Redefining High Performance Without Burnout

Hey, guys. I cannot wait to introduce you to my homegirl, Kristy Kuhl. We've been friends since COVID. We have a very similar journey, and she is so wise. Can't wait to hear your takeaways.

Christie Cool is redefining success for high achievers, providing a gateway to access unrealized human potential through business strategy, depth psychology, and modern mysticism. Executives, entrepreneurs, and high profile individuals turn to access new heights without sacrificing themselves. Through her UNLEASH framework, which I can't wait to hear what that stands for, and commanding prep presence, she equips people to operate at the highest level.

After a fifteen year corporate career in medical device like me, and that's why we're fast friends, she boldly pivoted. And seven years later, the world seeks her expertise proving that alignment, not burnout, sustained success. Here's Christy.

Hey, everybody. Welcome to the Power Up Your Life podcast powered by GoBundance Women. I'm Mandy McAllister.

And I'm Kelly Resendez.

And today, we have a dear friend. I I've I've been in love with her since COVID. Kristy cool. Kristy, hi.

Oh, I've been in love with you too. I can't believe it's been that long. Has it been that long? Yeah. Oh my gosh.

Thanks for having me. It's great. My pleasure. I we're so excited to for our audience to learn from you the way that I've learned from you. So before we really dig in, you know, tell us a little bit about your journey in your own words.

Yeah. Sure. So I know that you and I have some, very parallel path in, in in many regards. Fifteen years corporate America leading sales teams in disruptive medical device. I think I'm 45, and I'm probably around 32, 33. Picked my head up and realized that I was probably chasing after somebody's definition of success or parts of a definition of success that are no longer serving me anymore. But now I built a complete identity, right, and, infrastructure and, reputation and, and career around this big thing, and I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do, but I knew that there was something bigger and different out there for me.

And so I wrestle with that as most people do and in and out of personal development rooms, and, we all know the power of being in those rooms and the energy and seeing the examples and borrowing courage for a minute. I had a sliver of courage one day, and I was like, I'm doing it. I'm gonna leave, and I'm gonna step out on this new path and figure it out.

And, what I discovered, Mandy, was myself. I didn't really know who I was probably for all these years. I think I did a good job, telling people that I knew and telling myself that I knew. But it was really a nice pause to reconnect and go, okay. Who is Christie cool, and what does she want in this season of life?

And so, you know, from just the the very basics, I wanted to make a massive impact on people still. I wanted to be where my feet were and be present and listening. I believe at any given period of time, I could be somebody's moment and be in all in all of the stuff, and it's coming at you and, you know, some's aligned and some's not aligned and all the feelings. I couldn't do that.

And so where I landed was I'm a high performance coach, and I accidentally, you know, traveling around in the front of the plane having a conversation, I solved the problem for somebody, and then I solved another problem for somebody, then I solved another problem for somebody and didn't really have a title for what I was, just was helping people. And then kinda once I got in that world, realized that, yes, all the stuff that I knew from corporate, it all works. It all it's all helpful, and I can deploy that in, but I really, am obsessed with the person. I'm obsessed with human psychology and alignment and all the thing, neuroscience and merging everything together. Most importantly, making sure that people know who they are and that they've designed a life that is in alignment with who they are. And once we have that, then we can deploy all the high performance systems and chase this thing down, because we know it's not easy.

Girl, it ain't easy. And by the way, neuroscience is Kelly's love language. So this is gonna be really fun. Yes. Absolutely. I like triple it.

So having a chance to work with this many clients and going through your own kind of big life changing journey, of your own, there has to have been some patterns, and the obsessing the person, obsessing the figuring out who you are. Tell me a couple patterns or a couple of things to figure out what I might be missing or how I can get to the real core of what I need to move forward.

Yeah. Well, I think that, we all in certain like, we all have this restless energy. I think it's really important to pay attention where that restless energy is in your life or people around you, their life. Where is this just like this, you know, high performers are, we can go go go. But if it's not channeled in the right direction, it just we feel, people will even say and use the words oftentimes with me that they feel restless or that they feel stuck.

So that's a clue to go, okay. What's going on here? And is it a matter of, like, you you know you're on the right path, but you just, don't know what the next step is and you gotta kinda go down that, that path? Or do you feel stuck because, you don't wanna show up for what it is that you, you know, that you keep saying that you wanna show up for?

An example of that for me is I've been saying for three years that, like, oh, I'm gonna go on this speaking circuit, and I'm not. Right? And and so, like, watching my own feet match, and I was like, I don't wanna build a life when I'm on the road again. Now I wanna speak more. Sure. But I don't want to build a life where I'm in three hotel rooms again. And so even just paying attention to this thing that I kept saying, being a very aware high performer, but that I wasn't doing it, I'm like, no. And then I finally just kinda had to let that go and realize that I'm gonna go after the ones that make the most sense to me.

That's so good. Well, kind of speaking of this high performer. Right? Like, what is the neuroscience? What is the definition of what you place on that? Because I think a lot of people hear high performer, and they think about they've had to sacrifice so much. They've had to, you know, give up something in their life in order to be this. How do you define it?

Yeah. Yeah. Great. Another great question. Well, I I I really think that it's, we all can put our own definition on on any of these things. I don't really have one set definition for, like, you're not a high performer unless you've sacrificed and, you know, you've got you you've earned the stripes. I think a high performer really is anybody who wants to maximize, who's committed to self reflection, and committed committed to maximizing their performance along with their peace and joy and happiness at the same time. That in in Christie cool's world, that's a high performer.

I love that. People will come to me, and they're at the bottom of one summit, and they wanna get to the top of the next one, and I can slam them up there. That's mechanics. Right? Mandy, you and I have done this in, you know, the med device world in sales, like, follow this system. This is what you do. Mhmm.

So some people walk in that door, Kelly, like, okay. I wanna be a high performer. I want this number. I want you know, I wanna sell 40,000,000 in real estate, and that's great. And I if I see kind of that twinkle back there, I'll say yes. Because the magic of my work is it's that, but it's also helping them see that, you can have that, and you can still find a way to turn it off and be present for your wife and have kids and all those things that I think all of us have been through enough to go. Okay? I can get you there, but, gosh, I'd I would rather get you there with this other piece too.

Yeah. The real juice comes when you pay attention to the people and the relationships and the connection, and that is such a big piece, of what GoBundance Women has been to me. So I I completely,

completely agree with you. I come here to call back. Right? And paying attention to yourself as well. Like, what do I need? Right? Not just to be a high performer, like, in terms of more production, more production, but what, what does the individual person need to?

I didn't know I had a choice for many, many years. Right? It's that that epiphany of, oh my gosh. I get to pick what happens in this life. Let's go chase the thing that actually matters to me.

Then it becomes this huge responsibility of figuring out what that is. And in that process of figuring out what it is, you know, I kinda wanna call back to a thing that you said, in our first question, the the restless are stuck energy. You know? Like, that that is a a thing to recognize, and it is so common in high performers, entrepreneurs, all the things.

But, you know, do you have a formula? Do you have an approach or something, you know, really actionable that helps people get out of that feeling?

Yeah. Well, you know, I start everybody off with alignment. So I had the privilege of working alongside Brene Brown back in the day and doing, doing her values exercise, and so that's a big piece. That's one exercise that I put people through, and it always blows their mind understanding where the restlessness is coming from. Most people don't know where it's coming from, and I will tell you from my experience, they're out of alignment. That's it. They're out of alignment. So every now and again, it's somebody who wants to do something and they haven't had the courage to do it, but more times than and that then that's that's alignment as well.

So values first, and then once you see where you're working against your values, you will see how that operationalizes, to use a corporate term, which I freaking hate, but I don't know any other way to say it. When you are misaligned with your values, it operationalizes in behaviors. And so now you can recognize these behaviors that you have where, like, as an example for me, I'll get I'll, let's say I'm working with somebody who lacks integrity. Now I can pop in for a minute and out, like, not a big deal. But if we have to be like this, like, that is that's going to just like, I'm gonna turn inside out. So that's going to then lead to an irritation. It's gonna lead to, me not sleeping well. I may wanna have a glass of wine, noticing all the behaviors, right, which then leads to not sleeping well even more, which leads to probably not working out, which leads to eating a bunch of shit, which now leads yeah. Exactly.

So when I walk people through what they're in the first couple questions, we don't get to any of this stuff. Right? Because they they're gonna answer honestly. Then when we see where the values are and all all of a sudden, they're making the connections, and then I walk them through, like, when are you throwing throwing the lantern down and getting abandoning your values? And I'll abandon my values when I don't have sleep. And I'm drinking alcohol, and I'm eating like shit. I don't feel good because all that's making me feel like I'm that makes me, like, a five out of 10. So now now my eyes aren't good. My antennas aren't good. My intuition's not good. My anxiety's probably a little bit higher. So that is I don't if my answering your question, that's one place of, like, helping with the restlessness.

I'm a huge human design huge human design. If you guys haven't done human design, I there's 970 personality tests. We all like to take them. We all like to learn about ourselves. Human design has blown my mind more than anything. And one quick example there, when I didn't know what I wanted to do, I was beating myself up because I didn't have the ideas. Like you said, like, this huge responsibility to design my life, but I I didn't even know what to do. So it's easier to kinda stay stuck over here and hate it, and it's everybody else's fault.

And then when I, did my human design, I learned that my baseline energy is a generator, and the ideas don't come for me. I do better when I respond. So what that means is, let's say, we're I'm trying to figure something out and I'm stuck. I'm gonna go expose myself to a bunch of things. And when I expose myself to a bunch of things, if I react and my energy lights up, then I'm like, okay. I'm on the right path there. Mhmm. And that's how when I first did my my first vision board when I left corporate, I was trying to write out what I wanted my vision board to be. And, I had to read it to the gal next to me, and she's like, I wanna be a speaker, and I wanna be it was like talking to Mandy. Man, like, Mandy already knew, like, when I talked to her and she's, I wanna be a speaker and I'm gonna be make all this, you know, make a a big impact on people and I wanna be present and I look back at her and I said, me too. Me too. Because I had nothing, but I was exposed to it. So it could be a podcast. Yeah. So human design is the second thing.

And then the third thing really is, is zone of genius and helping people identify where their self sabotage lies. So everybody has a unique way that they self sabotage. And so, like, when you when you're like, god. I wanted this thing so bad, and they have no idea why it didn't happen. You know, usually within, like, four or five conversations, I'm already seeing all these patterns all these patterns. Right? But then when I can show it to them, those are, like, the three biggest ways that I help people get in alignment and ease the restlessness.

Now I have them. Right? Now we can start going. And then it's a matter of what do you wanna change and what don't you wanna change. Because some people go through processes with me, and they realize, like, you know what? You know what? The bank is easier, and I'm gonna stay here. And I'm like, great. At least you're not restless anymore. Yeah. Like, it's So great. Enjoy your life. I love that for you.

Yeah. Well, I wanna dig into one of the values that you talked about just now, which is integrity. So we do have a lot of high performers that are listening, and I know we're always looking at that integrity externally. Like, if an employee didn't follow through or made a commitment and didn't come through, I wanna dig into that personal integrity about when we set an intention for ourself.

And then, like you said, we self sabotage. Like, how does that conflict really just come like, how does it how does it affect us? And then what actionable steps would you give to somebody about really being able to follow through to yourself?

Yeah. Well, I think that, what I find, again, all the people that come to me, I really have to help them learn how to give themselves grace, and that's, you know, you kind of attract who you are. And I think being a Virgo and wound so tight, I needed that permission too. So a lot of people that come to me, listen. You understand neuroscience. It doesn't happen overnight just because you said it and you put it on your vision board, and you have a sticky note. You forget as well.

So I think all of these situations are really unique to the to the person and what happened. Did you say, like like, are you really a person of integrity? And are you acting? Can you look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and say, listen. Anybody could say anything about anything I've done, but I know my character. I know my intention, and there's an army of people that would stand up behind anything that anybody would say. And for me, that's integrity. Because on the field of play, you may not like me because I am a competitive person, but I've done it in the right way, and that's always my litmus.

Now if it's a matter of you're not following through and you're breaking the promises to yourself is what I I think I hear you say, well, that's gonna that's gonna notch away at your confidence. And and so we have to figure out why you're not following through. And, usually, once we identify where the rise reflexes, where the that's my term for self sabotage. When you rise above your thermostat, your nervous system's gonna pull your ass back down. And, you know, and you see it, and, like, it's happened to me so many times. I'm like, how the heck did I not catch this faster? Information is everything and awareness is everything.

So once we know how you do it and why you do it and we put a plan in place, then you gotta give yourself grace and just keep showing up and know what to do when that comes. Know who to reach out to be like, another one for me is, like, I would I pitched I I would somebody would give me a verbal yes, and I'd said I would take, like, three days to send the contract. I'm like, that is that procrastination is another piece of of the whole thing. I'm, like, botching in the whole thing. I got the yes that the whole thing was on me.

So, you know and then if if they're still not doing it, then I would question, do you really want this? Because you came to me. You're paying good money. We figured it out. We got a plan in place. It doesn't mean that this thing's over because you have to work it, like, everything. But if you're really not doing that, then maybe you don't want it.

And I think then that's where I just really try to provide the space and help people understand that it's okay. Like, all this is okay. This is your life. And if you can, I'm not I don't like absolutes. I think that life changes. You change. I think that so if you decide you want not like getting off easy, but if you decide that you got so close to something that you don't want it, that's fine.

Or maybe it's not the right season. I I think the timing is everything too. Yeah. You know, I I read, about your unleashed framework. I'm wondering if you'll kinda walk me through what those ideas are and high level about it.

Yeah. Sure. So it's, you know, after doing this for seventy well, five years, I was like, gosh. It's, again, pattern, pattern, pattern. Doesn't matter if it's a high level, high net worth person. If it doesn't it's all the same. It's all the same stuff. Right? I was like, how can I package all of this stuff? There's, like, so many into a framework that wouldn't be overwhelming, that would give people a great foundation that they could come back to.

So what I've come up with, and I've been doing this for two years. The first the first, phase is what I just talked about with alignment. So let's before we like, let's figure out who we are. And I don't like to use those words because if somebody were to say, like, well, you don't know who you are, Christy, or let's connect you to yourself. I'd be like, whatever. Right? Like, I'm a smart person. I know myself. And so I just talk about everybody's out of alignment. So alignment is the base.

Then I roll in all my high performance systems. So how the how the hell do we get eight hours into two hours? What are the boundaries look like? What does the focus look like? What's my time management courses look like? What's the outsourcing? Where's the zone of genius? All of that. Because if we do that and we're not aligned, then there's gonna be friction. And you can do it. You and I have done it for years. We've all done it. We we can we can get things across the finish line, but my whole thing is, like, how do you it's hard anyway. Let's make sure we've removed as much friction and we've gotten you as close to you as possible.

Then we layer in the high performance so that you can get more in. Most people think that I'm like this, like, all the time. And, honestly, I work like this, like, four hours out of the day, sometimes more, sometimes less, but then I love to have this blow blow around like an autumn leaf. Like, I don't know where my phone is, but I can't have that space if I don't have the structure over here. So that's the middle phase.

And then the the last, the last portion of Unleash is all the advanced high performance techniques. So the things that I've learned from, like, you know, Ben Newman and Tim Grover, and just, again, pattern, pattern, pattern. What are the things like, if you study the great, what are the few things that's, like, most people probably don't know, but it's a game changer and they need to know, like, the power of neutrality? That that's the last 12.

And the whole time that we're doing this, we're doing accountability calls too because I believe that I mean, unless something major is, like, really, really, really serious happened in life or in childhood, most people don't want to and don't need to, and and can't. They can't afford to decide by themselves and work on themselves. So I'm like, okay. Well, let's while we're doing this whole program, we're still having accountability calls. We're still putting in what what our most important items are.

And they'll see from, like, when they started week one to then once we get in alignment, and now they're into all the high performance stuff and they're really focused and it's only a yes and they're subtracting more than they're adding. You start to see everything shift on their schedule for them and what they're saying that they're showing up for. And and, the outsourcing is easier. The delegating is easier. The systems are easier.

So, yeah, I feel like we, you know, we remodel the plane while we're in the air. Yeah. Which is sometimes you're, like, in in a plane on another plane building a rocket ship, and you've gotta have that, you know, idea of of what it is.

Like, what would you say from, like, a neuroscience perspective? Because, obviously, a lot of these beliefs that people carry with them into adulthood have been there for a long time, whether it's repetitive thought patterns or just certain things. Like, just from a very basic level, you know, of neuroplasticity, that ability to do it. What daily disciplines do you do you really suggest?

Yeah. Yeah. So I think that, well, first of all, like, figuring out where the thermostat was set or catching those behaviors Yeah. Are huge because a lot of once you see that, like, to me, that is like, that's just piercing the target right on the bull's eye, and going, okay. This is why I'm doing all of these things.

But I believe in you mean in terms of, like, breaking the pattern? Yeah. Breaking the pattern of of thinking those things. Well, I believe in, connecting to a legacy statement every single day. I start my day, connecting to, like, what am I here on earth? If I were to die today, what do I want to be known for? What do I want people to and that gets me out of everything.

Gratitude practice is, like, fastest way to get out of anxiety. And, and and then having something to focus on. Right? So I am statements, I think, are great. I'm not a I don't have an opinion either way because I haven't used them. I think a lot of people have used them from a neuroscience standpoint.

But, really, what we're talking about here is we have to upgrade the identity. They have to see themselves differently. So if I am statements work for you, great. I would rather, rewrite my legacy statement and focus on what I want to be known for and what characteristics and feelings that future Christy Cool has because I can't get to where I'm trying to go with this old identity.

Yeah. So, you know, and and if you if you've, done any of, like, the alter ego work, I really, again, I I look for fast fastest ways. Alter ego work is really you think that you're turning into somebody that you're not. Yeah. Mhmm. But that's really the trapped person that's inside you the whole time. Right? Yes.

So if you can channel, like, Clark Kent or Superman, which one was the alter ego? Yeah. I think it's super I I think that that Clark Kent was the alter ego. I think that he pretended to be that person because that was what was accepted in life. So being able to channel and get into that alter ego and be like, okay. Well, Christy can't do this, but, you know, put somebody else in there. If it's good enough for Beyonce,

it's good enough for me. I know that for sure. Yeah. Awesome. Christy, you've said so many things that were just real gems. The couple that I wrote down that I'm taking home with me, the the idea around the thermostat because it it it reminds me a lot of the Gay Hendricks upper limit problem, the the opening, you know, because you you do self sabotage once you once you hit something that feels uncertain or scary.

And then, you know, I love that for the identity shift stuff that you're putting feeling into it because it's the emotion that really anchors stuff. So I really love that. What about you, Kelly?

Yeah. I think, you know, discovering, like, your, you know, I call them preferred methods of self sabotage. You just nailed it that, you know, when you think you want something, but then you have limited what you've been able to create is so good. And then just knowing that, you know, I think a lot of us need a high performance coach. Right? Like, we need somebody that's gonna reflect back to us in a positive way kinda how we're showing up so that we can elevate to what that Superman status is. So absolutely awesome.

And and, Christy, one of the things that we always do here on on the Power Up Your Life podcast and in GoBundance Women is just we wanna make sure that we support you. Like, how can our listeners get ahold of you? Like, what's your what's your ideal situation? It sounds like you wanna speak more too, so just let let our audience listeners know how we can support you.

Yeah. Thank you so much. Well, you know, I I believe I think referrals are the absolute best in getting to know who your clients are and understanding what I have to offer.

You know, I think that the opportunities will present themselves. A lot of people that find me on Instagram that don't quite know what it is that I do, they're looking to pivot or they're looking they're going through a hard time, and they've lost themselves. That's a lot of the words that they say. Mhmm. And, and anybody who's trying to reach the next level.

So those I'm putting on a big summit here in Charlotte, in two days, high performance summit. And it's really a bunch of high performers that are coming together that are that they wanna get to the next level, and they just don't know how. They just don't know how. Right?

And and we, we're we are already through the information age. There's so much information out there. Information is not the problem. It's, you know, like, so so it's it's understanding what to do with the information and holding ourselves accountable and upgrading your identity. Right.

So if you find somebody that is trying to get to the next level that needs the like you said, those outside eyes, I feel like and I and this is why I have advisers and coaches too. You can't see the picture frame when you're the pitcher, and we still all have all these stories. So if I were to call Mandy and probably tell her a certain scenario, she doesn't have all the emotional stories I do to why I got myself in this box. And she'd be like, oh, Christy, well, why don't you just do x y z? Right? That's the power of having mentors or circles or friends is the and that's that's a cheat code to going faster. So if you're saying you're totally agree. Yeah. Yeah. And matters.

Who are you around? Who, what coach do you have? Like, I I think that that is exactly the, the tables that we're banging on at GoBun and Swimmin'. I I could not have had a better time getting to reconnect with you here, Christy.

If anybody listening here is needs this, needs to know how to look at their identity, needs to know, how to get to that next level, make sure that you're subscribing, make sure that you're sharing this episode. And if you need to power up your business, make sure you go to Power Up Your Life Now, and we will give you all of the resources that we have that can help you power up your business.

Thank you so much for joining us, and we will see you next week. Thank you, Christy.

Thank you, ladies. Keep doing all the wonderful work you're doing. I love seeing it.