Mr. Jones has been called the Facilitator of Dreams. The 49-year-old father of two is a Mortgage Banker and a motivational speaker. He lives and leads by the mantra, “Every dream is worth pursuing.” Jones is a celebrated transformational coach, motivational speaker, and philanthropist. Jones has joined the likes of motivational leaders Lisa Nichols and Les Brown as an advocate, influencer, and agent for change. He utilizes social media and other outlets to empower and encourage every person to, “activate our greatness!”

 “We all need someone to see our potential past our current circumstances.”

Courageous Woman’s Editor-In-Chief Telishia Berry had an opportunity to talk with Tommy D. Jones about his life, his work, his views on the current climate of America, and his plans for the future.                  

Give me a great description of who you are, Mr. Tommy D. Jones.

Tommy Jones is a father, he’s a businessman, and he’s an advocate for change for the lives of people he’s been called to serve. I would say Tommy is RELENTLESS, THOUGHTFUL, and PASSIONATE.

You have been called the facilitator of dreams. Explain what that means.

It means I’ve been given, innately, a set of skills. I’ve honed the skills that allow me to be someone who can help push you into your goals and dreams in those areas of your life. I help facilitate what you want to become.

Some people have wild, extraordinary dreams. What do you say to somebody who is a big dreamer with wild dreams?

 [If] this is something you want to do—that’s an indication from the universe or the creator that in some capacity you’re supposed to work in that realm. It’s your job to go on the treasure hunt of life to find out what you’re supposed to be doing.

What are some of the real estate myths you’ve helped people dispel?

The barrier of homeownership in the African American community is typically coming up with the down payment. There are several programs that will shrink the gap between how much money you have and how much money you actually need to pursue homeownership. Number two is most people think you have to have perfect credit. Your credit is a snapshot of your character. When we look at that we are able to go in and determine based on how you’ve paid other people what the likelihood is of how you’re going to pay us. If there are some things on your credit report illegally then we can remove those and have a fresh start. I help people do that, also.

How has personal development shaped your life and business?

In November 2017, I co-founded an organization to train real estate agents. When I would call to check on the agents to see how the training went, it was either ‘oh, [successful because he’s] a man’ or ‘she’s a woman’ or ‘they’re black’ or ‘they’re white.’ What I found is that it wasn’t the strategies that were flawed, it was the stories these individuals were telling themselves. My coach Lisa Nichols says we rehearse our narrative so much our excuses become sexy so believe them. That sent me on a journey to add a self-development component to my teaching to help walk individuals out of dark places in their lives.

I have a 6-month personal development training course called Catapult. In that 6-month course, we help unpack the barriers that keep you from scaling or starting your business. We also help identify and remove personal hindrances. We help you get out of your own way and be your own rescue.

When you are not working, what do you like to do in your leisure time?

I love spending time with my two world changers, my children, Madison Jones (16) and Myles Jones (11). I also enjoy creating change in my community through philanthropic initiatives and I enjoy participating in this work alongside the love of my life, attorney Erika N. Salter.

I know you have some feelings about what’s taking place in our world right now stemming from the murder of George Floyd. Are you okay?

As a 49-year-old black man in America who has never gotten anything more than a speeding ticket, I am not okay. I was coming home, with my 11-year-old son Myles—Friday is our bonding day; it’s our ritual. As we were driving, Myles very solemnly said, “I want you to start calling me or texting me every night when you get home. I’m not going to go to bed until you tell me you’re ok.” I looked over at him and huge tears are cascading down his face. My 11-year old guy should not have to worry about whether his dad, uncles, grandfathers, or any other African American he knows are safe. He should have been talking to me about how he made straight A’s or how he’s captain on his basketball team.  So that saddens me.

That saddens me as the mother. They should not have to worry about their father’s in this way. As an African American man, the son of an African American man, the father of a young African American man, what empowering words roar inside you? 

We are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of something great, therefore, it makes [us] great by default. My creator gave me the choice of whether I’ll activate my greatness. My mission to my son and to other awesome men of color is to flip that switch. Let’s walk in the greatness that we’ve always been called to. Let’s answer that call.

What’s next on the agenda for Tommy D. Jones?

This pandemic allowed me to slow down and listen to my creator. I’m excited to resume here the conference I did with my coach Lisa Nichols here in Texas in 2019. If this pandemic hasn’t shown people of color anything else, it’s shown us there’s only one thing our creator gave us to level the playing field: time. There’s a reason why I was born in 1970 and not 1870 [or] 2170. The creator saw fit for me to be here to share breath with you. That means there’s work I’m supposed to do with you!