Jen Sugermeyer is a Virginia native who now proudly calls herself a truck driving Texan from the great city of Dallas. For the last 15 years, she has worked in corporations around the globe; Washington, DC, Afghanistan, Virginia, California, Texas, and even spent a few years in Italy.
But throughout all of this corporate success, Jen had a secret; one she kept for over two decades. Broken and ashamed, Jen was leading a double-life before everyone’s eyes and was slowly dying inside. Struggling with addiction, and in and out of jails and hospitals, Jen’s life was entirely unmanageable. She was able to keep her corporate life isolated, but knew she was playing with fire and that it wouldn’t be long until her hidden life would be exposed at the office. Her inner demon was getting stronger and stronger and she was losing control of her progressive disease.
Afraid of the repercussions of asking for help, admitting she had a problem and taking the time to unravel years of damage, for over two decades Jen couldn’t manage to break the cycle of addiction in her life. Her pain came not only from her own abuse, but the physical and mental abuse she endured in an abusive relationship.
Lying to cover her physical and emotional bruises, Jen was at her breaking point…until her life changed. It was none of her lows or her bottoms that changed her life - it was the kind words uttered by someone who genuinely cared that made her realize that she was worth fighting for - and that’s what she did.
Jen embarked on the fight of her life and she aims to share her strength and encourage others to claim the life they deserve!
She put everything down in her new book, RESET: 5 Steps to Reclaim the Life You Thought You Lost & Learn to Love Yourself! and is now dedicating her life to helping others through her personal experiences and insight. With her book and programs, Jen hopes to give others what took her so long to figure out — how to love the person looking back in the mirror.
When she isn’t writing or coaching, you’ll find her globetrotting (she’s visited 49 countries), boxing (watch out, she’s a southpaw with a reach!), exercising, being both in front of and behind the camera, spending time at the lake, hanging out with friends, family, and doting over her niece, Olive.
Exclusive Interview
Tell us about your background and how it led to writing this book.
After a decade of failed attempts to reclaim control of my life, I finally found a program that allowed me to take power back over my mind, my life and my happiness. After spending decades trying to fix a variety of symptoms, I finally targeted the problem, which inadvertently fixed the symptoms. My symptoms led me to the lowest of my lows; jails, hospitals, blackouts, loss of relationships and friendships, and self-hate which took me to suicidal places in my brain.
Although my story is unique to me, I’m not unique in my struggles, my challenges with recognizing the person in the mirror, myself hate, or the disconnect I felt with myself. Having reset and reclaimed my life gave me an enthusiasm for life that I want to share with the world. If I can become the person I knew I could be, then it’s entirely possible for anyone to share in the same experience. My purpose in writing this book is to give others the chance to reclaim the life they thought they lost and to learn to love the person in the mirror again.
Share with us a bit of your journey through the writing process.
I lived everything I wrote, so naturally the content flowed. After I had been sober for about 8 months, I realized I was effectively working a program. I kept track of what worked, and I made the decision I was going to share my program with the intent to help transform as many lives as I could. I had initially committed myself to a 1-year self-discovery program, and on my 1-year anniversary I wrote the preface of the book. I had everything outlined, they were my notes I took along the way. Creating the program, RESET™, was developed from assessing the steps I took and placing them into their appropriate category. The book was always going to be called “Reset” because it's how to reset your life, so it was natural to make the program called RESET.
I did the majority of my writing in a small closet I built, as well as in San Diego, California; both places inspire me. My strength grew 10-fold as I put everything on paper. I remember after writing the chapter on boundaries how I felt I grew another 10”, I was becoming untouchable with power I was building in my mind. This book is not only a vehicle for me to help others, but it made me exponentially stronger because I spent another solid 9 months writing, reviewing, and learning from it!
I believe in this program so much that I sold my house to pay a business and writing coach. When my house didn’t sell, I sold my truck. I made a lot of sacrifices to breathe this book into existence, and I would never change spending months and months on the train and walking over 4 miles a day just so I could make an impact on the world. I’m truly grateful for the gift given to me, and it was worth all the upfront effort to make this possible. In fact, the sacrifices I made helped me reach a whole other level of gratitude, which built me higher and stronger than I was!
Why did you decide to expand the ideas and experiences shared in the book into a branded coaching program?
I treated my own recovery like a program. I took an entire year and dedicated it to learning to love myself, it was far more than reading a book. My hope is people go through the book and work it like a program, but there is only so much content that can be put into a book. “Reset” digs into each area, and gives practical life applications. The coaching programs not only offer accountability (1:1 coaching), but are able to dig in deeper and truly cover the exact methodology I used.
I want RESET to be the name of the next conference you attend, branding it and giving it a name makes it come to life. This is a lifestyle, a way of thinking, a holistic approach to your health, it deserves to be branded and to become the next movement.
Your book is titled, Reset, Reclaim the Life You Deserve & Learn to Love Yourself." What importance does the word "Reset" hold for you?
“Reset” came to life with the visual of restarting a computer; an internal reboot of my hard drive. Since not everyone appreciates the perspective of the IT nerd that lives inside me, I kept the name and went with the classic definition; to set again or anew.
Reset has come to symbolize complete transformation in my life. It was the key that enabled me to take power over my mind and my life. It showed me the path to happiness and love, it made me a better person, it unfogged the mirror and allowed me to fall in love with the person I finally saw staring back at me. Reset has given me a second opportunity at life, and one that has proven to have permanent results.
Who are your clients?
Primarily, my clients are corporate individuals between the ages of 35-55. The majority are high-performing, have worked their way up in management, and are juggling many balls in life. They have become disconnected with the person they once were and are looking to get back a life they are proud of, not just on the outside. Many of them appear to have a picture-perfect exterior, but have lost the love for themselves, are unhappy, and have lost the overall ambition and lust for life.
Tell us a bit about your course. We understand that every letter in RESET signifies a step in your coaching program - can you share some of that with us?
Both my on-line coaching program and 1:1 services are centered around RESET; Recognize, Eliminate, Structure, Elevate and Transform.
It’s recognizing you need a change; saying enough-is-enough, getting rid of excuses. It’s eliminating waste and toxicity out of your space, removing the negativity from your life and your mind. It’s structuring your mind to be positive and setting boundaries in your life. It’s elevating your life to include purposeful and meaningful activities, to live in the moment and in live gratitude.
What results do people get when they work with you?
Working with me, people gain confidence, self-love, power over their mind, they become proud to show and share their life with others, they establish boundaries, enhance their communication, become self-awareness, eliminate their double life and are eager to give life a second chance.
What is the significance of these 7 words to you - "You need to learn to love yourself."
Those 7 words saved me. They touched me in a way that had never been done, it was unlike the reprimanding I was used to hearing. Those words tapped into my vulnerable side and I saw myself alone and unhappy forever, which my 5-year old self would have been devastated to see. The man that told me those words gifted me the key that unlocked everything, and I took that key and I keep running. My life improves every day, and it’s all because I listened to the guidance and truly learned to love myself.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years, RESET will become the annual event individuals and companies flock to reset themselves and get reenergized about living! We will have started a ‘date yourself’ movement, where people learn to treat themselves as they would a dating relationship; with love and respect! As head of the event, I will mentor others and bring in special guests to create an unforgettable experience for all attendees! I will teach people how to fall in love with themselves by learning to date themselves!
I’ll not only have the book, “Reset”, but I will also have 3 other books published.
Additionally, my goal is to penetrate the corporate market and help be a voice and an advocate for those who feel ashamed and afraid to speak up for help. I want to enable them to find their happiness, and when they do, they will be able to bring that happy into the workplace. I want to target increasing company efficiency, because happy employees are 12% more productive.
I will have built out my on-line presence where I will have many more on-line courses and material for people to work through in the comfort of their own home.
In 5 years, Reset will be a movement, a lifestyle, a way of thinking. People will be dating themselves and falling in love with themselves. They will become untouchable from any negative forces because they have built their most powerful muscle in their body to work for them; no longer against them.
The end state goal; transform as many lives as I can speak to!
For more information, please visit www.jensugermeyer.com
