We had the good fortune of connecting with Marisa Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marisa, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
This is the million dollar question, isn’t it?! 11 years ago I hit what I call my mental rock bottom. I had it all – a successful career, a long marriage, two kids, and the big house, yet I was dying inside. After my husband had an affair, I filed for divorce and fell apart mentally. I realized I had been unhappy my entire life. A victim of childhood abuse and trauma, I carried that pain with me, along with anger, depression, PTSD, suicidal ideation and a cycle of drugs and alcohol abuse.

You would never know it though. On the outside, I was a success and had it all. In a moment of dire necessity, I made a 100% commitment to heal myself and find out what it meant to be happy. I wanted to know what ‘normal’ people felt like. The first thing that came to mind was to wish for a calm and peaceful mind – rid of anger, negative self-talk, endless mind-chatter of self-loathing. My self-help journey started 11 years ago and it’s become a lifetime’s journey for me. Today, I have that calm and peaceful mind and each night as I lay down to sleep, I say a prayer of gratitude for a great mental health day. That makes me happy more than anything in the world.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am a domestic violence and mental health advocate and mindset coach. I work with corporations and non-profits who provide trauma-related services and collaborate on programs and workshops promoting mental wellness. I also offer individual 1-1 coaching for high-achiever professionals who are successful in their careers, yet fall into repeating cycles of negative self-talk and imposter syndrome. I help them identify hidden burdens from past traumas that are holding them back and work with my clients to help release those burdens for good!

What I am excited about are my clients’ successes. I know what it feels like to have overcome a lifetime of mental burdens and I’m happy for them when they achieve the same mental freedom as I have!

My business has grown organically after I published my memoir. I realized the more I ‘exposed’ my secrets and talked about them, the more comfortable people became talking about their internal struggles to me. I started offering advice and helping anyone who asked. It was then I decided to develop my coaching program and offer it to others. I have always been a corporate mentor so this was a natural progression for me while I was on my own path of personal transformation.

Being an entrepreneur is not always easy, as you are the one person doing every role in your organization. I have realized the importance of hiring teams to support me when necessary, so I can focus on my clients and their success. And I’m a big proponent of networking and collaboration! When two organizations can work together to achieve a goal, our customers/clients are the ones who benefit from it.

My brand and story is one of resilience and the importance of not giving up on yourself. My focus and mission is providing information, tools and resources one can incorporate into their daily lives to achieve personal mental health success. When you make mental health your priority, anything is possible!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would start off the first morning at the Perfect Landing at the Centennial Airport and enjoy brunch while watching the planes take off. After that, an afternoon trip to walk the highline canal.

A few days of hiking throughout the week hitting spots like Garden of the Gods, Red Rocks Amphitheater and Mount Falcon.

A drive through Morrison, stopping for breakfast at The Cow an Eatery, driving through Evergreen and back through downtown Denver.

A visit to Colorado isn’t complete without visiting both the Denver and Cheyenne Zoos!

And finally, a shopping trip to Park Meadows Mall.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to Kelly Notaras, Founder of KNLiterary Arts for helping me with editing of my published memoir, and Polly Letofsky of MYWordPublishing who helped me publish it!

Self-credit always for myself as we rarely value ourselves and the work we put into personal successes! This one’s for everyone who’s too shy to be proud of their accomplishments!

Website: https://www.myeverydaybeing.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myeverydaybeing

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisa-jones-bb89ba1/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myeverydaybeing

Image Credits
Lisa Smith

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.