Christa Hines has always had a curiosity about health and wellness in business—and how to use wellness tools so that each of us can feel our very best. She’s the author of two books and her work has appeared in places like Woman’s Day, Parents and Pregnancy & Newborn magazines; her writing is designed to promote health, healing and connection.
In fact, her passion for learning and enthusiasm for supporting women and their families has driven both her career and her involvement with Central Exchange.
The Importance of Connection
While some may talk of an increasingly online-only business model, Christa says her most valuable relationships are those that have an in-person foundation. She believes the chance to engage authentically in a one-on-one environment is essential—for her own well-being and work as an award-winning freelance journalist, author and copywriter, as well as for other leaders and entrepreneurs.
At Central Exchange, Christa says this foundation looks like finding a group that you can connect with no matter the presentation topic, event theme or guest list. By surrounding ourselves with women who are supportive, we can boost our leadership self-confidence, grow through failure and authentically share our highs and lows. She finds that is especially true of several of her favorite programs—the Mastermind Collective Exchange Circle and the annual Midwest Leadership Summit (formerly the Leadership Lyceum)—and the Trends in Marketing Exchange Circle, which she co-facilitates with Robyn Stevens.
Words of Wisdom
Christa says if there is one thing that she’d tell her younger self, it would be to trust her instincts. Our sense of intuition is a valuable—and critical—tool that we tend to discount, especially when it means saying no or cutting our losses early. But Christa believes it’s important to be okay with moving on, even when it feels scary.
“Saying no can be an opportunity to invite the right thing,” she says.
It’s also important to have a willingness to see setbacks or mistakes as learning opportunities: Christa remembers a website crash that happened right in the middle of her e-book launch. She found herself staying up until 3 a.m. trying to manage the stressful situation. Looking back, she realized that if she had just taken things a little more slowly, she could have avoided that sense of needing to rush. A slower rollout would have allowed her more time to build her audience with intention and create space to deal with issues—instead of feeling like her world was on fire.
Why Central Exchange
In her work to promote holistic health, Christa knows that isolation is a major health concern. Putting ourselves in silos and allowing ourselves to become fully immersed in a digital world can work against our well-being, thwarting our ability to keep ourselves healthy before we get sick.
That’s where organizations like Central Exchange come in, offering members and guests alike a chance to connect with others—not just fellow community members, but people who have similar goals and who face similar obstacles along the journey toward success and well-being. Christa tells anyone who’s heard of Central Exchange to go as a guest: “Just show up and you’re going to be welcomed.”
While she’d been a part of other organizations designed to bring groups together, Christa hadn’t found any that provided the level of support and relationship-building that Central Exchange offers. She first attended about two years as the guest of a friend and quickly realized, “I could belong here.” The quality of programming and close-knit community have kept her coming back ever since.
Many thanks to Christa for her wonderful contributions to the Central Exchange community. We hope that you, too, will join us in connecting the Kansas City community through networking and friendship. You are welcome here! Be our guest at one of Central Exchange’s many upcoming programs or events.
