The Day I Fired Corporate Wellness
How a Burned-Out Wellness Director Became a Chief Encouragement Officer
I didn’t wake up one day and say, “Hey, I’m a Chief Encouragement Officer now.”
It came through fire.
It came through anxiety.
It came through sitting still when the whole world said, “Go faster.”
So let me tell you the story, because it’s not just my story.
It’s a model.
You can use it for your own life, your business, your team, even your family.
This is the story of how burnout, encouragement, and sports psychology got stirred together and turned into the Encouragement Collective.
And yes, you can borrow all of it. Continue Reading below….
Watch the video on YouTube
Listen to the podcast episode here:
The Book That Lit the Match
First, we have to talk about the book.
It’s called Inner Excellence. And I call it my coaching Bible.
I found it in the most unlikely way. I was watching an NFL playoff game. The announcers were laughing because A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles was sitting on the sideline reading a book during the game.
Reading.
On the bench.
During the playoffs.
Not scrolling.
Not pouting.
Not yelling.
Reading.
They called him a diva because he’s an elite athlete and he wasn’t catching everything that game. But he wasn’t sulking. He was staying in his mindset. Later he said he was reading it because it gave him peace.
When I heard that, I said, “I need that.”
So I bought the book.
And y’all… it was like someone had written down everything I had been coaching for 20+ years — mindset, self-mastery, reality creation, how athletes stay calm, how to keep your heart pure even when the pressure is loud. It even felt channeled.
Now I read it every day.
I open to a random page.
I apply it.
Sometimes I even open it during a session with a client.
That’s how practical it is.
So that was spark #1.
When Corporate Wellness Turned… Weird
Now let’s talk about the burnout.
I loved my old job. I was the ‘fitness and wellness director.’ I was good at it. I didn’t just teach classes. I built programs. I cared about the people.
Then the pandemic hit.
And the company got… strange.
They were so afraid of the virus they made people wear goggles. Not joking.
I was the wellness person, but they didn’t ask me anything.
They followed fear instead of science.
HR started gaslighting.
I started speaking up.
They didn’t like that.
So I stayed. And I fought. And I got more and more tired.
That’s how burnout happens a lot of the time.
Not because you’re weak.
Because your values are yelling “THIS ISN’T RIGHT,” and you have to swallow it every day.
My body started living in anxiety.
24/7.
Tight chest.
Can’t focus.
Still showing up.
And finally it broke.
They let me go.
At the time it hurt.
Now I call it a gift.
It was the glass ceiling breaking over my head.
The Two-Month Quiet
Here’s the part most people skip.
After that, I didn’t jump right into “Let me go live every day!”
In fact, I did the opposite.
I stopped emailing.
I got off social.
I stopped listening to coaches who said, “You must post daily.”
Because every time I tried to “push,” my body said, no.
So I listened.
I went to nature.
I meditated.
I worked out.
I let my intuition tell me what was for today.
If I felt anxiety, I closed the laptop.
That right there is a leadership skill.
It’s called discernment.
Your nervous system is one of your smartest business tools.
During one meditation I got what I call the bird’s-eye view. I saw myself in a maze at the bottom. So many walls. So little space. Then I saw higher levels. More space. More options. At the very top? Everything was clear. Solutions everywhere.
That vision told me:
“You’re not stuck. You’re just viewing this from too low.”
That’s also where the phrase Chief Encouragement Officer dropped in.
Not sleep coach.
Not just corporate wellness.
Not just trainer.
Chief Encouragement Officer.
Because what do people actually need right now?
Someone to hold the high picture.
Someone to speak to who they really are, not who they’re acting like at the moment.
Someone to picture them ideally — and stay there.
I learned that from Neville Goddard and from my own coach, Cintia.
When you picture people ideally, either they rise to it…
or you instantly see who’s not your assignment.
That’s freedom.
Why Sports Psychology Belongs in the Boardroom
You may be thinking, “Okay Kathie, but what does A.J. Brown have to do with my business?”
Everything.
Elite athletes and elite executives have the same problem:
high expectations
loud criticism
public pressure
zero room for breakdowns
But guess what?
The ones who win are the ones who know how to regulate.
Let me give you another story: José Altuve.
He’s 5’6”.
He “shouldn’t” be playing pro baseball.
He helped the Astros win the World Series.
Then came the so-called cheating scandal.
And for years after, every time he came up to bat in New York, fans booed him so hard the TV had to turn the sound down.
You know what he did?
He hit home runs.
That’s mindset.
That’s inner excellence.
That’s exactly what your leaders need.
Because people will boo your ideas.
They will boo your price.
They will boo your boundaries.
Can you still hit?
That’s what I coach.
Encouragement Is Not Fluff
A lot of people hear “encouragement” and think, “Oh that’s cute. You’re a cheerleader.”
Yes, I cheer.
But I also walk people through chaos.
Because chaos often comes right before the breakthrough.
When clients hire me, I hold them in their ideal. I don’t match their fear. I don’t join their drama. I stay in the end — just like Neville teaches.
That’s why my clients say, “Thanks for being my biggest cheerleader.”
It’s not because I clap.
It’s because I see.
And because I’ve walked through my own fire, I can sit with other people in theirs without freaking out.
That’s encouragement leadership.
Why I Built a Collective (and Not a Solo Show)
Another thing I saw in that bird’s-eye view?
This was bigger than me.
Corporate wellness kept me in a tiny box: “You’re a fitness instructor.”
No, I wasn’t. I was building events, speaking, doing mindset, helping people who never even came to the gym.
So now, instead of trying to force it all through me, I built the Encouragement Collective.
We’ve got:
Hana for boundaries
Jacinta for resilience
Sophia for sound and DNA healing
Jenna for Pilates and Pain Management
Kate for hero’s journey
Cintia for self mastery and manifestation
And the list goes on and on….
I am the CEO — Chief Encouragement Officer — over the experience.
Companies don’t just want a yoga class anymore.
High-level founders want to be seen.
They want the “why am I still not fulfilled?” question answered.
That’s where this work goes deeper than “drink more water.”
What This Means for You
If you’re reading this, here’s what I want you to take:
Your anxiety is data. If your body tenses when you open your laptop, listen. Something isn’t aligned.
You can picture people ideally. Start today. Kids, partner, boss, client. Hold the higher version. Stay persistent.
Encouragement is a business strategy. People perform better when someone believes in them.
You don’t have to hustle to be powerful. You can build from ease. I did.
Burnout can be a doorway. Mine was. Yours can be too.
And if you lead a team?
Teach them sports-psychology-level mindset.
Not just “self-care.”
Teach them how to hit a home run while the crowd boos.
That’s culture.
That’s retention.
That’s legacy.
About Kathie Owen
Kathie Owen is the founder of The Encouragement Collective and proudly serves as its Chief Encouragement Officer. A 25-year veteran in wellness and performance coaching, she blends sports psychology, neuroscience, and mindset mastery to help executives and teams thrive under pressure. After overcoming corporate burnout herself, Kathie turned her passion for motivation and movement into a mission—teaching others how to rise from chaos to clarity with ease, courage, and flow.
Through her signature Energy Reset Method and high-touch coaching programs, Kathie guides top performers to “expect nothing and handle anything,” building resilience, inner excellence, and unshakable confidence. When she’s not leading corporate wellness experiences or speaking at Toastmasters, you’ll find her journaling, walking in nature, or cheering on her favorite athletes—proof that encouragement really can change everything.
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From corporate burnout to Chief Encouragement Officer: I transformed anxiety into leadership using sports psychology, intuition, and Neville Goddard's visualization. Now I help executives perform under pressure and lead with encouragement through the Encouragement Collective.
#ChiefEncouragementOfficer #BurnoutRecovery #SportsPsychology #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveWellness #MindsetCoach