Today we’d like to introduce you to Connie Jones.
Connie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
That Friday afternoon seemed like any other day in a long line of similar days. Yet, it was different. Because it was the day my life changed forever.
I thought about clients I saw that day.
They all repeated the same story. These men and women were all intelligent, talented, and highly capable people; many of them were passionate entrepreneurs, executives, professionals, and even creative types who suffered from the same frustration.
They all felt an overwhelming burden of obligations, expectations, and responsibilities that confronted them every day.
Life for them had simply turned out much differently than the way they anticipated.
They described feeling unfulfilled in their relationships, struggled to meet their goals, and lacked peace or fulfillment in life.
Many who had achieved the thing they previously thought they desired in life, that dream job, their own business, that level of success and income, their marriage and family, their beautiful home, they now described it as a soul-sucking and life draining ordeal.
It wasn’t difficult to empathize with their situations.
My story was the same as theirs. Their dreams and ambitions didn’t match up to their reality.
And neither had mine.
I knew what it felt like to have a gaping hole between where I was at the time and where I wanted to be in my career and in my life.
Overwhelmed and under pressure, my vision for where my passion and purpose could lead seemed far away from my reach. I simply wasn’t there yet; my frustration level kept rising.
I knew the steps that could take me there, but I couldn’t work it out in my mind exactly how to get where I wanted.
I had faced disappointment and adversity before.
Just a decade had passed since I first moved to Peachtree City on my own while recovering from a broken engagement.
I was living single with no partner by my side, no family or friends nearby to support me, no savings to provide a little sense of financial security, and no one to guide me in life.
I found my way, although many times it was the hard way.
I felt stuck. I was a 38-year-old single woman psychotherapist working long hours at a struggling counseling agency; I was burned out and living paycheck to paycheck; I felt unfulfilled, frustrated, and hopeless.
Where was my successful career, my financial security, or the life I truly desired?
I tried to hide the outward signs of anxiety, frustration, and disillusionment. I had no time or energy for what mattered most to me — I had no life.
Sometimes life forces us to move us from one place to another. This happened to me.
I had briefly discussed my desire to go out on my own and build the business of my dreams with my new life coach, but the thought scared and overwhelmed me so much it seemed more like a pipe dream than a possibility.
But I had to do something else, and I had to do it now.
Everything changed as I stepped out of that office on that Friday evening.
I had built a private practice in counseling at the practice I was at, but they had stopped paying me for four pay periods due to financial problems in the business. To top it off, I had $30,000 in credit card debt and no savings account.
On Monday morning, I took a leap of faith and opened my own practice.
At first, my counseling practice was full and successful, but soon the unanticipated challenges of a new business combined with clients I had to see per week to make ends meet took a toll on my life.
But just six months into my new practice, I faced the facts: I couldn’t keep up with the pace, the stress, and the daily demands. I found difficulty focusing on anything except the internal conflict going on inside me.
I knew there must be a better way to live out my passion and purpose, have an impact in the world, be financially successful, enjoy life, and have meaningful personal relationships too.
I forced myself to smile and appear enthusiastic on the outside, but inside I was unable to even hope for a positive ending to my story.
I know we all know instinctively this isn’t the way we were created to live and a fulfilling life must be available to us, somehow.
I knew that there was more for me and more for the people I influenced and counseled daily. I was determined to find the answer and create the change that I was seeking, along with so many of the men and women I counseled daily.
I began to see the way out when my life coach helped me see clearly that I needed a closer alignment between my work and my passion. That my work is an expression of my soul, of who I am and my unique story.
Drawing on my professional experience in leadership, sales, goal setting and execution, building and developing teams, managing financial statements, creating and executing marketing plans, and now building a business — I reinvented myself.
I worked to expand myself from counseling people to include assisting other entrepreneurs, executives, and leaders who, like me, needed to break free and adjust their careers and personal lives, so they could begin to live the life they wanted by mapping out and following a realistic plan.
My experience as a therapist had taught me that most people who are successful, talented, and capable, know what they want to create and how they want to live, but so often they fail to achieve their goals because they disconnect from inner passion, their heart, and their values.
God has gifted me with a vision, a passion, and a distinct calling on my life to be the one who assists others in the process of breaking free from whatever limits their potential and robs them of thriving in a fulfilling life.
It burns inside of me!
I am passionate about connecting with people’s hearts and engaging in their unique stories as lived out in their personal and professional lives.
As a gifted intuitive and dynamic motivator, I recognize the barriers that prevent people from living in true freedom and fulfillment.
I have been there myself and know how to walk them through the process of overcoming limiting beliefs.
I help them recognize their unique strengths, gifts, passion, and purpose. I empower them to awaken their inner fire, step into their fullest potential, and soar in the life they love.
The change for me came when I began to work with a Life Coach. Through my coach, I discovered first-hand a powerful and sacred partnership that unleashed my full potential and empowered me to soar in personal and professional growth. And now, as a Life and Leadership Coach myself, I walk out that incredible journey with my clients, too.
Think about it like this: top professional athletes don’t train themselves; they hire an experienced coach to bring out the best in them so they can succeed at the next level.
Likewise, men and women benefit from an experienced coach who empowers them to achieve the high level of fulfillment and success they desire in their life and work.
As founder of Arise Counseling and Coaching, Connie brings passion, dynamic energy, and intuitive wisdom to inspire her clients to step into their full potential in life and leadership. She coaches successful men and women to align with their best self and live in freedom and fulfillment in their life and work. Connie develops leadership competencies and personal strengths in Executives, Entrepreneurs, Professionals, and Organizational Leaders to help maximize their productivity, innovation, and enhance their professional performance, while minimizing stress and helping them attain work/life balance. She also empowers them to grow their career and business to the next level of success and fulfillment as they clarify and implement their vision, create mission-based strategic plans, and maximize team effectiveness.
Connie holds a B.S. in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Georgia, a M.A. in Sport Management from the University of Georgia, and a M.A in Professional Counseling from Argosy University. She has extensive professional experience as a Fitness Professional, Sports Performance Coach, and as an Executive in Sales, Marketing, and Management. She is an innovative and dynamic leader who is energetic, driven, and savvy as an entrepreneur. Over the last decade, she developed a thriving private practice, Connie Jones Counseling and Coaching, LLC, which expanded into the group practice Arise Counseling and Coaching, LLC. Connie and her staff of five Therapists and Coaches are passionate about empowering their clients to Thrive in a Life of Freedom and Fullness!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Creating and establishing a cohesive team with similar values, mission, and philosophy.
Building the business – clientele for six clients and streamlining the budget and keeping expenses low while establishing the business – also how to market effectively.
Educating people on the difference between coaching and counseling when we do both.
Expanding the business from a single practitioner to a staff of six.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are passionately committed to helping people:
Restore Wholeness in Mind, Body and Spirit
Identify and Heal Emotional Wounds
Break Free from Unhealthy Thought and Behavior Patterns
Discover and Live out of your True Self
Create and Enjoy Healthy, Satisfying Relationships
We provide Counseling and Coaching Services to Individuals, Couples, and Families who desire to Thrive in a Life of Freedom and Fullness!
Our Coaching Services:
We inspire clients to step into their full potential in life and leadership. We coach successful men and women to align with their best self and live in freedom and fulfillment in their life and work. We also develop leadership competencies and personal strengths in Executives, Entrepreneurs, Professionals, and Organizational Leaders to help maximize their productivity, innovation, and enhance their professional performance, while minimizing stress and helping them attain work/life balance. We also empower them to grow their career and business to the next level of success and fulfillment as they clarify and implement their vision, create mission-based strategic plans, and maximize team effectiveness.
What were you like growing up?
Full of life
Loved life
Athletic
Loved Animals and still do
Close Family and loved connection and loving people
Very caring and fun loving
Wise – I could always tell who was the underdog or who was hurting or struggling and had compassion for them – always wanted to help and cared about people deeply.
Intuitive
Very Loyal
Contact Info:
- Address: 1303 Commerce Drive,
Peachtree City, GA 30269 - Website: arisecounselingandcoaching.com
- Phone: 770-862-6088
- Email: conniej@arisecounselingandcoaching.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arisecounselingandcoaching/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conniejoneslpc/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/conniejones2u
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connie-jones-b9834111/
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
