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

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio, and this is gonna be a good one. Today on the show, we have the director of Group Coaching at Next Level University, Professional Speaker, Event coordinator, MC, and Next Level Certified Personal Development and Success Coach from Next Level University. Amy Lenius. Welcome.

Amy Lenius: Hi. Thank you. I’m so excited to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am excited to learn what you’re up to. Well, let’s just start at next level University. How are you serving folks over there?

Amy Lenius: Oh yeah. So Next Level University is a company that I partnered with I think going on four years ago now. So it was founded almost nine years ago by Kevin Palmieri and Allen Lazarus. They were deeply invested in creating a space of holistic self-improvement for the sake of success. Now you won’t hear us talk about holistic self-improvement as much in those words anymore, because no one knows what the heck we’re talking about. So we have just switched it to personal development, but we deeply do believe that there is a next level in health, wealth, quality of life and love for everyone out there and how all of them are integrated together. Even though I think we like to think those things are separate sometimes. And so what we do is we have a platform where there’s a daily podcast that the guys do. We have group coaching. We have one on one coaching. We offer high level business coaching through Allen, our CEO. We have free book clubs, free masterclasses every month. We have a lot going on and like you said, we have group coaching as well, which is one of my favorite things that we get to do because that’s something the three of us get to do together. And so it has been probably one of the best and most aligned partnerships I’ve ever been a part of. And like I said four years ago and still going strong for me and it’s been great.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your backstory? How’d you get involved in this line of work?

Amy Lenius: It’s it’s quite a lot, actually. So it’s funny, I actually grew up very sick. So I grew up with a female condition called endometriosis. And that’s where my journey really started. I grew up very sick with that, and in my early 20s, I myself was in school for anatomy and physiology and wanted to have this different experience with my health. And so I started taking on different ideas, different ideologies, stepping away from modern medicine and seeing where I could take my health. And I ended up over years getting better and better and better from a condition that I was told I would never be pain free from, and maybe even never have kids. I was able to have two beautiful boys. And so it started with started with resiliency. It started with taking my own empowered stance on bodily body autonomy, bodily health. And then it I couldn’t help but bring it into my practice as well. And so I started bringing in these conversations with the women I had on the table. I was a massage therapist at the time, and I had a practice based around pre and post-natal care for women, pelvic balancing for women. And I started speaking into their lives, and then I started getting into the natural wellness space and into those rooms, and I started speaking in those rooms. And then I got to speak on stages and give beautiful presentations. My my favorite was my keynote, Holistic Healing for Your Hormones.

Amy Lenius: And so I got to just really be involved in the women’s health space and created my own group coaching program from there, and became a client of Next Level University. Along the way, Allen was helping me with my business. Kevin was helping me with the podcast I had myself at the time, and then I sent that presentation, that keynote speech to Allen because he’s a fellow public speaker. And I said, hey, I I would love some feedback on this from someone who also does this. And he had some really great feedback for me. And he said, you know what? We would love for you to come and emcee our live event that we do once a year. And that was four years ago this spring. And so it was, like I said, just this different space. It was me saying a bunch of aligned yeses, kind of yes, and figure it out. But to be asked to come speak in the personal development space and to help throw a personal development event was very different from where I had started within public speaking and things. And so it kind of just said yes, figured it out and loved everything that they were doing. Like I said, I was already a client, but to move into being in a partnership with them was fascinating and it’s been really fun.

Lee Kantor: So how did you go from being a massage therapist to a public speaker? What was kind of the impetus to make that transition? Because there are so many massage therapists out there that it doesn’t even occur to them to go that route.

Amy Lenius: Yeah, it started because of mostly my healing journey. So it was a combination of I have this background in anatomy and physiology. I know other women struggle with their hormones. And so I had this very specific message that I wanted women to hear. And I think when we have a specific message on our heart that we know people need to hear, it gives us the boost and it decreases that fear of public speaking. No one likes to public speak. On average, people typically fear death less than they fear public speaking. But, um, it really started when because, like I said, the natural wellness space. So when I started taking control of my health, I was going into naturopathic practices and things and started getting control of my internal environment. And then someone brought to my attention, well, what about your external environment? What about endocrine disruptors? Stress, you know, persons, places, things, all sorts of different things that really affect our health and within the company that I found really aligned, and supportive products like essential oils, like different herbs, like natural cleaning products and things. That’s where I started to hit that next level of my health and that next level of healing. And I started sharing my story within that community and at those company events. And so it just kind of snowballed from there.

Lee Kantor: Now, in your coaching practice, were you kind of coming up with your own methodology or were you, um, kind of getting certified from a variety of different coaching methodologies and philosophies?

Amy Lenius: Um, all of the above, actually. So I’m a forever learner. I love to learn. I love studying psychology and and the human nervous system and people in general, and again, anatomy and physiology and things as well. Stress reduction, very, very female focused. And so I have a lot of studying hours under my belt and different certifications and things. And then from that, and from my own experience, I did create my own group coaching program that was called the Peaceful Period Project, where I just took women through everything they needed to know about their hormones and how. Yes, pain is common, but it’s not normal. And we went through that whole process. And now with Next Level University, I get to bring all of that in, which is such a blessing and a gift because like I said, this company was founded by two just healthy masculines and I don’t think they expected to have someone come in and be this more female face, but that’s what it’s grown into, and I can’t help but bring everything from that into this. And I’ve been more than supported and celebrated in doing so. So even now, with my clients and on podcasts like we’re talking about right now, I can’t help but bring it in to make sure they’re aware that they are these cyclical beings. So even if we’re talking about personal growth and success with their version of success is and how we’re building that, it always comes in. So they do find they go really well together.

Lee Kantor: Now, for folks out there that are listening that maybe haven’t gone through coaching, how do you recommend them vetting and kind of finding the right, uh, coach or coaching practice that works for them?

Amy Lenius: Oh, absolutely. You want to be so discerning when you are stepping into the space and looking for guidance, mentorship and coaching. What a great question, Lee. I am deeply passionate about this because I think nowadays you can go on the internet and see anybody spouting anything. You can rent cars to look successful. You can. There’s so much you can do. So make sure you’re very discerning about who you are, giving your time, energy and money to, and start with the process of do you think this person shares similar values to you? Have they created? What you can see is a genuine and authentic lifestyle that you yourself would like to have. Do they have the relationship that you would like to have? Do they have the parenting styles that you would like to have, the fitness styles that you would like to have. Again, there’s so many different kinds of coaches and mentors. What is it you’re specifically looking for? Make sure you find someone who is ahead of you in that area, but also someone who resonates with the lifestyle that you want to lead. And we want to make sure that they are speaking to you in your language. So yes, they you want them to be affirming and validating, but not so much that you’re not getting challenged because the reason you’re not succeeding in the thing that you want to be successful in isn’t because you already believe what you believe or do what you’re doing.

Amy Lenius: It’s because there’s something missing. There’s a belief that’s not there or there that’s holding you back. There’s actions that need to be taken. And so a good coach is also going to help you unearth those. They’re going to help you with the habits and the tangible things you need to do every day to get to that goal. But they’re also going to work with the human along the way the identity, the core wounds, the core aspirations, how they go together. There is I mean, I could talk about this forever. There’s so much that needs to go in to genuinely speaking into someone’s life. And it is an important, an important role to take and to not take it lightly. And it is such a privilege to be able to speak into people’s lives. But you have to make sure you’re doing it right. And one of the simplest examples I can give is if you’re talking to someone with high self-belief, the same way you’re talking to someone who has low self-belief, or vice versa. You are doing damage either way, and so you need to be able to discern that as a coach, as someone who speaks into people’s lives and so give people a chance. If you’re called to work with someone, do, but always feel safe in knowing that you are an empowered individual who can always step away if it doesn’t feel right.

Lee Kantor: So what are kind of the non-negotiables or the true North’s that are part of your program? What are kind of those foundational elements that your program brings to bear?

Amy Lenius: So the coaching that we do at Nextlevel University now is very much habit based. We believe in the compound effect. We believe that we can reverse engineer your goals into small, sustainable daily habits. So we have a lot of how to’s. How is this going to work within your current lifestyle? Because everyone is an individual, we have people that we work with who are high level business owners. And we also have, you know, stay at home moms who are also just looking for holistic success, personal development support, and maybe to bring in 3 to $500 a month in something that brings them passion and purpose. And so there’s a wide spectrum there. And again, you can’t talk to one the same way you talk to the other. So it’s very customized what we do. But the through line is the same. We’re going to make sure you’re dialed in with habits, making sure we’re measuring what is most important to be measured so that we can see where things are working and where we can can something and bring in something new. But along with all these tangible externals, we’re always touching in on internals. We’re making sure we’re assessing identities. Do your core beliefs and core values even align with the goals that you currently have, because if they don’t, you’re going to find a way to go off the rails. What is your core wound? What is your attachment style if you’re looking for relationship support? Because again, we believe in holistic success. So everything affects everything else is what holistic means. So whether you’re struggling with your health, it’s going to affect your work and how you parent. If you’re struggling at work, it’s absolutely going to come home and affect how you’re in your relationships at home as well. And so helping people understand that it’s all integrated and we can get even just 1% better regularly through aligned action and habits.

Lee Kantor: So is there anything right now a listener could do that’s actionable based on your philosophy, where they would see some something?

Amy Lenius: I would look at your ability to be consistent. We see that a lot. People struggle to be consistent with the things that they want to do. And so if you’re struggling to be consistent, even though you’ve been called to do this thing, you want to do it. You’ve tried, you’ve started, you’ve stopped. If you are unable to be consistent at something, it’s genuinely because you’re not setting yourself up for success. You just haven’t found the version of that thing that you want to do that is sustainable and realistic in your lifestyle as it is right now. You need to have humility to start small so that you can expand into it, as your capacity for the thing grows, as it finds a home in your day to day life. And so what is your level of belief in that thing? Do you believe it’s possible? Do you believe it’s possible for you? Do you believe it’s going to be worth it to work through the hard things that are going to get in your way on some of the days that you’re trying to do this thing? Do you have humility? Self actuate accuracy? Is it sustainable? If you are trying to work out for an hour a day and you’ve never been able to consistently do that, drop it, drop the time and then build into that. Start with ten minutes if you have to. It’s important. More important to build it into the identity first than it is to keep pushing yourself into an hour and then having that start stop, start stop, start, stop.

Amy Lenius: We never want to be the person who has to go from 0 to 100 all the time. We want to build from 0 to 1, from 1 to 2, and then we want to make sure that there’s grace, there’s adaptability within this habit, within this thing you want to do, because life goes off the rails regularly. If you have any kind of variables in your life, like children and pets and a busy schedule and a job, then sometimes we need to adapt those habits. And so how can you have an adaptive version of the habits where you can give it 30%, even if that’s all you have to give to it, and you still get the check of the box dopamine hit and the hey, I did the thing I said I was going to do, even though it wasn’t at 100%. And that’s okay. And then you need to be able to pull in grit. Some days it sucks. Some days you need to have an f my feeling moment and just get it done, check the box, and then you are going to be able to build into someone who has the identity of I do the things I say I’m going to do because I set myself up consistently, successfully to be able to consistently do them.

Lee Kantor: Is there a story you can share that, um, maybe with a client? Obviously don’t name their name, but maybe share the challenge they had when they started working with you and how you were able to help them get to a new level or the next level in this case?

Amy Lenius: Mm, absolutely. I’ll actually just use myself with the framework that we just talked about. So because I grew up so sick, I had this underlying belief that my body is a broken piece of garbage to something that. So I had this thing that my body was a broken piece of garbage. And every time I tried to build into a fitness regiment, my inflammation would kick up. I would overdo it and then have to take a bunch of days off to recover and then try again. And I was going from 0 to 100 all the time. And then I was coaching with Alan one day, our CEO, and he said, okay, I know you want to move your body. I know you are looking to be more physically healthy. How can we make that happen? He said. What about going to the gym every day? And I said, my guy. Absolutely not. I do not believe it is possible for me to get to a gym every day. One I don’t even have a gym around me. I live in a teeny tiny town on a dirt road. We don’t have a gym. I’d have to go to the next town over. So right there, there’s a huge barrier to entry. And he said, okay, what about if you started lifting weights for an hour every day? I said again, Alan, an hour every day lifting weights. I don’t believe that I could sustain that every day. I’m a homeschooling mom of children. I have my career here.

Amy Lenius: We have so much going on. And so we just kept going back and forth until I had belief in the thing that I was going to be able to do. And what we settled on was, I am going to move my body for a half hour every day in a way that feels aligned to me, because I’m not going to feel like lifting weights every day, and I’m not going to feel like just going for a walk every day. Like I said, I do live very cyclically with my hormones as I help other women do, and so that matters when it comes to fitness for women as well. And so it gave me a measurable amount so I could measure the half hour. But I had freedom within that to do what I felt like doing that day. As long as I was moving my body for 30 minutes. So there was the belief part we needed to find what belief I had in my possibility, in my potential, and then to be able to be humble in that. I could have easily just tried to impress Alan and be like, yeah, absolutely. I can lift weights for an hour every day. I would have done it for three days and then hated my life and then blamed either the weights or myself. So I had to have humility there for some self actual accuracy. There it is. And then we just built it up in a sustainable way. It was, okay, we’re gonna do it for half hour and we’re gonna see how long we can go to do that, and then we’ll build it up and then we’ll build it up if you choose.

Amy Lenius: If not, I’d stay at the half hour whatever feels best to you. And then I had to have adaptability. And so some days going for little walks with my kids had to be the thing that I did that day. Sometimes it was mobility. I have been sick and I have lied on the floor and just done long form stretches just to keep the streak going. That’s another hack. Track count your days that you do something because as that builds, it gets really hard to break the streak. Oh my gosh, am I going to break a 50 day streak just because I don’t feel like it today? No. Absolutely not. So that’s a little neuroscience hack for your brain. And then some days, yeah, I had to get real gritty about it because I have very busy days where things go off the rails regularly. I live a very gratefully full life. And so implementing these kinds of practices have allowed me to now work out for a half hour every day. Now I’m up to 40 minutes every day, and I’m lifting weights regularly for over 1200 days. And I know that because I keep track. And so these small, sustainable things, if you give yourself the grace of time, do build into something really amazing.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you have kind of an ideal client profile? Is there an avatar for the perfect client for you? You mentioned women a lot.

Amy Lenius: Absolutely. I personally love I love working with women, but I do have a couple men on my coaching roster right now, and that’s been really, really fun, I love it. We’re building out their their businesses, creating habits for them, you know, helping them show up. And they came to me because they also knew they needed the identity work along the way. And that’s where I really thrive. And so I do have what I believe is an ideal client, and that is someone with humility, with coachability and with work ethic. Because at the end of the day, you have to get the things done that you say you’re going to do to reach the goal. Again, you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to reach the goal. But if you want to reach the goals, there are things that need to be done and there. It’s important to be able to have someone speak into your life and tell you how to do that. Now, are we going to have trial and error days where we set a goal, We set a habit and we realize, oh my gosh, okay, after a few days of getting zero on this thing, that just means we’re not in a sustainable place yet. It doesn’t mean you’re wrong, doesn’t mean the habits wrong yet. We just need to adjust and to pivot. And so yeah, work ethic, coachability humility. And I mean, we attract a lot of people with high self-belief. So that high self-efficacy, they really believe that they can, with enough time, energy and effort, achieve external results. But they have a lot of low self-worth. We attract a lot of those people, so we get to build up their self-worth along the way, and I love that work as well.

Lee Kantor: So what’s kind of the struggle or pain these people are having right before they call you? Is there something happening that’s a trigger for them to say, you know what, I should call Amy and her team.

Amy Lenius: Typically, it’s a lack of clarity. They just need help with the how to’s.

Lee Kantor: And but how does that show up? Like what is what’s the thing that’s happening where they’re like, hey, I have to make a change. Like, what is the thing that’s tangible that they can see and feel so they know, hey, if this is happening to me, I should be open to making some sort of a change.

Amy Lenius: Yeah. So they have a vision and they don’t know how to how to get it. So they’re struggling with doing all of these things that keep them busy. They’re doing a lot of busy work, but nothing’s moving the needle. They’re not seeing success in the thing that they want to see success in. So they don’t know how to leverage that 20% that moves 80% of the needle. It’s it is it’s clarity. People are so bombarded with the busyness of the world and other people’s opinions. We have so much access to information nowadays that we actually don’t know what’s right for us and how to be discerning. And so people come in because they’re overwhelmed with not knowing what to do specifically to reach their goal. Like I said, they’re looking for clarity. And clarity creates certainty. Certainty creates action. And so they’re looking for just those tangible steps typically. And then it’s really dependent on what their goal is. So if they have podcasting goals, they go to Kev. If they have high level business goals, they go to Alan. If they have goals, but they know something inside them is getting in the way. They typically come to me and so they know that, hey, I want this success, but I’m tripping myself up along the way because I can’t hold boundaries with anybody. I can’t keep a promise to myself for the life of me. I struggle to invest in myself. I don’t believe it’s possible for me. I have feelings of being unlovable or unwanted. There’s so many nuances in that. But they come to me for more of honoring the human along the success journey.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team. Is there a website? Is there a best way to connect?

Amy Lenius: Yeah, absolutely. So there is a website next level Universe.com. And if you have any questions or just want someone to talk to you, you can always reach out to me. It’s just amillennial on Facebook or Instagram and you’re going to get me in my DMs. We are entering a time where AI and all sorts of things can happen in a message, and that is something that we’re dedicated to sticking to is human to human connection. So if you message me on those platforms, you will be getting me. Not AI, not my assistant. It is going to be me. And I’m happy to answer any questions that you have.

Lee Kantor: Now we’ve been talking about next level university, but the website is next level universe.

Amy Lenius: Com um.

Lee Kantor: Good stuff. Well, Amy, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Amy Lenius: Thank you. Thank you so much for the great questions I enjoyed it.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.