Do What Makes Your Heart Sing with Jacqui A. Johnson

Jacqui A. Johnson started life in Ghana, where she followed her grandmother's and mother's paths, by becoming a fashion designer at just 19. Relying on word of mouth for advertising, her business was quite successful, and by the time she was 29, she had 14 full-time employees and a backlog of orders that would take 7 months to complete! She moved to London and started her family, and continued in the design business, providing evening wear and elegant clothing for women. Once COVID hit, the demand for evening wear waned. Once COVID lockdowns ended, demand for evening wear increased, but the fashion world and tastes had changed, and Jacqui found herself designing clothing made more to show off skin than the clothing being worn. She didn't feel proud of the work she was being asked to design and hesitated to show it on her Instagram pages. Even though her elegant clothing line business closed in the last two years, she continues to design, focusing on accessories instead. Jacqui sees this as just another step in her life story.

When asked how her coaching and mentoring started, she told me it wasn't unusual for her to develop a close relationship with clients. Many shared their stories, asked her for advice, and felt that her wisdom was as valuable as the outfits she designed.

This fact and this type of wisdom started growing within Jacqui and she is now building out her accessory line while working on her degree in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology. She has started a public speaking business as well as providing life coaching for women in mid-life. She also works as an educator. You can find her work on Facebook in the Proverbs Party group. This group includes woman from around the world, who spend time reading Proverbs from the bible, gaining insight into themselves, and sharing their thoughts. Jacqui leans on her faith to help interpret her calling in the world. She developed the Solomon Life Model to help her understand how to listen to inner wisdom, how to use our innate gifts, and how to get our voices out into the world to make the most use of whatever it is you are carrying inside. Your "Diamond," as she sees it. 

We do discuss suicide in this episode, and there is a discussion on depression, health issues, and several other serious topics, but Jacqui defines herself as a Hope Stirrer. She maintains a positive outlook, and fosters hope both in herself and others.

#proverbs #fashion #design #FindTheGood #designtalk #FaithSupports #FindYourPeople #LifePath #PositivePsychology #MidLife

Important Links

Jacqui's Facebook Group, The Proverbs Party

Do The Thing Challenge Group ( connect to the Accelerator program we discuss)

Jacqui's site offering the free kickstart Purpose and Dreams Roadmap training is live now. Being offered starting 10/7 through 10/24. Visit here.

C. R. Snyder's Paper on Hope Theory, Hope Theory: Rainbow's in the Mind.