Rising Stars: Meet Lisa Mort

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Mort. 

Hi Lisa, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I have suffered from depression for as long as I can remember. All the way back to my childhood days. Growing up, my parents brought me to countless therapists. I was on and off of anti-depressants well into my 30s. 

In my early 20’s, I threw myself into my work as an escape. I was a hairstylist. The emptier I felt, the more I worked. I built a very impressive career for a small-town hairstylist. Breaking goals everyone said I would never be able to reach. I was making six figures in a town where the average income was $30,000 a year. 

Early in my career, I got divorced and become a single mother of two boys. The financial stress pushed me to work even harder. As the years went on, I slipped deeper and deeper into despair. No one knew. I hid the severity from everyone because I was so embarrassed. I had no reason to be so depressed and I was completely embarrassed by it and so angry at myself for not being able to kick it. 

26 years into my career, I was living what I thought would be my dream, yet, I was completely empty and unfulfilled. I kept setting high and higher goals for myself, thinking that would fix me. That I would finally feel good enough if I would just hit the next goal. I never did. 

I had created a version of this extremely successful, attractive happy person that had everything going for her, yet my reality was complete darkness. 

I finally had enough and knew I had to do something drastic. I had been reading about ayahuasca retreats and how they were helping people, so I booked one, went to the jungle, and was ready and willing to get rid of all of my darkness. I can talk more about this journey if you are interested. 

It was here that I found breathwork. Breathwork saved my life. My first experience blew me away. It felt like 20 years of therapy in 1 hour. I could not even explain what happened. The more breathwork I did, the more healing I was experiencing. I knew this was something I needed in my life on a regular basis. When I came home, I looked for it everywhere and couldn’t find it, so I decided to start offering it myself. The classes grew at such a quick pace that I ended up getting certified to train people to become facilitators. 

In that process, I left the salon I worked at for 26 years and started over at another one. Within the first year, I cut back to only working two days a week to grow this practice. I opened one of the first breathwork centers in the US. In the small town of Steubenville, Ohio. The amount of healing that people are experiencing from breathwork still blows me away. People are open to holistic means of healing. This is just a brief summary of what has happened in the last two years, and I would love to talk about it more. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
At first, I had so much fear. I was making the decision to walk away from a very successful career. I would be walking away from financial security. Most people thought I was nuts. The thought of failure was paralyzing, but I just couldn’t deny this call I was feeling. I decided to just jump in and have faith that the next steps would be provided for me as I needed them. I am just in the beginning stages, so the obstacles are coming at me left and right. Finding financial backing is my current struggle, but I know the right people will be put in my life. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a breathwork facilitator, trainer, business owner, and life coach. I specialize in breathwork and integration coaching. I am known for bringing a practice into our town that is providing an alternative method in dealing with stress, anxiety, addiction, grief, and other mental health issues. I am the first one to offer this service for hundreds and hundreds of miles. I have also been trained and certified by jack Canfield (author of Chicken Soup for the Soul books) as a transformational life coach. 

I am most proud of the fact that I didn’t let my fear of failure stop me from opening up my business: Compass Center for Wellbeing. First time in my life that I actually didn’t let it stop me. I have missed out on so many opportunities during my life because of the fear of not being good enough. 

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I never felt good enough. I know most of us to experience this, but it led me into so much sadness and disconnection. I sought out means of escape during my teens. I experimented with drugs and alcohol, trying to numb my feelings. Food became my drug of choice. I would go from extremes of overeating to severe limitations of food. I was always goal-oriented, but sometimes my depression would get in the way. I was always artsy. I loved to draw. I was a bit of a loner but a popular loaner if that makes sense. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: lisa.a.mort
  business: compass_oh

Image Credits
@mustard.seedphotography