Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Time with Julia Chang
122 Plays3 years ago
Julia Chang, a lady of many parts is my guest on this episode. She is a Mindset & Motivation Coach, a Taekwondo Master, Writer and Model.
She shares her entrepreneurial journey and how she teaches women to generate their own motivation using her signature 4-step process called the BELT Method.
Watch the video episode here : https://youtu.be/kC7fbDRTfsU
Don't forget to subscribe and like .
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Faith and Persistence
00:00:00
Speaker
If you're listening to this and you feel that you're so hopeless and you're in a place of despair, I would say number one, look to faith. Faith in that higher being, God or whatever it is. And then number two, don't stop trying. Keep going, whatever that is. And in your heart and in your gut, we all have to follow that knowing within us.
00:00:27
Speaker
going, follow it, keep trying. Even if you don't feel like you're making much progress, you keep showing up because success is in the boring everyday actions that you take every day.
Podcast Purpose and Guest Introduction
00:00:40
Speaker
Welcome friends to The Entrepreneur Speaks. I'm your host Kofi Animedu. Each week I host an amazing entrepreneur on their journey, successes and challenges.
00:00:53
Speaker
It is my hope that we'll learn from their experiences as we all work towards living a life of passion and purpose.
00:01:18
Speaker
As a mindset and motivation coach for healthy living, my guest teaches women to generate their own motivation using his signature four-step process called the belt method. My guest today is Julia Chang. Welcome to my show, Julia. Hi, thank you so much for having
Julia's Taekwondo Background
00:01:41
Speaker
me. I'm so excited to be here today.
00:01:45
Speaker
All right then, you're a lady of so many parts. You hold a black belt in Taekwondo. Tell us a bit more about yourself and how your childhood was like. I'm a fourth-degree Taekwondo black belt, and that all started with my father, who's a grandmaster. He came to the United States and opened up a Taekwondo studio and has been doing Taekwondo his entire life.
00:02:12
Speaker
And so that had a strong influence on me, of course. Not only was it a way for my father to provide a house and food and all the extras through this Taekwondo business, it's something that I started doing at a young age, at about age five. And so I grew up at home, at school, in the Taekwondo studio. And I saw my father teaching. I was taking classes. And that was really the foundation of my health and fitness was Taekwondo, Korean martial arts.
00:02:42
Speaker
It has had a heavy influence on me as a person and my childhood. Very interesting. And when you say a fourth, what did you say, fourth generation master or fourth? Fourth degree. So there's nine degrees total. There's nine total.
00:03:02
Speaker
And it takes, you know, almost a lifetime to get to ninth degree, but I am fourth. I should be working towards my fifth because I've been at fourth degree for many, many years now.
Becoming a Mindset Coach
00:03:16
Speaker
But, you know, with having children and all that, I am ready for that next step. So maybe next year you'll hear me, you'll have me back on this podcast and I'll say I'm now a fifth degree. Ah, okay. So a fourth degree.
00:03:30
Speaker
expert in Taekwondo. Yes. Very interesting. So you're also a mindset and motivation coach. How did this journey begin? Tell us about this whole mindset and motivation coach career. This journey started about eight years ago after the birth of my first child.
The Belt Method Coaching Process
00:03:51
Speaker
So I have three beautiful children, but as a first time mom, my whole life
00:03:56
Speaker
It changes for the better. Your body changes. You're adapting to this little baby and there's just a lot going on. I found it. I wasn't this super heavy set person, but here comes the postpartum weight and I couldn't quite shake it off. I was tired and I was just eating whatever and it was this big long journey.
00:04:24
Speaker
I tried to work out and eat healthy, and I aligned myself with this one company who taught me a lot about mindset, diving into personal development and nutrition and workouts. I was with them for about six, seven years. About two years ago, I broke away to start my own coaching business, Mindset and Motivation for Women.
00:04:51
Speaker
came from all those years that I was helping myself focus on my postpartum journey after each of my three kids and helping other women. And so the number one thing I heard from women is, I just can't get motivated. Or I'll get motivated in the beginning, and then that trickles off. I need to stay consistent. So getting motivated and staying consistent were the two biggest things I kept hearing. And so I read a lot of books.
00:05:20
Speaker
trainings, courses, podcasts, watched videos. I dove head first into mindset and motivation. How does our mind work? How does motivation work? How do you get motivated? How do you stay motivated? I became extremely passionate about learning and applying it to my life and then teaching clients how to do that. So that's how this whole business came about. Wow, very interesting. So it was through
00:05:49
Speaker
your use of whatever you wanted to learn in your life that ended up developing into a career. And you spent a lot of time assisting women through mindset and motivation development processes. Walk us through a typical session, a typical mindset and motivation session with your women. What do you take them through? A typical session?
00:06:18
Speaker
I help women through my signature program system. It's
Beauty Pageants and Personal Challenges
00:06:23
Speaker
a four step system called the belt method, B-E-L-T. This is a four week workshop where each week we tackle a topic.
00:06:33
Speaker
So the first week is B, bust through the behavior blocks. So you have to, in order to, if you want to change something, you have to know where you're at. You need a clear picture of what are your habits that you need to change first. So we take a look at your current behaviors and your habits. It's not usually fun because you kind of have to write down the truth, but it's really important. And then the second step is E, expose the real reason why. So a lot of times when I say,
00:07:02
Speaker
Why do you want to lose weight and get fit? They say, oh, because I want to wear this dress. That's not a deep enough reason. That's a great starting point. And that can be a little goal, like a carrot on the stick. But when you're exhausted after a long day, tending to the children and working and cleaning and being pulled in a lot of different directions, and you are exhausted, is that dress going to help you get to the workout?
00:07:30
Speaker
cook a clean or a healthy dinner, most of the times it's not. By the end of the day, you're exhausted, you just want to rest, and you're just going to eat whatever is the easiest, maybe fast food or something that's not as healthy. So we go through what is really going to motivate you by digging deep to find your ironclad Y.
00:07:50
Speaker
Then the third week is L, list your goals. That's kind of the same as finding your why. I say, you know, what's your goal? What do you want out of this? And many people don't give a lot of hard thought to it. And so I work through tools and strategies to help you uncover what you truly want and create an actionable plan to get there. Most people, there's that phrase, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. And so we cover that in the third week.
00:08:19
Speaker
And then the last one is T target your fears and master your motivation. So this is where my tech window training comes into place. We go through something called limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are very quickly lies that you tell yourself and you believe to be true. So when it comes to health and fitness,
00:08:38
Speaker
Women tell themselves, I have bad genetics, or I'm not athletic enough, or I really don't like to eat vegetables. These are all things that we say so often that we believe it, and so we don't believe that we can attain a certain goal. And so I go through this whole workshop of strategies and tools, and then at the very end, I give you a breaking board, and I mail this out to people if this is online or in person, I'll bring it.
00:09:07
Speaker
And with a sharpie, you write down one limiting belief, one lie that you tell yourself over and over and over again that's strongest in your mind. You write that on the board, and then you break through that. And it's extremely empowering and powerful. And it's such a release that whatever lie you believe that's stopping yourself from seeing success, you break it in half.
00:09:34
Speaker
You know, that is my four step process of how I walk my clients through on how to get motivated and stay consistent. Very interesting. I like the belt, the belt method. Very, very, very interesting. Reading about you, I noticed that apart from you being a mindset and motivation coach, you are also big when it comes to pageants.
00:10:02
Speaker
At which stage of your life did this whole area of you being very active in pageants come into being? This is very new for me, believe it or not. It all happened this year in 2021. At the start of this year, I thought, what's something that I want to do to celebrate my 40th birthday in a big way? I turned 40 in July.
00:10:29
Speaker
And I said, normally, well, so what I was planning on for a few years was to go to Paris. I wanted to go to Paris, France, and celebrate my birthday at a beautiful vineyard. And I had all these things planned. But with COVID, I didn't want to travel internationally. And so I had to change gears. And so I decided I wanted to enter a beauty pageant. I have never done it before. I didn't really know too much about it. And I just dove head first.
00:10:58
Speaker
practice and learned everything there was and really, really learned a lot. And I competed at the state level and was crowned Mrs. Maryland America.
Motivations and Family Influence
00:11:10
Speaker
And that was just one of the highlights of my year this year. And in my life in general, I mean, it was just an exhilarating feeling to be up on that stage and have them call my name like, oh my gosh. And then I had about six weeks to prepare.
00:11:27
Speaker
to compete at Mrs. America. Mrs. America was held in Las Vegas and it was one woman from each state. It was stiff competition. I made a lot of wonderful friends. I did not place. That's okay.
00:11:45
Speaker
I came back with such richness of an incredible experience, so many wonderful friendships, and everlasting memories. I will never, ever, ever forget my time at the Mrs. America pageant.
00:11:59
Speaker
Very interesting. And to think that you set a year aside and challenge yourself to go and contest in a pageant, a beauty pageant is one worth of mentioning. So if I should ask you, what are some of the lessons you picked up on this journey? I mean, this journey of embarking on this whole pageant, what were some of the lessons you picked up?
00:12:28
Speaker
Oh, I learned a lot along the way. It's interesting. I'm a mindset and motivation coach for women who want to improve their health and fitness, but the principles I teach can be applied to other areas of life.
00:12:40
Speaker
and it came in heavy. The reason why I'm so passionate about the belt method is because I used it on myself. Some of my limiting beliefs, those are some of the obstacles that I faced. This is new. That woman has a better dress, a gown than I do. She's more beautiful than I am. She's more fit than I am. She's
00:13:04
Speaker
more confident, she has a better walk, she's better spoken. I mean, all those things can mess with your mindset. And I had to, I'm human. And those thoughts and those limiting beliefs trickled into my mind and my heart. And I had to take a moment and take a deep breath several times throughout my journey and say, you know who you are. And you are uniquely and beautifully made by God. And you, number one, earned your spot as Mrs. Maryland.
00:13:33
Speaker
And you are going to have the time of your life and you're not going to let these lies and these beliefs in your fears rain, you know, taint your experience at all. So go out there and have the best time. And I think knowing that I was able to
00:13:52
Speaker
talk myself through that in a very new experience that's scary, that my friends and my family, nobody else could relate to. So oftentimes, you just felt a little bit alone in that moment. But to know that all my years of resiliency and my mindset work really came into play in a beauty pageant, something that is so different and
00:14:14
Speaker
unique and not something that I'm used to, it made me even more passionate. It lit that fire that I have to help as many women as possible with the belt method so that women can embark on these new experiences and journeys and live a very fulfilling life.
Advice on Overcoming Challenges
00:14:41
Speaker
Thanks for sharing this with us. So you've been a mindset and motivation coach for some time. And this year you've added on this whole concept or this whole practice of engaging beauty pageants. What would you say are some of the challenges you've encountered so far on this journey? Yeah, the challenge is just learning a whole new way of everything. Walking and talking.
00:15:13
Speaker
There's no pressure to always do my hair and makeup, but I'm not a big shopper, believe it or not, but having to go out and know that I have to put certain outfits together, time balance. Being a working mom at home with the three kids was a lot on my plate already, and adding this was even more balance and time management
00:15:39
Speaker
was probably the biggest obstacle because there's only 24 hours in a day and I had even more things added to my plate, not only getting ready for two pageants this year, the state and the national level,
00:15:52
Speaker
But as soon as I was crowned Mrs. America, it was, I received immediate attention, media attention, not only within the local Maryland area and my community where I live, but also with the Korean community and the Korean American community. So I received a lot of, and I still do like a media attention, which is phenomenal, but it was a big life lifestyle change. So I think adjusting to all the, um,
00:16:21
Speaker
the changes and you got to do it quickly. I wouldn't say that was an obstacle, but it was, you know, learning to balance it can always be a little bit challenging. All right. And so thank you. Thank you so much. You talked about your Korean community, so Korean American community. So I can then assume that you are Korean American. Is that it?
00:16:50
Speaker
Yes. My parents immigrated from Korea. I was born in the United States, so I identify myself as a Korean American. I know both cultures. I know the Korean culture, and I know the American culture, and I am Korean American.
Final Thoughts and Future Collaborations
00:17:05
Speaker
Okay. Do you speak the language? I do. I can read and write, and I feel fortunate to do so. That's something that I hope I can pass on to my children.
00:17:18
Speaker
Okay. All right then. So before we sign off, I would ask you to give us some few lessons in Korea. Oh, in Korean? Yes. Some few sentences. You give us a few sentences in your language before we sign. Okay. Let me see. I'm trying to think. Something maybe motivational. Yes. So while we confess, while we confess, think about something motivational, which you share with us before we go off.
00:17:49
Speaker
So, what really inspires you to do all that you're doing? Where do you drive or derive that motivation from? That's a really good question. When it comes to my personal health and fitness, I hear my client ask me, well, what motivates you, Julia? What's your why?
00:18:11
Speaker
A lot of this stuff comes from pain and a lot of things that happen in your childhood shape the way you are. One of the surprising things is when I work with clients, they kind of end up uncovering some past pains or even some current pains that are just a needle in their foot. For me personally, when I was in high school, when I was 17 years old, my mom passed away from cancer.
00:18:39
Speaker
And she was sick for about three, three and a half years before that. And so my whole high school career was seeing my mom's health deteriorate. And when you're a teenager already, it comes with difficulties. You're trying to find your identity, what group you belong to. There's a lot going on in a teenager's mind, as is. And add to that, seeing your parents' health go down and down each year. Ultimately, she passed away
00:19:08
Speaker
a month before my high school graduation, that was a pivotal moment for me. And going through college graduation, my mom wasn't there. And then my travels, my first job, getting engaged, getting married, buying a house, having three of my children, my mom wasn't there. And that's always been a big hole in my heart, missing her. And so when I think I look at my children,
00:19:37
Speaker
And my biggest motivator, no matter how tired I am, no matter how, even if I had the worst day or whatever's going on, I make it a point to do my workout and to create healthy meals. I am not perfect every day. Yes, I skip my workouts. Yes, we will just order some pizza sometimes, but more oftentimes than not, when I look at my children, I know I want to be around.
00:20:06
Speaker
And I want to see my grandchildren, and I want to see my children hit all those milestones. And because of that, that is my strong why. And it has such a pain within me that if I'm tired on the couch, I get up and go to the kitchen and cook something healthy. And that is what motivates me. That's what keeps me going. And that's what keeps me wanting to help other women be there and live long lives for their families too.
00:20:35
Speaker
Okay, before we end this conversation, I want you to speak to some people. You are a mindset and motivation coach. We are just about entering a brand new year, 2022. And I believe for some people, they had a tough this year. Some are really on the verge of giving up and they are thinking that this new year will not present any opportunities and growth.
00:21:02
Speaker
What can you share with them to motivate them not to give up and to do what they have brought on earth to do? What will be your words of motivation and advice for these people? I have a couple of things to say. No matter all the investment I did in my mindset, that is
00:21:22
Speaker
important to do. But my faith, my belief in God is what carried me through. Even in the darkest of times where I did not think that I would be able to stand up on my own two feet, there was that speck of light and that speck of light that opened into this beautiful bright sunny place was God.
00:21:43
Speaker
Now, your faith may be different, but the ultimate message here is hold on to that higher faith, whatever you believe in, and hold tight. Because sometimes when you think that it's all on you, it rests heavy on your shoulders. But when you know that there's something greater and bigger than you that can help you and that's looking out for you, it's suddenly like the weight lifts off and you can stand up
00:22:11
Speaker
And you can smile and you have hope and that hope is what's going to carry you through. The dark times do not last forever. I have been there. I have been there. It is hard. It is so, so hard. And that's one of the reasons that I decided to even do a pageant in the first place because I said in many interviews, if you asked me in 2020 to do a pageant, no way. I was in no
00:22:38
Speaker
no shape, no mindset to do a pageant. But after all the pains and darkness I had overcome, I'm in a better place to give the best parts of myself to my family, to my husband, children, and to my friends and family and my community and now the state of Maryland. And you can't do that without focusing on yourself. And so if you're listening to this and you feel that you're so
00:23:07
Speaker
Hopeless and you're in a place of despair. I would say number one look to faith faith in that higher being God or whatever it is and then number two Don't stop trying keep going whatever that is and in your heart and in your gut We all have to follow that knowing within us Keep going follow it keep trying even if you don't feel like you're making much progress you keep showing up
00:23:37
Speaker
because success is in the boring everyday actions that you take every day. Important point. First, look to faith and secondly, don't stop trying. Keep going. Yes.
00:23:52
Speaker
look to faith don't stop trying keep going so listeners if you don't remember anything in this interview keep these two nuggets first look to faith and the next one don't stop trying keep on going we're just about wrapping up but before you take us through phrases in korea
00:24:18
Speaker
Let's take your last words and pieces of advice for my listeners and for those watching. What will be your last words, your parting words, pieces of advice for our listeners? I'm a big girl of quotes, so I'll leave you all with a quote. One of my favorites, it's by Henry Ford. Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. That means mindset.
00:24:47
Speaker
has a lot to do with the end game here. So whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. But no, you can, and you just have to believe it. And then, oh, the Korean phrases. I thought of it. So what I want to teach you guys is you can do it. Okay? 할수이서. 할수이다. Let's do that. 할수이다.
00:25:14
Speaker
I can do it. You can do it. Can do it. All right then. So let's take it one more time. One more time. Oh the Korean phrase one more time. Yes. And it means you can do it. You can do it. You can do it. Thank you so much Julia for sharing your rich experience and journey with us today.
00:25:41
Speaker
on the Entrepreneur Speaks podcast. It's been a very exciting episode, conversing with you, getting to know you better, getting to know what drives you, and sharing these nuggets with my listeners. We wish you the very best. Thank you again so much for having me. This has been so much fun, and what an honor to be interviewed by you. And I look forward to working with you again. Thank you.
00:26:12
Speaker
yes this is just the beginning of our collaboration in the new year so listening a lot more sessions with julia probably have a mindset a motivation session for women for women our listeners in the coming year so stay with us watch out for further collaboration with julia this is not
00:26:38
Speaker
The last time you're going to see her face, this is at the beginning of our collab. This has been an exciting episode with Julia. We'll come your way next time with another interesting episode. I remain your host Kofi Annemedou. As always, do take care of yourself and let's continue to keep up our life. Cheers.
00:27:47
Speaker
and exciting.