Award winning entrepreneur, wife, business owner, follower of Jesus, tireless volunteer who is always smiling, changer of lives…all of this describes Jennifer ‘Sparkle’ Johnson pretty accurately today, but her life hasn’t been all happy times. As a child, Jennifer suffered horrible sexual abuse at the hands of family members. As a young adult, she was raped by a superior in one work environment and graphically sexually harassed in another. With this in mind, many would add ‘victim’ to the list of her descriptors, but they would be wrong. While at one time she indeed met the textbook definition of victim, the fact that she is where she is today would cause many to choose the term ‘survivor’, which she certainly is. But for Jennifer, her calling on this earth was to more than just survive. She was meant to thrive, and to help others thrive.
In 2010, Jennifer became a certified life coach, and began helping people build the lives of their dreams. In 2012, she added certified business coach to her list of titles. She and her husband founded their company, 3P Group, and widened their focused to helping people build the lives AND businesses of their dreams. After helping all types of clients, from varied backgrounds, to excel in many different businesses and live amazing lives, Jennifer realized that one of the major roadblocks her clients faced was a lack of self-confidence. And while not specifically seeking out women who had been victims of abuse, harassment, and other violent crimes, Jennifer soon found out that many of her clients also carried these dark shadows on their hearts. Not surprisingly, the self-confidence of these women was even more fragile, as this type of wound is often one of the deepest and longest lasting, especially if it is rooted in shame and guilt.
Despite being married to Jennifer for nearly 25 years, Toby continues to be impressed by who she is, despite what she has been through, and marvels at the changes she brings about for others. His experience as a business leader, trainer, and public speaker allows him to split time between being the ‘behind the scenes’ business manager of their company, and out in front as a personal safety trainer / consultant…and Jennifer’s biggest cheerleader. Also a follower of Jesus, Toby is very thankful to have never been a victim of abuse, or violent crime, but he does have experience with harassment and the impact it can have on self-confidence. Like many kids then and now, this started with pretty intense bullying in school, which led to very low self-esteem. Bullying is itself a unique study in confidence. While the one being bullied is often targeted due to their lack of confidence, those doing the bullying are often acting out in misguided attempts to rebuild confidence stolen from them, while others just stand by and watch, because they lack the confidence to stand up for what is right.
Sadly, bullying doesn’t know any boundaries, and outside of the school yard, one of the most dangerous and prevalent types of bullying goes by the ‘grown up’ name, harassment. Toby experienced this first hand when his family’s business was acquired by a large, industrial conglomerate. Just as in school, he was back to being the ‘new guy’ looking to fit in, while the bullies preyed upon anyone who was deemed weak based upon their race, sex, lifestyle or simply their appearance. Unlike in school, however, where those in power attempted to discourage this behavior, or at least turned a blind eye, in this corporate culture, the bullies were often the ones in power, and their behavior appeared to be openly rewarded, leading many to admire and emulate them. And the penalty of standing up to the bullies was also more grown up, and manifested in being shunned, passed over for promotions, and in some cases, unwanted career changes, so confrontation was avoided by most. Instead many, including Toby, stood off to the side, not finding the voice to speak up, or worse, laughing at jokes that weren’t funny.
Jennifer and Toby have come to learn that anything in life can be a blessing from God, even if it isn’t obvious. The fact that they now have a successful business, centered largely around confidence, because of, not in spite of their pasts, is one such example. Jennifer through her coaching was providing the internal framework for confident lives for their clients, while Toby’s personal safety and crime prevention training helped fortify the walls. But this was just the cracking open of a much bigger door.
October 2017 marked the birth of the #MeToo movement. In a viral storm of incredible courage, people from all walks of life cried out from within the fog of guilt and shame that often accompanies abuse, and started talking about it openly. These first, often shaky steps would finally start the journey of true healing for so many, but it was barely the beginning. Jennifer was reminded of the darkness of her past, and Toby was reminded of the cultures that allow these behaviors to propagate. But in all this darkness, they saw the bright light that God was shining, calling them to get involved. Their mission for self-confidence had just begun. They had a vision of hosting events, workshops, and trainings across the country, impacting companies and communities, empowering them with the confidence to create new outlooks.
Empowered Outlook was born