We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr Nicole Roberts Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dr Nicole, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
The life experience that truly shaped me and started me on my path toward purpose happened when I was working in the career I had dreamed of since I was 7 years old. My most vivid childhood dream was working in the entertainment industry. For me, working in that industry represented a way out of the chaotic environment of my neighborhood and into a world that – in my mind – represented massive success. As a child and into my teenage years I escaped the reality of the drugs, gangs, and drive by shootings in my neighborhood = the violence that surrounded me in my neighborhood, by watching TV. I had many TV shows and movies that I loved and the show A Different World was one of my favorites. It allowed me to see college life and what was possible for me beyond the violence surrounding me in my neighborhood. It allowed me to dream! Eventually I graduated from college with a degree in TV & Film which afforded me to live out my dream. In the 90’s, with determination and preparation meeting opportunity, my childhood dream of working in Hollywood became a reality.
There I was working for one of Viacom’s largest cable networks with an outreach to 89 million homes on a weekly basis. Within 6 years I matriculated successful through the industry. I went from Viacom to land a job in casting for the number one television show on the Fox Network. Then from there I worked with an entertainment group that was responsible for generating 12.6 billion dollars annually from the TV and films being produced. In conjunction with a thriving career, I was going to all the HOT Hollywood parties. Bumping elbows with stars. I was living my childhood dream. Or so it seemed. The truth was that when the flashing lights stopped in the dark of the night when I was by myself, I started to feel tormented by this dream. It was like I could hear God whispering to my soul, “Nicole I have something more for you” but what more could there be when I was already living everything I had ever dreamed of and I loved every minute of it! My soul knew something was missing and refused to let me settle. What began as a gentle whisper was now as loud as a bad weather alert, signaling to me that I wasn’t living into the full activation of the woman God had created me to be. Now don’t get me wrong, Hollywood and all its perks were GREAT. Despite the perks and rubbing elbows with all the stars, I began to feel like every morning a little piece of me died to live my dream because it was becoming my nightmare!
Well, I had no idea what to do with what I was feeling, or how to move it forward. Little did I know everything I had been questioning would all become clear in one moment. It was when one of good girlfriends called and asked me to volunteer with her at our church’s youth program. That night, as I worked with young women, something in me came ALIVE! Pouring into those young women helped me realize I had been assignment and called, to activate and align others into their purpose. What I realized that night, in my church, working with young women is that I was great at drawing out the best in others and quite frankly, I felt good doing it.
What I have learned overtime, is that your purpose matriculates and while Hollywood may have been the training ground for me to see the gift in people and the role that aligned with that gift for a TV show or a Film, what God was doing was expanding that gift beyond TV or film but to help others find, define, and activate the role their purpose was created to play. What God was doing was calling me to the next level of using that same gift by coaching teenage girls, that would years later matriculate again into coaching highly skilled professional women and then matriculate again to add in working with men. I was gifted at putting people in the role that best fit for them to activate their purpose in their business and/or career. I discovered that I was born to help people transform their lives to live as the highest and best version of who God created them to be.
And it all started that night in 1993 in my church as a volunteer. Instantly I knew nothing else matter. To watch the eyes of those young ladies, lit me up like nothing I had ever felt. As their eyes lit up, my heart lit up. My soul awakened and I found myself confronted with everything I was and everything I had not done yet. I knew in that moment this is EXACTLY where I was meant to be. Yet with all the joy that filled me up, I also felt in conflict. This new place where my soul had come alive, I didn’t know what to call it, remember this was 1993 and I had not even heard of a coach yet. I could not see how this could come with a paycheck, and this wasn’t as glamourous as my Hollywood work, but I could not deny this thing that lit up my soul! I had a decision to make. I’m not sure if you have ever been here where you LOVE doing something, it brings life to you, you know you are called to do it, but you don’t know how to monetize it. You have no clue how to turn your purpose into your paycheck. Your soul is saying yes, this is it! You know you are meant to do. Meanwhile your brain is reminding you that feelings don’t fill a bank account. Without a plan, you will have a rumble in your belly, and no income. I don’t know if you have ever had a decision like this to make but here, I stood at a crossroad.
Do I remain in comfort or go after my conviction?
What I have learned is your comfort and your conviction can NEVER coexist. In that moment I knew I must follow my conviction, the stirring that God was doing in my soul. From that moment forward I had a fire in my belly and a message inside me. A message, a gift that I had to get out into the world. And ultimately what I would learn is you need both revelation and methodology to move your purpose into a revenue generating business. Ultimately what I learned is that as your purpose was meant to profit the world while it also brings back valuable gain to you.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Bankroll Your Brilliance is actually what I am called to do as a brand producer and program development expert that helps others get clear on their purpose and all the ways it is meant to profit. When I say profit, I am not just talking about money. The word profit actually means to gain, so my goal in all I do as a coach, speaker & teacher is to support others in the strategy to start their business or get in the position in their career so that they gain for God. God’s gift back to us is that we equally gain = profit.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. I Had To Be Willing to Step Outside My Comfort Zone
These a quote by A.R. Bernard that says, “The Tools You Used On This Level Are Not Sufficient For The Next Level!” For many woman that I meet who set out to start your business or grow it, your current success is in your way;
*That Director in the front of your title
*That MS, or MA or PhD behind your name is in the way
*Those big plagues on your wall or certificates of recognition that you have obtained in your career over the years.
And what you have to understand is embarking on being a successful entrepreneur is like nothing you have done before and so it means you MUST be willing to go beyond what you current know to do it. The way you have been operating in your career or the way you have been doing business will not work for your next level! If you want something different you MUST do something different. And it is the different way of doing business that is uncomfortable.
2. Move beyond Marketing & Build Your Know, Like & Trust Factor
So many entrepreneurs focus on being what I call Facebook Famous and just because people see you on facebook or you know the latest marketing tools and tips, it does not mean doing all of that will lead to a sale. So instead, I suggest you build your know, like and trust factor. I call this dating before you put a ring on it. For example, if my husband came to our first date and brought a ring with him, I would have thought that he was crazy! Instead we dated for a while. He got to know me, I got to know him and only after us seeing the value we both came to bring into the relationship did he then propose marriage. This is the same thing you have to do to your business. So if you are going to generate real revenue you need to date your clients for a while before you lead them to sale and build your know like and trust factor by giving them value as you allow your brilliance to be seen and experienced.
3. You Should Have Multiple Streams of Income & One Should Include Making Money While You Sleep
What most billions won’t tell you is that they have multiple streams of income. And is business most people focus on a 1 to 1 model vs a 1 to many model. So if you are going to really grow your business you have to make sure that those multiple streams include both a 1 to many model as well as ways that you make money while you sleep. Meaning packaging ways to serve people DO NOT include you being present.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Do It Afraid by Joyce Meyer. I have learned that if I was going to step outside of my comfort zone and become the version of me that was abundantly above all I could ask or think, I was going to have to do it afraid. Matter of fact, your faith does not get activated until you are in the face of fear!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.NicoleRobertsJones.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nrobertsjones/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NRJEnterpriseswithNicoleRobertsJones
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolerobertsjones/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/NRobertsJones
- Youtube: www.NRJNetwork.com
Image Credits
Christine Demura
