From Self-Doubt to Clarity & Confidence: Lead at Your Full Potential (with client Jay Bhakta)

Jay Bhakta 0:00
Within a few minutes, you started uncovering things about me that I didn’t even realize about myself. My whole life, people have been telling me that I’m a hard person to read, so I was really impressed with your ability to kind of see through all that noise and kind of get to the heart of things. Honestly, it completely baffled me the way you were able to extract things so easily. You know, I had this vision of teaching kids financial literacy, emotional intelligence, but I didn’t see a clear path forward. Honestly, I wasn’t confident that I was the right person for the job.

Blake Schofield 0:26
And I remember one of our conversations and talking through some of the frustrations you were having about the team and the business and where things were going, and that moment to be able to link it back to, “Well, this is how you’re wired, Jay, and here’s how you’re operating. Here’s what it looks like when you operate as you’re wired, and here’s what it looks like when you are out of alignment.” What do you think you’ve learned about yourself as a leader and as an entrepreneur as a result of being able to better understand how you’re…

Jay Bhakta 0:50
…naturally wired? I kept making the same mistakes over and over again, or doing the same things over and over again in my career, and just recognizing that, “Hey, this is the way I operate,” was something that I definitely needed to see. Like, “Hey, okay, why am I doing this?” And it helped me correct it. I think from that point forward, it was a big change in my business, because I know I belong, right? I know I’m in the right place. And when you feel like you’re in the right place and you’re doing the right thing, you’re making the impact.

I just want to add that, yes, your ability to transform the way someone sees themselves is incredible. I mean, you’ve changed my life, both personally and professionally. I’m definitely going to be carrying these lessons with me for the rest of my life.

Blake Schofield 1:36
Real leadership, real life, real impact. No more choosing between your career and your life. Here you’ll find honest conversations, science-backed strategies, and inspiring stories to help you thrive at work and truly enjoy your life outside of it.

Blake Schofield 1:59
I’m your host, Blake, and I’m honored to help you create more impact with ease. Today’s episode is special because you’ll hear from one of my private one-on-one clients. Jay is an entrepreneur, though the work we did together is just as relevant for corporate leaders—and many of my clients live in both worlds.

Jay came to coaching with a big vision to help kids build emotional intelligence and financial literacy, but despite decades of success, he doubted if he was the right person to lead it. What unfolded was a deep process of alignment, reclaiming self-trust, dissolving limiting beliefs, and uncovering how he’s truly wired to lead and create impact. This conversation is honest, vulnerable, and filled with practical insight.

Let’s dive in. Jay, thank you so much for joining me today. I really appreciate it.

Jay Bhakta
Thank you for having me. Excited.

Blake Schofield
Me too. Me too. Thank you for being willing to share a little bit about your journey and our experience together to really help people have a better understanding of what’s possible for them. I think that’s always been my biggest view—to help people understand what’s possible for them. So, would you mind just leading up and sharing a little bit about, you know, how we connected, and a little bit about our journey together?

Jay Bhakta 3:23
Absolutely. I mean, not to go back to when we first met—you know, I had no idea that you were a coach. I mean, I’ll never forget how quickly you were able to have an impact on me. Within a few minutes, you started uncovering things about me that I didn’t even realize about myself. My whole life, people have been telling me that I’m a hard person to read, so I was really impressed with your ability to kind of see through all that noise and kind of get to the heart of things. Honestly, it completely baffled me the way you were able to extract things so easily.

But yeah, I mean, at the time when we first met, I was kind of stuck in this loop of limiting beliefs that was stemming from my childhood. I mean, all those beliefs had carried over into my adult life. I had this vision of teaching kids financial literacy, emotional intelligence, but I didn’t see a clear path forward. Honestly, I wasn’t confident that I was the right person for the job. I didn’t think I was capable of achieving it.

I had built up so many mental obstacles in my mind, and those barriers kind of kept me playing small. And then you definitely helped me unlock all those things. You know, it’s been an experience—exactly what I needed.

Blake Schofield 4:28
Can you share a little bit, Jay, about your background before we met? Like, what have you done in your career?

Jay Bhakta 4:33
You know, I was in the tax industry for 20 years, and there’s nothing safer than the tax business financially, right? Death and taxes. But it was draining my time and energy, and I didn’t value that enough, and I didn’t have the confidence to switch and look for something that’s more unique to my strengths—like what I really wanted to do in life. I think I always took the safe route, like the sure route. I mean, any other businesses that I started in the past were always like franchises. So they always had a business plan in place and steps to follow. I never had the courage or the confidence to build my own thing.

Blake Schofield 5:11
I remember our initial conversation and your desire, actually, to start the business based on your family and your kids, and wanting to give them the skills that you hadn’t had when you were younger. And for me, it was just an immediate like, yes, that is the right thing for you.

And I know we’ve had some conversations where you’ve introduced me to other people, and you probably don’t remember this, but I always think it’s funny the way you normally introduce people when we run across people who are lost or unsure. Do you remember what you normally say?

Jay Bhakta
I have no idea. Honestly.

Blake Schofield
I remember it because we were at an event, and there was a new person that had come into a conversation we were all having. And the comment was, “Oh, you don’t know what your purpose is? You need to go talk to Blake. She’ll tell you what it is or what it isn’t real quickly.” And I’ll never forget that.

For me, I get so much clarity on like, it’s either a yes or a no. That is the right thing. It’s in alignment with you. I know it to be true. There’s momentum and energy and passion there. Or like, nope, that’s not it.

And it was the first time I think I realized, “Oh, that’s how people see me.” This very decisive thing, whereas for me, it just intuitively has always been a yes or a no.

Let me ask—you know, often I get people that come to me that have already done a lot of things to try and get clarity on the right path or find the right process, etc. What had you already done to try and get clarity on what was right for you, and what did you believe that you needed?

Jay Bhakta 6:44
I’ve always was a process guy. I mean, I was a computer science major, so I was a data guy, process guy. Gave me the steps. So a lot of these programs and coaches that are out there kind of give you, like, step-by-step guides, but what was really missing was blocking those limiting beliefs that are within you—that were built up from your childhood.

People don’t want to talk about it, they don’t want to acknowledge it. They just want to, you know, put it to the side and say that it’s not there. But those things really do affect you when you are moving or trying to do bigger things. And if you let that sit there in the background, it’s going to keep you from actually getting to the place where you’re playing your game, right? You’re going to end up doing things in a way that’s not really the way you should be doing things, because those mental obstacles are keeping you from working at your full potential.

Blake Schofield 7:37
You mentioned “playing your game,” which is really, you know, a concept all about living life from how you’re naturally wired, what makes you passionate, and from your value system. How, in our work together, did you come to understand what your strengths are and how you naturally work that’s different than what you had learned or seen or experienced elsewhere?

Jay Bhakta 7:58
Sometimes, when you’re not playing your game, it really stunts your progress. Like, you really get stuck, and you kind of dwell on that. And you let that—whatever experience that you had—keep you from moving forward, because you’re stuck in that spot now.

Just having our conversations kind of helped me realize that, hey, maybe I wasn’t playing my game. You know, focus on playing to your strengths, because when you focus so much on your weaknesses, it holds you back. You forget what you’re really good at, and where you excel.

I remember this event that I went to, and I struggled, and I think you saw it. I think you were at that event too. Man, that was a mess after that event. Just having a conversation with you afterwards really made me see, “Hey, you weren’t playing your game.”

Recognizing it and seeing what I could have done differently, and then going back to what my strengths are and focusing on that… Those weaknesses eventually became some of my strengths, because I wasn’t ready for it at the time. It was just kind of thrown at me. And then now they’re starting to become my strengths, because I got a chance to slow down, have some restraint, and focus on it, and become better at it.

So now I’m actually not in the same place as I was then. I’ve grown. You know, you talk about playing to your strengths and weaknesses—that doesn’t mean you forget about your weaknesses. You work at them on your own terms, about developing those skills, so they become your strength. Not on somebody else’s terms.

Blake Schofield 9:33
Yeah, I remember, in one of our calls, really helping to sort of unpack and talk to you about what I fundamentally know to be true, which is 90% of the things that are creating friction, stress, or anxiety in our lives are misalignments that can be fixed or resolved.

And I remember one of our conversations, talking through some of the frustrations you were having about the team and the business and where things were going. And that moment—to be able to link it back to, “Well, this is how you’re wired, Jay, and here’s how you’re operating. Here’s what it looks like when you operate as you’re wired, and here’s what it looks like when you are out of alignment.”

I distinctly remember that call as like this beautiful moment of, “Oh my gosh, I’ve spent 20 some odd years leading people and going through and having all these frustrations, and this is why.” Do you remember that conversation, and what do you think you’ve learned about yourself as a leader and as an entrepreneur as a result of being able to better understand how you’re naturally…

Jay Bhakta 10:30
…wired? I remember that conversation because I just kept making the same mistakes over and over again, or doing the same things over and over again in my career. And just recognizing that, hey, this is the way I operate—this is me. I don’t need consensus. I don’t need to have everybody’s “okay” with what I’m doing. And that’s what I was doing—I was trying to build this team.

Also, I think the biggest thing was that I was trying to force something that didn’t need to happen. I was like, “Hey, I see all these people that create stuff together, and they go on this journey together.” And I’ve always been the one that just created stuff myself. And I thought, “You know what? I’d like to have a group of people come along with me.”

And it wasn’t the best decision in the sense of the way I approached it, right? I was like, “Everybody has equal say.” I wasn’t looking at personalities of everybody in that team. I mean, like, I’m a visionary, and then if I have a team full of visionaries, that’s not going to work.

But it was something I definitely needed to see. Like, “Hey, okay, why am I doing this?” And it helped me correct it. And I think from that point forward, it was a big change in my business, because I realized, “Hey, you know what? This is my thing. This is my baby. I know what I want. I have the vision for it, and I don’t need consensus. And if they’re on board, then they have to either be on board or not.”

Then I started looking a lot more at the positive energy the team was bringing to the table. And I don’t think I ever looked at that before. I just kind of looked at like, “What can you do, and are you going to do it?” But the energy you surround yourself with makes a huge difference. And that’s something I never considered in my past. When I started looking at that kind of stuff, it’s helped a lot in my life—just how I feel about the day and everything.

So I don’t know if you knew that or not, but because I know you mentioned it, and I probably didn’t say anything at the time, but it did make a huge difference.

Blake Schofield 12:25
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If you had to boil down—I always wish I could record something when I first start working with people and then do it at the end, because I can see how much you’ve grown in such huge ways. In terms of self-confidence, trust in yourself, how you show up with presence, the vision that you have for what you’re doing, the way that you’re showing up from a presence and an energy and an impact standpoint with the people that you work with—it’s just substantially different from where you were a year or a year and a half ago.

And so I want to acknowledge that, because it’s a beautiful thing. And to me—it’s funny—our mutual mentor Randy had said to me, “At the end of the day, for you, it’s all about impact.” He said, “It’s never been about money. It’s about the ability to see the impact on someone’s life and that growth trajectory.”

And so for me, that’s always the greatest gift—to be able to see somebody that I’ve had the opportunity to partner with and be a part of in their journey, in their vision, see that tangibly on a day-to-day basis. The amount of trajectory and momentum you have makes me super happy. I’m so proud and so honored and so happy for you.

If you had to boil down maybe to the top five things that you got through our partnership and working together—the ways that it’s impacted you personally, your family, your business, or your life—what would those things be?

Jay Bhakta 14:32
I would say the first is the confidence and the trust that you just had in me. Sometimes people are lacking that, and I think I was lacking that in my surroundings—what I’m capable of. But that was probably a big part of it, like the trust and belief that came through our conversations. And it’s genuine. It’s not something that you’re just saying because you’re a coach.

You could see it, and you could sense it. Sometimes some coaches just say things because they know that’s the right thing to say, but it doesn’t feel like that when I’m working with you. You have this presence and energy about you that is… it’s kind of hard to put into words. It’s something I’ve never experienced.

It just helped me. Sometimes even just your presence, or a conversation, having you there gives me the confidence to move forward with what I need to.

The self-confidence—I feel that’s one big thing too, because I know I belong, right? I know I’m in the right place. And when you don’t feel like that, when you’re stuck in a place where you don’t feel like you belong, it’s a bad place to be.

And now, when you feel like you’re in the right place and you’re doing the right thing, you’re making the impact. You made the impact on me, and I get to make impact on others. You’re in a good place. It’s hard to knock you down from that.

Things will happen, but I’m ready for stuff like that. I would say I’m prepared, right? I can see what used to derail me, and I’m not going to let it happen again. Sometimes, even if you get derailed because some unique situation happens, the accountability from you and the conversations put me back on path. Staying the course. Those are the first things that come to mind.

Blake Schofield 16:15
What would you say to somebody to help them understand if what I do is right for them, and what it might look and feel like in terms of opening up possibilities for their life and their career?

Jay Bhakta 16:25
I mean, I think again, just think about if you are operating at your full potential or not. If you’re at a place where you feel like everything is the way it should be and makes sense… You have the skill of filling the gaps for people to reach their full potential that they don’t see, or they’ll never find out themselves.

Because I mentioned earlier about the limiting beliefs—those obstacles would have kept me from ever even trying to visit that space, to fill that gap. It’s impressive how quickly you’re able to recognize it. I just don’t know how you do it, really honestly, but you’re able to see that gap and you go straight to it.

It’s uncomfortable for people, but you know that’s what they need. And once they get past that uncomfortableness—because that’s where growth happens—then they’re able to get to the next stage and the next level.

Blake Schofield 17:13
Yeah, because I know freedom is on the other side. For me, to be able to help empower high achievers to leverage their time and their energy in a way that creates the life they want is probably one of the most powerful things you can do.

Every high achiever I’ve ever run across has had the same struggle that I had, which is a big vision and a challenge to figure out how to bring it to fruition. And a lot of times, getting caught and beating ourselves up in a guilt and shame spiral because we don’t know how to do it.

And there’s so much that we’ve been taught as a society, taught about how we have to operate, that are actually the reasons why we’re not successful. And so for me, once I came to understand that, being able to see the lessons life is teaching you—and know they’re always working for your advantage, it’s just about how you see it—the more you can begin to see that the things that feel like challenges are actually gifts.

The more you can operate from a place of faith and alignment instead of fear or scarcity. And the ability to do that on a day-to-day basis has fundamentally changed my entire life in ways that I believe, if we as a society understood, it would completely change how we operated and worked together to create more positive things in the world.

Jay Bhakta 18:32
I just want to add that, yes, your ability to transform the way someone sees themselves is incredible. I mean, you’ve changed my life, both personally and professionally. I’ll always be grateful for the role that you played in my journey. Thank you for believing in me and showing me what’s possible. I’m definitely going to be carrying these lessons with me for the rest of my life. I appreciate everything that you’ve done and continue to do. So thank you.

Blake Schofield 18:56
Jay’s story is such a powerful example of what happens when you stop trying to push through and start living and leading in alignment with how you’re actually built to thrive. Whether you’re in a corporate leadership role, running your own business, or doing both—if you’re questioning your next step or feeling like you’re not operating at your full potential, I want you to know that stuckness is a signal, not a life sentence.

If you are ready to reclaim your energy and momentum and create sustainable success on your terms, I’d love to support you through one-on-one coaching. You can apply at impactwithease.com/coaching.

Until next time, lead with intention and create your Impact with Ease.

Blake Schofield 19:52
Most successful people don’t realize they’re in burnout because stress and exhaustion have become so normalized. But burnout is actually a sign of deeper misalignment between how you’re wired to thrive and how you’re actually working and living. Fix the misalignment and everything changes.

Take the free quiz at impactwithease.com/burnout-type to discover your burnout type and get next steps to reclaim your energy, lead with confidence, and create more ease in your life and career.