Intentional Living

My entrepreneurship journey from teacher to business owner, career pivots, burnout recovery, and aligned leadership.

Niceness is polite on the surface, but it tends to avoid discomfort. It keeps things pleasant. It smooths over tension. It excels at small talk and surface-level connection. But difficult conversations? Disagreement? Diverging perspectives? Niceness will differ to safer topics like the weather or last night’s game.

In the age of digital marketing, endless Zoom calls, and ever-transforming technologies, it can be easy to overlook the simple act of asking someone to coffee. But we are still hardwired for connection—one-on-one conversations with people who are doing interesting things and willing to offer insights and connections we didn’t even know we needed.

When you’re in the driver’s seat as a communicator, you have a choice. You can approach your message with empathy and relational trust. You can center stories that empower people, that honor their agency, that help them see a path forward. Or you can rely on fear. You can manipulate through scarcity. You can frame your words in ways that dehumanize others to rally support, to gain followers, to win.

What’s your big and daunting thing that you know you need to tackle, one step at a time? What’s the project, goal, or intention for 2026 that feels important to your vision and your desires?

Lately, one of my favorite things has been getting to be a guest on podcasts. Truly—great conversations with thoughtful people about work, meaning, and how to create lives that feel good? That is my happy place. And getting to share those conversations with people I care about—you included—feels like a gift.

Every Wednesday, I share something that’s sparked my curiosity—a quote, resource, or idea—and a few thoughts on why it matters for how we work and lead.

At Allie Jones Consulting, this belief runs deep. How we gather matters. Whether it’s a board meeting, a client check-in, or a community roundtable, the way we design our time together shapes how seen, safe, and supported people feel—and how effective we can be.

It’s the willingness to show up, to lead with heart, and to keep creating even when you know not everyone will understand or approve.

Below, I give a broad overview of each Enneagram Type. You may recognize yourself in a few—and perhaps a few others will remind you of your family and friends. You may also see some familiar traits of your clients. From the lens of marketing, I will share some ideas on how to best connect and empathize with each type on the Enneagram.

There are so many aspects to marketing, but at the end of the day, the biggest task is to just keep showing up.

While at first glance being scrappy can look unpolished and amateur, there is a humble wisdom in taking a feisty approach to pursuing goals. Scrappiness claims that perfection is overrated, and that lack of resources, experience, or ideal conditions isn’t a valid reason to postpone pursuing our dreams. Scrappiness reminds us that joy is in the doing, the trying, the process of becoming—not in the final result, or how many people approve of it, whatever “it” may be.