What was your childhood dream career? Are you doing that today?
Not exactly, but I can see things I loved then; like art, freedom, performing and teaching in what I am doing today. If I could insert laugh emojis here - I would. I know at one point I wanted to be a park ranger for the United States Forest Service. I loved the idea of the
outdoors and the freedom of roaming. I also loved interviewing and performing. At age 3 I won the best dressed in a “beauty” contest. I think that’s where it all started; performing and being on stage.
As a kid, I had a cassette recorder and would often imitate the voice of “Howard Cosell”, an American Sports Commentator. I think I was fascinated by his personality. He was controversial and often rubbed people the wrong way. But he believed in himself and even at a young age, I could recognize that he was a rule breaker, risk taker, and a rebel. And I think that’s what I admired. He stood by what he believed!
I think I was born loving to teach, and art. Drawing and painting has just been something I’ve always done.
You’re a nurse turned entrepreneur
I started out as a nurse, but about 2 decades ago, I went to graduate school and became a Nurse Anesthesiologist. I put people to sleep but get paid to wake them up, both literally and figuratively now, as that is a big part of what my entrepreneurial journey is about: helping people wake up to the best version of themselves and going after the life they truly desire. That is what the Genius Identity Code is about really, “the DNA of your true north.”
Why and when did you decide to reinvent yourself?
I never meant to stay in the medical field! I was both a science nerd and an artist. I went into nursing because I had a ton of science credits and my mom was discouraging me from pursuing art, really from a place of love. She wanted me to be able to support myself. My plan was to get a job in nursing, work part time and pursue my art dream on the side.
Pretty quickly, I realised that although I could support myself, and having some cash on hand was nice, I didn’t love it. Actually, I was pretty miserable. The art was pushed aside - I got married. Then I had a beautiful daughter. The golden handcuffs called bills trapped me in needing the income that I had.
Eventually, I returned to art school. The. Best. Time. Of my Life. I learned so much about myself. I couldn’t wait to jump out of bed and get into the studio. This feeling of being excited to jump out of bed in the morning was something that I was never able to forget and has been a guiding theme in what I was seeking and in the work I do now. We all should do work that makes us excited to jump out of bed in the morning.
Was this an easy decision?
I don’t think initially I even thought about it as a decision. It was an evolution of following my curiosities (which I am a huge proponent of). I accidentally fell into network marketing, began learning marketing. I also took a deeper dive into personal development, which is something I guess I’ve always been into, and things just began to unfold for me. A whole new world of possibilities opened up. As a lifelong athlete, I’ve always been drawn to see how I can be better and more efficient - how far can I push myself and this has transferred into other areas of my life.
I guess the big decisions came after that. Thirty years in the medical field, I am earning a salary some people would dream of, but something is still missing. I’m close to retirement age and could have just rode off into the sunset (i.e, stayed in my job) or do I follow this burning desire to figure out what’s missing.
The new year 2022 is here, what is your intention this year?
I’m focused on expanding access to the Genius Identity Code, meaning help people unlock their “genius code” which is naming their gift or superpower, how they will use that superpower to fulfil their purpose and their unique path: how they best can bring it into the world.
I’m also launching a co-created program, The Rebel Femmes, with my dear friend Marianne Daugherty, for women entrepreneurs who are ready to create a business radically aligned with their most adventurousbadass rebelliousness.
Do you set goals? How important is goal setting to you?
I do set goals. I feel it is extremely important to stay on track and make our dreams and desires a reality.
Do you always achieve your goals?
No, I don’t always achieve goals that I set. However, when I truly desire something, I am focused on it, and do proper planning and implementation, the majority of the time I am successful or get really close. What I mean by that is, sometimes I will set a goal, but then the significance of it falls to the wayside. It wasn’t really as important to me as I thought it was. I think when we truly desire something and get focused on achieving it, magic happens.
If so, how do you ensure that you stay focused and achieve the goal that you desire?
I think for me it’s writing out a 90 day plan, putting it on paper and mapping it out. Reverse engineering. I think desire and focus is the key. Also, not trying to figure all of it out on my own. I find other people who have already achieved what I want or similar. The first time I ran a marathon (26.2 miles/42.1 km) I found someone else’s roadmap of how they trained for it and followed that, breaking things down into bite size actionable steps.
How do you define success?
Such a great question. Everyone needs to define this for themselves. My definition has certainly evolved over my lifetime. My definition of success is having the time, space and resources to do what I love to do. And, I think to really feel successful it has to be tied to our purpose, or our “dharma”.
My framework for success:
Am I excited to greet the day? Do I get to spend the majority of time living in alignment with my values and in my zone of genius? Is the work I’m doing impacting others in a good way?
What is your biggest achievement in life so far? Why?
I’m not sure if you can call motherhood an achievement. But I love being a mom, and realise it’s probably one of the best things that has ever happened to me. There is no love like it. And I have so much gratitude for my daughter.
I kind of break achievements down into categories. I’m extremely proud to be a Nurse Anesthesiologist. It’s not for the faint of heart. It carries a tremendous responsibility and I get to help people everyday.
Finishing my art degree and having a sculpture selected to hang out at my University for a few years was a huge honour.
I have pushed my body to extremes with marathons, ironman, adventure racing and cycling. The human machine never ceases to amaze me. I’m so very grateful for where my body has taken me and how pushing myself physically informs what I’m capable of mentally.
Creating the Genius Identity Code, I feel, was a gift from the universe. I am amazed at the aha’s and insights people have every time I take someone through this.
Have you failed at anything before? Please elaborate
Oh yes! Well, multiple things. If we haven’t failed we haven’t tried enough things.
I think the one that stings the most for me is when I finished my undergrad art degree. I had a lot of encouragement to go to grad school. Because of a relationship that I was in at the time, I applied to locations that were not the best fit for me, for my art style, because my partner was not willing to move to other locations that I had been offered encouragement to apply to.
I didn’t get accepted to any of the places that I applied. Which I’m sure was a good thing - because they really were not a fit for me. But instead of standing up for what I needed and wanted, I gave up.
How did you feel about it then and how did you manage to go past that failure?
Wow, this was a huge learning lesson for me and that is a whole other article. Needless to say, the relationship didn’t last. But I’m 100% responsible for my decisions. Compromise is great, but to be true to ourselves, it’s important to ask, what is it that I need in this situation.
You’re a nurse, an artist, a podcaster, a cycling and marathon enthusiast, an entrepreneur, a speaker and author, how do you do it all?
Well, I had to let the podcast go for now. I also had to scale back my cycling. I used to ride about 12-15 hours per week. I’m well under half of that. I was still able to ride 100 miles in under 5 hours this past year. I’m really focused on coaching and speaking this year.
Tell the Stellar Woman readers about Genius Identity Code.
it’s kinda like a personality test...that gives you something like a DNA code - a series of letters and numbers that help you understand who you are.
This system gives you precise language so you can name your gift, your purpose and your path. So many people go through life feeling like something is “missing”. Knowing your Genius Identity Code™ is defining your true north, so you can build a life and business aligned with who you are.
While I work with entrepreneurs, coaches and experts, it is my vision to expand the Genius Identity Code™ to colleges and corporate, in the hopes of helping people do work that gets them excited to wake up to every day.
Tell our readers about your co-authored book “Women Who BossUp.”
This is such an exciting project. Tam Luc, founder of Women With Vision International continues to bring women together to share their stories, their challenges, triumph and lessons of the journey of entrepreneurship. One of the coolest things about this experience was meeting these incredible women and hearing their stories.
Each of us has a story to tell. Your story and what you stand for will be the answer to someone's prayer.
Have you always wanted to be an author?
No, I can’t say that I have. I have always been drawn to writing, but through some childhood experiences of trying to express myself I created some limiting stories about how “I wasn’t a writer.”
Just over the last few years I’ve embraced the fact that I am “a writer”. We all have stories to tell. I want to communicate the human experience. I want to communicate how we can all live our best life.
Tell our readers about Speak Up on Amazon Prime? How did it feel to be involved in such a project?
The experience of being featured on Amazon Prime Video’s Speakup series has to be one of my favorite experiences on my entrepreneurial journey. I never set out to be a speaker, but I’ve often visualised myself speaking on stages. I knew if I could speak on stage I could get my message to more people. It was so empowering to share how to wake up your genius.
It was such an honour to get my message out, and to be included with so many amazing entrepreneurs and speakers.
Best advice you have received?
The one that always reverberates in my mind is…”Where there is a will, there is a way.”
What, in your opinion, defines a stellar woman?
Well, since stellar’s root is in the Latin: stellaris, relating to ‘the stars’. She is luminous, she stands ready to lead and shine her light for others. Since stellar implies outstanding, she goes above and beyond the norm and stands out.
In your opinion, what stops women from achieving their dreams?
I think it's first, awakening to the infinite possibilities that we all have, knowing what it is that we want and desire. But fear can keep us from going after those desires.
What change would you like to see in the world?
More love and tolerance!
Where do we see Steph in the next 5 -10 years?
I want to create a certification process for the Genius Identity Code™ for coaches to help their clients unlock their true north. I would love to help 1 million people unlock their GIC. I think I will always be coaching people to help them reach their potential. I plan to have more time to make art in 5-10 years.
Do you have a life mantra? Please share
Ask yourself what it is that you truly desire in life! And go for it!
Do you have a morning routine? Please share
I keep trying to get “more productive” in the am’s, but my favorite thing to do is to get a cup of coffee and read. I also spend at least 5-10 minutes meditating. A few minutes in visualisation and journaling.
Please leave a message or challenge for the Stellar Woman readers to help them achieve their 2022 goals.
Sharing your message, your self-expression and the work you are here to do is the answer to someone else's prayer. You never know who is watching and listening. You may never get to know that, but just because you don’t get to witness the impact, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. I can’t tell you how many times this has been true for me; months or even years later I found this out. Share your life’s challenges and triumphs’ as if someone else's' life depended on it.
