June 12, 2025 • 26 mins
In this episode...
I sit down with Amanda Riffee, internationally certified empowerment coach, speaker, and host of the Unleashing You podcast. With 18 years of corporate experience and a thriving coaching business, Amanda shares powerful insights on how ambitious women can ditch burnout, align with their purpose, and build lives and careers they’re genuinely excited about.
Whether you're climbing the corporate ladder or building your own empire, Amanda’s blend of mindset mastery, intuitive guidance, and business strategy will leave you feeling fired up and focused. We dive into her new book, Unleashing You, and how you can trust your intuition, own your worth, and take bold action—on your terms.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:05):
Welcome to the Powerof Authority Spotlight.
I'm your host, Michelle Prince,founder and CEO of Performance
Publishing Group, making a Difference.
One story at a time, we'll beshining the light on successful
founders, entrepreneurs, businessowners, and leaders that are getting
results and making a difference.
We'll talk about how they builttheir businesses are creating
(00:26):
movements and leveraging thepower of authority in their.
Own lives.
Be sure to stick around to theend of the show and we'll reveal
how you can be our next guest.
Let's get started.
Hey everybody and welcome to thePower of Authority Spotlight, where
we shine the light on rock starsleaders, people that are doing awesome
(00:47):
things, they're telling their stories.
And our guest today, Amanda Ey, is,fits that description perfectly.
In fact, she is a bestsellingauthor, internationally certified
expansion and empowerment coach.
Speaker and thought leader dedicatedto helping ambitious women turn
their boldest dreams into reality.
Drawing on 18 years of corporateexperience, a deep passion for
(01:08):
mindset mastery, and the lessonslearned from scaling her own business.
Amanda specializes in guiding womento create transformational events,
write and launch their own books, makecourageous career moves, and bring
their visions to life without burnout.
Burnout easy for me to sayor sacrificing who they are.
Her debut book, unleashing You Quicklybecame a bestseller and serves as a
(01:30):
rallying cry for women ready to stopwaiting for permission and start
creating success on their own terms.
Through her writing, coaching, andretreats, Amanda empowers women to trust
her intuition, owned their brilliance,and take bold align action toward
the lives they were meant to lead.
She also hosts the UnleashingYou with Amanda Riffy podcast,
where she shares candid insights.
(01:50):
Inspiration for women steppinginto their next level.
She's a wife and a momof two based in Colorado.
Amanda believes deeply in the powerof community and collaboration.
Her mission is simple.
When women open doors for one another,there's room for all of us at the
top, and I couldn't agree more.
Welcome to the show, Amanda.
Thank you so much for having me.
(02:10):
Oh my gosh.
This is, this is gonna be so much fun.
I know because you and I met, I'm tryingto remember when exactly that was.
A mutual friend of ours introducedus, um, and we started down,
yeah, I think it was last fall.
Was it last fall?
Yeah.
So Leslie, yes.
Connected us.
And that was such a greatconnection because, , you were.
(02:32):
Just beginning your journey of writingyour book, I believe, or maybe you were
you, I know we were talking about it.
I know, I think you had already startedwriting or maybe that, that Rick, that
initiated the writing process, but youwent from idea to published book to
bestselling author in a very, very shortperiod of time and so congratulations.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, and justthank you to you and your team.
(02:54):
I mean, you guys were amazingto work with and just really
helped me make that a reality.
I love it.
Well, and we've talked offline.
You are so good at, at it.
It's one thing to write abook, it's another thing to
actually leverage the book.
And I'm, I'm, I'm I, one of the thingsthat I have noticed with you is how good
(03:14):
you are at that whole process, you know?
So talk about that.
First, we are gonna get to thebook and I wanna dive into the
specifics of what people are, aregonna get when they read this book.
'cause they must read it.
But what was that wholeprocess like for you?
. Writing the book, but also whatkind of brought you to the point
where you wanted to tell your story?
Hmm.
Great question.
So for me, yes, the.
(03:37):
Well, I think it's important tostart is that, so one of my favorite
things and, and I do host retreats,so I'm a little biased here, but
I had the idea to write my book.
It came out of a visioning exercisethat I did on a retreat in Greece
last summer, and I'm a coach, soI am very familiar with visioning
(04:00):
work and, and future self work andmeditations and all of those things.
And it was the last day of the retreatand we sat down and we did a visualization
and it was, you know, our future self.
And I saw a vision that I had seenmany times before and it was me
(04:20):
on a stage in a white power suit.
And you know, I was speakingto a room full of women.
But this time there was a book behind me.
There was a book cover behind meand it was white with the black
lettering and it said, unleashing you.
And I was like, cameout of that meditation.
I was like.
Oh my gosh, like that'snever happened before.
(04:41):
And so I went straight to my journal, Iwrote it all down, and then I shared that
vision with everybody that was at thatretreat and something in me just shifted
where I felt like I knew that it was nolonger gonna be on my someday day list.
It needed to be on my right now list and Istill had, did not know exactly what I was
(05:02):
gonna write about or all of the things.
And that stuff came as, youknow, I went through, through a
framework and through a process.
But I would say I was almost justas excited when I got that idea for
the book was to launch the book.
Like my idea of doing a book tourand events across the country came.
(05:22):
Before I had even written the book, Iknew exactly how I wanted to launch it
and 'cause that to me is a lot of the fun.
Yeah.
Getting to celebratewhatever it comes out.
Well, and not everybody loves that part,but so the fact meaning like some people
get so into the book and then they hopeand pray that, that people will buy it.
(05:44):
And that's one of thethings I love about it.
'cause it just doesn't happen.
I mean, you, you have to have thatstrategy in the plan and you do it so
well, but you do look like you're havingso much fun while you're doing it.
I love all the pictures and the supportand, and it, it is just so, so inspiring
and like I am just so excited for you.
Oh, thank you.
, but I'm actually even more excited forthe people that are benefiting from your
(06:06):
coaching and the, the book itself, becauseI think there's so much in your book
about, first of all, helping people justunleash, you know, like whatever's holding
them back, whether it's posture syndromeor, or fear or whatever, whatever.
'cause we can all relate to allthat, but, , giving people that
permission to kind of step out and.
(06:28):
And just be who they are.
Right.
. It's just super crazy.
So let's talk about the book.
And by the way, the fact that your visionand your cover, like in real life are
your like, like you took your vision Yes.
And made it.
The cover is, I love it because, yeah.
And I should also add for theDenver, so I'm based in Denver
and I did book tour events in St.
(06:50):
Louis where I grew up in Atlanta, wherea lot of my corporate career was based.
And then in Denver.
, which was also symbolicbecause it followed my story.
So it followed the story of the book too.
Started in St.
Louis and then went to Atlanta.
And now most of my entrepreneurialjourney has been here in Denver.
(07:10):
, but when I worked with myfriend and client and stylist,
I told her about that vision.
And so we said, well, we've gotta bringthe white power suit here somewhere.
So for the Denver event, that's whatI wore was the white power suit.
And I've never worn a full.
White suit before then, and it was,it just added that whole next level
(07:31):
of really bringing that from dream toreality to see like, oh my gosh, like
I am sitting here in front of thesewomen in that outfit with, and I shared
this even at the event because I, youknow, I saw women with like the book in
their lap and like all of those things.
And I looked out and literally therewas somebody sitting right there
(07:51):
in the front row with their bookin their lap, and I was just like.
This, this is what we can create whenwe say yes to our dreams and when we
actually take action to follow those up.
Like it would've been so easy for me tojust leave that as a really cool idea
and a really cool experience of like,oh, I had this, I had this vision,
and it felt really cool afterwards.
And then just leave it.
(08:13):
Yeah.
But instead, I addedin the accountability.
I added in the action, and you know,that was the end of June last year,
and I turned in my manuscript toyou all in the middle of December.
It's so crazy how fast it went.
Really.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, and walk for, for peoplewho haven't read the book yet, and
(08:33):
tell a little bit about your journey.
Like how, how did you get to the place?
What, what to do, what you're doing today?
I mean, you work with women,you empower women, coaching,
retreats, all of these things.
So talk a little bit about what youdo, but then also how you got there.
Yeah.
So I say like, uh.
My story's not very differentfrom many people's story, and I
(08:55):
actually love that because I'm like,if I could do it, you can do it.
Yes.
And that's what I all the time.
Years in a corp in my corporate career.
So as you mentioned in my bio, I, , I'vespent 18 years in corporate and what
I think is interesting about that isit's 18 years in corporate and 17 of
(09:15):
those years were with the same company.
Wow.
So.
I started in like a contract tohire front desk type of position.
And you know, I interviewed andthey're like, you know, this is
what you'd be doing a lot of adminwork and you know, we're not even
sure if we'll be able to hire you onfully after, you know, six months.
(09:35):
And I was like, that's okay.
I could do it.
You know, I, I just, I really felt likeit was the, the right opportunity and.
I did that for about six months,and then I moved into a different
role and into a different role,and I just kept literally climbing
the corporate ladder for 17 years.
And when, , so if we fast forwardthen to like, I think it was
(09:59):
September of 2022, I was feelingthat itch of like, okay, what's next?
What's the next thing?
And.
I had never dreamed of going anywhereelse outside of that company because
every time I had gotten that itch, therewas always that next promotion or that
next opportunity that I could take.
And this time it felt different,like nothing felt right.
(10:20):
Like I was like, I don't think Ireally want my boss's job this time.
I guess I could move to thisteam or this department.
But nothing felt 100% rightlike it had before, and.
There was this little whisper andI, you'll hear me talk about this
little whisper in the back of my head.
'cause that's how my, I now I knowthat's how my intuition speaks to me.
For everybody else, it'sa little bit different.
(10:40):
Might be a gut feeling or youknow, something like that.
But for me it's like this tiny littlewhisper of an idea and it was like, well,
if your job's going really well right now.
What if you created something on the side?
What if you created anotherstream of income for yourself?
Like, let's, let's just letthis be easy for a little bit.
Yeah.
And let's create something, you know,that, that feels really cool and good,
(11:03):
that you could use for extra cash flow.
, and so I didn't wanna justgo get a part-time job.
I wanted to create somethingthat would be fun and fulfilling.
But I had no idea what that was.
And I was, over a learning anddevelopment team at the time in corporate.
And I, and I love this, sharing thisstory 'cause I think this is an exercise
(11:24):
and I share this in my book too.
Mm.
Um, and the exercise that we can all do.
So for me, I live andbreathe by my calendar.
Yes.
So I just went to my calendar.
And I said, okay, what are the things inmy day that I actually look forward to?
Mm.
And what are the things in my daythat I'm secretly hoping get canceled?
Right?
Like those meetings that I'mhoping turn into an email, right?
Yep.
(11:44):
And what are the projects I'm working on?
All of that.
And so what came out of thatexercise for me was I loved
my one-on-ones with my team.
I looked forward to those conversations.
I looked forward to the aha moments,the career growth conversations, helping
them reach their next level, the safeenvironment that we created, all of that.
(12:04):
Um, and I also really loved, literallyanything that had anything to do with like
personal growth, professional development.
You know, I, I was in all of those groups.
I was doing all the extra classes,like all the things I could do.
And so that's what cameout of that for me.
And I was like, okay, cool.
But like, what do I do with this?
How do I make this into a job?
I have no idea.
(12:25):
So then I just went, I went to Google.
If I went now, I'd go to chat.
GPT, of course, yes.
But at the time, I went to Google and Iwas like, okay, here's what I figured out.
You know, what, what can I do with this?
And so I just followed every curiosity,every rabbit hole, everything clicked.
You know, this might spur this idea.
And then I click on this and um, Ijust did days of internet research and.
(12:49):
Then one of those searches, oneof those clicks brought me to
a, a posting for a coach and.
The more I learned about coaching,the more I started researching.
I was like, oh my gosh, likeI think I found the thing.
This could check all the boxes.
I can work with people one-on-one.
We could talk about personalgrowth, all of that.
(13:11):
I can do this on the side while Ikeep my corporate track just here.
I literally was like, I could have oneto two clients here or there every once
in a while when we're looking for someextra cash for vacations or whatever, and.
So I went to my husband and I said,I don't know where this is gonna go.
I know it's gonna feel outta leftfield, but I just feel like I wanna
(13:31):
follow this and see what happens.
Yeah.
I think I wanna get certified as a coach.
And so he, luckily, he supports allmy wild and crazy dreams like, you're
gonna do whatever you're gonna do.
I know you are.
So just go do it.
And so I enrolled in acoaching certification and.
I kid you not like thatwas the first time.
Not only was I learning coaching tools,yeah, but I was also getting coached
(13:55):
myself for the first time in my life and.
It took not even three monthsof being immersed in coaching.
Mm-hmm.
To completely change the trajectory of mycareer and what I dreamed of for myself.
Because what I realized was that I wasputting myself in a box of really thinking
(14:17):
like, I can do this or I can do that, and.
What I think coaching is so beautifulat is it brings out the answers from
within yourself and it also helps youtake off some of those blinders that
you might not even realize are there.
Yep.
And start to just dream somuch bigger for yourself.
Mm-hmm.
I started to see a world where I could.
Speak on stages where Icould have a podcast where I
(14:40):
could one day write a book.
Right.
All of those things and I startedjust dreaming so much bigger.
Yeah.
And so now that was, again, that wasSeptember of 2022 when I enrolled in the
coaching program and I opened up my LLC.
C, and here we are in Wow, 2025.
And now I am a full-time coach.
(15:01):
I host retreats, have a podcast,obviously a bestselling author.
You know, all of these thingsthat, again, you would've asked
me two and a half years ago.
Oh.
I would've been like, you'recrazy that we'd be doing that.
You're nuts.
Like, what are you talking about?
And that's, I mean, that, it'sjust amazing the stuff we can do.
I know.
And that's what makes you such a greatcoach too, because you've done it right.
(15:23):
It's not theory.
It's not, oh, I learned this and I'm justgonna teach you like you're literally.
The inspiration to a lot of the people.
I bet you coach because they'relike, Ooh, I wanna be like Amanda.
I wanna, I wanna write a book, or I wannado a podcast, or I maybe wanna be a coach.
So what, who is an ideal?
I know you, you really love workingwith women, so what, what is, what is
(15:46):
that ideal woman like, what is, who isshe and, and what is she looking for?
Ooh, I love that.
Um, I mean, I, I always say likeme a couple years ago, honestly.
Yeah.
, but to put that in something maybe peoplewould understand a little bit better.
I would say ambitious career-driven women.
Women who are.
Maybe they've worked to a certain pointand because I know I was like this
(16:10):
where, you know, I always had that endgoal, that thing I was trying to reach.
Yeah.
And I mean, I'm 40 and I got toa point where I was like, is this
what it's supposed to feel like?
Like is this what success feels like?
Yep.
It still felt like therewas something missing.
Like I had to sacrifice so much.
You there's, especially if youread my book, you'll learn.
(16:30):
There was definitely aperiod of time where I.
Gave too much to my career and you know,I have kids and all these things because
I felt like that was what I needed todo in order to be successful, was I
had to sacrifice all of this stuff.
And so I work with women who, whetherthey're entrepreneurs or they just
wanna create a career for themselves,that feels really freaking good.
(16:54):
Yep.
That feels just as good as it looks.
Yeah.
And I always listen for.
Those moments in a conversationwhere somebody's like, oh, I wish
I could have done that, or, oh,I'd love to do that someday because
that's actually the golden ticket.
Yes.
Those things that we say we wish wecould do or that we'd love to do someday.
Those dreams are plantedin your heart for a reason.
(17:16):
They're absolutely.
And so that's what I actuallyreally love to bring out of
people and reflect back to them.
It's like, did you hearwhat you just said there?
Yes, yes.
You know, we can actually do that.
You can create that.
And so I just love helping womenfigure out a way to create success
and create the dreams that theysometimes secretly dream of.
(17:37):
Whether it's hosting their ownevents or speaking on stages, or
writing a book, or, you know, justcreating their own career path.
That just feels really, really good.
I love it.
Gosh, there's, as you talk, it just,there's so many things, my gosh,
we have so much in common really interms of like our background and our
story, and I know we've talked beforeand we figured that out, but yeah.
You know, even just something you said,I remember, so I started my, , my career
(18:02):
outside of corporate in 2009, but Iremember it was in 2008 and I was at a
conference and I was just like, you very.
Another friend of mine puts itmiserably successful, you know, like
good at what you do, but just knowingthere's more to you kind of thing.
And I remember meeting somebody atthis conference and they gave me
(18:22):
their business card and it said,author, speaker, coach, and I rem
and I sent it out loud and I'm like.
Oh my gosh.
Like that is my dream title.
And that was 2008.
It was 2009.
I wrote my book and it was, you know,2010, nine, 2000 that I actually was
like, oh my gosh, like I am here now.
(18:43):
And to your point, like the dr, thosethings that light you up that make
you like, oh, you know, I've alwayswanted to write a book, or I've
always wanted to speak, or whatever.
Those are clues.
And frankly, life's too short to just.
Why not go for it?
Uh, it's scary, right?
You know, two and a halfyears ago Oh my gosh.
Terrifying.
Yeah.
I remember when I started and, and, andtelling my husband I was gonna do it too.
(19:06):
And I, I remember making a commentalong the ways, I'm just gonna jump
and pray that the wings grow onthe way down because I love that.
You know, what else am I gonna do?
Stay in my cubicle and mm-hmm.
You know, so I just love it.
And you bring so much energyand fun to the whole thing and.
So, , real quick, 'cause I wanna make surethat we get everyone your information.
(19:27):
Um, acr professional coaching.com
is your website.
Yes.
And I definitely wanna send people toInstagram so they can see those great
photos of you in your white suit.
Yes.
Holding your book and your book signings.
Um, and that's Amanda RiffyCoaching is the Instagram.
, but let's talk a little bitbefore we wrap up some other
(19:48):
things that you're working on.
So you're doing coaching, you're helpingthese women, what else are you doing?
Yeah, so I, I am always dreaming bigger.
Like I am always 10 xing to the next,to the next vision and the next level.
And one of the things that.
Became apparent to me as I was goingthrough the process of writing my
(20:10):
own book was number one, I reallywanna do this alongside other women.
Yeah.
And you know, I took myselfon solo writing retreats.
I had the idea for my book when I was ona retreat, um, and all of these things.
And I was like, I just, I wanna do this.
Together with other womenwho wanna do the same thing.
(20:31):
And so I created the Unleash YourStory Writer's Retreat and Collective.
And that's exactly what we're doingis we're starting out in person
in the mountains in Colorado tostart writing our books together.
, and then continuing that for.
Seven months together for accountability,for introductions to people like yourself
(20:53):
for different publishing paths to helpactually support and launch your book.
Because to your point, you know, a lotof times we might have that passion
to write the book, but we don't knowwhat we're, what we're selling into
with that, or where we're gonna gowith that, or how it's gonna help.
Provide another stream of income.
(21:13):
Yeah.
Or open doors oropportunities for ourselves.
And so that's a big focus ofit too, is, is really creating
their custom launch strategy.
Yeah.
For their book as well.
, I've also partnered with my friend, um, I.
Who is my own personal videographerand visual storyteller.
And so everyone in that collectiveis also gonna be getting more
(21:35):
visuals, photographs, videos, allthe things that you're gonna see
on my Instagram for themselves toreally embody that bestselling author
era that they're stepping into.
Um, and I say we, because.
I plan to write my secondbook alongside them.
So we're gonna be doing this together.
But you know, really working throughthat framework of how to create a
(21:57):
really strong outline so that thenwhen you get to chapter six, you
already know what Chapter six is.
Yeah.
It's just pulling together the storiesand, and filling in the blanks.
But you're never starting with justthat cursor on a blank page right
when you're writing your book.
So I love it.
I always thought it was funand easy, and that's what I'm
bringing to other women as well.
Well, and I love it because,you know, writing can be lonely.
(22:19):
It's, you know, the, the inspirationto write happens really fast and
it's exciting, but then goingthrough the process sometimes
becomes a little daunting.
That's usually when fear sets in.
, you know, if I had a, a nickelfor every conversation I've
had, like, what am I doing?
Should I even do this?
Because you do start to self-doubt.
So a community of people tosupport and, and then determine
(22:40):
your right publishing path.
'cause path.
'cause I am a firm believer.
I mean, we obviously, and we workwith you to publish your book, but I'm
also a firm believer that there aremultiple roads to the same destination.
You know, so maybe your Bright road isself-publishing, or maybe you have a
huge platform and traditional publishingmight be the route you wanna go.
Yeah.
(23:01):
More than likely, it'ssomewhere in between, right?
You know that, that hybrid,but at the same time to have
people on board with you.
So I love it.
Again, you and I share so many ofthe same passions and um, you know,
everyone has a story and every storymatters, and it's just a matter of
getting it out there into the world.
So that.
So your story can make animpact for somebody else.
That's what it's all about.
(23:21):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
That's what our stories are for, right?
Yes, yes.
So I love it.
Okay, well one more time, giveeveryone your information how
they can get ahold of you.
I know Instagram is your, your,your go-to, but anything else?
Yeah, I'd say where I hang outthe most is definitely Instagram.
So if you're an Instagramperson, let's just connect
there 'cause it's so much fun.
So again, that's at Amanda EY coaching.
(23:43):
Um, and then of course you canalways go to my website that's
gonna have everything linked.
And that's acr professional coaching.com.
Awesome.
Well, I, I could not bemore excited for you, truly.
You are a trailblazer.
You're a rockstar.
You're doing great things.
This is just the beginning.
, and, and I, I jokeabout it, but it's true.
Once you write one book,you just can't stop.
(24:03):
So I imagine we will be talkingagain on a podcast, right?
And we're gonna be talking aboutyour fifth 10th book down the line.
So I just can't wait for it.
And so happy for you and can't waitto see what you're gonna do next.
Thank you so much.
You are so welcome.
Alright everyone, so before we wrapup, just a couple quick things.
Obviously so much packed into that,that, , her Amanda's story, it's so good.
(24:25):
But one thing I love that she said,and this is for all of us to do, is the
exercise of looking at your calendar.
I think that is brilliant because.
Everything that we're meant to do in life.
Those clues are there.
They're there, right?
Our passions are there.
So looking at your calendar,what do you most look forward to?
What do you hope gets canceled?
That I think is awesome.
That's brilliant because it does, it is aclue to where you should be, um, focusing.
(24:48):
And then also just the fact that,you know, with Amanda's story,
a lot started with curiosity andcuriosity of what else is out there
and, and what is there for me?
Is this it?
And so I just wanna encourageeveryone to, to follow that passion.
Follow the curiosity because I assureyou that when you look, you will find
it and definitely grab Amanda's book.
(25:09):
You can get it off of herwebsite, , Amazon, all the places,
but Unleash, unleashing you, right?
Unleashing, yep.
Sorry I said that wrong the first time.
Unleashing you and it's super good.
And so definitely checkit out and grab that copy.
And that's it for this episode.
We'll see you next time on thePower of Authority Spotlight.
Thanks everybody.
(25:33):
Thanks so much for listening tothe Power of Authority Spotlight.
If you are a successful founder,entrepreneur, business owner, or
leader that's getting results andmaking a difference, and you'd like
to be on this program, please visitperformance publishing group.com/podcast
to apply.
That's performancepublishing group.com/podcast.
(25:56):
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Just do a quick screenshot withyour phone and text it to a
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(26:17):
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(26:38):
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Welcome to the Powerof Authority Spotlight.
I'm your host, Michelle Prince,founder and CEO of Performance
Publishing Group, making a Difference.
One story at a time, we'll beshining the light on successful
founders, entrepreneurs, businessowners, and leaders that are getting
results and making a difference.
We'll talk about how they builttheir businesses are creating
(00:26):
movements and leveraging thepower of authority in their.
Own lives.
Be sure to stick around to theend of the show and we'll reveal
how you can be our next guest.
Let's get started.
Hey everybody and welcome to thePower of Authority Spotlight, where
we shine the light on rock starsleaders, people that are doing awesome
(00:47):
things, they're telling their stories.
And our guest today, Amanda Ey, is,fits that description perfectly.
In fact, she is a bestsellingauthor, internationally certified
expansion and empowerment coach.
Speaker and thought leader dedicatedto helping ambitious women turn
their boldest dreams into reality.
Drawing on 18 years of corporateexperience, a deep passion for
(01:08):
mindset mastery, and the lessonslearned from scaling her own business.
Amanda specializes in guiding womento create transformational events,
write and launch their own books, makecourageous career moves, and bring
their visions to life without burnout.
Burnout easy for me to sayor sacrificing who they are.
Her debut book, unleashing You Quicklybecame a bestseller and serves as a
(01:30):
rallying cry for women ready to stopwaiting for permission and start
creating success on their own terms.
Through her writing, coaching, andretreats, Amanda empowers women to trust
her intuition, owned their brilliance,and take bold align action toward
the lives they were meant to lead.
She also hosts the UnleashingYou with Amanda Riffy podcast,
where she shares candid insights.
(01:50):
Inspiration for women steppinginto their next level.
She's a wife and a momof two based in Colorado.
Amanda believes deeply in the powerof community and collaboration.
Her mission is simple.
When women open doors for one another,there's room for all of us at the
top, and I couldn't agree more.
Welcome to the show, Amanda.
Thank you so much for having me.
(02:10):
Oh my gosh.
This is, this is gonna be so much fun.
I know because you and I met, I'm tryingto remember when exactly that was.
A mutual friend of ours introducedus, um, and we started down,
yeah, I think it was last fall.
Was it last fall?
Yeah.
So Leslie, yes.
Connected us.
And that was such a greatconnection because, , you were.
(02:32):
Just beginning your journey of writingyour book, I believe, or maybe you were
you, I know we were talking about it.
I know, I think you had already startedwriting or maybe that, that Rick, that
initiated the writing process, but youwent from idea to published book to
bestselling author in a very, very shortperiod of time and so congratulations.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, and justthank you to you and your team.
(02:54):
I mean, you guys were amazingto work with and just really
helped me make that a reality.
I love it.
Well, and we've talked offline.
You are so good at, at it.
It's one thing to write abook, it's another thing to
actually leverage the book.
And I'm, I'm, I'm I, one of the thingsthat I have noticed with you is how good
(03:14):
you are at that whole process, you know?
So talk about that.
First, we are gonna get to thebook and I wanna dive into the
specifics of what people are, aregonna get when they read this book.
'cause they must read it.
But what was that wholeprocess like for you?
. Writing the book, but also whatkind of brought you to the point
where you wanted to tell your story?
Hmm.
Great question.
So for me, yes, the.
(03:37):
Well, I think it's important tostart is that, so one of my favorite
things and, and I do host retreats,so I'm a little biased here, but
I had the idea to write my book.
It came out of a visioning exercisethat I did on a retreat in Greece
last summer, and I'm a coach, soI am very familiar with visioning
(04:00):
work and, and future self work andmeditations and all of those things.
And it was the last day of the retreatand we sat down and we did a visualization
and it was, you know, our future self.
And I saw a vision that I had seenmany times before and it was me
(04:20):
on a stage in a white power suit.
And you know, I was speakingto a room full of women.
But this time there was a book behind me.
There was a book cover behind meand it was white with the black
lettering and it said, unleashing you.
And I was like, cameout of that meditation.
I was like.
Oh my gosh, like that'snever happened before.
(04:41):
And so I went straight to my journal, Iwrote it all down, and then I shared that
vision with everybody that was at thatretreat and something in me just shifted
where I felt like I knew that it was nolonger gonna be on my someday day list.
It needed to be on my right now list and Istill had, did not know exactly what I was
(05:02):
gonna write about or all of the things.
And that stuff came as, youknow, I went through, through a
framework and through a process.
But I would say I was almost justas excited when I got that idea for
the book was to launch the book.
Like my idea of doing a book tourand events across the country came.
(05:22):
Before I had even written the book, Iknew exactly how I wanted to launch it
and 'cause that to me is a lot of the fun.
Yeah.
Getting to celebratewhatever it comes out.
Well, and not everybody loves that part,but so the fact meaning like some people
get so into the book and then they hopeand pray that, that people will buy it.
(05:44):
And that's one of thethings I love about it.
'cause it just doesn't happen.
I mean, you, you have to have thatstrategy in the plan and you do it so
well, but you do look like you're havingso much fun while you're doing it.
I love all the pictures and the supportand, and it, it is just so, so inspiring
and like I am just so excited for you.
Oh, thank you.
, but I'm actually even more excited forthe people that are benefiting from your
(06:06):
coaching and the, the book itself, becauseI think there's so much in your book
about, first of all, helping people justunleash, you know, like whatever's holding
them back, whether it's posture syndromeor, or fear or whatever, whatever.
'cause we can all relate to allthat, but, , giving people that
permission to kind of step out and.
(06:28):
And just be who they are.
Right.
. It's just super crazy.
So let's talk about the book.
And by the way, the fact that your visionand your cover, like in real life are
your like, like you took your vision Yes.
And made it.
The cover is, I love it because, yeah.
And I should also add for theDenver, so I'm based in Denver
and I did book tour events in St.
(06:50):
Louis where I grew up in Atlanta, wherea lot of my corporate career was based.
And then in Denver.
, which was also symbolicbecause it followed my story.
So it followed the story of the book too.
Started in St.
Louis and then went to Atlanta.
And now most of my entrepreneurialjourney has been here in Denver.
(07:10):
, but when I worked with myfriend and client and stylist,
I told her about that vision.
And so we said, well, we've gotta bringthe white power suit here somewhere.
So for the Denver event, that's whatI wore was the white power suit.
And I've never worn a full.
White suit before then, and it was,it just added that whole next level
(07:31):
of really bringing that from dream toreality to see like, oh my gosh, like
I am sitting here in front of thesewomen in that outfit with, and I shared
this even at the event because I, youknow, I saw women with like the book in
their lap and like all of those things.
And I looked out and literally therewas somebody sitting right there
(07:51):
in the front row with their bookin their lap, and I was just like.
This, this is what we can create whenwe say yes to our dreams and when we
actually take action to follow those up.
Like it would've been so easy for me tojust leave that as a really cool idea
and a really cool experience of like,oh, I had this, I had this vision,
and it felt really cool afterwards.
And then just leave it.
(08:13):
Yeah.
But instead, I addedin the accountability.
I added in the action, and you know,that was the end of June last year,
and I turned in my manuscript toyou all in the middle of December.
It's so crazy how fast it went.
Really.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, and walk for, for peoplewho haven't read the book yet, and
(08:33):
tell a little bit about your journey.
Like how, how did you get to the place?
What, what to do, what you're doing today?
I mean, you work with women,you empower women, coaching,
retreats, all of these things.
So talk a little bit about what youdo, but then also how you got there.
Yeah.
So I say like, uh.
My story's not very differentfrom many people's story, and I
(08:55):
actually love that because I'm like,if I could do it, you can do it.
Yes.
And that's what I all the time.
Years in a corp in my corporate career.
So as you mentioned in my bio, I, , I'vespent 18 years in corporate and what
I think is interesting about that isit's 18 years in corporate and 17 of
(09:15):
those years were with the same company.
Wow.
So.
I started in like a contract tohire front desk type of position.
And you know, I interviewed andthey're like, you know, this is
what you'd be doing a lot of adminwork and you know, we're not even
sure if we'll be able to hire you onfully after, you know, six months.
(09:35):
And I was like, that's okay.
I could do it.
You know, I, I just, I really felt likeit was the, the right opportunity and.
I did that for about six months,and then I moved into a different
role and into a different role,and I just kept literally climbing
the corporate ladder for 17 years.
And when, , so if we fast forwardthen to like, I think it was
(09:59):
September of 2022, I was feelingthat itch of like, okay, what's next?
What's the next thing?
And.
I had never dreamed of going anywhereelse outside of that company because
every time I had gotten that itch, therewas always that next promotion or that
next opportunity that I could take.
And this time it felt different,like nothing felt right.
(10:20):
Like I was like, I don't think Ireally want my boss's job this time.
I guess I could move to thisteam or this department.
But nothing felt 100% rightlike it had before, and.
There was this little whisper andI, you'll hear me talk about this
little whisper in the back of my head.
'cause that's how my, I now I knowthat's how my intuition speaks to me.
For everybody else, it'sa little bit different.
(10:40):
Might be a gut feeling or youknow, something like that.
But for me it's like this tiny littlewhisper of an idea and it was like, well,
if your job's going really well right now.
What if you created something on the side?
What if you created anotherstream of income for yourself?
Like, let's, let's just letthis be easy for a little bit.
Yeah.
And let's create something, you know,that, that feels really cool and good,
(11:03):
that you could use for extra cash flow.
, and so I didn't wanna justgo get a part-time job.
I wanted to create somethingthat would be fun and fulfilling.
But I had no idea what that was.
And I was, over a learning anddevelopment team at the time in corporate.
And I, and I love this, sharing thisstory 'cause I think this is an exercise
(11:24):
and I share this in my book too.
Mm.
Um, and the exercise that we can all do.
So for me, I live andbreathe by my calendar.
Yes.
So I just went to my calendar.
And I said, okay, what are the things inmy day that I actually look forward to?
Mm.
And what are the things in my daythat I'm secretly hoping get canceled?
Right?
Like those meetings that I'mhoping turn into an email, right?
Yep.
(11:44):
And what are the projects I'm working on?
All of that.
And so what came out of thatexercise for me was I loved
my one-on-ones with my team.
I looked forward to those conversations.
I looked forward to the aha moments,the career growth conversations, helping
them reach their next level, the safeenvironment that we created, all of that.
(12:04):
Um, and I also really loved, literallyanything that had anything to do with like
personal growth, professional development.
You know, I, I was in all of those groups.
I was doing all the extra classes,like all the things I could do.
And so that's what cameout of that for me.
And I was like, okay, cool.
But like, what do I do with this?
How do I make this into a job?
I have no idea.
(12:25):
So then I just went, I went to Google.
If I went now, I'd go to chat.
GPT, of course, yes.
But at the time, I went to Google and Iwas like, okay, here's what I figured out.
You know, what, what can I do with this?
And so I just followed every curiosity,every rabbit hole, everything clicked.
You know, this might spur this idea.
And then I click on this and um, Ijust did days of internet research and.
(12:49):
Then one of those searches, oneof those clicks brought me to
a, a posting for a coach and.
The more I learned about coaching,the more I started researching.
I was like, oh my gosh, likeI think I found the thing.
This could check all the boxes.
I can work with people one-on-one.
We could talk about personalgrowth, all of that.
(13:11):
I can do this on the side while Ikeep my corporate track just here.
I literally was like, I could have oneto two clients here or there every once
in a while when we're looking for someextra cash for vacations or whatever, and.
So I went to my husband and I said,I don't know where this is gonna go.
I know it's gonna feel outta leftfield, but I just feel like I wanna
(13:31):
follow this and see what happens.
Yeah.
I think I wanna get certified as a coach.
And so he, luckily, he supports allmy wild and crazy dreams like, you're
gonna do whatever you're gonna do.
I know you are.
So just go do it.
And so I enrolled in acoaching certification and.
I kid you not like thatwas the first time.
Not only was I learning coaching tools,yeah, but I was also getting coached
(13:55):
myself for the first time in my life and.
It took not even three monthsof being immersed in coaching.
Mm-hmm.
To completely change the trajectory of mycareer and what I dreamed of for myself.
Because what I realized was that I wasputting myself in a box of really thinking
(14:17):
like, I can do this or I can do that, and.
What I think coaching is so beautifulat is it brings out the answers from
within yourself and it also helps youtake off some of those blinders that
you might not even realize are there.
Yep.
And start to just dream somuch bigger for yourself.
Mm-hmm.
I started to see a world where I could.
Speak on stages where Icould have a podcast where I
(14:40):
could one day write a book.
Right.
All of those things and I startedjust dreaming so much bigger.
Yeah.
And so now that was, again, that wasSeptember of 2022 when I enrolled in the
coaching program and I opened up my LLC.
C, and here we are in Wow, 2025.
And now I am a full-time coach.
(15:01):
I host retreats, have a podcast,obviously a bestselling author.
You know, all of these thingsthat, again, you would've asked
me two and a half years ago.
Oh.
I would've been like, you'recrazy that we'd be doing that.
You're nuts.
Like, what are you talking about?
And that's, I mean, that, it'sjust amazing the stuff we can do.
I know.
And that's what makes you such a greatcoach too, because you've done it right.
(15:23):
It's not theory.
It's not, oh, I learned this and I'm justgonna teach you like you're literally.
The inspiration to a lot of the people.
I bet you coach because they'relike, Ooh, I wanna be like Amanda.
I wanna, I wanna write a book, or I wannado a podcast, or I maybe wanna be a coach.
So what, who is an ideal?
I know you, you really love workingwith women, so what, what is, what is
(15:46):
that ideal woman like, what is, who isshe and, and what is she looking for?
Ooh, I love that.
Um, I mean, I, I always say likeme a couple years ago, honestly.
Yeah.
, but to put that in something maybe peoplewould understand a little bit better.
I would say ambitious career-driven women.
Women who are.
Maybe they've worked to a certain pointand because I know I was like this
(16:10):
where, you know, I always had that endgoal, that thing I was trying to reach.
Yeah.
And I mean, I'm 40 and I got toa point where I was like, is this
what it's supposed to feel like?
Like is this what success feels like?
Yep.
It still felt like therewas something missing.
Like I had to sacrifice so much.
You there's, especially if youread my book, you'll learn.
(16:30):
There was definitely aperiod of time where I.
Gave too much to my career and you know,I have kids and all these things because
I felt like that was what I needed todo in order to be successful, was I
had to sacrifice all of this stuff.
And so I work with women who, whetherthey're entrepreneurs or they just
wanna create a career for themselves,that feels really freaking good.
(16:54):
Yep.
That feels just as good as it looks.
Yeah.
And I always listen for.
Those moments in a conversationwhere somebody's like, oh, I wish
I could have done that, or, oh,I'd love to do that someday because
that's actually the golden ticket.
Yes.
Those things that we say we wish wecould do or that we'd love to do someday.
Those dreams are plantedin your heart for a reason.
(17:16):
They're absolutely.
And so that's what I actuallyreally love to bring out of
people and reflect back to them.
It's like, did you hearwhat you just said there?
Yes, yes.
You know, we can actually do that.
You can create that.
And so I just love helping womenfigure out a way to create success
and create the dreams that theysometimes secretly dream of.
(17:37):
Whether it's hosting their ownevents or speaking on stages, or
writing a book, or, you know, justcreating their own career path.
That just feels really, really good.
I love it.
Gosh, there's, as you talk, it just,there's so many things, my gosh,
we have so much in common really interms of like our background and our
story, and I know we've talked beforeand we figured that out, but yeah.
You know, even just something you said,I remember, so I started my, , my career
(18:02):
outside of corporate in 2009, but Iremember it was in 2008 and I was at a
conference and I was just like, you very.
Another friend of mine puts itmiserably successful, you know, like
good at what you do, but just knowingthere's more to you kind of thing.
And I remember meeting somebody atthis conference and they gave me
(18:22):
their business card and it said,author, speaker, coach, and I rem
and I sent it out loud and I'm like.
Oh my gosh.
Like that is my dream title.
And that was 2008.
It was 2009.
I wrote my book and it was, you know,2010, nine, 2000 that I actually was
like, oh my gosh, like I am here now.
(18:43):
And to your point, like the dr, thosethings that light you up that make
you like, oh, you know, I've alwayswanted to write a book, or I've
always wanted to speak, or whatever.
Those are clues.
And frankly, life's too short to just.
Why not go for it?
Uh, it's scary, right?
You know, two and a halfyears ago Oh my gosh.
Terrifying.
Yeah.
I remember when I started and, and, andtelling my husband I was gonna do it too.
(19:06):
And I, I remember making a commentalong the ways, I'm just gonna jump
and pray that the wings grow onthe way down because I love that.
You know, what else am I gonna do?
Stay in my cubicle and mm-hmm.
You know, so I just love it.
And you bring so much energyand fun to the whole thing and.
So, , real quick, 'cause I wanna make surethat we get everyone your information.
(19:27):
Um, acr professional coaching.com
is your website.
Yes.
And I definitely wanna send people toInstagram so they can see those great
photos of you in your white suit.
Yes.
Holding your book and your book signings.
Um, and that's Amanda RiffyCoaching is the Instagram.
, but let's talk a little bitbefore we wrap up some other
(19:48):
things that you're working on.
So you're doing coaching, you're helpingthese women, what else are you doing?
Yeah, so I, I am always dreaming bigger.
Like I am always 10 xing to the next,to the next vision and the next level.
And one of the things that.
Became apparent to me as I was goingthrough the process of writing my
(20:10):
own book was number one, I reallywanna do this alongside other women.
Yeah.
And you know, I took myselfon solo writing retreats.
I had the idea for my book when I was ona retreat, um, and all of these things.
And I was like, I just, I wanna do this.
Together with other womenwho wanna do the same thing.
(20:31):
And so I created the Unleash YourStory Writer's Retreat and Collective.
And that's exactly what we're doingis we're starting out in person
in the mountains in Colorado tostart writing our books together.
, and then continuing that for.
Seven months together for accountability,for introductions to people like yourself
(20:53):
for different publishing paths to helpactually support and launch your book.
Because to your point, you know, a lotof times we might have that passion
to write the book, but we don't knowwhat we're, what we're selling into
with that, or where we're gonna gowith that, or how it's gonna help.
Provide another stream of income.
(21:13):
Yeah.
Or open doors oropportunities for ourselves.
And so that's a big focus ofit too, is, is really creating
their custom launch strategy.
Yeah.
For their book as well.
, I've also partnered with my friend, um, I.
Who is my own personal videographerand visual storyteller.
And so everyone in that collectiveis also gonna be getting more
(21:35):
visuals, photographs, videos, allthe things that you're gonna see
on my Instagram for themselves toreally embody that bestselling author
era that they're stepping into.
Um, and I say we, because.
I plan to write my secondbook alongside them.
So we're gonna be doing this together.
But you know, really working throughthat framework of how to create a
(21:57):
really strong outline so that thenwhen you get to chapter six, you
already know what Chapter six is.
Yeah.
It's just pulling together the storiesand, and filling in the blanks.
But you're never starting with justthat cursor on a blank page right
when you're writing your book.
So I love it.
I always thought it was funand easy, and that's what I'm
bringing to other women as well.
Well, and I love it because,you know, writing can be lonely.
(22:19):
It's, you know, the, the inspirationto write happens really fast and
it's exciting, but then goingthrough the process sometimes
becomes a little daunting.
That's usually when fear sets in.
, you know, if I had a, a nickelfor every conversation I've
had, like, what am I doing?
Should I even do this?
Because you do start to self-doubt.
So a community of people tosupport and, and then determine
(22:40):
your right publishing path.
'cause path.
'cause I am a firm believer.
I mean, we obviously, and we workwith you to publish your book, but I'm
also a firm believer that there aremultiple roads to the same destination.
You know, so maybe your Bright road isself-publishing, or maybe you have a
huge platform and traditional publishingmight be the route you wanna go.
Yeah.
(23:01):
More than likely, it'ssomewhere in between, right?
You know that, that hybrid,but at the same time to have
people on board with you.
So I love it.
Again, you and I share so many ofthe same passions and um, you know,
everyone has a story and every storymatters, and it's just a matter of
getting it out there into the world.
So that.
So your story can make animpact for somebody else.
That's what it's all about.
(23:21):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
That's what our stories are for, right?
Yes, yes.
So I love it.
Okay, well one more time, giveeveryone your information how
they can get ahold of you.
I know Instagram is your, your,your go-to, but anything else?
Yeah, I'd say where I hang outthe most is definitely Instagram.
So if you're an Instagramperson, let's just connect
there 'cause it's so much fun.
So again, that's at Amanda EY coaching.
(23:43):
Um, and then of course you canalways go to my website that's
gonna have everything linked.
And that's acr professional coaching.com.
Awesome.
Well, I, I could not bemore excited for you, truly.
You are a trailblazer.
You're a rockstar.
You're doing great things.
This is just the beginning.
, and, and I, I jokeabout it, but it's true.
Once you write one book,you just can't stop.
(24:03):
So I imagine we will be talkingagain on a podcast, right?
And we're gonna be talking aboutyour fifth 10th book down the line.
So I just can't wait for it.
And so happy for you and can't waitto see what you're gonna do next.
Thank you so much.
You are so welcome.
Alright everyone, so before we wrapup, just a couple quick things.
Obviously so much packed into that,that, , her Amanda's story, it's so good.
(24:25):
But one thing I love that she said,and this is for all of us to do, is the
exercise of looking at your calendar.
I think that is brilliant because.
Everything that we're meant to do in life.
Those clues are there.
They're there, right?
Our passions are there.
So looking at your calendar,what do you most look forward to?
What do you hope gets canceled?
That I think is awesome.
That's brilliant because it does, it is aclue to where you should be, um, focusing.
(24:48):
And then also just the fact that,you know, with Amanda's story,
a lot started with curiosity andcuriosity of what else is out there
and, and what is there for me?
Is this it?
And so I just wanna encourageeveryone to, to follow that passion.
Follow the curiosity because I assureyou that when you look, you will find
it and definitely grab Amanda's book.
(25:09):
You can get it off of herwebsite, , Amazon, all the places,
but Unleash, unleashing you, right?
Unleashing, yep.
Sorry I said that wrong the first time.
Unleashing you and it's super good.
And so definitely checkit out and grab that copy.
And that's it for this episode.
We'll see you next time on thePower of Authority Spotlight.
Thanks everybody.
(25:33):
Thanks so much for listening tothe Power of Authority Spotlight.
If you are a successful founder,entrepreneur, business owner, or
leader that's getting results andmaking a difference, and you'd like
to be on this program, please visitperformance publishing group.com/podcast
to apply.
That's performancepublishing group.com/podcast.
(25:56):
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(26:17):
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