The Present Day Wise Woman with Jennifer Jefferies | Ep. 21
My guest on this week’s episode of The True North Show is Jennifer Jefferies, an incredibly inspiring woman who shares with us the journey she has been on navigating what we are “supposed to do” in a Corporate setting and generally in the world, how we are expected to behave and even the language we “should” be using. Jennifer is so true to herself and I love her authenticity and how she embraces it.
Bio:
Jennifer Jefferies is a leading voice in resilience and wellbeing, known for her remarkable journey of turning adversity into growth. Her story began in the Australian Army, where she was discharged at age 19 for her sexual orientation, a moment that ignited her determination to live boldly and never be silenced.
After experiencing burnout in the corporate world, Jennifer retrained as a naturopath, specializing in stress and adrenal health. For over thirty years, she has helped organizations and individuals break the cycle of unchecked stress, proving that prevention leads to sustainable success. Her no-nonsense approach empowers people to boost resilience, thrive amid uncertainty, and reclaim their energy and confidence.
Jennifer’s impact extends beyond consulting and speaking; she is an author, TEDx speaker, and podcast host whose authenticity and humour connect deeply with audiences. Her practical strategies are rooted in her own life experiences, ensuring people leave inspired and equipped to make real change.
Driven by compassion, Jennifer founded The Q Foundation to support disadvantaged children in Thailand with shelter, education, and healthcare. Her humanitarian work reflects her commitment to creating lasting, positive change.
Outside her career, Jennifer embraces life as an adventurer and surfer, advocating for true wellbeing beyond avoiding illness—it’s about living fully and joyfully. Her message is clear: adversity does not define us, but how we respond does. Jennifer Jefferies is The Present Day Wise Woman, reminding us that resilience and heart make anything possible.
Social Media:
Website: www.jenniferjefferies.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.jefferies.10/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepresentdaywisewoman/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferjefferies/
Download Jennifer’s free guide today: https://jenniferjefferies.com/5things/
Transcript:
For over 30 years she has helped organisations and individuals break the cycle of unchecked stress, proving that prevention leads to sustainable success. Her no-nonsense approach empowers people to boost resilience, thrive amid uncertainty, and reclaim their energy and confidence. Jennifer’s impact extends beyond consulting and speaking. She is an author, TEDx speaker, and podcast host whose authenticity and humour connect deeply with her audiences. Her practical strategies are rooted in her own life experiences, ensuring people leave inspired and equipped to make real change.
Driven by compassion, Jennifer founded the Q Foundation to support disadvantaged children in Thailand with shelter, education, and healthcare. Her humanitarian work reflects her commitment to creating lasting positive change.
Now, outside of all of this, Jennifer embraces life as an adventurer and surfer. For true wellbeing beyond avoiding illness, it is about living fully and joyfully. Her message is clear: adversity does not define us; how we respond does. Jennifer Jefferies is the present-day wise woman, reminding us that resilience and heart make everything possible.
Welcome to the show, Jennifer. I am really pleased that you are here joining us today.
Jennifer Jefferies (02:09)
Thank you. It all sounded a bit serious until you got to the fun part.
Megan North (02:16)
Well, you do have that lovely balance though, do you not?
Jennifer Jefferies (02:19)
Yes, I can be intensely passionate about life. Yes.
Megan North (02:23)
So, when I am reading through your bio, are you the type of person who reflects on what you have done and where you have come from, or are you more likely to forge your path and never look back?
Jennifer Jefferies (02:34)
No, very much, I reflect. Definitely. However, I reflect with gratitude. I choose to live by the motto that I will never die wondering. I do not reflect and say that could have gone differently or that did not quite work out. It is more, how cool, I gave that a crack. I live from today forward. I live my future out of my present, not my past. However, I am incredibly grateful for all the parts of my past.
Megan North (03:08)
I love that. That is a really lovely perspective. Sometimes when I read out bios for guests, they say, my gosh, I never reflect, and when I read it out they say, my gosh, that is so much. It was funny because you were like, I sound really serious, there needed to be some fun in there. It is really lovely that you reflect, particularly with that feeling of gratitude, because I think that is really important.
Jennifer Jefferies (03:25)
It is. And a lot of people have not made it to my age. I am really grateful for every day and everything I have done because I am still here.
Megan North (03:43)
Beautiful. We heard a snippet of your background and your journey, but can you share the defining moment that led you to pursue your true passion and purpose?
Jennifer Jefferies (03:55)
My passion and purpose have been around for nearly 40 years, since I was 26, so about 38 years. I wanted to help other people with their health. When I burned out in my 20s working in the pharmacy industry and a naturopath helped me, I thought, I want to do that for the rest of my life. I have been doing that and it has been the coolest work. I have been able to help people and it is now evolving. As I have come into my crone years, it is evolving to take on more of a focus on midlife and older women, not just on their health but on helping them find their purpose in life.
Megan North (04:43)
Life is changing, particularly for women. Do you find that women are getting braver or more courageous to step into their power and do things to help themselves?
Jennifer Jefferies (04:59)
Something naturally happens hormonally. When we are younger and still producing oestrogen in large amounts, that gives us the ability to nurture, to make babies and raise kids and do the family things. As oestrogen is no longer dominant, we lose that drive. Some women go, holy shit, I am lost, my purpose was to raise kids. They are not hormonally driven in that way now and they do not know what to do. It is a real thing and a hormonal change.
I believe the third chapter of life, the last 30 years or so from our 50s and 60s, is about ourselves, community, and passing on wisdom. We see more women our age because it is naturally meant to be here at this age. At the same time, it is important for women to stand in their power. A big part of my work now is helping them find the courage to use their voice. We were raised in the Western world to be good girls and keep our mouths shut and do all that. Hormonally, we do not want to keep our mouths shut. We help women find the courage to live the life they truly want. It is a normal hormonal response.
Megan North (06:47)
So interesting. I also think COVID drove the importance of community deeper. When we were disconnected, people realised who is in my circle and who supports me.
I have a business with a girlfriend and we run mini retreats for women. We had one on the weekend with a beautiful woman who is 69, about to turn 70, recently widowed. After 33 years she is now thinking, what is next for me and what is my new identity. We were celebrating her stepping into that space.
Jennifer Jefferies (07:43)
Totally. The more they told us to be isolated, which is the nastiest punishment you can do to anyone, the more our bodies screamed for connection. It made us more aware of community and connection. At the same time, you have women like your friend at 69 asking what is next. In Indigenous and matriarchal societies there are rituals to help a woman move through menopause into crone. I have done things myself to enable that passage.
In many cultures, when a girl starts to bleed they are celebrated. I did not know anything like that. One day I woke up and thought I had soiled myself. I was 12. I cleaned up and before school I told my mum something was happening. She said, you have your period, loudly in front of my brothers, and sent me off to school with a massive pad. There was nothing to bring me into that important part of life and nothing to take me out. No structure. In many non-Western societies it is naturally still there.
Megan North (09:29)
Yes.
Jennifer Jefferies (09:37)
Women at 69 in those cultures are not feeling lost. They are welcomed in and nurtured by the sisterhood to help them live into their wisdom years.
Megan North (09:49)
Fascinating, is it not?
Jennifer Jefferies (09:52)
It is so interesting. We miss out on so much in the West.
Megan North (09:55)
I agree. You mentioned things are changing for you. What is changing at the moment?
Jennifer Jefferies (10:13)
So much of my naturopathic work and my books, I have written 16, have been around adrenal health and burnout. I have loved that and my 25 years as a speaker. As I have aged, my passion has grown. A big part of a naturopath’s work is counselling because life is not just physical. As I moved through my 40s and 50s I had different conversations with women who felt lost. The kids were leaving home. They had good lives and relationships, but they were bored. Do I just stay where life is only good? What if life were extraordinary?
In the last decade I have been having different conversations with women. I have opened up my work in a big way in that direction. My new podcast, Present-Day Wise Woman, is about sharing the stories of the wise women around us. In the West we do not have that. That is where I am going and it is so good.
Megan North (11:47)
With all the work you do, and with your background, I suspect mental health plays a big part in your life. How do you prioritise and maintain it while you are busy and pursuing your purpose?
Jennifer Jefferies (11:56)
It is vital. Since you mentioned COVID, I will add this. As a naturopath I understand the rise in mental health issues over the last five years. There is a thing called general adaptation syndrome. Under stress our adrenal glands adapt and pump out more stress hormones so we can fight or flee. We should have stress then time to replenish. During COVID that did not happen. People moved to stage two, where the adrenals cannot get any bigger but try to give you a bit more. Classic case: people go on holidays and get sick on day one because the adrenals finally get breathing space and the body collapses for a moment. Stage three is when there is nothing left to give and you fall in a heap.
People lived in fight or flight for two or three years depending on lockdowns. Then one day governments said go back to work. Bodies were still in survival mode. I talk about the triangle of health. For us to get sick, three things must be in place. One is our attitudes and beliefs, which come from our environment. People lost hope during the lockdown years. Second is the physical element and circumstances. Many coped with alcohol and binge eating. Even I had ice cream sneak in for a while. Third is our emotional state. Living in fear and unknown for years created the perfect storm for mental health issues.
When we stress, we literally pinch our shoulders up. That can irritate the vagus nerve, which runs from brain to gut. We shut down our guts for years. Much of our happy hormones are produced in the gut microbiome. People are not necessarily depressed, but they are not happy because the gut-brain axis is not working.
It made me be really mindful to ground myself. I am an aromatherapist. I designed my own sanity saver blend. I am an ADHD go-fast kind of woman and need to stay grounded. It contains vetiver, sandalwood, cedarwood, and patchouli. They are not sedatives; they help the brain think of one thing at a time, not the future or the past. I use essential oils, particularly on the soles of my feet. I get out in nature. I surf. In my office I go out every hour and a half, walk in the garden, pull a weed, touch a plant. I ground myself, barefoot, for my own mental health.
Megan North (16:57)
Is there anything weird or quirky you have tried for your mental health that has not worked for you?
Jennifer Jefferies (17:11)
Not off the top of my head. I have done cool stuff. I would have got the benefits I needed at the time. Was it as successful as other things? No. I live with trust that we make choices with the information we have. Choice and consequence are perfect for that time. Hindsight is great but useless. I have done some quirky things, but it was right for that time.
Megan North (17:58)
Beautiful. I ask because I encourage clients to experiment. Social media says you should do this or that, but it is not one size fits all. Try something. If you do not like it, try something else.
Jennifer Jefferies (18:29)
I will never die wondering. I test and measure everything on myself before I recommend it to a client.
Megan North (18:36)
I love that. I am not one to sit and meditate. I cannot do that. When I am walking, I will do my meditation.
Jennifer Jefferies (18:50)
I learned Buddhist walking meditations years ago. I walk and chant every day, mindfully. You do not have to sit. You can walk.
Megan North (19:00)
Exactly. Sitting does not work for me. I experimented and found that walking works. It moves through my body better because I am moving. What works for you is important to understand. Before we go to our sponsors, you have a five things downloadable at the moment.
Jennifer Jefferies (19:32)
I do. A free ebook for midlife women. Many of my clients are midlife and beyond and thinking, what is going on. Physically, emotionally, and mentally things are not working and they do not know where to start. The ebook is about the bare arse minimum. Busy people still want to be healthy. The ebook is simple. Here is what is not working and here is a place to start. Build strong foundations so that when you are hit by things in the future, you do not fall over. People pluck the latest things on the internet and use band-aids. They wonder why they are not getting results. The ebook is boringly practical and gives you the core basics to start and build from there.
Megan North (20:34)
Fantastic. Thank you for creating that. The QR code is there and I will pop it up again later. There is a natural pause, so we will hear from our sponsors and be back in a couple of minutes. Thanks, Jen.
Jennifer Jefferies (20:47)
My pleasure.
Megan North (22:41)
Welcome back. We are back. You have talked about changes and the direction you are heading. How has your evolution toward passion and purpose changed over time? Do you get a nudge, or do you think, I do not want to do this anymore? How do you follow the next step?
Jennifer Jefferies (22:44)
I am aware that right before breakthrough there is chaos. It does not have to be big chaos. It can be squirming. A butterfly has to struggle to get out of the cocoon. I notice when I squirm. In the past I would have resisted. Now I let myself be curious and notice what is going on so I can move through it mindfully. Energy attracts energy. When I do that, different books show up and the universe seems to present the next thing.
We are emotional beings living in a logical world. The more we tap into our intuition, the more it opens. A lot of my work in Asia is teaching with the Aromatherapy Insight Cards I created, which work with the emotional side of essential oils. I work with people, predominantly women, in cultures where you do not show emotions. I get them to trust and use their intuition. It is in all of us. Society kicks it out. The more we listen, the more it opens.
I feel my squirms with curiosity. Something is coming. Present-Day Wise Woman has been screaming at me for about 15 years. I chased it for so long. When we push to achieve anything, we energetically push it away. Masculine energy is do, do, do. I did Marianne Williamson’s women’s retreat about six or seven years ago and learned the difference. Feminine energy is to be. When we just be, intuition fires. I give myself space to listen and be curious. Then it flies in and I trust it. Our logical mind says that cannot be it. Try it on. Do not die wondering. It will lead to the next door. I open every door. I do not walk through every door, but I open them.
Megan North (26:10)
I love that. Does your intuition help you decide when to close the door again?
Jennifer Jefferies (26:36)
Exactly. I trust that feeling. I am also discerning. I know the difference between being scared and not wanting to do it versus that is not for me.
Megan North (26:50)
Absolutely. Discernment is important. The more you practise it, the better you get and the stronger your boundaries become. Do you remember when you first noticed your intuition? As a child or later?
Jennifer Jefferies (27:22)
No, I do not remember a specific moment. It would have been in my late twenties when I started working with energetic practices during my naturopathy studies.
Megan North (27:45)
Are other people in your family intuitive?
Jennifer Jefferies (27:58)
No. I am the blackest of black sheep. I am wildly different to the rest of my family. I was born in the wrong country and the wrong family. I am an energetic being. I resonate with Asian energetic living.
Megan North (28:23)
That discernment must come in when you are around family as well.
Jennifer Jefferies (28:29)
Yes, and it is okay. I am on a different journey. I know I attracted them as a family. I came in as a soul to learn and I have had many gifts and lessons from them. Hopefully it allows me to ascend and not repeat them next lifetime. Some I will repeat.
Megan North (28:55)
I love that. From a grounding perspective, you use oils and walk barefoot. Anything else?
Jennifer Jefferies (29:10)
I play my ukulele.
Megan North (29:12)
Okay.
Jennifer Jefferies (29:14)
Music is good. Surfing is grounding because you must be present. As soon as you think of something else you are not one with the ocean. Playing my ukulele helps. I am a big gardener. I love growing my food.
Megan North (29:25)
I read that there is something in soil that acts like an antidepressant, which is why gardening is suggested for mental health.
Jennifer Jefferies (30:08)
I am not sure what they mean there. What I do know is negative ions. Nature is negatively charged. People think negative sounds bad, but the good vibe is negative ions. You can buy negative ion generators. We sold them 40 years ago in pharmacy. I did not understand them then. Now I do. Toxins and stress are positive ions. We want more negative ions.
If I am doing things for health, such as nutritional cleansing, I take herbs that are negatively charged to bind positively charged toxins and help expel them.
Megan North (31:35)
Wow, okay.
Jennifer Jefferies (31:37)
You tap into negative ions any time you are in nature. Waterfalls and digging in the garden stir up the energy of the earth.
Megan North (31:52)
And you are outside in the sun.
Jennifer Jefferies (31:55)
Yes, get out of the house.
Megan North (31:59)
I would like to come back to your corporate work. You dealt with burnout in the corporate world. Do barriers still exist for women pursuing leadership roles?
Jennifer Jefferies (32:30)
Yes, absolutely. We are still silenced. We are still laughed at in boardrooms. We are held back from positions. There is a strong bias towards men.
Megan North (32:51)
Do you go into corporates and work with women on that, or is it more from the health perspective?
Jennifer Jefferies (32:59)
I have not in the past. I am moving into it now. Women in leadership is the area I am heading into. In the past it was health. When I started 25 years ago, I was the hemp-pants hippie naturopath. I worked with corporate coaches to formalise language so they would listen. My first book was The Seven Steps to Sanity. I wanted to call it Fck the Stress, which is the new book’s name, but you could not do that in corporate then. They helped me cross that barrier. I wore a suit and spoke to big corporations in the United States. At 64, Fck the Stress is out and I speak in corporate environments and no one is fazed. When we are congruent and speak our truth, we are heard. The condensed version of the old book is in the back of the new one. I look forward to my TED Talk about women using their voices. That is the direction I am heading.
Megan North (34:44)
Fantastic. I had a corporate career in HR for 20 plus years and left four years ago. When I reach out to women I used to work with and offer coaching, they often say they do not need a coach but want to book a reading. The other world is less hidden now. It is being spoken about more.
Jennifer Jefferies (35:38)
I remember leaving the pharmacy industry. Pharmacists were the most trusted professionals. For me to be in pharmacy made my mum proud. When I crossed to naturopathy she could not understand why I left such a respected profession and could not even explain to people what I did. It is a very different world now. People like me have normalised the importance of natural health.
Megan North (36:32)
I love that. You said you open every door, even if you do not walk through it. What advice would you give to someone starting to explore passion and purpose?
Jennifer Jefferies (37:09)
Stop and take a breath. Get back in your body. When we are stuck in our head we analyse everything. Wriggle your toes. Put your hand on your heart. Take a breath. Then do something. Confidence comes after courage. We need courage to take the step to open the door. You will not die opening the door. To get into your body I still wriggle my toes. Whether I am on big stages or not, people have no idea I am doing it. It keeps me grounded. We are story-making machines. The more we get out of our heads and stay grounded, the more available we are to find the courage to act.
If you want to play in the aromatherapy world, cedarwood is a great essential oil to help us stay grounded and access courage. Be curious. We do not always know what is on the other side. Do not make up stories. Open every door.
Megan North (38:25)
Beautiful. Through your journey, have you had a regular support network, or has it evolved?
Jennifer Jefferies (38:54)
I have always paid for mentors. I have invested in my personal development since I was 23. After being kicked out of the army for being gay, I went into the pharmacy industry. In the 80s personal development found its place. I realised the value of mentors. Over the years some partners were great. Family, not so much. I remember a big speaking gig at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. I came home and my family asked what I was doing. I said I had just spoken at the World Bank. My sister then said, let us get the cobwebs out of the pergola. They are not my cheer squad and that is okay. I surround myself with people who lift me. I know where to get support and I do not make others wrong for not being that.
Megan North (41:02)
I love that. My family loves me and is proud, but they do not always know what to do with it.
Jennifer Jefferies (41:13)
They do not know how to deal with it.
Megan North (41:16)
Exactly. We often expect family and friends to be our biggest supporters, but it does not always work that way. I have a small handful of people who support me and are happy to challenge me.
Jennifer Jefferies (41:49)
You need people who call you on your bullshit.
Megan North (41:52)
Absolutely. With the number of people you have worked with, probably millions, can you share a transformative moment where someone broke through the stress cycle and changed their life?
Jennifer Jefferies (43:01)
I think back about 25 to 28 years. I had a woman in her 80s, about 82. If you are thinking you are too old to get your life together, you are not. She had a sharp mind and came for massages and other treatments. We worked together on emotional cycles that were not healthy. I did a lot of kinesiology, which here focuses on emotions. We helped her body respond differently around ageing. She was being treated as fragile by family, which led her to not use her voice to keep the peace.
We worked slowly over months to build the confidence to say no. Physically she did everything right. She was a clean eater and very healthy, but emotions were beating her. She was acidic from emotional stress. As she started to use her voice, her physical presence changed. When I retired from clinic she was another woman. She was still slight, but her shoulders were back and she stood proud. She was allowed to be old, but old does not have to be old. She never married, had a strong career, and was a great woman.
She made a bold move to change. I learned that my role is to keep people safe so they can move at a pace they can handle. In my early days I was full on. Working with her was a defining moment. She helped me operate differently with people. She was a legend.
Megan North (49:00)
What a beautiful gift she gave you.
Jennifer Jefferies (49:03)
She did. It helped me grow as a practitioner.
Megan North (49:06)
Can you believe we have only a couple of minutes left?
Jennifer Jefferies (49:12)
Not surprised.
Megan North (49:16)
I am going to ask the same question I ask all my guests before we finish. What is one lesson or truth you wish you had known earlier?
Jennifer Jefferies (49:29)
Everything is possible if we open our mind to it. Our thoughts create our feelings, which create our actions, which create our results. If we want to do anything in life, having an open mind and a growth mindset to see it as possible makes it possible.
Megan North (49:51)
When do you think you finally got that lesson?
Jennifer Jefferies (49:57)
It landed solidly about 15 years ago and I have lived it ever since. I learned it a long time ago, but a different mentor said the same thing in different ways and it landed. We need to hear the same thing over and over until it lands in a way we get. It changes us. That is when change happens. It took a while. I have an inner rebel, a really big rebel, who will say yeah, nah, a lot. It was a big one for me to grow through.
Megan North (50:30)
Yeah? Yeah? You surprised me. Beautiful. Thank you so much for joining us today. I feel privileged to have had this conversation with you. Thank you for what you have shared and for how you show up for women and inspire them to be a priority in their own lives. I am really grateful, and I am sure many others are too. Thank you.
Jennifer Jefferies (50:58)
It has been great. Thank you. I want to be the mentor I wish I had, the wise woman I wish I had in my life when I was younger. I want to be that for these women.
Megan North (51:22)
You are. You are definitely leaving that legacy. Thank you. And thank you to our amazing audience, sponsors, and supporters. I hope everyone has an amazing rest of the week. I look forward to seeing you next week. Thank you, Jennifer. It has been amazing.
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