RR Podcast Ep 1: What is radical redirection?
Tune in to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
~ episode SUMMARY ~
What is Radical Redirection? Who is it for? How do you know whether you really need one?
So many of us find ourselves, in our late 20s and 30s, soul searching:
What am I meant to do?
What makes me special and unique?
Am I needed? Valuable? Is all of my work worthwhile?
And - how do I find that elusive happiness that I’m supposed to have by now?
This first episode sets the stage for the step-by-step process, which I call “Radical Redirection,” that can help you find answers to all of these questions.
This is how I pivoted my life, switched careers, turned burnout into joy, rediscovered my purpose, and created a life that I love - and now I want to share the steps with you, so that you can do the same.
Because we all deserve to be happy, healthy, and fulfilled.
P.S. For those of you who wonder how & why I got to Pixar - here’s the answer!
~ episode transcript ~
Hello, friends! Welcome to the Radical Redirection Podcast. I'm your host, Yekaterina Benson. I also go by Kat. I'm a life redirection coach who helps people align themselves with their true path that feels so good to be on and leads to their most fulfilling life. And I'm really excited you're here, because in this podcast you're going to learn so much more about yourself, what you truly want in life, and how to get there.
And in this first episode I'm going to introduce you to the concept of Radical Redirection: what it is, who might need one, plus my own Radical Redirection - how I changed my life, and a little bit more about me, what brought me here, and why I'm making this podcast right now.
Something that I truly believe in is that your version of an ideal life is possible for you. And that might sound triggering to some, that might sound disheartening or completely unrealistic. And I get you, because back when I was 16, if you told me that your ideal life is possible, I would not have believed you. I would have thought you're insane and don't know how the world works. But I'm currently the living proof of it being possible. I went from not believing in myself or in my dreams, or honestly, in any joy in life, to living my most fulfilled, adventure-ful, incredible reality. And I want to share the process of getting there with you.
And it's okay if hearing me say "ideal life" is triggering for you. That is normal, because, honestly, for most of us, we go through our lives facing so many difficulties, so many challenges, we have to survive a lot just to get to where we are. And all that survival, all of that struggle shapes our subconscious mind in a certain way that makes it want to seek safety, comfort, stability, which is usually the opposite of what our soul wants for fulfillment. And this is why so many of us don't see the path towards our ideal life, because our life experience has shaped our subconscious mind to seek safety instead of fulfillment, to follow the path of stability and smart choices instead of the path of our soul callings.
But I believe that the soul knows what it needs.
And the trick is to tune into that little voice, that quiet voice of intuition that's deep within you, to tune into it and hear it and learn what is your soul telling you. What do you truly need to be happy? What is your unique recipe for a fulfilling life? So that is what we are here to find out. The Radical Redirection Podcast will help you tune in to that voice of your soul, figure out exactly where it's trying to lead you and what steps you need to take to get there.
That's what I do! I help people find their own answers to questions like:
Who am I?
What is my purpose?
How can I feel fulfilled and happy as much as possible?
What's my unique mission in the world?
What's truly important to me, and how do I prioritize that in day to day life?
How do I overcome barriers and challenges like low confidence and low self worth and judgement from other people?
If you ever find yourself asking these questions, this podcast is for you, and you will find your answers if you implement the things that I am sharing.
So first, I wanted to tell you about my Radical Redirection story and how this all came to be.
When I was a teenager in high school, I loved art and painting, acting, theater, anything that was creative, anything that allowed me to express myself. But my family really wanted me to study finance, computer science, and do something really "smart" with my life. And so we compromised! I went to college to study computer graphics with a minor in computer science. The way I saw it, this major combined computers, which is what my family wanted me to do, with a little bit of acting (in a way) and a little bit of art. And so I went to college, I studied 3D animation, and I busted my butt every year to be as best at it as I could be.
And my efforts paid off! Shortly after graduation, I got accepted to my dream job at Pixar Animation Studios. I've made it! I did it! I'm not only surviving on my own, but I'm in the job of my dreams! It felt so good… at first.
But very soon after starting to work at Pixar I started getting these nagging feelings in the back of my brain, late at night or on weekends. Nagging feelings of: "This isn't quite it".
And even though my job was great - it paid well, I was working with really awesome people, I was making cool movies - it's somehow never felt like enough. And so I tried to work harder. I tried to give it even more of myself, work longer hours, take on more projects, even apply for a promotion simply to get that feeling of being rewarded and that I'm doing something meaningful with my life. But that feeling never came.
This confused me so much. I've achieved my biggest goal in life. Why am I not happy? It felt so odd because I spent my whole life getting here. I've truly achieved my dream. And you know, I felt so spoiled when I thought to myself that this isn't enough for me: this great company, good pay, wonderful people. Why is this not enough? Something must be wrong with me.
I spent so many nights and weekends journaling, and thinking, and wondering:
What is wrong?
Why am I broken?
Why doesn't this feel right?
Everyone else feels great here, they all love working here, but me? I just don't.
And eventually I did realize that if I don't change anything, I'll only feel worse.
This nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach was actually leading me somewhere very important. It was trying to show me that I'm not where I'm meant to be.
So I got really honest with myself.
I mapped out my life trajectory if I stayed at Pixar and kept working there. And I realized that even if I do my best, even if I work my hardest, in five to 10 years, I still won't be happy.
And that's how you know that you need a major pivot. A realignment. A Radical Redirection.
And so I pivoted my life! And that's how my redirection journey truly begins. I went from being in a leadership position at Pixar, doing such cool things, to realizing that it's not what I actually wanted. To then: looking for what is it that I truly want to do with my life? What is my vision for myself? What is my deeper mission? How do I want to impact the world and what would feel rewarding?
And eventually, through so much self discovery and such a winding path, I got to where I am now. Now I have two businesses. I'm a life coach and a painter. I sell art and I help people, and it feels so good to be an entrepreneur with my two soulful, super purposeful, meaningful businesses. But it took a while to get here.
And of course, it wasn't easy to abandon the career that felt so stable and paid me good money because I don't come from money. I come from a family of immigrants. I came to the United States when I was 10, and we were on food stamps for most of my teenage years.
And throughout my entire childhood, I got the same message from every adult in my family: “work really hard, make really smart choices and get a good stable job. And once you do, don't leave it. Stay there. Hold on for dear life because you need to survive.”
And here I am now, not doing any of that and feeling amazing!
So having this life path full of twists and turns, going from a steady life in a different country to poverty in a new country, to achieving my dreams, to realizing they're not exactly it, to finding my path, I am now confident in helping other people find their path as well. And here's the good news. If you find yourself in this place of, “I've reached my goals, but I'm not happy,” - that's actually a really good thing. It's an incredible opportunity. It's a moment when you can make a key decision: either keep going the way you were, and honestly, probably get burnt out at some point and more dissatisfied, or begin finding what will feel more aligned.
Just like if you're driving and you realize that you're lost, you don't just keep driving. You realize, "Uh oh, I need to stop, take out a map, and figure out how to get to where I actually want to go." But what's funny is, as obvious as that may seem, we don't do that enough in our lives.
There is this social norm of being completely dissatisfied with our lives. To the point of hating our existence. Do you ever notice this? None of us signed up for a life of waking up exhausted and dreading the day all week long. So why are we going along with this? Why are we settling for it? Why is it normal to have mental breakdowns about our work? Why is it okay to ignore our basic needs just to get more done?
Hating your life has become a social norm and we need to put an end to that. I'm drawing my line in the sand. I will not stand for that. I was not born to despise my job. I was not born to dread Mondays. And if you're listening to this, I know you feel the same way.
You were not born to make someone else wealthier at the expense of your mental health and life energy. You were not born to postpone happiness, chasing a paycheck that doesn't even keep up with inflation.
No.
We were born to have incredible lives, to have adventures, to help people, to heal the planet, to explore our talents and get paid for it, to make something meaningful, to grow and learn, to love and be loved.
What I'm offering you is a way to make that your reality. Step by step, episode by episode, we'll find the answers that you need to turn your life into something you're excited about, to turn the Monday dread into waking up so stoked because you know you're pursuing your mission and getting closer to the vision of an incredible future.
And I do believe the soul knows what it needs, no matter which way we go. So no matter how many times in life we find ourselves lost or confused, we can always find our way back to our true path.
And the universe works with our soul to get us exactly where we should be for our own growth. Take that as a good sign that you're listening to this right now! You're meant to be here. The universe conspires with our soul through either small whispers in the middle of the night: "This isn't it. This isn't where I should be. Try something else," or through big booming crises, such as layoffs, or losing a lot of money, or having to do something very different in your life.
So, think back to when you had a time like that in your life. A little nudge, or a big shove, in a different direction that actually turned out to be a good thing in the end. After some time passed, you realized, "hmmm. Actually, it brought me somewhere better."
That's an example of the universe and your soul working together to redirect you. And yes, very often it can be quite painful, but in this podcast, the process I'm going to lead you through helps you preempt the crises so that they don't happen. And instead, you can take a very intentional approach to pivoting your life and realigning it with your true needs without waiting for the crisis to strike.
In other words, we get to do it in a very gentle and intentional way, a way that helps you identify:
What you truly need,
Who you are at the core,
What kind of life would feel really good,
What kind of daily actions would bring you closer to what you truly want
And so we get to take real action steps that feel fulfilling and help you make progress and avoid the unpleasant growing pains that come when we are forced to grow or change too fast.
And that's just the thing - when we take our growth and our life path into our own hands, when we take the reins, it becomes more easeful. Change becomes more easeful, navigating challenges becomes smoother. And eventually you start seeing any change or challenge as a welcome sign, as a lesson or an opportunity to keep growing and keep getting closer to your vision while living a life that feels good day to day.
So that is what we are here to do.
What if your dream life is not too far off? How amazing would that be?
I want to show you the steps. And I promise, the process is gentle. We won't dig through the muck of old trauma. We won't jump off of cliffs in episode 1 or 2.
Just come with an open mind. Perhaps a journal. Perhaps a space to be alone by yourself. So you can truly think and reconnect with your inner core.
And for now, simply consider the possibility: what if your life can transform into something incredible that you're excited to wake up to every morning and where you are impacting the world in a way that's uniquely yours and feels so good while using your best talents that you discover along the way… and busting limiting beliefs, growing your confidence, and getting more anchored in your sense of self worth and bigness and power! What if that's all waiting for you as you listen to this podcast? How awesome would that be?
My goal here is to help you get to the bottom of exactly what you want in life: what do you want the next 5 to 10 to 20 years to look like, and how to get there, and make sure you have enough resources, energy, and time to make all of that a reality.
Along the way, you might learn more about yourself. You might become a little kinder to yourself, a bit more accepting. You'll gain new ideas for how to deal with those tough days. You might experience some much needed deep healing. And you'll definitely have some breakthrough insights.
And those are just some positive side effects of committing to a Radical Redirection.
And so with that, I'll catch you in the next episode! Let's find your special sauce and invite magic back into your life. You're ready.
One last thing:
I have a coaching program, also called Radical Redirection, in which I help folks like you with everything I've outlined in this episode, but with one on one support, guidance, and custom action steps based on their specific situation and needs. If you're fired up and ready for your Radical Redirection, I invite you to work with me one-on-one.
It's a four month program, we go super in depth, and I guide you through the whole process. If you're interested, I have a free masterclass that goes over the steps of radical redirection. Start there, and then reach out to me. All the links are in the show notes.
And of course, there's a free consultation before you commit. So I hope to hear from you soon!
Your purpose and potential are waiting.
➛ If you’re ready to create an exciting and beautiful vision for your future:
Free Workshop: Vision & Life Direction
I’ll guide you through a series of exercises and visualizations to get super clear on what you want in life, plus how to deal with common blocks that get in the way. Come ready to dream!
➛ If you want a deeper dive into the steps of HOW to redirect once you’ve made the decision:
Free Masterclass: Radical Redirection: How to follow your heart with practical steps!
A pre-recorded 90 minute workshop on the 7 ingredients of redirection and how to apply them to your life.
➛ If you’re not sure who you can be outside of your current job/career:
Article & thought exercise: “What You ‘DO’ vs Who You ‘ARE’”
(And why basing your identity on your job title is harmful in the long run!)
➛ If you’re READY for full one-on-one support with your redirection:
Apply for 1:1 coaching with me!
I’ll guide you through ALL of it: creating a vision, designing a strategy to get there, finding your key strengths and talents, discovering your life’s mission, and overcoming challenges along the way.
Also - have you downloaded my FREE guide to getting UNSTUCK?
