Courtney Jones is also known as the ‘Undercover Intuitive’.

With an accomplished career in the public sector, Courtney’s studies in Metaphysical Science, Positive Psychology, Modern Hypnosis, and Energy Medicine led her to understand that a deep connection with inner knowing and the intuitive process is the foundation for building thriving social structures that support true wellbeing. She is the creator of the Ascension Leadership Model and the Founder of the Leadership Ascension Academy.

Her unique intuitive leadership approach emphasises that acknowledging one’s own agency is a great catalyst for positive change and personal growth. The Ascension Leadership Model draws out the strengths and insights that provide a pathway to self-determination and a magnetism that inspires and uplifts others.

Courtney’s mission is to help emerging leaders and change-makers reconnect with and trust their intuition. She believes that if educators, corporate and government organizations encouraged and acted with a heart-centred approach, communities, and individuals would begin to solve unsolvable problems and support each other to thrive.

Her award-winning book “The Leader Within – 7 Steps to Ascension Leadership and Intuition in Business” is for those who feel called to lead with their hearts and create positive change in the world. It is for those who know there is a compassionate way to do business that uplifts the communities they serve.

Courtney’s work has been featured in national and international media and she has helped hundreds of clients integrate intuition into their corporate and personal lives. Her goal is to reach 10,000 emerging leaders and young people so that they can step into their personal power and help create the momentous global shift needed to take us into the next decade with compassion and grace.

Courtney is sharing her inspiring and empowering story with us.

Thank you for joining us here at The Corporate Escapists. Please introduce yourself to our readers. They would love to know about you, your passion, and how you came to find and follow your passion.

Whilst working in the corporate world I began observing relationship dynamics and their effects on business outcomes. I studied NLP to understand the connection between the unconscious use of language and the underlying meanings as determined by attitudes, beliefs, and emotional state. I explored Reiki and Huna to define the links between energy and behaviour and learned to consciously expand and direct energy to shift emotional blockages and increase Qi. These techniques reconnected me to my inner guidance and opened me to profound spiritual insights. Still part of the corporate machine, I developed a passion for heart centred decision making and creating equitable business outcomes that benefit communities and the planet. I delved deeper into the subconscious drivers of behaviour and learned to “read” the motivations and intentions of others. I continued my studies in Hypnosis and Metaphysics with the aim of positively influencing business outcomes through empathetic communication and vibrational priming. My colleagues didn’t know it, but I was using spiritual guidance on all my projects, hiding the truth about my connection and beliefs. It was tough to have these insights and feelings and maintain the illusion of being a black and white thinking corporate robot.

Through this, I discovered my purpose and how being exposed to the corporate environment was all part of my spiritual development and path to serving others. The crossroad finally came when I was offered an amazing role that ticked all the boxes, but my inner guidance said, “do not take this job.” I heard it in my head, I felt it in my heart, and I couldn’t ignore it. So I left the machine and began teaching others how to tune into their inner guidance and discover a life of meaning and purpose.

As a successful entrepreneur please share your viewpoint if you believe that entrepreneurs are born or made?

Entrepreneurs are self-made! To be successful you must take action and action comes from inspiration. True inspiration is the result of listening to your inner guidance. It is possible to be successful following someone else’s rules and instructions but there will always been a feeling like something is missing or a lock of fulfillment. Entrepreneurs break the rules! They do their own thing, and they are energized by the setbacks and nay-sayers. And you have to learn how to break rules, how to be comfortable with taking risks and going out on limbs. You might be born with no fear (very few people are) and you may come from a long line of successful businesspeople. But unless you push yourself to go beyond the zone of comfort and understand what drives you, you’ll never reach the potential of your true purpose. If you want to be successful, listen to your intuition and follow your own path.

Nelson Mandela once quoted – ‘I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.’  What has been one fear you have overcome?

I’ve had to overcome the fear of judgement and putting myself out there. I had to learn that not everyone is going to love what I do and that’s OK. I think we all have a fear of being judged and I grew to understand that I was my harshest judge. Always telling myself it wasn’t good enough or it was too weird to share. That held me back for so long. It stopped me from putting my plans into action, and that stopped me from being able to serve, in the way that I knew I was meant to. Eventually, I figured out that if the ideas and enthusiasm didn’t go away, it must be worthwhile. So, I decided I’d face the fear, get out there and see what came of it. If just one person called me or read my book, I have helped. And that is what we have all come here to do. Stop judging yourself. People need you.

Tell us what the word “empower” means to you?

Empowerment is supporting people to let go of limitations and remember their inner strengths. To me, empowerment means just that – remembering. It is reminding people of the skills and strengths they carry and teaching them how to access those strengths for decision-making, problem-solving, and connecting with others.

The word empowerment has possibly been over or misused in the pursuit of promoting self-help material however being empowered is the key to shifting into the optimal state needed to transform your career, business, global perspective, and personal life.

When a person is truly empowered, they are tapped into unlimited potential and authentic expression which attracts positive energy and uplifts others. Empowered people empower others, we need more of that right now.

What has been one of the biggest business ideas you have had and how did you have the courage to implement it?

For a while, I was trying to be everywhere for everyone, and it was exhausting. I was seeing clients from a shared space in my hometown as well as trying to build my client base in my new healing studio where I live now. I felt like it would be bad for business for me to let go of my hometown clients, so I was travelling several times a week between the two locations trying to fit everyone in. The scheduling became more and more complicated and as a result, I was not fully present in either location. My energy was split between the two and it was impacting the results I was getting and my client relationship because of my sporadic availability. The only solution was to let go of my hometown space. I told my regular clients I would only be working from my studio on the Coast and if they needed me, that’s where we would have our sessions. I thought I’d lose a lot of business, but I knew I had to be focused to effectively help them. It turned out to be the best decision. I was settled in my healing studio and many of my clients followed me. I also offered online sessions, for those when were unable to travel and we achieved great results. The energy boost I got from that flowed into my presence at the studio and I started attracting lots of new clients from the area. By doing something I thought would halve my business, I ended up doubling it! And it was all about the energy. By being able to be in one place and focus my efforts and intentions in that space, I was able to vibrate at the required level to connect with and help the people who needed me. Plus, my dog gets to hang out with us here in the studio which is great for working with younger people or those who are a little nervous or experiencing anxiety. She is basically a therapy dog and everyone loves her!

Running your own business can be scary.  Success requires moments of courage to push through to the next level, please tell us one of the moments you have had to push through to take your business to the next level?

At the beginning of 2020, I had a lot on my plate. I was juggling the usual new year spike in clients with some emergency management work I was doing during the bushfires, and it was a really hectic time. To top it off, I had a deadline with my publisher for the first draft of my book.

I was struggling to find time to sit down and write and all the ideas were piling up in my head, making me panic that I wouldn’t remember them when I finally got to my laptop.

One day I woke up ready to go and work a shift at the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) when I thought to myself, “my face feels tingly”. I thought it was maybe just a headache sort of thing from not enough sleep but when I got up and looked in the mirror, my head was swollen like a balloon! “Maybe an allergic reaction?” I thought so I went to the pharmacy to get some antihistamines. The pharmacists took one look at me and said go to the doctors, now! I got to the doctors and was told, to get to the hospital.

I was beginning to freak out, I had to phone my colleague and tell her I couldn’t get to the EOC which stressed me even more because we were all working long shifts and it was hard to find cover, I didn’t want to let anybody down.

When I got to the hospital, the doctors had no idea what it was. They eliminated allergies, stroke, Bells’ Palsy, all kinds of stuff and still came up with nothing. But inside, I knew what it was. It was all those book ideas, crammed in my head with nowhere to go! I had to get home and start writing. I still looked like the Elephant Man, but I left the hospital and got to work on my book.

I took a week off from clients and emergency management and just wrote and wrote. As soon as I started, I felt so much better. The swelling in my face disappeared and I got into a beautiful flow of clarity and inspiration that just poured out of me. By the end of the week, I had almost finished the book and had no signs of swelling or other symptoms. It was a scary time because there was no medical explanation for what happened, and I was pushing really hard to meet my deadline. But in the end, all those ideas were released onto the page and my book was published 8 months later.

The book took my business to the next level because it enabled me to reach way more people than I possibly could working 1:1 and it’s a great tool for my clients to remind them of the work we do in our sessions, so they can use the most appropriate technique at any time they need.

Tell us what attributes you feel make a good leader in business today?

A leader is not necessarily someone in a management role or at the top of the hierarchy, but it is definitely someone who is authentic in their interactions and desire to uplift others. Good leaders are those with a service mentality and even if they are just a “worker bee”, their passion for what they are doing and willingness to help and empower others, leads them and their peers to new levels of insight and productivity. In management speak you would say it is the servant leadership approach, and it is built on trust and genuine connections.

I also believe that good leaders can shift the energy of a room/project/business by bringing their high vibrations and inspiration which have a positive influence on the perceptions and beliefs of the people around them. This sparks passion in others and catalyses movement in the same direction. Good leaders feel good to be around. They ask lots of questions and never assume they know more than anyone else. Good leaders are always seeking more knowledge to help them improve their work and understanding of others and the people they lead beyond just small talk and chit-chat but have real connections with their teams and their peers.

What is your favourite quote about empowerment?

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe.

I love this quote because it is deeply inspiring for anyone wanting to start a business or back themselves to create big changes in their life. It gives everyone permission to take action and follow their dreams.

It is also a mantra used in permaculture circles to help us understand that we can all make a contribution. For me, permaculture and business are not separate. The principles of permaculture are Earth care, people care, and fair share. These are the guiding principles for the way I run my business and how I connect and interact with others.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start their own business?

Ask yourself WHY you want to do what it is that your business does. How does it serve others? How does it help make this world a better place? Are you so passionate about it that you will deflect negativity, do things outside of the norm and stick to your values no matter how challenged you are? Once you are really clear on your why, then…. start where you are – it doesn’t have to be perfect the first time; you don’t need to know everything before you launch. You can always use the feedback and make adjustments to make it better.

Use what you have – I used to think I needed to have a swanky office with a plush chaise longue for people to lay on before I could be taken seriously. That held me back for a long time and then I realised, I have a nice comfy chair in a quiet room and the rent is cheap (I was working from the spare room of my parent’s place)! That’s what I used, and it was great. It was authentic and that’s what people want.

Do what you can – work to your strengths and do things your way. If you need to learn new tricks, you will. And don’t be afraid or too proud to ask for help. If you know someone who can teach you how or do it for you, use that resource. You’ll save yourself a lot of time, and stress.

What would be one (1) question you would you ask the person who most inspires you?  Also, share with us about this person and why they inspire you?

I’m deeply inspired by the work of Dr. David R Hawkins. If I had the chance, I would ask him “How do we effectively share the message of simplicity as a path to happiness in a world that seems to thrive on complexity, consumerism and status?”

Hawkins was a psychiatrist who helped 1000’s people back to wholeness. He was also a deeply spiritual man who had experiences that could only be described as direct connection God. His ability to work within the framework of science based “modern medicine” while knowing the truth about existence gives me hope because it demonstrates it is possible to balance the living in the 3rd dimensional reality with connection to the source and spiritual insight.

I’d always believed you couldn’t have foot in both camps and that I had to be one or the other – straight up and down psychology, recognised by a health fund with a massive collection of medical journals on my bookshelf (to make me look super smart and professional), or a psychic medium spiritual metaphysician who senses the root cause of problems and works with energy to support healing. Dr. Hawkins proves you can be both, with much more effect and a deeper sense of fulfillment. For that, I am grateful.

You can connect with Courtney right here on her website.