Today we’d like to introduce you to Hayden Humphrey.
Hayden, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Absolutely! I’m from Ohio originally, born and raised. I went to Ohio University in Athens, Ohio for my undergrad degree in Business. I loved the school and loved my time there, but when it came to what I wanted to do after college, I just didn’t know what I wanted. I had interned with Ernst and Young as a Junior because it was a big, impressive company and because I got to live in New York. But six weeks into the internship, I found the work incredibly boring and made the decision to turn down a full-time offer with no backup plan.
After some soul-searching, I decided I wanted to move to San Francisco and get involved in the startup scene. Luckily, I was connected with OU alumni who happened to be a sales director at a late-stage startup in SF called Sumo Logic. I moved out and started working three weeks after I graduated.
I’d made it! Or so I thought. While it was a great experience working at Sumo, I quickly came to realize that neither the opportunity nor the company was the right fit for me and what I was looking for. After only six months, I decided that I was going to look for a different opportunity.
It just so happened that I’d stayed in contact with some people from LinkedIn and that they had some open positions for a rotational program that I was interested in. A few months later, I had joined LinkedIn as a member of the Business Leadership Program along with 14 other incredible people. I went through two rotations at LinkedIn, in Recruiting and Customer Service, before deciding to move to Chicago for the final rotation in sales.
I joined a sales team at the end of Q4 2016 and was settling in nicely. I’d made it! … Or so I thought.
After being on the team for a few months, I had an experience where I hadn’t set myself up properly to ensure I’d hit my quota in February. I had a complete meltdown. This was my ONE job, to hit this number. Who am I if I can’t do the one job I was hired to do?
I ended up missing the number. The world didn’t end (surprisingly) and I found myself wondering — “why was I so attached to this number? Why did it mean so much to me?”
I came to realize that for the majority of my life, I had been making decisions based on what would make me look good instead of what I actually wanted to be doing. I was so afraid of what people would think of me if I wasn’t “being impressive” all the time, that eventually my entire self-worth was based on my resume – where I had worked, who I knew, what I had accomplished.
I didn’t want that to be the case anymore. I wanted to forge my own path and create a life that was a direct reflection of who I am as an individual. So I decided to make a bold leap to change it. I left the company to work for myself in June of 2017 and haven’t looked back.
Today, I’m a Success Coach, Speaker, and Workshop Facilitator. I work with individuals who feel stuck or unfulfilled to create lives they can be crazy excited about. I also partner with organizations to support them in re-imagining what’s possible, breaking down communication barriers, and help employees become more actively engaged at work.”
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Definitely not. I think my biggest obstacles were a lack of clarity, fear of what other people would think, and distrust of my own intuition.
On the clarity front, it’s hard to make decisions if you don’t know what you’re aiming at. My “end goal” was in constant flux, partly because I didn’t know what all was out there, and partly because it’s difficult to tell whether or not you’re going to like something until you actually go out and do it. Self-reflection and journaling were crucial for sorting this out, as was networking with people in fields and careers I found interesting.
Fear of what people would think was a huge obstacle. I made huge, life-altering decisions based on what I thought would impress most people and upset the least and in some ways, it did work. I had accomplished a lot in a short period of time. But it never felt like my life – it felt like a safe, easy, “stay the track” experience, devoid of what really made me, me.
Distrust of my own intuition was the other big struggle I had. I think as we grow up, we’ve conditioned to distrust ourselves, what we want, who we are if it’s too outside “the norm.” Becoming ourselves then becomes almost frightening. If you go after what you want, you may ruffle too many feathers and people will feel threatened by that. To me, it’s about taking total ownership of your experience and valuing self-expression more than any negative perceived reactions to what you’re doing.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Hayden Humphrey Coaching – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
As a Success Coach, I work 1:1 with individuals who feel stuck or unfulfilled in their work to create lives they can be crazy excited about. I know exactly what it’s like to be involved with work you don’t care about – it’s frustrating, depressing, and can make you downright lethargic. The exciting part is that it doesn’t have to be that way! You can have EVERYTHING that you want out of life, but you’ve got to be willing to get uncomfortable.
A huge part of creating this shift is rewriting the stories we’ve been telling ourselves. As a Coach, it’s my job to bring light to the stories you’ve been living in, support you in re-discovering your true, innate greatness, and help you reimagine an experience where your only job is to live the best life possible.
I do this from a place of joy – my coaching style is loving and positive, but also bold and direct. I want my clients to feel challenged but cherished, and to know that above all, I’m fundamentally committed to their success and the greatness I see inside of them.
From this empowered place of possibility, my clients’ breakthrough mental and personal barriers, take complete and total ownership of their experience and ultimately create the personal, professional, and financial success they never thought possible.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I see myself in Chicago for another year or two, and then I’d really love to make it out to Denver. I’m a sucker for the mountains and for being outside (and it’s hard to do in Chi!).
On the work front, my focus right now is my 1:1 practice and becoming the best coach I can be. I’ve also got big plans over the next year to level up my business-to-business workshop and seminar offerings, create more speaking opportunities for myself, and grow my audience on LinkedIn.
Personally, I’ve fallen in love with the improv scene here in Chicago. I finished up the improv training courses through Second City recently, and now am looking to get involved in other theaters and get more stage time where I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.HaydenHumphrey.com
- Phone: 6142881913
- Email: Hayden@HaydenHumphrey.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/haydenashimself
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haydenhumphreycoaching/
- Other: LinkedIn.com/in/haydenhumphrey
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