When Compassion Meets Clarity
Key Insights from the Koyoti Small Business Podcast
I still get goosebumps remembering Thomas’s pause at the top of the Koyoti Small Business Podcast—he asked us all to hit pause, hold a thought or prayer for the millions displaced by the conflict in Ukraine. That moment of collective empathy set the tone for a conversation that marries real compassion with real strategy—exactly what every business life coach should model.
In our chat, I shared how Brainspotting can do what months of mindset work struggle to achieve, all while honoring the body’s wisdom. If you’ve ever wondered what mental blocks are really made of, this story will change your perspective. (See full episode at the bottom of the blog.)
From Cauliflower to Confidence: A Founder Mindset Metaphor
Picture your brain as a head of cauliflower, yes, cauliflower…because it’s one of the clearest images I’ve found to explain why old hurts keep us stuck.
The florets represent your higher thinking: your creative ideas, your small business branding breakthroughs, your vision for abundance.
The outer stems—neither here nor there—are your lizard brain, the limbic system’s gut reactions that trigger fight, flight, or freeze.
The core stem is your body’s felt sense: that place where raw emotions and unprocessed memories live, ready to leak doubt and fear of being seen
When a memory travels up from that core, your lizard brain evaluates: “Is this safe?” If it decides the florets can’t handle the intensity, it caps the memory in a hard shell only to have it drip doubt every time you try to take a bold step, like hitting “Publish” on that webinar registration or sending in your own podcast pitch.
The Breakthrough: Pop. Clean. Bloom.
This is where Brainspotting shines. By guiding your eyes to a precise position and tuning into the body’s sensations, we “pop open” that encapsulated shell, “clean out” the old charge, and let your florets burst into confidence, unlocking an abundance mindset in minutes, not months.
I’ve coached founders who were too terrified to launch their first Facebook Live. After one Brainspotting session, they hit “Go” and filled their virtual room within days. This isn’t woo-woo; it’s somatic therapy programs and money mindset coaching rolled into one, with results you can measure.
A Live Example from the Podcast
Thomas and I dug into how even small traumas can leak at the worst moments. Remember when I confessed, “When you’re about to apply for a podcast like this one, but you can’t quite send the application because there’s something inside saying, ‘I’ll do it later’”? That “little trauma” was sabotaging my forward momentum until Brainspotting popped it open in one session and let me finally step into my founder mindset without that internal roadblock.
What It Means for You as a Small-Biz Owner
As entrepreneurs, we juggle branding, budgeting, and growth hacks—and yet we’re our own biggest obstacle. Here’s how tapping into your body’s nervous system can flip the script:
Stop the Leak. Instead of patching over self-doubt, we target its neurophysiological source.
Accelerate Growth. Free from buried fear, your success mindset shifts from “Will this work?” to “What’s stopping my success?”
Sustain Momentum. With old blocks cleared, you can build strategies—whether it’s small business branding or scaling your offer on a solid, somatically aligned foundation.
Your Next Step
If you’re ready to go beyond conventional coaching and clear what’s really holding you back, here’s how to dive in:
Take the Quiz: Discover your top mental “landmine” with my free What’s Stopping Your Success quiz. It only takes about 2 minutes and can save you a ton of time.
Book a Consult: Mention “Koyoti Podcast” when you schedule your complimentary 30-minute strategy session (not a sales call) at jenniehays.com. We’ll pinpoint whether Brainspotting or targeted coaching is the fastest path forward.
Entrepreneurship isn’t just about action steps; it’s about having the success mindset to take them. When you pair strategic moves with somatic breakthroughs, those florets in your cauliflower-brain can finally flourish. Here’s to stepping fully into your vision, without letting the past hold you hostage.
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[00:02] Thomas: Regardless of where you stand regarding the conflict of Ukraine... hit the pause button for a moment for a thought or a prayer.
There is continued and urgent need for humanitarian assistance.... helping to spread the word would be immensely helpful.
With the help of some groups that I belong to, I've compiled a ...place to start. Once again, that's coyote.com/ukraine.
Thank you for listening to this. I don't often get involved in causes on the podcast, but this one matters. If you can share this information, that would be wonderful and amazing.
Thank you.
And welcome back to the Koyoti Small Business Podcast, a resource library for small-business owners. If you find this helpful, please hit like or share. Today’s topic: mental health in small business, and our guest is Jennie Hayes here to talk about Brainspotting.
[03:03] Jennie: Hi, I'm so glad to be here. Thank you. It's been fun getting to know you over our last few calls and really diving into this topic.
[03:12] Thomas: Yeah, appreciate it. And the same feels both ways here. So thank you very much.
But first and foremost, what is Brainspotting?
[03:24] Jennie: So Brainspotting is a very new technique for reframing stored memories by accessing your body’s own processing—often clearing trauma in just one to three sessions. Imagine your brain like a head of cauliflower: the florets are your higher thinking, the stems are the limbic “lizard brain,” and the core is your body’s felt sense. When a memory is too intense, it gets stuck in that core and leaks doubt or emotional triggers. Brainspotting “pops open” those spots by guiding your eyes to a precise position, clearing the old charge so you can process it normally.
When you fight with your spouse or feel stuck on a task, you’re seeing a memory leak. Brainspotting cleans that out so you no longer get derailed by those reactions.
And what happens when we form a new memory is it comes in, from the six to twelve months of development, your brainstem says, “We’re going to hold this here until it’s safe to process.”
Right? Well, the problem with holding it there and not processing it is we miss the integration—Brainspotting allows us to do this very, very quickly, usually in one to three sessions max.
[06:39] Thomas: It’s using something that you’re already born with.
[06:45] Jennie: We regulate emotions from birth by borrowing cues from caregivers—my role is to externally regulate you so your brain can safely process the memory. Most people feel relief within a single session.
[07:50] Thomas: You mentioned it’s new—where did you come from, personally and professionally?
[07:55] Jennie: I was born in San Angelo, Texas, grew up between there and the DC area, then back to Texas. I spent a decade as a 911 paramedic… mental and physical resilience have long been my passion, which eventually led me here.
After years on the ambulance, I trained in coaching and discovered that emotional blocks were the root of so many challenges entrepreneurs face.
[10:27] Thomas: Tell us about how you transitioned from paramedicine to Brainspotting practice.
[10:32] Jennie: It wasn’t planned. A client I was coaching hit a breakthrough in our first session—one tear, and her panic dissolved. I knew I had to learn the method myself.
Brainspotting isn’t therapy—it’s a somatic modality that clears the nervous system so you can apply your knowledge without friction.
[13:02] Thomas: Can you share a live example?
[13:07] Jennie: One founder I worked with couldn’t post her first video—she’d rehearse it a hundred times and freeze. After two Brainspotting sessions, she went live and sold out her workshop within three days. That’s the difference between “Will this work?” and “What’s stopping my success?”—and it’s why I call it Unblocked Visibility™ when we pair it with strategy.
[15:50] Thomas: How does someone get started?
[15:55] Jennie: You can take my free quiz at jenniehays.com/quiz to see your top mental landmine, or book a consult at jenniehays.com and mention “Coyote Podcast” for a complimentary 30-minute session.
[17:10] Thomas: Thank you, Jennie. This has been eye-opening.
[17:15] Jennie: Thank you for having me—and for that moment of compassion at the start. It matters.
[17:20] Thomas: Absolutely. And to our listeners: if you enjoyed this, please subscribe and share. We’ll see you next time on the Koyoti Small Business Podcast.
