Pivot with Jenny Blake

353: Pain, Purpose, and Portals—Pivoting from Massage Therapist to Coach with John O'Connor

Dec 17, 2023

Former masseuse turned executive coach, John O'Connor, shares strategies for listening to your true calling, manifesting yearnings in various life dimensions, and creating portals for new opportunities. Reflect on desires underlying frustration and swap out purpose with what is meaningful. Explore health, finances, relationships, community, and business as key dimensions. Stay relaxed and resourceful in high-pressure situations and connect with others to open new opportunities.

46:46

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Episode guests

John O'Connor

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Identifying what is truly meaningful and important in different dimensions of life can help align actions and decisions with a deeper calling and create a more fulfilling life.

Paying attention to repeated connections and opportunities in our lives can open portals to new possibilities and shape our future through meaningful connections.

Deep dives

Finding Meaningful Purpose in Life

Many people search for purpose in their work without first connecting to a deep and meaningful purpose in their overall life. It is important to identify what is truly meaningful and important in various dimensions of life such as health, finances, relationships, etc. By focusing on what is truly meaningful and important, individuals can align their actions and decisions with their deeper calling and create a more fulfilling life.

Introduction

2min

From Massage Therapist to Coach: A Personal Journey

10min

Transitioning from Massage Therapist to Coach: Developing Intuition and Alignment

3min

Finding Purpose and Creating Smarter Systems

13min

Remaining Relaxed and Resourceful in High-Pressure Situations

3min

Portals: Connecting with Others and Opening New Opportunities

15min

“You have to condition your nervous system to feel free, to access and hold that state, no matter the context.”

In this conversation, we talk about leadership advisor John O’Connor’s pivot from masseuse to executive coach. He shares strategies for listening to your true calling, which often emerges from friction and frustration, and how those manifest physically in our bodies. John describes how we can tune into yearnings in different dimensions such as health, finances, relationships, community, and business; and how to create portals for new opportunities while noticing who is already orbiting around you.

More About John: John O’Connor is a leadership advisor to high performers looking to go deeper, find their calling, and align with their higher purpose. With over 10,000 hours under his belt coaching CEO’s, social impact entrepreneurs, athletes and post-exit founders, he is skilled at guiding people to uncover the things that are blocking them from creating a sense of freedom and fulfillment.

🌟 3 Key Takeaways

Calling often emerges out of friction and frustration, and can manifest physically. Reflect: what’s the desire under the frustration?
Swap out the word purpose with: What is meaningful? And what is most important? What are the most meaningful, important dimensions of life? What wants to emerge? What wants to come through my life in each dimension?
The Core Five: Health and wellness, finances, intimate relationships, community, business. In each of those, there is a calling—something that wants to come through, a yearning.

✅ Try This Next: When you find yourself complaining or irritated by something, honor how you’ve been, i.e. “The way this is happening doesn’t work for me.” That’s how it has been; then ask, “How would I like it to be different?” What are the three to five steps to make that happen? Write it down, and remember: you’re only a few simple moves away.