This month’s Big Idea Blog post showcases an incredibly inspiring, girl boss. The inspiring Jessica Ainsworth, from Australia, bravely shares with us her extremely traumatic childhood and how she not only overcame her past, but grew from it and has now achieved success and impact at a level that most people only ever dream of.
Jessica is an established entrepreneur, who after selling her third business decided to pursue her passion and focus on healing full time. Her thriving business, Aaruka®, is now a registered healing modality creating massive impact and transforming lives. This powerhouse is inspiring af and I’m honored to share her story.
The Biz
Helloooo Jess!!!
Let’s dive right in – can you please share a bit about what you do and how it all began?
Jess: Hello! Yes of course:
In 2018 I set up a 1:1 healing practice. After I began to see clients and they got life changing results, word started to spread. Within a year I was fully booked and inundated with people who wanted to be helped. After my first 200 clients, I began to feel the pressure and never felt that I had enough time to fit everyone in. It was suggested to me that I begin to write down what I was doing so that I can teach others.
You see, what I was doing was not like anything I had been taught in other modalities I had studied.
I incorporated bits and pieces and then worked intuitively to come up with my own techniques.
Wow. So you basically invented your own form of therapy?
Essentially, yes! As I started to write out my processes and ways of doing things, I realized that I had created my own powerful modality. I then started to write it up into a course, registered Aaruka® as a healing modality in 2019, and the rest was history! I now have 50 students (growing every week) and I have personally worked with over 500 individuals.
That’s incredible!
Is healing something that you always wanted to do?
Healing was actually a hobby of mine. I have always loved business and had 3 businesses in my early 20s while I studied and read about healing on the side. I always had this belief that healing was my hobby and wasn’t something I could or would make money from. So I kept it separate and did it for friends and family to fill my cup. It wasn’t until I sold my wedding and event planning company to take some time off, that I realized that I wanted to start using all of my skills to help people. I set out to just see 2-3 clients per week to get my fix and to make some cash on the side…
I never dreamt that it would be what it is now!
The Journey to Girl Boss
That’s so interesting! I always love hearing how peoples hobbies end up being their a lucrative business venture! So many of us do not realize the power of pursuing our passions. And more often than not our hobbies are what we’re truly passionate about! I bet noone would guess that the girl boss who founded a healing modality originally believed that healing was just a hobby!
True! LOL
OK, Jess, most people I know who want to help people and who are particularly skilled at helping people, are people who’ve helped themselves.
I know your story is particularly potent.
Would you mind sharing your story with us?
(TRIGGER WARNING)
Yes, of course.
So…
From age 3-11 years, I was sexually abused and emotionally manipulated by my father. Early on, I developed what was diagnosed as Stockholm Syndrome. I essentially fell in love with and idolized my father in order to deal with his prolonged abuse.
He was cruel, torturous and extremely manipulative. I grew up confused, afraid and feeling worthless.
I partially repressed all of these memories until I turned 30 (for survival, as I was threatened with death if I was to tell anyone), finding ways to cope with and drown out the intrusive flashbacks.
I was ‘the weird kid’. I got bullied every single day in school, at home and often went through periods with no friends at all. By the time I hit my teens I had horrifyingly low self worth and chronic anxiety. I experienced strange health issues and always felt less-than-average in my health. I was on-and-off suicidal.
In my early 20’s I was over-worked and hit burn out. I felt worthless, panicked and exhausted (just existing) everyday. Then, in my late twenties I had a 13 week molar pregnancy and an abortion, due to being extremely ill with chronic Lyme disease.
I left my two kids and went overseas for urgent medical treatment, with no luck.
When I turned 30, I uncovered all of my traumatic memories and hit rock bottom. I thought about dying everyday. I eventually started to hear voices, thought that my dad was coming to kill me and I had a complete mental breakdown.
My healing began when I was just 20 years old, and thankfully, by the time my abuse memories returned at 30, I had the tools to come back from my black hole, reasonably quickly.
If you saw me as a child, teen and in my twenties, you would believe me when I say, I AM my biggest transformation.
I have come from traumatized, anxious, depressed, suicidal and lacking any shred of self worth… to calm, confident, powerful, abundant and truly happy!
I have transformed my childhood trauma into purpose and now teaching others that it is possible, is the biggest achievement of my life.
Damn right, it’s an achievement!
Jess, you are truly amazing.
Thank you!
If only, as a child going through all of that, you had a way to tell her that one day you’ll be where you are now – a badass girl boss changing lives!
By the way, what did you want to be as a child?
As a child I wanted to be in planning. I loved being organized and planning things, but I now realize that this was partly coming from CONTROL.
I need to be in control of everything, all of the time, in an attempt to feel some form of safety.
But I also always wanted to help people…
I often dreamt of being a social worker and planning life-changing youth events also! As above, I didn’t ever think that healing would be my full time career but boy am I happy it is!
So am I! And undoubtedly thousands of others whose lives you’ve impacted with your work!
The Mission
It is obvious that beyond a hobby or desire to help people, you had a spectacular drive and determination to heal. And to succeed.
What helped you believe in yourself?
I have always had this fire inside of me.
No matter how dark I got, I always pushed myself through, because I knew that I was born for greatness and for more than this suffering. There is very little fear left inside of me because I have faced all of my deepest darkest fears.
What’s your why? Your mission?
I honestly am here (on this earth) to help as many people as humanly possible, to end the suffering cycle and to help them experience a life of bliss and joy. When I am not doing this work, I start to lose my way, and this is how I KNOW that it is my path and my passion. This is why the Healers Academy is so important to me… it would be impossible for me to personally help everyone, so now I get to teach others how to do it too and the healing ripple that I started, has turned into a wave.
What’s your message for the woman reading this now?
You CAN heal.
No matter what happened to you, you can heal. And that you get to CHOOSE who you want to be, when you work with your subconscious.
SO many of us are victims to our past, so deeply, that we forget that we can actually change this and create the future we desire.
What’s your vision for the world in 2050?
In 2050 I would love to see a population that is connected to the earth. I would love to see us working in harmony with the planet, giving back to it and embracing its healing powers. I pray for raised vibration and consciousness and a connection between all people, animals and plants.
I don’t know that this is where we are headed, but god I hope it shifts this way!
Jess you are incredible. One hell of a girl boss and a true trailblazer. Thank you so so much for sharing and for your time!
My pleasure and thank you!
The Takeaways
To conclude, I have included a summary of a few of the key takeaways:
#1: Nurture your hobbies!
#2: Sometimes our past, however painful, can lead us to success!
#3: Tap into your innate knowing that you are meant for greatness!
I hope this has inspired some ideas and instilled the value of self-belief for you. Perhaps it has planted a seed and perhaps it’s exactly what you needed to hear to nudge you into inspired action! Who knows – perhaps you will be the next inspiring girl boss to take on a mission and create waves!
Please let us know in the comments below, what your biggest takeaway was!
If you enjoyed this article feel free to share it and you may also subscribe below to receive the next one straight to your inbox. I’ll be interviewing inspiring, purpose-driven entrepreneurs once a month to show how real people CAN make real impact, and how believing in your big idea, can truly make a difference in someone’s life. You can find last month’s article here.
You can visit the Aaruka site here, or connect with Jess on instagram .
I wish you a wonderful month and would love to get to know you and hear what you’re up to! So feel free to find me on my socials (below). If you’d like to learn more about me and my work then click here.
Hi, I’m Emily, founder of The Big Idea Consulting Company (and Blog). I believe we learn by example, so I’m searching for examples to learn from. I’m searching for people who can show us that if we believe in ourselves, our big ideas can genuinely make a difference. If you’re a girl boss, or a changemaker, and want to be interviewed, or nominate someone for interviewing, feel free to DM me!