I am *beyond* passionate about everyone knowing WHO they truly are – and with that, understanding just how amazing they are and what they’re capable of.
Today I am having a coffee with Ali Knight of Ali Knight Coaching, who has kindly agreed to answer my questions about her no BS happier life. Ali is one of the fantastic speakers who will be joining me on stage in April at Happier Life Live!
Q. How long have you been self-employed, and how do you make the most of the freedom that self-employment brings?
A. I’ve been fully self-employed since 2018, and was partly self-employed for 5 years before that (alongside my corporate role).
I absolutely love creating services that I intuitively know have great impact for those who need them. When I worked in the ‘system’ (the NHS and charity sector) we were always bound by the confines of funding and demand, so I constantly ended up feeling that people needed more, but I couldn’t give it. Now I can!
I use the freedom of self-employment to delight in being in charge of my own scheduling. Being able to work from anywhere means I get to spend loads more time in my spiritual home on Anglesey and enjoy amazing walks, incredible views and the beautiful natural energy that abounds there!
Q. What are you passionate about – in business and in life?
A. I am *beyond* passionate about everyone knowing WHO they truly are – and with that, understanding just how amazing they are and what they’re capable of. Too often we fall into the trap of conditioning that has us believe we’re not good enough, and that’s utter bollocks. Everyone is good enough, and it’s a privilege to help guide people in finding and deeply loving their enoughness.
Q. What brings you joy?
A. OMG, SO much!! I love the sea, sunrises and sunsets (in fact, anything at all to do with the sun and nature tbf!). I love living my life cyclically and connecting with energy in all its forms. I find joy in the smallest things as well as the bigger experiences. I especially love celebrating my clients wins and growth, and my joy-filled happy place is when hosting retreats and having incredible souls in the same room together supporting one another and getting to see and feel just how amazing they each are. Connection in all its forms bring me deep joy!
Q. How do you nurture yourself when you do something that is outside of your comfort zone?
A. I have various strategies and tools to pull on when stretching my comfort zone. The first is being really conscious about the quality of my self-talk and catching the doom-voices that can threaten to derail me… I tend to get quiet, spend more time in meditation, in nature and with my spiritual practices, which anchor me and also keep me connected to the bigger picture.
As an empath, I pay particular attention to my energy and who I’m surrounding myself with so that I am creating opportunities to raise my vibration. I also rest EVEN more than usual (which is a lot!) – I honestly believe that’s one of the best ways we can replenish AND grow.
Q. How do you show yourself excessive kindness?
A. By operating from compassion and love first, nurturing self-talk next, and being super-realistic in my expectations of myself. We all have a tendency to overestimate what we can get ‘done in a day/week/month’ and then we beat ourselves up about it when we don’t manage to achieve everything. I work on the rule of 3 each day – 1 thing for work, 1 thing for personal nurture, 1 thing for family or household responsibilities. Funny thing is, when we manage our expectations around ‘doing’ we often end up creating more inner peace and opening up more space and resource within. When we then achieve what we’ve set out to do, we are further motivated to do it all over again instead of self-sabotaging by overworking, overthinking and overanalysing…
At the moment in my business, excessive kindness looks like simplifying absolutely everything – I can’t explain how freeing that is!
Q. What is one thing about being a business owner that you have learned is BS?
A. Ooh, I love this question! Pretty much everything I was taught about ‘how’ to do business in a traditional way has turned out to be BS for me! I am continuing to step into my mantra that ‘we get to do this any way we want’, as opposed to subscribing to the brainwashing that exists around income goals, strategy, funnels, audience growth and much more. My favourite question when anyone says business has to be done a certain way is “Who says?” Only *we* get to decide what feels good and aligned within our own businesses, and that can look different for everyone.
Q. What will be your next adventure?
A. My ongoing adventure is SoulMind® – my 12-month mastermind container for soul-led business owners who like me, are ready to rebel against the rhetoric and do business their own way.
On a personal level, I’d love to experience Vipassana in an Indian ashram. I know that staying silent for 10 days would be an incredible challenge for me (I do love to talk!) and at the same time, I think it would be incredible to spend that amount of time with yourself in contemplation within a community of others experiencing the same.
Q. An important part of owning our own story is being able to state who we are without explanation. Tell us something about yourself / your preferences / your needs without any background or context:
A. I’m a wild, rebellious human who loves nothing more than connecting with other humans and supporting others to love themselves unconditionally.
Q. Who are you looking to work with, and how can people get in touch?
A. I’m always delighted to welcome soulful business owners into SoulMind®. I’m so proud of what has been created in this small and intimate community of individuals who run service-based businesses. These incredible humans know that their own healing has as much to do with their business success as any strategic business decision they could make. In SoulMind® we take a truly whole person/whole system approach to growing a business. I’m keen to welcome people who are looking for a longer term, intensively supportive environment where being part of a connected collective, weekly meets, learning, growth and healing are non-negotiable! And at a fraction of the cost of other similar offerings, too.
People can get in touch via Instagram or my website.
My thanks to Ali for allowing me to share her insights! Look out for more interviews with fellow Happier Life Live speakers coming soon.
Helen Calvert
The No Bullsh*t Coach
Feb 2024