SNS 113: Saturday Night Special – Interview with Life Coach Jenny Toh

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Welcome to tonight's Saturday night, special episode, 113.

[00:00:05] Jenny Toh: I'm Jenny toe. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact in the world by using your time, your talent and your treasures to live out your colleagues, having the ability to find alignment between your true values and your life is key. And one way to be inspired to do.

[00:00:27] Is to listen to this, that inspired stewardship podcast with my friend, Scott.

[00:00:33] So for me an example, my value is honesty. So he shows up everywhere. Like when I'm talking to you, this is the journey that you see and I'm at home, that's the same journey. And then when I'm coaching, that's also me. So if I find that I am putting myself out as the person who my poorly not it just doesn't sit well with.

[00:00:54] Scott Maderer: Welcome and thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship podcasts. If [00:01:00] you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true color. In the inspired stewardship podcast. We'll learn to invest in yourself, invest in others and develop your impact.

[00:01:17] So that you can impact the world.

[00:01:21] And tonight, Saturday night, special, I interview Ginny toe. I asked Jenny to share with you why she made a transition from lawyer to coach. I also asked Jenny to share how she works with her specific client. And I have Jenny share with you her definition of. No one area that a lot of folks need some help with is around the area of productivity.

[00:01:47] Getting not just more things done, but actually getting the right things done can be really. I've got a course called productivity for your passion. That's [00:02:00] designed to help you do this and then to hold you accountable and walk with you so that you can tailor productivity, not just to be getting more done, but actually getting the right things done.

[00:02:13] What's more, we take the approach of looking at your personality and how you actually look at things in the world and tailor the productivity system to your personnel. Because the truth is a lot of the systems that are out there are written really well for somebody with a particular personality type.

[00:02:31] But if you have a different approach to things, they just don't work, but there's tools and techniques and approaches that you can take that will work for anyone. And we help you do that in productivity for your passion. Check it out over@inspiredstewardship.com slash law. Jenny is an ICF ACC coach, who is the director of river life.

[00:02:54] Coaching PTE limited her life coaching practice, where she coaches, [00:03:00] individuals to align their career and life goals with their values and strength. Her passion is to coach introverted professionals who want to make an impact and leave a legacy while being their true, authentic selves. Jenny is also a trained lawyer as her earlier career.

[00:03:17] And a working mom. Welcome to the show, Jenny. Hi, Scott. Good to be

[00:03:21] Jenny Toh: here.

[00:03:23] Scott Maderer: So Jenny, you were a lawyer, like we just talked about in the intro who then became a coach. And of course you're also a mom. You've also got a lot of other different hats. So what kind of brought you on that journey from practicing law to working in life coaching and being a coach?

[00:03:40] Jenny Toh: Yes. I love sharing my transition journey story with people. So being a lawyer that stimulates me intellectually. So it's a hit thing for me. And then being a life coach, that's a hot thing. Scott, I'm a Christian and I believe that God has put me put in me this purpose and this intention to [00:04:00] be a life coach.

[00:04:00] It wasn't like an overnight transition. I was first bitten by the coaching bug back in 2015. Then I was pushing away this desire because I have a full-time job. And like you said, I have three kids and I was thinking, okay, it's just a hobby. I realized that I'm good at it because naturally I'm a good listener.

[00:04:21] And I really am very empathetic. But I just felt that, okay, now it's not the right time, but then Scott, when is ever the right time. So I actually pushed it aside for several years. It was only in December, 2018 that the desire to be a life coach kept coming up to the extent that I was uncomfortable.

[00:04:38] I felt that something's missing in my life. Although everything else was going very well. Many serious content conversations with my husband, lots of prayer. And in 2019, I decided to embark on a coach training program that lasted a year. And while I was in that program, I was thinking about setting up my business in April, 2020, incorporated a company, those kinds of [00:05:00] things.

[00:05:00] And yes, I can hear you laugh,

[00:05:02] all good plans, and then Godhead got new. Otherwise. So in March, 2020, you know what happened to all of us. And that's when I reflect that it took me that long, 2015, all the way until 2022, really put into place my coaching business. I asked God, do I wait anymore? And I just went ahead, faced my fears.

[00:05:24] It is scary. I just went ahead. And yeah, this is where I'm at now. So the business is up and running. It's growing. It's amazing. I'm definitely getting a lot of fulfillment and it's busy and there's been ups and downs. So yeah, that's my story. In a nutshell,

[00:05:41] Scott Maderer: it's interesting because you started saying April and March, and of course, like you said, I started laughing under my breath.

[00:05:48] It's it is interesting to me now talking to people all over the world, cause I'm in the U S you're not in the UK. We all have that common experience of March 20, 20 now. There's [00:06:00] that moment in time when we all go and then things change

[00:06:03] Jenny Toh: and then never the same again.

[00:06:05] Scott Maderer: Yeah. But that's interesting because a lot of times those things, those moments are regional.

[00:06:10] The, there's something that happens, where you are that kind of common bond for where you are, but it's, this is one of those times where it's actually a global situation. So anyway, just you saying that made me reflect on that idea that. I'm not sure where I'm going with it, but

[00:06:25] Jenny Toh: I've had many conversations similar to this card when we talk about what our plans are and then COVID hit and people resonate with it.

[00:06:33] So I have clients who are also in transition and they said that, before COVID, I would do this then when I coached them through things, I'm like, imagine I know difficult as it is. If COVID wasn't in your life, would you be holding off? And the answer we'll give them. That insight that actually, without COVID I would have done this, but because of COVID, I'm holding back because there's just so much uncertainty right now.

[00:06:55] Scott Maderer: Yeah. I've also seen some people launch some things and do some things because of [00:07:00] COVID that they wouldn't have done without it. I think it's a little bit of both sometimes depending on the person and the situation and what's going on, but so you work, you specialize as a coach. Introverted female lawyers and you help them discover their core values and work on their goals and get alignment around their goals and their values.

[00:07:20] Why do you think this is an important area and how do you actually approach this with your club? Yes.

[00:07:27] Jenny Toh: So that is my ideal client group, but of course, I'm still quite new in the business. This is my second year. So I'm coaching anyone who wants to be coached, but yes how I work with my clients is first to get them to identify their values.

[00:07:41] And then from there to align their career goals or life goals with their values, because I believe that if you're not sure what your values are, what your compass is no matter what goals. Along the way you're going to feel that something's not quite right, because we live our lives, whether consciously or subconsciously, according to our values.[00:08:00]

[00:08:00] So it's no, like I said, the compass, if your compass is not showing you the right way, or you're not following the compass you just find that you probably can still get to your destination, but you may be a longer route. You probably take a much longer time experience, a lot more obstacles along the way.

[00:08:16] Scott Maderer: So when you're actually working with your clients, you said, identify their values first, real quickly and then align their goals with your values. That's. Is that something that, comes easily to folks? Or what does that look like when you're working with people?

[00:08:31] Jenny Toh: Yeah. Good. Good question.

[00:08:32] Quite a lot of people, I work with female lawyers and also female professionals. It's not, I don't coach men, Scott, but actually I think the men tend to come more comfortable with me. So when I asked them what your values are, they'll say, oh yeah, I'm a good manager. I can Pendo stress very well.

[00:08:48] I am good collaborator. So those are your strengths or your talents. God, they're not your values. So for me, an example, my. Honesty. So it shows up everywhere. Like when I'm talking to you, this is the Jenny that [00:09:00] you see. And when I'm at home, that's the same journey. And then when I'm coaching, that's also me.

[00:09:05] So if I find that I am putting myself out as a person who I'm truly not it just doesn't sit well with me. So I get my clients to think deeper what their values are. So there was one lady who said that. I didn't realize that curiosity is a value of mine, and she's very curious about a lot of things and the workplace, it may come up differently, but she wants to support the team.

[00:09:29] And she's always curious about what's going on behind this project and at home also in her conversations, curiosity comes up. So if you put her in the organization that just tells you, you do this, Flourish. She'll be feeling so out of place and she's actually, she was a female process oriented role, and that didn't give her joy.

[00:09:47] So that came up for him. This curiosity didn't feel like a value for her. So it's just a simple word. When you think about this God and how it resonates within you.

[00:09:57] Scott Maderer: So one of the questions that I like I ask all of [00:10:00] my guests is this I've learned over the years is I've asked people to define the word stewardship.

[00:10:06] Very few people have exactly the same definition. And so what I'd like to do is ask you to define that word, but then go a little bit further and talk about how that meaning has impacted your life.

[00:10:18] Jenny Toh: Yeah. It's interesting that you asked that I was thinking about that as well. To me I think it's just responsibility with what God has given to you.

[00:10:27] For non-believers, it's probably a comfortability and ownership of your skills and your talents and your time and your treasure. So for me, it's this responsibility to use it wisely and ultimately to. Impact people with my time, my talents and my treasures. Yes. That's how I see it. And in particular right now, like you said, I wear many hats.

[00:10:51] So one thing I'm very mindful of is while I'm building my business and my also being a good steward with my family time, because my kids said, my [00:11:00] husband, they're very important to me. And I want to leave a positive legacy, especially to my children that yeah, we can see mom, on the call most of the time.

[00:11:08] But then when I need mom, she's there for me, no matter what. And I like that. I know it's just a simple thing, but I really want to lift that, leave that impact on the people whom I talk to.

[00:11:21] Scott Maderer: So this is the easy question he says. If I could invent a machine and pick you up from now and bring you into the far future, maybe a hundred to 150 years in the future, and you were able to magically look back on your life. What impact do you hope you've had on the world?

[00:11:39] Jenny Toh: Wow. Can you imagine that?

[00:11:41] Oh, I really get out. You mentioned that far ahead. Get the future self looking back at me right now and what I've done. I would enough to see that I've impacted. Individuals, because I believe in the connection of what tantric relationship I've impacted individuals one [00:12:00] at a time. And then when I look at their respective lives, they have a positive ripple effect on the people around them.

[00:12:06] So it's just this good, a positive effect. So they've experienced the transformation in the. Then it's a ripple effect on all the other people who interact with them. So I just believe that it all starts with one person. We always say, I can change the world. It's just too big, but I believe you just need to impact one person at a time, let them know that they're not alone and that they can be transformed.

[00:12:31] Scott Maderer: So what's coming next for you as you you're, like you said, you're still in the newer stages of the coaching journey, but do you have any plans or anything that's coming next for you in this journey?

[00:12:41] Jenny Toh: Yeah, I really want to have a more global presence. And I think it's doable. I do have clients in the states right now as well.

[00:12:49] But I like to increase my re beach. And like you said, COVID, you can see it as a blessing and you can also say, I know it's really still very challenging, but COVID has allowed us to connect [00:13:00] otherwise it wouldn't connect. So I really like to see ways that I can connect with people outside my region.

[00:13:08] Scott Maderer: Awesome. You can find out more about Jenny over on her website at river life. coaching.com. You can also follow her on Facebook is Ginny and it's spelled T O. She's also active on LinkedIn is Ginny toe CPC ACC. You can follow her on Instagram as river life coaching course I'll have links to all of that over in the show notes.

[00:13:32] So you can hook up and follow her there. Jenny, is there anything else that you'd like to share with the.

[00:13:37] Jenny Toh: That's very comprehensive stuff to let people know where to reach me. So I don't have to repeat all that. I would just like to say that if you reach out to me, just say, you've heard me on Scott's program.

[00:13:48] And then I will offer you a complimentary 30 minute coaching session just for you to experience what coaching is about. And I want to leave this thought with your listeners. We live in this really busy [00:14:00] world and especially for women, I know men also feel this. They feel that I don't have time for myself.

[00:14:05] It's really not possible, but do take that time for yourself because if you don't look after yourself and if you think you have stewardship, if you don't look after yourself, how are you going to look after others? So it's important. It's not selfish. That's what I would say.

[00:14:17] Scott Maderer: Thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast, as a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoy this episode. Please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.com/itunes rate.

[00:14:45] All one word iTunes rate. It'll take you through how to leave a rating and review and how to make sure you're subscribed to the podcast so that you can get every episode as it comes out. [00:15:00] Until next time, invest your time, your talent and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact the world.