Leading a Multi-dimentional Business w/ Kerryn Slater – She Leads She Thrives Podcast Episode 26

Shannon Dunn  01:05

Hey, everyone, it’s Shannon here, your host of She Leads She Thrives. I have a special message for you ahead of this week’s episode where I’m talking to the incredible Kerryn Slater who’s one of the licensed Thrive Factor coaches and such a phenomenal soul.

You’re gonna love what Kerryn and I talked about. But ahead of this, I also wanted to say that starting next week on the 21st of March 2023, I’m hosting a four part live immersive challenge “Thrive as a Coach”. This is for you, if you want to be a coach, if you’re a new coach, if you’re an established coach, we’re going to be exploring the attributes and the skills and all the things that are going to support you to thrive as a coach.

And I’m going to definitely be talking about the value of being an actual qualified coach, actually doing training and having a framework that supports you with your coaching, moving forward, so that you can really make the impact you want to create in the world. There’s going to be a link in the show notes for you to sign up. 

Shannon Dunn  01:28

If you follow me on social media, all the links are going to be there, come and join us 21st of March we start that’s going to be in the morning Australian time where I am on the West Coast. That will be the Tuesday evening for those of you that are in the US. There is replays, recordings, a pop up Facebook group, all the cool things are going to be happening in that four part experience, which will go over three parts in that first week. And then we’re going to have a live Q&A the following week. I can’t wait to welcome you into that. It’s going to be lots of fun, as I said, lots of opportunity for you to really challenge yourself and to expand in such an incredible way as a coach, as I said, make any impact in the world because I don’t know about you. But that’s what I know I’m here to do. I’ll see you there.

Shannon Dunn  02:55

Welcome, everyone, thank you for tuning in. I’m Shannon Dunn business leadership coach and host here at She Leads She Thrives podcast. And I’ve got a new guest for us today. Very excited to speak to this gorgeous soul. So Kerryn Slater has joined me today. I’ve known Kerryn for a few years, I lose track of time – in a good way, right. And while I will share her kind of official intro bio in a moment, like I’ve been doing with the other guests on the show, telling you how I know these beautiful women because the intention for as long as it can continue, and I feel like this is the whole lifetime of the show, however long that may be,  is to have women come here and be guests on She Leads She Thrives that I actually have a genuine connection with. I do know Kerryn extremely well. Right. Very well. 

Shannon Dunn  03:44

So Kerryn and I, as I said, we met some time ago online I think it was when we were both going to be part of an event that we ended up speaking at. And we connected through that space. Kerryn came and did a profiling experience. She learned her Thrive Factor Archetypes. Then we finally got to meet up nearly a year later, when we were in Fiji at the Ultimate Girls Week Away event, if you’d listened to the episode, it was Stasha Washburn, I mentioned that same event then. So you know, Stasha and I were at that event too. So was Kerryn. And that was the first time Kerryn and I got to meet in person because she’s also in Australia, but on the other side of the country from me. And it was like instant love. And then from there, Kerryn went on to also become a licensed and certified Thrive Factor Coach. 

Shannon Dunn  04:30

So she’s been in my world in many different ways and is a longtime private client of mine and I know my world is better for having you as a client and now a friend. So I’m so excited to see what we talk about today. So officially let me tell everyone a little bit more about you from that kind of your bio perspective. 

Shannon Dunn  04:49

So Kerryn Slater is the Inspired Spiritual Alchemist on a mission to support you to gain true purpose clarity, heal your body and mind and connect to a joyous life. She’s a fierce advocate for your awakening. I know we’re going to talk about awakening definitely in our episode today. She loves to learn and has gathered an abundance of tools and expertise. She’s highly qualified and has a wealth of wisdom she shares generously – sidelining, thinking about as I’m sharing this with everyone if anyone knows anything about the Thrive Factor archetypes you should be able to pick what Kerryn’s are from her bio. 

Shannon Dunn  05:20

Her business Holistic Essentials Therapy and Consulting has been the channel to reconnect to your wisdom as you learn to trust being supported by the universes beautiful energy as a certified meditation teacher, self discovery master coach, hypnosis practitioner, reiki master teacher, theta healer, psychic, medium and Thrive Factor coach. She’s a wealth of wisdom and inspiration with an ability to hold space for genuine transformation. She is inspired to work with people who are ready to make change in their lives,  ready to understand the true meaning of empowerment, ready to be the change they wish to see in the world and ready for overall wellbeing in all areas of their lives. Well, that’s a mouthful in a good way.

Kerryn Slater  06:01

I know I was thinking oh, yes, they’ll guess my archetypes for sure.

Shannon Dunn  06:07

I always find it interesting having someone read out, you know your bio in the official  this is who I am. From a business perspective and listening back and go Oh, wow. Listen to me. Look at me go. So I hope you had that same experience, then. Absolutely. 

Shannon Dunn  06:23

So huge welcome. Is there anything I didn’t share, then in that welcome that you want to add in? Before we dive in? I think you’ve well and truly covered it. I love it. So let’s start with your Thrive Factor Archetypes. We’ve kind of referenced them a few times already. Tell everyone what you’ve got. And maybe just a little bit about each of how each of your four archetypes plays out in your business, like what does it do in terms of the influence of those beautiful archetypes and their connection, or I guess interaction of them in a harmonious and sometimes not so harmonious way. How does that play out in your life and your work?

Kerryn Slater  06:56

Beautiful question. Thank you. So I have four of the I have four of the Thrive Factor archetypes, they are the Advocate Rescuer – I always go in alphabetical order. The Advocate Rescuer, she is you know, I just I really love having this archetype. You know, she really is so deeply feeling and sensitive, empathic, she has, you know, capacity for compassion, to feel real genuine compassion for others, more importantly, for herself. And advocating also for me in my life, and how that’s played out, is really being able to advocate for women to be able to – because I do work primarily with women – to be able to speak their truth, to be able to ask for what they want in their lives, to be able to set healthy boundaries, and to be able to put themselves first because with the Advocate Rescuer, you know, that archetype she is the Yes, woman, she is all about giving all of herself her time, her resources, her energy, her money, like anything to those people…

Shannon Dunn  08:14

Whether she’s got it or not, 

Kerryn Slater  08:15

Exactly, that’s so true. And so many of the women, especially when we’re looking at through the lens of my business, so many of the women that I work with are so depleted, and exhausted, and they don’t have anything left, their cups are empty. And you know, and I think she’s been a big driver for me in my own life, in my own journey of discovery and healing and finding my purpose and my way in the world. 

Kerryn Slater  08:44

And, you know, self acceptance and self love is very much a big part of that, mainly, though, having compassion and kindness for myself. Because for such a long time, you know, the way that I spoke internally and thought internally about myself was really unhealthy, it was really quite negative. And so you know, and that’s what I see reflected also in, and that is a driving force also in my business is to be able to support and guide women to be able to think better about themselves, to be kinder to themselves, to acknowledge and recognize, you know, all of the wonderful gifts that they are just for being who they are and not who they think they should be, or what somebody else has told them they should be. 

Shannon Dunn  09:35

When I first connected with you, your generosity of spirit really,  is exactly who you are, is generous, kind, caring, always checking in on others. But when we got to know each other a little better, I could see that that wasn’t as effortless as you desire it to be for yourself. So it has truly been such a joy to be in the space that I’ve been in in our really relationship, to remind you, that you can do all that for yourself and to see you blossom into a space of understanding what self compassion means, and practicing that with more kindness, then I think you did even a year or 18 months ago. So it’s been a joy. And then that is just another example of how you practice what you teach. And model to other women.

Kerryn Slater  10:29

It is, absolutely, it’s a daily practice. And it is a daily reminder. And when you are lucky enough to have beautiful, inspiring women around you, who support you, and value you and see you for who you are, then it’s wonderful to be able to be reminded  that you have that within you. Because when you are focusing your attention so often externally, you know, especially in business, it’s focused on your business, it’s focused on your clients, it’s focused on what you’re creating, that while you might be doing the self care work, sometimes you may not be doing it as deeply or as often as is needed. So I’ve been very grateful for those reminders. Thank you, Shannon. 

Shannon Dunn  11:17

I’m happy to give them. I feel like that’s one of my greatest joys in my role coaching and teaching and guiding and mentoring and all those different things I do with my clients and with our Thrive Factor Coach community is to be a mirror if needs be to say, look at yourself, look at what you’ve got, look at what you’ve created and to be that I sometimes I know, potentially annoying niggle that’s gonna keep poking and say, Can you just see please, can you just do something with this? which is so so good. Then we can thank my Visionary Creator for seeing the potential of where you’re gonna go in the future too. 

Kerryn Slater  11:54

Yes, we all love your Visionary Creator Shannon. We love her.

Shannon Dunn  11:59

So that’s your Advocate Rescuer. So moving along the alphabet. 

Kerryn Slater  12:05

My Inspirer Believer. So the next one I have is the Inspirer Believer archetype. And she makes so much sense too because so much of everything that I do, and everything about me is energy, you know, how am I feeling energetically? What is the energy around me, what am I giving my energy to, but also within that, you know, I always took for granted in having the capacity and the ability to be able to see the gifts, and even the magic in other people. And, you know, seeing what they’re… it’s more like being able to, for me, myself personally, being able to see the truest essence of a person, and often when they are completely unaware, that that is the essence of who they are. And you know, and there’s so many factors in that. 

Kerryn Slater  13:02

And this is why I do so much with, you know, the subconscious and the mental mind and healing and energies and frequencies and meditation in my business is because I’m wanting, and again, very much Inspirer Believer, to hold the mirror up, for others to see it for themselves. But be able to hold and provide the space for them to safely journey within for them to discover that for themselves. 

Kerryn Slater  13:30

And, you know, but as we know, with the Inspirer Believer, burnout is a very real thing, you know, especially over the last few years, she has well and truly lost her mojo. But having the understanding of this Archetype, and being able to, you know, even just do something as simple as looking back at what you have achieved, or content that you’ve put out, or, you know, reading feedback that you’ve received, or testimonies. Even just looking at what you’ve created, whether it’s in your business or just in your life, in general, has been a really powerful way to reinspire her energy, but for me also, it’s really tapping into what does inspire me, not just about me, but what inspires me in life or about life, or about humanity, you know, all the feel good stuff that really does help to bring her back into balance and alignment. Because for a lot of my life the  real energetic highs and then the lows have been something that I really experienced a lot, especially in my early adult years , and just trying to try to figure out why I couldn’t just have that nice medium balance, you know, of harmony, you know, could I just have a steady line for a little bit.

Shannon Dunn  15:00

So I am laughing because, as you know, Kerryn , I understand that because I also have the Inspirer Believer Archetype, so it’s a lived experience for myself or so. And we talk about this archetype is, as you know, her currency is energy, if we have to talk about a key theme. Which is exactly what you said at the beginning, your energy’s such a core part of your work in your life. So it made sense that you certainly you have this archetype, but you also understand how to use her to rise to your own potential and to expand in ways you wish to expand and to have more of a sustained energy. The peaks and troughs and energy of Inspirer Believer are always so interesting to, to understand to reflect on and to navigate  I’ve found, and so many of the amazing women that we both know, in the kind of broader Thrive factor community also all have this archetype. And isn’t it interesting when somebody’s in a, like, we call it the cave of despair, when it is a it can sound very dramatic, but…

Kerryn Slater  15:58

It does sound very dramatic, but I think that’s, I think that’s appropriate also for this archetype.

Shannon Dunn  16:03

It really can feel like at times when you have this archetype that you are at that peak of highest of highs. And it’s not like an addiction kind of high. In some ways, you could say that in some ways, that the energetic, you know, you’ve got a lot of energy, you’re excited, it’s a very excitable archetype when she’s in that space. And then the other extreme, does feel like and that’s why we call it the cave of despair, or hopelessness, and it can be you can go from one to the other quite quickly. And I always have found that fascinating, like, how can I had such an amazing morning even, or day yesterday, and now I feel terrible, or I can’t see what the good was that I could see momentarily ago, like, where is that all gone? And it’s about understanding what’s driving that and very much as we talk about when we teach around this archetype is that the gift she gives herself, which therefore ripples out to everybody else, is allowing herself – it’s very much I feel like in allowing thing – to be inspired by who she is, what she’s creating, and what she’s sharing in the world as a priority, because this Archetype will go externally for inspiration all the time.

Kerryn Slater  17:13

And you know what I love too, it’s not – and especially as women as young girls – it is not what we are taught growing up. You’re not encouraged or taught to really be inspired by yourself, because, you know, old school, all the language around that, and the messages that you’re take in subconsciously can really impact your ability, especially in having this archetype, to feel comfortable to actually do that. 

Kerryn Slater  17:50

So that was something for me to really work on in having this archetype. Was focusing my attention on that. And it was almost what I love, too, was it was like, Oh, someone’s actually given me permission, I now have permission. And it’s fully acceptable for me to be inspired by who I am, what I’ve done, what I’ve achieved, what I’ve created, and how far I’ve come in my life, and just who I am as a person. I like who I am as a person. I’m like that shouldn’t be a surprise, to be able to say that. And what I love about these archetypes and the framework, the Thrive Factor Framework, is how empowering it is, to each and every one of us who know what our archetypes are, to really be excited and inspired. And I guess opened up, especially from a heart centered space, even even acknowledging and embracing your own intellect and allowing that to be your superpower.

Shannon Dunn  19:02

There’s so many facets of it, which when we think broadly, and if you if anyone’s listening to Kerryn and I talking about the archetypes and you haven’t yet gone or listened to my solo episode, where I introduce all 12 of them, go and do that, we’ll make sure it’s linked in the show notes so its easy to find. So you get a high level overview of them. But if you know your archetypes, and you know, all the listening to what the archetypes of Kerryn’s that we’re talking about today and you’re like, Yeah, that’s right. I’ve got that one and you’ve forgotten how amazing you are. It’s a really good reminder, as you said, Kerryn , it’s a space of empowerment. 

Shannon Dunn  19:33

You know, the archetypes were created as a leadership framework with a focus on self leadership, and really tapping into your innate potential. Innate being a word that describes what we’re born with. And yet, during the course of our life, often in our childhood, we become disconnected from our potential so frequently, and as you rightfully pointed out, there is different things happening in the world, our lived experiences,  going to school, for example, certain relationships we may have with family and older people when we were children that teach us different messaging and teach us that we look externally for answers, solutions, for inspiration, for creativity, for justification, for intelligence, for wisdom, and yet we have it within us.

Kerryn Slater  20:22

So true. 

Shannon Dunn  20:24

So Inspirer Believers, if you are listening to what Kerryn’s saying, and the  little bit I’m adding to that. This is an archetype that has incredible potential and a gift for seeing the potential in others that you know, the good that others see in the world. It’s an archetype that is here to be inspired, but more to be an inspiration and she often talks about wanting to be inspirational and not recognizing that she already is. It’s a very genuinely humble approach here, it’s not a denial of her potential, necessarily, it’s just takes a while to see it. And there’s definitely some concern around, I’m gonna sound like I have a lot of ego if I’m telling people that I love what I do, and I’m excited, and I’m inspired by me know. 

Kerryn Slater  21:12

That’s such a great point, actually, because ego does come into that. And again, that comes back to our childhood conditioning and programming. And I just love to that this archetype also, I really just think that she has such an incredible ability to ignite and she’s depicted in your artistry with the fire and the flame flames, but she really does have the ability to ignite that flame of excitement, curiosity, passion, motivation in others. 

Kerryn Slater  21:54

And just coming back to what you were saying about it, you know, being a humble archetype. You know, I’ve just, and I know, you can relate to this, as well and I’m sure those those that are out there that have this archetype can too, you don’t actually have to think about what you’re doing. It’s not structured, it’s not planned, it’s just so natural, in being able to have and she’s highly intuitive as well, to be able to see those qualities in others and being able to just, you know, we just share what excites us, because it excites us. 

Kerryn Slater  22:31

You don’t sit back and go, Oh,  look I’ve created this ripple effect. Or I’ve had this impact on somebody’s life or, and you know often I’ll see people that I’ve worked with and they’ll go, wow, look at what they’re doing. Like, that’s amazing, good on them. But again, you might  put the dots together… but I don’t go on and she’s doing so amazingly well because we work together. I just look at how amazing she’s doing now that she can see the brilliance of who she is, or she’s tapped into her own inner qualities and strengths and gifts and she’s out there sharing that with the world. That’s what inspires me. So, yeah, you don’t look at it and go, Oh, I did that.

Shannon Dunn  23:23

But you know, there are people out there that do take responsibility. And we both see that in the coaching space, particularly that will very happily, and you with the greatest of pride take responsibility for a clients results. We’re co-creators with our clients. The outcomes that they receive and experience are because of what they did, yes, you may have taught them something, coached them through something, guided them through something. But they were the ones that did the work, took the action.  And hopefully consistently, did whatever they wanted to do, and they got the results. 

Shannon Dunn  23:58

But it is interesting to see that and I find it such a fascinating thing. I know I’ve had related to the Inspirer Believer. But I’ve had conversations over the years with clients that I may have worked with all these days, well, I’m truly more than a decade ago, who might say show up in my social media feed or I might, if they’re local bump into them in a networking event or something. And I’ve kept track of what they’ve done. Just because I am open to receiving, you know, feedback and seeing and I want to see the results of what they achieve long term. 

Shannon Dunn  24:29

And the greatest joy for me is when I know that say we had a conversation, say a decade, you five years ago, two years ago, and then you are living that thing you told me you wanted to do or you’ve even gone beyond that or watching your children grow up and seeing what they’re doing when you’ve shared the dreams you had for them like all of those kinds of things. And I love to be the person who goes in and sends a message and so many people said to me, I’ve never worked with someone who’s ever done that like when our time together has ended, whether it’s a program or private work we’ve done or something, and I’ve stopped paying the person I never hear from them again. And I know that that’s my Inspirer Believer, like what I’m doing is like a sticky beak. But I get so inspired because I see the results, long term, of the seeds that they planted, the nurturing they gave those seeds and what they’ve done to bring those to life. And yes, I may have had a small influence on some of that. But it’s such a joy for my Inspirer Believer and keeps me motivated to keep doing what I’m doing.

Kerryn Slater  25:28

Well, it’s inspiring, isn’t it? So  much. That’s all we need. 

Shannon Dunn  25:36

Moving along, we could talk about Inspirer Believer for days. But moving along to the other archetype of your four that you and I share that  we can have a real deep rant about this archetype and her. I know she frustrates you a lot. So tell us about it.

Kerryn Slater  25:50

So my next Thrive Factor archetype is the Mentor Teacher. And it’s so funny when I discovered that I had this archetype, immediately, what flashed to me was, as a child, we had this old fashioned school desk, including wooden ones, you lifted up the lid, and it had the steel, you know, rounded legs, I’m probably not describing it right.  I’m the eldest of five siblings, and I’m standing out the front there with my ruler, trying to teach these tiny, tiny kids.

Kerryn Slater  25:56

I think every Mentor Teacher probably has some similar memory, because I certainly do. But without only having two younger brothers, and one of them quite a bit younger than me, there was only one student in my class, who’s still my brother who’s closest to me in age and in his late 40s, now still tells me it’s my fault that he hated actual school.

Kerryn Slater  26:49

I just find it so funny. But I find it also incredibly fascinating. You know, I’ve always felt that if we were to go back to what we did naturally as children, or what we were excited about, or what we’re interested in childhood, I find it so amazing to then see and experience and have shared with me from everyone around me how they’re falling into, or finding themselves in positions, or careers, or passions that are so directly linked to what we naturally did as children, which I love how that ties into, you know, the innateness of the archetypes that we have, because I know that, you know, you’ve spoken before of how you do believe and feel that we come into, we’re born with these qualities, with these archetypes, and that resonates so deeply with me. And so I guess too, I always found myself going through my working career, in positions of either training or teaching or helping and supporting and guiding others to do whatever they needed to do in a learning capacity. And, you know, that plays a huge part in all of what I do in my business, because, you know, running workshops and retreats and teaching and passing on, you know, healing modalities and everything else. 

Kerryn Slater  28:26

I do love this archetype. You know, I love the wisdom that she has, because for so long, you know, and I know we’ve talked about this before, I just honestly believe that the Mentor Teacher archetype can tap into universal consciousness, and the collective and whatever information is floating around out there from incredible teachers past, present and future, that you can just tap into that, because so often I would just know, you know, intuitively, what needed to be done, or what direction to take or the answer to a question without being able to back it up with anything concrete. Yeah, I wouldn’t be able to provide proof of how I knew that, and I know we’ve chatted about this, which has really led  to –  and I’m sure there’s a lot of people out there who have this archetype that can resonate – it really does lead to not always trusting in your own inner wisdom.

Shannon Dunn  29:37

Completely. So what you just described there, I would I visualize that as the Mentor Teachers of the world, we are the keepers of the knowledge.  So I can hear your Shapeshifter Alchemist – which we’ll talk about next –  definitely having an influence on the way you talked about tapping into the universal  knowledge. But there is this energy of a Mentor Teacher comes to the world, knowing things. 

Shannon Dunn  30:05

And as you explained, Kerryn, we don’t know how and as little ones we tend to share, because it’s like the Inspirer Believer, and you and I both have the double whammy of that, it can be a very oversharing archetype. We tend to tell people what we know, we tend to share our reflections. For me, it was around observing dynamics in relationships in my family and being told that I shouldn’t know that. And I mean to be quiet, because that wasn’t what a child should be saying kind of thing. And now as a adult, I can see that I nailed it. I kind of highlighted stuff that no one wanted to be talking about. But there is this energy of this, I don’t know how I know, I don’t have the proof. I don’t have anything to back it up. And yet, as we get older, and particularly, I think when we go to traditional schooling, then we have these messaging coming in saying you need to prove how you got the answer, you need to show a reference,  so we can often disconnect from that knowing, and as you said, trusting that knowing. Talk to me more about your lived experience of that.

Kerryn Slater  31:18

Well, I guess I mean, I didn’t love school. Which makes perfect sense now. So for me, I really found – and again, that came back to that questioning having to prove, of being questioned, and then feeling that self doubt and that insecurity of like Okay, well, if a figure of authority does not believe me, or is questioning what I’m saying, then maybe I shouldn’t be saying it. Yes. So I think, you know, for a long time, I was silent. And I was like, Well, I’m just going to keep all of this to myself. And of course, there’s a lot more in that that will probably come through when we talk about my Shapeshifter, but you know the messaging was there that it wasn’t safe. Actually, I learned very young that it wasn’t safe to speak up or share what I knew. Or, you know, because otherwise, you know, you just got told you’re a smartass.

Shannon Dunn  32:23

That just one of the responses that we may have heard. Right? That being one of them. Show off. 

Shannon Dunn  32:34

 I did enjoy school, I have a different experience to you. But I have a different four Archetypes. We have two Archepyes that same, the other two we have are quite different. School was relatively easy for me from a learning experience, the social part, I did not like at all. And that is because I think my Visionary Creator was in a whole different realm. Like your Shapeshifter Alchemist yes. 

Shannon Dunn  32:55

But there was feedback, let’s use that word to be kind, that came from peers, even from teachers around Oh, you got an A again, or you did this again, or like the achievements that you had, or the knowing the answers and very much it’s a such a common thing. And I have heard this from, I would say every Mentor Teacher I’ve profiled, and it’s a lot of them because their Mentor Teacher and Inspirer Believer are the most frequently seen archetypes in the women that I have the joy and honor of working with. But they say that I got to a point, and safety is definitely the word you just used it so appropriately, where I didn’t feel safe to share. Where I was told it was not okay to say what inside of me was almost like burning up saying, I need to tell someone this. And we were shut down. And so that mistrust just amplifies over and over and over again.

Kerryn Slater  33:50

And something I think – and you can you can share what you think about this – but just something that’s dropped in for me and an observation that I have just realized, is that with the Mentor Teacher, especially in a child or young adult, comes a maturity. So they’re older than their years. And so it was just very easy to contribute to adult conversations. Because you had an understanding, conceptually and emotionally of what was actually going on, being discussed, what the conversations were, and then to be told, I guess too, that well, you’re a child- you should be seen and not heard.  Or not having any contributions valued.  Whereas I always was more interested in you know, spending time with older kids, older people, young adults. I connected more with them. I felt like I had more in common with them than a lot of the kids that I was you know friends with, that I was growing up with. 

Shannon Dunn  35:07

Definitely,  I 100% agree with that. The wisdom that comes with this. And let me just share this for a moment for anyone who’s listening and you may have heard me share in other episodes I’ve talked about wisdom, I’ve talked about ingeniousness, I’ve talked about lived and learned experience. Wisdom to me, the way I have been able to understand it, is the combination of our lived and learned experience and our intuition. Yes, yeah. The uniqueness of the Mentor Teacher archetype is that we come to the world in physical form having a depth of wisdom, even though we don’t yet have lived experience. Yes, we’re bringing in other things we’re bringing in….that’s a whole other episode, right? 

Kerryn Slater  35:52

Amazing episode to talk about. Let’s do that.

Shannon Dunn  35:55

And a whole other realm, literally. And then the world tells us that you need to go to school, you need to do certain things, to learn certain things., and yet so many Mentor Teachers find themselves throughout their lifetime sitting in some kind of a learning environment, both online now and in-person. With this whole kind of flash through their brain that goes, I already know this. And there’s some can be a degree of arrogance if you dare share that outside again. It’s the world saying how do you know this? You haven’t got the piece of paper to prove this. You haven’t finished this course yet. How do you know that? Have you done this already? There’s so this questioning and this judgment and this you know, almost curiosity but with a judgy tone of “show me that you know this”, whereas a Mentor Teacher often as you said earlier, they can’t. 

Shannon Dunn  36:53

So the way to work with and nurture Mentor Teachers, this goes for anyone who’s listening if you have this archetype, but if you’ve got younger people in your world that you suspect, these are the bookworms, the kids that are learning, reading, doing things, telling you facts about stuff, wanting to listening to the grown up conversations, have concepts and things that they’ll share with you and you’re like, how do you how do you get that? you know, because you kind of don’t even get it yourself. 

Shannon Dunn  37:20

To encourage them to trust what they know, let them have a space where they can speak what they know. Because if they don’t, they may get to if you’ve got the Mentor Teacher, you’ll understand like Kerryn and I talking about, you can go through a lot of your life, being very quiet, not sharing this… I know for me, it was like this built up big well of things I wanted to say.

Shannon Dunn  37:46

 And I’ve been saying this even more recently, a lot. If you’ve got things to say find a way to say it. You don’t have to go and start your own podcast. But if you want to do and tell me what it is, so we can listen. Find ways to share that. Because the more you share, you will find the right audience, the listeners will come, they will want to hear what you have to say, they’ll want to be involved in the conversation because I know Mentor Teachers are not here to preach from the front. They like to be involved in conversation and hear your side and you know, have a bit of a debate and let’s see what you think and you think and you think and bring it all together and glean the wisdom from that whole conversation. So find a place to share that because the more you do, the more you can learn, or perhaps re-learn to trust that wisdom that you have.

Kerryn Slater  38:37

So true. And as you were saying that I had this visual of you know, a group of Mentor Teachers sitting around together and having these philosophical, also conversations and just the expansion. The expansion of their intuition, the expansion of their wisdom, the expansion of also feeling validated and heard and accepted.

Shannon Dunn  39:03

Yeah, so much. When I think of Mentor Teachers gathering, I have visuals of you wise people in ancient Greece and Rome and when you watch things like Game of Thrones or the new prequel that’s just been out recently, was it House of the Dragon I think, the meisters that they speak to, the wise people, the scholars, the learned people but those learned people who’ve gone and done all the study and examined and explored and experimented, have the wisdom which is feeding the curiosity to go and see what else is out there.

Kerryn Slater  39:42

Yeah, love it. Love it, love it. In what we’ve been talking about too, and not having that trust in that own inner wisdom, I really feel feeds into the almost frantic need for a Mentor Teacher to prove themselves through certifications. Even when I started my business, and I really wanted to be seen as professional and I have a lot of personal ethics and really wanted it to be integral. And because I am a deeply spiritual person, I think there was an even greater drive for me to have a professionality, to be professional to come across in a way that, again, would be accepted by the wider community without just being brushed off as being woo woo. That’s a whole other topic.

Kerryn Slater  40:51

You know, so that really drove for me the desire to have so many more certifications, and not that I actually needed them, but felt that I needed to have them and yes, in other areas, I absolutely needed to have them. . But for a lot of it, I did go into a learning overdrive, because you know, I had that, well, I have to prove that I am not – “worthiness” is coming up, but it’s not the right word – I had to prove, I felt subconsciously that I had to prove, that I had a right to be here in this space, doing what I wanted to do. And I have everything that I need to be able to justify that, which is ridiculous, but you know, very much driven by the Mentor Teacher I guess.

Shannon Dunn  41:47

Completely and a thing that I truly believe that every Mentor Teacher, given the opportunity to reflect on that would have some similar experience and understanding. I certainly know I have and sitting in the space of coaching and mentoring, when I have a client who has a Mentor Teacher, which is 99.9% of you, amazing women, and there’s some it’s almost like a confessional happens at some point. And we have our coaching session or in the group programs or whatever we’re doing. And there’s a “I signed up for…” and it’s not just a program, or a thing or a workshop, it’s like multiple all at once. 

Kerryn Slater  42:27

So many.

Shannon Dunn  42:28

It doesn’t just happen in a I just signed up for a thing, because I could see the benefit of doing that and acquiring that skill and mastering something, expanding my knowledge and my learning and my thinking, whether it’s personal or professional, is a when you come to the point of I desire to learn more in a formal setting, it tends to often come from the mistrust has got much bigger than it had been just recently. And so it does go into overdrive. We start a business, but then at different times during business. 

Shannon Dunn  43:03

And I’ve certainly had one long term client who is literally like a confessional about every three to four months, there’s a cycle happens. And we’ve highlighted this and and we kind of try and catch it out before it comes together. And she’s definitely better at managing it now. And she’ll said I say to her, we have this little thing running where it’s, if you feel you want to sign up for something, share it, tell everyone you’re going to do it. And if you don’t want to tell the world, tell me. And I’m not going to say don’t, I’m going to say is this the best use of your time and money right now? Because we decided that that was a really good question for her to check in and to go wait a second, what am I really trying to achieve here by signing up for this? 

Kerryn Slater  43:44

Such a powerful, brilliant question. 

Shannon Dunn  43:46

What am I really trying to feed by doing this, or these? – it’s rarely one. And that’s the other thing that you know, it’s a bit of a fun, playful banter we can have now but when she will come to me and say, I’m thinking of doing this and then we coach through what’s actually going on. Sometimes it’s a legitimate Yes, and the action is taken. But then I as her coach will step in and go and what else are you looking at? And she’s like, how do you know I’ve got other things. 

Shannon Dunn  44:14

Because this is a pattern and it’s a set very typical behavioral pattern that can arise with Mentor Teachers and it’s a sign that you’re mistrusting yourself. As I said, most of the time, you’ll sit in something and you’ll be like I know this, I’ve read this, I’ve listened to it,  I’ve done it before in another format. I did a program, oh I signed up for something like this, but I didn’t finish it because I realized I didn’t need it. Coming back to that recognition of I have what I need. I have what I desire, I have the knowledge, I have the wisdom, do something with it is more powerful than doing more learning. 

Kerryn Slater  44:51

So true. And I’ve definitely found that you know, from the moment that I began sharing my wisdom and knowledge through my business, working with clients, that you learn so much more –  I love this too with the Mentor Teacher – you learn so much more by teaching.  Because the more you actually share your wisdom and your knowledge and you pass that on, you learn more about that as you share it. And so this is where it comes back again, as you said to trusting that inner wisdom, because that can’t actually be taught to you. You can’t learn that, that can only be lived. You know, that’s learning through that lived experience. I love that so much. 

Shannon Dunn  45:44

I think we almost need our own podcast. I did just say that before. I think, you know, it’s not a not a no conversation, it’s possible exploration, the Thrive Factor channel, just to muse on archetypes for endless episodes. 

Shannon Dunn  45:58

Anyway, you have another archetype, which has been pivotal for you in understanding her. I feel like the final of your four archetypes, it’s not necessarily the most powerful, but she can definitely be the one wielding most power at times. She has a big influence on every single part of your life, your work, who you are in the world. And I feel like getting to know her and understanding her and her potential, by using that lens of your Inspirer Believer has been your greatest transformation. Stepping into who you are, not being a new Kerryn, but really stepping up and stepping more into who you already were. Because there’s that expansion, that joy of like, hey, now I understand this is who I am. This is who I said I want it to be, but I actually am already her. So tell us tell us more.

Kerryn Slater  46:54

I love that. I love that so much. You know, as kids, we believe in magic. You know, we just have this innate ability for imagination and play and endless possibilities. And when I discovered that I had this archetype, it really was, for me  joyful, it was such a relief, and it was so comforting. Because I was like I don’t, I don’t have to keep trying to be something because everything that I’ve been trying to achieve, or do, or experience, I already have, but it’s not been acknowledged or it’s not been integrated, or it’s not been accepted because I always walked outside of the box.

Shannon Dunn  47:49

Which is a typical Shapeshifter Alchemist.

Kerryn Slater  47:52

I was like I never fitted into a box, I always walked outside of the box. I walked around it, I walked on the other side of the road. I was always outside of the box, looking inside the box that everyone else is inside the box going, how do I get from here to there because I don’t fit in there. And you know, my life quest. And I’ve certainly talked about this a lot, you know, with my clients and in my business and in what I share is, you know, I have honestly felt that my whole life has been a journey of self discovery. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? And to understand, and finally know that that comes from having this archetype. It really was such a relief, because I was like, Well, you know what I can I can just be who I am. And yes, I’m so good. 

Kerryn Slater  48:46

And we are all of those, all of you out there who have this archetype as well will understand this. You can be in a crowd and you could literally shapeshift, morph yourself to match any situation or any experience in order to fit in. But you’re not consciously doing it to fit in. It’s something that happens subconsciously.  You’re not actually consciously aware that you’re shifting and changing. And you know, I find it so interesting because I don’t know how many times I used to say to people, I have a work hat, I have a Mum hat, a wife hat, I have a partner hat, I have all these different hats and I you know, or masks, you know, mask or a hat. And you know, and I used to be like, I just want to take the mask off and who am I behind the mask. And again, identity has been such a huge driver because we are labeled with responsibilities or roles or expectations and we just get lost. 

Shannon Dunn  49:59

There’s an innate curiosity as a human being to ask Who am I? and again, if we talked about the the Mentor Teachers, the wise scholars from Greek and Roman realms, for example. Those philosophers were the first ones to muse on the Know thyself and who are you? Who am I? And it’s been a question that every human being has asked throughout history, and yet for a Shapeshifter Alchemist, on a different scale to every one of the other 11 archetypes in the Thrive Factor framework, that question I feel often goes unanswered, and you almost feel like you’re not yourself, you’re not able to be anything really, because you don’t have the answer to that. Whereas other archetypes can get clear like the Mentor Teacher, like I’m here to learn to teach, Inspirer Believer: I’m here to be inspired, to inspire. The Advocate Rescuer, to use your other archetype, I’m here to share and to lead with compassion. Yeah, the Shapeshifter Alchemist;  What am I here to do? Because I am so multi-dimensional and ever-changing and ever-shifting? I’m untethered.

Kerryn Slater  51:16

Yes, I was just going to say there’s no solidity. So there’s no solid ground. Yes, you can be grounded. But there’s no real firm, solid foundation, because there’s a desire for freedom to be able to shift and move and change in whatever that cycle may be, whatever the season may be, whatever the circumstance may be, that requires growth or transformation in any given moment. So the Inspirer Believer can get stuck in a rut, yes, the Shapeshifter Alchemist, yes, I for so many years, I had this dream, this visualization of just wanting to escape and just be a monk in a hilltop cave, and just meditate my life away, which I can see now is very Shapeshifter inspired. But even in having said all of that, the relief was, I don’t have to try and be normal.

Shannon Dunn  52:22

Whatever normal is anyway, right? 

Kerryn Slater  52:24

Right? Because who defines that? Who defines what that is, but we all grow up with some sense that there is something out there that is normal, that community or family or society tells us is normal. And as a Shapeshifter, you can’t fit into that, because there’s a fluidity to who you are in any situation. And you’re not going to be the exact same person in every single situation. Because you’ll show up in the way that is needed in that moment, based on the people that are around you.

Shannon Dunn  53:02

Completely. In observing Shapeshifter Alchemists,  because this is another archetype that frequently shows up in my community, I’m not surprised, because the Thrive Factor Framework is a mechanism for you to better understand yourself, where you felt like you have no answers to Who am I? for the majority of your life, however old you actually currently are. 

Shannon Dunn  53:23

But what I’ve observed more and more, I would say in the last few years Kerryn is that there is a maturity in the Shapeshifter Alchemist, of that acceptance of the multi-dimensional ever-changing ever-evolving need for variety aspect of your soul. And when you can come to a space of me having different interests and needs and desires and being a lot of different things all at once, is actually my power, its actually my gift to the world where you’ve been told more than likely most of your life that you’re unfocused, you never commit, you’re flaky is another word I hear from Shapeshifter Alchemist. No one understands you, you’re a bit strange. You never kind of do anything that makes sense. So all of those things of things. Yeah, phrases and words and memories that Shapeshifter Alchemists have shared with me consistently over the years. But when they can come to the oh, but I am all these things, and tomorrow will be a whole lot more, and that is actually the best part of me, and the world actually needs people like me, who are not bogged down in being a black and white one way and this is the only way to be kind of version. Who are able to actually be committed, but also be committed to multiple things at once.

Kerryn Slater  54:50

Yes, because all of those things are so relevant and valid in their worlds. And just as you were speaking, if we look at nature, if we look at the universe, if we look at the cycles of the seasons, nothing actually stays the same.  And I feel that this is where Shapeshifter Alchemists can really tune into and tap into the essence of the energy of life, multi-dimensional realms, universal consciousness, being able to offer many ways to achieve a result through business. 

Kerryn Slater  55:32

And I know even for myself, there’s many modalities that I’ve been drawn to, which are all at their core, are ways to support you in understanding who you are, tapping into who you are. Aligning to your heart, your soul, it’s all self discovery, actually, with the loving and accepting yourself with compassion and kindness. And I can see now where I once felt overwhelmed, because there’s so much noise out there, there’s so many ways, there’s so many experts out there telling you the right way that you should do your business, do whatever, how you should show up, which doesn’t actually work for a Shapeshifter Alchemist. Because I can take, I used to say, actually, I consider myself to be a pot of soup, which is probably a cauldron, a pot of soup, and and I can take an ingredient from hundreds of different people, just one little thing that might resonate and pop that into my pot of soup. And then what I take out to deliver, is me, is my voice, is my version, it’s how its transformed.

Shannon Dunn  57:02

That’s it. That’s the essence of alchemy, if we think about that, too. We talk about an alchemist being, you know, an individual that can take something of seemingly little or no value and turn it into something of incredible wealth and value. And that being able to take from wherever it’s needed, in the moment, and bring it together is the alchemy. So you talked about magic right at the beginning in describing this archetype. It is the archetype of magic you know, we talked about the Inspirer Believer’s currency being energy, for the Shapeshifter Alchemist  it is magic. 

Shannon Dunn  57:37

I’m very quick to say and you’ve heard me say this multiple times over Kerryn, that when I use the word magic, I’m not pre-defining it as being anything particular. For a Shapeshifter Alchemist, its understanding what that word means for you, and what to you feels like or is magic or magical. And doing more of that, because that is your way to ground in all of these different aspects and variations of yourself so that you can create an alchemy that is of incredible value to others. 

Shannon Dunn  58:12

So often, when you hear conversations that people having around something that they’ve done, a learning experience or whatever it was – probably learning experiences if there’s a Mentor Teacher involved – but something where the Shapeshifter Alchemist was an archetype that was in that individual that was leading the thing that the person was involved in, whether it’s one-on-one or a group. And people were saying, I don’t know what happened, but it was like magic. You know a Shapeshifter Alchemist has been at play, right? They’ve been out there doing their thing. And a lot of Shapeshifter Alchemist over the years from a business perspective has said to me, I can’t define what I do, I don’t have words for it. And I ask people, and they say, I don’t know, it just felt like magic. Yeah, and whereas you have other combinations of archetypes, and their ideal clients won’t use the word magic. And they also may be able to very clearly define that we did this and we did this and I did this. And then this happened, not for Shapeshifter Alchemists, as a person involved in that, or as a person delivering or facilitating that.

Kerryn Slater  59:14

Do you know that’s so true. And a perfect example of that is I have a Sacred Self Immersion Retreat that I’ll run a couple of times a year. And one of the attendees,  she gave me some feedback, and she was like, so and so was asking me what did we do? And she was like, I don’t know, but it was amazing. And that’s true in that environment. And this is key too for a Shapeshifter Alchemist, when you do find something that feels magical to you, when you’re doing it, it’s almost you really are tapping into something so otherworldly.  And your ability to be able to take others on a journey, regardless of what your tool or what your vehicle is, your ability to take somebody else on a journey that is so transformational and profoundly moving for them, that could be so simple, and anybody else outside of that might look at that and go, What is that, like, that’s nothing. But when they’re actually in that experience, because you’re sitting with some a Shapeshifter Alchemist, who has the ability also to move in that quantum fields, you know, to move in that energy of universal consciousness, to be able to create a shift, not only in yourself, so we can create the shifts within ourselves and then that generates a shift within the others that are around them.

Shannon Dunn  1:00:55

Completely, completely. If we think more broadly about the business community, a lot of individuals that have the Shapeshifter Alchemist are women that find themselves in healing businesses or working with healing modalities, even if they’re working in what we would maybe call more traditional business spaces, they often refer to themselves using the word “spiritual”. I often see them using alchemy or alchemist as well without knowing that they even have this archetype. 

Shannon Dunn  1:01:24

And my thought on that is that moving into working in those spaces, is somewhere where they feel a little bit more like they could belong, or they’re not going to be ridiculed or judged, or all the things that have happened through their life, for not fitting in and for wanting to be different and for having diverse interests in different things. Those are often the same people that don’t get when someone you know, they’re doing, say business learning of some kind and they’re being told you must focus on one thing, you have to have one message, you have to have one niche, you have to have one ideal client, you can only sell one thing at once. 

Shannon Dunn  1:02:03

And they just like, Well, what do you mean, because it goes against everything that you ladies actually stand for and understand about how the world actually can work. So I know that for a lot of Shapeshifter Alchemists when, like yourself Kerryn come to understand this archetype, is such a huge sense of relief, of knowing that you can actually use the gifts of this archetype to create your own kind of medicine, if you like, your own magic, your own alchemy, which is multi-dimensional, it’s got lots of different things in it, and offer that to the world. Right. And that’s where the transformation expands and amplifies on a whole different scale, because you’re able to actually bring all of you to the table. Because I know in your business, you don’t just show up with the Shapeshifter Alchemist, all four of your archetypes come to the experience, but this one I feel like is almost like the glue pulling everything else together.

Kerryn Slater  1:03:00

She is 100%. I totally agree with that. And I feel that often because she just shows up so much in every aspect of my work. Because in every aspect of my work, there is an element of magic, there is an element of transformation, there is an element of self discovery and self acceptance. And understanding and accepting you for who you are, is so powerful. And I just want to add to that also with the Shapeshifter Alchemist and having multiple modalities, because there is you know, we can reach more than one genre, or more than one niche. Because often the learning that we’ve done, yes, Mentor Teacher, but that self discovery journey or the interests that you have, you have such a large toolbox of support that you can offer to others. That is the difficulty in just going, I don’t just work on this one thing. There’s so many different things that we can work on. 

Shannon Dunn  1:04:19

Thats a good thing, I love it. We’ve got so much more that we can talk about. I know this has been a long episode already and I’m never going to apologize for the length of the episode. So if you don’t like long episodes, the occasional one is not going to be one for you. But trust me, the longer ones we’re going to deeper conversation. So listeners hang in there. 

Shannon Dunn  1:04:37

To wrap up for today, Kerryn, I’m going to ask you some of the same questions, I’ve been asking all of our guests just to bring it all together, and to remember that She Leads She Thrives is also about looking at leadership and how are we thriving in the world. So the first question I’d love to ask you is what role does leadership play in your life and business?

Kerryn Slater  1:04:55

The role that it plays I always have felt and believed and had the everything that I’ve done is transparency, walking my talk, you know, not asking others to do something that you’re not prepared to do yourself. It’s really I’m going to say walking your talk, though, for leadership for me is I don’t prescribe anything, or I don’t teach anything, or I don’t encourage or support or coach anything that I don’t actually do and use myself every day. 

Shannon Dunn  1:05:31

There’s integrity, just oozing out of that in the best possible way. I love it. So how do you know when you’re thriving?

Kerryn Slater  1:05:39

So I know when I’m thriving when I feel good. I know when I’m thriving when I see the transformation in the women that I’m working with, I know that I’m thriving when the right people come to me to work with and I don’t actually have to force it or go out of my way. They just show up. Again, Shapeshifter Alchemist, I know that I’m thriving, when I feel that I’m aligned, I’ve got energy, I feel inspired, and I’m excited every day to show up and, and I guess too I’m thriving, I know I’m thriving when I’m comfortable in my own skin, and I’m really, really happy with who I am.

Shannon Dunn  1:06:25

Yeah, beautiful. I’m loving all the variety of answers that’s coming through this some similar traits there. But this is another thing that is so important for us all to understand is that leadership and thriving are such unique expressions, they are not one thing. So to hear the variety of the different answers that are being shared, I hope is inspiring for anyone who’s listening. Very much so. My Inspirer Believer is hoping that you’re getting your pom poms out in a metaphorical sense. Oh, yes, I get that, even if you’ve heard 10 different answers to those questions. So before I ask you the final question to glean a bit more of your wisdom, how can people connect with you the easiest? Where do they find you online?

Kerryn Slater  1:07:06

So they can find me on Instagram. So @kerryn_holisticessentials_. And I have a website holisticessentials.com.au and I’m on Facebook, Holistic Essentials Therapy and Consulting.

https://holisticessentials.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/HolisticEssentialsTherapyandConsulting
https://www.instagram.com/kerryn_holisticessentials_

Shannon Dunn  1:07:22

So we will make sure, like we will for every one of our guest episodes,  put the links so that you can find them with ease available in the show notes, which will always be on the thrivefactorco.com website, so that if you go to the blog, you’ll be able to see all the episodes and find Kerryn there. And I also say often, if you can’t find one of our guests reach out to Team Thrive factor, and we will make sure that we connect you with them. So to wrap up for today, even though I could talk to you for hours longer, what’s one final piece of wisdom  – tap into all of your archetypes here – that you’d like to share with the ambitious ingenious souls that are tuning in today?

Kerryn Slater  1:08:04

The final piece of wisdom is always be true to yourself. Always be true to yourself. And if what you are doing dreaming, creating, inspiring to be, wanting to share with the world, if it feels aligned and by aligned, it’s you know, it resonates with you in your heart, your mind, it’s congruent with every area of your life, then you are completely being true to yourself in every aspect.

Shannon Dunn  1:08:39

What a way to finish. Big breath out everybody. Again, I think we can mash together episodes of the answers to the final piece of wisdom as well in the future. I love it. Thank you so much, Kerryn, thank you everyone for listening in. I really appreciate the fact that you’re here. It’s really great to see the numbers of downloads that are happening for every episode we have She Leads She Thrives. 

Shannon Dunn  1:09:01

I would show up and create these episodes, the solo ones and the guest ones, even if there was no one listening, but I love the fact that there are people listening all over the world. So thank you so much. If you haven’t yet, make sure you’re following the podcast go and rate it, share it with your friends, so that we can ripple thriving out into the world in a much bigger way. Kerryn, thank you from the depths of my heart for showing up and being here and sharing this with me today. And yeah, everyone have an amazing day. Keep thriving wherever you are in the world.