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Toni Reece: We are officially being recorded for the Get Inspired! Project.  Kris, thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed, and before we go into the questions, can you please introduce yourself?

Kris Jones: Sure, thank you for interviewing me, I have been very much looking forward to this.

Toni: Great.

Kris: My name is Kris Jones, and I have created a product called Cleansing Thoughts which — I will kind of explain the product as we get into the interview, but that is how you and I have connected — and I am from Portland, Oregon; and I am self-employed.

Toni: When you think about the work that you do, whether it’s with owning your own business and selling a product or in your personal relationships and you think about this next question, who do you inspire, and how might you do that?

Kris: Well, I really  hope to inspire everybody in my life on some level.  I love to inspire everybody I come into contact with, and that is really my goal.  Again, I would hope to do that by the example of the way I live my life.  I think that’s the best way to inspire people, because you are not pushing ideas or, you know, encouragement is a good thing; but I think leading by example is the best.  And I think by not signing up for all of the social norms that are so common in our culture and taking a leap and having my own company and not having a regular paycheck every month, and doing what I love to do 40 hours a week — which is a lot of hours a week.  And doing something that you love, I think, is a big inspiration for people because so many people aren’t doing things that they love.  So when they see that I am professionally and in other areas of my life, really spending my time doing things that I love, I think it’s inspiring.

I also, like I mentioned before, positive encouragement and connecting with friends and asking questions and sharing ideas.  My goal ultimately is to inspire others to create beauty in their own lives, and I feel like I’ve done that in my own life as well.  And when I say creating beauty in your life, I’m talking about creating beauty in the sense of creating a beautiful home environment for yourself; creating an environment that is safe and makes you feel good and happy and creating beautiful relationships with yourself and others and creating a beautiful career, and ultimately creating your own heaven on earth, which I think is possible.

Toni: Wow, that is a great answer to who you inspire and how you go about that.  You said that how you go about that is also to set the examples by how you live your own life and not pushing ideas onto others or living in those social norms.  Are there some ways or techniques that you go about that, that you do or that you pass on to others so that they might live the same way that you do, or follow at least the same ideas that you propose?

Kris: I think I get excited about things pretty easily, and I’m able to think out of the box, so when I spend time with people, I’ll throw out ideas that haven’t even crossed their minds yet, and I think planting seeds with people through conversation and connection.  But how I do that in my own life, or how I kind of feed that for myself, I think, is following my gut instincts, really.  And you know, when I decided to step out of the last kind of employment job that I had, I just decided; I made a choice not to worry, and I think people forget that they have control over their thoughts, and it’s a tough thing, but you can ultimately make a decision not to worry.  And believe me, I worried the initial couple months of not being employed and trying to drum up new clients and create an income stream for myself, but one day I was just sitting with myself being quiet, and I just decided to make the choice “don’t worry; just stop worrying.”

And so when I kind of would go down that path again, I would remember, nope, I’ve chosen not to, and it was at that point that things started just to come naturally and serendipitously, and I think … you know, it reminds me so much of how … this is somewhat off-topic, but I just find it so profound, how many people who are trying to have kids and they are trying, trying, trying, trying so hard and then can’t, so after years and years they adopt and so often within a year after the adoption, they naturally get pregnant, and I think that is such a great, beautiful example of how life works when you let go of forcing what you want to happen.  Things happen that are meant to be and that are beautiful.  The reason I find that story so beautiful is because my partner is adopted, and that exact same thing happened to his parents, so within a year after his adoption, they got pregnant with his younger brother.

Toni: Hmmm …

Kris: Yeah.

Toni: It is amazing when it happens like that, isn’t it?  And the story that you are telling with you inspiring others by the way you live your life led into the second question, which was how you might help others explore their own potential.  And what you had spoken about is planting seeds and showing by example, I would imagine, is how you help people to explore their potential; that your example of letting go and staying in conversations and being connected, and not trying to control your thoughts, you know, letting the negativity control your thoughts; is that the way then, that you help others explore their potential, by leading by your own example?

Kris: Exactly, and I truly believe that the biggest barrier between people – us — and our own potential is the mind and the habitual thought patterns and that negative chatter that goes on inside of us, that sometimes most often we are not even aware of; and most often it’s limiting in what’s possible.  So, you know, the best way, the most direct way I feel I help others explore their potential is through creating the Cleansing Thoughts product.  The product basically is a deck of affirmation cards that you put on the shower wall and when you get up in the morning and your mind is open and receptive, and you step into the shower, instead of the automatic thoughts that enter your mind about what I have to do today or what’s my boss going to think of this and this presentation, you’re looking at and reading things that are positive and inspiring.  And it’s about starting your day and suddenly, easily, slowly over time reprogramming your mind and quieting that chatter, and opening yourself up to the possibilities.

Toni: Which is a great, great, tactical way for you to help others explore their potential.  I want to ask you, when you seek inspiration, Kris, what do you do?  Where do you go for inspiration?

Kris: Well, I am very inspired by my own home environment.  One thing I love to do … I’m just a creative soul by nature, and so my surroundings are a huge part of what affects how I feel.  My surroundings really affect me and how I feel.  So I start with my own home.  I start with my physical surroundings, and I try and get rid of all clutter because I am a firm believer that the outer reflects the inner, and it’s hard for me to work in a cluttered environment and to feel good in a cluttered environment.  So, I start by removing clutter and creating a space that’s safe and warm and inviting and fun, and filled with things that I love.  I’m really conscious about what I fill my life with and my time with, so I fill my mind with music that I love, or I’ll go to live shows and watch others who are exploring their own potential through music.  That is a huge inspiration for me.

One of the other things that I love to do is go to film festivals, and that is another venue for me to surround myself with others who are exploring their own potential.  So filmmakers who are following their passion and creating films about things that they believe they need to spread the word about whatever film they’re making, and it gives me a little window into their world and all the challenges that it takes and all the finances that it takes to create a film; yet, you know, one or two people get together and they do it, especially the film festivals I go to, they’re all documentaries typically and small films.  My favorite part is at the end of the film when the people, which are usually one or two people total, get up after the film and talk and you can ask them questions.

For me, it’s surrounding myself with things that make me feel good and reminding myself, surrounding myself with people that are also filling their own potential.  Another good example is Oprah.  I love that show.  I will watch it periodically, and I’m always inspired, because as a person she is just beyond inspirational and she is always a reminder to me of what’s possible.

And then my friends are also a huge part of what helps me explore my own potential and, you know, it’s such an important part for me of my life because they are the ones who will catch me and challenge me in my thinking.  So you know, just because I’ve created this product, Cleansing Thoughts, I mean, I use it.  I need it.  It’s a practice.  Sometimes I need my friends to get me back on track.

Toni: So when you look … to continue looking for your own inspiration which you so beautifully described — and you’re talking about now how you explore your own potential–  and you look towards your friends to challenge you, you look towards figures like Oprah and other people who inspire and help each other explore their potential, are there other tools or techniques that you seek out and might  use to also help you explore your potential?

Kris: Absolutely.  There are so many fantastic tools, and there is no recipe.  I think it’s such a personal thing.  For me, it’s, you know, movement.  It’s dancing, it’s turning the radio up and dancing around the house or going out and dancing; or it could be getting really quiet and doing meditation.  Doing yoga is a huge thing that helps me.  Getting a massage, for me, is almost like taking a bath in ideas; it’s like the minute I lay down for a massage, these ideas start to come to me that I don’t know … somehow I open up to something at that point.

I think other ways that I explore my own potential like creating my own artwork; that is something I am working on now, and I think that pushes me to get in touch with a part of myself that is not about thinking, that is more about intuition and just going with the flow.  I think kind of getting out of the mind and getting into the flow is, for me, incredibly helpful in exploring my own potential.  Again, it’s a practice, and I have a to-do list and I need to … Many times, you know, it’s so easy to get addicted to that to-do list and put the fun things or put the things like meditation and dance and creating art on the back burner; but those are the things that really feed the soul.

Toni: I have to tell you, listening to your interview … the things that inspire you and that help you explore your potential, the things that you’ve mentioned as far as your physical surroundings and filling your mind with music and film festivals, and also exploring your potential by movement and dancing and going with the flow — those are all very sensory things that you do that help you be inspired and to help you explore your potential, which so beautifully fits into your business — that you’ve taken a great leap of faith with no negative thoughts with your Cleansing Thoughts.  It’s all sensory.  It’s all what I need to see and what I need to have in front of me on a daily basis; so what you’re doing for yourself translates so beautifully into what you are providing to others.

Kris: Thank you.

Toni: That’s what, to me, what this interview has brought to the light.  And I have to thank you so much for this snapshot into what you do and how you inspire others and help them explore their potential, not just with your product and your business, but also how you do it with your life, by setting that example and leading by example, so other people will now benefit and learn from you; and for that I appreciate so much and thank you for being part of this Get Inspired! Project.

Kris: Well thank you very much, and I wish you the best of success.  I think this project is mind-blowing, and I’m excited to watch it unfold.  I think the potential for this is completely limitless, so congrats to you!

Toni: Thank you very much.  It’s not about me, it’s about all of these people that are just being so wonderful!  So thank you so much, Kris, and we will talk soon.

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For more information about Kris Jones:  www.cleansingthoughts.com

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