Deaf and Determined: Kellina Powell's Journey Through Sound and Silence

Kalina Powell, known as the Deaf Queen Boss, shares her powerful journey from becoming deaf at age four to becoming an international speaker, coach, and author who empowers young adults with disabilities.

• Became deaf at age four due to an ear infection, creating a significant transition for her family
• Attended both deaf and hearing schools, learning to navigate different communication styles
• Developed anxiety and depression from constant self-advocacy and experiencing bullying
• Struggled to find deaf role models or counselors, inspiring her to become what she needed
• Created a coaching business to support young people with disabilities in building confidence
• Uses manifestation and mindset work to help clients overcome limiting beliefs
• Recommends curating social media feeds to maintain positive mental health
• Emphasizes the importance of asking yourself difficult questions to grow beyond comfort zones
• Encourages people to learn basic sign language and educate themselves about disabilities
• Believes God gives us challenges because we have the strength to handle them

Find Kalina at kalinainpowerme.com or on Instagram @DeafQueenBoss and LinkedIn as Kalina Powell.

https://mindforcepodcast.buzzsprout.com

Chapters

• 0:48 Meet Kalina Powell, The Deaf Queen Boss
• 2:22 Becoming Deaf at Age Four
• 9:34 Navigating School and Communication Barriers
• 14:40 Mental Health Journey and Building Confidence
• 26:16 Coaching and Supporting Others with Disabilities
• 35:21 Hope, Purpose, and Finding Your Voice
• 40:30 Final Thoughts and Connecting with Kalina

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:21

Hey everyone, I'm Nate Shear and this is Mindforce, a podcast where we explore love, life and learning, because your mind shapes everything. Today, we'll be talking about mental health and disabilities. We're going to start with the easy stuff, the background, so let's start with a quick introduction. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Who are you, what do you do and what brings you here today.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Yeah, thank you so much, nate, for having me here. Hi everybody, my name is Kalina Powell, aka the Deaf Queen Vow. I am an international speaker, a coach for young adults with disabilities and, lastly, I am I'm so many hot on it. So you guys, sometimes I can't keep up, and I'm also an author as well. So I do have three books out already and 2025, I'm going to have my fourth book coming out as well. So that's a little bit about me and I'm here to talk about my story. I'm here to talk about my disability, especially how I cope with mental health.

Speaker 1: 1:16

Perfect. And just to set the scene, where in the world are you calling from?

Speaker 2: 1:20

I'm calling from Canada Toronto.

Speaker 1: 1:23

Nice Worldwide viewers. We'll start with the warm-up. What's something people might not know about you that has shaped you who you are today?

Speaker 2: 1:32

A lot of people don't know that I am very confident in myself and my disability, and a lot of people didn't know that it took me years to develop the type of confidence I have today.

Speaker 1: 1:45

Okay, Were you born with your disability or do you slowly? I was reading through your stuff. It sounded like it happened over the course of years, or what was that timeframe for you growing up?

Speaker 2: 1:55

So it all started when I became deaf at the age of four due to an ear infection. So, unfortunately, I had an ear infection when I was four years old an ear infection so, unfortunately, I had an ear infection when I was four years old.

Speaker 1: 2:05

Okay, next question how did your journey of personal growth lead you to where you are now?

Speaker 2: 2:10

It really. That's a good question. There's a lot, I would say, towards that question. To be honest, everyone but many people show it, so it really leads me to where I am today is when I had that breaking point when I was younger so I think I was in middle school I was looking for a counselor that was either deaf or had a disability and I was looking for a book to read based off a deaf author and I realized that there was nothing for me, unfortunately, and I knew right there.

Speaker 2: 2:39

I wanted to make a change in the world and it made me realize and shape me. Who I am today is that I want to make an impact to the younger generation to let them know that they're not alone, because I felt alone and that's really shaped who I am today, especially being able to advocate for myself and build that confidence in me. And because, honestly, if you guys were to tell me when I was younger that I'm going to be this this far in my life, I would probably laugh at you and be like there's no way I am here. Literally, I would just laugh at you. So that's really how my hair and locks shape who I am today.

Speaker 1: 3:12

That's awesome. Yeah, I love that. I think that was one of the core reasons I started the show for losing my grandma when I was a kid, with mental health issues and things like that. But I think one of the cores of the show as it's gone on, you know, through 50 episodes now is letting people know that we are all human, we all go through stuff and there's someone else that has gone through it as well. All the people, all the guests that have been on the show.

Speaker 1: 3:37

It's interesting how many times it's come up that I thought I was the only one. I self-isolated, I downward spiraled and things like that. So awesome reminder. I'm so glad you mentioned that People that are listening to these stories. You are not the only one to go through. It's like impossible there's too many of us out there to you know, not go through it, so find somebody. It's awesome. I like the idea that you had where you didn't see the thing that you needed, so you built it, and I think that's pretty amazing. Next question If you could describe your mission in one sentence, what would it be?

Speaker 2: 4:09

One sentence oh gosh Okay.

Speaker 1: 4:12

That's too hard.

Speaker 2: 4:14

One sentence, okay. Well, sorry, I would say my mission is to create more impact to the youth, especially mental health industry. That is my one sentence. I hope that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 4:31

That's perfect. Okay, before we start on your main pillars, I wanted to see if you had a question for me.

Speaker 2: 4:38

Yeah, my question for you is what is the one tip or advice would you give men in this generation who are struggling with their mental health?

Speaker 1: 4:47

Yeah, I think the biggest thing is trying to open up and obviously that's easier said than done, but I think that's one thing. Another reason, you know, a core part of the show here is sharing stories and, you know, allowing people to know that everyone goes through things and things like that. So I think it's really opening up and being a little vulnerable, which I mean that's difficult as the men you're supposed to be dominant, you're supposed to be strong and you're not supposed to have any difficulties, but we know that's not true and I think, as we have these conversations, it's getting better and better. But I think that's the most important thing is to open up, and not open up to everyone. I think my core piece of advice would probably be find the safe space. So, if that's your significant other, is that a close friend? I mean, maybe it could even be a dog, I don't know but finding a spot where you can process, say things out loud, vent, get through those things. But I think finding that place where you meet someone, you get some coffee, you process some things, place where you know you meet someone, you get some coffee, you process some things. Because I think you know, with the rise in mental health and not having enough providers to take care of us. We really have to do our best job of solving things at that lowest level. There are going to be times you're going to need higher levels of care, times where you might need medication, things like that. But if we can solve a lot of things by having that safe space with another person and offloading things as they come up, I think that's really important.

Speaker 1: 6:08

I think a lot of times on the men's side, you carry the baggage, it's on your shoulders, you're trying to be strong and then you just get weighed down so you need to offload the stuff as you go. So that would be my main thing Find a safe space and offload as you go. Don't get to the worst day of your life before you're getting counseling and things like that. I think hopefully through the show and conversations we realize mental fitness. Key part of the title of the show is you're doing things ongoing. You're not waiting for the worst day. You go and do cardio three days a week, you weight lift two days a week or whatever. You're not just going to mental health on the worst day. So let's move into your three main pillars. Your first main pillar is living with a hearing disability, so can you share your story? You talked about the infection. Do you have anything else to kind of expand on becoming deaf at the age of four?

Speaker 2: 6:57

Yes. So honestly, I remember like it was yesterday, to be honest. So I remember, after we were done daycare, I was walking from home. I was normal, he was normal. Until that I went to go watch TV and my mom called me. I couldn't hear my mom at all and she tapped me on my shoulder and that's when I freaked out, and that's when I realized my hair just dropped and so I looked at my mom. You know I said I can't hear you. Oh my God, like what's happening.

Speaker 2: 7:24

My mom freaked out and my grandmother thankfully she was a nurse, actually, Thank God. So she rushed home from the hospital, she did a assessment on me and she realized that something was wrong and she's like okay, this is not normal. And especially me, like I know my grandmother's voice off the top of my head. I really did, I really did. Like I can hear my grandmother like walking up the steps, knowing she did not have to move her foot, like that's how crazy I am. And so my grandmother calls my family doctor to figure out when can we come in. My family doctor said unfortunately, we're fully booked. You have to come in with Kalina tomorrow. The next day came in. Unfortunately, there's nothing we could do. My doctor broke the news to my family and said unfortunately there's nothing we can do. Kalina is completely deaf in both ears, so I don't know if the staff in the daycare didn't put the eardrop in the right time or they put too much in my ears. I'm not too sure. Unfortunately, I don't know what happened.

Speaker 2: 8:21

And that moment on moving forward, obviously my communication style changed as a four-year-old. Right. How can you explain to a four-year-old she cannot hear for the rest of her life? And so that was something my family had to figure out. They had to figure out are we going to learn sign language for Kalina, or Kalina's going to continue to speak, because I already know how to speak? And so that was a very hard decision for my family to make, because they didn't know what is the best for me as a four-year-old, and I'm actually currently the first person in my family who is deaf, so that is definitely a very huge transition for my family.

Speaker 2: 8:58

However, when I was growing up, I went to two schools. Actually, I went to a deaf school and a hearing school, so that actually helped me a lot to learn how to communicate to different communities, especially for me when I get older, so I don't have to rely on my family to come with me everywhere I go and obviously I face a lot of bullying. However, being deaf at the age of four was a lot of confusion and obviously it did affect my mental health, because there are some days where I would lie to my parents. I don't feel well, I don't want to go to school because I was tired wearing my hearing aid so much and I wanted to just completely just like not go to school, not to go anywhere.

Speaker 2: 9:33

Because, for those who are not aware, a lot of deaf and hard of hearing individual, we rely on lip reading a lot of times. So for me, it's lip reading, it's like it's my eyes, so I need to see a lip 24 7. So for me, lip reading is like it's my eyes, so I need to see a lip 24-7 in order for me to have that complete communication. Even though I wear hearing aids full time, however, I use both. I use my lip reading and hearing aids at the same time to hear. So it was very exhausting for a 4-year-old who tries to navigate two different ways to communicate. So that is literally my life as a 4-year-old.

Speaker 1: 10:08

Wow, that's rough. So you said your family was thinking about American Sign Language, ASL, and things like that. What changes did your family make to kind of take care of you?

Speaker 2: 10:19

sign language in the deaf school. It was amazing. However, my family really didn't have the time and effort to learn sign language themselves because they were so busy with work and school. My mom had me when she was young, so she couldn't know what to do because she was in college at the time, but she did try to learn our basic sign language and same thing with my grandmother, but that was the only way that could help me. But they did have a good communication with me in terms of letting me know that they are going to be vocal with me. But they had their reason. They had their own reason why? Because they were thinking about my future, right? They were thinking like hey, you know, when Kalina gets older, everybody's going to learn sign language. Sign language is going to be considered a second language. So my family thought a lot about my future in that way.

Speaker 1: 11:13

That's interesting. How has your experience shaped your perspective on resilience and overcoming obstacles?

Speaker 2: 11:20

So it really just taught me a lot about being patient with myself and because I noticed that with resilience, you do need to be vulnerable with yourself on what is really going on with yourself.

Speaker 2: 11:32

I feel like a lot of us, especially people who have a disability, we don't take our time to learn our disability and learn how to embrace it, and that was something I struggled a lot when I was getting older embracing my deafness. It's okay to be deaf, it's okay to be deaf, it's okay to have different accommodations compared to anybody else in the room. And that's where the resilience came in, and what I realized was that it's okay to be different, and that's something I didn't get a lot of credit for for myself when I was growing up and again, because I didn't have any role models that I could talk to. And that's what the hardest thing I had to do was embrace my deafness, to really think to myself and say it's okay to be deaf, even though you may not be liked by everybody, and that's something I had to learn the hard way. And I feel like the rejilling came in when I was in middle school and high school because I had to learn how to fight for myself yeah, that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 12:27

So, as you were coming up, you mentioned bullying and even now I'm sure there's people that give you a hard time or don't understand, like what's the number one way, or maybe it's like, depending on the situation, but is there like a technique you found to help people connect with you?

Speaker 2: 12:45

The easiest way for people to connect with me, especially in person. I would say always face me all the time, just face me so I can read your lips. However, because of technology now it improves the margins. I was younger, so it helps a lot, especially with the closed caption now on different apps, different software. So it's very cool to see how a lot of inclusivity has been improved. A lot on software, so it's been amazing, so that's how it's easier. Lot on software, so it's been amazing, so that's how it is for me now.

Speaker 1: 13:15

So, thankfully, yeah, it's interesting. I just saw the other day. I totally didn't think about it, but I saw you can put a thing in your cup holder at the movie theater and I guess it'll show words. I don't know if they all do that, but I saw that randomly. I thought that was interesting.

Speaker 2: 13:31

I didn't know if they all do that, but I saw that randomly. I thought that was interesting. I didn't know that existed. Yeah, yeah, so the movie theaters are starting to come up with different ways for closed captioning now for people who need it Not everybody needs it, not just us, but anybody in general. They're making like a stick with the closed caption and sometimes now I heard they're creating like sunglasses with glasses that show captions. So technology really is changing a lot.

Speaker 1: 13:57

That's awesome. I think one thing that's always important for people is education right, they don't know, they don't understand. What do you think is the biggest misconception about the deaf community?

Speaker 2: 14:07

A lot of people think that the deaf community cannot communicate and a lot of people think that deaf Deaf community cannot communicate. And a lot of people think that Deaf people cannot be, cannot do what they can in their life. Right, I know when people meet me and they're like, wow, you overcome so much or wow, you're super successful, and I was like what is that supposed to mean? You know, it doesn't matter what disability you have, Like you can be anything you want. You know it doesn't matter what disability you have, you can be anything you want. So I would say that's one of the biggest deceptions about the deaf community that a lot of people also think that the deaf community cannot speak. A lot of people think that deaf people can only do sign language. Until they meet me, they're like oh, I'm so sorry.

Speaker 1: 14:48

I thought you didn't know how to talk. You can definitely communicate. We are sitting here communicating right now.

Speaker 2: 14:53

Yeah, exactly, so I feel like that is a huge stuff. Uh, that's one of the huge misconceptions a lot with the deaf community that they can't talk, so and people think that they only can do sign language, and I was like, no, there's some deaf people that actually talk me, so that's one of the biggest problems.

Speaker 1: 15:12

yeah, Do you ever find people like walk on eggshells or they feel like they don't know what to do? Do you kind of help them through if they feel uncomfortable, or what's the interaction look like?

Speaker 2: 15:24

Oh yeah, all the time, all the time, all the time, like I can't. If you give me $10 on it, you guys, I'll probably be a million dollars right now. Okay, I will say honestly, yes, all the time. I remember this one person I was at a networking event, actually, and so you know me, my hair's everywhere, I don't care. You see my hearing aids, you see my hearing aids, I don't care. This lady came up to me and she's like like she was just frozen and I'm like, can I help you? And she's like you can help, like she was in her head, it's like I can hear you. How can I help you? But again, it was just lack of education. She was not aware. And so I said, oh my God, yeah, what are you talking about? And then she's like how do I communicate with you? Like, do you sign language? So that is one of the examples I face a lot.

Speaker 1: 16:12

That's pretty funny. So on the education piece, to continue with that, what do you wish more people understood about accessibility and inclusion?

Speaker 2: 16:21

I just wish that people understood that everybody's accommodation and needs are different. It doesn't mean it's going to work for that one particular person. Everybody's unique in their own unique ways. I feel like a lot of time when people get into inclusion they think that it's for everybody. It's not for everybody. So when you're really taking your time to learn about an individual person, please take your time and ask them questions. So I feel like people you know overlook a lot about inclusive because they don't know how to approach it or they're ashamed of being embarrassed. Right, and I tell people it's okay to be embarrassed, especially when you don't know the particular topic.

Speaker 1: 17:01

It's interesting. I feel like we do that a lot for some reason. We want cookie-cutter things where, like, the answer works for everybody, the answer works for everybody. And that it's just bizarre to me, because we know we have all sorts of different people, different backgrounds, how they were raised, how they were, you know, fill in the blank, we're all just magnificently different and diverse and beautiful. But then, like, when we come to solutions for things, it's like let's just make one. It's like how do you think that would work when we're all just that's. That's really interesting. I'm glad you brought that up. How do you navigate challenges in communication, both personally and professionally?

Speaker 2: 17:38

I communicate in the exact same way. I don't really communicate in any different ways. I communicate always vocal, so I don't really do a lot of sign language because not not everybody knows sign language. So I am forced to learn to talk and I always tell people straight up like hey, can you please face me when you're speaking and please let me know if you need closed captions? Do you need to upgrade your software? Do I need to put my closed caption on so that way I can communicate through digital? So that's the perfect way for me how I communicate.

Speaker 1: 18:08

Do you gravitate more towards digital stuff? Do you prefer more in-person?

Speaker 2: 18:13

I prefer digital stuff just because it's so much convenient and so much easier. So that way I'm not missing certain words or like having to ask someone to repeat themselves, versus in person, and so that way I can just see on the screen that okay, yeah, just what the person asked. Now I can answer the question without having to ask them. Can you please repeat that again? Before, when I was younger, I was so shy to ask people to repeat themselves, because a lot of times when I was growing up, a lot of people would get annoyed of me asking them that question and they're like, okay, whatever, forget it what I said. And I'm like, okay, well, I'm sorry, I'm trying to listen, I never asked for this. Okay, well, I'm sorry, I'm trying to listen, I never asked for this. So, yeah, just know it's 100% for me.

Speaker 2: 19:13

Okay, that makes sense. Your next pillar is mental health and personal growth. What role has mental health played in your personal journey? So much in my life I would say everyone, honestly and truly, especially the bullying I faced when I was growing up. Right, it did affect me somehow, to be honest, because back in my mind I'm always thinking like, oh my God, what, if, what, if? Right, because of the experience I've been through in my past and I did come across with anxiety where I used to be nervous to talk to hearing people, especially when you're trying to make friends outside of school and that's going to lead to workspace, right, when you're working and you don't know how to talk to customers and you're getting anxiety and you're like, oh my God, are they going to hear me correctly? Are they going to make fun of my speech I realized that you're not alone in this world in terms of that.

Speaker 2: 19:57

You never know what the other person's thinking, you're not a mind reader, and that's something I had to learn a lot, especially through my mental health phase, especially when I was going through depression, because there's some days where I didn't want to leave my house, because I didn't want to interact with people and I didn't want to have to lift weight all the time and having to focus on someone face-to-face, having to tell them, having to advocate for myself, and eventually I got exhausted and to the point where it leads to depression. So, long story short, what I did was to overcome everything and just really think to myself that there's always going to be someone out there that's going through the exact same thing you're going through, but maybe something similar. And when I started watching, you know, youtube, when I started reading a lot of mindset books, that's when I realized a lot that mental health is actually a serious thing, and no one really talked about mental health before. So that's really how mental health really shaped how I am today.

Speaker 1: 20:54

Yeah, that makes sense. Do you find now where you have a platform, you have people that follow you and now you're able to help people? Do you find helping people to be therapeutic?

Speaker 2: 21:04

Yeah, time to birth that, because I'm more vocal now about it and I would tell people like sort of like oh my god, I'm getting so much anxiety right now. Like, help me here. Like I will make my followers or my audience to feel heard, to let them know that like it doesn't mean I'm a caution creator. It doesn't mean I'm successful person. It doesn't mean I don't have my health problem and so I love the connection I have and that I created with my community to let them know that I'm also preaching it too. We're all people that I created with my community to let them know that I'm also preaching it too. Who am I? He alone.

Speaker 1: 21:33

We're all people. How do you help people with their personal growth? Through coaching.

Speaker 2: 21:38

Yeah, so through my coaching. So what we do is I meet up with clients once a month, once a week, sorry, and what we do is we just talk about what is it that they're looking for? Right? I mean, clients are very different and what I do is we go through homework. Clients is very different and what I do is we go through a homework. I go give them homework.

Speaker 2: 21:55

So the very first thing is we break down what is it that really? For example, for clients, that I need to learn how to love myself, my mindset. So what I do is I honestly give them activities while we're doing a call like this and we go over something that is bothering them why, what is the bottom line that's causing this? Where did it come from? Is it from your childhood? Is it from when you were dating somebody? Was it because of work experience?

Speaker 2: 22:18

And then we go through it, break it down together and then from there we uh, do a lot of like role play, where I give them activities while on the session, and then from there, we do a lot of manifesting in terms of I'll make them draw a piece of paper right and I would make them put Stockholm Center of themselves, put me and Stockholm themselves and I ask them what does your mindset, do you want it to look like? What kind of mindset do you want it to look like? So we work, I work with them from A to B and B to C to help them to get through that process that's good stuff.

Speaker 1: 22:53

I like how you get to the root cause. I always find it funny we talk about, like you know, relationships with our spouse or something like that, and like you're fighting over the dishes or something.

Speaker 1: 23:03

I always find this funny the fight over the dishes is not actually about the dishes, it's about something else, and so I think that's always important, you know, going back to, like you said, the incident that happened, or school or whatever, because I think you can fix a lot of like the smaller things, but if you're not fixing the big thing that actually generated it, then you're kind of in the same spot. So it's awesome that you are diving deep enough to be able to get in there and get to the core of that. I was wondering, you know, with the bullying and things like that, what advice do you have for someone struggling with self-confidence due to a disability? How do you kind of push through that? I mean, it seems easy to be like I don't care what other people think, but how do you actually get there?

Speaker 2: 23:47

So what I did was I honestly I the bullying didn't stop until I was in grade four. So I was being bullied for like almost three years straight and I had a great support system. It's really about having a very strong support system. So for those of you who do not have a strong support system, I highly advise you to find a community that you feel safe Rather it's Facebook groups, rather it's you know, a community full of women in your town, or you know a networking event or something. And it's very important to find a support system in order for you to break that bullying and because if you don't have that safe space to talk about it, you won't be able to face the bullying on yourself.

Speaker 2: 24:28

And, number two, I had a counselor that I trusted. I went to somebody I trusted. So if you are currently nervous to meet someone or talk with them, with your counselor, I highly advise you to find someone that you feel safe, and it helped me a lot to really learn different tools. How do I face the bullying? How do I communicate with the bullying? Because even though you tell the bullying to stop, it's never going to stop and it never did For me. It took me four years to come out of that, and so it took time over time, over time. It's very important that people to be patient with themselves, especially when you're trying to find the right support system, the therapist, your friends and your circle. It's going to take some time to find the right person, so that's really how I built my bullying.

Speaker 1: 25:14

Yeah, I think that's super important to remember. I think some people you know have checked in and done some counseling and maybe they didn't work, they didn't feel that connection and maybe they kind of went away from it. But I think you do have to find that connection and find the right person and then build that rapport and relationship as you go. So it might not be the first person, or first or second or third, or you know, maybe you have to go through male or female or what their background is or whatever that connection brings you together Absolutely. Do you have any specific strategies or tools that helped you stay motivated and focused?

Speaker 2: 25:51

So cell phone? Of course, we're always on our cell phone, okay, everyone? I know people are like what I'm like no, listen, listen. So we're on our phone 24-7, right? So what I learned was that I cleaned my social media. What I mean by that is that I unfollow people that does a lot of flashy things, does weird things. That doesn't resonate with my goals. And, number two, I follow a lot of motivational people. I follow a lot of Instagram themes and I stick with that. And because right now, every time I go on my phone, it's inspiring me to move forward, keep me motivated. Because the very first thing we wake up, where do we go? The bathroom, and then our cell phone, and then the iPad. Right, right, am I not lying?

Speaker 2: 26:34

so that's it so I make sure I click everything on my social media. What do I see? And I make sure that I'm feeding my brain healthy, even though it's very hard and making it very, very hard. So what I did was I make sure that I read a good book to help me entertain and that helps me to reach my goal. So I make sure I read a book before I go to bed, or even in the morning sometimes. Sometimes I wake up early. I don't know why, but that's what I usually do to keep motivated by having that and also, too, having a very strong why. It's very important to have that strong. Why? Because if you don't have that strong, why you're not going to keep moving forward. Keep yourself motivated. So that's really how I keep moving forward.

Speaker 1: 27:16

Yeah, that's a really good reminder. I know there's a lot of common phrases and sometimes we use the phrases like maybe too much and they kind of lose their appeal. But you know, we've heard like iron sharpens iron, you want to have that good stuff around you. We've heard you are the five people that you surround yourself with, or something similar to that. So it really is like what's around you and what you're intaking. So I think it's a great reminder to you know, focus in on that and if you know people are negative, pulling energy from you, they're not getting you where you want to go. Maybe it seems kind of cold, but maybe you got to separate and kind of hit that unfollow and stay focused on your goals. Try to move forward Absolutely. What's one key mindset shift that can help someone push past their limitations?

Speaker 2: 28:03

I would say it's coming out of your comfort zone. That mindset is definitely a huge shift because if you are stuck in that comfort zone and you're not coming out of it, you're not going to be able to grow. And I feel like, in order to come out of that comfort zone and be able to grow, it's being able to be honest with yourself, To ask yourself why am I feeling like this? What is it that I'm stuck on? Who can help me? Why am I feeling this way? What is it that I need to do to improve my life? You have to ask yourself these honest questions, because if you don't ask yourself these honest questions, you're not going to grow.

Speaker 2: 28:39

And I had clients in the past who were super nervous to ask themselves deep, hardcore questions. And I said why are you nervous to ask yourself that? And they said it's because no one ever sits down with them. And it's important to sit down with yourself and ask those hardcore questions. If you cannot answer these hardcore questions, you're not going to come out of your comfort zone, you're not going to be able to grow and you're not going to know what's out there for you and you'll be surprised what's really truly out there for you Literally start from asking yourself your questions, your stuff, questions If you don't know what.

Speaker 2: 29:11

To ask yourself deep, hardcore questions to come out. I highly look online to type in deep questions to come out of your conference notes and look at these questions that comes up with and you can answer this question on your own and then you can finally look at it and say, hmm, maybe this is something I really struggle with and this is something I need to get help with. And do not be afraid to get help. And that's number two, and I know a lot of people feel intimidated by getting help and they're like, oh, I'm being told not to get help because consider yourself as a weak person. There's nothing that's called a weak person, Like, get that out of your head. You're never called or considered weak.

Speaker 1: 29:48

Do you have any examples of stories where someone was stuck and then they were able to ask themselves some tough questions and then accomplish something they never thought possible?

Speaker 2: 29:58

Yeah, I remember someone in my community asked me a question regarding getting a driver's license. He or she was deaf. So I had my driver's license when I was 16 years old. So I'm young, you guys. So I'm 27. So I'm not that old.

Speaker 2: 30:14

And so he asked me the question. He said I don't know if I can drive. And I said why I can drive, what's wrong? And he was just like no, like I'm scared, and and that confidence wasn't there. So I said where's the confidence? Confidence? And like what happened?

Speaker 2: 30:28

He's like well, you know, I I never had friends that drive a car, so I didn't know. And I said well, let me ask you something. And he's like well, what if I told you you can actually get your license within a year? He's like there's nowhere I can get my license. I said because you have to manifest that, you have to have that mindset saying I'm going to get it. You need to have that mindset. So what I did was I told them, before you go to bed, tell yourself you will get that driver's license. The more you manifest yourself, the more you program your brain that you're going to do something, it will happen. And so I would say maybe five months later he got his driver's license, and so it's really about why? Where did that come from? Why are you not? Why do you think you're not capable of driving? And so I feel like you have to ask yourself why do you think you're not capable?

Speaker 1: 31:20

So that's pretty much one of the examples I have. That's so interesting too, because I think a lot of people think it's cheesy or hippie or whatever to have that self talk and things like that. But they've done studies where they scan your brain. I saw one where they were doing research and they had someone think of an argument they were going to have in the future and then they recorded them or, you know, search their brain while they were actually having the argument and the exact same parts of the brain lit up. So if you're thinking about something, it's the same thing as if it occurring. So in reality, if you were to think and manifest like I can do this, then you should be able to. I mean not like fly off a building or something like you can't become a bird, but you know that positive talk on the inside is super important. So I think people kind of want that to be oh, that's like fake or cheesy, that's, that's some real stuff.

Speaker 1: 32:13

He didn't think he could get it in a year. He gets it in under half a year. Totally can do it. That's awesome, great story. The last pillar you have is entrepreneurship and coaching. So what inspired you to start your own coaching business?

Speaker 2: 32:29

Like I said before, when I was growing up, I was looking for a coach, a counselor that was deaf, that looked like me, and so I realized that, you know, I wanted to make the change for the youth, to let them know that they're not alone, and that's why I wanted to start my coaching business to really help more youth who I need.

Speaker 1: 32:46

That's awesome. What do you think the biggest challenge has been starting up the business, or even you know, throughout the time you've had the business, what's the difficult thing and how'd you push through?

Speaker 2: 32:57

I would say being able to get myself out there. I would say the biggest challenge, what I mean by it networking. So being able to network and being able to get clients. I feel like that's what a lot of first-time business struggles with how do I find these people? First-time business struggles with how do I find these people? And so, thankfully, because I did podcasts prior, before I started my coaching business, and so I used to be on a lot of disability podcasts. I was being on a lot of parent podcasts. So, because I forgot, I used to have an email list and I sent out an email letting them know hey, I'm starting my coaching business. And that's when a lot of people reached out to me and said, oh my God, congratulations. So I would say one is finding the right client. Two, creating so many strategies to find the right client, Because being in entrepreneurship is all about being creative, right, it's all about having so many different strategies. If it's not working, then it's not working. So that was definitely one of my struggles when I started my company.

Speaker 1: 33:58

Getting going, but you got to be creative. How do you incorporate psychology into your coaching approach?

Speaker 2: 34:04

Yeah, so we do a lot of workshops in terms of SDBT workshop. I mean worksheet, side worksheet and, as well, I do a lot of brain thinking when it comes to clients. So I know a lot of clients. I educate clients about the mindset especially. How does our brain operate? How can we learn your brain without having to be too super crazy towards your brain? What is it that we can do? So I teach clients about the mindset. I teach them about psychology a little bit in terms of motivation, what it causes. I don't focus on negative psychology. I basically focus on positive psychology because I know a lot of clients don't feel comfortable talking about the trauma. But I probably go a little bit, but not too deep. So I'm basically focused on a lot about the positive psychology.

Speaker 1: 34:52

Yes, that's good stuff. What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs who feel held back by their circumstances?

Speaker 2: 35:01

That's a good question. I would say that you just never know who's going to need your voice or your business. For me personally, when I first came out of my business, I pinched to a school actually to become a speaker and I had no idea they're going to say yes. They're like, oh my God, we need you. Where were you this whole year? You'd be surprised who needs your service and who needs you and who needs your voice.

Speaker 1: 35:25

Yeah, I definitely had that on the show. A couple times I've reached out to guests and guests are like, well, I don't know if my story is good enough or I don't know if I have enough like advice to pass. And I would try to say like you have no idea, I have no idea, none of us do, like your story might be the thing that connects or help somebody, so just come on, we'll record it. I mean you take an hour of your day and maybe you help somebody. I mean, worst case, you know it doesn't but maybe it does down the road or something like that. But you know you use up an hour of your time and you potentially help somebody. I think that's a good use of an hour. But yeah, I think it's a really good reminder and sometimes I think we'll never know.

Speaker 1: 36:02

Like sometimes you get the thank you note or the follow up, but I know there's probably been people that have been impacted and you know they feel good for the day and you never hear anything. They go about their thing, they do something else and whatnot. We're all overly busy rushing around doing a bunch of things. So you probably positively impacted somebody, but you might not never know. Another question I had I kind of touched on this, but maybe you have another one Can you share another success story of someone you've helped transform their life? I love the driver's license, but is there another one of your coaches, without giving away details and names and things like that?

Speaker 1: 36:41

but, another transformation that really helped.

Speaker 2: 36:44

Oh my God, I actually spoke to a school, a school. I spoke to a school, I won't be saying the name. So I spoke to a school and they ordered like 500 of my books and it was a deaf school. A high school student, a bunch of high school students, came up to me. They read my book prior if I came in, and they read it so quick because my book was a poem book. And so all these students lights up their eyes when they saw me. They're like Kal Kalina, your book was everything, it's what I needed.

Speaker 2: 37:17

And I was like, oh my god, what the students said you know, yeah, I've been struggling so much in the hair school and I completely relate to what you're saying like it was hard. And I was like, oh my god, I understand. And we were just having a great small conversation and and then the students done, because you're here and you're super successful, uh, and you give me hope to say that I can actually do anything I want to do. And I said, of course, nothing's wrong with you, you can be whatever you want to be, you can be, you can own a business. And you're like, yeah, I didn't think I would own a business. Yeah, that really sticks with you, doesn't it?

Speaker 2: 37:54

it does own a business, and so he read my book, yeah that really sticks with you, doesn't it?

Speaker 2: 37:57

it does, it really does. I was like, oh my god, I'm being so in awe right now. And he, like, the students were like, and another student came up to me. They wanted to write a book as well. They weren't sure, and I provided them resources, actually on the spot, how to write a book and and yeah, it was just so sweet. It was very, very sweet. So I was able to empathize with a lot of people, especially through my book, not just my coaching, but also through my book.

Speaker 1: 38:21

That's amazing. I mean, I can't think of anything that's too much more powerful than hope. You gave someone hope. That's pretty amazing. The last thing I want to try to bring all this wonderful goodness together how can people support the deaf community and promote inclusivity? Wow, it's a hard word.

Speaker 2: 38:40

I know, stay honest, you truly educate yourself about the disability community and the deaf community. And number two, if you can just learn the basic sign language Hi, how are you? You're welcome, the basic, it doesn't hurt. And number three, I would say follow people on Instagram or TikTok, support them. You know comments, repost yourself and just the little things that matter the most is the kindness, being able to share, being able to like and comment. That's really what matters and that's really important way to support the deaf community.

Speaker 1: 39:12

That's awesome. Well, today, if listeners could take one lesson from your journey, what do you hope it is?

Speaker 2: 39:20

Oh God, there's so many, I would say. My hope, I would say, is for the listeners, is that you have life. You have one life to live, right? God gave you a gift. For a reason God gave you this thing. What is this thing you are struggling with? He gave it to you for a reason. God gives you this thing. Whatever this thing you are struggling with, he gave it to you for a reason, rather than mental health, rather than disability. He gave it to you for a reason because he knows you are strong and you are capable of carrying it with you.

Speaker 2: 39:46

So let's say, for example, tonight you go to bed, god comes in your dream and he said you have X, y and Z amount of time to live. And you open your eyes and you realize that you have a timeline and you are you going to take advantage of your timeline. Of course we will take advantage of our timeline. So use that strength, that gift that God gives you. Use it because you'll be surprised how many people in the world is going to need you more than anything. And literally, that's how I want people to look at my story and realize that God gave me, surprised how many people in the world are going to need you more than anything, and literally, that's how I want people to look at my story and realize that God gave me a gift, which is my deafness to educate people and to be inspired by other people and let people know they're not alone.

Speaker 1: 40:25

You are not alone. There's way too many people on this earth to be alone. There's someone like you out there that can help you and connect with you. Well, kalina, thank you for coming out. I want to ask you where can people connect with you and learn more about you?

Speaker 2: 40:39

Yeah, for sure, everybody can find me on my website, kalinainpowermerchcom, or you guys can find me on social media, which is Instagram, def Queen Boss. Linkedin Kalina Powell.

Speaker 1: 40:54

Perfect. Well, that's a wrap. Thank you for tuning in. Don't forget to keep the conversation going. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Buzzsprout and share your thoughts, Please, if you can drop a review. I love you all. See, ya, Thank you.