I Stay Present Now – Kris, 54

It’s Sunday and time to Share Your Story! I have been so fortunate to have many of you amazing women reach out and agree to share your life with the rest of us.
I started this ‘Women WSJ Missed’ project last Sunday and my hope is to have a new, interesting sister to share with you all every Sunday.
Kris Rudarmel, owns and operates Anchor Water Damage and Restoration with her husband in Northern Utah since 2000, this is her story:

KUELLIFE: What are you pursuing now, at this stage of your life, that surprises you or might appear to others as if it’s come out of left field?

KRIS: Working on my uncontrolled diabetes of 25 years. After all these years of living with a food addiction and alcohol I have finally gotten control of my diabetes. I am off all three of my diabetic meds, heart pills and my a1c is at seven. This has been a miracle for me, given to me by my higher power.

KUELLIFE: What’s a typical day like for you?

KRIS: First thing is, I am on my knees asking for another day of sobriety and abstinence. Then 30 minutes quiet time with my higher power whom I call God. I usually have networking events to attend or I have one to one’s I do (one to one’s are business meetings with another individual… They share for 30 minutes and I share about my business for 30 min)

KUELLIFE: With what do you struggle?

KRIS:I have been working on myself for 13 years.. a lot of personal growth has happened… I am 54 and since I was 12 I struggled deeply with low self-worth, self-sabatoge, an eating disorder, a lot of fear around everything, and I always listened to my mean girl voice.

KUELLIFE: How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

KRIS: I incorporate a lot of prayer, I am in constant gratitude and I work on staying positive. My entire life I was negative and saw the glass half empty. I stay present now, no longer live in the past or future, this really helps me find the joy, peace of mind, and freedom I am seeking. I also use affirmations and mantras. I use words in my everyday life and in my art – words have transformed my life. A vision board for business and one for my personal life also keeps me motivated. Oh and books! How I love books! I have read one book per week for 3 years. ☺

KUELLIFE: What advice would you give fellow women about aging? 

KRIS:: I think it is so important to be okay with aging. We need to accept our failures, our imperfections, and every day work on becoming a better person. A better person to ourselves and those around us.

KUELLIFE: What does vulnerability mean to you? What has the ability to make you vulnerable?

KRIS: Vulnerability to me is being open, transparent, being real and raw, and not caring what others think. One phrase that has helped me immensely is “It is none of my business what others think of me.” Up until three years ago I was caught in the ‘comparison’ trap and it took me a lot of work to escape that. My community has witnessed my growth over the last 13 years. It took every ounce of courage and bravery to fight through my limited beliefs, stay out of my comfort zone, and be unstoppable.

KUELLIFE: What are three events that helped to shape your life?

KRIS: 1. I have been recognized with 14 awards in 9 years. Not only did this help build credibility for my company, it has built my self-confidence and self-esteem. I realized by the 8^th award that we (my husband and I) have built an incredible, ethical company and we should be proud of it. We are so blessed and grateful for these accolades. 2. My 36 year marriage. I got married at barely 18 and worked with him for 25 years. That is NOT easy lol. 3. The event of bootstrapping our current company, Anchor Water Damage & Restoration. This was my vehicle to get me where I am at today with my self-confidence and wisdom. It is by God’s grace that I am where I am at in business and in my personal life. I am just so grateful. Running this business, in a male dominated industry, has been rough, not going to lie lol. At the same time I started this I had realized I needed to work on myself so I have done both of them together and wow just wow!

KUELLIFE: Who influenced you the most in life and why?

KRIS: I was raised by a single mom with four kids. Life was hard for her while raising us. She worked and sometimes received government assistance. This backstory inspired me to play big so I could leave a legacy for my two children. Also, I had a Dad that lived five minutes from me my entire life and never wanted to be a Dad, hence wanted to have hardly anything to do with me. When I was 25, I met him and told him I was finally pregnant (I had fertility issues and tried for 7 years) and his response was “I hope you don’t end up on welfare like your mom.” Well for hells sake she was on welfare because of him and her second husband that didn’t pay child support.

KUELLIFE: What is the best advice you’ve been given from another woman?

KRIS: Believe you can do and you will

KUELLIFE: What woman inspires you and why?

KRIS:: Oprah has always inspired me.

KUELLIFE: Are you grown-up?

KRIS: I think I’ll always be growing up – I love to learn and I know I will keep adding my wisdom to my grown up life

KUELLIFE: What do you do for self-care?

KRIS: Hot soaks with Epsom salts and lavender. I have a joy list created (one side is free ideas; coloring, blowing bubbles on my patio, sitting with God on my patio as I love nature, its healing for me. The other side of the joy list are things that cost; pedicures, massages, manicures etc.) the purpose of a joy list is to have your ideas listed out so when you have a few minutes you don’t have to scramble and try to think what self-care item you can do – its listed out so you can choose one quickly and not waste your few valuable minutes you have to spend on yourself. I also love sitting in our jacuzzi under the stars, digging in the dirt, I love flowers and plant a lot of them; so I take time to keep them trimmed, watered, and cared for – truly makes my heart happy,

KUELLIFE: And last but definitely NOT least: What are the top three things on your bucket list? 

KRIS: 1.Cut back my work hours and spend time traveling with my husband 2.Build a pond with a stream throughout my property 3.Meet Oprah

Ladies, we made it into the WSJ. How incredible is that? Let’s continue the movement. Share Your Story with me; I’ll share it with our Kuel Life Community. We deserve to be heard. Connect with me.

Did you enjoy this article? Become a Kuel Life Member today to support our ad-free Community. Sign-up for our Sunday newsletter and get your expert content delivered straight to your inbox.