Leadership Coach, Stacey Ruth, is an acclaimed marketer, entrepreneur, minister, and founder of two multimillion-dollar agencies. She has been named one of the Top 50 Entrepreneurs in Atlanta and twice as one of the Top 100 “It” Agencies by Experiential Marketer Magazine. She did all this while struggling with two failed marriages, imposter syndrome, overwhelm, and stress-related health issues. This inner crash from outer success triggered the spiritual journey that took her to Manchu Picchu and had her walking across the fire. This was when she learned how we all could rise above circumstances to become irresistible and unstoppable. Today, Stacey advocates for leaders ready to reach their next level with clarity and confidence – most especially women leaders like herself. Stacey is the author of Own Your Own Shift: The Power, Passion, and Freedom to Be Unstoppable.
Exclusive Interview With Stacey Ruth, Leadership Coach
Hi Stacey, let us know what makes you tick. You are really growing your personal brand right now, and we’d love to hear what inspired this new direction for you.
That’s so funny you mention the personal brand. My background is in marketing and branding. As you mention in my bio, I ran very successful agencies, and earned some prestigious recognition as a result.. So I get branding, but it was only recently I really leaned into the idea of personal branding.
My story is really about how as a novice entrepreneur, I was faced with nearly every leadership challenge possible; from failed marriages to battling imposter syndrome, overwhelm, exhaustion, and burnout. What made me tick then was achieving success by the standards of my industry and my peers. Frankly, doing that nearly wrecked my health. I was losing my hair, burning the candle at both ends, gaining weight, and began experiencing headaches 24/7. It did cause the demise of two marriages during that 20-year journey.
So, although I looked good on the outside, I was literally dying on the inside. What I learned was I was not living in alignment with my authentic personal brand. I don’t mean the kind of brand you hear about for social media influencers. I’m talking about a personal brand that is based on our core values, personality, personal purpose, and the impact we want to make in the world. When I had that aha! moment, I realized that our personal brand isn’t just some “nice” idea, but is the actual driver of our individual and business success. That turned my whole world upside-down. I sold my agency shares, and launched into a more authentic and fulfilling career track of helping other women business founders and executives to truly become unstoppable through their own personal brand.
This is a story of triumph – and not letting life stand in the way.
Today I am happily married and loving my work. My husband and I have a menagerie of cats and dogs, living in a secluded community on the river where we can hike, and launch our adventure travels. I am writing my next book, Inside Out Smart, about how we make better decisions for ourselves, and it is really about how I learned to do that for myself in a reliable and repeatable way with intuition.
We all face challenges. How have yours shaped what you do for your clients now?
Running a company or being out in front as a leader is never a bed of roses. Like many successful women and under-represented communities, I have struggled to get a seat at the table, put other people’s needs and agendas in front of my own. I let my own health suffer rather than appear weak or incapable, and above all, faced imposter syndrome as I navigated uncharted territory, feeling I may never have enough credentials to fully earn others’ respect.
In the middle of running my agencies, I was manically focused on growth, giving way too much of myself and my time to the business. The “success” I achieved cost me too much. I knew there had to be a more effective way.
That’s why I have developed and honed a way to operate in a more clear, motivated and satisfying way for leaders – especially women leaders with their unique set of challenges – called the Unstoppable Leader.
My personal values include curiosity and creativity, which is all about challenging our present thinking so we can create a fresh perspective and approach. It’s all about asking those powerful questions, leaning into our growth mindset and a healthy dose of practical accountability. I help clients reclaim their natural passion, power and freedom. It is really easier than most of us think, because there is a level of success than most of us don’t even realize is there, inside us, waiting to be unleashed.
Any advice for picking those big goals – you know, the ones that we look for 5 or 10 years ahead of us?
You know, I have been one of that 80% of businesses that is just too busy to stop and build a strategy and a plan. I am sure some of your readers are the same way. There is this lie we tell ourselves that it is more productive to just keep working as fast as we can in the trenches, instead of stopping to actually be intentional about the direction we are headed.
For myself, I am focusing on building a powerful, badass tribe of powerful, high-achieving women – a movement really – where we can really establish a more resilient and empowering workplace for everyone. I am certain it includes the ideas in my books, perhaps a TED talk, and countless podcasts, masterminds and growing the awareness that our work shouldn’t be a source of stress. Decisions and goal-setting don’t have to be hard. We can be all of who we are, and we can do right from this spot where we are standing. That’s what I call “unstoppable” and my goal is to reach as many people as possible with this idea and set a radical shift into motion.
