An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
“Trust the process”. Both my bodybuilding coach, Neal, and success coach, Stacy have said that. This resonates with me because, so many times you feel as if you are doing the work day in and day out, and you feel as if nothing is getting accomplished. However, things ARE getting accomplished. If you trust the process and keep going, it will pay off eventually.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Miranda Jiggins.
From bullied to boss — Miranda was a total social outcast in high school; after going through a lengthy inner work journey, she has overcome a ton of mental hurdles, and owns a fitness business transitioning into the events space. Miranda is a high energy leader with a purpose to be an example to others that have been bullied or have felt alone; their goals are possible, they do matter, and someone has felt the way they are feeling.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Thank you for having me! When I was in high school, I was a total social outcast; I didn’t go to prom, didn’t eat lunch in the cafeteria (I ate it in the library), and always struggled to fit into social groups. This carried into my adult life, until I did a year of inner work, and came out a totally different person on the other side.
When I turned 16, I was given the task of driving my younger brother to boxing practice. One day, his coach said “why don’t you workout with us”? So, I tried a workout and was hooked — fitness became a huge mental release for me — without it, I don’t know where I would be. Working out helped me mentally through the struggles of high school.
During the challenges of school, I always knew I was going to do “something” with my life. I had no idea what or how, but I just knew. In addition to fitness, that thought kept me going on the harder days. I would read any book I could about leaders and their journeys. I desperately wanted someone I could fully relate to, but couldn’t find anyone that was 100% relatable. Then, when I was 16, I made the decision to be that person as an adult for someone who is going through a dark time, and needs someone that may know how they are feeling to look up to.
Shortly after college I connected with my first mentor, Betsy McNally. She helped me get started with my business, and I have been fully self employed since 2019.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
The work that I am doing is disruptive, because I am an example of someone who has been to mental rock bottom and back multiple times. I also did not take a day off from work for 4.5 years before my inner work journey (hello burying your issues unhealthily in work). Now, I am a huge advocate of taking care of YOU, which I preach to my clients. We can only fully show up at our highest power for others when we take care of ourselves first.
I am so grateful for my experiences, because I tend to attract high performers who are at their rock bottom, and they do a total 180 degree transformation — it is so amazing to experience and be a part of their journeys. My program mixes the inner work with fitness — we work on boundaries, AM/PM routines, fears; it’s the inner work with fitness mixed in. In turn, my clients come out shining from the inside out and confidence is at an all time high!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
LOL! My very first in person fitness class I ever taught, literally day #1 — I was giving a demonstration on the stability ball, and FELL OFF! It slid right out from under me! The entire class laughed, including myself.
This taught me to not take things so seriously, and if I mess up, it is okay — my clients won’t leave if I make a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes! Very grateful that I learned that lesson early.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I would not be where I am without my mentors — so grateful for them. Betsy McNally found me when I was selling cars, and helped me get started with my business.
Neal Cash is my bodybuilding coach — I have been with him since 2018, and has had a huge impact on my business and my competing goals.
Stacy Raske — I found her during my rock bottom moment in January 2020. She helped me through my inner work journey, and is helping scale my business.
I am very grateful to be a member of Apex, a business owner mastermind led by Ryan Stewman. He has taught me to take risks; I had a huge scarcity mentality around money, and he has helped me overcome that plus much more.
It’s interesting looking at the timeline, each one of my mentors have added layers to my journey. They all have come into my life at the right time, and I would not be where I am without any of them. It’s funny how the universe works!
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
I believe being disruptive is a positive, when what you are doing is inspiring and helping others to elevate and better themselves. Whenever I make a post on social media, I usually receive a comment or message stating how the person is having a bad day and needed to hear that, or, how they find me relatable — that is my goal and why I do what I do. It all ties into my original mission of being an example to someone who has no one else to look up to.
I believe when someone is being a negative example, such as partying too much, or not showing a realistic viewpoint of their life, that is not a positive disruption to an industry. The world needs positive examples of leaders that “keep it real” — both for adults and our youth. I do my best to share my challenges and struggles online along with my wins, so people can see this is not always rainbows and butterflies. You can come out of a challenge stronger than ever on the other side!
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
“Trust the process”. Both my bodybuilding coach, Neal, and success coach, Stacy have said that.
This resonates with me because, so many times you feel as if you are doing the work day in and day out, and you feel as if nothing is getting accomplished. However, things ARE getting accomplished. If you trust the process and keep going, it will pay off eventually.
“Show up as the authentic you”.
I am someone who shines really bright, both with my personality and work ethic, and have been misunderstood by many. This used to really bring me down, because I was just being myself around others. So, I stopped showing up as the full, authentic me. After I met Stacy and did a year of inner work, I FULLY showed up as my unapologetic self, and fully believed in myself. Coincidentally, I have had zero negative comments since I have started believing in myself first and embracing the real me. Funny how that works!
“Trust your intuition”
The little voice in the back of your head is there for a reason! I used to not listen to it as much, but, through my inner work journey, I fully listen to the voice in the back of my head. Even if my decision may seem “crazy”, I still implement and execute, and it has never failed me — the situation always turns out better than I thought it would, even if it totally takes me on a different path than planned.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
I certainly am not done — I have barely scratched the surface! My business is transitioning into the events space — I am so excited! These events are going to be an intimate space for high performers who have been or are going through the inner work journey. We currently have dates for late 2022 and 2023 in Cincinnati, Tampa and the Dominican Republic. I am so excited for this next level of impact!
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Our voices. I was the “blonde girl” that was “too nice”, not many took seriously, and felt unheard. It was so frustrating. After my rock bottom moment in January 2021, I said enough was enough, I was going to be taken seriously, and it was time for a change. Never allow our fellow male counterparts to overpower your voice!
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
“Can’t Hurt Me” By David Goggins. Right after my rock bottom moment in January 2021 and before I met my coach, I decided enough was enough, people were going to take me seriously — I wanted to be seen as “mentally tough”.
So, I found the “hardest” person on the planet, David Goggins. I really resonated with his story, and wanted to be taken seriously like people took him seriously — no one took him seriously from the beginning, and now they do. I read his book multiple times and listened to all of his YouTube videos. His content 100% got me through a very hard time, and has been a huge impact on my life.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Love this question! I would inspire an “Shine your inner light bright” movement. From someone who was so misunderstood and afraid to shine her light, to now shining my light so bright, it has been life changing for me to allow myself to fully show up as the true me. Imagine if everyone in the world showed up as their authentic selves, shining their lights so bright? It would be amazing and so powerful — I have goosebumps thinking about it!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Life lesson quote — “I am not for everyone, and that is okay”.
Most people want to fit in and be liked — especially the younger generation — I know I did. I desperately wanted that so badly when I was in high school, and I could never understand why I fully didn’t “fit in”. It can be really mentally damaging for people who are seeking external validation, craving it, and do not receive it. Once I learned that I am okay with not being for everyone, it was a game changer! I was able to shine brighter than ever, and elevate people with me!
How can our readers follow you online?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miranda.jiggins
Website: mirandajiggins.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miranda-jiggins-68143986/
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Female Disruptors: Miranda Jiggins On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.