We recently connected with D’Ann Julie and have shared our conversation below.

D’Ann, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Nearly two decades ago I was encouraged to apply for a government job that I felt completely underqualified for, had never even considered might be an option, and quite frankly scared me. Yet, the idea lingered in the back of my mind. I thought about applying for a support position as a linguist, but there was nothing open in that section. Still, I kept wondering how I might be able to get hired. Fast forward a year later and due to some shocking changes in my marital life, I now was faced with reconsidering my choices in life, not just my broken marriage, but also the current job I was doing as a paralegal, which was good and paid well, but was not my dream job. I simply wanted to do more, be more, contribute more in the world. I wanted to serve my country, I just didn’t know in what way or what that meant for me. At last, I decided it couldn’t hurt to simply apply for the government job, just to see if I could even make it through the selection process which had several steps. Another concern for me was that if I were to be offered the new job, it would definitely entail me having to move – somewhere, but I wouldn’t know where until I got hired! This was all very nerve-wracking for me as I had never planned to move from my then current home which I had lived in for nearly ten years. During this time, I also had to search my soul regarding my marriage, and the decision I finally reached, realizing that despite all efforts to salvage the marriage, I could never trust him again, was that I would file for divorce. And man, oh man, once I finally MADE that DECISION, I literally felt compelled to go to the courthouse and file that petition. It was like a voice in my head kept repeating “File now! File now!” It was undoubtedly one of the scariest and best decisions I’ve ever made. I had never lived on my own before. I had never moved to another state, away from family and everyone and everything I have ever known and loved, but that is exactly what happened. I got offered the job, which I acccepted, and moved away within a few weeks of filing for divorce. Both scary decisions, huge risks on my part, were two of the best decisions of my life, and they set me up for a new life of transformational growth, expansion, new friendships, unforeseen opportunities, a new family, and ultimately becoming the certified life transformation coach I am here today.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Being a brave thinker is all about having the courage to acknowledge all your thoughts, and then consciously choosing which thoughts you no longer want to have so you can then CONSCIOUSLY REPLACE them with better feeling, more empowering thoughts. This is how true transformation occurs, and it is a daily, lifelong process of continual growth and learning that, just like exercising any muscle, gets easier and stronger the more you do it. The truth is, each and every one of us has all we need within. When you take the time to go within, to take a Time Within™, by focusing on possibility and gratitude, everyone wins because what you focus on grows and flows out into the world. You and you alone decide how you want to feel in any given moment, and so by choosing to focus on the things for which you are grateful, you amplify THAT feeling in yourself, in your life, and through the ripple effect, you amplify that feeling of loving gratitude into the world. What better way to effect positive change in your life and in the world around you. The good news is: you get to choose!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the most important lessons I had to unlearn is this: everything in life ebbs and flows, and the down times are just as important – vital, in fact – as the up times. My point is simply that although we in the western world tend to think that being busy and working hard all the time is the way to get ahead in life, that is not entirely true. Certainly, some people do this but they tend to get burned out and suffer in other areas of their life. After switching careers, only to discover when I had my baby that perhaps there are more important priorities in life than working, I began to question what I truly wanted in life. I was tempted to never return to work again while on maternity leave, but the demands of survival outweighed my whimsical fancies at the time and so I returned to work. Shortly thereafter, I was blessed to be able to switch to a new role at my work, one that was much less demanding and allowed me the free time and flexibility I desperately needed as a new mother and mostly single parent as my baby’s father was not as actively supportive as I would have liked. It still took me about six months to finally begin to relax, and that is when I finally realized just how incredibly stressful my life had been up until then. I had been raised believing in the cultural system that doing, doing, doing was what life is all about, but I realized that enjoying the moment, BEING in the moment, is more important. I now seek full spectrum happiness and success in my life, and I know it is attainable, now that I am a Brave Thinker.

You see, “work smarter, not harder” has always been my motto, and although I have actually always been a very diligent, hard worker by seeking the most efficient, effective way to accomplish any task, I had to learn that sometimes this involves slowing down, stepping back. Sometimes we need to stop to evaluate and revise how we tackle a job as opposed to simply putting in more hours and sweat. What I learned from years of studying and practicing various forms of meditation, energy healing, yoga practices, breathwork, and intuitive practices is that tapping into our own inner guidance and doing the inner work to heal, clear, connect, and align our inner reality is 80-90% of the work and once done, makes our outer work through our actions feel more in flow and drastically increases our impact in the world.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I first got inspired to write a children’s book, I thought it would be easy. I would simply write it, and then get it published. As I started to write, I listened to my intuition and was able to craft some wonderful scenarios, but they still had to be reviewed, revised, and re-written, all of which took more time than I had anticipated. About eight months later, I realized I had a bigger problem: what do I DO with this manuscript? I had written the draft, but I had no idea how to publish it, where to even start, to get a publisher or self-publish? I began by researching on the internet, only to be overwhelmed by the plethora of information on the topic, and then I saw an ad for a free coaching session with a bestselling author, so I signed up! That lead me to hiring a coach who provided me with some much needed guidance and tips, but it was just the next step, not the answer to publishing dreams. I finally found an illustrator and a formatter, but I was left with the same question: do I self-publish or chase after a publishing company? I had to seek my inner guidance, and follow the brave thinking principles I had learned through becoming a certified Life Transformation DreamBuilder Coach, which I was doing during the entire process of the eighteen months it took me to write and get my book published. Finally, I did join a self-publishing company that helped me through the process and successfully self-published my first children’s book “Which Would YOU Choose?” in March 2023. I continued on my journey to market this one-of-a-kind children’s book that teaches emotional intelligence and social emotional wellness through scenarios as I hired a PR company and then began reaching out on my own to get publicity. And the saga continues!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://juliedannauthor.com/
• Instagram: julie_dann_
• Facebook: facebook.com/groups/illuminateyourlife
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@illuminateyourlife6086
• Other: Facebook Profile: Julie D’Ann Amazon Book Order link for Which Would YOU Choose?: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C11L5WXB TEDx Greensboro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFYTAKtbzh4

Image Credits
The only image that requires attribution is the last image with the TEDx Logo. That one requires that you credit the photographer in the digital image with metadata (never watermarks, text, etc.). The photographer is JINK Media Group. How to add metadata to photos in Windows: https://www.picturesandstories.com/news/2017/2/13/metadata-writing-on-the-back-of-a-digital-photo On a Mac: https://appinitio.medium.com/editing-photo-metadata-on-mac-is-easier-than-you-think-acd65f10c265# If you’re not sure how, ask me or any teenager 😊 Photos of TEDx events must be released under a Creative Commons license.