WHY NOT Wednesday! with Esther Jones-Alley

There's a certain kind of coach who believes what we believe.

Who leads people to greatness, who gets people unstuck, who.

Unlocks all of your passion.

A coach who helps people discover what drives them to tap into their superpowers.

Knowing your why is the first step to untap potential.

To focus.

To breakthroughs.

A coach who's looking for a better way.

Are you that coach?

Hey, good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to why Not Wednesday. I am excited to introduce you guys to our guest today, Esther Jones Alley. She is a spiritual life coach at Esther Jones Alley Coaching. She's an ordained interfaith minister and an ordained metaphysical minister. She's also an intuitive spiritual life coach through the International Coaching Federation. She's an author of the Centered Life, A Spiritual Spiritual life coaching Journey and a frequent speaker on topics of transformation activation and spiritual wisdom. Now we're trying something new here on why Not Wednesday. We're trying to ask people for their walk up song. So I'm gonna bring Esther, I'm gonna play later song. And let's see how we beat to that.

Hey, that's the way to start an interview. Thank you so much. Esther Jones. Ali, how are you today?

Fabulous. Fabulous.

You are always so busy. I'm just so, so, so grateful that you were able to make some time to be with us here today.

Yeah, I, I was really kind of wondering why I scheduled this this week. Because Thursday I'm on a plane to Italy and I'm trying to get all of that together. But I was like, I must have been crazy. I have. This week has just been crazy. But I'm so happy to be here.

Well, I'm so happy to have you here. I posted about you being our guest today. And look, we got Raymond Kemp here. He commented fleet Master Chief Raymond Kemp. And my good friend, he said that's cool. He liked the song. We got Pamela Ferguson Bishop, who's from Louisville, Kentucky. She actually, she and I met last September. I was in back in Kentucky to visit a friend to play in a golf tournament. And Pamela actually met us for dinner. So thanks for being on. And Bruce, Captain Kirk is always on, so thank you guys for being on.

But, but hey, I'm a Trekkie too.

Are you really?

Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

You know, there's so much, there's so much about you that I want, I want to share with our viewers. Tell me about the song Jerusalem.

It is a song and it's, it's sung in Zulu, in the Zulu language, and it's really talking about Jerusalem being my Home. And it's. It's. When I first heard it, the music itself just kind of went through me and I went on. On YouTube and look it up. They have a translation of what all the words, because I don't speak that language. But it didn't matter. I knew it was a spiritual song just from the way that it moved me. And I. Some days I just turn it on when I'm working and it just plays over and over and over, and it just keeps my spirits up.

You've got something in common with Gary, Gary Sanchez, our founder and CEO. He, you know, his office is right next door to me and he's got Alexa, I think, and he plays music all the time and he's got some music that he can do that. So you can work with music in the background. Can you write emails and write. You're an author too, kid. Can you write your. While you're listening to music?

I was, I was doing that last night before I went to sleep, working, just doing final touches to my speech. Yeah, I had that song playing.

I love it. I love it. So that's a. That's a great song. And like I said, there's. There's so much. There's so, so much to you. Esther, we're so glad to have you in why society and to have you join us today and talk about your journey, because you've had a different journey than a lot of people. So why don't we start with the. With the question I always. I always like to ask, and let's go over your yos and just go a little bit into that. So you're a person, your Yoshi, and those people that are on the line that know me. We share our first two. Your why is contribute, your how is to challenge the status quo, and your what is to build trust. So you're a person that loves to contribute to the success of others, and you're definitely doing that in your work. How you do that is by challenging the status quo, challenging your clients to look at things differently, look at things from different perspectives, and ultimately what you deliver are solutions you can trust and you are somebody that can be trusted to do. Do what you say you're going to do. How did. How does that fit for you?

It fit perfectly. When I did well, when I did the yos, right, and I came up and I read them, I was like, wow, this nailed it. Because that's giving. Giving is so much a part of me being able to bring something to the table. You know, people want to come to the party. But they don't want to bring a bottle, right. I like to bring something to the table. Right. When I read that, I was like this nailed me perfectly. And of course, that challenge. I'm always working outside of the box. I'm always looking for new, innovative ways to do things, new ways to connect with people, new. And there's so much to the way that you can just step outside of the box and come up with new ways. It keeps things fresh, it keeps people interested, it helps you to grow and to expand. And expansion is my word for this year. Expansion. And you can do that by working outside the box. And trust. Let's talk about trust. That's real big to me. I want to be able to trust the people that I work with. All of my relationships are built on trust.

Yes.

We know that they can trust me. What I say I'm going to do, I'm going to do. My word is bond. And I expect to be able to trust them. And when I start any relationship, especially my coaching relationships, that's one of the first things we talk about, is trust. Because if you don't trust that I can do what I say I can do and I don't trust that you're gonna do what you say you gonna do, we got a problem.

We got a problem, right?

Yes.

And it's so important. And I think one of the things that I always talk about, we talk about it in our coaching sessions. If you're a person that has trust in your why or in your what, you gotta let people know that. Right? You gotta let them know, hey, listen, for me, trust is very important. So there's a lot of things I'll let you get away with. But don't break my trust, right?

Can't do it.

Hey, I'm going to give a shout out right now. Earlier today, I had a conversation with, with a new coach that's going to be working with us. Her name is Nisha John and she's out of Canada, but she has your exact yos. And Esther, I'm going to connect you with her because she's, she's contribute, challenge, trust. And she's, she's a newer coach and I know she would love to just connect with you. So I'm. If you don't mind, I'm going to connect you with her after, after we finish our interview. I'm just going to introduce her to you. It's always fun to connect people that, that are at the beginning of their journey with people that have been on that journey for a long time just to share wisdom. And that's what I love about our community, the Y community. We're always doing that kind of thing and people are always willing to help out. I've yet to ask one of our coaches, hey, I've got somebody I want you to meet and, and chat with that doesn't give some. Some of their time away for free. And I don't. I know that that's easier to do with us who are contribute.

Right, Esther? Right, Right.

But those, those better way people, they. They have a better way and they like to share it. Those make sense people. They want to help solve people's problems. Yes. So, you know, I can't go.

What you bring it to the table. What are you bringing to the table? That's what is for important to the contributors.

And I love the way what you said. A lot of people like to come to the party. Not everybody likes to bring a bottle. And you're a person that likes to bring something to the table.

That's it. That's it. That's.

So where does that get. Where does that giving spirit come from?

I think I've always been this way. I hadn't labeled it, but I get so much joy when I can help or support someone reach their goal or. Or finish your project or learn something new. It. It's. It's just in my soul. It just, it lifts me. And I believe that the more you give, the more you receive. And I don't give to receive. It's just a law of nature. It's the law of the universe. The more you give, the more you receive. Because one thing I do know, you cannot receive with a closed fifth, so you got to open it and give something. You know, I love that. Yeah. Yeah.

That is so cool, Esther. So, you know, you. You mentioned at the beginning of the show you're on your way to Italy. Is this one of your pilgrimages you're going on?

No, no, no, no. I'm going to do a speech at a women's conference in Florence.

Fantastic.

Yeah. Right now I'm working on. I've already got the pilgrimage to Egypt set for this year, and I'm adding India.

In the first part of next year. So that's new. I went to India in February and it was such a fabulous experience. I had been invited many times, but I didn't, you know, I just felt like I don't want to go over there. And this time when I was invited to go with a group, something in my spirit said it's time.

Yeah.

And I went and had an experience like I've never had before. I experienced the opening of my heart and it was like unconditional love was just washing over me. I looked at the people and how giving they were. The first place we went was to the Golden Temple, which is the Sikh compound.

Okay.

They feed over a hundred thousand people every day.

Wow.

And this happens on with volunteers. Nobody pays. You know, it's volunteer. And people donating there are. Every day. I. I mean, you have to. The Golden Temple sits in a lake and there's like a queue that you line up to go in and. And honor their live. Their master, which is.

Right.

Their book. And there are. It takes anywhere from six to eight hours to get through that line. And every day is full. Wow. People are devoted and they're committed. And then the ne. The day before, the day I left there, we went to the. There's a.

Amistar is on the border of Pakistan and India, and they have like a baseball stadium at 4:30. It fills with people every day. And on the other side, Pakistan, they're part filled. And it's about the lowering of the flag. They have a ceremony. These people are committed. And I think that's what I saw. The commitment of a people to what they believe and what they supported. And it made me kind of sad because if they can feed a hundred thousand people every day. And I was in the kitchens. They have four kitchens in this area.

And this. What part of India?

This was an amistar.

Okay.

Yeah. Yeah.

Wow.

I just, I felt so much love. And they were so.

Open and welcoming. You know, we went in and volunteered in the kitchen, you know, to serve dishes and. And they just moved over and welcomed us in. And I'm like, oh, my God. You have to go there to feel this.

So are. So are you saying now, did you take a group to India?

Take a group? I went with a group.

Okay.

That I'm involved with. It's a mastermind group that I'm involved with. And some of the trips that I've taken this year has been with them. Like, I. I just came back from the Grand Canyon. Now. I've never hiked before.

Oh, you got to tell people about that because I posted about it.

Yeah. I never hiked before ever in my life. Right. So. But I walk a lot. I can walk like a five miles in about an hour. Fifteen minutes. I'm good. Right?

Yeah.

So I figured I could do this. Right. And I do what is called intermittent fasting. So I don't eat until after 12 o'. Clock. But we had to meet at 9:30. So I hadn't ate, I had my bladder water on, I had my sticks. I'm ready to go, right? We get on the trail, there's ice snow at the top of the trail because we're at the top, right? We're going down and there's mud and rocks on the trail. And I'm thinking, what have I gotten myself into? The first stop, the first water stop.

A couple of people that were with me, they went in to use the bathroom and they said, oh, you know, this is terrible. So I'm thinking, I don't want to use the bathroom. Let me stop drinking water.

Right.

So I stopped drinking water. I get down to the bottom, which was. They said it was five miles, but I think it was more like seven based on my apple watch.

Yeah.

At any rate, I begin, I became dehydrated.

Oh, no.

Coming back up, I became dehydrated because I had. Wasn't drinking nothing, right. And I hadn't eaten anything. So my body shutting down. I'm thinking, oh, I got to get out of this canyon. And.

My, my son went with me. So he was there supporting me the whole time. And it took me a while to get out, but I was determined. I was determined by. To walk out of that canyon. It took me a little longer than I expected, but I did. And I was listening to they Can't Hurt Me. It's a book, an audio book. I'm listening to this the whole time by David Goggins, who's this superhuman being. Right. And every time I thought I wanted to give up, I'd hear one of his stories of impossible. One of the impossible that he did. And it just encouraged me. It just encouraged me. And it was, it was one of the most difficult things.

Yeah.

But I did it. And the next day I Woke up at 6, stretched. I wasn't hurting. You know, a lot of people, a lot of the people that went on the trip, they were limping and hurting and legs broke their knees. I don't know how I was so blessed. I walked up, you know, put on my fabulousness and showed up to everybody's like, oh, my God, what are you doing here? We didn't expect you. I'm like, what? It just took me a little longer, but I'm here, you know.

Right.

So it was an amazing experience.

Raymond says Navy, of course.

Yes, Navy seal. He was a Navy seal. Yes.

I love that. I love that.

Navy SEAL and an Army Ranger. Okay.

I love that. Love for the Army Rangers.

But he was my encouragement. He was, you know, I was listening to him the whole time, you know.

Sounds like what, what's the name of the book?

It's called they Can't Hurt Me. Goggins.

David Goggins. So, yeah, we'll try to put that in the comments so that we can, we can make sure.

Amazing, amazing story. An amazing story. David Goggins. Yeah.

Wow. And listen, somebody, you. You touched Bruce, he says give to give. A rising tide floats all boats. And yes, that's in your, in your comment about bringing and giving. And I wanted to let you know that Pamela Ferguson Bishop has the exact same yos as you, so she'd also like to connect with you. You all can connect with Esther. She's on LinkedIn. We can. Sunil, if you can put up her, her, her LinkedIn address and then we can have people connect with you there. Like I said, I want to connect you with another person. I forgot that Esther was another person who is. Who's also shares your yos. So.

Yes, good stuff. Great. That would be great.

Well, tell me, tell me a little bit more about these trips you take your clients on, because that was one of the cool things I learned about you. You do these trips two times a year, is it?

Well, actually I go to Egypt once a year and I'm adding.

India next year, so it'll be two and possibly Bali.

Oh, Egypt, Bali and India.

Yeah. I'm working with some people in Bali to try to see if I can put together a pilgrimage there as well. And these are spiritual trips. I don't. I've been to Egypt many times. Many times. The first time I went was in 96 and I went with a Maori elder.

Okay.

The Maoris are the natives to New Zealand. And we did, we, we did a trip and I kind of was like their logistics person. Right on accident because I was, I was just supposed to be one of them. And then the logistics person got to Egypt and kind of lost her mind. So he asked me to pick up the.

You took up the contribute person stepped in.

That's it. That's it. And. And I didn't go back for a while, but when I went back, it was with another group and it was the same company that I went with the first time. So when I connected with them again. And I always have these amazing spiritual experiences.

Right.

Because the, the energy there is still very strong, very close to our dimension. And.

Spirit just told me it's time for you to go back. And that was in 2018. And I didn't even know. I just put it together. I, I called them. I was shown exactly what places I wanted to go to, right. Put together itinerary and send it back to me. And then I just asked spirit, show me who's supposed to do this travel with me, right? And I'm telling you, people just showed up. I put it out, they showed up. We went that year. And almost everyone, because we did say we. What I do is in the pyramid ceremony, we do ceremony between the paws of the Sphinx and all the major temples. We go all the way down to Abu Simbel, which is where Ramesses II built the temples, the two temples hewed out of the mountain, right. Ceremony in there. And then we get on. Oh, and then we go to the Isle of Philae, which is.

Isis temple, which is a beautiful temple. And so we go there before dawn and we have ceremony. And then we watch the sunrise. It is so magnificent.

Oh, I am sure.

And, and then we get on a private yacht and sail on the now for six days, stopping at temples along the way to Dender Abydos, the temple of, of Horus. And it's just unbelievable.

One of the things I love about that is this is part of what you do with your clients, right? So I know, I know Esther's got a full roster and you've always got, you know, you, you, I think last time we spoke, you, you probably have a waiting list of people wanting to work with you. But, but this is, that's good.

You would say that. Say that again.

That you probably, hey, listen, I want to sign up to go, go be coached by Esther just so I can go on these fabulous trips that you plan and you get some, you know, one of the benefits of going on these trips with Esther is you get some one on one time. How long are these trips usually?

They're usually anywhere from 15, sometimes at 14 to 17 days. Like this year, it's the 3rd of November to the 17th of November. And when we're on the now, I actually do spiritual teaching. I have, you know, we do meditation and then I'll teach. And.

And some of the people that come are not my clients, but when they leave, they are my clients. So. And that's, that's not intended, right. Just, you know, the whole purpose of the trip is to experience the ancient land of Egypt in a way up close. And because we get a lot of private visits, they're not. When I go into those temples, it's just my group, so we go early and, and the the company that I work with, they get to take, I get to go in places that a lot of people don't get to go in the general public. And so that's the beauty of it that we do get to visit places alone. So we can do ceremony or we can honor or meditate in them. And so the teaching is just something extra.

Yeah. Well, here I have a question for you because, yeah, Des Ryan says love the idea of these trips. Something, definitely something to consider for his 20, 24 clients. So, hey, hang on to your, to your hats. Des Ryan's clients, you might be, you might be going on a trip to Egypt. And you can always get a hold of Esther, she can give you some tips. Dads, he says hang gliding past the pyramids. I don't know about all that.

Well, they, they actually have the balloons.

Yeah, the hot air balloons.

Yeah, they have the air balloons. I haven't included that yet. I'm trying, still trying to build up my nerves, you know. Yeah, that's one of, maybe next year I'll do that on the journey, so.

Sounds good. Well, you know, one of the things I posted about you and then this was such a great lesson for me to learn from you and, and maybe it's not learning for the first time, but I love the way you framed, you know when a client says to you, hey, I don't know that that's, that's a little expensive. Your ticket to, to be one of Esther's clients. It's, she's, she's got a high ticket offering. And if somebody says, hey, that's a little too pricey, your answer just killed me. You said, aren't you worth it?

That's it.

And I posted about it in themselves. Yeah, tell me about that.

When people invest in themselves, then they're more apt to do the work, right? You know, because you're thinking, oh, I've spent this kind of money, I'm definitely going to do the work. And I have found, because I don't have problems getting clients. Trust me, right? Because I know they're going to get results. Okay? And what they're looking to get, they believe and they trust that I can get them there. So it ain't about what you're giving me, it's what you're investing in yourself. Are you not worth that?

Right?

We spend our money on all this, you know, self help books and this and that. Look at some of the big names like Tony Robbins and Mary Moore, all these people, right? You get a weekend and pay five, $6,000, right. And still. And still no results.

When you're not getting it, you're not getting that personalized one on one you get with Esther. Right?

That's it. That's it.

I love it.

You become a part of my family of clients. You are like family to me. I mean, I am then connected. I can feel what's happening with you. Sometimes I'll call a client. Hey, I'm just checking in. How'd you know to call? I said, oh, I just felt it. I always make that call when that comes to mind, when it comes to never know. And then nine times out of ten, there's something happening. Oh, I was gonna call you. I was gonna send you an email. How did you know? I said, I just felt it because I am dedicated. I'm not just giving you something, some cookie cutter. It's tailored to that person and their issues and their dreams and desires. You know, if you go to my website, you'll see testimonies of people I've worked with.

Oh, yeah.

They get results.

And I think it's, it's. You know what, what I loved about when, when we had that con, that initial conversation, Esther, is just the confidence that you had. And look this, you're. I'm gonna give you results. And so it's not like you're, you're not gonna. This is an investment. And so look at it as an investment, not an expense. If you're looking at. As an expense, you're looking at it wrong. And that just really fits with your passion. One of the things that, that I have is your passion is to break down high level spiritual ideas, concepts and philosophies for the masses, to easily grasp them. And I think at the end of the day, we all want somebody, somebody that's been there, done that, Right. So that they can help me get there and do that. Right?

Yes.

And that's what, that's what you're really good at. And I think there's a, there's a tremendous value in that and there's a tremendous confidence that you have to have to ask that question. What do you say? There's, I mean, we hear about this all the time, Esther, imposter syndrome. That lack of confidence some people have is to say, man, who am I to be coaching this person?

And see, that's the issue right there. You have to know who you are. See, I know who I am. I know, I've been through it. And if I don't have something to give right, then I'm not. I have no Business. In this business. Right. I have no business trying to sell somebody that I don't have myself.

Right.

You cannot give something you don't have. And I'm not giving from my vessel. I'm giving from the overflow. Okay.

Right.

Not where I'm gonna run dry. No. You got to be able to give from the overflow. You have to know who you are and your relationship to spirit. You have to.

Understand. I have to do that all the time. I have to remind myself who I am. I am a divine expression of the universe, the point in which the universe experiences itself. So what do I want the universe to experience through me? You know?

So that's the question. Right. I love that. So, Esther, tell me this. What's your biggest why not moment? Tell me. You know, your. Your coaching career started in about 2007. But what. Tell me about your biggest why not moment? A time you said why not and it's worked out for you. And if maybe it was that, I.

Don'T know what it was, but you've.

Done a lot of things.

I've had so many why not moments. Yeah. I've experienced three near death experiences, and each time I came through that, I came through with another gift of understanding this life. And I don't have one big why not. I have why not moments all the time, you know, and for me, fear, challenges, those are.

Notices from the universe. To expand, to grow, to learn. Not to stop and be afraid. When I'm faced with something fearful, I know here's an opportunity for me to grow and expand. I'm going to walk through that because I know on the other side, I'm going to be a better person.

Right.

I'm going to remember something about who I am. You know, people take problems and challenges and they get. They get set. Oh, no. I don't know what's on the other side. I don't need to know what's on the other side. I. I need to be able to trust, which is part of my yso. And I trust that the universe is always conspiring for my highest and best good.

Right, because you weren't put. We weren't put here to be comfortable.

No, we're put here to grow and expand and to enjoy this life. You know, to feel. You know, a lot of my clients come in, they can't even feel because they shut all their emotions down. Your emotion is the first line of contact for the spirit. That's where you. You feel it first. Right. You don't hear it, you feel it. So Yeah. I want to feel everything. I want to enjoy everything. You know, we live in an unlimited universe. We really do.

Right.

And the only thing that stops us is our mind, the thoughts that we have. That's what stops us.

I hear coaches say this all the time, and I'm sure you probably live this, Esther, is you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable, baby.

You got to get comfortable with uncomfortability. That's true. Because it's right outside your comfort zone is your success. Right outside that comfort zone is your growth, your expansion. Right outside that comfort zone is really where you see what you're made of.

Yes.

So you get comfortable with it, knowing that it's going to always come. But when you begin to understand who and what you are and the power that is within you. And not just me, all of us have it. It's not me alone. What I have, what I bring to the world, yeah, it's unique to me. But we all have that divine spark. We all have gifts that we haven't tapped into.

You know, I'm gonna. I'm gonna ask this question, and then I'm gonna get off camera and let you answer. We're gonna finish the show on this. What would you say to. We've got Pamela Ferguson, Bishop and Nisha John who both have your exact yos and they're just getting started on their coaching journey. So from somebody who has the why of contribute, the how of challenge and the and the what of trust, let's give some advice to these two young up and coming coaches from Esther Jones alley. And we'll finish on that note, I'm going to give you the solo layout. Go for it, Esther.

Thank you. First of all that contribute. Give what you can and try to give from your overflow. Take care of yourself. Love yourself. That's the most important thing. We don't love ourselves enough. Love yourself so that you have something to give and that trust. People will trust you if you trust yourself. You are made for this. You're built for this. This is your purpose. This. You didn't come to this by accident. This is your purpose. You're here to contribute and help to awaken as many light workers, light being as possible. And it's within you. So trust what you know. Trust who you are and know that the universe is always conspiring for your highest and best good. You are an embodiment of God. So that's the best advice I can give you. And thank you, Dan. Thank you so much for having me on your. Your show.

Thank you so much, Esther, for being on. We are so glad that you are on. I hope Nisha and and Pamela get that advice. Want to let you guys know, next Wednesday we're going to have Frank Wagner and those of you who are Marshall Goldsmith coaches. You know Frank Wagner. He's a leadership and executive coach. But more importantly, he's the guy that onboards all the new coaches. He knows everybody at Marshall Goldsmith. So if you're a Marshall Goldsmith leadership coach, please join us next week because Frank Wagner is going to be another great guest.

He.

And thank you so much, Esther, for being on this week. We will see you all next week on why Not Wednesday.