From Trauma to Triumph

An Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting Over

Dr. Anissa M. Jones

• Publisher: Purposely Created Publishing Group
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781644842010
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Emprendimiento

From Trauma to Triumph is a revolutionary tool that will help business owners and business leaders release the turmoil of their past, so they have the mental clarity to make the decisions needed for creating and running a thriving business. Via her own experiences, Dr. Anissa M. Jones shares life lessons that helped her become successful even through trauma and disappointments. Through her transparency, she compels business owners to accept that it may be necessary to start over and to do so repeatedly if required. Her candid openness encourages business owners not to give up but to keep moving forward one step at a time until they reach and exceed their goals.

The sincere advice offered in this book provokes business leaders to believe in themselves and to fiercely pursue their purpose, never giving in to the negative forces or failures that may seek to thwart the realization of their dreams.

Chapter 1

Stand in Your Story

Picture if you will a little black girl from Macon, GA who was a little awkward but dared to dream and thrive. I fondly remember my mother being very driven to make sure we had what we needed. Life wasn’t easy; there were trials, tests, and triumphs that all helped to mold me into the person I am today. We grew up in a faith-based home, devoted Christians. I never in a million years thought I would spiral into the life I experienced. At the age of seven, I experienced what was the first of many exposures to molestation. I was in the second grade when another male student touched me inappropriately. I told him I was going to tell the teacher what he did, but he pushed me so hard that I was too afraid to tell anyone about the incident. Prior to this incident, my personality was pretty level, a loving, mild-mannered, average child. Afterwards, I became combative, snarky, and rebellious. I didn’t trust anyone. During this time, my mother was on her second marriage, and we moved a lot, and we were in church a lot. Fast forward a few more years. My mother was married to her third husband. The first few months were good and stable. We moved to a wonderful neighborhood, and life was starting to normalize. One night I was asleep in a room that I shared with my sister, and I felt a shadow over me. I thought I was dreaming, but I was not. My stepfather was standing over me. He made me get out of the bed to “fondle him.” This was the start of nightly visits from him. The touching rapidly escalated to him performing sexual acts with me. He threatened to kill my mother if I ever said anything. Not only was I being sexual abused, but he was also physically abusing my mother. I believed him. I was living in my own prison within myself. I needed an escape!. But what?

I always excelled in school. Even with all the things happening around me, I used school to escape the turmoil. Books took me to a place I could have never imagined. Through books, I could be anything, from a princess in a castle in England to a hunter on an African safari. Books made me want more. They challenged my everyday existence. I wanted more for myself. I figured out at an early age I wanted to experience everything I had read about. I remember our family owning a set of World Book encyclopedias. My sister and I always envisioned ourselves in the encyclopedia. The use of encyclopedias is outdated now, but Google is the same concept. I continued to work hard in school even though we didn’t have much monetarily speaking.

By the time I was out of middle school, we moved in with my grandmother. She provided strength, guidance, and stability when I needed it most. We ended up with her because at this time, my mother had divorced her husband and spiraled into a cycle of misfortunes. (That’s another story for my mother to tell.) My grandmother taught me so much about faith and hard work. During this time, I focused on my education even more. I could see what the future looked like for me.

I quickly moved up the education ladder in high school and obtained a 3.75 GPA. I found a love for science. I knew then I wanted to be a doctor. Initially, I thought I wanted to go to medical school and become an Ob/Gyn. I asked my grandmother to take me to the library, so I could get as many books to read on what the steps were to become a doctor. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any guidance from counselors at school about where and how to start the process of going to college. I was self-taught. We went to the library and spent hours getting all the resources we needed. At the time, my grandmother had not received her business degree, but she was wise and understood the power of a good education.

During my senior year in high school, I overheard other students talking about college and being in college preparatory programs outside of the classes we all were attending at school. They were sharing stories about the SAT and the ACT tests that were coming up. I was in awe. I immediately asked my grandmother to take me to the library, so I could get a book on what to do to take these tests. With the assistance of my grandmother, I sent off the application and fees. I, then, set out to apply for college. I was on my way or so I thought.

I was accepted into many schools including UGA, Spelman, FAMU, and Howard. I decided to go to Savannah State because it was the most economical choice. I followed the money. I was given a full academic scholarship. This was the first time I would not have my grandmother to help me stay on track. College was exciting and frightening all in one. I made new friends and settled into my new life away from home. I had no experiences with the opposite sex that were healthy or rewarding, so I was always skeptical. I always traveled in large groups. On one uneventful day, the group decided to attend an off-campus party. I remember feeling very vulnerable and afraid to go. That was my opportunity to say no, but peer pressure is a force that sometimes can’t be denied. Later that evening, I noticed that some of the people I came with were not there. I ran outside to see if the car was still there. To my surprise, no car. I panicked. I then proceeded to look for some of the others. I didn’t see anyone. I searched the building where the party was held, and then the incident I will never forget took place. I was raped by a group of male students. How many?, I do not know because I was blindfolded, gagged, and bound. Here was another incident of me being violated. Why was my essence as a woman being hijacked? Why was my essence being tested? After they were done, I found myself in an abandoned building unable to move. I lay there for what felt like days. Eventually, a man found me in a closet. I later found out that it was out of this person’s routine to even check on this building on that day. He grabbed a blanket from his truck, put it around me, and then helped me get free. My initial reaction was to kick and scream. He was a stranger as well. He located my clothes and proceeded to ask me where I lived. He asked me what happened and immediately took me to the campus police office. This time I was not going to be afraid. I explained to campus police what happened to me. They got a female officer to take me to the hospital where a doctor examined me using a rape kit. Unfortunately, since I was blindfolded, I could not identify my assailants, and the officers had nothing to go on but the few details I could provide. The positive thing that happened was it changed a few policies to make sure other female students were safe on campus.

The next days on campus were filled with rumors and facial expressions that made the lady from the Scarlet Letter look like a nun. I quickly became the brunt of all the jokes and commentary. I took the walk of shame every day. It made college life unbearable, and to make matters worse, I became pregnant as a result of the rape. I had to call my grandmother to tell her that I was pregnant. I was too ashamed to tell her what happened, and I never did. Now, you are probably thinking to yourself, “I thought this was a guide about starting over in business.” And it is. You need to know a few personal things about me to fully understand my process and see how I operate. Remember the title is From Trauma to Triumph.

Due to the pregnancy, I found myself in a really dark place. I was full of guilt. At the age of 19, I had the epic task of deciding whether to keep the child or to have an abortion.. Simply put, I kept the child. Coming from a devout Christian family, abortion was not an option. Neither my grandmother nor my mother was excited about the pregnancy. I felt like the ugly stepchild, and in my mind, my mother was embarrasse...