Saying Yes to Opportunities and Embracing Growth with Terry Yoffe

Jordan Mendoza (00:02.299)
and welcome to the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast. My name is Jordan Mendoza. I'm your host, and I've got a very special guest with me today. Her name is Terri Yoffie, and I'm gonna have her tell you a little bit about who she is and what she does today.

Terry Yoffe (00:19.595)
Good morning, Jordan. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really honored. I decided to turn my story into a journey. It just sounds much better. I grew up with really not a lot of nurturing or care, not that they didn't care, they weren't available.

So I had no guidance. I grew up as a stuttering young person that was very insecure, didn't even know how to navigate crossing the street, metaphorically. And I had to figure life out by myself because there was nobody there to help me. And...

I

I went to high school, I didn't do well. I was resident. I didn't make waves. I didn't do anything. Went to college, got very depressed, came home. Lived at home, was engaged to get married and that didn't work out, which was a heartbreak.

And I guess I should have learned because what I did is I took my money and went to Europe. I didn't stay around to cry and I should have guessed that.

Terry Yoffe (01:59.915)
I was resilient. And as the years went on, I went into fashion. I just kept going and found my way to sales. And this is where my journey really started because I didn't have any sales experience. I had fashion experience. And...

Jordan Mendoza (02:23.995)
Okay, well that's great. Well, one thing I want to do, Terry, is definitely take a, let's rewind a little bit because you dropped a lot on us and, you know, having a tumultuous childhood and not having people, you know, be around. Can you talk a little bit to the audience about, you know, what era was this? What time was this? And, you know, when you talk about kind of being left to figure things out on your own, you know, walk us through, what did that look like?

what could a day having to do things on your own actually look like? Is that like cooking and cleaning and doing the laundry? Is it all of it or give us some context.

Terry Yoffe (02:56.587)
gosh.

Terry Yoffe (03:01.483)
No, no, no. Context, okay. I was trying not to bore anybody by moving forward. Both my parents were, they were really never home. So we were raised by housekeepers because nobody was around. I was in a, I would say middle -class neighborhood. Most of the mothers never were.

My mother was an oddity and she was very, very good at what she did. She was a bookkeeper. She was the breadwinner. My father had two jobs. They were never around, so to speak. Saturdays, my mother did take us to the theater and to lunch, so she tried. And yet they didn't have any of their own learnings, right? So you can't expect parents.

to give you something that they themselves never had. So I had to meander through life. I had to figure it out. For me, I was always the kid that was never invited anywhere. I was the kid that they'd whisper. So you can imagine how insecure I felt. I didn't have anybody to go to, to cry to.

and, in my senior year of high school, I remember I got brought into the cool crowd, which, God, I felt amazing.

It was such a great experience for me to be part of something that I was looking for. And I also have to say my family, my parent, my mother's family were all well to do. And somehow I think in my mind, I got a snapshot of what that looked like. We got hand -me -down clothes.

Jordan Mendoza (05:09.307)
Got it.

Jordan Mendoza (05:17.595)
sure.

Terry Yoffe (05:20.587)
So we wore these beautiful clothes, but not in our.

our environmental category, so to speak.

But the clothes didn't do a lot because how I felt inside didn't really match my outer. And after high school, I went to college and again, didn't really fit in, did not do well. I think because I was depressed. I left school and went to FIT and went into fashion where I fit in perfectly.

I did fashion shows, so I started being out in the public eye, doing fashion shows and being in environments that I had never been in. And even though I looked the part on the outside that wasn't the way on the inside, I was not happy. But I kept going along and going along. And I think in a significant event for me,

was when a friend of mine who I knew had an apartment in the city and said, do you want to move in? And I said, I'm there. Packed my bags and left Queens. That was one of the several trajectories in my life that changed my life forever. I moved.

Jordan Mendoza (06:40.475)
Hahaha.

Jordan Mendoza (06:51.419)
Yeah. What was that? What was that like for you? You know, moving from, you know, which, you know, from a from distance is not a far distance, but I'm sure from a feeling standpoint, it felt like a whole completely different world. So what was that like for you?

Terry Yoffe (06:55.563)
Yeah, Queens.

Terry Yoffe (07:05.643)
You're right. Freedom.

My mother, my father was never around, so I can't really tell you much about him. Which is sad. He was there, but he wasn't. No, no. My mother was somewhat narcissistic. She came from a very narcissistic family where looks were everything. That was it. If you looked good, you were great, but there was no...

Jordan Mendoza (07:22.427)
Yeah, it wasn't present, it sounds like.

Terry Yoffe (07:40.587)
inner substance. And when I moved into the city, I was free from my mother's watchful eye, from being in a unhappy environment. And I, I changed. I mean, it like just crossing from the 59th street bridge to New York city, right?

Jordan Mendoza (08:09.403)
Sure. Yeah, have a big impact.

Terry Yoffe (08:10.091)
or was, and that was where I grew up on my own, following my own life's journey, so to speak.

I found meditation and spirituality and Buddhism. And I did a Buddhist retreat, which was amazing. So I started to learn and work. And although I didn't like the jobs I had, and I got fired numerous times. And what I learned was I did not have time to...

to mope or to cry, I had to pay my rent. I learned and I tell my clients this all the time as an executive coach, say yes to opportunities. That was something I learned and realized there was more to me than who lived in Queens.

Jordan Mendoza (09:17.755)
Sure. Yeah. So what was one of those first things that you said yes to, you know, in a typical circumstance where you maybe would have said no, and what did that yes do for you?

Terry Yoffe (09:20.267)
and

Yes.

Terry Yoffe (09:33.227)
I was out of work.

I got a job in a real estate office looking up. I mean, I wasn't an agent, but I went with people on, you know, on real estate assignments. And I sat there and I looked up names and, you know, people to contact. They gave me lists. And then I went into HR.

Somebody took me in to do some HR, which I did. Somebody offered me a situation to do some marketing, whatever it was, as long as it paid me. I said, yes, that was the goal, to get paid. Didn't matter. But what I was learning along the way was, wow, look at you go, Terry. You are resilient. You...

whatever comes through the door, you say yes to. And so many doors opened to me because I opened my mind to possibilities and I never thought that would be who I would start to become.

Jordan Mendoza (10:54.267)
That's great. Yeah, you start saying yes to yourself, you start saying yes to others, and then there's some big changes that happen. So give us a glimpse inside what did the next kind of decade look like for you? From that first yes to the next 10 years, what types of things did you get into and what types of ventures did you actually, did it happen as a result?

Terry Yoffe (11:08.587)
Mm -mm.

Terry Yoffe (11:14.987)
Yeah.

One of the things...

Terry Yoffe (11:22.283)
It was progressive. One of the things I did was I found myself in analysis, psychoanalyst three times a week for seven years. That was where I spent a lot of time crying, challenging myself to drop all the walls that I had put up.

And.

I started to become the person that was inside of me, but was so walled up. And so fast forward.

Again, I was had my own little business. I tried different things and then someone I knew in the, this is another trajectory. Someone I knew in the fashion industry was looking for a salesperson.

to take over territory. I said, what? I don't know how to sell. She said, but you're no fashion. That was where I could have said no.

Terry Yoffe (12:48.139)
Who would want to put themselves in that kind of an environment and feel vulnerable, embarrassed? I said, yes. That again, changed my life in a lot of ways. I found out I was an extremely good salesperson. The territory in three years went from 650 to a million three. I got to meet so many people.

Jordan Mendoza (13:13.499)
That's great.

Terry Yoffe (13:19.531)
and get in front of people and realize people liked me. People wanted to do business with me because they trusted me and I had integrity. And those are my two core values and truth. Core values are very important to me and I live by them.

Jordan Mendoza (13:35.259)
That's great.

Jordan Mendoza (13:40.251)
That's awesome. I love that.

Terry Yoffe (13:41.323)
I spent three years there, and then I went to Conde Nast, which is a huge magazine company.

and went to the New Yorker.

Jordan Mendoza (13:52.443)
And so did you do any print before after that? Like before that, did you do any print or was this the first? Okay.

Terry Yoffe (13:57.483)
I was in print. I was at Women's War Daily. I was at Women's War Daily, which at that point was a daily newspaper. And from there, they hired me.

Jordan Mendoza (14:01.979)
Okay.

Okay.

Terry Yoffe (14:10.771)
at the New Yorker, which was then just bought by Condé Nast.

Terry Yoffe (14:19.787)
And I was in the fashion area. At that time you couldn't sell fashion to the New Yorker. It was a staid old magazine. So here was another example where the woman that hired me turned around and tried to fire me.

And my husband, I did get married and my husband said to me, what do you leave? What are you doing there? I said, I did nothing and there no way am I leaving. What happened was she got fired. I went on to stay for many years and moved to the travel category, which I brought to the number one category at the New Yorker. I traveled the world who would have known.

the girl from Queens would have done all of this. And I stayed there for 11 years and moved to another magazine. I didn't like it. And finally, my husband had said, you should go into your own business. Finally, I said, you know what, you're right. And I left. I left a company where I was making a lot of money, golden handcuffs to...

Jordan Mendoza (15:09.883)
That's awesome.

Terry Yoffe (15:37.931)
get it, and my metaphor is getting in a rowboat and starting to move away from a shore that I knew to not know what the next horizon would be. And I started my own rep company, which did very, very well, very well. Everybody knew me and my reputation until that industry changed.

and I had to figure out what I wanted to do.

Jordan Mendoza (16:11.483)
Yeah. Yeah. And you've gone through a lot of different industries, a lot of different transitions and trajectories, which is really, really great. And it takes a lot of adversity, a lot of perseverance to keep going. Because at any one of the stops in your journey, you could have easily just given up or said, you know what, my stop ends here. You know?

Terry Yoffe (16:11.915)
That's the next trajectory.

Terry Yoffe (16:36.427)
You're right.

Jordan Mendoza (16:38.683)
So what was the next one? I'd love to hear what you did next.

Terry Yoffe (16:39.595)
Mm -hmm.

Terry Yoffe (16:44.299)
The next one was I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I thought I'd go back to school and become a therapist because I worked so much on the human mind, mine. Everyone's is the same. It's the first computer.

And I thought I'd go back to school. That didn't work out. I found coaching and I was not a kid. I was older. I went to a coaching school to get my certificate. And then I embarked, God forbid I should leave at the certificate. I went on to get a certification to become a full -fledged certified coach. And I did that.

six months of training to book and pass two exams. And I did. And I became a certified coach and I'm so sorry.

And then I joined the International Coach Federation, the New York chapter.

and worked my way up to president of the chapter. I became president for two years. I also belonged to another organization that I helped co -found the mentoring program.

Jordan Mendoza (18:01.211)
Great.

Terry Yoffe (18:11.755)
and it became one of the.

star attractions for people joining the organization. I became chair of that, the mentoring program and I got an award. So here I'm talking about all of this and then you saw where my journey started. Who would have thought, who would have looked in a crystal ball and thought, not me.

Terry Yoffe (18:45.067)
And today I am an executive business and communications coach. I've been doing it for 20 years. I've coached many, many, many people. And if all of this wasn't enough, two and a half years ago, I started a podcast.

Jordan Mendoza (19:03.323)
Yeah, just might as well add another thing to the to the mix.

Terry Yoffe (19:05.099)
and until...

Exactly. Exactly. And told myself, you know what, if it doesn't work, doesn't define who I am. I did a cause. I wanted to interview people that created change because as I look back on my life, that was my purpose and passion, creating change in everything I've done in the work I did in who I become.

my little podcast two and a half years later is in the top 2 % globally of all podcasts. Who would have thought, but you talk about purpose and passion. Mine is creating change and having a voice in the world to let people know that my journey, anyone can create change.

They can have a voice, no matter how old you are.

Jordan Mendoza (20:08.411)
That's great.

Jordan Mendoza (20:13.883)
Yeah, awesome. Well, Terry, you know, you definitely have had no shortage of industries or experiences and not all of them work, which is OK. And some of them worked out. But I think the common theme was that you gave your all. And if it didn't work, you just found something, found the next one and gave your hall. And if that didn't work, you just you keep trucking along. Right. And and you want to, like you said, create change and.

have the world be a better place because of it. So one of the things that I'd love for you to share with the audience talking about change is what are maybe the top three tips? People that listen to this episode, they may be dealing with change right now. Maybe they just switched jobs. Maybe they just moved to a new city. Maybe they've got a new baby on the way. Maybe they...

are looking to jump into entrepreneurship. Maybe they want to start a podcast, right? So there's a lot of changes that could potentially happen. So what would you say are the top three tips to get anybody ready for change, no matter how small or no matter how big it is?

Terry Yoffe (21:14.699)
Yeah.

Terry Yoffe (21:28.523)
Yes, and I'd like to just throw in here, the game has changed with the pandemic.

Terry Yoffe (21:41.547)
The ground has shifted.

People during the pandemic have had time to look at what do they want to do? How do they want to be? So three tips are, say yes. It's served me, it serves my clients. Say yes. What's the worst that can happen? You feel vulnerable? So what?

You feel vulnerable all the time. It's not a negative. It's a positive. Don't let an opportunity be because you don't have all of the credentials get in the way. You'll learn along the way. So that's number one. Number two.

have a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset. I think without realizing it, I did have one. Because if I had a fixed mindset, I'd still be in Queens. Nothing wrong with Queens, but I still not have expanded my mind. Open your mind to what's available. I was in corporate work. I went to entrepreneurial.

Was it scary? Sure. Again, who cares? Don't let your fears get in the way of doing what you want because that voice inside of you will always say no, say yes. And I think number three is be grateful.

Terry Yoffe (23:32.587)
Be grateful for every day, no matter what you do. And as I look back, no matter how much challenge, how much pain I went through, I say, thank you. That brought me to where I am today and who I have become. I'm from what my clients tell me, an incredible, transformative coach.

I love my podcast because I get to talk to people that have transformed. And the truth is I have transformed. We all can do it if you just let go of who you think you are to become who you might want to become. I could go on and on, so you can stop me Jordan.

Jordan Mendoza (24:21.883)
Awesome. Appreciate you sharing. No, that's great, Terry. And so I'd love for you to share, you know, if you've got something going on right now, you'd like to share it with the audience. Maybe you have a resource or, you know, the best way that folks can reach out to you because I know they're going to hear your story of where you started and and now where you are today and all the stops you've had on the way. And it is going to be an inspiration for them. So if people want to get a hold of you, what's the best way to do that?

Terry Yoffe (24:52.075)
So I offer a complimentary coaching consultation. If, if anyone listening wants to make changes, please, you can reach out to me at my email is terry at try coaching .com. My website is www .tricoaching .com. You can reach out to me. I will also.

Jordan Mendoza (24:58.843)
Okay, that's great.

Terry Yoffe (25:21.291)
If you tell me that you heard me on Jordan's podcast and we decide to have a coaching program, I will give you a discount for doing that. we, we all want to change something. Now's the time to do it. Don't wait for 2025. Don't wait.

Jordan Mendoza (25:34.587)
Awesome. That's very generous.

Terry Yoffe (25:50.891)
because all we have is now and we never know what's around the corner.

Jordan Mendoza (25:57.851)
Awesome. Appreciate that, Terry. And folks, we will make sure that Terry's info is in the show notes. So that way, you can link up with her. And like she said, we all have things to change. And you've got to be willing to say yes, not knowing the outcome. We never know the outcome, right? Whether we say yes or no, we never know the outcome until we actually go and do it. So thank you so much, Terry. We appreciate you coming on the show and sharing your story and journey.

You definitely are a true trailblazer. You've blazed the trail in multiple industries and I cannot wait to stay connected and hear more about your journey as you proceed on in coaching.

Terry Yoffe (26:38.635)
Thank you. Thank you, Jordan. Such an honor to be here. I truly am grateful and appreciative so much.

Jordan Mendoza (26:47.419)
My pleasure. Have a great day.