Essential listening for anyone who has ever wondered if the same drive that built their business could actually save their life.

Kristen Gale was fired on a Friday. By Sunday, she had a business plan. By Wednesday, she had signed a lease. Twenty years later, she has 38 locations and a franchise system she built by doing the thing most founders never do: firing herself from her own company.

But this conversation goes so much deeper than business. Kristen opens up about the marriage that dimmed her light, the moment she decided to become the CEO of her own life, and how applying the same strategic tools she used to scale The Ten Spot pulled her out of the hardest chapter she had ever lived.

We talk core values, confidence, the "perfect day" exercise, and why missions are the secret weapon for getting through literally anything. Oh, and we go there on the tummy tuck too.

Kristen and I have known each other for twenty years. This one felt like sitting down with a very old, very wise, very hilarious friend. Which is exactly what it was.

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Covered In This Episode

• What getting fired on a Friday has to do with the most important decision you will ever make about your own life.

• Why the fastest path to building something that works is firing yourself from the thing you're worst at.

• What a nail bar on Queen West taught Kristen about the difference between being in a business and actually running one.

• The moment she looked in the mirror and realized the woman staring back had turned her own dimmer switch all the way down.

• Why confidence has nothing to do with the number on the scale and everything to do with the promises you keep to yourself.

• What writing a vision for your life has in common with writing an operations manual for a 38-location franchise.

• The "perfect day" exercise that sounds simple, costs nothing, and will show you exactly how far you are from the life you actually want.

• What six weeks of recovery from an elective surgery taught Kristen about the body she had spent years trying to change.

   

00:00 Welcome to The Courageous Pivot Podcast
07:51 Origin of The Ten Spot
22:27 From Personal Brand To Franchise
30:38 Whirlwind Marriage Story
34:24 CEO Your Life Program
35:50 Divorce And Realignment
43:40 Designing Your Perfect Day
44:42 Purpose And Core Values
48:52 Manifesting Meets Action
50:12 Mini Missions For Life
55:01 Building The Life At 10 Program
01:01:54 Who The Program Helps
01:10:21 Gratitude Aging And Wrap Up

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• FREE + BRAND NEW: The Heart Reset Masterclass – A complimentary short program with Meghan Telpner exploring how to create alignment between your heart and mind, access inner calm, and live from your most authentic self.

• Click here to get 30% off Money Mastery: A wildly practical approach to financial literacy, empowered money mindset, and wealth building for a life of joy and freedom. (Click here if you reside in Canada).

Related Episodes

• EP 030: Building Unshakeable Self-Trust: How Small Daily Practices Create Massive Life Changes with Catherine Farquharson — Kristen talks about confidence being built through self-integrity, one kept promise at a time. This episode is where you go to actually practice that.
• EP 034: The Myth of Safe: Why There's No Perfect Plan with Karla Treadway — On signing the lease before you have the money, saying yes before you feel ready, and why waiting for the perfect moment is just fear in a very convincing costume.
• EP 037: After The Exit: What No One Talks About with Obé Fitness Co-Founder Ashley Mills — Because building something remarkable is one thing. Knowing who you are when it's no longer yours is something else entirely. This one is for the builders.

More About Kristen Gale

• The Ten Spot — Kristen's original baby and still very much her primary thing. Thirty-eight locations across Canada and into the US, built on the radical idea that getting your nails done with your girlfriends should feel genuinely good.
• Kristen Gale's Website — Where Kristen lives on the internet and where you can find her LIFE AT A TEN program, including the framework she used to pull herself out of the hardest chapter of her life and into the one she actually wanted.
• Kristen on YouTube — Long format, unfiltered, and genuinely hilarious. Including a full tummy tuck journey that starts in the waiting room with Kristen asking herself what she is about to do. Worth every minute.
• Kristen on Instagram — Follow along for the energy, the humor, and the occasional reminder that living life at a 10 is a practice, not a destination.

Kristen Gale is the spirited force and founder behind THE TEN SPOT® beauty bars' rise from a singular Toronto location to an acclaimed international franchise with over 40 bustling bars across Canada and the U.S..

Starting her business at just 24 years old, Kristen has become a trailblazer in the beauty and franchise field with her entrepreneurial flair garnering her numerous accolades, including a spot on Canada's Top 40 Under 40, the Chatelaine Magazine W100 list, and recognition as one of EY’s Winning Women. Under her leadership, THE TEN SPOT® has clinched prestigious awards such as Profit Magazine's 500 Fastest Growing Companies for four consecutive years, Entrepreneur's Top Global Franchise list for two, and the CFA's Franchisee's Choice Awards for five years running.

Kristen’s mantra, “LIFE AT A TEN®,” is far more than a slogan—it’s the driving force behind everything she does and the embodiment of her approach to both business and personal life. Through her signature LIFE AT A TEN Program, Kristen is sharing her proven strategies, insights, and hands-on experience to empower high-achieving, overwhelmed women who “have it all” to CEO THE SHXT OUT OF LIFE®. 

Her program helps women shift from stressed-out and stuck to optimized and energized, thriving in every aspect of their personal lives so they can create and live their own version of LIFE AT A TEN®. 

To book a discovery call to see if her program is right for you, visit www.xkristen.com