What Your Voice Might Be Telling You About Burnout | Brienne Hennessy

Your voice might be trying to tell you something—and it’s not just about being hoarse or tired after a long day. In this episode of Business with Chronic Illness, Nikita reconnects with vocal vitality coach Brienne Hennessy to explore the surprising signs your voice could be sending you about your energy, alignment, and burnout levels.

If you’ve ever lost your voice before a big launch, felt drained after a short client call, or brushed off vocal changes as “just allergies” or a “normal side effect” of your chronic illness—this one’s for you.

Together, we dive into:

• How voice issues can be an early red flag for burnout (before you even realize it)
• What it looks like to trust your intuition—even when it’s inconvenient
• The subtle difference between pushing your voice vs. tuning into it
• Visibility, resistance, and why showing up doesn’t always mean being “louder”
• Letting go of “business as usual” and creating a more sustainable rhythm

Brianne shares how our voice is both a tool and a mirror—and when we listen closely, it can guide us toward better health, alignment, and confidence in business.

🎧 Listen now to catch the signs early and protect your most underrated business asset: your voice.

🛠️ Resources Mentioned:

• Book a voice screening with Brienne Hennessy
• Grab the Voice Emergency Kit
• Follow Brianne on LinkedIn

Transcript

0:00

We've all been there. We've cleared our throat, we've coughed, we've in the mic, we have said, you know. My voice is a little itchy right now. I think I have just some allergies going on. I think, I've just been doing a lot of speaking and that is why, I, I'm a little raspy today, right? We've all been there. We've all at some point felt like, or actually have lost our voice right before something really important for our business. Before a client call, before a live video, before a live presentation, a launch, a public television opportunity to speak and share about our expertise, and it happens a few times, usually in smaller settings, right? It happens when you might be on that Instagram live. It happens when you are on the phone with your girlfriend or your mom or someone, and we tell our ourself it's just stress or it's just, you know, I'm exhausted, or, it's allergies or it's a side effect from some medication, which it could actually be a lot of those things, but what if your voice was trying to tell you something even more? And in today's episode, we're pulling back the curtain on a hidden connection between our voice and burnout, and especially for those of us living with chronic illness, how your voice can reveal the. Earliest signs of burnout and how tuning in could save your energy, your visibility, and even your business. And of course, I had to bring back my amazing voice coach that I've had on the show before. And so of course, I had to have Brienne Hennessy back on the show. She is an amazing, voice coach. A vocal empowerment guide, a speaker trainer, a speech voice pathologist and voiceover artist, She has worked with so many amazing seven figure businesses. and I am super excited to have her back on the show. And we're gonna talk a lot more about how you voice can be a barometer for how burned out you might actually be. How it could give you signs before you know, and we're gonna talk about how you can figure that out. So stay tuned.

Nikita's voice: 2:31

Welcome to Business with Chronic Illness, the Globally Ranked podcast for women living with chronic illness who want to start and grow a business online. I'm your host, Nikita Williams and I went from living a normal life to all of a sudden being in constant pain with no answers to being diagnosed with multiple chronic illnesses. And trying to make a livable income. I faced the challenge of adapting traditional business advice to fit my unique circumstances with chronic illness, feeling frustrated and more burned out than I already was while managing my chronic illness to becoming an award-winning coach for the flexible, sustainable online coaching business. I found the surprisingly simple steps to starting and growing a profitable business without compromising my health or my peace. Since then, I've helped dozens of women just like you learn how to do the same. If you're ready to create a thriving business that aligns with your lifestyle and wellbeing, you're in the right place. Together, we're shifting the narrative of what's possible for women with chronic illness and how we make a living. This is business with chronic illness. Well, I am excited to have Brienne back on the show. The last time we had you on Brienne was when we were talking a lot more about like my journey and the journey of voice and how that's so important. Today we're gonna talk about it a little differently about how important it is to acknowledge your voice, not dismiss it, how it can help you in your business, how it can help you in your life, and just some things to keep in mind. But first, tell us what's new with you. Brienne, tell us where you are, how's things been?

Brienne: 4:15

Yeah. Nikita, it is a delight to be back. I was so tickled when you invited me and we had such a good time before. And yes, even with our journey of working together, I just always appreciate watching your evolution as you put your figurative voice out there. Mm-hmm. So thank you. And these, this season is really a season of this year, honestly is really a year of. Reducing shiny object syndrome. Mm-hmm. For those of you who are familiar, shout out and also, uh, focusing on a couple things, some courses that I've created and am creating as well as building out my paid speaking engagements side of the business. And when I say side of the business, turns out that is a. That is its own unique business model. So going from, you know, B2C to B2B and what that all means, you know, still in the, in the, in the sticky middle of that and really focused on my networks. I have a, a couple networks that I am actively a part of that I'm really enjoying. And, uh, Nikita and I, for those of you who listed our last episode, we, we met in a, in a group that, at that time was as a good fit for both of us. And so it's just always been lovely to see. Those ebbs and flows and stay connected to the people who mean the most to me like you. Yeah. So that's kind of where I'm at this season, really staying in my lane and trusting that simplicity can thrive. I.

Nikita: 5:38

Oh, I love that. You know, I love that. That should be like on a t-shirt. There

Both Speakers: 5:43

we go. Writing idea that too, y'all, we were thinking of so

Nikita: 5:46

many ideas before we pressed two before today. We're like, man, we're just coming up with thoughts and ideas. But I love that. Seriously, that is so important for us to remember. And I think if we go back to kind of like just thinking about the voice and business, I mean, they're so connected, right? Like. Our businesses and our voice are so connected on like the metaphorical place. Mm-hmm. The very physical, tangible place. And for those of us living with chronic illness. There's a very, like all of those things. Then on top of the other things we might be putting in our bodies that we have to, that affects our voice and also our ability to advocate for ourselves physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, all of those ways. So for you, when you think about the voice and in business Yes. How has the way you treat your voice been a. Barometer for how your business has grown.

Brienne: 6:50

Hmm. We're just gonna dive right in. So interestingly, as I was reflecting on and preparing for today, the first thing a lot of people think of and is become more prominent for especially that metaphoric physical or figurative side, excuse me, is visibility, right? We all talk about visibility. What does that mean? With your voice, yes, physically you need to use it to show up and, and speak and network and you know, talk with prospects, whatever that looks like for your visibility and be out there, even for those of you who maybe don't wanna be on camera or whatever that may look like there's some capacity that you still are using your voice to run your business, but then also being able to feel comfortable getting your message out there. So what I find, you know, has been a thread since, since this journey began, even before I formally started my business, was we all desire to be heard.

Both Speakers: 7:42

Mm-hmm. We

Brienne: 7:42

all desire to be seen. What do most of us learn on this self-growth journey is the things that we are the best at. We also usually need our own medicine.

Both Speakers: 7:51

Mm-hmm. More

Brienne: 7:52

often than not. So the visibility piece for me, quite vulnerably has been one of the most challenging pieces. Mm-hmm. And yet. I am awesome at activating that in others. Mm-hmm. Like, you give me a person, I'll be like, I will cheerlead you and work with you all the way through to that end. So that continual doesn't even feel like a paradox, just a lesson.

Both Speakers: 8:15

Mm-hmm.

Brienne: 8:16

In that has been really interesting because I, I can uplift and guide others through, through how they. Tune into their most natural voice through how that can show up. And while, yes, I am one who practices what she preaches with the physical voice and do my, I'm not immune, so I do my exercises and I do the things I need to do to keep it healthy. The speaking up for the ourselves, the speaking out, all of that still has gone through a significant. Dark night of the soul layer journey.

Both Speakers: 8:45

Mm.

Brienne: 8:45

Feeling safe and comfortable and whole to show up in that way. So that's one of the reasons I believe that very, the, one of the very first times that I really tuned in, and I don't know that I would've called it at this time, but for those of you who have, have heard me speak on this before, are intuition is powerful. Mm-hmm. The tagline for my business is you and your voice are worthy. Mm-hmm. I believe everyone can find their self worth again through their voice. I needed it the most.

Both Speakers: 9:12

Hmm.

Brienne: 9:13

So that has really impacted how my business has frankly stalled and grown and stalled and grown and stalled again, because I feel like there's these, you know, we're never going backwards. Mm-hmm. We're not going back to what was. But there are going to be these, you know, peaks and valleys and just, just when you think you've kind of broken through one and the next lesson shows up. And so that is something where

Both Speakers: 9:38

that's so true. I

Nikita: 9:39

had,

Brienne: 9:40

yes, I had a woman the other day and it was so, and I love this, see this, this, and this is why. Having these kind of conversations is so important too. She's like, I want to see you out there more now here I'm thinking like, this is my best season yet. Like, I'm posting more, I'm doing, I'm doing things that do feel stretchier to me in this way. Mm-hmm. And she's like, you just need to get over yourself. And I was like, ain't that the truth? Because, because she didn't mean it in a harsh way. Right. But she's just like, there's, she could sense that there was something. So even though when you, when you see yourself making these strides. And I do celebrate it so much'cause I feel a lightness to myself that I haven't felt in a long time after We can talk about this. Burnout of 2023 was chronic and Yeah, chronically, ridiculously uncomfortable. And it doesn't even feel like she was saying it from a, an ego place. More from a. This is, this comes easy to you, so just show up so that people can witness that. So that's what, that's what comes to mind with, with how that piece has impacted business and how I can continually be the student and the teacher at the same time. I.

Nikita: 10:51

I love that because we all beat ourselves up so much. I hear this from my clients all of the time. Mm-hmm. How can I help my clients do this, but it's so hard for me to help myself do this. Mm-hmm. Right? Like, it's always that it's, I, I often hear that. I'm like, you think you're alone? Like you are not alone. I'm sitting over here talking to a coach, a therapist, and saying the same exact thing. Like, you are not alone in that feeling of like, I. I excel at this aspect of something that feels like a gift to you towards others, but when it comes to yourself, there's that inner critic of you. There's that self-doubt of you. There's all of these other things that are involved when you're looking at yourself in that mirror that. You know you're capable of, but it feels like it's more worthy to give it to someone else. That's what I have found. Right? Yeah. It feels so much more easier to give those gifts.

Brienne: 11:46

Yeah.

Nikita: 11:46

To others.

Brienne: 11:47

That's why I was struggled with the phrase, well, if she can do it, so can you. Mm. Yeah. One just never set sits right with me. You see it, it all over the internet from all sorts of types of folks, business coaches, et cetera, like, well, if they can do it, so can you. Maybe it depends on where you're at with all of this. Yeah, yeah. And exactly like you said, there's not gonna be, there's gonna be certain layers of it. Like the inner critic I have, thankfully she and I are friends. We became friends years ago, and I have, I have quieted her, but this is the new level. This is the, is it, is it safe to show up and not constantly? Second guess, which is interestingly just as draining mm as the inner critic was years and years ago, which led to that time, anxiety and depression. Now. Burnout of that. I think that was one of the factors of burnout. So yes, all of these things that it's gonna look a little different in a different season, but I think that phrase also goes back to one of the most dangerous things too, which is comparisonitis.

Nikita: 12:41

Yes. And you know, I, and I'm not gonna sit up here and act like I haven't said. Probably a couple of times, well if I can do this, you can do this.'cause to me it's hard, right? Yeah. Like living with chronic illness and growing a business, it's definitely hard. Yeah. I think for a lot of the ways we see that is that, I know when I have said it, I definitely mean and lean into like if I can figure it out. You can figure it out from the context of if you allow yourself to figure it out, give yourself permission to figure it out. Give yourself permission. Yes. Because oftentimes we don't, we look at someone or look at a situation and say, I could never do that. That's right. Because we've put up all these things that makes it feel like it isn't possible. Right, right. But kind of going back to like what you were saying about the barometer and visibility and our voice being connected to that. Burnout being one of the signature signs y'all for real burnout. What are some other visible signs that maybe your voice literally, or not even literally, just your inner voice and your actual voice giving you signs that you aren't listening to? The fact that. You either need more time, we need more space. You need in order for you to show up in this visibility that you're looking to create in your, in yourself, or in your business.

Brienne: 14:04

Yeah, we, I might come at this in two angles. Yeah. Partially because it is still the two sides of the coin with the, the physical symptoms. And I'll touch on a few of those, but then also that intuitive inner voice and what happens when you're out of alignment with that. So one thing that that comes up physically and, and actually two, two women have just broken through their barrier with this, is the stamina it takes to run a business. Mm. And I, and, and I know each and every one of you listening and, and Nik and I have had these conversations about her journey. It's a different playing field. It's so different. It's not even, I mean, that's where, that's where, to your point, yes, you can of course say if, if, if I can do it, you can. But you're also not saying in that, do it the same way I am.

Both Speakers: 14:53

Mm-hmm. Do it

Brienne: 14:53

because our circumstances are identical. We know that's not true.

Both Speakers: 14:57

Mm-hmm. So

Brienne: 14:57

that's, so that's a big consideration. So what's interesting is to run a business, yes, it takes stamina to do as much talking and get your mission out there and be visible, takes vocal stamina. Mm-hmm.

Both Speakers: 15:09

And

Brienne: 15:09

so one of the, the most common signs or signals that comes up is when people say to me, I. I, I had a client, her name's Emmy. She's a holistic health coach.

Both Speakers: 15:19

Hmm.

Brienne: 15:20

So y'all, no one, no one is immune. Right. Don't, don't look at the gifts. Right. She is excellent at helping women continue to connect to their overall health. And meanwhile, she can't even get through her 20 minute lives because she is struggling with her stamina and her voice is fading.

Both Speakers: 15:35

Mm-hmm.

Brienne: 15:36

So in that way, she didn't look at it as impossible. Right. And be like, well, I guess I just can't do that. She stayed curious. She stayed compassionate to herself. She was like, I know I need to work with you because this is something I, I know is going to increase in frequency. Like I want to get on on more stages. And livestream is currently how she connects with her audience. Mm-hmm. And so when she's connecting with them and 20 minutes isn't that long, I. But if your voice is already fading and you're losing out on people and things of that nature, it's gonna catch up with you over time. You can't keep pushing through that. So that can show up as, as audibly, the voice starts to fade physically. You can just feel drained after it. And different than like, I. Being online all day and and that kind of thing. Right. And within the first two months of our six months together, she had not only achieved her 20 minute benchmark and she was doing lives more frequently in the week, but then by, so that was by March, then by April she had a booked out month. I. Why? Because she's able to then actually connect and then to take that the next level. She's connecting with a more natural sounding voice for her. So this is where we get into the nuance of the energy of it too. It's one thing to say, okay, thank goodness I not only can can do that, I can talk longer. My voice is, is more reliable. It has the stamina, but also the physical sound, the vibrations, and the energy with which you're speaking it. He's going to connect or not with your audience.

Both Speakers: 17:02

Mm-hmm.

Brienne: 17:03

So that's the biggest one that comes up, I would say, from a physical sign. And then when we look intuitively, so I love this. Thank you Divine. So lovely that you brought this question to,'cause just this morning I. I was telling Nikita before we started today that I actually woke up feeling lighter after very full three days, physically taxing three days, and I had, I had done some of my practices to make sure that I felt lighter. I love Epsom salt baths. Those are never going away on a soaking tub. Someday, hi. I do some medications, I do some vocalizing, et cetera. Okay. Interestingly though, so Saturday night I had also taken an Epsom salt bath and normally like, you know, I don't, I'm not doing those every night, maybe like once a week, depending. But my intuition had told me again on Sunday night, you know, you're gonna do this. And so in this trusting journey of building and deepening my inner voice and that, that intuitive knowing and, and following that, which again, I believe is connected to divine God universe consciousness. I followed through with that. It immediately occurred to me this morning as I was like, oh, I feel lighter, la la, la. This is great. That even something small like taking an Epsom salt bath versus just going to bed energized me versus draining me. Now some of you might be like, that's'cause you took the salt bath. Maybe I taken one the night before and I didn't feel energized on Sunday morning the same way I did this morning. It's because you're not questioning and second guessing, which is draining because you're getting more and more distant from yourself. So I don't care how big or small a decision is that you get that nudge, that urge, that impulse, that intuitive knowing, however that comes through. That is a sign that something is, is the chasm of disconnect is widening and that takes unnecessary energy.

Nikita: 18:50

Oh,

Brienne: 18:50

that's

Nikita: 18:51

like, I'm trying to figure out how to say this again and like somebody's listening to is like, okay y'all, that sounds real good, but it's like way over my head right now. Like I, yep. Right. Yes. What I have found is that we are afraid of the stillness. Amen. We are afraid of the change. And the fear is from this feeling of not trusting that you need the stillness, it's not trusting that you need the change. So you have this resistance and that energy is so much more heavy than just deciding, I'm going to give into the stillness I'm going to give in to needing this space for me or trying to do this change. Yeah. It's so much more energy of trying to avoid this thing. And I think what you're saying is you could have said to yourself like, I just took one. I should have to give myself another one to feel like that. Right. Stories. Yep. Yeah, versus I just, I just, I'm just gonna take another stop bath. Yeah. And Wow, that felt good. Like, yeah. I think in business we do a lot of that logical thinking.

Brienne: 20:02

We do because we're smart women. Mm-hmm. And, and we're smart entrepreneurs and we're doing the best we can with what we know. But we also have past conditioning and stories that weigh us down, that we, that we paint everything through, and to truly surrender. To that unknown and that void and that trust within, and the trusting of that, that inner voice, however that comes through. Ugh. It just, it, the heaviness is the word. It just lifts it all away.

Nikita: 20:31

Yeah. Yeah. And that brings to me to mind. This trusting of your body living with chronic illness.

Both Speakers: 20:39

Mm-hmm.

Nikita: 20:40

We've all been, I know I personally, and part of the reason why I even started working with Brene back in the day was because I got a new diagnosis. I was having new medication and I was like, something's going on with my voice. And I never, ever like paid attention to it like that until. Side effects, medications, side effects of this condition, and for a while there, just like this is my normal, this is something I've been talking about a lot, Brienne with people in general. It's like we all live in a lot of what we think is normal. That is not normal. We think, oh, it's the allergies. Oh, it's just, you know, I'm supposed to have bad periods because doctors say women are supposed to suffer. Like there's all of these things that we have just been conditioned to believe are normal until you learn that it doesn't have to be that way.

Brienne: 21:32

And our body's always listening to those normal norms that we're telling ourself as well.

Both Speakers: 21:37

Yeah.

Brienne: 21:38

Yeah. The warning signs. You know, when you were, you were mentioning earlier like what are some of the other things that show up, for example, it is not normal to throat clear all the time, for example. So the fact that you bring up allergies is really key right now.

Both Speakers: 21:52

Mm.

Brienne: 21:52

So many people still having pretty protracted allergy seasons this year around, seems around the country. It is not normal to always have to. I get it. You're probably like, but I, but I've always done that, but it's allergy, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Fill in the blank. But again, not normal. You don't have to just tolerate that and so you can decide is there a different way? Is there something different? Yes there is. It's not normal for the voice to drop and pitch and then lose some of its inflection, lose some of its high range singer or not. And you know, meanwhile, whether it's hyper hypothyroidism, whether it's chronic fatigue syndrome, whether it's reflux allergies, that's not normal for the voice to menopause perimenopause. That's not normal for the voice to just completely shift and then lose a lot of its dynamicism. So it doesn't have to be attached to these. Well, I guess it's just the way it is. I guess this is just aging, I guess. I guess that's, I think puts us all in a lot of limited space. Like you were saying. It makes us stop believing in what's possible and then we look at things like, I mean there's other more neurologic based disorders, but then we even look at things like Aler stand low syndrome. That is a tough chronic. Disease as well.

Both Speakers: 23:11

Mm-hmm. And that,

Brienne: 23:12

interestingly, the folks I used to work with, with Aler, TLOs, you know, between the hypermobility and, and, and depending on the severity pain with talking is not normal.

Both Speakers: 23:21

Mm. Now

Brienne: 23:21

does it come along often with this presentation of this disorder? Yes. But it doesn't mean there's not some sort of way through and tools similarly to, for those of you who've been noticing in the news, Celin speaking out more about her. Oh, yes. Her disorder now it's called stiff, stiff person syndrome, but essentially it's, it's spasticity of the muscles, right? Like a hypertenicity or spasticity of the muscles and you know, those kind of things. Whether it's used to be a specialist in spasmodic, dysphonia, a tremor of the voice, shakiness, Parkinson, all these different things, there's going to be different things that either fatigue the, the system even more like chronic fatigue syndrome, and we have to be mindful of how much we're overdoing. But also when it's. Hyperplastic and, and really struggling in, in this choking, constricted space. No, of course it's not normal, and yes, it can be part of this present disease presentation, but again, there's still a way through. There's still a way for it to not define you, and I believe the voice can be both the barometer in that way and part of the healing in that way.

Both Speakers: 24:24

Mm-hmm.

Nikita: 24:27

I'm a huge Celine Dion fan, just if anybody doesn't know this. So when I saw her, I don't think the it actually came, comes out today. The whole documentary comes out today, the day we're recording June 24th, but there was some clips of it and. I was just thinking, this is what I was thinking as people living with chronic illness who don't have millions of dollars, like Celine Dion mm-hmm. Who for years, she says in this documentary for years, she went to an ENT doctor. Mm-hmm. Talking about this symptom that didn't feel quite right. Mm-hmm. Right To the point that she was like, she would go to the doctor's office and just be like, no, you better find something. There's a clip, which is like, you better find something. We've all experienced that, especially if you're living with chronic illness. How many times have we been told that something is, Nope. Labs are normal. Everything's normal. Right? This woman who uses her voice in such a powerful way. Yeah. It it is, it is her business. It is her literal business to be the sewing Dion. Right. Like it is her voice. The reason why we know her is because it's her voice. Exactly. That like, right. Yeah. Having, I mean, massive amount of teens and I'm sure millions of dollars she's thrown at trying to figure this out. Hmm. And she has all the training there is to have on how to take care of your voice. Mm-hmm. Right? So for us who have businesses who literally are using our voice to. Speak or to share our story or to show up in whatever container that is going to look like just in our business. We're not talking about the relationships with our spouses or our partners, our friends, or you know, all of these different kind of things in our businesses. Like we're not talking about the whole life that our voice is literally going through every single day. Right? It is. It is a valuable tool that we can't discount and just, I feel like we can't just, what's the word I'm looking for? Be resigned. That what we're experiencing is normal.

Brienne: 26:38

Mm-hmm. Yeah. So almost in that vein of taking it for granted or brushing it off, maybe something of that nature.

Nikita: 26:45

Yeah,

Brienne: 26:46

exactly. Yeah. And it's interesting because when, when, if you say to someone, well, what would you define as an asset? I. My house, my car, my stocks, my bonds, my business. Hopefully, you know all, all things going well. And if you have never thought of your voice as an asset, what becomes possible when you look at it that way too? What would you do for your work if you couldn't use your voice? The degree that you need to, to the power that you need to, to build your business even more? Your teams a, a client that I'm, she's in her. We're about six months in now. One of the reasons that she initially came to me more proactively is because she said, speaking is my life, and she's a seven figure business owner. Now building out her team and client base even more, knowing that she wants to continue. Looking at, at what are all the facets of her business that she uses, including her speaking, including her voice. She didn't overlook that, just saying, well, it's here. It's fine. It's doing okay. What was, what was interesting as we got to talking when we first met is that she does love to show up. She's on stories and lives all the time because that's again, just how she connects with with her folks. But at the same time, she noticed she had started to push her voice, like think of it as if. She believed in order to be heard, she had to talk more.

Both Speakers: 28:11

Mm,

Brienne: 28:12

but the talking more was a catch 22.

Both Speakers: 28:17

It

Brienne: 28:17

wasn't, it wasn't adding to kind of the message she'd gotten her message across. It was certainly adding to her vocal load or how much she was having to talk. And then she started relaying these instances many times over the past few years that before a big event, whether it be a retreat she was gonna lead or a big stage event, she said there was even like a million dollar speaking event that she had in three to four days before that, like clockwork, she lost her voice.

Both Speakers: 28:44

Hmm.

Brienne: 28:45

And she said, I know it's, it's emotional and psychological, and I know there are these other underlying facets that are coming through in my both expectation that, well, this is probably what's gonna happen consciously or not whether she realized it. But that kind of chronic thread for her too was something that should be really honest with herself. Mm-hmm. In what it was she was. Aligning to, she wanted to, yes, build her business, but she also didn't actually wanna show up as much as she thought she did or needed to. And so when we look at these things of, yes, if you notice something, I am, I can't say it enough. Yes, we have to advocate for ourselves always. And in healthcare system, I mean, that's a whole nother episode, but there has to be. You being the forefront of your, of your own advocacy, no matter what they say. So yes, get second opinions. Yes, I do free voice screenings for that reason. Mm-hmm. Because people are like, I wasn't told what's going on. And at the same time, how can we also look at whatever past experiences and narratives are feeding this mindset that that's going to happen though,

Both Speakers: 29:51

you know?

Brienne: 29:51

So we wanna be really, I think, deliberate and discerning for, okay, I feel something's different. My voice is changing in quality. Maybe it's getting raspier. Maybe there's a little discomfort. Maybe I, I feel like breathless when I talk.

Both Speakers: 30:07

Mm.

Brienne: 30:07

Those kind of things are real. Mm-hmm. And the things that are contributing to them are very likely multifactorial.

Both Speakers: 30:16

Mm. So

Brienne: 30:16

we can have that, take that power back and say, this is not happening to me. This is something that is showing me what's potential to kind of unearth to work through. So even in, in her physical case. Two months ago, she led her retreat, first retreat for this year in Arizona of all places where it's dry as all get out, teaching all day for three days in a row. She had no problem, not at all. She didn't have a problem leading up to it. She didn't have a problem during it. And yes, some of that is the work that she's been, she's been focused on in our work together. And at the same time, totally releasing that story that there has to be something to trigger it. Yeah. It's, it's one of those more subtle things, and this is where I also love how you reframe things too, Nikita, because we can't always put these things into words. Mm-hmm. But if you know something's off, okay, get it checked out. Talk with someone, let let someone know and tune into your own body's wisdom. Say, what do you need from me now?

Both Speakers: 31:19

Mm-hmm.

Brienne: 31:19

What can I do? Is there a space or something I'm not seeing? Is there a way I can love you even better? Those are the kind of conversations internally that I think absolutely can shift our overall wellbeing too.

Nikita: 31:34

That's such a important thing. You just said that last thing of what do you need more of? Hmm. Right. I think often when we're living with chronic illness, we think that we don't, it is what it is. I used to say that all the time. It is what it is. It's, it is what it is.

Brienne: 31:56

Interesting.

Nikita: 31:56

It is what it is. I can't like this. This is the, this is the reality. There is. This is what it is. And I, I, I always tell my clients now like, yeah, that used to be what it was because you didn't know any better. That's right. You didn't know any, no one's told you. Like there was no one in my family or even in my circle who understood any of what I was going through or even knew of the things that weren't unquote normal. Yeah. But when we think about, and this is why I think business is one of the best, best healing tools when you're living with chronic illness.'cause it. Puts you in spaces where you learn about things like voice work and how that affects things. And Yeah. Even though that is a side effect from a pill, it doesn't mean that you can't have some control over it. Like there's so many different things that we don't give ourselves. We just resign. And I think, I think we said that already, but I just think it's so important to remember that if it causes you pain, if it causes you concern.

Brienne: 32:56

Mm-hmm.

Nikita: 32:58

Sometimes it's not pain, it just is like. This is annoying.

Brienne: 33:01

A little nagging. It's a little annoying. Yeah,

Nikita: 33:03

exactly. A little annoying. Every time I show up, I wanna do this, and then my voice is doing this or Yep. Whatever. Yeah. It's something to be more curious about versus judging or versus being resigned to like, oh, well this is on the label. It's a, it's a side effect, so I just gotta deal with it. No, you don't have to.

Brienne: 33:22

No. Power suggestion is real. Yeah. Well, yeah.

Nikita: 33:29

Don't get me sorry on that. My husband. And I'm like, I think, I think, I think, yeah. But yeah, and I, and I bring this to like kind of more of a full circle of the conversation around business with chronic illness, that running a business requires you to be visible.

Brienne: 33:45

Yeah.

Nikita: 33:46

Even if you don't wanna be visible like Oprah, you wanna be like, you know, Celine Dion has a, until recently had a pretty. She was very private about her personal life. You did not hear much about her personal life often, right? But there she's still very visible in what she is creating in the world, and whatever you are creating in the world, whether it's a blog, whether it's a YouTube channel, or whether it's a. Podcast, whether it's helping your local community, there is an aspect of visibility and that visibility can be affected by how you are treating your voice, how your voice is treating you. Yeah, and I think it's really important that we don't succumb to the This is normal.

Brienne: 34:30

Yes, absolutely. Because that again, goes back to limiting us, and we are in so many ways. Bigger creators than that, you know, and, and so we don't need to box ourselves in. And I think the moment you find yourself running the same narrative is a moment to just be aware and check yourself and go, do I still believe that? Right. There are things now that we talked about two years ago that neither of us still believe anymore. For your, for ourselves. Great. Yeah. Thank goodness. You know, like, thank goodness we're evolving beyond that as well. And, and even that wherever you're, you're holding back wherever you are again, that second guessing, that doubting, that criticizing yourself, that is all siphoning energy away from where you could be pouring it into yourself and into others. And particularly when it comes to asking, what is it you need from me? Sometimes it might just be silence, rest, salt back. You don't have to question it. Yeah, because that's, that's the, the piece that then is without you even probably knowing that we'll then let some visibility event later that week. Give you that much more energy, be able to show up more powerfully. I had, I had a talk I gave to a networking group that I'm part of. Uh, it's a hybrid networking group, but we have an in-person meeting and no less than like three people. After, after I got done, three people came up to me, oh, I just really appreciate your grounded, calming presence. I said, oh, thank you. That's, that's lovely. You know, I'm just doing, me being in the zone and I. They were both appreciative, but also one woman said, well, that was very needed. I didn't know that. I didn't, I didn't know that the, the room had been jovial all night and we'd been doing all sorts of sharing and activity things beforehand. So this is where trusting yourself even more for how you're meant to show up. You don't have to show up like me if that's, if it's, you know, in this grounded, peaceful space. And that's sometimes me, there's other versions of me too, but you don't know. How that's meant to actually be heard and seen by others.

Both Speakers: 36:49

Yeah.

Brienne: 36:49

So the more in your visibility that you can, can trust, and then truly, I heard this from one of my, my mentors about a year ago. Decisive energy is powerful, but honoring and obedience to yourself and in this case, again, I believe in divine God and, and source in that way is. Everything, you can't say, yes, I'm going to follow through with that and then constantly be checking on it.

Both Speakers: 37:16

Hmm. Yeah.

Brienne: 37:17

You can't say, yes, you, you told me to, to go through with this and then, and then come back and say, well, are you sure? Is that what you really meant? Like that's, yeah, that's so taxing in and of itself. And I think that's where I had a hard, you know, learn about that too, because in, in the year of burnout. It hits you when you least expect it. You think you see some of the signs? I know people who are experts in helping people avoid burnout. Haha, didn't matter. Yeah, clearly that was still, still meant to come in. And so when you get into that point of recognizing, oh, I had not been listening to what was happening within, and I can detach from the outcome. Which is hard in business'cause we do want to control the outcome. We do all want to succeed. Again, it goes back to giving us more energy and that's what each and every one of us, especially those of you thriving through, whatever your body is bringing you that day deserves the energy of you. The energy that you don't even know is you, that people are perceiving and viewing and soaking up. That's what we need.

Both Speakers: 38:35

Hmm.

Nikita: 38:37

Yeah. And if it's interesting that you learn those different versions of yourself mm-hmm. When you put yourself in a space to not succumb to the normal and look for other answers. Right. I have found that when it comes to specifically business with chronic illness,

Both Speakers: 39:00

yeah. There's

Nikita: 39:00

a lot of. Noise. And this is kind of what I was saying, like I'm having these big epiphanies recently around growing your business in the traditional, what everyone says is supposed to be doing whatever. Ah. Mm-hmm. And when you're in that world, right? When you're in the world of seeing that and doing that, that's something you can't, you almost. In the Bible, it says, you know, association is can affect you, right? Yes. And so we're sponges, right? And so you don't realize how much of a sponge you've pulled in all these other bullies or these other thoughts or these other ways of being and a business without realizing, well, the very reason why you're doing what you're doing was to combat this thing. Yeah. That you're seeing in the world, right? Yeah. And so this year, and this is part of the reason why we kind of pivoted the show to be for my own. Clarity, clarity and wellbeing, right around like, this isn't just about business and business, like just getting business done. This literally is how do we function live, growing a business while living with chronic illness?'cause it is so different.

Brienne: 40:09

Diff Exactly. So different. Exactly. And so what have you, what have the epiphanies been that have been most? Oh, there's so many.

Nikita: 40:17

I think the biggest one I realized earlier this year, which is. One, I'm much older than I realize when it comes to people in this industry of online business, like legit, like I. Have been shocked. I'm like, oh, I'm that much older than you. Oh my gosh. Like, like my brain literally just never saw that. Right. And then on top of that, of like, oh, you may have talked about having chronic illness, like it happened while or during, like you already have a seven figure business. You already, like you had all of these systems and all of this support and all of these tools, and then you got this chronic illness. Illness, which if you ask me, that has a lot to do more with. The way you got to that six or seven figures, the building of

Brienne: 40:58

had seven figures. But

Nikita: 40:59

anyway, but anyway, I have realized that some of the ways that I have been mentored or I've tapped into had that kind of business as usual esque nest to it and realizing, oh, this doesn't work. This doesn't work for the person I'm serving. This didn't work for me. This is why I did it this way. Right. And I had to really have like a moment of being like, the resistance to this is because it is going to be uncomfortable. It is going to be uncomfortable to be in a room where I'm saying, yeah, I know that's how you all did it. Yeah. But also I have found that way does not serve Yes. The longevity of someone living with any kind of invisible disability. Yeah. And that is going to take a lot different of approach. Yeah. And to be brave and courageous enough to say that in a room where everyone's like, no, everything's the same. You just gotta follow this thing and da da da da. But I got chronic illness. And it's like, yeah, but it's

Brienne: 42:05

different. Yep. It's totally different. So kudos for a speaking up.'cause that goes, that's a perfect example of what we were touching on earlier. Had you not said that, you know, imaginary or real room. Either way, that's going to disconnect you from yourself and the struggle, the resistance, all of that will become heavier and heavier. And at the same time, that speaks to their own biases. In how businesses need to be run, what it can possibly look like. And for as much as people say anything is possible, clearly they don't think it because that, that only certain ways are the, are the right way or the successful way. And I don't think we need to buy into it anymore either. So way to go friend, like keep saying that because the successes within that are gonna look different as well. There's, we all define success differently. Yes.

Both Speakers: 43:03

Okay.

Nikita: 43:04

Yeah. Yeah. So if someone were listening now and they are like, yeah, I'm a person who has a business. Hmm. I'm living with chronic illness. I do at times, am concerned about my voice. I am concerned about how it shows up and how I show up with this voice.

Both Speakers: 43:27

Yeah.

Nikita: 43:28

Where should they start to. Be more curious,

Brienne: 43:32

allowing themselves to first listen and set or create an intention. Intentions are powerful, and if they can, if you can take that moment, that that brief pause to create an intention for yourself around your voice, around how you wanna show up and communicate and be seen and heard, things will start to shift. From, from how you story tell to sell from the way that you have different kind of conversations, personally, professionally, and if the voice itself physically is giving you trouble. I would say one distinguishing factor I make is very acute issue. So I've had people in my dms recently had an attorney recently, she was off to teach a three day, eight hour a day workshop. Only her, and she was already having. Quality change. We're talking like, do you have lary? No, she didn't have laryngitis, but her voice sounded like she had laryngitis. And so one of the things I created just a couple months ago is a voice emergency kit. So I I, I, I couch it within an acute phase. Okay. And this voice emergency kit is for more the acute phase. Like, oh, this is not, this is not my voice. This is not where I'm supposed to, to be talking right now. I need to do something, but I can't just rest, but maybe I should rest. It gives you, it's your own self-led. Protocol of what to do, and then longer term conditioning, longer term confidence and trust. Building that trust in yourself and your voice and your body. I think really being okay with embracing all who you are right now and also allowing again for that curiosity and possibility that you are evolving as is your voice. So if you don't lock yourself in. If you don't hold fast to, you know, I've always done it this way, or certain identity this way, that opens up so much potential as well.

Both Speakers: 45:35

I love

Nikita: 45:35

that.

Both Speakers: 45:36

Yeah, that's what I would say.

Nikita: 45:38

I love that. While you were saying that, the thing I also wanted to say or add to that was if you are living with a chronic illness, you are on medications, you are on things that affect your voice.

Both Speakers: 45:51

Mm-hmm.

Nikita: 45:52

I can share just from. I mean, that's how I came to Brienne was realizing, oh yes, that's what it says on the label. And that's what the doctor told me is there's no real way to deal with this thing. Mm-hmm. It's not always true what they say. And it's not always true what's on those labels. It's not always true what's on Google. Yeah. Right. And so be curious and open enough to ask more questions. That's, I think that's one of the. Biggest tools we have as business owners is to be open to asking for the answers to things you don't either agree with.

Both Speakers: 46:31

Mm-hmm.

Nikita: 46:32

Or to the things you feel like it should be different.

Brienne: 46:36

Yeah.

Nikita: 46:36

Because you might find the The answers

Brienne: 46:39

yes. Yes. Exactly. And, and that I think is always going to lead to more options and choice.

Nikita: 46:47

Mm. So many more. Oh my gosh.

Brienne: 46:50

Yeah. Yeah. One of the, and this might, I know we're, we're close to closing, this might be another episode just, just this weekend. I watched the documentary slash Yeah. Documentary as they're presenting the latest research from Dr. Joe Dispenza's work on mind body connection. Mm-hmm. L one can kind of look at what the body is able to create and cultivate and what that can mean from more, more than just mindset work.

Both Speakers: 47:16

Mm-hmm. And it

Brienne: 47:17

was just really fascinating to. Again, watch all of the, all of these people participating both in the research and in the retreats.'cause they're not always, not everybody does the research projects as well with him. All of them have that space of curiosity. What if something could be different?

Both Speakers: 47:36

Mm-hmm. But

Brienne: 47:36

if there is a different way, what if there is some additional wisdom that my body's trying to tell me? That's the intention part, right? Mm-hmm. And then you get to surrender that and say, show me. Show me what I'm meant to know, what I'm meant to hear and meant to see, because that, that is also giving that humility and trust to something greater than us, the faith and love that it deserves. Yes. I love that.

Nikita: 48:07

Yeah. Well, how can everyone connect with you if they wanna learn more about you and anything exciting they should look up?

Brienne: 48:16

Let's see. I would say the couple easy ways are you can find me on LinkedIn at Brienne Hennessy. You can find me on Facebook at your Vocal Vitality. I am happy to, I can send Nikita and if she wants to, to put it in the show notes, I'll send the link for that voice emergency kit for those of you who are like, I need something. And then for those of you who want to share your goals, be heard. Notice have, have me see if there's anything to notice about things that are changing in your voice right now. That's where those, those screenings come in and we can just have a call and be able to kind of say, where are you at? Where do you wanna be? So the easiest way to do that is just to book a call with me and I can drop. Link as well for this episode. But I always love any and all questions to, to Nikita's point. She did not hold back on asking all the things that she thought might be affecting it. And if you listen to some of our fun that we had during her testimonial video, she was doing things in addition to her voice that she was also like, how is Pilates affecting my voice? What's going on here? Mm-hmm. Like, she did not hold back on our questions. And I think that's what makes you. Such a, a powerful leader in your space and also being able to say, okay, what else is there? What else could be possible? So no question is a silly question when it comes to voice in your health. No question is, is out of bounds because it is all connected to the mind, the body, the emotion, the soul of who you are and that matters.

Nikita: 49:45

Love that. Well, we'll have all of. The links and things like that in the show notes. And if you're on my email list, you'll get the extra goodies that we'll have for you there. That's easy to grab. So I'm excited. Thank you so much.

Brienne: 49:59

Thank you. Oh, I loved it so much. And yeah, your presence is always a joy and a light, you know? That's a Thank you.

Both Speakers: 50:06

Thank you.

Nikita: 50:10

That's a wrap for this episode of Business with Chronic Illness. If you would like to start and grow an online coaching business with me. Head to the show notes to click a link to book a sales call and learn how to make money with chronic illness. You can also check out our website at ww dot crafted to thrive.com. For this episode's, show notes and join our email list to get exclusive content where I coach you on how to chronically grow a profitable business while living with chronic illness. Until next time, remember, yes, you are crafted to thrive.