Brief Introduction
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Ms. Karen LoRay is a dynamic professional who expertly blends her skills as a cosmetologist with her roles as a life coach, author, and speaker. At the helm of Karen LoRay Consulting, she dedicates her career to empowering individuals through beauty and wellness, enhancing both their outer and inner selves. With a deep commitment to personal growth and development, Karen not only beautifies her clients but also provides them with the tools to succeed in various aspects of their lives. Her thoughtful insights and advice can be accessed through her engaging talks and her writings, which aim to inspire and motivate. Connect with Karen through her LinkedIn or explore more about her methodologies and successes on her website, HeyKarenLoRay.com
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What did you want to be when you grew up as a kid?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher, a doctor & a speaker. I was a know-it-all as a kid. Lol I always enjoyed fun facts and trivial information. No one really wanted to play with me because I knew just enough to be dangerous. I would line my dolls up and teach them. They were kind of a captive audience. I had a vivid imagination, and could spin a story with great detail and exaggeration. I was very persuasive, and had a good command of the English language as well as body language, and would captivate any audience. My friends liked to have me around because I became the life of the party . I was also the one who was trusted with good advice. I was a constant dreamer. When I was 16, I had a vision of myself, speaking to an audience full of people, hundreds, if not thousands of people, mostly young people, and I had a great impact on them. My grandmother was sickly and I would care for her. I liked how it made me feel to care for others. I was interested in herbs and remedies. My grandmother was from Louisiana, and I remember hearing stories of my great great grandfather, who was a witch doctor for lack of a better term. They would make roots and potions that would heal any ailment. I became fascinated with the root herbs in today's medications. As a young adult I began to live a holistic lifestyle. Research was always fascinating to me.
How did you come up with the name of your multifaceted enterprise?
Each of my endeavors had a distinct name: Eclectic Beauty, Revealing Hidden Virtue Coaching, Mommie’s Lunch Connection, and two workshops/workbooks titled “Rise of the Phoenix: Reinventing Yourself from the Inside Out” and “Bringing Your Vision Into Focus with Vision Boarding.” Despite occasional confusion when discussing them, I toyed with the idea of starting a podcast with the tagline “Hey, hey, it’s Karen LoRay & I’ve got something to say!” While some suggested streamlining my activities, I believed I could pursue all my passions and generate both active and passive income. To centralize my ventures, I created heykarenloray.com, organizing subsections like Karen LoRay Styles; Karen LoRay Coaches; Karen LoRay Writes; Karen LoRay Teaches; Karen LoRay Speaks; and Karen LoRay Cooks, allowing me to showcase each facet in one place.
How do you deal with fear and doubt?
I have made friends with fear and extended grace. To doubt I understand that fear doesn’t only mean fright, but it also is a way of caution and protection. When I feel myself being afraid, I know that I must address it head-on rather than stuff it or hide it. I am an avid reader, and a self-proclaimed, self-help junkie. My mentor shared a book with me, Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson, and it helped me to look at fear differently and eliminate doubt. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. From the book there was a question one of the characters pondered and it became a question I often ask myself, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” Whatever answer I came up with is what I should do and I would act on it immediately. In doing so I not only dispelled fear, but I saw that doubt was a companion of fear. Action drove it from me.
What are your top three favorite podcasts or books?
The Thriving Stylist podcast, Britt Seva. Book: The Game of Live & How to Play it, Florence Scovel Shinn. Book: Proverbs, Holy Bible These three are what I can read/listen to over and over again, and glean something fresh and new from it every time!
What was your first job and what did you learn from the experience?
My first job was a sales clerk at Marimekko, a fabric & design store in Del Amo Mall, Torrance, CA The manager was reluctant to hire me because of my age. I was 16 or 17 and they didn’t hire anyone under 18 but I presented very mature. I was a great worker. I had a car so that I could get to and from work reliably. However, one day, I was scheduled to work on the day of a football game that I really wanted to go to. So I called in and said I had car trouble, I ran out of gas. They let me off and rescheduled me for the next day. I went to the game and had a great time! When I got home, my mother met me at the door and asked me “how was work?” I said, “fine.” She called me a liar & went on to tell me that my manager had called to make sure I was safe & ok after having car trouble. Then she commenced to ‘beat’ me all the way to my room! I was more embarrassed than in pain. How was I going to look at my manager and coworkers the next day when they too knew that I lied. I think it was around the time I had learned in school about Richard Nixon resigning before he was impeached. That next morning before I went to work, I wrote a letter of resignation, apologizing for my actions and disappointing my manager, knowing that she didn’t want to hire me because of my age. I took it in the next day to my manager, worked my shift with diligence and resigned that day. In hindsight, I could’ve just asked for that day off instead of making up that lie. What I learned from that experience was that I had to plan my work and work my plan. If I wanted to play hard, I had to be willing to work equally as hard and make arrangements in advance. I have never since that day taken off without a plan. And in four decades, I can count on two hands the number of times I have been off for medical reasons, between my mom and that humiliating experience, I never did that again!
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