Rebecca Thomas is a life coach and co-founder of Kaleidoscope Effect. Rebecca is not just a coach; she is a weaver of self-trust and authenticity, empowering women to embrace their true selves. This week, Jennifer "JJ" Sutton explores Rebecca's journey into coaching, the importance of self-discovery, and the challenges faced by women in midlife. It’s an inspiring conversation full of real talk and practical wisdom for entrepreneurs.
Key Takeaways
✨ Radical Acceptance Unlocks Growth
Rebecca emphasizes the power of acknowledging your circumstances without judgment. This mindset not only fosters personal growth but also creates a safe space for others to show up authentically.
💡 Joy Comes from Purpose
True joy isn’t tied to success but to living your purpose. Rebecca encourages exploring your passions, embracing your unique gifts, and having fun along the way.
🌟 Community is Everything
Rebecca highlights how surrounding yourself with supportive, like-minded people can be a game-changer for personal and professional growth.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to Chaos and Founders' Journeys
07:32 Unraveling Midlife Crises and Finding Belonging
15:01 The Leap of Faith: Transitioning to Life Coaching
19:43 Questions and Practices for Discovering Purpose
25:19 Embracing Radical Acceptance
31:03 The Impact of Emotional Repression
41:28 Introduction to Chaos and Order
Connect with Rebecca:
Website: https://www.marieofvenus.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MarieOfVenus
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marieofvenus/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarieOfVenus
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (00:00)
Welcome to Hello Chaos, the weekly podcast exploring the messy and chaotic lives and minds of founders, innovators, dreamers, doers, entrepreneurs, all of the above. We are we have a fantastic guest today is Rebecca Thomas. Rebecca is more than a life coach. She's a weaver of self-trust and authenticity, empowerer of strong babes.
and co-founder of Kaleidoscope Affect Welcome, Rebecca, welcome to Hello Chaos. I'm so excited, I'm excited you're here. And I was just saying, I'm like, my lips are super red today. I was like, we're getting ready for Christmas. I've got to go to a holiday party. And I have green, like I am very Christmassy today. So there we go. Well, start us out. Just tell us about your founder journey. How did you come about starting?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (00:36)
Yeah, hey Jennifer, I'm so excited to be here.
You're right.
okay.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (00:59)
and founding kaleidoscope effect, tell us the story.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (01:03)
Yeah, there's a few different.
I'm like, where do you even start in a founder journey? Cause I feel like my whole life led me up to this point. so I think probably the best place to go back to is, so first and foremost, I am a life coach for women, 30 to 50 something women. And what really got me into that was I had a really interesting upbringing, and was in survival mode for a long time and just living day to day. trying to not thinking about my future, not some big grand plan didn't, didn't really, I did like.
a year and a half in college, but I didn't really go to college, get the degree. I failed forward in a lot of things. Really, really failed forward. And so eventually I joke about the fact that for 10 years I was kind of demanding from the universe, like what is the thing? What is my purpose? Like I'm here for a reason. I know that after getting to a point where I felt like I could start to think about that, I really just started to question everything.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (01:42)
That's what we do.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (02:05)
Like, what am I here to do? Why do I want to do what I want to do? What are my gifts? What are my superpowers? And so during that journey, I was working from home at the time as a single mom.
I was salary, I was completely remote and wanted to supplement my income, ended up in email marketing. And then while I was doing that to supplement my income, I ended up doing a little research and I stumbled on Airbnb. So Airbnb is actually the thing that got me into life coaching, which is the most people don't expect. They're like, how'd you get into this? And I was like, Airbnb. And they're like, wait, what? So the reason that got me into life coaching was because I was actually
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (02:34)
Really?
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (02:46)
hosting people in my home. So I had a bedroom in my house where people stayed with us. The rest of the house was a shared space, like the living room, the kitchen, the deck, all of those things. And so I got to connect with a lot of really amazing people, but they were all complete strangers. And so it was in doing that and starting to really like let go and trying to control.
what I was supposed to do and just really letting like what felt right showed up show up and doing some personal development at the same time and so with all of that I discovered that I was amazing at connecting with these complete strangers in my home and I was able to hold space for them and was able to listen and validate but at the same time like challenge their perspective. I've always been in leadership positions. I'm the oldest of seven. I have five younger sisters and so
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (03:30)
Yeah.
Wow.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (03:38)
Like lot of that big sister energy came through too where it was like, okay, I can, I can, I can see the BS that's kind of coming through and what you're telling me. And I can also understand why you're telling yourself that and could you look at it differently? so that was the thing that really spurred me into life coaching. then with kaleidoscope effect. So that's my women's event company. We carried our own women's events here in the Grand Rapids area, but that's like the community extension of what I do.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (03:45)
Yeah.
Right.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (04:08)
as a life coach. So it's a very embracive, inclusive space. It's not strictly personal. It's not strictly professional. It weaves all of those pieces together because we are all of those pieces. It just gives women a space to really put themselves front and center and celebrate the things that they've accomplished over the course of a year. So yeah, that's how everything kind of started. Shortest short version you'll probably ever get out of me. that's what I'm going do next year.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (04:18)
Right.
Yeah, no, that's fascinating. So are you finding that the people that you coach or that really gravitate to also going through the journey of finding their purpose, finding that self-discovery, are you finding that it's more other women founders or is it like the spectrum of women in all life stages?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (04:56)
It's definitely a spectrum. mostly coach like 30 to 50 something. I definitely focus on women that feel like they can resonate with the term midlife crisis. And I think that we're hitting that early and earlier, just for a couple different reasons, like all of the reasons that our hormones are shifting, whether it's because of the things that are in our food or the materials that we build our spaces with or.
kinds of things there, but then also like the bombardment of information and the access to information. So I feel like that's triggering a lot of like understanding things sooner or being aware of things sooner. So I definitely feel like it's a spectrum. It's not isolated to entrepreneurs or it's it's all over the board.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (05:25)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Because it's just, yeah, because it's interesting. Like the reason I say that is just, you're right. It's like the information that I've uncovered over the last five years, God, I wish I would have had 20 years ago. But a lot of that stuff was forcing me. Like I always say, I'm in my, you know, I'm 52, but I feel like I was having a coming of age at 40, you know, at 48, 49, and really at 50, it kind of tried, I'm like.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (06:00)
Mmm.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (06:07)
you know, I feel like I knew my purpose, but really I was, and I knew myself, I've been under every, I think, you know, personality type, you know, in corporate world. How many times have you been with the Myers-Briggs, the PI, like, you know, you've been personality indexed to death. And so I knew all of that, but it's like, do I take that and help really empower my own business, but also,
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (06:17)
Yeah.
Thank
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (06:36)
step into my leadership of, I was running a business, I'm in the tasks as a business owner. And how do I really step into more of that leadership role, from an external perspective. And that's where I feel like, well gosh, I feel like this is my coming of age. Why was I not on this path at 30?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (07:02)
Uh-huh, as if there's like this designated time we're supposed to hit it.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (07:05)
Right, yeah, yeah. And I talked to so many other women founders, but also not just, I shouldn't even say women, I've talked to so many other founders that are in their 40s, going in their 50s, or their 60s, and they're doing the same thing. They're like, you know, but it was the pressure of starting the business.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (07:22)
Mm-hmm.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (07:33)
growing the business, scaling at those different milestones and having to reshape who they were. that's what it's like. I hear that all the time on the podcast of, it's like they're coming of age story at 55 or at 65 or at 45, but it was being a founder that kind of sparked that.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (07:51)
Mm-hmm, I'm like, but was it because why did they become a founder? Because that's what I see more of is women that it's like
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (07:56)
Yeah, well, yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (08:04)
You know, we hear the term midlife crisis and, we think of like, everything's falling apart. But to me, I'm like, everything's coming together. Brene Brown has a quote that talks about life unraveling versus midlife crisis, which I literally have plastered on my, website, because it talks about like the armor that we're still carrying, the coping mechanisms that we're still using to manage our lives that are not working for us. It's talking about like not living our lives fully and like, you're running out of time. So what are you doing? And so what I feel like when we get to that place,
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (08:12)
Yes!
Right.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (08:34)
unraveling that's where we really start like we we have a better understanding of who we are but we don't really know how that
not fits into the world, but how it makes us belong. And so when we can start to get curious about those things and putting them together and exploring what that means for ourselves, like women want purpose, women want to feel valued, they want to bring value. And so all of those things are signs pointing us in the direction of like, you can do this amazing thing and be valuable to yourself and to the world. And but it's going to take you down this other path. And I think I finally get to the point where we do our we are realizing like the days are
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (09:09)
Right?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (09:12)
getting shorter. So it's now or never. Like what do we have to lose at that point?
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (09:17)
Right, well I think it's that law of attraction which is, know, that plays into the law of authenticity. know, it's, you know, and it's so funny that you said belonging. We've got, we had another founder on here, I know, was like a few months ago, and that's whole thing. It's like she works for an organization that is, and her role is, she's the director of belonging.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (09:25)
Mm-hmm.
huh.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (09:47)
Yeah, absolutely. know, and she's a founder, does some other things for women empowerment, but then she, this is, has connected with an organization that's the courage for purpose and renewal. And they talk a lot, like, you've gotta really know who you are and really find, like, you have a purpose, everybody has a purpose.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (09:47)
I'm like, can I connect with her? Like who was
Mm-hmm.
Mmm.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (10:16)
And it's like, do you make that connect? And how do you feel like you belong? But you've got to know yourself. You've got to go through that discovery. So tell me, what is the process? So you would just have strangers in your home for Airbnb. And then you would just start coming like, you need a life coach.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (10:16)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a lifelong process. Yeah.
huh. I still do. Love it.
no, not at all. Absolutely not. No, it was, it's more...
It's more about listening. think the thing that's so fascinating to me, and there's a whole story behind what shaped that part of me as far as being able to listen, I didn't used to have that, and I didn't used to be that. It took an incredible loss on my life to realize how instrumental that was in my own growth and my journey of self-love and acceptance. And when that was taken away from me, I had to become it in order to have it, because nobody else in my life filled that role. So in order to get it again, I had to become it.
happened in the midst of my Airbnb journey. And so it's way more about.
I don't have an agenda. My only agenda is to be a mirror to you, like who you are. You don't need to react to who I think I should be. You don't have to worry about what I think you should do. Like that's where most of us get tripped up, but it's really just holding space, which is a lot of active listening and then reflecting back the things that I hear and then letting them sit with those things. And it always, the number of people, first of all, when I'm sitting with them and listening,
I can tell if you have somebody else in your life that you can talk to in that way by like the pace of what you share, the tone of your voice, the pauses, engaging whether or not I'm going to interject, like all of those like micro moments, which seems so insignificant, but because that space is just there and I'm just holding it for them, eventually through those conversations, start to really, like they really start to shine and come out.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (12:08)
Mm.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (12:20)
they realize like, she doesn't have an idea. Like it's not about what I think you should or should do or judging you. Yeah. And so that's the most important part of it. And then the other piece is...
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (12:25)
Right, there's no judgment. Right.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (12:35)
The number of people who say afterwards, like, I just needed to say that out loud. Like, you don't have the person that can just sit with them and hold that space for them where they can say it out loud because I would say at least 50 % of the time, that's the magic. Like, being able to say out loud and not have it thrown back in our face or feel crappy about it, whether it's guilt or shame or whatever it is, but being able to say it out loud and verbally, yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (12:52)
Right.
just the courage. Sometimes it's just having the this this this thought is actually a real thought and if I say it out loud it becomes real right you know.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (13:06)
Yes.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
So yeah, it was just a lot of that. It's not, need a, my information's here. My information is in the room. Like, but outside of that, like I'm just Rebecca. That's who I am regardless. So am I a coach innately? Absolutely. But I'm not here to like, you need a life, like I believe in autonomy and the ability to find the things that you need. So if I'm trying to divorce what I'm doing down your throat, like I'm like completely compromising exactly what I stand for.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (13:27)
Yeah.
Right.
What was the big breakthrough moment where you were like, this is my purpose?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (13:48)
just hearing the term. Like I was listening to a podcast at the same time that was hosting people. It's Earn Your Happy by Lori Harder.
And it's her birthday today too, so this is so funny. Happy birthday, Lori. But I was listening to her podcast and she had so many, like first of all, I could resonate with her for so many reasons. She's from Michigan, I'm from Michigan. No formal education, super restrictive religious upbringing, like all these different pieces that really helped. But she was just so real and she was funny. And she asked the questions that I feel like so often we tell ourselves are stupid questions, but they're not. And when you say them out loud, everybody's like, huh,
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (13:59)
well shout out.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (14:27)
Now that you said that out loud, that's a great question. So was listening to that podcast and she interviewed so many amazing people on that podcast and it just led me down one trail after another after another and bridged all these pieces together. And at one point she said, or had a life coach on her podcast and I heard the term and I was like, that's it. Like literally just, that's it. That's the purpose. 1000 % hands down. And at the time I was still doing email marketing and still like being a single mom,
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (14:28)
Right.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (14:57)
financially and all the ways responsible for my son like really struggled with how do I do this? I don't know. Also, like I said, fail-forward kind of person. And so I really struggled with it for six months, like walking away from the security of that, you know, safe position that I was working. And finally, my body just got so pissed at me. My body was like, you know what you're supposed to be doing. You're not doing it. So here's some physical pain to maybe move you along and tell you. And so one day I
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (15:04)
Right.
Yeah.
Right.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (15:27)
booked a meeting with my boss and I was like I've got to go I don't know what I'm doing but I'm gonna figure it out and so thanks so much but it's time to move on and a week and a half later I was done at that job and I was in the midst of two classes and trying to figure out like what my next steps were and just I always say like jumped off the cliff and built my wings on the way down. I won't change any of it.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (15:47)
and did it. Who was the first client? Like what was the, how did you secure that? Like when you were like, okay, this is it, I'm doing it, now I've gotta generate, you know, I gotta monetize it, which is the scary part of like, okay, I know what value I bring, I know that, but it's like who to then have that trust that someone put on you to go, okay, I'm ready to spend money with you.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (15:56)
Yeah. Great.
huh.
Yeah,
As far as the first client, honestly, like I couldn't tell you who it was because that year was such a flurry and a combination of like I'd never networked before. So it was putting myself out there in a new way, exploring what that felt like, making connections. There were absolute real opportunities that happened during that year. Some of them were coaching, some of them were consulting, which was like, wait, what is what I can, I can consult. Wait, what? So it was a lot of those kinds of things and very aligned things, just some really
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (16:39)
Yeah, yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (16:44)
beautiful things. think the thing, like one of the most impactful things that happened that first year for all of it, clientele, coaching, exposure, long-term, interpersonal relationships is I was talking to my business banker at the time, Sean Cash, who was absolutely amazing and works for a national HR company in Sparity and
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (17:08)
I know, we know in Sparity, we're good friends with, they're amazing.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (17:10)
He's a new employee, new employee and just raves about it. But he was working for PNC at the time and did a local women in business networking event. And when they did that event, was when I was like jumping off the cliff and building my wings. And so I had a lot of just really vulnerable conversations with him and just amazing conversation. And so he invited me to be a part of the event where they were featuring four up and coming entrepreneurs and
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (17:19)
Okay.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (17:40)
Grand Rapids area and it was like two and a half weeks before the event when he invited me to be a part of it. I had no website, no printed materials, never done a presentation, like none of the things and I said, yes, I nailed it. So I nailed it and then because of that, they continued to invite me back every year and now it's just like the ripple effect of saying yes to that big scary thing, not knowing what, I don't, I'll figure it out. I'll figure it out and just trusting myself.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (17:51)
And you're like, all right, doing it.
That's right.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (18:10)
and it just nailed it and yeah, it's been a whole beautiful journey since then.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (18:16)
It's funny how that happens, isn't it? How the universe tells you. Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (18:19)
Yeah, like, don't tell ourselves that there's a billion magical ways something can come together versus the two really controlled ways we think it's supposed to look.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (18:30)
Right, absolutely. You know, it's funny, I was like, I can't remember, it was a celebrity and I don't remember who it was. They were on Oprah show, you know, and they were talking about, because you brought this up of like, he was like, I knew when I needed, I was content, that I was playing it safe, that I wasn't taking the right, he's like, my body, like, because my mind was going, I gotta go to the next level.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (18:48)
Mm-hmm.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (19:00)
But he was like, this is too safe, this is good. was like, I would get physical, he goes, there were physical signs of like your body starts rejecting all around you. was like, and then as soon as you take that leap, and he was like, then you start growing, it's like all those, know, it aligns really well. And he was just saying, pay attention to those things. if your body will tell you, like you're not in the right space.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (19:02)
Yeah.
Yes. Yes.
It just lights. It lights up.
Yeah, and we ignore it because we're so disconnected from our bodies, but we're also trying to convince ourselves, our mind is trying to convince ourselves like, no, no, no, no, we know what to expect here. Let's just stay here. You're safe.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (19:36)
Right.
let's just say, but he was like, your body will start telling you also, and he goes, when your body is turning on you, then something is not aligning. So it was just that, like when you said you physically, you knew, like it was a physical, visceral reaction. Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (19:54)
yeah. Yeah. And I don't like pain. But the other thing that I think that's really tricky with that too is I was reading something, I don't know, last year, who knows where, and it was talking about how often we equate pain with negative.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (20:12)
Hmm.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (20:13)
And it was talking about like, you think about it, like if we, hurt ourselves, if we, you know, ended up ripping our skin open on something, say you drug your arm against a nail on accident, and then you need to put something on it, whether it's peroxide or whatever, there's a certain pain that's associated with that, but it's not a damaging pain. It's a healing pain. And so we don't think about that in terms of living our lives because yeah, being uncomfortable isn't always, doesn't always feel good, but it's a different kind of pain. So really being able to recognize and differentiate
between like what is a pain that's telling you that you're stuck and you shouldn't be here versus like okay this is really uncomfortable but you know you need to do it.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (20:52)
Right, right. So other than like those kind of signs, are there things that you would say, questions that we should all be asking or recognizing in ourselves to go, there's something else out there. You have to like find your, if you're struggling with finding your purpose or understanding what your gifts and your superpowers are.
Like are there things that we, like rituals or best practices or something, just to like start that movement.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (21:22)
Yeah, I think a couple big things is...
taking time to be quiet and present with yourself, whether that's in your house. I'm a big believer in the healing and magnification of nature, just being outside. It just feels like it clears some things out, but also inspires creativity at the same time. So I would say definitely getting quiet and really asking yourself, being curious and open, but not without, or excuse me,
not with some idea or a judgment, like a lens of judgment about what it should or shouldn't be. what do I love? Like looking for the things in your life that have lit you up or the things that have brought you purpose, a sense of purpose. Not where you were able to do something for somebody else, but like what really felt like you were giving value? So really asking yourself that. Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (22:19)
Because that's a difference. You're right. A lot of times we bundle that.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (22:22)
Yeah, and there's another tricky one, a lesson I learned earlier this year is there's also a difference between being appreciated and valued. Like being appreciated is somebody acknowledging that you have value, but not necessarily putting anything into that. But when you are actually valued, there's some kind of exchange, whether it's mentorship or verbal or, you know, financial investment or something. But there's a difference between valued and appreciated. But going back to that other piece, definitely being open
curious with yourself, trying to look for things in your life where you have felt like you were bringing value to the table or were told you were bringing value to the table and seeing what common threads are there can help you find, it's the little cookie crumb trail that you follow. But I think another thing is just paying attention to what brings you joy. And to me, joy and happiness are different. Happiness is a little higher energy, a little more exciting, whereas joy is almost
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (23:04)
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (23:22)
this like combination of awe and appreciation and acceptance at the same time. It's like this elated contentment to me and so paying attention to the things in your life that actually bring you joy because the the hints might be there too. I would assume I don't know if this is the case for everybody but for most people I think if you are living your purpose and you find your purpose that joy is there.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (23:40)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (23:50)
because that's what you're here to do. That's your superpower. That's your magical ability. So yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (23:57)
So what do you think, you know, when you boil down like your superpower, obviously you're a life coach and stuff. So if you had to like, you know, boil down the essence, what is yours?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (24:00)
Yeah.
I mean I have so many. I know my purpose specifically is to bring people together and bridge understanding. But the other ones, I'm one of my huge superpowers is radical acceptance. So not judging or shoulding what is happening in the moment, but accepting it for what it is and then identifying.
to be and whether or not I can change that. So radical acceptance is a big one. My ability to listen and mirror is a big one. To read between the lines and a lot of that like the reading between the lines. I was just writing something about this the other day where a lot of that came from being the oldest sibling. A lot of that comes from my own hyper awareness. A lot of that comes from the almost 20 years I spent in the hospitality industry because what do you do in all of those things? You identify the social
cues, the physical cues, the verbal language, all of the things, you get in front of what people are actually saying to anticipate what they're going to do. So that's something I'm able to harness and use in my coaching too. So those are definitely some of the top ones. going back to my intro to like the weaving of self-trust, I am able to contagiously share my confidence and self-trust because I embody so much. again, taking away that reaction piece, but allowing there to be space for both of us.
at the same time. Thanks!
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (25:28)
Amazing.
Now did you uncover that all yourself or did you have a life coach that kind of helped you articulate that?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (25:38)
Yeah, no, I think, so I have had a life slash business coach that I used especially in the first couple of years of building my business. She wasn't your traditional business coach at all. I don't do very many things traditionally. So she was a really beautiful fit for me, but she definitely helped me, I think, start to uncover a lot of that, but a lot of it has been.
just really sitting with myself. I've never been afraid to sit with myself and listen to myself and think things through. so between that and my thirst for curiosity and information, those are the things that have helped give me the language. Listening to so many other influencers internationally who talk about different aspects of just who you are as a person, very holistically, personal, professional, spiritual, everything in between. So it's definitely listening to,
so many different sources and then really taking what resonates with me and then sharing it with people around me.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (26:34)
Yeah.
that's amazing. So in your founder journey, what do you think has been your biggest challenge or kind of your shit moment of like, what have I done? I've left my security. I've jumped into this. The universe is all telling me it's, you know, I'm in the right direction. But you still get those moments.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (27:00)
sure and I can think of a couple I was laughing because there was one earlier this year and I was like isn't that cute but I mean definitely the first one was when I realized I was supposed to be coaching and
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (27:05)
That's right.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (27:12)
It's interesting because I think the hardest part during that season was not so much knowing what I needed to do and doing it, but sharing that with people that were close to me who wanted to shoot it down because it didn't make them comfortable. So I think...
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (27:31)
which happens to a lot of us. Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (27:32)
Yeah, and so that was, I'm so grateful for the connections I made that first year because it gave me the support I needed of people that understood and could help me kind of shore up where that was happening in my personal life. But friends and family, know, I've, again, that fell forward. Like I've just, I am super comfortable being uncomfortable and I don't mean ignoring my boundaries and red flags. I mean, just like, I don't have to know. I don't need to
I have so much trust for myself, the universe, the process, all the things. And so that was the biggest thing was just really taking that leap and then figuring out what to do with all the plates of everybody else's opinions about how this was gonna go or should go. Just being like, that's not my plate.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (28:05)
Hmm.
Right. Right.
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (28:23)
I think that was a big one, then the other big one this year is there was a whole chain of events that happened this year from March to September-ish. I'd been plateauing in my business for...
Probably about year and a half and again was like the universe like what is this right? Also at the same time in this Season of my life have gotten to a point where I can be open and curious So I was and I was looking for an actively humbly looking for the answers as well And I was going to go to this amazing local event But something was telling me I needed to be someplace else or be available to be someplace else So I didn't go ended up signing for this masterclass
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (28:40)
Right.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (29:05)
online, skipped it the first two and a half days, got on the second half of the third day and it blew my mind and I was like, holy crap that's the thing. That's it. That's it. And so...
After I realized that and was called and I mean there were hundreds at least it might have been thousands of people on this call but after the information was shared and I felt so called out and seen I was like, okay now that we know like you opened yourself to the answer here it is What are you gonna do with it? Take it and run. So that was definitely another moment for that, too
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (29:42)
See, you gotta listen to yourself, gotta listen. So now I'm curious, it's a question I usually ask people, because you know yourself so well and know like you're, in this journey that you've done, know, starting the business and kind of growing and scaling it, have you been surprised about something that you've learned about yourself?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (29:44)
Right?
Always. I mean, yes and, but not surprised in a way, like it doesn't knock me on my butt very often. So not surprised in that way. I think a couple of different things, like we all talk about how there's so many layers to things, but I'm-
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (30:08)
Okay.
Right.
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (30:26)
think we really understand that until we start to build that real deep self-awareness of ourselves. So I think so often we can trick ourselves into thinking that once we learn the lesson, it's just going to go away, but it shows up in different layers. like what might originally, the lesson might originally be in like an interpersonal romantic relationship, might be the same lesson that you learn in your employment a year and a half later or five years later, where it's that same common thread, whatever that
lesson is, but we're learning it in different ways. And so I think sometimes that it takes experiencing that that similar lesson to realize exactly what's underneath it as far as like the wound or the need or the belief or whatever that is in order to really let it go, but then also truly understand what you need in order to to heal it basically. So that's something that I'm always experiencing in different ways.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (30:58)
That's right.
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (31:27)
But also, I would say the last year, year and a half, not quite year and a half has been a huge surprise to me in that.
I'm 46, like we were talking about our age before, I'm 46. I am so in love with who I am. I am so in love with my life. But also experiencing like what I'm really naturally good at when I allow myself to just have fun and play. So like the summer I carried bubble guns all over with me and was riding scooters and went to slip and slide events. And so just really giving myself permission to explore.
what's fun for me, decide how much I do or don't want to do that thing, but just finding new ways to experience joy and then also connect with new amazing friends and curate amazing friendships too. So I think those are the pleasant surprises that I really enjoy.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (32:10)
Right.
my goodness, yeah, now that totally speaks to me. Like I said, my little coming of age of things that I wish I'd have done 20 years ago. Okay, what's the, I mean, you've had, you know, business coach, life coach, whatever, and explored, what's the best advice that you've received that you're like, everybody needs to hear this?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (32:28)
Love it.
You're right.
Okay, so there's one thing in particular that sticks out and it was an article that was written in Psychology Today. One of the educators that I followed was Gabor Mate, who is a Hungarian-born physician and he talks about how any kind of trauma manifests as dissease.
And so he was interviewed for an article last year. And if there was one article that every woman should read, I feel like this is the one. And it talks about how 80 % of women are being diagnosed with autoimmune disease. And his theory is it's because we're repressing our emotions.
So when I look at the work that I do, when I look at the work that I've done, like one of the things I've really been able to do is feel all of my emotions and allow space for other people to feel theirs too, but really to understand them. And so the work that he does, but just that article speaks so much to the danger of not allowing those feelings to come through, labeling them right, wrong, good, bad, and how much damage that does to us in terms
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (33:44)
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (33:56)
when we don't express them. And when you combine like his work with Brene Browns with Mastin, like there's so many different people I can reference right now. It's like we've made ourselves overly responsible for how other people feel while simultaneously ignoring how we feel. think getting to a place where we can not only better understand what that feeling is and the information that's trying to give to us, but then allowing that
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (34:04)
Yeah, they all it all weaves together. Absolutely.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (34:25)
exchange between both of us is the thing that's really going to help us grow as a human kind.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (34:31)
Right, well like you, it is, it's like when you suppress, you ingest it, I mean it all kind of affects, mean, right, I mean it's no different of like hey I can feel, can sense something is not right, or that uncomfortableness, or discomfort of I should be doing this. It should, it's the same thing of like I'm not, I'm not being my authentic self.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (34:36)
Yeah. Yeah. Because imploding is better.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (35:01)
I'm creating a face, you know, or a facade. And that does affect our physicalness. mean, my aunt was in healthcare for a really long time. mean, she's passed, it's been 20 years since she's passed. But she was a closeted lesbian, you know, for, she knew when she was, you know, a part of herself. She, you know, of course, you know, Midwest, Methodist, very religious family. She was at, you know,
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (35:04)
Yeah.
a part of herself.
Y'all later!
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (35:31)
middle schooled, sent to conversion camps, high school, like caught like this, you're wrong, you're wrong, know. And she was diagnosed with cancer at 30 and battled it for literally 30 years. She finally came out when she was 45, 50, and she ended up dying at 60. But she said she was like, I.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (35:53)
Mm-hmm.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (35:59)
I got cancer. She was so, she was like, I got sick because of repression. She was like, when you cannot be yourself. And she was like, whether I'm here for another year or 20 years, she was like, I need to live for myself. So I'm a huge believer in those physical connections and how that can manifest into.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (36:04)
you
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (36:29)
not-so-fun things that we have to deal with. And that's a great, so that's a great, we'll have to pin that article. So if we could celebrate, like if we met a year from now, what would we be celebrating?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (36:30)
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
man.
I mean, a couple things, like more international.
fabulous friendships for one. I love putting myself in other spaces, so I just continue to explore that and love connecting with new people and weaving people together and just the connection and the understanding and the culture perspectives and all the things that come with that. So that for one. And then the other big thing would I would say would be the fabulous success of my Radiance and Resilience Community Pilot Program that I
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (37:26)
well talk to us about that. What's going on there?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (37:26)
and starting to check your email. So I have been using a program that one of my friends put together for some of my like brand blueprint and client avatar and like all the things for business. And while I was doing that, we were redoing my sales page. And as I was looking through, was like, I want to add more value, more value, more value, more value.
How can I add more value? How can I do that in a way that's sustainable, still authentic to who I am, isn't gonna like leak my time and energy in doing that. And so as I was thinking through it and then combining that with like my own passion but yearning for more micro community.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (38:08)
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (38:09)
decided I wanted to do a community program. So I'm testing that out. I have a pilot program. It's launching early January, but it's open now if you want to sign up. Yeah. Yeah. It's so, thank you. But then it's like my program, just like my coaching, it's called Radiance and Resilience. So I have this thing, my most on brand hashtag is soul shine.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (38:19)
Well, we'll have to check it out. We'll need to pin it and all that. Yeah. But I will check it out. need to, probably need to be a part of that.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (38:37)
And so I talk about the fact that soul shine is like that thing you do. Is that love?
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (38:40)
My favorite song, by the way. Yes, it's one of my, like, my dad and I, that was like our inspiration song, yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (38:48)
it.
So I just talk about like how soul shine is that it's the energy that comes through the light that comes through when you're just so full of joy and you're living your purpose and and that's something I get complimented on a lot, but that's literally what I teach other women like that's how I coach you. That's what we do. That's what we figure out. It's living a life on purpose with purpose and so this pilot program is going to be my my test for what that's going to look like for my year-long coaching clients. Eventually it might turn into something else too.
like a membership or something, but this is just a really beautiful way to bring 10 women together and really do some amazing work and hit the ground running in 2025 and see what we can light up. So I would say we would be not only celebrating the success of the program, but also the transfer, the transformations that happened for those 10 women on the other side of that a year later. Love it. Yeah.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (39:41)
Okay, we're gonna make a date. Set a date, we'll schedule that. Alright, and then question. I watch I ask every founder and I love this question, but if you had to sum up your journey in just one word, what would that word be and why?
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (39:59)
mean, literally, soul shine. I, my, it just, it's,
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (40:01)
what a great.
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (40:07)
It's interesting because like also my program, like part of what I do is I teach people to build an internal compass that talks about their core values. And so like my core values are authenticity, curiosity, and autonomy and autonomy. Even when I was younger and was still in that survival mindset and didn't really know who I was.
or at least couldn't verbalize it and hadn't been able to like create it in my life yet, I still knew on some level. And so there's always just been this level of...
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (40:37)
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (40:41)
Self-assuredness, knowing who I was even when I couldn't talk about it, and just stubbornly, stubbornly trusting that and moving forward. And all of those things have contributed to just continuing to find my path in a really beautiful way, but also, again, being able to show others how to do that same thing. So definitely soul shine.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (41:04)
my goodness. We've asked hundreds and hundreds of founders over the last couple years. No one has, we've never had a repeat word, which also should, but that's such a good one. I love that one. But I love the fact that it's, every time we get a different word and it just goes to show we're all on a unique journey that speaks to us.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (41:11)
Yeah. Okay.
Yeah.
Yes. Yes.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (41:31)
So we're almost out of time, but where can people connect with you, find more information about the program and your coaching and kaleidoscope effect and all of that.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (41:36)
Yep.
Yeah, so pretty much every place you can find me is under Maria Venus and there's a whole story behind that. But my website is mariavenus.com. My Facebook is Maria Venus. LinkedIn, Instagram are all Maria Venus. If you go to my website and you're curious just about who I am, there's obviously an about me page that I just updated with some fun things. But then if you go to my homepage, if you scroll to the bottom and once I get this from you too, it'll go there too. But like different podcasts I can get
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (41:49)
Yeah.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (42:12)
I've been on so you can just hear like who I am and what I talk about. I've got a So all of those will give you a better insight into like who I am and and how I work and what I do and what I believe. So yeah, and don't hesitate to reach out. Send me a message. I love connecting with people and just yeah, whether that's you're a future client or you just a human reaching out or you want a new friend like I'm here for all of it.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (42:16)
Right.
Yeah. Rebecca, this was wonderful. I appreciate your time and your energy and all your good advice for our listeners, but also for myself. These things go by so fast. know we're kind of, we're getting over, but thanks for hanging out. I appreciate it. Yeah. And for everyone listening or watching, thank you for joining us too. Again, this podcast episode drops.
Rebecca Thomas - More Than A Life Coach (42:48)
Right?
Yeah, thank you so much. really, I had fun.
Jennifer "JJ" Sutton (43:05)
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