, she was born in Palermo, Sicily. She came here when she was a teen with six siblings. And I would think that somebody that crosses oceans to come and had to like relearn their ABCs and you know, when they're in high school and all of that stuff would be very unafraid to do new things. My mom's not that way. And ⁓ I just want it different. I didn't want to ever be

Kindra Morse (19:26)
BULL

Jennifer (19:34)
to say to somebody, can't do that because I don't know how. I'm like, Google exists, okay? There's nothing in the world that we cannot do. So, you know, when I was a little kid, at the time they had the yellow pages, right? The internet wasn't even out until I was, you know, little, ⁓ middle school. And ⁓ I used to use, I used to call random people in the yellow pages and...

Kindra Morse (19:39)
I'm not sure if that's true.

Jennifer (20:00)
Yeah, I remember. Oh my God, because I can't even imagine my son doing this today, right? And like I was his age and I'd be like, you know, hi, my name is Jennifer. 10. Can I shadow you to learn from you? Like I didn't have somebody that was actively teaching me those things other than like, if you want to do it, you better do it yourself. And I do a lot.

Kindra Morse (20:17)
Mm-hmm.

Who were some of those key people that you reached out to and what was their impact on your life now? If they were listening, what would you want to tell them that they did for you?

Jennifer (20:37)
Thanks for giving me a chance. Right. ⁓ My teachers, my God, you know, it's a different world today too. Like I remember the people who gave me my first job at a doctor's office. They took me under their wing, all those doctors, and they were the ones who actually said, my God, mean, they were, God, you'd be the best doctor in the world. You work so hard. You're smart. You're this or that, but don't do it. This industry's a mess. Yeah.

Kindra Morse (21:05)
Terrible.

Jennifer (21:07)
And, ⁓ but I mean, they were amazing. Like they would let me work on half days of school. They'd let me work in the summer. They'd let me come back during college. Like taking kids under your wing and giving them the opportunity to learn and lead is life-changing. You know, I went into college and in the job force really having skill sets that like real doctors had, right? It was a team of brain surgeons I was working with at 15. ⁓

And I think my teachers, they were always a very safe place for me. I had teachers that I was very close to, that I would confide in, good mentors. And I don't know, I just think that's so important.

Kindra Morse (21:53)
There are so many people along the way that change our trajectory in one way or another. And at the time, I don't think they realize the impact that they're having or we realize how those moments will still come up for you later in life. You have those little memories of, remember that moment. I know because of that, whatever they said or whatever they did, I know that tells me I'm supposed to be on this path. This is the direction I'm supposed to be going. Have there been moments along the way that you felt like,

your impact is so much bigger than what you're you are making in the present moment.

Jennifer (22:29)
Yeah, feel that, so when I build any businesses or when I have any relationships of any kind, I'm a believer that the most valuable thing that you can bring to a table is helping somebody to, or ensuring somebody to feel seen, heard, and understood. And that's how you connect with people. And when I make it a point that,

I want to create impact, right? In whatever I do. It doesn't have to be something life-changing, but I am going to stop, I'm going to hear you, I am going to hear what you say of you before I tell you anything, and I'm going to offer, if you are open to it, whatever feedback or insight I can give you that will bring value to you. Now, you don't have to take it, but I'm there to support you, and I think that I...

have lived a journey of getting to know myself very authentically and feeling comfortable in that. And the stronger you feel as an individual, the more ability you have to celebrate and uplift others. And I think a lot of people are disconnected from their authenticity, so they don't celebrate or uplift others as much because they're still trying to navigate themselves. ⁓ And I think too, so when you are kind of disconnected,

We see a lot of negativity in the world. We see a lot of people that break others down. We see a lot of people that cause chaos and scandal and that's what they're attracted to. And you're really attracted to that because there's something unsettling inside of you. You know, I just believe in trying to be a peacemaker. Like, can't we all just get along? Yeah, we can. It's a choice. You know? If it's not going the right way, well, let's figure out how to turn the ship around.

Kindra Morse (24:01)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Thank you.

Jennifer (24:27)
And a lot of people aren't committed to doing that kind of thing. So ⁓ that's when you just realize where you're meant to be or if it's not for you. If it doesn't make you feel good at night when you're laying in bed, ⁓ that means that you're not in the right situation.

Kindra Morse (24:30)
Yeah.

Yeah. How does a person go about some of those things you just spoke to being more in alignment with yourself and being more authentic within yourself? We can't give away, give to others something that we can't give to ourselves. So women are able to empower other women and make an impact in the world if they're not able to empower themselves. So speak to some of the things that you've done in your life that have given you that self-empowerment, whether it's things you do on a daily basis or things that you've done as a big commitment.

Jennifer (25:14)
Yeah, so there's a couple things. So on a daily basis, I start my day with gratitude. I am happy to wake up and to be healthy with an able mind and body. I know what it feels like to not have those things. I've gone through some journeys that have, wow, a lot of things. Well, I think when my first experience with that was my pregnancy with my son. ⁓ It was very difficult. had hyperemesis, which like 2 % of women have. ⁓

Kindra Morse (25:29)
Like what?

Jennifer (25:44)
I was unable to eat anything like throwing up 30 times a day, bedridden, constantly fighting for my life. I was 90 pounds when I delivered my son. It was, I didn't know if he or I were gonna make it from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. every minute of the 10 months. So that was something that taught me a lot about survival mode. And then later in my life,

Kindra Morse (26:01)
There's no news from.

Jennifer (26:13)
⁓ actually during COVID, I, ⁓ that COVID in March, 2020, and it turned my life upside down. was violently, violently sick. I was a long COVID person and it lasted four years and, ⁓ nobody could figure out what to do with me. developed chronic fatigue. I developed a lot of things that were just really challenging and doing it while being a mom and launching businesses and trying to maintain a home and doing all of these things. was extremely hard.

I did not have the ability to exercise. I couldn't walk on a treadmill for literally one minute without having a horrible fatigue reaction. Today, I run five miles a day and I weight lift. And that was a journey of, and this is an important lesson here of I can do this now, I wasn't able to do this then, but appreciating that, okay, I did 30 seconds today.

and the world is still okay, okay, tomorrow I'm gonna try 35 seconds. And when I'm telling you that my journey from 35 seconds to five plus miles, that's how it went over a four year span. ⁓ I really, that's a big thing, celebrating your small wins, right? And having a lot of gratitude for what you can do, not focusing on what you can't do. ⁓ So that was a big, that's a big lesson in my life of how I start my day. And then in terms of,

you know, going back to the question you asked, is a superpower and it allows you to connect with people because when you can be vulnerable, you know, I think, especially when I, you know, people who know me, I'm very candid. Like I, you know, we started this call and like, listen, the HVAC guy was here and blah, blah, Somebody else might've sat down and said, okay, you know, let's start recording. then, no, this is what it is, right? This is what it is. We're working on the air conditioner today, baby. I don't know what you want from me, but here we are, I'm ready. You know, so.

know, just vulnerability and honesty and transparency are so important because when people know what they're dealing with, then you can all get on the same page. You can see each other and then you go from there.

Kindra Morse (28:21)
you

Was there times in your life where either you didn't, you were not able to be your authentic self in relationships or you've witnessed other people struggle with that, that being the block in having amazing relationships and an exciting life?

Jennifer (28:41)
Both. So I'd say, you know, I grew up in a home that I saw a lot of ⁓ tiptoeing around and codependency. And, ⁓ and I remember I had a therapist one time who was life-changing for me. And ⁓ she told me, she said, read this book, Codependent No More. And I started reading it and I was pissed. I was like, this is my mom. Why would you have me read this? I was furious. And then I kept, she's like, keep reading.

Kindra Morse (29:10)
Like it

sounded like your mom or it was describing your mom.

Jennifer (29:13)
It was like describing my mom, which gave me resentment because I didn't like certain dynamics. And then I kept reading and I was like, this is me. And it was an eye-opening moment of, I didn't know, I didn't realize, I had also learned to compromise things that I wanted to do in small ways. So example.

You know, let's say, you know, I was in a relationship and someone said, okay, well we need to, we're going to dinner at seven. Okay, so what did that mean? I wasn't gonna exercise. I wasn't gonna do whatever I wanted to do to take care of me because now I had to stop everything to make sure that I did this for that and da da da da. And today I don't do that. I learned to say, okay, when I'm done doing whatever it is that I need to do to take care of Jennifer, I will be there, right? And I might not be able to be there at seven, but I'll see you at 730. And I didn't.

you know, I would drop the world for people once upon a time in life. And I still do that in certain respects, but it has to, so long that I am physically, mentally, emotionally taking care of first. And so that was life changing for me.

Kindra Morse (30:25)
We tell ourselves stories that we'll be a bad person if we don't go along with whatever everyone else wants to have. But what's the damage that you're doing to yourself in those micro decisions of just going with what everyone else wants?

Jennifer (30:39)
Yeah, a lot. A lot of that, a lot because you build up resentment inside, right? So now you might be at that dinner and you didn't work out and you're like, you're not feeling good about yourself. know, exercise is not vanity. It's mental. It's emotional for me. I do those five miles a day because it regulates my nervous system. It balances me out. I'm a nicer person. And, you know, so everybody has their reasons of why they do things, of taking care of themselves and...

Kindra Morse (30:41)
Yeah.

and then.

Jennifer (31:09)
⁓ I just think that has to be the first priority.

Kindra Morse (31:12)
Absolutely. You said earlier that you want to make sure people feel seen, heard and understood. I think that is that is what everyone wants. Everyone wants to feel seen, heard and understood. Were there times where you did not feel seen, heard and understood?

Jennifer (31:29)
Always, always, probably my whole upbringing, you know, I was very.

Kindra Morse (31:34)
Because you

were different than everyone that you were in your family? Or why?

Jennifer (31:41)
⁓ I grew up in a really strict house and it didn't really matter what I thought this is what it was gonna be, right? And I'm very different as a parent ⁓ because I talk to my son in ways of like, know, I care what he thinks. It's not like my way or the highway. I mean, depends, right? I mean, my mom and dad have rubbed off on me in ways, but...

I, there wasn't a lot of like feelings in my house. It was very, my dad is a chief in the fire department. He was very like militant, very sergeant like, right? And so that's just a different atmosphere. And, ⁓ you know, we're in a different world today too, where people do things like therapy and they do things like, ⁓ you know, it's normal. And that wasn't normal when I was growing up. So, yeah.

Kindra Morse (32:36)
The resources

you said Google was, it was Yellow Pages. You couldn't go to the Yellow Pages and research emotional intelligence or how am I being codependent in my relationships. That information wasn't in our hands on a daily basis like it is now. So I give a lot of grace to earlier generations not being able to implement and make some of these changes because they did not have access to the same information that we have now.

Jennifer (33:01)
Yeah,

my parents are very different today, especially as grandparents. I'm like, these people, I don't even know who they are. I mean, they are just lovey kissy, do anything, cross the world for my son. And I'm just like, all right. And he just accepted for what it is.

Kindra Morse (33:12)
Big teddy bears.

Yeah, what would you say? I think there's a lot of people that can relate to that. What would you say to the woman who has an idea on her heart like Trace Face or anything that you've accomplished that is wanting to step into her purpose and her own mission in life and is struggling with taking that first step?

Jennifer (33:25)
Yeah.

Just do it. There's something that I hear women face, not just women, men, everybody, imposter syndrome. They're like, well, I don't know anything about this. And it's like, come on, honey, yes, you do. Let's sit down. Let's Google it. Let's learn about it. And that's the first step. Google it. Learn about it. Learn about the industry. Learn about what's on the market. Research what's on the market. ⁓ Research critiques about what's on the market. And then think about to yourself, how can I make this better?

And then, know, who builds things like this? Google that company. You know, go on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is amazing. You can connect with anybody. People will talk to you. Send someone a message. I remember I was listening to one of my girlfriend's husbands one time and he was like, well, I can't just message a stranger. I was like, what? was like, everybody I know is a stranger. know? And I just feel like people think that, ⁓ you know, that's, you shouldn't do those things, which you have

You have to so just do it when for me when I Don't believe in fear. I have so much faith that I don't believe in fear and I believe those two things can't coexist So if you have faith, you can also have fear, but if I have something in me that makes me question Can I do this? ⁓ That is my cue internally that like I have to do that. So That's something I practice

Kindra Morse (35:08)
Now is faith something that has always been a part of your life?

Jennifer (35:12)
Yeah, I was definitely raised in a Christian home. ⁓ Actually, my mom was Catholic and my dad grew up Baptist, so I experienced both of those things. And I think, you when I was a kid, it was like I did those things, because that was just like what my family did and I believed, but I didn't, I felt it differently once I was older and that was in college. And I had a roommate at the time who was like,

always going to these Bible studies and stuff. And quite frankly, she was driving me nuts because I was like, I can't hear any more Bible verses. Like I was like, my God. Right. And then one day she, I was going through a really hard time and she brought me a Bible and she's like, just read it. And then I, I read it like cover to cover and every day I would read a little and it changed my life. I mean, it became the center of, every thought and action that I have. And so I think that's the one thing I think that's

In the moments when I get sad about how somebody might see or interpret something about me, what I know differently than what my truth is. It's because I know that my truth is so centered on my faith and my integrity that if it's misinterpreted in some kind of way, it feels like a blow. And then I, or it saddens me because I like the opportunity to, for it to not be that way, because it's not true of how I feel inside.

But then I also think you know people persecuted Jesus. So I'm like, all right Then I just keep going

Kindra Morse (36:43)
Who am I

to think that I would not be put under the same? And that's a hard thing. I think that's a hard thing for a lot of women to feel misunderstood in the world, to be judged by whatever the person is perceiving you to be in what your intentions are or what your actual heart is. And understanding that, knowing yourself and trusting yourself, that is the way that you don't let those things be below, right?

Jennifer (36:46)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Kindra Morse (37:12)
How much would you say the Bible is actually a business book?

Jennifer (37:20)
Great question. How is the Bible a business book? The Bible's an everything book. And I think that, you know, the golden rule of the Bible is treat others how you want to be treated. If we could do that, life would be so easy, right? And ⁓ I think the other thing about the Bible is that what's very honest about it is that your expectation to be perfect, that's not true. Like when people say they're Christian, I think people look at them and they say, well,

Kindra Morse (37:24)
and everything.

Okay.

Jennifer (37:49)
you know, you would be doing A, C, and D. Well, no, I am Christian because I know that I fall short and therefore I feel that I can pray about it and try to make it right. I can admit that I did something wrong and now can I make it right? And having the genuine, sincere desire to do that is what the differentiator is. So I feel like if you have integrity in life, you know, you might not always be treated that way.

⁓ and receive it in return, but things work out. Maybe not in your time, but I'm a believer in God's time that he saves you when something falls apart, that it's not for you. ⁓ And that's where trust and faith come

Kindra Morse (38:33)
How hard have those seasons been to walk through?

Jennifer (38:38)
they get easier. were devastating, they were tragic, then they were hard, then they were pretty hard, then they were sad. And I was like, okay, all right. You me through the last 20, so we're just gonna go again. And what I think is learning how to feel your feelings, right? ⁓ If I...

I'm upset about something. make sure that I give myself time to grieve that. Grieving isn't just, grieving is not just death, right? It's a failed relationship. It's a failed venture. It's a failed friendship. And allow yourself to process what you just experienced and be honest about how it makes you feel, what your hopes were.

and now what your hopes are going forward. And I think that's so important to give yourself time to process the things you experience.

Kindra Morse (39:35)
And we can even grieve the past version of ourselves.

Jennifer (39:38)
Yeah, yeah, I learned, ⁓ I learned from that therapist I told you that I've seen in my life that there's three stages of breathing and you grieve what was, you grieve what is, and you grieve what never will be. And that can apply in death, it can apply in relationships, it can apply to anything. And once you get through those three steps, then you go into what is radical acceptance. And radical acceptance is

not saying that what happened was good or okay. It's saying that I'm going to choose internal peace to release and keep moving and feel okay about it. And I think that's important.

Kindra Morse (40:23)
hanging on to the story that it should have been is a poison that you continue to, you're poisoning yourself by holding on to the stories of this is how it should have been, this is what was wrong, this is what should have happened, all of those. I think you actually, we chatted a little bit before, but you said something about shoulding and how people are so hung up on shoulds in their lives.

Jennifer (40:49)
Yeah, I think so now it's funny because when you said that of how it should have been, I like heard this in my head going, no, it shouldn't have, right? Because if it was for you, it wouldn't have gone that way. What should have happened, you know, it doesn't matter. We can, we can stay stuck on what should have happened forever, but it's about

Kindra Morse (41:17)
Mm-hmm.

Jennifer (41:18)
saying we can constantly evolve. Like be a problem solver. Go forward. ⁓ You know, you can constantly change. You don't have to start one way and finish another way. Maybe, you know, somebody should have treated you a certain way or you should have taken a certain path. It doesn't matter. It's irrelevant. I don't care what should have been. I'm to look at what is and then what can I do about it to go forward. And I think that's important.

Kindra Morse (41:43)
Yeah.

Jennifer (41:48)
space to stay in.

Kindra Morse (41:50)
And maybe what should have happened is exactly what happened because whatever happened is that's preparation grounds for whatever's coming next.

Jennifer (41:53)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, and there's a lot of ⁓ times in my life where I have looked back and said, wow, thank you God for saving me from what I thought I wanted. ⁓ And you see it differently as things unfold. you might find, there's like this thing on Instagram that I always see and it's like a little girl and she's holding this tiny little teddy bear. And then she's like.

looking at Jesus and she's like, but I love it. And then behind his back, he's got this giant teddy bear, right? And she doesn't know that, but she's holding onto this little piece. And sometimes there's just such a bigger plan ⁓ for you than what it is that you think you're missing.

Kindra Morse (42:38)
That's so beautiful. I love that. Something that I found telling my son a lot lately, my oldest son is 17, is that nothing is permanent. Nothing is permanent. No decision that we make is permanent. No outline that we have for our lives. No path that we're on. Nothing is actually permanent. It's always evolving.

Jennifer (43:00)
Well, you know, I teach myself that too, because I think, you know, success is not permanent, failure is not permanent, permanent, good health is not permanent. You have to maintain and you have to put the work in and the mindset in to wake up every day with gratitude that you can and seize the opportunity that you will continue because you will lose if you do not. And I think people, you know, I think one of the things that blows my mind all the time is I,

I hear people constantly criticize somebody who's very successful or very wealthy. And they'll say, well, it must be so easy for you. That doesn't stay there if you don't work, right? You need to keep working ⁓ in order to figure out how to maintain a situation until you're in a situation where, you ⁓ you may have to do less and there's other people around you that can help, but you still have to work to get those people going. So it's a constant commitment.

⁓ And we know that with our health too, right? You have to work at it every day. So I agree with you. I believe in that as well.

Kindra Morse (44:06)
and relationships, what has been the best advice that you've ever received that you've just never forgotten?

Jennifer (44:18)
you know.

I could probably, there's probably a lot of things that I would say, but the best advice that I received that I'd never forgotten did probably come from my mom when I was very young and she always told me where there's a will, there's a way. And I think that, that

that lit my fire to understand that I was never gonna just lay down and accept no for an answer. And I believe it. And I've lived my life in that way where no does not really mean anything to me. It just means like, no means maybe you're not willing to keep trying, but I am. And so as a result, I've achieved a lot of different things that other people wouldn't even start to try. ⁓ And I'm a visionary. So I...

I am the type of person that will create something that doesn't exist. And I love that for people. I love when somebody has an idea in their head and they try, even if they don't make it happen. I just love when I see people try. And so I think that's really important advice.

Kindra Morse (45:28)
Knowing all that we've chatted about and everything about you, you're a powerful woman. What is one thing that you wish people knew about you better?

Jennifer (45:39)
That's a funny question because I just saw Mike Tyson answer that question and he said nothing and that made me laugh.

I get the sentiment to it and here's why I'm bringing it up is because

I've learned that it doesn't matter what they know about me. It doesn't matter what they think about me. I'm not concerned. I'm concerned. I do care about how I make someone feel. And...

And so I would say that that's important to me. Jennifer cares how she makes you feel. And I would want them to believe that. And I think that's all we have in life. I think that when you leave this world, that's all people remember of you too. And so...

I would always want the opportunity to right my wrong. And I think that's, it goes back to what we say the golden rule is, treat people how you want to be treated. And I think that would be that.

Kindra Morse (46:50)
think even when we know our intention is 100 % to do good in the world, to create positive ripples, you're still going to have experiences where people, because of their own stories, because of their perception, because of whatever they went through that morning, they see a different version of you than the authentic version of you. And you spoke to this earlier, that you have to be at peace with knowing that the way you showed up, your intention, it always goes back to your intention. As long as you know your intention was there.

to do good and then yeah, if I've hurt you, I'd love to know about it because I'd love to make it right to let you know that my intention was never to cause harm.

Jennifer (47:29)
Yeah, and that's so true because, you know, there's many times where I have said something, because like I said, I'm very candid, so I just say, you know, and then somebody might hear it a certain way and I'm like, yeah, but that's not what I meant, or that's not why I said it, or that wasn't my intention, right? Like, and so I think that's important. And then you, you know, yeah, yeah.

Kindra Morse (47:57)
There's a lot of different facets to all of these topics. There's a lot of different ways that you can look at things, but ultimately how you view yourself, how you know you show up in the world and the micro promises that you keep to yourself, that's what will bring peace, right?

Jennifer (48:13)
People

see you through the lens of their own experiences and their own traumas. So that's why I said I can relate to what Mike Tyson said because it doesn't matter if you do right or wrong. People are going, and this is why I said I don't believe in perception, because they are going to make their perception based on the lens of their own experiences. And you don't have any control of that. All you have control of is your values and your character and what you're gonna do.

from, you as a person.

Kindra Morse (48:47)
And I wonder how many people are spending their lives worrying about all these things that are so outside themselves instead of what is your actual work to do here?

Jennifer (48:56)
Yeah, well, I think that is such a good point because I think we lose sight of that very easily. People get really wrapped up in, you know, what they think of someone else or what someone else thinks of them. And then they miss the opportunity. They miss the opportunity to come together. They miss the opportunity to celebrate, to feel joy. They miss the opportunity to grow and achieve because they're so hyper-focused on the drama, the scandal, the division, the...

Problems that you know, you know when I do in any of the businesses that I'm a part of ⁓ You can tell me the problem one time but then we're talking about the solution and that's it I don't want to hear it again. I don't care who did it I don't care why I heard it once and that's enough now, let's talk about what we're doing to solve it and I think people that work with me they start to to understand that and then appreciate it too because it's like

you know, maybe not in the beginning because people love to hype on the problems, right? But then they start to realize that it's liberating, right? we don't have to nail anybody to the cross here. It doesn't matter. Like let's go team. We're going to pick it up and we're going to make it better and let's be positive. ⁓ and I think friendships can be that way. I relationships and for sure business.

Kindra Morse (50:14)
Incredible leadership advice right there. Incredible

leadership advice. And I love that, absolutely. So FaceTrace, when do we expect to be able to use this as consumer?

Jennifer (50:28)
So if you asked me this a couple years ago, I would have said next week, right? And so that's the thing too, when we talk about what should be, I'm going to say I don't know that answer right now because I'm developing. And so I no longer give people times because ⁓ I'm not sure. I know that I'm actively working. You know, I have other things that I work on too.

you know, daily I'm involved with special education schools and, you know, we have students in these schools that are ages five to 22 with special needs, autism trauma, all kinds of things. So that's something that I work on daily too. have five going on six schools and I love being a part of that. So that takes a lot of commitment from me as well. So yeah, we have like 370 students and

Yeah, it's amazing, amazing to be able to help kids who really need support. So I'm busy with that and simultaneously.

Kindra Morse (51:33)
What

drew you to that? What was it about your life or life experiences that drew you into making an impact in that way?

Jennifer (51:43)
Yeah, so this is the thing about being an entrepreneur is that, so I'll give you two pieces of advice. One is if you're in a particular industry, sometimes people spend a lot of time. ⁓

surveying who they believe their specific demographic is and they'll go and they'll get their feedback of who their customer is I Say yes do that but an important piece is talk to the person who is not your customer because if they Find what you're doing to have value or to be compelling You know for sure you have something there like when I was building face trades at the time my son was five and I was like here buddy. Try the software

And he's putting makeup on, right? Like he's a five year old little boy. And it showed me like, okay, this is cool. Okay, this is easy. Okay, a child can understand this. And he's telling all his friends, right? And ⁓ he was a great tester for me because if a little kid can understand it, is he my customer? No, a 34 year old woman was my customer, right? ⁓ If he could understand it, then I can get this into a market where mass people could understand it. So that's one. Two.

I think people become very industry focused and you should be industry agnostic. You never know what you can get involved in. So I got involved with this with a friend of mine who was a real estate developer. And he was telling me he had already had four schools and he wanted to open another one nearby where I was. And I was like, well, let me look around at a location for you. And we were gonna do business in the sense that I was gonna help with the real estate and consulting and things like that, just because.

you know, he knows me to be another entrepreneur. And I ended up finding this off market location. And then, you my degree was, you know, psychology and I had a specific study in child development and I wanted to be a part of it. And then it turned into ⁓ opening that school, getting the students, helping to run the business, doing a lot of things, being hands on with business development, opening more schools, hiring. And then I started helping to really...

lead and run a lot of the company. And then we just went from there and now we ⁓ have a relationship where we are continuing to grow and opening more schools and I love it. So you just never know what something could turn into by asking if you can be involved. Like I always ask, what are you doing? What are you working on? Can I help? Right? You never know what can come of it.

Kindra Morse (54:05)
Mm.

Then...

A true entrepreneur is a person that solves problems in the marketplace. And you never know what problems you're actually meant to solve. And I think we get really stuck thinking, this is the problem I want to solve. And maybe that's not the problem you're actually meant to solve.

Jennifer (54:15)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, no, mean, look, my life is a great example. I went to school to be a doctor. I went into the media, then I went into tech. I'm doing things in education. I'm also working on a cosmetics line right now. So there's just a lot of, you don't have to be in one area. You can do anything. And you can do more than one thing at a time.

Kindra Morse (54:48)
Well, you're so inspiring. Where can people find you?

Jennifer (54:53)
⁓ They can find me on Instagram, Jennifer Christensen is my handle. My email address is on there. They can also find me on LinkedIn.

Kindra Morse (55:01)
Well, I'm so excited to continue to watch your journey unfold. I thank you for this time. Anything on your heart to say before we hop off?

Jennifer (55:08)
Thank you for the opportunity to talk today. I think what you're doing is amazing. I love that you ⁓ have a platform where women and people can ⁓ share their stories. And I think it's important for people to be able to do that, to learn from each other, to understand that they're not alone in their journeys ⁓ and to feel comfortable to connect with people. are all, I think one of the greatest things that I've experienced is I've talked to people who...

you know, have had been in the billions of dollars of success and their stories, they always say the same thing, especially I remember when I first founded my tech startup, they would sit over dinner and they'd say, I know exactly where you are and I remember that and to hear that from people that have been so wildly successful to say, I know exactly where you are and they say it just like it was that morning. ⁓ So we all start from somewhere.

And ⁓ you can take pride in that, right? And ⁓ feel like it's OK. It's all right. Just get started. Just get started.

Kindra Morse (56:12)
We're all so much more alike than I think we realize.

Jennifer (56:16)
Totally, totally. And that goes to feeling seen, heard, and understood. People want that. And if we just ⁓ appreciate people for being good people, I think we just go from there.

Kindra Morse (56:33)
Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. I've so enjoyed this conversation. like I said, I look forward to continue to follow along. So I will be chatting with you soon, I'm sure.

Jennifer (56:40)
Thank you.

Thank you so much. Okay, you have a good day. Thank you so much.

Kindra Morse (56:45)
Bye.