Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier with Breaking Through Consulting & Coaching

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. You guys are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with breaking through consulting and coaching. Clara Lucia. How are you?

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Oh, hi, Stone, how are you? I’m doing well. Super excited to be here in the show.

Stone Payton: Well, I know this is going to be a fun and informative conversation. I got a ton of questions, but before I even go there, maybe just describe for for me and our listeners mission. Purpose. What are you what are you really out there trying to do for folks, Clara?

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Yeah, absolutely. So it’s really simple. My purpose is to awaken the humanity in the marketplace. In other words, work with people to remind them about, um, the fact that they are imperfect human beings and that they have an incredible amount of influence over themselves and other people. And how can we just make this world a little better if we own that truth about being human beings?

Stone Payton: So I have to know, what was the journey like to get here? I bet it wasn’t a straight line, was it?

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: No, it was kind of convoluted, very, um, satisfying at moments. Super fulfilling and kind of messy at times. So I am originally from Colombia, and that’s Colombia with a big O in South America. So I’m a proud Latina. And I came here to the US in 1999, which seems kind of like a century ago. And one of the things that I kept kind of realizing is my desire to fit in. My desire to feel part of something greater than myself, to have a sense of belonging and contribution. And throughout my experiences and relationships, I realized that sometimes that’s not so easy. And the the limitations on our own self-critic inside, it’s almost that judging voice that limits you from creating those sentiments for yourself and others. And your mindset can really dictate how you go through life and what you learned and what you don’t. And that has taken me all the way back to really the foundational piece about my humanity Is unless I can’t. Unless I can accept radically accept that I am an imperfect human being. I’m not going to be able to have the impact that I can. And when I am able to recognize that in myself, it’s a little bit easier for me to present that invitation to other people and really help them succeed.

Stone Payton: And so now you’re bringing this work to serve other people. Uh, tell us a little bit about the work. What does it look like? Is it a lot of one on one exchanges? Is it group coaching and or what all is it?

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Yeah, absolutely. So there’s a combination of things. One on one interactions and specifically coaching sessions with people are kind of my go to. And during those coaching sessions, there’s kind of a focus on what I call the three superpowers, and that is our personal love, our purpose and our positive mindset. Those are three things that every human being can one acknowledge and awaken to really live more fulfilling and satisfying lives and careers. So that’s the one on one. And then there’s another side of things, which includes group leadership and training opportunities, where I really have an opportunity to come into an organization or a team and understand what are some of the things that they’re doing well, and what are some of the barriers to where they want to get towards. And once I have that sense of an assessment per se, I then create and I designed trainings that are speaking to some of those solutions that they can implement individually and as a group. And the last piece is speaking engagements. And by these I mean really opportunities to hear a bit of a fresh Perspective, someone that has been in similar situations of hardship and, you know, trying to kind of belong and fit in and someone that can relate to their experiences as human beings. And at the end of the day, it’s really my intent is to bring a little bit more hope and a few things that people could consider to do differently so they can go about their lives with a sense of, you know, clarity and ownership about how powerful they are and how they can really own what they want. Life and career to be for them.

Stone Payton: So when you first started speaking professionally, was that a little bit intimidating or did you take to it pretty easy?

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Oh, it still is. I mean, it’s I can describe how I feel and what sensations I feel in my body. You know, it’s the butterflies. It’s your stomach. Kind of like shrinking. Is your heartbeat racing? And to me, those are all signals that one I deeply care about what I do. I have a strong belief in, again, the power of what I teach and what I offer to others. And three, you know, it reminds me of my aliveness and it allows me to feel and be present in that moment. Right? So there’s there’s certain things that, you know, I do to prepare for it. Um, and one of the biggest learnings is, as opposed to pretending that I have it all figured out and in control is to name the fact that I’m nervous and it’s to name, you know, that dynamic of, you know, caring so much that I really want to do a good job and bringing that to the front, um, so that everybody understands that I’m as human as they are.

Stone Payton: So it seems to me the work that you do individually, and maybe even more so in groups, is the kind of work that can live on beyond you, uh, contributing to the process. Is that accurate? I mean, once you’ve gone in there and opened minds and hearts to some of these concepts and ideas that work can live on well beyond you being there, can it?

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: So that’s that’s the idea, right? Like, I think, um, we only are given one life, at least as we know it in the here and now. And it is up to me to choose what I’m doing with it. And once I realize that, you know, again, my purpose was to awaken the humanity in others. I have dedicated myself to learning and growing and getting, you know, certifications and getting equipped with the tools so that I can be of support. And at the end of the day, you know, Stone, I want to look back, you know, when I’m in the end of this walk through this life and really feel at peace with a sense of accomplishment on one following that yearning for contribution and making a difference and to, you know, be at peace that I that I did it um, that I went for it, that I took a risk as an entrepreneur, that I left corporate America on the side, and that I decided to give it my very best attempt to be good at what I do, and to do it in a way that is transformative for myself and for others. So it is part of my legacy. And, you know, I have a 19 year old son right now who has kind of been a little bit of a witness, and I want to make sure that he knows that that he sees myself, you know, acknowledging my imperfections and seeking to to get, um, better and seeking to be excellent and to do all of that because I have a sense of purpose, um, to use this one life to make a difference and a contribution. And the same thing goes with the people that I come across with.

Stone Payton: So the transition from the corporate arena, which I’m operating under the impression at one point probably got probably got really good at it, pretty comfortable. And then you jump off the ledge into this entrepreneurial world. Like, was it tough early on getting clients, you know, all that kind of stuff?

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Absolutely. I mean, it’s, um, it’s it’s one life changing decision that I do not regret. I mean, leaving corporate America, um, and at that point, you know, so and I want to be super transparent with the audience is, you know, my managers were asking more out of me, and there was really nothing else I could give them. So it became very clear that perhaps a win win was to part ways. And it was a really hard, um, reality. I mean, I felt like the the world under my feet was shaken to the core, and there was a lot of fear. There was a lot of unknown. And thankfully, I had the support of my family and my husband specifically at that point. And what I kept telling myself was, what is the worst that can happen? And the worst that can happen is that I wouldn’t succeed as an entrepreneur and I would find another job. So I kind of put all my energy and focus on, on on the why behind that idea of, you know, being my own boss and managing my own. Time and again, it all became very crystal clear to me when I came up with the name of Breaking Through consulting and now coaching, and if I may take just a few seconds. It was it was a very vivid experience. I was doing tryouts with my son in a soccer, um, tournament, and I was just mesmerized and mesmerized about looking at all these little kids trying to excel and trying to show up and shine, you know. And how much effort they were putting behind it. And I realize we all have a way of wanting to break through something, to make it through a challenge, make it through circumstances to become, you know, from good to great or like we’re always trying to break through something either a limiting belief, a difficulty, our own self-reflection of ourselves. And then I it hit me, right? Like what I was trying to do at that point was to breaking through as an entrepreneur and being my own, you know, business owner. And that’s where the name comes from.

Stone Payton: Well, I can see very clearly how rewarding it must be as a client to achieve these kinds of breakthroughs. How much fun it must be for you to help your clients do that. But it seems like you’ve come full circle. You had those challenges in the corporate arena in the latter part of your career there, and now you’re busy about embedding purpose in their business operations and in their everyday life and culture. That’s got to feel great.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Oh, it’s I mean, it’s I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. It’s, um, a practice that I have chosen, and I have the privilege of actually choosing, um, to do so, and it’s very fulfilling. And I think it it really hit me when I found my purpose in life. And I purpose is a very pivotal aspect of the support that I offer to my clients, because your purpose is not a nice statement that you would cut out from somewhere. And I put it on a plaque or on a wall. Your purpose is something that you find within. So one you want to you want to be not only self-aware, but you want to own the story of your life and the story of your life. Include, you know, the good, the bad, and the ugly and the Beautiful. It’s all part of, you know what makes you you and owning that part of the story or every part of the story, I should say, is what directs you to finding that purpose. So purpose is an inside job. It comes from within. And when you can clearly see that and feel it because it’s actually a gut reaction once you find it. I mean, it changes everything because every goal, every, um, focus that you have is going to actually be towards making that purpose a reality in the here and now.

Stone Payton: So I know how much more I enjoy hanging out with people in a professional or personal environment with what I’ll characterize as a positive mindset. You know, they’re upbeat, they have high energy. And I think I can extrapolate that to how that could have a very positive effect in the in the work environment. What I don’t have the first clue about, and maybe your clients don’t either initially is how do you get there? If you if you don’t have a positive mindset or there’s areas of your life where you don’t, man, that’s going to be a a challenging journey. But it sounds like maybe you’ve cracked the code a little bit in helping them get there.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: It’s a it’s a great question. And what I appreciate about what you’re asking me this stone is because, you know, when when I meet my clients, first of all, they are they have success in their lives, right? Like, they have some, you know, good achievements and a sense of caring. And, you know, their lives are going okay. When I start kind of asking them questions about what their yearnings are, about what the you know, what is meaningful to them, what are some of the values and some of those limitations that they have. Right. What are some of the ideas or absolute truths that you have been living by that may be becoming a barrier nowadays. And when we start kind of actually taking the time to stop and reflect on that, reflect perhaps on how did you become the person that you become and understanding a little bit about your past and those relationships that you established with your caregivers? You you start to actually understand that everything is connected and you know, your your mindset is a beautiful gift that you were created with from design, right? You were created with these beautiful mind. And what we don’t know a lot about is that there’s different parts of your mind, and we are mostly controlled by your survival brain. And in survival mode, we don’t think clearly. We are very reactive and our mindset, it’s almost at the mercy of that need to achieve and succeed and, you know, just keep going.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Almost on automatic pilot. There’s also another part which is kind of your other side of your brain, where there’s a very special wisdom within. And when we learn how to awaken that wisdom, then we start understanding that we actually can be managing that survival brain, and we can do certain things to decrease that. And that’s when our mindset shifts from thoughts about from thoughts like, I can’t. This is too hard or this is not for me. Towards other, more empowering thoughts that include things like, hey, this might be hard, but I’m going to give it a try anyway. Or I’ve done that before, but now I’m going to do it with a different spin and see what happens. So suddenly you are awakened to the realm of possibilities, as opposed to being kind of in the dark and with a very fixated mindset that includes what we call stinking thinking and negative thoughts. So it’s it’s it’s work, right? Because this doesn’t come automatically. You need to be consciously, um, wanting to awaken that side of your brain. And when you do, you actually start seeing that there’s a change and that small victories can help you be more in a way to, you know, in, in. I don’t like the word control, but you can be more in the driving seat, the driver’s seat, as opposed to being in the copilot with, with no say or with no control at all.

Stone Payton: So I don’t know which one comes first, but it sounds to me like a positive mindset can impact and improve mental toughness, mental fitness. But mental toughness, mental fitness can make your mindset that much more. Is it like this virtuous circle once you get it rolling right?

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: It is. And if there’s a takeaway about these topic of mindset, um, and this comes from the live school of coaching, um, is, you know, the, the, the fact that your thoughts are the ones who impact your feelings and then your feelings dictate how you act or how you behave. So in other words, if your thoughts are negative and if you wake up every morning saying to yourself, this is going to be a hard day, I don’t have enough money, enough resources. When I get to the office, people are going to be dependent on me and I have to do it all over again. Then you’re going to feel very disheartened and and disbelieved, and your actions are going to be reflective of that. So you’re going to be scattered, you’re going to be overwhelmed, you’re going to be stressed out. And then at the end, what do you think the results are going to be?

Stone Payton: Right. Not good.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Right? Not good. And then you’re going to bring back that home. And guess who’s going to be the punching bag.

Stone Payton: Mhm. Yeah.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Right. Your family. So again unless you do something to consciously change the script that you’ve been living by. Nothing will change. And you will just have wishing thoughts that something magically will happen and it never will. And then you’ll be focused on that mindset. And it’s it’s the cycle and it’s your self-fulfilling prophecy. Wherever your mind is, wherever your, your, your energy focus is on, that’s what your reality is going to be.

Stone Payton: You mentioned early in the conversation, I believe, the idea of love. And you may have even said personal love, self-love. And I kind of I log that in because I knew I wanted to ask you to speak a little bit more to that.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Yeah. This this was something that became very important to me when I was doing my own personal growth, which I continue to do, um, up until this date. But it was very vivid when I realized that unless I focus on myself, unless I start fulfilling my own needs, unless I honor my emotions, and unless I put my own well-being in first place, I’m not going to be able to serve others from a place of abundance, grace, and contribution. So this is tied back to my growing up years as a Latina, um, little girl growing up in in Colombia, in the Catholic faith, and with, uh, my dad having the final say in a lot of things. I believe that my only way to find my mattering and belonging was to serving others and pleasing others, despite my very own needs and feelings. And that helped me survive, and that helped me become a very kind and compassionate person, until those things became the reason why people will be dependent on me. So I created codependency very quickly, and it felt really good because it gave me a sense of superiority, actually, as opposed to the realization that I needed to help people and teach people how to fish as opposed to fishing for them.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: And that created liberation. And suddenly the burden feelings of caring for the world were a little bit light lighter, and I started to then focus on me, my development, my growth, my healing process. And that’s when personal love, which is something I mean, it’s self love, but I call it personal love because it starts with you. It starts with you looking at the mirror and accepting your whole self with the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. It’s accepting yourself and validating yourself and affirming yourself over and over so that then you can understand what it is to be those things for other people. So personal love is, I like to say, is, you know, to ask the question, would you date yourself? Would you go in a couple of dates with yourself, and how long could you stand being with yourself? And if the answer is yes, awesome, you probably will end up marrying yourself at one point. If it’s no, then great. What are you going to do about it? So that you can start being more accepting and loving and compassionate towards yourself?

Stone Payton: That is such an important message. The mental image I was building as you were describing, was remembering when you get on the airplane and they tell you if the oxygen mask drops, put put it on yourself first. I love that.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Yes, yes. Great connection stone. Great connection. And again, um, it could be part of your cultural background. It could be part of the rules and the beliefs that you heard from your caregivers growing up. It could be part of, you know, society and the things that we believed were absolute truths, all of all of that dictate, you know, the way that we relate to ourselves and the regard that we have or not for who we are as individuals. And I think the opportunity, especially nowadays in this Complicated world that we live in is unless you focus on yourself, unless you seek to, you know, to to seek your your own healing, your development, you’re not going to be able to be as an effective leader and influence on others because you’re trying to then complete or justify the unfinished business that you have through those relationships at work and at home with friends and family.

Stone Payton: Now, are you providing all of these services, if desired, in English and Spanish?

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Yes. Which is which is I think it’s such a I don’t know, I like to say that it’s kind of a unique part of of who I am. And it’s not only the language, but it’s, it’s the cultural piece that it’s so important. So all of these, you know, you know, services and the support that I provide. Um, when you do it in just the language, Spanish. But when you do it from a place of relating to that person in terms of the nuances of a culture, um, it takes a very profound meaning and the person is more likely to feel heard, seen and valued from that perspective, because there’s a sense of understanding that creates closeness and proximity.

Stone Payton: So when you’re not busy helping people and organizations achieve these breakthroughs, what do you do for For fun? Do you have any hobbies that we might surprise us?

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Haha, yeah. You know, I think, I think one of my hobbies is, um, I am a writer. I like to write. I actually have a very short book, um, out there around purpose. Um, so I like to write, I like to paint, I do acrylics on canvases, and I have a few things that I’ve created lately. Um, and you know what? Funny that you say that. One of the things that I’m challenging myself more and more is to take risks and to really practice what I teach, which one of the things is, you know, how do I embrace my fear and make it my friend so that I can then do what I would say was impossible otherwise? And over the weekend, one of the the things that I did was I jumped into Lake Michigan at, uh, like very cold right now.

Speaker4: Oh, yeah. Whoa.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: So I did a cold plunge, and and the reason why I did it is because I wanted to manage my fear as a way to propel me forward in doing something spooky and scary, and as a way for me to really allow my fear to show up and flow through my body and through my experience at that moment. And it was incredibly satisfying. And I realized that what I teach, which is, you know, the notion that we’re so much capable than what we think we’re so much lovable than what we give us credit. We have so much to offer out there than our limitations. And it’s just it just proved that that’s that’s that’s a fact.

Stone Payton: I just absolutely love that you are at once transparent, vulnerable, authentic. And you, you eat your own cooking, as my dad would say, right.

Speaker4: I love that.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: I love that notion. Yeah. It’s, you know, it’s it’s it’s interesting that you say that. And I appreciate it because I’m proud of, you know, where where I am. I’m proud of the journey that I’ve been. And I’m very proud about the resources and the time and the investment and the energy that I have put behind what I offer. Um, and I and I practice it, I teach it, I live by it. Um, it’s not perfect, but that’s okay. And one of the things that I, you know, that is still continues to be a little bit of a struggle is I know that what I sell, what I offer, it’s really hard to sell because generally people think that these are soft skills and that they’re not as relevant or important into not only the business setting or the marketplace, but in general in life. And I want to challenge that belief, because unless you invest in the well-being of your people, unless you invest, invest in your own development, you’re going to keep having the same results over and over. And our emotions, our humanity. All of that is what the world needs more of. If we were able to own that again, the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful, we would have different conversations at work. We would have different engagements at work. And unless we actually focus on that, nothing is going to change. So we’ve been living life, um, a lot from kind of like the data driven kind of the, the proving and the points and the logic side of things. I think we have overvalued that. And it is time to bring some of those other gifts that we were given to create more balance and again, to awaken to the reality that humanity, it’s it’s who we are.

Stone Payton: And when you do take that, that leap and pursue that kind of breakthrough. They’re certainly valuable. Value there individually. But man, there’s genuine bottom line value to the organization. That’s the.

Speaker4: It does. Yeah it.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Does. So again unless you. Unless you focus within. Unless you are actually ready as a leader, as a business owner, as a company CEO or whatever. Um, to really pay attention to your people and to what’s happening in them and with them. And unless you get curious to understand why and how can you become more of a support and less than a judge or, um, a critic, nothing will change and your bottom line will remain the same. And there’s, you know, there’s there’s ways to guarantee success, right? I mean, and I want to point this out because it’s it’s important to all of those who have or think they have the title of leaders. And, you know, dictators work. They bring results to the table. They make people do things right. The problem with that is that it’s not sustainable. And then at the end of the day, people break. And when your people break, you’re going to be facing a very cruel reality and you’re going to be alone and on your own. So the idea of really becoming leaders who are human, who are understanding, who are curious, who are there to really understand the needs of their people and to engage with them as human beings. If you’re if you’re not doing that, you’re missing out.

Stone Payton: You have already shared so much. But I know we’re we’re looking at a very deep well here. So I’m going to ask anyway before we wrap, if maybe you could share a little bit of advice or a pro tip on, uh, on producing better results in less time in the context of some of these topics that we’ve talked about. And guys, uh, I’ll tell you, the number one pro tip is if any of this is striking a chord with you, and I know it has to be, just reach out and have a conversation with Clara. But between now and then, let’s, uh, let’s leave them with a little piece of advice they can chew on.

Speaker4: Yeah.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: No, I appreciate that, Stone. And I appreciate the opportunity. Um, you know, I guess, you know, the one thing that I. That I ask or that I’m inviting you to do is when was the last time that you stop and created some space for you to reflect on something that means something to you? Um, if that is your business, when was the last time that you stopped and thought about the reason? The purpose behind your business? What is what is it that you want to, at the end of your walk in this life, have as a Our legacy that you leave behind. When was the last time that you stopped and reflected on the kind of relationships that you want around you, that you want to create for you? When was the last time that you shared positive acknowledgment for someone you love or you admire? And when was the last time that you looked? You look at yourself in the mirror and you were pleased with what you see. And if the answer to these questions are a little convoluted, that’s okay. That means that there’s opportunity for you to be more conscious and more present in the here and now to think about those things.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: And maybe you won’t have one answer right away, but allow yourself to reflect. Reflect on the life that you have now. Reflect on the job, the career, the relationships that you have right now, and give yourself some space to feel, to feel how you feel about those. And if you think that those are satisfying. Awesome. Keep doing what you’re doing. And if, on the other hand, you feel a little puzzled, a little uncertain, and even uncomfortable, that’s wonderful. Give yourself a space to go deeper and find out what is it that you need to do differently to be more satisfied. And what a coach can do. And in this case, what I do through my breaking through coaching program is precisely that. It’s to in a in a non-judgmental space, accompanying you in an incredible journey to discover what’s possible to unlock your three superpowers personal of purpose and positive mindset, and to help you live more fulfilling lives and more fulfilling careers.

Speaker4: So what’s the best way for.

Stone Payton: Our listeners to learn more about your work? Connect with with you. Let’s give them some coordinates so they can continue to to tap into your work.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Yeah, absolutely. You can find me on my website. Start breaking through.com. You can send me a personal email at Clara. Clara dot carrier c a r r I e r at start breaking through.com. Or you can find me on LinkedIn at Clara Lucia, or you can find me on Facebook as well. All of these information and social media handles are on my website.

Stone Payton: Clara, it has been an absolute delight visiting you with you this afternoon. Oh my gracious, you’re your insight, your perspective, your enthusiasm, your your authenticity and transparency. And then when I ask you for a pro tip, I don’t get a fortune cookie message. I get real depth that we can all benefit from. You are an absolute delight. Thank you so much for visiting with us this afternoon.

Clara Lucia Jaramillo-Carrier: Thank you, Stone for the opportunity. Thank you to you and the organization for really giving us space for us, small business owner, to shine our light and to share the reasons why we do what we do. So kudos to you for paying attention to us out here, and to creating a space for us to shine through. Thank you.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Clara Lucia, with Breakthrough Consulting and Coaching and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.