Jessica Dean, Partner at Dean Omar Branham Shirley.

Dallas lawyer Jessica Dean shares her personal experience about what she’s learned after losing a loved one. From facing the fear of moving on with life to finding the benefits of being honest with yourself, it is important to hear her story and how she went from a broken woman to someone who’s ready for anything.

Sitting at a table with only four other chairs, Jessica Dean is one of the key speakers at the summit. She traveled from her home in San Francisco to Los Angeles for the event. Her voice is gentle and soft as she talks about something that happened to her last year, which still haunts her today.

“I was an empty nester and I had lost my husband,” says Jessica, who is better known as J.D. “I was also looking for a new challenge. I saw this ad in the paper, it was an event called ‘Change Your Life.’ They put me in touch with a facilitator named Julie Berg. She helped me put together a business plan. Then I started with changing my mindset and cleaning up my thinking.”

“My first piece of advice to you is to become aware of your thinking patterns,” Jessica continued. “They are so important because they are going to control your life in some way or another. There is nothing that we are going to go through in life that’s going to be easy, but it’s how we perceive it. Take everything that comes your way and think about how you want to take advantage of it instead of thinking everything is a problem.”

In addition to her business, Jessica Dean attorney has also worked with organizations like the Association of Community Cancer Centers, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and American Lung Association. She has worked on the behalf of National Public Radio as a philanthropy ambassador and worked with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, who helps fund breast cancer research and services.

“I’ve never been good at giving advice,” said Jessica. “I’ve always been one to help others instead of being the main person who’s doing something, so I’ll limit myself to sharing a few things that have worked for me.”