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- [00:00]
A
You're gonna have to kind of unravel some of these stressors in life and have a really honest look at some of the things that are maybe not for you anymore or where you need to go and have that conversation that is so wildly uncomfortable and that can feel paralyzing for people because there's so much that's wrapped up in that. But it is oftentimes the missing link. It's the missing link with chronic gut issues. It's the missing link with not being able to sleep, the anxiety, and I'm not saying for every person, but I' worked with hundreds of thousands of women on some level at this point. Now when you've done the work of the movement, the nutrition, the supplements, and you're like still not shifting, what's the one area we're not looking at?
- [00:45]
B
Hey, it's Renee and welcome to the into the Wild podcast. Each week I'll unravel growth, mindset, methods, authority building techniques, and the secrets to living an integrated life. Plus chat with expert guests to teach you the fearlessness needed to step into your greatness. Are you ready for it? Let's get wild. This podcast is a Martell Media production. My next guest is the founder and CEO of Simplicity Project, Inc. And one of the most trusted voices at the intersection of women's health and entrepreneurship. She's the creator of Ignite the Hormone Project and synced the movement and strength platform redefining how women train at every stage of life along with with the Audacious Woman, her high level mentorship for women ready to lead with intention, earn with confidence, and build businesses that actually reflect who they are. Her philosophy cuts through the noise body first, business second. Because when a woman finally understands her hormones, her energy, and how to work with her body instead of against it, she doesn't just feel better, she performs better, leads better, and earns more. In this episode, we talk about why your hormones are ruining your business. Whether you realize it or not, what it actually looks like to scale without burning out, how the women earning the most are the ones who stopped outworking their biology, and the cool little tidbits that Jenna's gonna be dropping on stage at the Pink Skirt Summit happening this July in Cologne of bc. She is one of our headline speakers. Please welcome the incredible Jen Pike.
- [02:25]
A
How are you? So happy to be here.
- [02:27]
B
I know. You're so close.
- [02:29]
A
I know. Literally, I'm looking at your mountain from my mountain.
- [02:32]
B
We have mountains. We owned mountains.
- [02:34]
A
Yeah.
- [02:35]
B
It's funny, I was telling one of the girls in the office that I was interviewing you now, and they're like, is she coming in? I'm like, it never occurred to me that could have been an option.
- [02:44]
A
Right. Next time we'll go do a workout, grab some lunch, and then we'll meet in person.
- [02:49]
B
No, we should do it the other way. We do this, then we work out.
- [02:52]
A
Then you work out.
- [02:53]
B
Yeah. So you are one of the speakers at the summit this year with our stellar lineup, and we've just locked in all the speakers. I'm still absolutely gobsmacked at who's coming out.
- [03:04]
A
Oh, my gosh. I've been seeing as you've been sharing on Social. I felt like every couple of days for a week, I was like, oh, my gosh. And now this woman's coming, and this woman's coming. And, I mean, I had the opportunity of being there last year, brought a whole bunch of girlfriends with me, and so I got to, like, be witness in the audience. And it was so incredible. Year two, I mean, yes, to be able to be on stage, but also just seeing the variety of speakers that you've been able to pull together, it is going to be amazing.
- [03:30]
B
It is something. And I got to record a whole episode about that because people ask me, how did you encourage them to come to Kelowna? And I was like, no, they wanted to come. That's the thing about this city. People want to be here, and we get to live here.
- [03:45]
A
I know. It's a gift.
- [03:47]
B
It is a gift. So this year's event, the theme's all about being seen. It's all about building the confidence to, like, just put yourself out there to talk about your dreams and your visions and your business and all the things in life. And it's something that you do well. You do very well. But how do we begin this conversation? Because you've been in the space of your world for so long.
- [04:10]
A
When did you start, Renee? I registered this company when I was 17, and I'm 14. Like, my youngest. We were just talking about, he is 17 and graduating high school, and that's how old I was. Now, the company wasn't called the same thing, but, yeah, it's 17. I knew I didn't know exactly what it was gonna look like, but I knew I was gonna be in fitness, health, wellness. And I just remember my dad saying to me, I can see the way you're wanting to do this. I think you should go and register a business. And I said, I don't have a business yet. And he, jen, you're the business. Like, you need to go and register it. And so, yeah, it's been almost 30 years.
- [04:48]
B
Well, your dad's smart. He saw it in you.
- [04:50]
A
He did.
- [04:51]
B
And what's your specialty?
- [04:52]
A
I'm a medical exercise specialist and a functionally integrative diagnostic nutritionist, which in English means I specialize in women's health and hormones, fitness and nutrition. So I attract a group of women at this time in life who are at this intersection of business, body, motherhood, and they're, like, trying to figure out how do I essentially fulfill all these things that I want to do, the roles that I feel like I need to do without constantly feeling like I'm running on empty, I'm sacrificing something. I burn out to the point where I just want to, like, burn it all down. How do I actually do that? And so I run programs, education platforms and online fitness studio and mentorship to really help to teach women about what is important for them. Right. How do you become your own n of 1 instead of feeling like you have to do what everyone else is doing, how do you actually learn what, as women, we should have been taught about our bodies all along, and we weren't. And this is why so many women, when they get to that stage of life, in their late 30s, their 40s and 50s and beyond, you just feel like you're all of a sudden meeting this body that feels like a stranger. And it's because we were never taught as young girls just how incredible and multifaceted our bodies were. So it can feel like a lot when all of a sudden you get to a stage where life is a
- [06:14]
B
lot, and you look down at your body and you're like, when did my knees start to sag? Like, I remember jumping on. Like, I got a rebounder, and we have this massive mirror in our gym, and I was, like, jumping on the rebounder. I do this as part of my warmup, and I was looking at the mirror, and I happened to glance down at my knees when I was jumping, and, like, the skin was folding over my kneecaps, and I'm like, what is going on? And I look down at my knees. I go, my knees look old. And then it's kind of like when you have this initial reaction to a body part that's, like, aging, then you start to see it everywhere.
- [06:49]
A
Yeah.
- [06:50]
B
And things don't work like they used to. They're not supposed to.
- [06:54]
A
This is it. I mean, we are by design and meant as humans and as women. I think, you know, it's not to say that men don't feel this as well too. There's just a lot of more that shifts in our bodies because of our hormonal structure and makeup. And to be honest, you know, we do shoulder a little bit more responsibility in the house and in life as a whole. And we worry and stress and think about things in ways that men just can't even conceptualize. Like, I'll say things to my husband and he's like, I've literally never once thought about that. And I'm like, really? Because that's all I'm thinking about.
- [07:24]
B
I know. To be a man for a day, 24 hours. I mean, holy crap. I've had the chance to get to know you really well the last gosh, what, four years. A lot of people will say we look like sisters because we're.
- [07:37]
A
We always get asked if we're sisters.
- [07:39]
B
We do. I remember we were checking into a flight or something and they're like, are you sisters? Like, at this point we should just say yes.
- [07:46]
A
I think it's just, we're just both tall, we have long hair, you know, extremely good looking.
- [07:49]
B
We smile, super intelligent smile. That's it. You, as we joke in our like, little mastermind circle that you're like our pharmacist. You're like a walking encyclopedia. Cuz you are just so dialed in with all the things. Cause I'm like, hey, my belly hurts. And this is happening. You're like, oh, this is happening because of this and this and you should do this thing. And we're like, how do you know this so much? It's just fascinating how you've literally are somebody that if there's any ailment that's happening in my body or my kid's body, you have a pulse on what could be the root cause of the issue, which is so magnetic in so many ways, and that's what I love the most about you too is and you're not even afraid to share that information. You're like, let me tell you about you. And I'm like, oh, please go. You're so good at what you do.
- [08:40]
A
I love it. And I always have. I was the girl in gym class that we would have health class and we'd go back into the change room or back out to our lockers. And I say to my girlfriends, that is not true. What we just learned in there. Wow. And I think that for me, a big part of it was growing up in our house. I'm a middle child, but my older sister is 12 years older than me. So, like, when I was 4, she was 16. There was a lot of conversations happening in our home that I was exposed to and I'm so grateful for like I was learning about periods from such a young age because my sister was going through, I can remember conversations around birth control. And so in our house nothing was embarrassing. There was no shame around topics. Like it was just out there on the surface. And I also grew up where, you know, my dad started to just take me to the gym to get me out of the house so my mom could have a reprieve from one of us when I was really young, like I was going to the Toronto Fitness Institute center with him when I was six. At that time they'd let your kid be on the floor and I would just like watch. And I remember being so young and just watching people exercise and be like, this looks so cool, like I can't wait to do this. And being so mesmerized by all the different types of bodies and all the movements people were doing. And so we moved and at the age of nine, where we moved, there was like a kids cardio club that I became part of. And then I got asked when I was nine years old to teach the kinders who were two and three.
- [10:05]
B
No surprise. I'm like, when are you teaching?
- [10:08]
A
Yep, okay, right. And then by 16, I started teaching the adults. You know, when I first started off in my career coming out of school, I was working with semi pro and professional athletes, mainly hockey players. And I thought that's what I was going to do forever. But then I was part time personal training women, a lot of them were moms and I didn't have kids yet. And I just remember Renee saying to myself so many times, like, these women are the everyday athletes of life. And I became less interested in working with the professional athletes and more interested in helping these women because I was watching them try to find the smallest amount of time to pour into themselves, like one hour a week. And I would hear them, they'd tell me stuff like, when you're a personal trainer, you're also a therapist. I never took that lightly. But I didn't have children. So then when I had my kids, I remember thinking, I need to go call all of my clients and apologize because I was listening, but I wasn't getting it. And how can you when you've not gone through it? And so that really like motherhood for me created this whole new identity in my business and what I do, working with women, because I just said, I, I will never not spend the Time to truly listen and see the woman that isn't in front of me. And I will ask her as many questions as I need to so I can actually help her try and figure out why she's feeling the way she's feeling. Mm.
- [11:26]
B
Man, you're so good at it, too. In the early stages, you're like quasi therapist, which you're also fantastic at. When did you know this was your calling to do this work?
- [11:38]
A
Honestly, I think it took me a little while because it was something that I loved so much. It never really felt like work. It just felt like this is just what I did. And I was 23 and I got headhunted by Sports Clubs of Canada and Bally's Total Fitness to become a personal training director and, like, go and actually find the best trainers in the city, which was in Toronto, and, like, essentially lure them in and train them and work on sales and strategy and all of this. And I was like, what? Like me, I am the trainer. I'm not a manager, I'm not a director. Like, that's not what I've done. And I just remember one of my mentors at the time, Jack, and he was like, that's the thing about you, though. You don't see that that is actually a natural part of who you are too. And so I jumped into that role, and I didn't really love it, to be honest. Probably just in that structure. Like, I don't like to micromanage people, but I love to see a fire in people and then keep lighting that flame under their ass and encourage them to go. So I think it took me a little while, probably after both my kids were born, when I knew I didn't want to chase my paycheck anymore. I had been teaching at so many different gyms, going and doing private training at people's homes, and I just was out on a walk one night and I'm like, I need more simplicity in my life. I can't keep doing this. I'm so tired all the time. I've got these little kids. And I made a decision to open up my own location because I just thought, universe, like, if I have one address, you're going to know where to find me and the doors are going to open. And it was the best decision and the hardest thing I ever did, because you don't realize when you don't own the business that it's a lot easier actually driving paycheck to paycheck because you're not responsible for everything. But if I had never done that I wouldn't have realized who I actually was. And it wasn't having that studio that I was like, I am actually really quite amazing at what I do. And that's when I started to realize, like, I do have this gift in teaching women and giving them the permission slip they've been waiting to hear. And that that really was the portal for them, was these women just needed permission to stop trying to keep it together all the time and to be perfect. Just all these things that we get told as women are literally impossible to be able to do and still feel vital. And that's where it all started.
- [13:54]
B
And now how many years later?
- [13:56]
A
Almost 30.
- [13:58]
B
I was 38.
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A
I know I'd be 47 in September.
- [14:02]
B
Oh, I know. You're a year older than me, girl.
- [14:05]
A
You're only 40. That's right.
- [14:06]
B
You're two years older than me. I should know. My older sister is only two years old. Okay, so we really want to, like, talk about breaking down the idea, being seen.
- [14:17]
A
Yeah.
- [14:17]
B
What I mean by that is building the confidence. And you use the word audacious, but the audacity to go and just talk about the thing you're passionate about, do the thing, even if it's against the grain, even if it's against what's expected of you. How has that been the thing? Like a driving force to help you grow your business. And then we're going to talk about what that means individually for the listeners, too, from, like, the body's perspective. But for you, what did that do for your business?
- [14:45]
A
It's what set me apart from so many others. Like, what I do out in the world is not rare. There are a dime a dozen nutritionists and hormone experts and fitness people. Like, there are a lot that are out there. Right. Coaches, all of that. But what set me apart was I am not afraid to cut through the BS and have the real honest conversation that needs to happen. I'm not afraid to talk and teach you about the things that other people are like. You know, we should know. The reason so many women struggle in different areas is because we keep circumventing and walking around what the issue is, and we're not actually addressing it. And so I also was at a time in my career where I didn't realize what I was doing was pitching myself. But if I was seeing an event or something happen, I was like, I'll come speak. I put in a lot of sweat equity building this company. I wasn't asking for a fee or any of that. I was like, I'll come Talk. I knew enough that if I got in front of a room of women and I made eye contact and I paid attention to their body language and I was getting the heads nodding in the right way that I could convert those women into working with me. I just knew that. So I kept looking for rooms and opportunities to go. And we didn't have a name for it back then. It wasn't lead gen, it was just marketing yourself. My business card was my voice. I knew that what I could do better than some others was take really big what felt like overwhelming topics and health issues and struggles and help people to break it down and create simplicity.
- [16:14]
B
You're like the human AI for health. Yeah.
- [16:18]
A
I also got a lot out of that because it feels really good when you help people. And so I really loved doing that. And so that visibility piece, once I recognized that my throughway wasn't in a PDF I was creating, it wasn't in the tangible thing. It was experiential what I was creating with people. And so many in my industry at the time when I was starting to really grow kept saying, stop leading with education. Women don't want to learn, they just want you to tell them what to do. And I was like. And that's where I think you're wrong. The reason that we have this massive ass, multi billion dollar industry that pits on women and targets women as the target market in health and wellness and hormones and everything is because you don't give her enough credit. And it's because we've marketed in a way where women don't feel like they know their body, they have to outsource it to everyone else. And I'm like, I'm not participating. I'm here to teach the woman, empower the woman so she knows enough that she now doesn't just have an incredible physical health, but that is what translates into her business, her relationships, her finances, her confidence, like how she moves into the world. And then that woman is going to go and teach that to her kids, to the other women in her community. So that for me was, I didn't want to say an angle because I didn't sit there and like think of this as a strategy. I just thought to myself, if keeping women in this, like you don't know, but I know kind of energy actually worked, we would have more women that are being successful. And so I was like, well, I'm going to invest in the women by educating, I'm going to pour into them to teach them. And that's how I built this company.
- [17:54]
B
Okay. So, so many questions, but one right off the top is there's a lot about, like, gatekeeping content because you've spent so many hours studying, probably buying other programs, reading books, listening to the podcast, and you're just like this encyclopedia. And then so there's that, which I know you don't gatekeep anything. When did you know the validation that in showing up and sharing this content for free, even if it was like speaking on stages for free on your own podcast, that was the thing that you needed to do to grow your business.
- [18:28]
A
When women and strangers and people that I didn't even know knew the work I was doing were reaching out and telling me how much it impacted them and changed their life. When I started to all of a sudden realize that my work became omnipresent, meaning, like, you and I are having a live conversation right now, but at the same time, someone else is actually doing one of my modules in my program. Someone else is implementing the nutrition plan I created for them. Someone else is doing a recording class in my fitness studio right now. Someone else is listening to my podcast right now. Someone else is sharing with another woman something she learned in a course I taught last week. Someone else is registering for my masterclass tomorrow right now. When I started to sit back and be like, whoa. Because when I was building this business, those things didn't happen. I had to make every single one happen. I had to go knock on the doors, boots on the ground, and do that. I think because I've always put that energy into my work, that now it is in that energy of being omnipresent. And the ongoing joke in my family, like my immediate family, my family and friends, is I can't go anywhere in the world without knowing someone who I may not have ever met, but they have somehow been impacted by my work at some point. That to me, that's why I will never stop doing what I do.
- [19:50]
B
It's interesting as you talk about those early days where there's not the proving yourself, but that's like you're new in the game. Yeah. And there's this whole season of the mundane. It's like the boring season where it's the repetitive stuff that eventually starts getting the clients and the customers and the sales. And then you get to this part where it's like the compound of your exposure. And that's what's happening now.
- [20:13]
A
Yes.
- [20:13]
B
Is that you can show up and do this, but all this other stuff's already happening in the background. You don't have to worry about it because you spent years building up the systems, the confidence for yourself, the team, but also the personal brand that now it's just like it's sticky because your name is synonymous for the work that you do.
- [20:31]
A
And again, like, let's just think about this. This has been a 29 year trajectory. Probably the last 20 years have been where there's been more specificity around who I work with. In the beginning I work with anyone. I did a lot of peds, a lot of children. And it was like when I was pregnant, I was like, oh, I work with pregnant women too. And then I had my children, I was like, oh, I do postpartum. And then when they were little I was like, ah, I work with little kids. And you know, now it's at a stage. So I've really grown with my audience and vice versa, they've grown with me. And in the last 20 years is when I got a little bit more serious in the last 10 years, like when I sold my in person company, my brick and mortar studio in 2015, I went online in 2016. And that was not a common thing back then. Like I really had to figure out, I didn't know what I was doing. My first program was run through my Hotmail account.
- [21:21]
B
Yeah, was it like Jenpike69hotmail.com that's it, right?
- [21:26]
A
I mean, my lord Renee. Still to this day, stuff goes through my jenpike79mail.com, but forwards to jennpike.com and these are the kind of logistic things behind the scenes where I'm like, I don't care. Is the email getting to them and is getting to me and I didn't have a team back then. And so to have a team that I've grown with now over the last 10 years, you know, we've put the reps in as you talk about and say, we've put the time in. We also gave ourself time when things were starting to really grow and expand. There was a few years and we're just kind of coming out of it now where I was like, we are doing an incredible job with revenue and profit. I am now living a life of so much more ease. I don't wake up panicking that there's not enough anymore and tell myself like, I gotta go hit the pavement harder. And that's a really beautiful place to get to when you've lived the opposite. And so when I was starting to grow in the business and everyone around me was like, girl, you gotta double down and go harder, you need to do this, you need to do that, and you need to expand. And I was like, but why? I've just put in all these years to get here. And I was figuring out these ways in our company for these KPIs where we could continue to generate the same incredible revenue. But we became more and more profitable year over year. I was able to like, condense the team and get like so deep on who we had in the team. And to me, that's a different kind of wealth that doesn't always get talked about. Also, it was this, like, I'm working so much less now, but the work I do is so intentional.
- [22:56]
B
I love that I went from pr. Like, I know that anxiety feeling. Cause I was like, in the agency space, anytime I landed a client, when we signed the contract, whether it was six months or a year, it meant a lot of work on the other side of that. And now, because I know what that felt like. And I did that when my kids were so young. They were babies. Now when I sign that contract and I get a new customer, there's no more work on my side. I don't have to do the heavy lifting, because I've already done the heavy lifting and creating what I've created. And it is such a good feeling, because here's what happens when you get to this point in your business is you can pour so much more value into these people's lives because you're not trying to figure out the admin and the logistics and like getting their approval and stuff. It's like, here's everything I know, everything I've experienced, everything I'm learning, and I'm going to give that to you and you can do what you want with it. For you, it's like helping women, the way that I see it is like helping women just feel good again. Like, why is it so hard to just be like, hey, do you want to feel good? Yeah, let's go, let's figure this out. Like, you don't know how good you can feel until you start feeling good. And why not? At any age, regardless of where your hormones are, where you are in life. Because we've been told if you're in perimenopause, well, you're going to have hot flashes, you're going to have night sweats, you're going to have brain fog. It's like, sure, but does it have to happen? Because I was told, prepare yourself for it as opposed to, hey, how about just looking into this and figuring out how you can navigate this a little Bit better.
- [24:29]
A
I spent a lot of time interviewing some of the top researchers and physicians in the world who we've only really had studies on women in perimenopause and menopause happening actively in the last, like, four to seven years, which is insane.
- [24:43]
B
It's so insane.
- [24:44]
A
It's not like women just started to go through menopause.
- [24:46]
B
Am. I remember asking my mom about her journey because apparently it's hereditary. She was like, she did not want to talk about it at all. She was embarrassed. She's like. In a way, I sense that she was like, how dare you ask me? And I was like, mom, how old were you when it started? What were the symptoms? How long did it last? My doctor needs to know. And then she's like, oh, okay. Well, I'll tell you because your doctor needs to know. But nobody talked about it as of late. Now it's like Wall Street Journal bestsellers, New York Times bestseller books are about perimenopause and menopause. The top podcast episodes of 2025 were about menopause. It's like, finally someone just tore open the thing, and now we're able to talk about it. But you've already been talking about this.
- [25:24]
A
Yeah. And, you know, it is. It's interesting when you actually look like a really good colleague and friend of ours. Callan, she just launched this bootcamp this week, but I think, like, 6,500 people ended up signing up for it. Well, 70% were women. And so if 70% of the women who are signing up for something like an AI bootcamp, who are obviously in there because they're in business or a leadership role or something where they want to learn how to utilize it. This means that that is, like, at bare minimum, 70% of women who are part of creating Impact and Legacy. Those women need to be able to feel solid physically, mentally, and emotionally. Hot flashes is one thing, but that's one of 103 symptoms that are now categorized under.
- [26:06]
B
There are probably days I feel every single one of them.
- [26:08]
A
Most women, on average. And I know this because this is the latest step. You're my third pot of the day. And the two are researchers this morning that the average woman going through perimenopause will experience 31 of those 103 symptoms in the top 10. Hot flashes are now number 11. They don't live in the top 10. Weight gain doesn't live in the top 10. It's all neurocognitive. It's brain fog. It's lack of energy, it's anxiety. It's trouble sleeping. It is disassociation with the body, ups and downs of, I'm connected, I'm not connected. And so, so much of that. If you talk to a woman who in the beginning, like, let's say she gains 10 pounds, she's not gonna love that. But she's like, I can manage it. You have a woman who can't remember what's on the tip of her tongue, A woman who can't remember what her zone of genius is. A woman who all of a sudden starts to feel so disorganized when she used to describe herself as, like, multitasking. Got it. Boom, boom, boom. That is scary for that woman. And now this is when she starts to feel like she loses agency. And that, to me, is more important to work on. And here's the reality. You work on supporting the woman through those symptoms, those 10 pounds are probably gonna come off because the 10 pounds are a symptom of the other stuff we just talked about.
- [27:20]
B
This might not surprise you or surprise you, but I'm 44 and I finally have my hormones slightly dialed in because I'm on all the things. But I'm finally figuring this out. I have. It's maybe not £10, but it's £5 stuck to the front of my belly that has never been there before. And I'm working out more and I'm eating more lean. It's like it's just there. Does it ever go away?
- [27:47]
A
Well, I mean, listen, our composition is most likely going to change as we go into menopause.
- [27:53]
B
That's it. It's emptied from my boobs and it has gone now to my stomach 100%. I'm like, why? Just like anything else, go to my butt. But, like, no.
- [28:03]
A
So here's what I'm going to tell you. Because we have a ton of clinical data, because we run different programs that are body recomposition programs. Hormone, like, we run the gamut. So what I will tell you is that when you have a woman who tries to push harder and do the thing of, like, eating cleaner, training differently in that. But isn't addressing the nervous system as a whole, isn't addressing what actually turns, not just your body's ability to produce cortisol, but how you utilize cortisol, like, here's the thing I want to say to your listeners. We're not all gaining weight purely from cortisol or insulin on its own. It's not about that. Cortisol and insulin are two of the most important hormones that we have that are connected to everything in our body. The issue is what is happening in our life or our reaction to it that is impacting how we are producing, how we are utilizing and uptaking these hormones.
- [28:52]
B
Okay, let's double click on this because here's what I know. It's like I kind of know this because we sit next to each other on six hour flights and we talk about this stuff. But some people have such a hard time believing that their external experiences and how their body and brain interprets it causes a lot of this stuff.
- [29:11]
A
So I'm going to tell you something about the research and data. Women who have a harder time moving through perimenopause and menopause. If you do a thorough intake with them and ask specific questions, their ACE score is more elevated than someone who tends to just kind of walk through perimenopause. And what that is is that's advanced childhood experiences. So it can be little t trauma stuff, it can be big stuff. It can also be the way that you dealt with it, managed it, or did not. A lot of us have been taught you to shove it down or you numb it. You distract. So a lot of women in leadership that you probably attract to this podcast, how do you distract yourself in a great way when you identify as an achiever, you go achieve more, you go create more, you go be more, you go rise. And now you have all these other parts in your life that are calling your attention. And it's really hard to be an A player and be, you know, shining your light as bright as you can when you also are raising the family and everything else. But you have declining not just sex hormones, but your metabolic hormones are shifting your neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, gaba, all of these hormones that help regulate your mood. This is the whole thing where I'm so grateful that the conversation is happening more for women in Perry and Menno. But we're missing a big part of the conversation, which is this is not just about lifting heavy shit and eating more protein wearing a weighted vest. This is as a human being, you experience and live your entire life through your nervous system.
- [30:43]
B
There's the viral tiktoks. If you've seen these, it's like the divorce effect. This is a perfect example of it. So the divorce effect, I've seen it mostly with women, but a lot of men where they show themselves during like the time that was the hardest in their marriage. And they don't look the best, they look tired, they're sluggish, they've got big things underneath their eyes. They've gained a little bit of weight, a lot of inflammation. And the divorce effect is like the year after the divorce, they look like they've had so much energy. It's like this is what's shifted for them is they're not stuck in that anxiety and the cortisol and the weight and the worry of that relationship anymore.
- [31:21]
A
Your environment impacts you massively. And the way I'll say this to people when they're like skeptical, because again, we've been taught and trained that's not true. I need to get a diagnosis and then I need to have a prescription. If there's this going on, just tell me the supplement or with a lot of women right now, just tell me a thing and I'll take HRT and it's going to fix all that's it. Like, what's the peptide stack to go fix that? And listen, you can have great results of all those things, but at the end of the day, the root system has, like not been dealt with. It's going to show up. And so I will say to people, okay, if you don't believe that energy matters, tell me, when you've been in an amazing mood and then you go spend time around someone who is so negative, are you able to maintain your positive mood and energy? No. They suck the life out of you and the opposite can happen. You can be in a crappy mood and you go spend time with someone who is just like in the best mood, contagious, a hundred percent. So the fact that we don't realize, I don't think it's actually that we don't realize. Maybe we don't want to. Because it's way easier for me to say to you, Renee, here's the meal plan I want you to follow. Here's the workouts I want you to do. And here's the supplement stack. Go do that. You're like, awesome. Why is that easy for you? Because you're a doer. So if you're given a task, you're like, on it. Good. If I say to you you're gonna have to kind of unravel some of these stressors in life and have a really honest look at some of the things that are maybe not for you anymore or where you need to go and have that conversation that is so wildly uncomfortable and that can feel paralyzing for people because there's so much that's wrapped up in that. But it is oftentimes the missing link. It's the missing Link with chronic gut issues. It's the missing link with not being able to sleep, the anxiety, and I'm not saying for every person, but in my experience, and I've worked with hundreds of thousands of women on some level at this point now, when you've done the work of the movement, the nutrition, the supplements and you're like still not shifting, what's the one area we're not looking at?
- [33:25]
B
It's because it's the hardest thing to face.
- [33:28]
A
Totally.
- [33:29]
B
It's like the subconscious, you know, when we know there's something there.
- [33:32]
A
Absolutely.
- [33:33]
B
And we're like, what is it? It's like, you know what it is, you know what it is. Now we're starting to see connecting the dots, looking backwards, is that you can get this information about nutrition, hydration, exercise, like we know what we're supposed to do.
- [33:47]
A
Yeah, a hundred percent.
- [33:48]
B
But the missing link was like, how can you deal with the stuff that makes you anxious? What about the ptsd, like big T, little T trauma like you talked about? I've been going through that and I will tell you one thing, the symptoms that I always used to get in my gut happen very less frequently now because think about like where you hold the anxiety, right? They always say if there's like a pain in your heart, it means this, but for me it's been my stomach. And ironically my father unfortunately has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. And I was like, home, this is interesting, let's look at his life. And it's like, I believe disease is dis ease that shows up in your body. Cuz it is something that happened as an experience, an emotion that you haven't cleared. So when you don't clear it, it stays trapped. And I see this work in like a ton of my friends and colleagues that got fit. And that's not because they were doing peptides or anything like that, it's because they literally cleared that trauma.
- [34:46]
A
Yeah, part of it is we actually have to be aware of it. Step two is we have to make a decision. But the hardest part, and again, I can only speak through the lens of women that we've worked with, is that typically this kind of work involves other people. And so a lot of the time that it is uncomfortable to go do that work of what's impacting us is because when we change, everything changes. And sometimes that's not always for the positive. So it might mean dynamics in your relationship change or you and I were talking about this before we hit record. We are at a time in our Life in midlife, where our kids lives are changing, our careers are shifting, our parents are getting older, your dad and my dad have had health challenges. And here we are in the middle trying to like take care of all these changes. Meanwhile, we are also going through massive changes.
- [35:35]
B
And it's crazy because I always said this, that I feel like women in their 40s are their most beautiful for many reasons. I'm not discounting the 50s, but what I'm saying is like there's something about the coming into yourself, knowing yourself the most at this age. It's the first time you actually get to really see who you are. Hopefully you have kids in a family relationship that you've always dreamed of. Hopefully you've built a nest egg, you have wealth. So it's like you're taking care of there. And now it's like we have to focus on us. But no one tells you about all of a sudden all this responsibility and crap that comes at you. Teenage kids, perimenopause, menopause and dealing with ailing parents at the same time.
- [36:15]
A
Yeah, and it's a lot. When we first started this, before we hit record, you know, we were talking about this year's felt like a lot of grief, just like processing, feeling different things. And I was saying to you that our youngest is getting ready to graduate high school. And when our oldest graduated, it was like pure celebration. It was a very different energy. But our youngest graduating, I'm like, oh, he's our baby. He's our youngest. And I was not prepared for the grieving that was going to come with every one of his last things this year, his last hockey, all of that. I have cried a lot in the last few months with this kind of emotion where I'm like, where is this coming from? And then with my husband and I, we have so much more time together now because our kids lives, they actually have their own lives now. And we are not priority number one. So you're looking at each other in your partnership and it's like, where and how are we growing and evolving and going to continue to stay strong? So there is just so many dynamics that change.
- [37:15]
B
And you know what? Your husband is amazing. Chris is the bee's knees. And I wish and pray that people can find relationships like what you and I have. Because when you think about these moments when it's like, oh, we're inching up to empty nest and it's kind of like, what next? Well, Dan already has our whole life planned out and he's like, he's good he's got the agenda ready to go. I'm not there yet. He loves his kids. He also loves adventure and like they're welcome to come, but we know they're not gonna wanna join us on what we have planned. The best advice I ever read in the last 10 years, maybe five years, was from Dan, Go. And he said, in my 40s, he comes up with these beautiful lists of things that he wish he'd known or not done or know better. One was one thing he wished he would have learned to do better when he was younger was learn how to grieve. Because when we think of grief, we think of someone dying. But there are like micro griefs every single day. It's because things are changing and for you it's like your baby's graduating high school and you're right now going through grief and you need to appreciate that of yourself. I know you do that. But also hold space for that because it's like it just goes to show how much you loved that stage of your life.
- [38:33]
A
It's a beautiful kind of grief, that kind of grief when it happens. But I think it's that when you hear people talking about you want to take care of your health so that you have this level of resiliency, so that when life lifes. This was something that I would never have thought. Like I need to be in good health and be rested and prepared because you know, you think of negative things that are going to happen where you need to have that resiliency. There's something else I want to share that I felt grief this year and I think it's important with your audience because again, you attract a lot of leaders and a lot of business owners. I have had to grieve what was in my business and who I was as the woman building the business because she is no longer who I am and where I'm going. And I was also not prepared for that. Everybody online celebrates it like it's this identity, ascension and all of that. And it's like, yeah, that that's great on paper, but when you're actually processing that, when you start to grow and evolve and change, there is a grieving process and a lot of gratitude that has to happen. And so I've also allowed myself to spend that time to just really sit and thank younger gen, thank the gen that was like just ignorant enough to not really know and to just dare greatly to like be bold. That to me is the definition of the audacious woman you live life with. Just like this bold courage where There is no guarantee, but you are more willing to try than you are to stay committed to, like, the worry of failure. I created the Audacious Woman six years ago. And I would say this year, I'm like, oh, I have fully arrived in her, in my body.
- [40:09]
B
How did you know you were there?
- [40:11]
A
Because the way that I was talking about it was coming from my cells instead of my brain, if that makes any sense.
- [40:19]
B
Well, it does coming from you, but explain it.
- [40:22]
A
I think that it's like we get taught, you gotta practice your elevator pitch. You've gotta, like, describe it in X amount of characters and all of that. And I really struggled when people are like, tell me about the Audacious Woman. And I would go on for 17 hours. And now, with this level of embodiment, I feel like in one sentence, because I am her. And the whole thing is that I do believe we create and put out in the world what we also need as human beings.
- [40:47]
B
Oh, a hundred percent. Every author writes a book they need.
- [40:50]
A
So I'm writing the Audacious Woman. My manuscript's due at the end of August. Oh. And let me tell you something. I say I'm writing it. This book is writing me.
- [40:58]
B
I just got goosebumps because I know this.
- [41:01]
A
I've written three books before, and I used to be able to schedule time, sip, and just write this book. Nope. It finds me at all different times of the day. And when it hits me, I'm just like, okay, I've got to jot this
- [41:12]
B
down portal that opens up, and it's just, like, dumped in. And you're like, okay, let's do this.
- [41:18]
A
Yeah. And I don't know what's on the other side of it. I'm not writing it because I'm under some illusion that it's gonna be. And it doesn't even matter. I know who I'm writing it for, even if I've never met her before. And ultimately, I'm writing it for me.
- [41:30]
B
That's, like, the best gift you can give yourself.
- [41:33]
A
Yeah. It feels like it's. You just know. I mean, you've written a book before. Like, you just know when something's in you for so long, you're like, I gotta move this through me in some way because there's something else that's locked up in it. And for me, the way I process is through words. So I'm like, well, I gotta get it out there.
- [41:51]
B
There's so much data about how journaling is a thing that can get that ickiness out of you. Even the goodness and writing a book. So I'm also on this journey because I've, for the longest time have been trying to find like my thing. It was like the successful agency owner, but I was like, that wasn't me. Like, I didn't grow as big as I could have because I was stuck in it, just not being me. And I'm finally finding my path and I think it's like, I don't know if it's because of lived experience, I don't know if it's age, wisdom, probably all of it, but finally just having the conviction to be like, this is me and this is my lesson. And I'm writing this book for the 18 year old version of Renee that needs to know that, hey, these next couple decades are going to be gnarly and beautiful and here's how you can better navigate them. I think we all have a book in us, every single one of us, 100% multiple.
- [42:46]
A
We have a series, totally.
- [42:47]
B
It's the courage to be seen in all of this too. You can write a book and publish it and hope no one reads it, but what's the point? The whole idea is that you're creating stories in context and instilling possibility into people so that they're like, wait, this is me right now. Oh, and you got through that. That's cool. Let's go.
- [43:08]
A
Yeah. In stories, stories are the greatest form of connection. It allows you to experience something through a different lens, see parts of yourself or. I oftentimes find the things I've read the best. I've actually learned things and looked at people through a different lens and been like, oh, I never would have had that perspective. That's probably what so and so is feeling or experiencing. So it's not even just about us. And so I'm a huge believer. I mean, rooms change us, stories change us. And it was interesting because I know with the pink skirt coming up, but I think your years in pr, like, you actually are a connector and you are a conduit. So it's like bringing the people together. And in pr, that is what you're doing because you're putting people in front of audiences, communities and other people. Now you're bringing all of these incredible people into one room. And how women will be inspired that day. It's gonna be the stories from stage and it's gonna be the stranger that they meet. It won't be their bestie that they already know that they sat down next to. It's gonna be the woman that they've Never met before.
- [44:13]
B
Yeah. I can't wait. It's two days this year. The lineup is insane. Like, ask me four years ago if I ever thought this was possible. Like, not only are these women speaking on the stage, I've become friends with these women. I call them, we text. Never in my wildest dreams. And it was all because of the courage to be seen, the courage to ask, will you come speak at my event? I've never done it before. Like, this is last year, but trust me, I promise you, it'll be good. And you were there, and it was great. And now you get to grace the stage really close to Samantha Skelly in an epic lineup. Oh, my gosh. I can't wait. Okay. Could chat all day. And honestly, that was the fastest 49 minutes of my life, which is normal with you, Jen.
- [44:58]
A
A take us on a flight. I know.
- [45:00]
B
At least this time we're facing forward, not sideways. Okay, one last question that I ask every guest on the show. When I ask you what it means to be a wild woman, what is that for you?
- [45:08]
A
Oh, the wild woman is the audacious woman. She is the woman who shows up with the courage and the bravery and so much heart. That is the big thing this year. So much heart and just a lot of compassion.
- [45:20]
B
Yeah. My favorite quote is by Stevie Nicks, a paraphrase, but she says something along the lines is, if you are gracious, you've already won the game.
- [45:29]
A
That's it.
- [45:29]
B
And I 100% believe that.
- [45:31]
A
Me, too.
- [45:32]
B
So people want to go online to find you. Where can they go?
- [45:34]
A
The best place is on Instagram. It's enpike with two N's. And then my podcast, the Simplicity Sessions. YouTube is the same. And then anything else is jenpike.com or
- [45:44]
B
you can come to Pink Skirt Summit.
- [45:46]
A
Yes.
- [45:47]
B
July 9th and 10th in Kelowna, BC. Jen is gonna be on stage speaking her magic, preaching about everything that she's really great at, and also tying that into what that means to be seen, what that means to show up physically, emotionally, mentally, is like physically feeling your best self and why that's important for going on stages, for going on podcasts, for even just having the courage to, like, ask for what you actually want and letting go and releasing the stuff that we don't want to see you on stage in the pink skirt.
- [46:18]
A
I know. Me too. Oh, we're gonna see each other before that. Cause that's too long.
- [46:21]
B
Well, it's less than 60 days away, isn't it? No, 60 days away. I can't even count. Doesn't matter.
- [46:27]
A
It's soon.
- [46:28]
B
Yeah. So damn soon. It's like, go time for my team on this end. And it's funny, we were looking at, like, ticket sales this time leading up to the event compared to last year. And we're ahead. And I was like, oh, that's amazing.
- [46:41]
A
That's so awesome. That's another thing, like, for anybody who's never run an event before, we ran an event for five years in a row. That is a labor. And so kudos to you and your team because there are no rest days from day one of launch until you are on that stage every day. It's a lot of energy.
- [46:59]
B
It is. And I will say this. I love doing it. Comparison to, like, running a PR agency is there was never ever a finish line. The finish line was the end of the contract, so it was always on. But with an event. Mind you, we have a coaching program, but with the event, it's kind of like you cross the finish line the Monday after. I'm like, peace out, world for, like, 24 hours.
- [47:20]
A
But also your finish line is the biggest celebration.
- [47:23]
B
It is so much fun. Last year, we talk about, like, your pink skirt moments, and mine was that feeling at the end of the day. I remember women coming up to me and being like, this was so good. Renee, how do you feel about yourself? And it's funny, some people don't believe in, like, time, and they believe, like, the Matrix and all this stuff. And my reaction was, I already envisioned this moment. It already happened. So I know exactly how it was going to go. And yet there's still this sense of, like, it was exhilarating. There was so much pride in it. But I think the biggest thing was just what it did, was it brought out so much of the goodness in everybody in that room and this energy
- [48:01]
A
that we talked about. You could not be in that room on that day. You could not be on a break. You couldn't be out for lunch. You couldn't be in the downtown core because everyone was in pink without being in a good mood because there was hundreds of us there that were just flocking the streets. But this is the thing. Like, it didn't matter what mood you showed up in. That room was gonna pick you up no matter what.
- [48:21]
B
Yeah. That's the point. We release the belly fat.
- [48:24]
A
Yeah.
- [48:25]
B
At the pink scared summit. No guarantees. No guarantees. Well, July 9th and 10th, Kelowna BC go check it out. Pink skirtproject.com Jen, thank you so much for joining us.
- [48:35]
A
You're welcome.
- [48:39]
B
Wait before you go to support this show, please rate and review and share it with your business besties. It means the world to me to get this message in front of more women who are also on the pursuit of greatness. Tune in wherever you subscribe to podcasts, watch us on YouTube and follow me on Instagram renewarren this show is produced in partnership with Martell Media.