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April 22, 2025 22 mins

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Vulnerability and leadership often feel at odds with each other. As someone who's built her reputation as "the SOS girl" – the one everyone calls during their darkest moments – I've struggled with a profound question: how do I ask for help when I'm drowning?

This raw, unfiltered exploration takes you through the emotional tug-of-war between maintaining professional credibility and embracing authentic vulnerability. I share a personal story about shifting instantly from seeking support to providing it during a mastermind call, highlighting the strange energy exchange that happens when you're accustomed to being the helper. The experience forced me to confront whether I've been selfish with clients by waiting for them to make decisions when sometimes they simply need direction.

My sensitivity – the quality that sometimes overwhelms me – is precisely what makes me effective at supporting others. Good coaches sit in the mud with clients, and my capacity to feel deeply gives me the empathy to notice subtle shifts in others. This realization has transformed how I view emotional intelligence, not as weakness but as profound strength. Similarly, I've come to appreciate that our greatest lessons come from our losses, not our wins. As my high school dance coach wisely observed – winners don't learn because they don't know why they succeeded, but losers gain clarity about what needs improvement.

Whether you're a coach, leader, parent, or friend, this episode will resonate if you've ever struggled with the balance between helping others and seeking help yourself. What kind of support do you need when you're struggling? How do you maintain authority while showing vulnerability? I'd love to hear your thoughts – reach out on social media @janaswan with your insights on navigating this delicate balance.

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Themes: Emotional Mastery, Mindset, Storytelling, Confidence, Health & Productivity, Creativity, Communication Skills, Business, Movement, Meditation, Mindfulness, Manifestation, Resilience, Letting Go, Surrender, Feminine Energy, Masculine Energy, Love, Personal Growth.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
how do you ask for help?
That's the big question.
How?
How do I ask for help when I'mthe SOS girl?
I'm always the one everyoneturns to when things really get
bad.
I'm the one that you call outof nowhere three times in a row

(00:23):
because it'll push through to myphone, no matter what, and I'm
going to pick it up.
So who do I go to?
Maybe you are like me, maybeyou're that person who solves
everyone else's problems, whoshows up to calm them and
co-regulate them.

(00:44):
So who do we turn to and how dowe ask for help?
How do we show up in anauthoritative position and
establish credibility online asa leader in an industry and
someone who's able to hold thatspace for someone else, yet be

(01:04):
honest enough to say that westruggle too?
Who do I go to?
It's such a feeling ofjuxtaposition, but I know it's
just energy, because on a calljust about an hour or so ago,

(01:27):
I'm opening up about you knowwith my mastermind that I'm in a
very trustworthy group that Iknow share the burden when it is
requested.
So opening up and sharing howI'm struggling and feeling
myself shift into that femininewhere I'm just highly emotional

(01:48):
and letting my wall down andbeing super vulnerable.
And then my time's done andit's the next person and they
start to open up about theirstruggles.
And I feel it.
It's an immediate shift whereI'm no longer focused on what
I'm going through and I shiftinto more of that masculine

(02:09):
energy, where I begin to groundand hold space, begin to really
open up and listen and take itin.
And it's the total opposite andand it happens in an instant,
because the moment it's notabout me and it's about that
other person something shiftsand then you get off the call

(02:32):
and it's right back in to justfeeling all of your own things
and I don't know.
I'm not going anywhere withthis.
I am honestly asking thesequestions actively right now and
I'm sitting here journaling.
But how do I ask for help?
Because each of those people onthe mastermind call have all

(02:56):
reached out to me since to say Ican book a flight right now, I
can be there.
Do you need to get on a phonecall?
How can I help?
Right now, I can be there.
Do you need to get on a phonecall?
How can I help?
I am here and I don't know howto ask.
I don't even know what to askfor.

(03:19):
And it reminds me in thesemoments of what my clients are
going through.
It reminds me they don't knowhow to ask for help.
So I have been doing adisservice Because they're

(03:40):
sitting there begging for help,because I am selfish and I
forget what it feels like to bedrowning.
I forget that sometimes someonewho's drowning doesn't need
someone to ask them for consentto grab their hand and pull them
out.
They just need someone to do it.

(04:03):
They need someone to lead them,tell them I'm here, I got you.
I'm always waiting for people tomake the decision for
themselves, and someone sograciously informed me how
selfish I'm being Because peoplein the position that they're in

(04:25):
when they come to me, they'renot in a position to make a
decision like that.
They're in a position wherethey need to be led, they need
to be told what's best for them.
And so I'm in thisjuxtaposition, one being in this
space myself, yet still knowingthat, even though I'm going

(04:48):
through my own battles, I canand do still show up just as
well for my clients, and I canand do still get transformation
for them, because they are allstill walking powerfully on this
planet.
So I know what I do issomething that needs to continue
to happen, even when I'mstruggling, because my capacity,

(05:14):
my deep capacity to be able tofeel like this is what gives me
the deep capacity to be able toheal with others.
A good coach is a coach who cansit in the mud with you, and I

(05:35):
don't see my sensitivity toemotion as a weakness.
I see it as a strength.
That sensitivity is the samesensitivity that gives me the
empathy to be able to reallynotice when someone is off, when

(05:56):
they're not themselves, to beable to say something.
And I'm so grateful to havepeople in my life who can do the
same, who can immediatelynotice you're different, and
they can reach out and sayyou're not, okay, let's talk.

(06:20):
But how do we continue to makeprogress, showing up as a
credible leader, someone who canhold space at a high level and
yet still be honest and shareour struggles with our audience?
Where is that balance?

(06:44):
I don't ever know if I'm doingit right.
All I know is I'm doing my bestand that's all that matters.
And my best and your best aregoing to be different, and
they're going to be differenteach and every day, because
today, 100% can be 100%,tomorrow, 80% can be 100%, but

(07:11):
all I know is that I want to bethe same person online as I am
in person, because it is thegreatest feeling in the world
when you get to meet someone inperson at an event, who follows
you online, who you don't evenknow follows you online, who
says, oh my God, you are exactlythe same in person as you are

(07:34):
online.
That is the greatest compliment, because our content is only
showing slivers, tiny, tinyfractions of moments, and it can
be a balance.
A balance is a really hardbalancing act to do of how many

(08:00):
highlights and how manylowlights and what does that
look like?
And sometimes we go throughseasons of business where
there's a lot of lows, and thenother times we go through
seasons of business where thereare a lot of lows and then other
times we go through seasons ofbusiness where there are a lot
of wins.
The one thing I know is that, tobe able to show up in a way

(08:26):
that is in alignment andcongruent, I put myself in shoes
that are yours the listener.
How do I want the listener, orthe reader or, you know, the
viewer, whatever it is, whateverkind of platform it is, what do
I want you to feel.
What kind of connection to medo I want you to have?

(08:47):
And I truly thought about this.
And when I meet people inperson, I want them to feel like
I'm that sister to them and, ifnot, that I'd either like to be
the future version of them orjust a reflection of who they

(09:09):
are in that moment, are in thatmoment, because the truth is, we
are all just mirrors.
If you see someone and you'relike, oh my God, she's awesome,
that's because you're awesome.
It's like, pick up on it, ittruly is.
If you see someone and you'relike she's a little bit of a,

(09:32):
that's because you're that too,and you're just seeing yourself.
We are simply mirrors, and Ijust know that.
The one thing that I don't enjoywhen I meet people online or
people in person that I have mayhave started to follow me
online is that celebrity energy.
I don't really want that.

(09:53):
It's never a pedestal that Iwant to be put on.
I'm scared of heights.
Did I tell you that?
No, I'm just kidding.
I truly just want it to feellike a sisterhood, like a best
friend, like a future version ofyourself.
I want you to be able to walkup and say hello and introduce
yourself to me and us both feellike we've known each other for

(10:15):
a lifetime.
That's what I want you to feeland that's why I stopped like
overly curating this podcast.
It is a conversation.
It is not even a conversationbecause it's kind of one-sided.
So, if anything, it's aconversation with me and my own
personalities inside my head.

(10:35):
But I just wanted to be us,just you and me.
You just getting a little bitof a private voice note.
I don't know, they're prettylong for voice notes, but I
don't know, do you have friendslike that that send you voice
notes?
I feel like podcasts.
I know I have some girlfriendslike that.
I'd be like ooh, eight minutesand I'd grab a tea and settle

(11:00):
into the couch and getting offtopic here.
So how do you ask for help?
Well, it's kind ofself-descriptive, right, you ask
, but I think it's not how weask for help that we're really
stuck on.
It's the.
What kind of help are we askingfor?

(11:22):
What do I really need help with?
What's going to make adifference?
And sometimes it's just beingseen and heard and understood.
So set up some time with agirlfriend to just chat with her
.
Set up a time to just journalto yourself and how can friends

(11:46):
help.
It doesn't always have to beactive, it doesn't have to be,
it doesn't have to be anythingloud, it can be gentle and it
can be subtle and sometimes itcan just be dropping in every

(12:07):
now and again to say I see youand I know this shit sucks, but
we'll get through it together.
I'm glad that I still have theseexperiences.
I'm glad that I still havethese experiences.

(12:30):
I'm glad I have these momentsof pain and struggle.
And, yes, universe, I knowyou're fucking hearing this
right now Because I know thatthere are lessons and I know
this is just bringing me more toshare with others, because it's

(12:53):
not just through studying, it'snot just through listening to
others, it's through our livedexperience that allows us to
hold space properly for others.
So every lived experience isanother experience to put in the

(13:13):
bank of life that I believewill pay off in the future.
And if it came easy to me, howwould I be able to tell other
people to do it?
I wouldn't know.
You know one of the greatestthings?
It was a subtle lesson, but itwas one that I got real loud and
clear when I was in high school.

(13:35):
I was on a competition danceteam and we won everything.
We won all the time constantlyand I learned so much on that
team.
We won all the time constantlyand I learned so much on that
team.
But someone told me oncewinners don't have anything to
learn because you don't know howor why you won.
It's the losers that getsomething to learn because they

(13:59):
now know what to work on to getbetter for the next time.
And it wasn't until the veryend of my dance career where we
had like a couple small not evenbig, but very small losses, and
I mean like second place versusfirst.
I mean, come on, and there wassomething to learn and I was
like, oh, I didn't get alearning from the wins.

(14:21):
You only get learnings from thelosses.
And the learning is the valuebecause that's when you
implement it, when you actuallyintegrate it into your life.
It becomes a part of your story, becomes something that shifts
how you behave.
Those are the lessons that takeus from who we were to who we

(14:42):
are, and those are the lessonswe need to seek out to be able
to become that next version ofourself.
Otherwise, we're just livingthe same year over and over and
over, until we're crusty and wedie.
That's it.
And some of us don't even getcrusty.
Some of us stay moisturized andhydrated the whole way.
I don't know where that camefrom.

(15:08):
If you're struggling, it's okayit's not meant to always be easy
and just lean into the tools,lean into your community.
Do the things you know to do.
Go for a walk, stretch your do.
Go for a walk, stretch yourbody.

(15:29):
Listen to a podcast, try a newrecipe.
Pick up a blank canvas and somepaints, take a bubble bath,
enjoy a cup of tate.
It's the simple pleasures.
It's the slowing down.
It's the simple pleasures.
It's the slowing down.
It's the being present.

(15:50):
I'm being reminded about a weekand a half ago I had the
opportunity of unplugging for afull day, just one day, to be
with my two nieces.
I have a soon-to-bethree-year-old and a
nine-month-old niece and youknow someone?

(16:12):
I read these quotes and thesethings on parenting all the time
, and I'm not a parent myself,so they hit me in a slight way.
But when I get to be Aunt Jainaand Grandma Jaina yes, grandma
Jaina I get to learn theselessons, and one of them was
someone says when you bring kidsalong, they slow you down.

(16:35):
And then it said I think that'sthe purpose and it's true.
When I unplugged and I had thatday with my nieces, everything
else went away.
The thought of the debt wentaway, the thought of that thing

(16:56):
on my to-do list that I need todo real bad, the thought of, at
the time, all of these otherthoughts that otherwise consume
me when I don't control mythoughts, my emotions, when I
allow myself to spiral which I'mhuman, we all do, we all have

(17:18):
our moments, right, they wereall gone when I was fully
present with those babies, itwas nothing mattered outside
those four walls, just thosebabies, and the amount of just
pure gratitude of being able tojust be present with those

(17:40):
little girls, knowing that I getto be their safe space, knowing
that I get to be their safespace, my actions and my words
and giving them my attention isgoing to make or break who they
become, because each and everymoment matters when they're at
this age.
And so I'm grateful to be ableto position myself to have days

(18:07):
like that where I can just pourinto them.
Because I'll tell you, when Iwent to put my nine-month-old
not mine, but like mynine-month-old niece down for a
nap and, uh, I kept trying tolay her down and she'd wake back
up and I was like, all right,I'm just gonna sit here.
So I'm in that rocking chair inthe dark room with the sound

(18:27):
machine on white noise and justrocking her back and forth and
her little hot pocket self youknow they get like superheated
when they sleep and so, like herlittle hot pocket self on my
chest, a little drool coming outof her mouth as she's just
melting into me, and for an hourI sat there in the dark, no

(18:52):
phone, no, nothing, just me andher, that white noise, just
sitting in the gratitude of howtruly blessed we are.
We have a roof over our head,food on the table, clean air to

(19:17):
breathe and water to drink.
We have so many luxuries thatpeople take for granted every
single day and I do too Until weslow down enough to really

(19:38):
realize what we have.
And so I'm grateful for thosemoments where I slow down and I
get to re-experience that depthof gratitude for who I am and
where I am right now.

(20:05):
So I don't have any answers foryou as far as how to ask for
help.
Maybe you have some answers forme, so if you do, feel free to
reach out to me on one of thesocial platforms.
You can find me, jana swan.
On most platforms, janaswan,jana underscore swan, jana dash

(20:25):
Swan, I don't know.
Try all the variations, you'llfind it.
You'll reach out to me on thoseplatforms.
Let me know how do you ask forhelp when you really need it,
how do you share your heartwhile still maintaining your
authority and credibility, anddo you see the ability to feel

(20:46):
deeply as an asset or aliability?
I'm curious.
Let me know and I'll see you inthe next one.
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