“Only one thing is more frightening than speaking your truth. And that is not speaking.” – Audre Lorde
I BELIEVE….
..that you are here to get free….less inhibited….less tamed…less tethered…so you can discover who you are.
I believe that the deepest things that happened to you are connected to the deepest things you are here to say.
I believe that your untold stories (the big and seemingly small ones) hold your message and thought leadership. They also reveal the tethers holding your voice hostage: the fear of saying the wrong thing, the fear of rejection (from friends, family, and the faceless public), the fear of being seen for your vulnerabilities and imperfections.
I believe that telling your story will help you practice your way into a new relationship with these fears…so you can discover how very much you have to say and stand up for what matters to you.
I believe that the whole reason we have to reclaim our voices is that we live in a culture of injustice where only one story has been told….and that you and your story can be a part of changing that.
I’m Cara Jones and I’m a story coach helping entrepreneurs untether their voices so they can make an impact, grow their business, and get more courageous, bold and free.
I have been on a life long journey of coming out of hiding.
As a kid, I used to hide in obvious ways: like behind my mother when introduced to strangers. I let other voices fill the space. I followed the rules. I recited other people’s truths. I was the good girl.
As an adult, I learned to hide in less obvious ways: behind a thick coat of makeup and heels as a television news reporter, behind the telling of other people’s stories and even behind my own story coaching business: terrified of talking about my work on social media, incapacitated by any kind of “marketing,” spending my writing time scrolling through other people’s feeds vs. figuring out what I had to say.
In 2012, I began a new journey.
I started making a documentary film about my unique family history– based in a religion famous for arranged marriages and mass weddings.
I was scared as heck to put everything out there (you can read more about the story here). But here is what happened along the way:
I discovered, not just how the story defined me, but what I had to say about it. I learned how I could own the story vs. it owning me. I started to uncover how the fear of judgement was gripping me in so many areas of my life: including my business. I started to realized how very many things I had to say …and that it was only in bringing all of me to my work, that I could have a real impact.
Over the past five years I’ve been working with people from all over the world to help them also discover the life changing magic their stories hold for their life, business and impact.
My professional experience includes:
*winning a few Emmys and a MOTH Story Slam
*starting the production company Storytellers for Good to promote the world’s most inspiring humans
*writing for publications including the Washington Post, Boston Globe and Huffington Post
*decades worth of trainings including: New Ventures West (certified as a professional coach 2009), Sacred Depths Coaching (Joanna Lindenbaum), The Hoffman Process, The Diamond Approach, The Work of Byron Katie
A special shout out to the voices and stories of those who have deeply influenced me and my work: Heather Box and Julian Mocine-McQueen of the Million Person Project, Kelly Diels, Adrienne Maree Brown, Dr. Michelle Mazur and Tara Mohr.
A few more things to note: I support the Black Lives Matter movement and believe that dismantling white supremacy is the most important work and story of our time. I support The Loveland Foundation providing therapy to black women and girls and Raices Families Together Fund in fighting for immigrant rights.
I am the proud mama of a 3 year old girl whose naturally untethered voice inspires my work every day.