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"Mick Unplugged" is a transformative podcast that challenges listeners to move beyond the conventional 'Why' and embrace the empowering realm of 'Because.' Hosted by Mick Hunt, the voice of Modern Leadership, this podcast is designed for leaders, doers, and anyone aspiring to create meaningful impact in both their personal and professional lives.
Each episode delves into the principles of Modern Leadership, focusing on discovering your 'Because'—your core driving force—and how it can turn dreams into reality and aspirations into actionable steps. With practical advice, real-life stories, and forward-thinking insights, you’ll learn to make your 'Because' a daily focus, fueling your journey toward success and fulfillment.
Whether you’re looking to deepen your motivation, set meaningful goals, or apply modern leadership theories to overcome challenges, "Mick Unplugged" provides the tools, strategies, and insights to guide your path. Subscribe now and start transforming your life with purpose and modern leadership principles.
Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Mick Unplugged. We'll help you identify your because so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful. You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary.
Intro:So let's unleash your potential. Now, here's Mick.
Mick Hunt:Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Mick Unplugged. And today, we're diving into the world of conscience leadership, personal transformation, and the power of embracing the perfectly imperfect. Our guest is a visionary who's redefining success and empowerment, blending neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and spiritual wisdom to elevate and expand the lives of leaders, visionaries, and entrepreneurs worldwide. We're gonna explore the journey of a remarkable figure in the realm of coaching, speaking, and transformative change. Please welcome the incomparable, the powerful, Kelly Lynn Adams.
Mick Hunt:Kelly, welcome to the show.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Mick, it is an honor and a privilege to be here.
Mick Hunt:I love it. And you know how we do, Kelly. We like to talk to our guests about the power of their because, the power of their journey. And and one of the things that I love following you is no matter what, you keep going. No matter what, you have a message that's clear.
Mick Hunt:That's what I love. Right? Like, Kelly is is dynamic. Kelly is powerful. So I'd love for you briefly to talk to people about your journey, like who you are, what you're doing, and and why Kelly is Kelly?
Kelly Lynn Adams:Yes. I love that, Mick. And you're so absolutely right. I would say resilience is my superpower. And just from all the struggles, and I'm sure everyone listening will have a struggle or 2.
Kelly Lynn Adams:However, my journey started on Wall Street, climbed the corporate ladder then for 20 plus years in the fashion industry and retail, and I was doing finance strategy and HR. And I burned out and went in the hospital because I was overworking. I had a work addiction and I always wanted to be, like, recognized. Right? The harder I worked, the more recognized I was.
Kelly Lynn Adams:So was out of work and out of commission, really didn't get out of bed for 2 months and I was like, what am I doing? And at that point, I was climbing the corporate ladder and I was building my coaching and speaking business. So I was working all the time, but I did I did play hard as well, and I got to make a decision. I was like, what does Kelly want? What what am I here for?
Kelly Lynn Adams:And it was really to leave a legacy. I know that sounds very general, but leave the legacy for the next generations to come, but I wasn't modeling that. And so I really got to do more of the healing work around a lot of my struggles and triumphs and overcame them. And then I went full time in my coaching and speaking business and there's a whole lot I could tell through that journey, but, yeah, I'm just I'm really here to to make an impact. Right?
Kelly Lynn Adams:I think there's so many people that are struggling or going through things or that really wanna amplify their life, and you can. Anything's possible.
Mick Hunt:That's right. I always say behind every influential leader, there's a powerful because. There's there's that moment. I know you were going there. Right?
Mick Hunt:Like, there's that moment. Like, there's that why behind the why. What's Kelly's because? Like, what drives you every day to empower others on this journey with you?
Kelly Lynn Adams:My because is just to love people so deeply. Even when I'm coaching and speaking, it's like this yearning that I see in a lot of people. It's just they wanna be loved. We all just wanna be loved. And a lot of us are going through certain things.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Right? Like, I just went through, a passing of my grandma, my last grand grandparent. And so we'll have these things in life that come up, and sometimes we're not seizing the moment or, you know, it's it's just I think and and in coaching, this is a I'll step back and say, there's 3 things that I always tell my clients that people want. They wanna feel seen, they wanna feel heard, and they wanna feel acknowledged. So what does that all boil down to?
Kelly Lynn Adams:It's love. So that is my mission is really to, like, lead with love in every situation that I enter, in every room I enter, in every conversation I enter, even if it's a tough conversations, because when I coach, I I am tough, but it's in the service of transformation.
Mick Hunt:I love that. I'd love to go a little bit deeper on seen, heard, and acknowledged. And and for everybody that is listening, I'm I'm writing a bunch of notes, and I hope you are too because Kelly's dropping a lot of good nuggets here for us. So break that down. They wanna be seen.
Mick Hunt:They wanna be heard. They wanna be acknowledged. Like, how do you go deeper into that?
Kelly Lynn Adams:Why do we do what we do? Why do you do what you do? People buy luxury items. Why? Right?
Kelly Lynn Adams:I come from a luxury space. A lot of times it was like, oh, to feel a certain way, to impress someone else, to enjoy the luxury. Right? They want to feel that that scene or that acknowledgment, that importance. Being heard sometimes, right, you and I both know that when we speak, sometimes we can speak and have all the greatest intentions, but it's actually what the other person hears.
Kelly Lynn Adams:So I might be talking on this podcast right now, and people may be listening to their own consciousness or their own perspective. However, it's really great to be like, okay, what did you hear? Because I think a lot of people, I'm not gonna speak for everybody, sometimes they're not heard or they're not listened to, or they're not shown appreciation and love. And it can be in the professional setting and the personal setting. And sometimes we just go through life.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Right? And there's so much noise now. Right? With social media, Amazon Prime, Venmo, like, where it's AI, all the fast, fast, fast, fast, fast. And so it causes, right, this, well, do you see me?
Kelly Lynn Adams:Do you hear me? Do I even matter? And so that, I think, to the core is, like, the love. Right? Like I just wanna be I just wanna be loved.
Kelly Lynn Adams:And it's also the conversation of am I good enough? Am I worthy enough? And so whenever I dive deeper with clients in a coaching situation or even in conversation, it's like, am I loved? Am I good enough? It's like that always comes up to some level if we really dive deeper down.
Kelly Lynn Adams:And the answer is always yes. Right? Because you see a baby when we see a 2 year old. Right? We're like, oh my gosh.
Kelly Lynn Adams:It was just it's just pure love, pure innocence. And so we were all 2 years old at one point, and then, you know, life lives and we start to experience life and things, you know, happen for us. Because when we come and I like to talk about and I'm sure the listeners know about, like, the dash. It's that poem where you enter the world and then you leave this world, and then everything in between, you create your own dash. Life is the dash.
Kelly Lynn Adams:So it's like, how are you living your life? And, if you're not feeling love, how can you actually give it to yourself? So, it's also like a conversation of, can I re parent myself? Can I actually give myself what I need now? Once that is answered, and and we're all gonna have, right, those moments.
Kelly Lynn Adams:There's seasons where I'm like, oh, I don't feel loved. I don't feel enough. I don't feel confident. I don't feel worthy. It's like, oh, let me remind myself.
Kelly Lynn Adams:I was a 2 year old. I you know, I am the baby. I am the child. So I know we're getting down kind of a rabbit hole, but I think people really need to hear that because a lot of times, either we're getting beat down or life is lifing and we're different seasons. Like, some people might might be flying high right now and it's like every day is the best day of my life.
Kelly Lynn Adams:And then some people are like, you know, I'm I'm just getting through it. And I always like to say there's not a bad day, there may be a bad hour, there may be a bad minute, but we can always change. We have the power and the choice and the decision to change in every moment. So that's what I really when I was going through when my grandmom was, like, dying, it was a really tough situation. And I was like, okay.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Like, there and I was seasons. Every day was like a roller coaster. It's like I get to choose. I get to feel my feelings. I had to go through this experience, and I get to also be in celebration of life.
Kelly Lynn Adams:So it's a choice and and and the powers and the perspective always.
Mick Hunt:Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. I love that. And and following like like I do and and and seeing all the things that you've either published that you're doing on social, I know that love, trust, family, and connections are core to your values.
Mick Hunt:Right? Like, they're your core values or core to your heart. How do you use those values, and how do they shape your approach to coaching and leadership?
Kelly Lynn Adams:Yeah. I always say the person in front of me is the most important person. Or if I'm on a stage, the people in the room are the most important person. Right? So really leading with those values and making them nonnegotiable.
Kelly Lynn Adams:So if something comes in and it's like, nope, that it's not aligned to my values, I can make decisions quicker. So it's an intuitional thing at this point. I always tell people listen to your intuition because you can have a mentor, you can have a coach, you can have the person who is the master genius of x, y, and z. If it doesn't sit well with you and that's why it's, like, always know what your values are. And if you don't know what they are, you kinda know what your gut says, right, in each situation.
Kelly Lynn Adams:So even if you don't have these, like, 5 or 3 core values, it's like, okay. What what am I feeling in this moment? So that always leads me whenever I take opportunities, whenever I'm asked something, however I move in the world. It's like, okay, what is true for me? And I take a step back and then I decide from there.
Kelly Lynn Adams:But intuition has never steered me wrong, and I just always trust. And sometimes I have not trust myself and it's been, a situation of rebuilding that trust with myself. Right? And not having, oh, if I made a wrong decision, not making me bad or wrong or anything like that. So that has also been a lesson for me.
Mick Hunt:I love it. So I know you talked about resiliency being one of your superpowers. I think one of your other superpowers is helping individuals break through glass ceilings as you like to call it. Right? Can you share a story of how you've helped someone conquer something that they didn't believe that they had in them?
Mick Hunt:Or, you know, you talk about having bad moments and days and how you can get someone out of that rut and and get them to where they need to go.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Yeah. So one of my clients, very successful. She was actually speaker and very, very successful. Like you would never, you know, she had it all together. Right?
Kelly Lynn Adams:For the outside of when you look outside in. Yet she was very, very, like, traumatized actually to not traumatized, but she was every time she entered a virtual room or a stage, she would she would actually be like, okay, who is judging me right now? Like, it was this overwhelming sense of who's judging me? And it was, like, getting in the way of her talking and speaking and really showing up fully, even to the point where she was looking also, like, at her, like, just her image, how much she weighed, what she looked like, what her hair looked like. It was holding her back from a lot of things.
Kelly Lynn Adams:And so, again, diving deeper, it's like, okay, well, what what is occurring here? Right? And and we found out, it's like, okay, some of the things happened in childhood. Right? And that, like, the bullying, there was bullying going on, there was all these things.
Kelly Lynn Adams:And so that's why, like, the things that are happening for you is really to strengthen you, you know, for the resilience. So when we found out where it was stemming from, what I do in my coaching is I do a little bit of what we call, like, experiential coaching where it's like, okay, we're going to actually face the issue with the issue. Right? So it's like building that muscle. So, what we do is I have her speak even more.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Right? Go to more events, get on more stages. Till it was like, oh, that that muscle of confidence and because she did it over and over and over and over again and lowering the noise in her head. So, it's more of like, what's in your head, but also practical of being in the situation. My whole premise is, it's definitely mind, body, and soul.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Like, I think the mind is powerful and the and the body is equally powerful and the soul. Right? So it's putting all those 3 in alignment and then just doing the thing. So she overcame that. She and that that's what I would consider a breaking the glass ceiling.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Also, you know, I work with women in making more money in their glass ceiling of break okay. What how much more do you wanna make? It's really who you're being. People like, okay. Well, I wanna get to the $1,000,000 mark or the $1,000,000,000 mark.
Kelly Lynn Adams:It's like, well, who are you being in order to get to what you want to get to?
Mick Hunt:I'm gonna take that a step further because one of the things that I tell people is or I ask of them, is this something you want or something you must have? Because if it's something you must have, there's a inner grit that drives you to get there. If it's something you want, you write it down, but you don't work towards it. If it's a must have, then that's really gonna drive you to where you need to go. So I I parallel that with you completely.
Kelly Lynn Adams:That is definitely a drive. And it's like because at the end of the day, when we all die, no one's gonna remember us, like, 2 years after or 10 years after. So it's like, what impact? And that's what drives me. It's like, what impact do I wanna make when I leave this earth?
Kelly Lynn Adams:Like, what is the mark that I wanna leave? But also in my life, like every day. Like, how am I creating? How am I being a ripple effect in other people's lives and in this world right now? And you find that everyone has that grit.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Everyone can call upon a moment where they're like, oh, no. I've gotten up to I've gotten this far. I I could do it. Right? And some people, like, in the brain, and and and I'm sure you know this.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Right? The the brain deletes and distorts and then is like, okay. I'm gonna find everything that why I can't. It's like, nope. Finding evidence every day, becoming like an FBI agents of the evidence of what you have overcome to get up to the point.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Because everyone, I don't care if you're in a a state of huge depression right now, you have gotten up to this point, so you have gotten here. Yeah. And I I love to tell people that or or really, you know, show people too and myself, like, I've gone through huge anxiety and depression. And it's like, you know what, Kelly? I'm gonna find evidence of how I've gotten up to this point and wins and accomplishments and really celebrating.
Kelly Lynn Adams:That's another tool that I bring my clients through is, like, can you celebrate and appreciate and gratitude and all of that, like, every single day, even if it's for, like, 5 minutes or a minute or 20 seconds?
Mick Hunt:Yeah. You have to celebrate small wins. We're all winners at heart. And if you don't celebrate the small wins, you're only looking for big ones, which don't come as frequently as the small wins do. So I totally love that too.
Mick Hunt:And for those that don't follow Kelly, definitely make sure you're following Kelly because one of the things that I love, and I want Kelly to unpack this, you talk about the role of inner freedom. Right? And personal freedom is something that is constantly woven into your work. So talk about that inner freedom or that personal freedom and and how you're guiding your clients into this conversation.
Kelly Lynn Adams:A story of actually what an exercise one of my coaches had me do. And, you know, I'm I'm here. I'm speaking. I'm coaching. I'm showing up.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Everyone thinks, oh, if you go to my social media, you're so visible. You write for articles and all the things. And so my coach is like, he's like, you're not being visible enough. Like, what do you what do you mean? Like, there was something still, like, like, the judgment of people still.
Kelly Lynn Adams:There's, like, that layer. Right? We all, like, oh, like, am I being judged? So what he had me do was he's like, no. I want you to act like a fool.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Like like, who cares what people think? So he had me go on this was it 5 yeah. 5 day challenge where I had to act like a fool. I had to pick a playground where children were in the prime time and literally scream and jump and dance and, like, like, act like really wild. And so and I had to videotape myself.
Kelly Lynn Adams:And so and then, like, send it to him. And I was like, I'm not doing that. Like, I'm a 40 year old I am not doing that. And like, why? That's so embarrassing.
Kelly Lynn Adams:I'm like, what if they think I'm, you know, legit? Like, what if the cops think I'm crazy? So the first day I drive to a park, you know, children's park, and there was a wedding going it was a Sunday wedding going on, all these people, and I'm like, I am not getting out. It took me an hour and a half to even get out of my car. And then so this is when I was like, oh my gosh.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Then it took me another I got out of the car. It took me another 45 minutes to get into the park. And then and then I was waiting for, like, the wedding party to leave. I was waiting for, like, all these people to, like, die dead. No.
Kelly Lynn Adams:It was just more people kept coming on a Sunday afternoon. And I was like, I am not and then I saw a cop, like, walk, you know, the park ranger or whatever. I'm like, I am not doing this. So I was like, Kelly, just do it because I I owed this video. I screamed, I danced, I act like a fool for a minute because I am like, I this is like ridiculous.
Kelly Lynn Adams:And I was like, oh my gosh. It was like a full that's why I said body and mind. Sometimes the mind is saying no, I'm not doing that. Mind is like that is not safe, that is not comfortable, but and the body is like holding me back. Day 2, you know, day 3, day 4, it actually got easier.
Kelly Lynn Adams:So I didn't get out of my car. I waited 30 minutes to get out of my car day 2, and I did the same I didn't go to the same park. So what that did was, like, oh, I don't care. People were looking and people were, like, what is she do? You know, I'm sure.
Kelly Lynn Adams:I was like, I don't care. Day 5 came and I was like in the middle of the street. I didn't care. Like, I was just like, whatever. It's day 5.
Kelly Lynn Adams:I'm gonna do it and I don't like, and so it it just opened up this internal freedom of being like, you know what? You're always being judged. We're being judged right now. The brain judges for safety and security. Like, is that a threat?
Kelly Lynn Adams:Is that not a threat? So you will always be judged. So if we're always being judged, how are you going to create a path that has you be as free as you can? And there's different layers to it. Right?
Kelly Lynn Adams:Because right now, if someone was like, okay. Go do this. You know, there's different layers to the the onion. It's not like, oh, I'm I'm all about inner freedom. It's like, but I'm chipping away at it.
Kelly Lynn Adams:And that's what you get to do, right, in life. You just become more and I don't know. For me, I found the older that I've gotten, I'm like, you know what? The less cares I have. Right?
Mick Hunt:I love it. That's that's awesome. So what song were you singing
Kelly Lynn Adams:each song? I had a song.
Mick Hunt:Singing and singing. I was like, no. Like, I
Kelly Lynn Adams:had a scream and there is no song. There was no, like, hide behind anything. There was just I had to scream and jump and, like, celebrate. I was like, oh my gosh. This is that's why I'm like, they're gonna all think I'm crazy.
Kelly Lynn Adams:And I would challenge the listeners, you know, where can you really step into a little bit more free? Because that is shattering your own glass ceilings too. It's another layer. Like, where do you care? Where do you feel like you're being judged?
Kelly Lynn Adams:Or where can you just do something so spontaneous that we don't wanna, you know, don't get fired or anything or don't, you know but where can that freedom, right, exist and live within you? Because, again, going back to the 2 year old, they don't care. They play with sticks and dirt and they're like, and they don't they just they're just they're just free. They're just alive. Right?
Kelly Lynn Adams:So we all And
Mick Hunt:no one judges the 2. Yeah. Right? Yeah. So they're not gonna judge you.
Mick Hunt:That's that's Kelly's message. No one's gonna judge you. One more thing, Kelly. You talk about conscious leadership. What does that mean to you and and how is that evolving?
Mick Hunt:How are you seeing conscience leadership evolve in society today?
Kelly Lynn Adams:You know, what it means to me, conscious leadership, is that everyone is coming in with their own perspective. So how can we listen more? How can we understand more? Even if we agree to disagree, how can we just be more loving and more empathetic in everything that we do? So it's just being more open and listening.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Right? And just being curious. Like, oh, I wonder why that person is acting the way that they are, or I wonder why that comment was made, or I wonder why that action was taken. So just with that level of consciousness of of just being curious, like, can you be curious even if someone maybe triggers you or rubs you the wrong way or get curious about it. So to me, that's what consciousness and conscious leadership is.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Like, that's one layer of it and one level is can we get curious because you are gonna have things that, you know, rub you the wrong way or trigger you because we're all we're all we all have different perspectives. So, we can just be more curious and listen, emotions will come up, but just get curious even also when those emotions come up. So that's what it means to me, and I see that in the world, and some people are like, well, I don't see that. Right? But and it's also what you choose to focus on.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Right? So, if you want to focus on, say, you want to drive a white Mercedes Benz and you put that in your consciousness, I bet you today you're gonna see 5 white Mercedes Benz in wherever you go if you go outside. Right? So it's it's okay. It's training yourself to see the world how you wanna see it and then create that and co because we're we are always creating.
Kelly Lynn Adams:We are consciously creating every moment. So how can we consciously create and and then be that ripple effect in the world?
Mick Hunt:I love it because I tell salespeople almost that same thing every day. Right? If you're trying to elevate your sales career and you're trying to grow, you've gotta look in different places. Because if you only see $1,000 deals, that's all you're gonna see. That's purposely all you're gonna see.
Mick Hunt:But if you wanna start doing $100,000 deals, half a $1,000,000 deals, go start looking for them, and I promise you, that's all you're gonna see. But you have to have the confidence and the courage to start looking bigger. So for salespeople, for leaders out there, start looking bigger. And the more you focus on it, the more that that's all you're gonna see. So I love that.
Mick Hunt:I love
Kelly Lynn Adams:that. Yeah. And that's shattering your own glass ceiling. Right? It's like how what's the what's the next ceiling that you can go to to then, like, okay.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Yeah. What's possible? Anything. Because it's all out there. The $1,000,000 deals, it's all out there.
Mick Hunt:What are three tips that you would give the listeners or the viewers right now? Like, what are three things that that people can do if you're trying to break that glass ceiling and whether that glass ceiling is depression, a new career, finding your purpose? Right? What what are 3 tips that Kelly would give people today to break your glass?
Kelly Lynn Adams:Be curious. 2, do something different. That could just mean getting outside for 5 minutes. Chain change something up. Do something different.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Number 3, love yourself unconditionally.
Mick Hunt:That's the big one. That got me right there, Kelly. Love yourself unconditionally. So for everyone listening, it starts with loving you. If you don't love you, how can anything else help in anyone else?
Mick Hunt:Freaking love that, Kelly. That was awesome. So how can people find you? Where can they follow you? What's the next thing you have in come what's the next thing you have coming up?
Kelly Lynn Adams:Yeah. I have a lot of things coming up, but everyone can just go to my website at kellylynnadams.com, and then go from there.
Mick Hunt:And we'll have the link in the description of the podcast drop too. So everyone, kellylynnadams.com. Kelly, thank you for being amazing. You're awesome. You're a rock star.
Mick Hunt:I can't wait to evolve our friendship. Like, you're one of the people that I follow the most on on social and loving everything you're doing on LinkedIn and Instagram. So thank you for imparting wisdom in me even though you may not know it, but I appreciate you.
Kelly Lynn Adams:Oh, thank you, Mick, for having me. This has been an honor, truly. And thank you so much for all you're doing with this podcast. It's absolutely incredible.
Mick Hunt:I appreciate it. You know, for everyone listening, remember, your because is your superpower. I appreciate it.
Intro:Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged. We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches stay inspired, and stay unplugged.