Podcast interview about starting over with Yoda Olinyk
If you’ve ever questioned your professional path or faced the terror of making life-altering decisions, you will appreciate what Yoda shares in this heartfelt and engaging interview. What Yoda talks about here truly is a recipe for starting over.
Yoda Olinyk is the chef and owner at Yoda’s Kitchen, a plant-based catering company making healthy food (and vegan doughnuts) from scratch, with local ingredients.
Yoda also recently published her cookbook memoir, “Salt and Sour: My Recipe For Starting Over.” The book details her journey into cooking professionally, as well as her journey into opening (and closing) her own restaurant back in 2017. It’s a story of soul searching, love, heartache and some recipes too.
Subscribe to the podcast:
Listen: Apple Podcasts (iTunes) | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio | Spotify | Stitcher
Watch: Facebook | YouTube
Yoda considers it her life’s purpose to bring people joy through food, though it took her some time to figure that out. Her journey into the catering business is an interesting one, as is her take on lifestyle required to be a chef.
The daughter of an entrepreneur, Yoda feels like she grew up with some entrepreneurial instincts. Her stories of her entry into that world will entertain you. It might even scare you a little, when you hear how unprepared she felt she was. But as just about any entrepreneur knows, moving forward without having all the answers is an essential quality for growth.
Knowing What You Don’t Want
In sharing what it was like when she found herself on her own as a small business owner, Yoda noted many things that were going very well. She also had a sense of what she did not want, which was to own a restaurant. You’ll hear her tell the story of a former boss (a restaurant owner whom she admired) who had a mental breakdown. That event solidified for her that she didn’t want to own a restaurant. But as you’ll hear, that realization left her conflicted. And it she paid a heavy price when she went against that feeling.
Before long, a series of events took place that drew her into starting a restaurant even though she knew she didn’t really want to do it. In fact, as she talked about in the interview, her hand was shaking so much when it came time to sign the lease on the building that she had to sign papers a second time. She was going against what her heart wanted, and she knew it.
Despite the critical success of the restaurant, Yoda soon found herself feeling completely stuck. She felt stuck financially, professionally and in her relationship. Ultimately, she ended up confronting suicidal thoughts. Thankfully, she found some light (and some help) after typing a search into Google that said, “Suicidal thoughts heed help.” That search also led her to a therapist, who was huge help in Yoda’s efforts for starting over.
Starting Over
Although she now says that she didn’t know she was writing a book (at the time), Yoda began jotting down her thoughts and feelings in August of 2017. Those journal entries were the seeds of what become her book, “Salt and Sour: A Recipe For Starting Over.” Near the end of our conversation, she read an extremely touching passage from the book that acknowledged her finding a feeling of relief and hope for the firs time in a long time.
Yoda ended up “taking a break from life” to travel, in 2018. She relished in the company and support of other good friends and great people (she noted both Wayne & Jocelyn from Zen’za Pizzeria who shared their story with me in Episode 101 of the podcast as well as Jenna Goodhand who you can hear in Episode 86). And now, as you’ll see, Yoda is again shining and thriving in a way I’m sure you’ll admire and appreciate.
An Uplifting Tale
This is not a sad story. It is an inspiring story. It’s a real story. It’s the kind of real life tale that many of us go through in some form or another. It takes great courage to share such details about our personal and professional lives, but it’s important that we do. We’ll never know who we might help by offering the light of our own resilience and the wisdom of our experience.
I hope you enjoy it as much as you’d enjoy some of Yoda’s vegan doughnuts!
This episode of “Journeys with the No Schedule Man” is presented by:
Subscribe to “Journeys with the No Schedule Man”
You can find those and all archived episodes at NoScheduleManPodcast.com or at:
Apple Podcasts (iTunes) | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio | Spotify | Stitcher
Stay In Touch:
Subscribe here to get Kevin’s free inspirational email updates.
After you confirm your subscription, you’ll immediately receive an email with a free 10-page PDF on Kevin’s “4 Keys To Contentment.”
Kevin Bulmer is a Strategic Marketing and Mindset Coach and Keynote Speaker and founder of No Schedule Man Brand Media. He is the producer and host of the momondays London inspirational event series, strategic marketing coach for Awesomepreneurs and host of the podcast, “Journeys with the No Schedule Man.”
Day-to-day, Kevin helps heart-centered entrepreneurs find their “REAL” success so they can feel free to live and work happy. His overarching purpose is to uplift through a shared example of continual growth.
For life coaching online and ongoing strategic marketing coaching & support, join Kevin’s online coaching membership service, My REAL Success Pass. To work with Kevin directly, apply for 1-on-1 coaching, hire him to speak (virtually or in person) for your group and/or book a private workshop or group coaching session.
Recent Comments