In the relentless hustle of entrepreneurial life, the power of the mind often becomes the deciding factor between mere survival and unparalleled success. For Joanna Griffiths, the trailblazing founder of Knix, this truth became the cornerstone of her journey. Griffiths, one of fashion’s most successful entrepreneurs, revolutionized the intimate apparel industry, pioneering the market of leakproof and period underwear. Since its inception in 2013, Knix has emerged as a global leader in the intimate apparel space, culminating in a record-breaking sale of 80% of the business for an astounding $320 million in 2022, marking the largest publicly disclosed sale of a private company by a female founder in Canada.
Yet, behind the financial accolades and industry disruption lies a narrative of profound personal transformation and introspection, facilitated by the expertise of hypnotherapist Grace Smith. Smith, a beacon in the realms of executive performance and coaching, has been instrumental in guiding Griffiths through some of the most pivotal moments of her life, including pregnancy, post-partum, and the monumental decision to sell a majority stake in her company.
The Intersection of Hypnosis and High Stakes
Hypnosis, often misunderstood, is a powerful tool for mental conditioning and self-exploration. For business executives like Griffiths, operating in environments where the stakes are perpetually high, hypnosis offers a sanctuary for clarity, identity exploration, and decision-making prowess. Joanna’s engagement with hypnotherapy began amidst the chaos of COVID-19, a period marked by both personal and professional upheaval. Under Smith’s guidance, Griffiths embarked on a transformative journey, learning to thrive in tranquility as much as in chaos, a skill paramount for any leader navigating the unpredictable waters of entrepreneurship.
A Prism of Possibilities
One of the most transformative moments in Griffiths’ partnership with Smith involved a simple yet profound exercise with a glass prism. This exercise illuminated the intertwined nature of Griffiths’ identity with Knix, challenging her to envision a future where her impact could extend beyond the confines of her company. This pivotal moment played a crucial role in her decision to sell 80% of Knix, illustrating the potential for broader influence and fulfillment beyond the business realm.
Beyond Business: A Vision for Impact
Griffiths’ decision to sell was not motivated by financial gain but by a vision for greater impact. Hypnotherapy, through Smith’s adept guidance, unlocked a perspective where Griffiths could see the expansive scope of her influence — on her family, friends, and the causes dear to her. This realization underscores a critical message for business executives: success is not solely measured by financial metrics but by the breadth and depth of one’s impact.
Conclusion: The Transformative Power of Executive Coaching
Joanna Griffiths’ journey from a visionary entrepreneur to a leader poised for broader societal impact exemplifies the transformative potential of executive coaching and hypnotherapy. In a world where business leaders are constantly seeking an edge, the partnership between Griffiths and Grace Smith highlights an often-overlooked frontier for personal and professional development: the power of the mind. As executives strive to elevate their performance and mindset, embracing the introspective and transformative capabilities of hypnosis can pave the way for groundbreaking achievements and a legacy of impact.
For business leaders embarking on their own journeys of transformation, the story of Joanna Griffiths and Grace Smith serves as a beacon, illuminating the path to not just entrepreneurial success, but a life of meaningful influence and fulfillment.
Joanna’s Testimonial:
“Just last week I sold 80% of my company for $320 million and Grace’s support was extremely instrumental in helping me get through the process mentally and emotionally. This year has been the most stressful of my professional career yet in the midst of it all I have been kinder to myself than ever before. With Grace’s help I have let go of years worth of work-related emotional baggage and have clarity around the life I want to live and the leader, partner, mother and friend I want to be. I feel lighter and so ready for this next era of my life. At first I wasn’t sure the investment of the VIP program would be worth it but now I’m getting ready to sign up for my next package and I can’t wait. Thank you, Grace!”
Transcript of Joanna’s podcast segment where she chats about Grace:
Joanna Griffith 29:03
is okay, so I have two speeds like zero or 100. I can between not really but I can go to zero, like in a way that I think surprises people. If given the opportunity, I can lie in bed all day binge watch reality TV for like 10 hours at a time. Like, I can just like take that moment. You know, when I started my undergrad career, I feel like I started more at zero than I did at 100. And then I like learn to live more at the 100 level probably in fear of the zero. So I started to allow myself to do that when I realized that going there didn’t mean that I couldn’t dial back up, you know, especially I think because in those early days of nicks when you would stop it would be so
Valeria Lipovetsky 29:44
hard to get back. Yeah, the rhythm. Yeah, exactly.
Joanna Griffith 29:47
Exactly. So you sort of had to keep the momentum wasn’t there’s like I said you had to drive it yourself. What I’m trying to do more now is maybe not, I’m not I’m not doing this successfully. So I’ll just say that maybe not live as much at either extreme. Like, what if I spent more time somewhere between zero and 100? Well, what would that look like? You know, how great would that be? So I’m trying to do more of that.
Valeria Lipovetsky 30:12
Do you have any reminders for yourself for that? Like what anything that kind of like, okay, I’m going too much here and too much there. Remember,
Joanna Griffith 30:20
I feel it in my body. Like I just said, Get I started to feel anxious. And I know that I’m like, about to overdo it. So it’s more of like an alarm system. And a reminder, I would say like, I don’t know if you can relate to this. Just like I’m like, Oh, God, we are like one week away from complete CRASH CRASH. Yeah. So then I’m ever chance to stop it. So I think that’s good. Yeah, I I’ve tried to learn I work with a Hypnotherapist. That’s been something that’s been really important to me. Yeah, I know. I’ve been doing it for three to four years, I feel like you would be Yeah, tell me more. How
Valeria Lipovetsky 30:53
did that come about?
Joanna Griffith 30:55
I got connected to her through a good friend of mine, Michelle Romanov, who’s also an entrepreneur. And we started working together throughout COVID, really, after my son was born, but before my girls were born, that’s one of the things I’ve really been working through is getting my mind to thrive in the quiet. I can thrive in the chaos. More than most people like I like chaos, I can deal a lot with change. But how do I learn to actually like thrive and recharge in the quiet and that’s something that I’ve been really working on.
Valeria Lipovetsky 31:28
I think a lot of people don’t realize that part of the I don’t even know if it’s just entrepreneurs anymore. I feel like in today’s time and age, we’re all are in this chaos constantly. That the idea even when we create this quiet environment, we actually don’t know how to tap into it, like actually be in it. We don’t. That’s why I think a lot of the concept of like self care and self love a lot of it started with a lot of fuzzy and kind of, you know, like to have a mask have a bubble bath. Yeah. And it’s clear creating the environment. But
Joanna Griffith 32:05
if you can’t, like reset your mind, it’s not going to work. It’s not gonna
Valeria Lipovetsky 32:09
Yeah, so for you, the hypnotherapy has helped
Joanna Griffith 32:12
because I was very much the same. I mean, working in music, my first job, there was music blaring it every single person’s desk like this was how I learned to work. So when I was writing my GMAT, to go to business school, I had to go study at loud cafes, because I actually couldn’t think in a library, like I need to exist in in the chaos. Yeah, there was like a really cool visualization exercise I did with grace, who helps me and it was this idea that I’ve like, lived in this room. It’s just filled with like graffiti everywhere. And it’s like shape shifting and stuff. And then when it’s a blank canvas, like what can you start to create? You know, and how do you like, become more comfortable sitting in those quiet moments? So even now, I don’t travel as much as I used to. I used to travel a lot more before COVID. But, you know, how do you use those times to just have a minute when you’re on an airplane by yourself without the distraction of blank? Yeah, exactly.
Valeria Lipovetsky 33:13
I love that. Yeah, I can visualize that. So clearly, I know, I know.
Joanna Griffith 33:17
And back to the identity thing to she really helped me with that as well. Like, I did this one exercise. And this is part of the reason why I made the decision to sell the company or sell the majority of the company was I did this exercise and there was like a paperweight like glass paperweight in the shape of a prism. And so she got me to recognize the fact that for the last like 10 years of my life, I’ve taken this prism and put it up to my heart. And like every single cause I care about every topic, I want to cover every taboo I want to break down. I’ve like laser beam powered pointed it into next. So it’s really easy to feel like is that me? Or is that the company? Right? And what happens if, if they’re not together anymore? And she got me to do this really powerful exercise where I took that same paperweight I put it up to the same heart, but you turned it around. And all of a sudden the light instead of shining on one thing could shine on all kinds of things. Yeah. And that was really groundbreaking for me too.
Valeria Lipovetsky 34:22
So based on that exercise, you started thinking about selling the company like that’s where it started. That was come to you before
Joanna Griffith 34:33
I had been reached out to so I was in discussions to do this. And it’s a pretty big decision, you know, especially for something that you’ve tied so much of your meaning to and that was probably the most groundbreaking experience that really showed me I love pointing a laser beam but I really want to point there’s more things that I want to be able to shine a light on and once I saw all of those things visually in the light like my family My friends causes I couldn’t put them back so clear couldn’t put them back in the dark.
Valeria Lipovetsky 35:05
This is what I’m talking about, right? When we started this conversation, and I was asking about your identity. Yeah, this is where I wanted to hear your experience, because a lot of us tie so much of these things that we build, honestly, even the roles that we play, not even a career, but motherhood. You know, being a wife being a friend, like a lot of the times we do exactly that, where we put so much of our core and identity and to one roll. Yeah. And I always think about what’s going to happen when it’s going to not even go away, but change, like, how is it going to affect me? Am I going to be like a leaf in the wind, you know, just going with whatever, we have the wind blows. And for me, one of the biggest shifts, specifically in motherhood that happened was when I was reading Eckhart Tolle New Earth, he had this chapter and it’s a very, it’s the book is just, there’s so much insight, and you’ll have to read it very slowly and pick it up at certain moments in your life, right, because a lot of the times the concept are just do not penetrate. And I picked it up at this moment where I was in a bit of a struggle between leaning more into my career, but then creating a space for my real self, and moving away from the identity of the social media persona, but then also feeling guilty that I’m not running towards my identity as a mom, like I didn’t fully feel like I will be happy doing that. 100%. So very confused. And I read this chapter, about the roles, and he was talking about the concept of these are all roles that we play in our lifetime. And sometimes these roles will change will go away. And this constant importance of building the core that that identity, aside from all these roles is so important. Because you’ll be able to know when to surrender when to let go, when to pull one closer, and you know, release one. And that just changed my life. It made everything so much more simple. Like not everything is on me, and then that everything is like, you know, felt lighter. Yeah. So that was a big thing. What made you? Well, you’re going back and forth with your decision that you reached out to do this virtualization,
Joanna Griffith 37:40
I wasn’t going back and forth. I mean, I’ve been I was really lucky to kind of work with grace, who has been supporting me through these, like very big moments of like, major change and transition. And I didn’t know that that was going to be the case, when I started working with her. I just, I felt like I needed to change. As a person, I had a lot of work to do to kind of be more comfortable with who I was and like myself more authentically and show up as myself. And so this felt hypnotherapy felt like a great way to do it. And so that’s how it all started. But no, she was really, really helpful working through that very, very big life choice and decision. And if you know me, you know, I’m like, I’m not financially motivated. That’s not what drives me like i i want NICs to have a home and I want to have the biggest impact that I can as a person while I am fortunate enough to like live on this earth. And so it was that kind of moment of seeing like, Okay, this could enable me to have a bigger impact. And actually, why don’t I move forward with that? So
Valeria Lipovetsky 38:42
it was never about money? Was it ever about ego? Was it ever like I need to prove to be
Joanna Griffith 38:47
okay, in the beginning? Yes, for sure. I was very, very driven by ego. In the beginning, it was all about proving people wrong. I had a lot of people in my life who were extremely supportive of what I was doing my part my like, husband and partner is amazing. He really pushed encouraged me to do it. It was pretty atypical for my family to do this. And I got told no so many times, because the idea was really kind of crazy.
Valeria Lipovetsky 39:13
Like I mean, you’re very ahead of the game right now
Joanna Griffith 39:17
it seems commonplace because so many people use you know, period underwear leak preventer, but at the time, it was like yeah, people are like, you’re gonna make white like, how does this work? What do you how do we market this to people want to use that just every question. So absolutely ego and proving people wrong was a really big motivator for me in the beginning. That unlocked it side of my personality that I just did not like, really 100%
Valeria Lipovetsky 39:44
What did it show you about yourself?
Joanna Griffith 39:45
I weighed way more prefer to collaborate than to compete. I can be like a vicious competitor. I can fight I can. I do not like that part of me. So it taught me that It kind of like robs your joy, when so much of what you’re trying to do is for to prove someone else wrong. Does that make sense? Yeah. Is
Valeria Lipovetsky 40:10
it because you achieve it, but it doesn’t show up in any way? Oh, no,
Joanna Griffith 40:15
no
Valeria Lipovetsky 40:16
very fleeting feeling. Yeah,
Joanna Griffith 40:17
exactly. So, you know, those were all kind of some of the things that I really wanted to work on as a person, like I just, I wanted about something more meaningful and different. But it was never about money. Which is very interesting, very interesting. It’s about accountability. I definitely didn’t want to let people down. I had investors. So obviously, like, that comes with it. And then it was about in the beginning, proving a lot of people wrong. And then over time, it shifted into more. Okay, what’s the impact that you can have? How can you like, build a better life and world than, like you inherited? And how can you drive this change in people? And I think, you know, slowly over the last decade of like, doing all these things, like oftentimes leading the way with next and being vulnerable, and being really open, I just realized that like, that change is so incredible, it feels so much better to be comfortable with who you are, and like who you are, and be at ease with who you are. And so yeah, so there was a shift that happened, I kind
Valeria Lipovetsky 41:21
of love the idea that next is kind of your road for your own self discovery, right? It’s like it’s serving you. I mean, I know that the impact and the purpose, and the message is so much larger. But unless it changes you as a person, someone who touches this company every single day, it has so much more impact, right when it touches you personally. And I mean, you’ve learned so much about yourself through this journey. It’s really cool. I’m leaving with like, I’m processing a lot of information. Yeah. Life after birth. Mm hmm. Tell me about that project.
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