Podcast Summary

Leap Academy with Ilana Golan

Episode 145: From Pastor to Million-Dollar Days: Eileen Wilder on Charging Your Worth
Release Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Ilana Golan
Guest: Eileen Wilder

Episode Overview

In this inspiring episode, Ilana Golan sits down with Eileen Wilder, who went from two decades as a pastor on a humble salary to becoming a seven-figure coach and the “queen of stages.” Eileen shares her remarkable transition—pivoting careers, overcoming self-doubt, and learning to charge (and believe in) her worth. The discussion dives deep into practical frameworks for pricing coaching or consulting offers, cultivating the right mindset, and breaking free from the confines of conventional careers. The episode is filled with actionable exercises, behind-the-scenes stories, and heartfelt moments about purpose, regret, and reinvention.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Eileen’s Life Before the Leap

• Feeling Stuck Despite Outward Success
  • Eileen describes being near 40, broke, and in debt, despite a fulfilling career as an executive-level pastor.

    "I had loved my job for years prior, but I suddenly woke up and I don't know, I just suddenly felt like I was made for more." — Eileen [04:26]

• The Body Keeps the Score
  • Career stagnation led to physical symptoms; Eileen had to go on bed rest. This period forced her to reflect and discover online entrepreneurship.

    "My body started knowing, you need to make a shift... As soon as I made that career pivot... the energy came back." — Eileen [05:29]

The Discovery Phase: Finding New Possibilities

• Exposure to New Careers
  • On bed rest, Eileen discovers coaching and consulting via online seminars—an industry she previously thought only existed in sports.
  • The pivotal role of events in gaining knowledge and compressing time.

    "Events are life changing. Best compression of knowledge at speed, time compression." — Eileen [09:12]

• The Narnia Analogy
  • Eileen uses the "Chronicles of Narnia" wardrobe metaphor to describe stepping into an entirely new world of opportunity.

    "It felt like stepping through the wardrobe... and you find out it's like magical creatures." — Eileen [07:37]

First Steps in Coaching: Overcoming Fear and Taking Action

• ‘Janky’ Video & Booking Clients
  • Eileen records an unpolished video announcing her new life-coaching business, and despite her marketing inexperience, makes $17,000 in one week.

    "It was terrible, janky video... By the end of that week, I made $17,000 as a life coach." — Eileen [11:34]

• ‘Earn While You Learn’ Mindset
  • Emphasizes taking practical, somewhat messy steps forward—charging a little at first, raising prices after confidence and results.

Mindset Shifts: Self-Belief, Pricing, and Immersion

• ‘Playing Life as an Amateur’
  • Cites Steven Pressfield’s quote:

    "What ails you and I has nothing to do with being sick or being wrong. What ails you and I is that we're playing life as an amateur." — Eileen [06:42]

• The Power of Immersion
  • Attending in-person events accelerates belief and mindset change:

    "Immersion at an event is the best thing you could ever do for your life because it causes conversion of those limiting mindsets." — Eileen [14:18]

• Fear and Betting on Yourself
  • Publicly stepping out (posting a video, reaching out to contacts) was pivotal:

    "That step, for me, was the ultimate breakthrough in my life, is I was playing life as an amateur. I knew there was more." — Eileen [18:14]

Family, Freedom, and Regret

• Navigating Life's Challenges
  • Eileen’s mom’s illness allowed her to appreciate the freedom of online business—being present at her bedside while still earning:

    "I was able to go be by my mom's bedside...That was the biggest gift." — Eileen [20:26]

  • The pride in telling her mom about her first six-figure month before she passed:

    "I was able to tell my mom before she died, 'I just did my first six figure month.' She started crying and weeping..." — Eileen [20:26]

• The Value of Time and Not Living with Regret
  • Both Ilana and Eileen reflect on how loss and regret can fuel major life changes and prioritization of freedom.

The “Charging Your Worth” Framework

• The Premium Pricing Principle
  • Clients who pay more are more invested and get better results:

    "The more I charged, the more the clients paid attention." — Eileen [26:35] "People who pay, pay attention." — Eileen [27:15]

• Practical Exercise: Marinate in Your Magnificence [30:07–34:51]
  • Step-by-step guide:
    • Years of experience
    • Number of conferences, courses
    • Books read on the topic
    • Hours spent learning, journaling, prepping
    • Money invested in learning
    • Late nights, early mornings honing the craft
    • Quantifying what you’re offering and its unique shortcut value
  • Quote:

    "You are the Sherpa... People will pay you just to guide them through you." — Eileen [33:49]

Making the Million-Dollar Leap

• Breakthrough Model: High-Ticket Group Offers
  • From 1:1 calls to running masterclasses. Sold 6 tickets, 5 joined her $25k offer, resulting in a six-figure day.

    "Five people out of six jumped in to my $25K offer.... And I did a six figure day." — Eileen [39:34]

• Million Dollar Days
  • Realized she could repeat this formula, scaling her business to million-dollar days.

Overcoming Public Speaking Fears

• From Stage Fright to Queen of Stages
  • Once terrified of public speaking, Eileen learned it through study and repetition.

    "I used to actually have a deathly afraid of public speaking... But I learned that it could be learnable." — Eileen [43:20]

  • Both hosts agree conviction comes from mastery and belief in your own value.

Transformation, Community, and LeapCon

• Why Community Matters
  • Information is free, but immersive, supportive communities enable true transformation.
• What Eileen Looks for in LeapCon
  • Values the renowned community, speakers, and holistic approach.

Final Message: Embracing Fear and Acting Anyway

• If You’re Stuck or Scared:

  "I think if we're not scared, we're doing it wrong.... Fear is telling us what we're supposed to do.... If it kind of scares you but you're seized with love, go." — Eileen [48:00]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Eileen on charging premium prices:

  "If you love them, you will actually be enabling dysfunction if you charge too little." [27:12]

• Ilana on outcome vs. hours:

  "It’s actually the value of the outcome that I deliver. If you can articulate the value of the outcome that you deliver, people will pay you premium because at the end of the day, they need the results." [36:05]

• Eileen on replicating success:

  "The coolest sensation came to me where I realized, oh my gosh, I could just do this again." [40:32]

• On public speaking:

  "Everyone here could learn to be a powerful, dynamic speaker." — Eileen [44:08]

Segment Timestamps

• [04:26] Eileen describes her “stuck” phase and loss of passion
• [05:29] On physical symptoms prompting a life reevaluation
• [09:12] “Events are life changing”: the catalyst for her leap
• [11:34] The first unpolished coaching video nets $17k
• [14:18] Immersion and mindset change at live events
• [20:26] Caring for her ill mother while building her coaching business
• [26:35] Epiphany: “The more I charged, the more they paid attention”
• [30:07]–[34:51] 'Marinate in Your Magnificence' exercise
• [39:34] The masterclass model: closing 5 out of 6 at $25K
• [43:20] From terrified to top public speaker
• [48:00] How to know you’re on the right path: fear as a signal

Concrete Advice on Pricing Your Offer

[50:43] Q&A Segment — "How do I price my services?"

• Shift the question: Not “What am I worth?” but “What is the result worth to my client?”
  • Quantify the value of the result (money saved, time saved, pain avoided, dream achieved)
  • Price as a percentage of that value—$10K–$100K offers are justified for major transformations
  • Illustrative examples, including addiction coaching as massive long-term value

Actionable Takeaways

• Audit your own experience and learning (use Eileen's exercise)
• Don’t undervalue your shortcut or impact
• Charge more to serve deeper and get better client outcomes
• Prioritize community and immersive, live learning for breakthroughs
• Replace “What am I worth?” with “What outcome am I creating, and what is it worth?”
• Embrace fear as proof you’re on the right track

Closing Thoughts

Eileen and Ilana offer a playbook for anyone stuck, scared, or uncertain about charging their worth—whether leaping from corporate, ministry, or any established career. The episode delivers a mix of strategy, empathy, actionable frameworks, and contagious encouragement.