This chapter is called: Healing and growth with my people. 🤜🏽🤛🏿
My people are those who like and respect me for who I am. Who love me for my strengths and my weaknesses.
Those who take a moment to understand how my introversion is a strength and what that really means without taking it personally or calling it weird that I prefer to send a DM instead of picking up the phone. *Hint: it's all about the energy transfer and drain.
My people are those I see out in the community using their free time and energy to support each other's growth so we all come up. Because a wealthy person surrounded by unwealthy friends is a poor person in this community.
My people also include family and friends who love and support me and my soulmate and our childfree by choice little family of 2+🐾🐾 without judgement. Because our family decisions have nothing to do with others'.
In this chapter I'm in the 7th phase of healing:
1. Shock - my initial discovery of betrayal & deceit
2. Disbelief & denial - numb & disconnected from what was happening to me
3. Obsession - the ability to trust myself, my instincts, and my sense of reality was turned upside down
4. Anger & sadness - grappling with the loss of the life I thought I had and wanted
5. Bargaining - making up/believing excuses for the way I was treated: if I wasn't an introvert...if I had kids...etc.
6. Mourning - the loss of relationships, as I believed them or wanted them to be
And now...
7. Acceptance & recovery - redefining myself and my relationships. Stepping into my new reality with boundaries and adjustments for a healthier future.
Not many people know but the past 10 years and the last year in particular was the toughest year of my life. So much so I'm tearing up just writing this sentence. I'm eternally grateful to my husband for suggesting therapy - a brutal and necessary process that changed everything. (Thank you again Tina.)
This year and for the second half of my life for that matter, I'm not accepting anything or anyone in my life that doesn't honor and respect me for me. And in these new chapters of the rest of my life, I'm focused strictly on growth. Mine & yours (if your vibe is right).
🤍 jess
This is the day we spent with Warren Buffett thanks to Melvyn Wolff, who graciously put a group of us on a flight ✈ to Nebraska for an intimate chat at Berkshire Hathaway followed by lunch at Warren's favorite restaurant in Omaha where we're pictured here.
The room was full of grad students, except the 19 of us. We were undergrads in the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at UH.
Melvyn & his sister, in an attempt to grow their Houston business, Star Furniture, sold their company to Warren Buffett in 1997. Star Furniture became a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, a multinational conglomerate holding company run by Warren Buffett.
And every year, for several years, Melvyn took half of the seniors in the Wolff Center on this trip, making sure that half of the students that went, were women. Even though historically, more men apply to the entrepreneurship program.
I believe there were 40 entrepreneurs in my class, 27 men and 13 women. 9 out of 13 of us went on this trip with him + Dave Cook who was the Director of Mentoring Programs at the time, now Director of WCE.
I remember everyone asking Warren questions about investments and wealth building that day. The typical questions you would expect given the chance to talk to the "Oracle of Omaha".
When it was my turn, I really wanted to know what advice he could give as we set out on our journey to make a social impact in the world with Goodspero.
To this day, every day I wake up & do what I can to support people, projects, and missions that have an impact on others and on our world.
Whether surrounded by wealth builders or community builders, or both, I'm the same person on the same mission.
I've learned to weed out those who are building wealth for themselves while using the community, and to support those who are building WITH communities, opening doors, instead of closing doors w/ a scarcity mentality.
Thank you to those who have shown me who my true tribe is. Your light guides my way and I'm grateful for the lessons and opportunities you provide each day, no matter how small they may seem.
I appreciate you all and look forward to continuing our aligned journies of impact. 🌍
Jess
@Goodspero
"I often think about the different characters I play in everybody’s story.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I’m a villain in some.
A hero in others.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
And none of it has anything to do with the person I am.
The lens others view you through is colored by their upbringing, beliefs, and individual experiences.
Some people see your bright personality as endearing and others see it as annoying.
Some people think you’re weak and emotional and others feel safe to be themselves around you.
Some people think you’re rude and selfish and others respect the way you stand up for yourself.
Some people admire the way you take pride in the way you look and others think you’re conceited.
And none of it has to do with who you really are.
So I’ve stopped trying to control the way others see me, because I can’t. I have no authority over how other people view me, so I might as well just get on with living my most authentic and joyful life."
Words by Courtney Durr, @worthwild.co
#SelfLove #ILoveMe #ILoveHim #ILoveMyFam #ILoveIceCream #HowYouSeeMe #Irrelevant 😌 #ThanksForStoppingBy 👋🏼
Come hang with us under the night sky 🌙
We’re excited to be part of this year’s BYOB (Bring Your Own Beamer) at The Menil. Community-created + light + art.
Co-presented by @AuroraPictureShow + @MenilCollection
Saturday, May 2
8:30–10:30 PM
📍Menil Collection, Main Building Lawn
(1533 Sul Ross Street, Houston)
Free + open to all
We’ll be closing out the night with our piece “Permanence” from 10:00–10:30 PM at Table 2. 🌾
Bring a blanket, bring your people, bring your vibes.
Ambient music, open sky, and 35+ visual artists/contributors beaming from 9 tables.
See you there.
Go eat at Wolffest Tues-Thurs 9am-5pm this week!! 🤤
We had @Wolffstock vendors:
@FajitaPetes tacos 🙌🏽
@Sra.Churros dubai strawberry churros
@YoYoDrinksHTX Hibiscus Sunrise
So many more options, we'll be back for more!!
📍UH Butler Plaza, in front of the library.
All run by the @WolffCenter 's entrepreneur students, @UHBauerCollege .
Proceeds go to student scholarships.
Go check it out, support, and eat good! 🐾
Judging @TechFestLive youth pitch competition at @TXRXlabs during @HoustonExponential 's H-Town Roundup week!
Proud to have repped the @WolffCenter & @Goodspero as a judge in this innaugural competition.
Congrats to all 16 teams for showing up to pitch (most for the first time)!
1st place went to 3 high school ladies who clearly prepped and practiced their pitch! Unanimous decision on awarding them 1st!
2nd place was a tough decision and as judges we deliberated back and forth on who earned that spot! Ultimately we thought another team of 3 young ladies from the same high school presented their idea the best.
3rd place was a team of middle school students! Although we had lots of questions during Q&A to clarify their problem/solution, the need was there and they were able to answer all of our questions.
Congrats to everyone who participated and my hope is that all the feedback we gave you on the judge's scorecards is implemented for the next pitch competition!
Thanks for a great day @tflceo@dannayussieth & Liana!
What will you do when your AI misbehaves?
Current read.
20% read so far...9/10 ⭐
Last week's @wolffcenter mentor meeting covered ethics...
Specifically, becoming more consciously aware of how we make ethical decisions.
This book is an extension of that in the best way possible, as we step into an increasingly AI world.
It's bias.. discrimination.. privacy..
and more.
All of that is here. Even when we know it's bad, we (mostly) aren't aware.
So we don't know how (or when) to fix it.
But we can try.
Once we know what we're looking for.
Looking forward to finishing this one. 📖
#EthicalMachines
@reid.blackman@hbr_press
Thank you @_valeriiaa.22 for my 1st blowout ever @alchemysalon_houston 🫶🏽
Love that the manquins were on tripods, as a video content creator I totally mistook them for cameras. 😅
Happy Monday y'all!
Using AI to communicate clearly & work smarter.
1. Tell stronger stories
2. Reach more people
3. Amplify your message
4. Save time on work behind the scenes
Practical ways to use AI intentionally and authentically.
No "AI slop".
We're leading this session at the Empower Summit in Sugar Land on April 24th.
If you're in Houston/Sugar Land, come connect.
empower-summit.org
#HoustonEvents #AIStrategy #LeadershipDevelopment #CorporateLeadership #AIforLeaders
