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Description: Julie Jones was one of the first three females on the SWAT team. She shares how she broke free from the old way of living, not taking no for an answer and following her own dreams. Shownotes: When Julie Jones...
Description:
Julie Jones was one of the first three females on the SWAT team. She shares how she broke free from the old way of living, not taking no for an answer and following her own dreams.
Shownotes:
When Julie Jones joined the SWAT team, she had no idea that a devastating diagnosis would lead her on an unexpected journey to become an entrepreneur. Through courage, resilience, and risk-taking, she has achieved her dreams and encourages others to do the same. But what is the secret to her success, and how can others use it to achieve their goals?
In this episode, you will be able to:
1. Discover the significance of resilience and perseverance in your entrepreneurial journey.
2. Uncover the value of networking and forming substantial connections.
3. Recognize the necessity of striking a balance between work and life for all-encompassing well-being.
4. Grasp the art of taking measured risks and capitalizing on opportunities for continuous growth.
5. Realize the essence of nurturing authentic relationships by offering assistance to others in the first place.
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TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00 Julie: He knew about being an employee. And so I grew up with that same mindset, that same mindset of, okay, you work for somebody, you retire, you get the pension, the gold watch, all that kind of stuff. Being an entrepreneur was nowhere. Nowhere, I will say in my world because there wasn't anybody. Again, I was the first one to go to college. Then I get this idea that I'm going to work for myself, that I'm going to have my own business.
00:00:27 Sabine: Hello, my name is Sabine Kvenberg, founder and host of BECOME. The content will inspire you to reach your aspirations and become the best version of yourself. I feature interviews with successful individuals from various industries, delving into their personal and professional journeys and their strategies to achieve their goals. We have to become the person we are meant to be first so we can live the life we are destined to live. That means we must overcome challenges and work through difficult times to learn, grow, and become the new, more fabulous version of ourselves. I'm so glad that you're here. Let's get on this journey together.
00:01:19 Sabine: Hello and welcome, Julie Jones. I love that, the JJ, Julie Jones, the coach that's Getting Shit or the Get Shit Done coaching. So as you can see, she is so lively with her colors and hair and whatnot. So I'm so excited to have you here today.
00:01:38 Julie: Well, I am so excited to be here and thank you. And you know, it's funny because most people don't ever just say my first name. The alliteration Julie Jones just seems to run off, easily off people's tongue. So I'm used to Julie Jones. Whether or not they know me or not, it's Julie Jones.
00:01:59 Sabine: Yeah. Oh, that reminds me, on this one, one of my favorite movies called The Holiday. And she introduced herself as, who are you? Amanda Woods. Oh, Amanda Woods. Amanda Woods. Like her one first name, right? It was funny. Anyways, I digress. So today, I would love to hear your story because your story and your journey is quite exciting. You actually started out before you even get into this coaching. You were a police officer, right? So tell me about, first of all, how you got to become a police officer.
00:02:41 Julie: Wow, we're going back. So that's an interesting kind of journey. I had been best friends growing up, and we're still friends today. So I met my best friend in kindergarten, and her father was a police officer. And I didn't realize how much of an impact that that had on me, like, kind of hanging out in that environment until when I was deciding to go to college. And I was the first one in my family to go to college. I had been very strong in math, technology, science, those types of fields. And so I was going to be a medical technologist. I was going to do labs and all these kinds of things. And then my junior year of high school, I decided to start looking for colleges that offered criminal justice. So I have a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in psychology. My intention was to go into the Secret Service. And it was during a career fair at my college that I found out you had to have almost perfect vision, almost 20/20 uncorrected for Secret Service, which I had no idea. At that time, I was legally blind. I was 2800 in my one eye and 21,000. I did wear contacts. But you couldn't have corrected vision and have that severe of blindness, I guess, is the best way to put it. So I decided to then pursue a career in law enforcement. Not FBI, not Secret Service. The Feds didn't want me, but the cities did, so that's where I ended up.
00:04:15 Sabine: So you were a police officer and also a SWAT member, right?
00:04:22 Julie: That is correct. So I did spend my career on patrol, and there was an opportunity to be on the SWAT team. And so our SWAT team at the time was an on call position, so we wore pagers. Okay, I'm dating myself because I'm talking about pagers, but we wore pagers 24/7. And then when a serious incident would come in, we would be paged to come in and to handle the call. And boy, now things have really even changed in that department because it's a pretty significantly busier department than even when I was on. And so, yeah, I was on the SWAT team. I often say, and it's a story of my resilience of two, if there's something I really want in life, how I go for it, and I don't take no for an answer. I was only the third female hire on by my department, which I really had no trouble with the men that I worked with, with me being female because I proved myself early on.
00:05:19 Julie: But when I went out for the SWAT team, believe it or not, I'm six foot tall, at that point, I just didn't have enough upper body strength, so I wasn't able to get over the six foot wall. And one of the guys, in his infinite wisdom, decided to give me a little boost, which disqualified me. And the sergeant that was running the obstacle course, he pulled me on the side. I said, I know I'm disqualified. It's okay. I worked out even harder. I improved my upper body strength the second time because I really wanted to be on the team. The second time that I went out for it, I passed everything with flying colors. I officially got onto the SWAT team on my own, and that was how I always wanted to do things, was didn't matter if you were male or female, it was the most qualified that, who was getting on the team. And I proved myself.
00:06:08 Sabine: Absolutely. And it also shows that you had perseverance. You didn't let this incident discourage you or say, well, I cannot make it. No, even more. And that's how you lived your life. Now, how did you make the transition to say, okay, enough with the police stuff?
00:06:31 Julie: Well, it was twofold. So I had been a police officer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. And then I moved about 21 years ago to Arizona, which is where I currently live now. And it was during that time that a couple of things happened. First and foremost, I realized that in law enforcement, as much as I loved it and that I was very good at it, I really was. I had great communication skills. There were so many things, yet there was just a lot of negativity for me. And one of the hardest things I ever did as a law enforcement officer was give death notifications. So I saw how quickly life changed, here today, gone tomorrow.
00:07:11 Julie: And when I moved to Arizona, I had the application pulled. I was going to go back into law enforcement. And then it personally hit me that my mom, at the age of, young age of 57, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. And it was in that moment that my mom's dreams and my father's dreams went to the wayside because they were of the generation that you retired and you waited till retirement to be able to have the lifestyle, to live the dreams, to live the goals, everything you had worked so hard for. And I realized that I wasn't going to wait anymore to start living my life, that I was going to start living in the moment. So that's exactly what happened. I pursued career paths that gave me the opportunity to be able to really help people.
00:08:00 Julie: See, I've always wanted to help people. I've had this strong desire to help and serve and love people. I just wasn't able to do it in law enforcement as much as I would have liked to have done. So that's what made me transition into speaking, coaching. Eventually, now, I have a television show. So all these things and it's been a journey, but it was the personal journey of losing my mom and then eventually losing my grandmother that really got those wheels turning to get off the hamster wheel.
00:08:32 Sabine: And I totally get it. I think things changed in the world that we live today. People are not waiting any longer or don't want to wait any longer, right? They're even frustrated in the jobs that they're in right now because it doesn't give them the security and they are not appreciated most of the time and they just feel that life is passing by. And having that mentality, well, wait until you retire and then you have fun. No, I love that you took that moment in time to make that shift. Now, how hard or difficult was it? Or maybe not, when you made the decision you're not going to go back to law enforcement, you start your own business. How was that journey for you?
00:09:27 Julie: Honestly, Sabine, I think for anybody, life is about ups and downs. It really, truly is. There were moments that I was so excited about what I was doing, and then there were moments where, oh, my gosh, what did I just decide to do? See, because again, my parents, especially my father, because my father worked full time and supported our family. He started working at the age of 25. And he retired at 55, and he put 30 years in for the city of Milwaukee. So that was what he knew. He knew about being an employee. And so I grew up with that same mindset, that same mindset of, okay, you work for somebody, you retire, you get the pension, the gold watch, all that kind of stuff.
00:10:13 Julie: Being an entrepreneur was nowhere. Nowhere, I will say, in my world, because there wasn't anybody. Again, I was the first one to go to college. Then I get this idea that I'm going to work for myself, that I'm going to have my own business, and if there's anything that I know about myself is that I'm a risk taker. I'm like, okay, I don't know exactly what this is going to look like, and I'm going to figure it out. And there were times, like, for all of us, I would want to just curl up and cry because I'm like, okay, maybe this isn't exactly everything that I thought it was going to be, but the one thing that I knew, and I knew so well is that, again, that resilience, that perseverance, the saying yes to life opportunities. Because my mom and dad, both, my mom died with her dreams going to the grave. My dad did as well because he first initially helped my mom take care of her when she was sick. And then, more importantly, when she passed away, that was it. He had all of his dreams built around a life that was going to be spent with her.
00:11:19 Julie: And if I knew one thing, I knew one thing that I was not going to follow that same path. And trust me, there were times that I knew it would be easier for me to fall back on getting an application, filling it out for a police department and going back in, because any department would have been happy to have me based on my experience, based on my communication skills, based on everything that I brought to the table. But I won't quit. I just will not quit. And I will figure out a way to make it happen. And I got support. If you're an entrepreneur listening into this, it's all about the support. One of the biggest things I can say is, don't be a lone ranger. We're not designed to be in it alone. Find the people. Find your tribe that are going to support you in making your dreams and helping you to make your dreams come true.
00:12:13 Sabine: Let me hop in here real quick to share something with you. Have you ever tried to build your own website, start a newsletter, or build a course and charge for it? Have you ever wanted to make money online, but are totally confused by all the different systems you need to have? That's why I use Kajabi. Kajabi is the most popular system for online marketers, coaches, thought leaders, and influencers. Kajabi helps online entrepreneurs take off. Over 100,000 of us use Kajabi and have made over $4 billion. Why not be part of it? The best thing is you don't have to figure out tons of systems or crazy technology to start your online business. Kajabi helps you do all of that, and it's all on one platform. That's why I use it. It makes my life so much easier and I can even earn money while I'm sleeping. You can build your web pages, blogs, and membership sites. You can create offers, checkout pages, and collect money. You can host your videos. You can start your newsletter list, capture emails, start your marketing funnels all in one place. It makes it fun and easy with awesome tutorials and support.
00:13:39 Sabine: Since I've joined Kajabi from the beginning, I have a special affiliate link that I would like to share with you. A 30 day free trial. So nothing to lose, but everything to gain. Just go to my link that's in the show notes sabinekvenberg.com/resources, and we will redirect you to the free trial page. And if you are just starting out and want to get your offer out for sale in just three days, let me help you do that. Visit my web page, by the way, that I build on Kajabi and apply to making it happen. So now, let's get back to the show.
00:14:24 Sabine: It's so, so important. It's true. You got to have a support system. Now, how did you build your support system? Say, you started out, okay, I'm going to become a coach. I'm going to share my knowledge. But how did you get the support that you needed? And what were the path that you took?
00:14:48 Julie: The biggest support system and the biggest thing that I did was effective networking. See, the state of Arizona is very unique in the fact that everybody is almost a transplant. I do find natives now, but it seemed like 20 years ago. It was very rare to find a native, someone who had been born and raised in Arizona. So I remember growing up in Wisconsin that you always knew who you were going to use. Like, imagine this, the TV repairman. There was a time where TVs got repaired, right? And so with that, everybody in the neighborhood called the same TV repairman, right? We all knew who to call, and that was based on referral, kind of thing, but we just all knew. You came to Arizona. And I had some pretty bad experiences initially with some different services because I didn't know who to use and I didn't know who to call. And even 20 years ago, Facebook wasn't like you didn't go to Facebook and say, hey, who do you use, right?
00:15:52 Julie: So I started networking. I mean, I just kept putting myself out there and I started building relationships and I started connecting with people. And what I discovered, which I've always known about myself, is I'm a master connector of people. So it wasn't so much about what was happening for me. I would get so excited. When I met, like Sabine, I mean, like how we met, right? We met through Melissa Dealy. Melissa Dealy knows both of us. She introduces us as I think the two of you would be a great connection. And now the rest is history. I'm on your podcast. You're going to be on my podcast, right? We instantly had such a great conversation when we met and that's exactly what I love to do. So I have built everything that I have. Some of my best friends, all of my resources, so many amazing things in my life have all stemmed from networking and really caring about people first and helping them first before I ever asked really for support for myself.
00:16:55 Sabine: This is a very important part to really helping others first and then everything else will fall in place. Always start giving and then you will receive on the other end. Maybe not from that same person, but it comes from different sources. If you would give someone advice today who is an entrepreneur or wants to become an entrepreneur, obviously we are living in different times than it was 20 years ago. Now we are in this fast paced, ever so fast changing business models and environment and with social media and so forth. So what would be your advice for a new or aspiring entrepreneur to become successful?
00:17:46 Julie: Well, it's a little twofold. They fall under the same category. But I'm just going to say if you don't ask, you don't get. So it's really about asking and putting yourself out there. I know that that can be uncomfortable at times, but really ask for what you want. And the more you put it out there, you will be surprised at maybe, the person in front of you isn't able to help you, but they have a contact who can. Because with social media, with everything that's out there, Kevin Bacon said it's six degrees of separation. I think it's two. Especially with social media, it's like you look at somebody's profile, you're like, how do we have all these mutual friends? And we've never had an opportunity to meet each other. But in the asking, I'm always about saying yes to life opportunities and remember that no is a complete sentence. And so by that I mean a lot of times as an entrepreneur, you're going to be bombarded with so many things, so many requests. And remember, that when you say yes to any of those requests, you may be saying no to another priority in your life.
00:18:51 Julie: So with the asking comes knowing what your priorities are and what you're really focused in on. It's very easy to leave sometimes a company and leave corporate America because you're tired of being on the hamster wheel, but then to recreate the hamster wheel because of the fact that you're working 24/7. A lot of it is delegation and some other things. There's so many things, but it's really the art of saying no, saying yes to the get to’s, saying no to the have to’s, and making sure that you ask for what you want.
00:19:27 Sabine: That was good to the point. You are so right. Especially when we start out, we think we have to grab every opportunity, say yes to everybody, and be on everybody's radar and be on everybody's group. And then you don't do nothing because you can't, you cannot have meaningful conversations or connections. And it's also interesting when you put your intentions into making meaningful connections, those connections will come and be very aware. And that's the first thing to start out, be very aware in setting priorities, as you said. So you mentioned you have your own TV show. What type of show is it? What do you do?
00:20:13 Julie: Well, so my platform or my core message, as I like to talk about, is the premise of stop waiting, start living. So it is based on what I saw as a law enforcement officer and what I saw in my own life and that we don't know how much time we have. So I just really want to inspire people to start taking action in the now. Really, it's all about we can put off everything for tomorrow and we don't know if tomorrow is ever going to come. So the TV show can be found on Roku, Amazon, Apple, on the internet. It's on a station called Zondra. I know people are like Zondra. It's a Z. Z as in zebra. Ondra, O-N-D-R-A. That's the Zondra network. And the basis of the show is very similar to my core message. So I interview business owners and people don't always need to have a business. They may have a passion project where things have happened in their life, have knocked them down over and over and over again, and still they continue to get back up, rise to the occasion, and build the life of their dreams.
00:21:22 Sabine: Was there a time or a period in your life that you went through that, always you were knocked down again, knocked down and came to a point, it's like, oh? Have you experienced something like that?
00:21:40 Julie: I have. And it was around the time that interestingly enough, where, you know, I don't know when this is going to broadcast, but we're taping in March of 2023. And this month, my mom is gone 19 years. 19 years, but a month to the day after she passed away, my grandmother passed away. So now I have two strong female figures in my life that had a big influence on me, passed away within 30 days. And I have never experienced anything like that. Of course. I mean, it was traumatic, but more importantly, what it did was I started to spiral. And my husband at the time, who's now my ex husband, he basically told me. He's like, listen, if you don't go _____ down, our relationship is not going to weather this storm. And so I went to go, see a doctor, and I ended up being diagnosed with depression. And at that time, 19 years ago, I think that there was a different connotation of depression. I really looked at it as a stigma. I was like, oh, my gosh, I'm being diagnosed with depression.
00:22:49 Julie: What does this mean for me in my life? And I had a hard time. I mean, I was put on an antidepressant, and I was on that for a while. And I just didn't have the motivation, the energy. I mean, I remember sitting couch a lot. I remember drinking a lot. There were a lot of things, and it just took me down that rabbit hole. I just spiraled. The medication eventually did start to kick in and start to help. And then, because I'm such a proponent of finding natural solutions, I found some really great supplementation, that helped me get off the antidepressants. And then it was in those moments again that it just became very clear. All right, mom passed. Grandma passed. Again, you don't know how much time you have, so get off the couch and start going after your dreams. And so that's exactly what I did. And it didn't happen overnight. I'm telling you, it was a process.
00:23:48 Julie: My heart goes out to anyone who struggles, and that wasn't my only struggle. That was 19 years ago. And I always tell people, my life is not sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns. Just recently, a little less than two years ago, my husband and I were at a wedding, and he had a massive seizure, and he died at the wedding, and they resuscitated him. And so watching someone that you love, again, it triggers everything back again, right? And so having to deal with that traumatic incident, and I was a week and a half out of releasing my first book. And so having to make the decision, do I release my book or do I put it on hold? And again, because the book was Stop Waiting, Start Living, I knew that I had to put my book out, and I did.
00:24:40 Sabine: Yeah. Wow. I mean, it was something, you see the person that you love die before you. That's stress. That is an unbelievable experience. And thank God that they were able to bring him back, and you were able to have, now continuous love in your life. But you're right. We never know when our time is up. Yeah. Living now is sometimes a decision that you have to make.
00:25:13 Julie: Well, and to your point, that's why I sometimes think that, especially in the United States, it's backwards. I know in a lot of countries, when people take holiday, it's two weeks, three weeks, maybe a month. There are some countries that take siestas in the afternoon. They have a little bit of a slower pace. And I know that things are changing because of technology. But often with my parents, okay, they had the money. Now, they have the time. My mom didn't have the health, right? And so that's where at any given time, our health can be taken away from us. So it's like, I would rather travel now, like you said, have that balancing. Well, I still have my health that I can do the things that I want versus maybe, be in my 70s or my 80s or my 90s because I plan to live a long, long time, right?
00:26:04 Sabine: Yeah.
00:26:05 Julie: But you're not able to get around as much, and maybe you're not able to climb those mountains or go to those waterfalls or do what it is that you want because maybe you're a little unsteady on your feet. So as much as possible, I incorporate. It's like, work hard, play hard.
00:26:23 Sabine: That's right.
00:26:24 Julie: That's what I love to do.
00:26:26 Sabine: That's right. So if people want to get in touch with you, Julie, what's the best way for them?
00:26:32 Julie: The best way is, connectwithjuliejones.com. Just how it sounds. connectwithjuliejones.com.
00:26:41 Sabine: And I'll make sure to put your contact information in the show notes. Julie, thank you so much for being here and sharing your wisdom and your lively energy today.
00:26:52 Julie: You are so welcome. And I have to end with my trademark because this is what I'm all about. I'm known for these googly-eye glasses because you know what? And I've had so much fun with you here today. If you're not having fun, then you need to reevaluate some things, because life is all about making the most of every moment.
00:27:14 Sabine: And that's the mic drop. And for the listeners here, because we have that conversation via Zoom, via video, and Julie just put her lovely, funny eyeglasses on. So you definitely got me giggling here. All right, well, you have a wonderful rest of the day.
00:27:35 Julie: Thank you. Thank you.
00:27:37 Sabine: That was my interview. And if you enjoyed it, give us a five star review, leave a comment, and share it with your friends. Thanks for listening. Until I see you again, always remember, serve from the heart, follow your passion, and live the life you imagine.
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