Margie Dunki-Jacobs says that, “Having worked in Corporate America, Hospitality, Academia and Higher Education, run several businesses on the side, I’ve learned that in chasing the money for over 40 years, the most important thing of all is the relationships we create along the way.
Once I stopped chasing the money and started opening my heart to relationship capital, I became the richest person alive! It’s not the international keynote speaker, bestselling author, confidence breakthrough coach or wealth strategist that you care about getting to know; it’s the person who can truly help you to rise to greater heights sharing wisdom and experience.”
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
I was the middle child of five children born to a wonderful mom and dad who settled in Ohio to raise their family. Vacations were in the back of a station wagon headed to a log cabin in Michigan, swimming in the lake, fishing and hiking. Simple times of campfires and late-night card games. While my parents encouraged me to always strive for more than average, there were people in my life who were supposed to love me who drew the jealousy card and decided that I wasn’t good enough to join in the activities with the others kids and went out of their way to make it difficult for me to feel accepted. This created the people pleasing decades that followed – until I reached a point where I felt I needed to take full responsibility for my life. Zero blame for others and any part they played in it. My experience was my experience, and I was responsible for it all. Having settled for jobs that barely met the financial needs of raising two girls of our own after marrying, I decided that once the girls graduated from college, I would pursue what I really wanted to do! We spend so much of our lives being satisfied, but is satisfied really the goal? This is why I walked away from all the careers I had, took all the wisdom I learned over the years and my experiences and creating a powerful coaching program called Crush it With Confidence for anyone wanting more confidence to pursue their dreams, and a second coaching course called Cash, Confidence and Success for speakers, authors and coaches. My goals were always to make $100K a year, until I realized that I was playing very small with that thinking. That would take care of my family, but what about others. I changed my goal to giving back $100K a year to people in pure poverty conditions. It also allowed me to level up to a place I had never let my mind explore! Wealth. Very, very different from wanting and greed. It was about providing for my family, helping the economy stay healthy by being an active participant, and giving back at an amount that was truly impactful in the daily lives of others. My role models were my parents who continually supported me in reaching greater heights, who taught me never to settle for mediocrity, that in order to stand out from the crowd, I must be willing to take risks and move out of my comfort zone. My younger siblings who taught me kindness, grace and integrity and have been a lifeline of support; my husband who stood side by side with me through every step of life, always reminding me to allow faith to be bigger than any of my fears, cherished friends who taught me friendship, humility, compassion and thoughtfulness, but mostly my two daughters who taught me a love that I never knew existed, an unconditional love that is indescribably wonderful that I treasure and appreciate and am amazed by every day. When you love people with everything you’ve got, no matter how they are connected to you, you will feel fulfilled, loved and supported in this life beautifully.
Tell us something about your initiative/business. What is it about and how is it helpful for people?
My business initiative became what I was lacking and wanting more of – Empowerment and Inspiration! Having gone through tragic events in our family and with life circumstances, I had a challenging time getting back on my feet. I found a relentless positive mindset was 80% of my healing and breakthrough! I thought if I could just breathe and move forward, it was a great day! I named my empowerment company for women, Breathing Forward. I went through the process of trademarking it and turning it into an LLC. I started running retreats and never looked back. I still have the thank you notes from the women who attended my first retreat that said how “they had never shared some of the things they shared that day with anyone before and how freeing it was to be able to do so in a safe environment.” They shared how they were successful and released limiting beliefs and finally removing blocks they had had for years. They shared that for some, it was the first time someone had said “I love you” to them in years. They shared that hugs were rare in their lives and how much it meant to them to be hugged by 25 women all day long. They left feeling empowered and inspired to create the life they wanted to wake up and went on to do greater things and not settle for where they found themselves to be.
While the global pandemic of COVID-19 is associated primarily with adversities, it has also brought about a true boom in startups, with successful entrepreneurship in many countries. The pandemic has impacted all of us in one way or another. Would you like to share your experience on a personal and professional level?
While no one can truly say the loss of lives wasn’t devastating and very real, it wasn’t the end of the world for many of us who were able to get through it. We are still here. We are more connected, more in touch with what’s important. We learned to be less uptight not only as a nation, but as a world; more accepting of each other, kinder, more compassionate and more loving. I’ve seen deep connections and a beautiful gentleness that has emerged because of putting all of us in such a vulnerable state of mind. People started to ask themselves, “Is this job what I really want for my life?” People started to see themselves doing more with their lives, giving back in bigger ways and starting a business that means something to them, something they are passionate about. This created a surge of great ideas and people wanting to run their own business but without coaches and mentors to guide them to rapid success. Ultimately, many returned to unsatisfactory jobs to pay the bills when if they had just reached out to someone to coach them through the process, they could have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams! The truth is, they still can. You don’t have to quit your day job to work on your dream. As Jim Rohn said, “I’m working part-time on my fortune while I work full time on my day job, until I’m working full-time on my fortune and part-time on my day job.” Then I get to say goodbye to my day job and hello to my full-time energy on my fortune and how I will positively impact this world. We went from a world of needing to work to a world of getting to have the privilege of having a job, getting to explore entrepreneurial opportunities and getting to discover that we have more inside of us than we are allowed to let out. It’s said over and over that life is short! Understanding that, and making the days count and making this our very best life is deeply important! What’s most important to you? Do that! Accelerate the process with a coach and/or a mentor to successfully keep you on track.
What has been the response of the users/consumers towards your venture?
Clients are very positive – “Margie is a true inspiration and powerhouse when it comes to motivating you to get started on living your life now!!! She is a great author, speaker and coach! Highly recommend her on all fronts! She is 100% a doer! And joy!” “Working with Margie has been one of the best decisions I’ve made.” “Margie has a wonderful spirit, a life experience, a gift and intelligence to guide her clients to make big profits.” “Margie has the biggest heart and is ready to help people feel better about where they are right now.” “Thank you, Margie, for helping me understand what I can feel but you can see. You’re amazing.”
Recipient of the Danny Glover Power of Dreams Award (2022) and the US Presidential Volunteer Service Award for my work in Uganda (2022). Nominated for the Rise to Greater Heights Coach of the Year for 2023 (upcoming in August). Certified Keynote International Speaker.
How has your life changed because of your initiative/venture?
My connection to my purpose in this life has deepened and come alive. I am filled with passion and joy knowing that I am impacting the lives of others in a positive way where they are taking their lives to the next level and beyond, and helping countless others do the same. My heart and soul are completely open to a new level of possibilities, not only for myself, but for others. Open to relationships of people from all walks of life has allowed me to experience wisdom that I can pass onto others. My happiness is directly connected to other people rising up to greater heights. If I had kept my thinking small, getting a job to get by and only taking care of my own needs, not expanding my mind, heart and soul, I never would have experienced the magic that this life has to offer! Happiness at a Level 10 comes from helping others live their best lives and being a part of that growth!
Do you have anyone who is the biggest support system in your life? Please let us know.
My husband, Ray, whom in June of 2023, I’ll be married to for 40 years. We came into our relationship thinking it was 50/50 effort, but quickly learned that it takes 100 percent of each of us to have a partnership that will last through the years; that, and a lot of prayers and good luck. Communication, the openness and willingness to have difficult conversations, tireless support and encouragement for each other’s dreams are key. You evolve and grow and when you encourage each other’s growth, He has been one of my biggest support systems, and I’m deeply grateful to him. A wonderful dad to the two beautiful daughters we have been blessed to raise, our hearts are full as these two girls have grown into thoughtful, loving, intelligent and kind adults pursuing what is on their hearts and impacting the world in a positive way. Their belief in me gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams, and I cherish them with everything I’ve got. I also have amazing younger siblings! They have provided a friendship in life that is unmatched. I could never have gotten through this life without their love and support, and I thank them. Along with their families, they have helped me become a better person. Friends provide a bumper system, like in bowling, always wanting you to get the strike or the spare but keeping you on track as you continue to roll the ball down the alley, hoping to hit it big! The reminder is ironic, because it is not in the ending score that is the big win but in playing the game and how you play the game that matters most. Play the game like you’re going for the strikes and the spares, and I promise you, joy will be your effort in all that you do and success will be your inevitable results. Hugs happen along the way. Let your friends be your bumpers. My younger sister, Donna, has definitely stepped forward as someone who has provided unwavering support throughout my entire life! She has been there for me in the darkest of times as a kind, generous and loving support beyond measure. She knows me better than anyone. Even in her own grief in life, she has somehow turned that into this incredible gratitude and is teaching others to do the same. Donna’s selflessness inspires me to be more like her, and our regular communications keep us both on track. The greatest gift she has given me is to allow me to be myself around her at all times, allowing me to share my hopes and dreams and never be laughed at because of it. I know she will not leave me if we have an argument. I know we are invested in a relationship of challenging each other in growth and through grief, and that we are simply there for each other with the three basic ingredients; love, kindness and empathy. It is with this model that I have created all other relationships in my life to support this same unconditional love, and that means it all comes back to the wonderful parents we shared. A solid foundation is what you always fall back on. If you don’t have this in your life, I will be there for you! I will be there to simply encourage you to be you and love you unconditionally as you grow and evolve! The biggest support system in your life has to be YOU, and in order for that to happen, you may have to move some beliefs out of your way that are limiting your potential. You get to discover the most powerful you that exists inside of you, and it does! Maybe no one has encouraged that person inside of you in a long time or maybe ever, but you deserve to shine your light, and I will love you every step of the way.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity? OR Share a motivational message for the audience/women who are reading this.
This is my own quote – “It doesn’t matter what anyone else does. It only matters what YOU do.” The change I would like to see in the world is women to step into their confidence and create the lives they want to wake up; being part of the solution; giving back $100K a year and rocking a 7-Figure annual income; raising the economy up to new heights, inspiring positive change and open-minded thinking; connected, compassionate, bold, loving and caring, stepping into leadership and seeing themselves as leaders. I would like to see us feeding every hungry tummy and clothing every shivering body with warm, clean clothes. I would like to see us supporting and loving each other, teaching each other valuable business systems and strategies that allow us to create businesses that thrive and serve the world. I would like us to be the hope, the light, the beacon of light that shines in what can often be a dark world. I would like for us to bring the power of positivity into all that we do in the spirit of excellence and encourage others to stretch their thinking into bigger thinking. I would like for young women to lead the way with a relentless courage to overcome all obstacles and rise each other up to greater heights.
