Jessica Cox is one of the most exceptional motivational speakers, who constantly travels the world looking for opportunities that would allow her to spread her story. Learning from her different abilities, Jessica aims to spread the message of conquering one’ s fear in order to live the life one wants. Born and raised in America she is the First Armless Person in the World ever to have obtained a Pilot’ s License. We contacted her with the aim of encouraging those around us to conquer their fears. This is her story.
QHow would you describe yourself in a line or two?
That’ s a good question, because no one has asked me to describe myself in a couple of sentences. It’ s easier to have a third person describing myself vs. describing myself in first person. Well, I guess I could say that I am an adventurous person. I like to do new, spontaneous things and I like new opportunities, to pursue new opportunities, and I’ m a person who doesn’ t give up.
QWhat were your childhood dreams and have you achieved them?
I guess as a child I just wanted to do everything that came in my path, and so for me, as a kid I used to think about flying over the playground and then I became a pilot. So that is one example.
Have you always wanted to
Q become a pilot or did you have other dreams?
That’ s the thing. I didn’ t want to become a pilot because flying was one of my fears. It wasn’ t something I always wanted to pursue. As a little kid, I actually wanted to become a doctor. So I was interested in the medical field, because my mother was a wonderful nurse. And I went to study medicine in college but then I decided that I wanted to change my major because it wasn’ t something I wanted to do. I never thought about being a speaker as a child. I mean I was always on stage performing but I never thought I would choose a career that required me to be on stage. That was a new thing for me.
QYou said you were afraid of flying when you were a kid, but now you are a pilot with a Guinness World Record. So do you want to share something about facing fear?
Yes, I think for me, I always wanted to become a speaker. I knew I needed something to really define me as a speaker. And for me my greatest fear was flying, so I thought well what better way to create this platform as a speaker than to be an example of being a fearless person. So I conquered my emotional fear, my personal fear of flying, and since I was able to do that, I am now able to tell people that never let fear stand in the way of an opportunity. And that’ s my famous quote.
QYou are a passionate dancer.
Did that help your progress as a motivational speaker?
Yes, the dancing actually prepared me for becoming a speaker. At my first dance recital, I was six years old and I was at tap dance lessons. The thought of being on a stage, in front of family and friends just terrified me. I didn’ t want to do that. It definitely wasn’ t something I wanted to pursue because I didn’ t like having people staring at me and to be on stage where people were then even staring more, with bright lights on, it was all too much for me. Because at the time I was very a shy, insecure child. So I told my mum to tell my dance teacher, that I didn’ t want to be in the recital. But they encouraged me to go out and perform anyway. Once they convinced me to dance, I said okay fine, as long as I am in the back row. But my dance teacher said there wasn’ t going to be a back row, all the children would be in one row performing in front of family and friends. I didn’ t want to do it at first but somehow my dance teacher and my mum encouraged me and I gathered my courage and performed. And in the first half of the dance, I was looking down at my tap shoes. My eyes were down, and I didn’ t even want to look out. But, when we heard the first round of applause, my eyes started to lift. And with each new round of applause my eyes started to lift higher and higher. Once I finished my recital, I ran off that stage, went up to my mum and asked when can I go back and perform.
Again, that experience of conquering my fears and insecurities, learning that it’ s important to overcome your fear, and doing something even though you might be a little afraid of it, helped me a lot.
QYou also have pursued
Taekwondo. Do you want to add thoughts on that as well?
Taekwondo helps build my confidence, because through Taekwondo you learn self-defence, different techniques, and you have to keep your eyes up. I started Taekwondo with my eyes always looking down. But I think through the encouragement and through the martial art, I learned to keep my eye level up. And now as an adult I can’ t even remember those times when I was younger and I looked down all the time. Now, in my own Taekwondo class, I don’ t even think back to those times when my eyes would just look down.
When did you realise that
Q you had to be heard, that you need to speak up? What led you to become a motivational speaker?
I love the way you asked that question because I never thought of it like that. I never thought of the fact that I always wanted to be heard because I was so quiet and shy for so many years. Even my high school year book titled me the shyest student in my senior class. Through my childhood I didn’ t speak out, and it was like I was building this voice inside of me that needs to be heard. But now as an adult I’ m making up for all that lost time. I’ m making sure that my voice is heard. And in some of the activist work that I’ m part of, I’ m making sure that I am a voice for others as well. Now I am really using my voice to the greatest extent possible, because I know it is powerful. It’ s wonderful to be able to transform who at one point was a very shy, quiet voice that didn’ t speak up and wasn’ t even heard into someone who’ s being heard now and in front of thousands of people as a speaker.
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