Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julie Jones. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Julie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

Recently, I was attending a wedding with my husband on November 6th, 2021. During the reception, he had a massive seizure that came on suddenly and without cause. He does not have a history of seizures. The experience was surreal, and an off duty police officer and paramedic jumped in to start to resuscitate him. He was transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital where he was for 5 days. The first two days, he was in a medically induced coma and was intubated. Prior to November 6th, I had written a book which was scheduled to be released on November 17th. My publisher asked me if I wanted to postpone the release. The name of the book is Stop Waiting Start Living, and I felt it was a test of ” Do I walk the walk and talk the talk?”. I moved forward with the release of the book despite not knowing what my husband’s outcome would be in the moment. He recovered, and the book went on to be an International Best Selling book in three countries, and a #1 book on Amazon in several categories. It was a proud moment for both of us as I took the chance to keep moving forward with my dream of being an author despite the obstacles that were being put in my path.

Julie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My life journey has definitely been interesting. I started in a career of law enforcement and I was part of the SWAT team in Wisconsin which is where I am originally from. I moved to Arizona 21 years ago, and I was looking to have a much more positive impact. From little on, I have had a servant’s heart, and I truly love to help people. I was an amazing police officer because I treated everyone fairly yet I didn’t feel I was making a big enough impact. Fast forward to 2020 when the pandemic was in full force. I had been speaking and coaching in some capacity for the last 15 years, and I decided to go all out. I am a motivational/transformational speaker and facilitator. I am also an adventure/breakthrough coach. I focus on helping you create a life by design rather than default. I have heard so many stories of individuals woking 80 to 90 hours a week and missing out on memorable moments. I am here to show you how you can live out loud and live a big, bold, colorful life. I am currently producing a television show, Stop Waiting Start Living on streaming television through the Zondra Network, and I also am a podcast host of Get S#*t Done. I am most proud of how I have inspired people in my life and my clients to have more fun, be more productive, and live a life knowing that it’s all possible. I call it creating a game of “and”, not either/or.

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 biggest lessons that I have had to unlearn is in the area of saying yes to everything because of the idea that I was going to look bad for saying no. Saying no is so important to your sanity, self-care and to setting boundaries. There have been times in my life when I have said yes to every opportunity and volunteer activity because I did not want to say no and appear that I was not a hard working individual. It caused me so much stress, anxiety, and I often found myself unavailable for what I wanted to truly be doing in life. People want to experience us and spend time with us. They don’t care about material things. About 8 years ago, my brother was throwing a surprise party for my sister in law back in Wisconsin. Because of all of the self imposed commitments, I originally said no to being there. My family was so disappointed. In that moment, I realized that my overcommitting nature was preventing me from spending time with my family. Time is our most valuable asset. I made the decision to attend the party, and I eliminated the “have tos” in my life at that moment. My family was so excited to see me there, and I remember the look on my sister in laws face to see me in attendance. In that moment, I made a new commitment with myself to truly evaluate everything that I was saying “yes” to because when you say yes, you are often saying no to another priority in life.

Have you ever had to pivot?

One of the most recent discoveries for me was the use of alcohol as an emotional crutch. We are a very social society, and so many events revolve around alcohol and eating. When my husband was in the hospital, I found myself relying more and more on alcohol to ease my stress and pain. I was waking up with headaches, experiencing acid reflux, gaining weight, and I found myself looking to see when it would be 5:00pm to crack open that bottle of wine. I knew it was becoming an issue for me and what I wanted to accomplish in my life and my business. On December 27th, 2021, I made the decision to eliminate alcohol in my life. It is over 4 months of being alcohol free, and it is one of the best decisions I have made for me. I still socialize without alcohol, and I find that my decision is respected as well as admired because I am honest and transparent about how alcohol was at times stopping me from being the best version of me.

Contact Info:

• Website: juliejones.biz
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adventuresofjuliejones/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theadventuresofjuliejones
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/gsdcoach
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAjf9M1p148mKdkFcaykXpA

Image Credits
Ines Piquet Images Christy Arias Goddesses Project