jackson dunes' bio
Jackson Dunes is the pen name of New Thought author Diana Taylor. She's the Top Dog of Pug At The Beach, a company she founded in 2004. Use the links below to learn more. Want a more casual bio? Read About The Author.
what she's known for
With her trademark style of concise, tightly structured prose designed to inspire and motivate, her willingness to reach out to others guiding them to their own triumphs, an inherent sense of optimism, and sense of fun through play, Taylor's path to inspiring writer and business leader has been a lifetime in the making.
In 2000, after 15 years of being a stay at home mom and nearly a quarter century of marriage, Taylor made the decision to drastically change her life. It was no surprise that this metamorphism began on a little latitude beach far from her New England home. The inner journey that transpired as a result was the catalyst to the creation of Pug At The Beach, a company devoted to providing tools of transformation for people on a quest for joyful and mindful living.
Since creating Pug At The Beach, Taylor has back filled her English/Science degree with self taught business skills gleaned from participation and/or membership in various entrepreneur focused groups including MicroCredit-NH, the Small Business Development Center, the Women’s Business Center, the Hannah Grimes Entrepreneur Project, the Kearsarge Women’s Business network, the Monadnock Business Resource Partnership (representing the WBC), SAILS (Serving And Inspiring Leader's Success), SCORE, and Toastmasters. Taylor supplements this work by being a prolific reader of business journals and books.
Seen as a visionary by industry leaders, Taylor has created a rising career path that, while relatively short in duration, has been on an upward trajectory from the onset. Building on a book, the flagship product of the company, product expansion came in short order and included apparel and tools to heal heart and spirit as well as the company’s charitable endeavors—Pug In The Classroom and Pug On Top are dedicated to offering options to students and those suffering from serious illness respectively.
Her desire to buck current fiscal trends has led to building a company with minimal debt through grassroots efforts. As a by-product, Taylor fulfilled a desire to personally craft each avenue of company practices including shipping standards, product development and personally attending to requests for mentorship from novice writers. It’s this foundational work that has allowed Taylor to follow her principles of working only with optimistic, respectful, and mindful people. This judicious strategy has kept both the company and its leader grounded through a steady growth.
where she came from
Born and raised in suburban New York, Taylor graduated from a small private college in 1984. Her English and science teaching degree went unutilized. She moved to New Hampshire two years later. Devoting her time to raising two children left little time for solid career pursuits but she did gain skills in an odd assortment of jobs, first as an arts promoter, then art teacher and later, as a means to reenter the work force, as a phlebotomist and later still as a pharmacy technician. In March of 2007, she chose to devote 100% of her time to Pug At The Beach, a decision which has dramatically changed the shape and direction of the company.
what's next for her
Taylor is so involved in Pug At The Beach it’s unlikely she’ll step away from the company anytime soon. Suggestions to file for non-profit status have been rejected as a less than adequate avenue to fulfilling her quest to educate and empower all people, particularly women. Taylor holds steadfast to the belief that free enterprise will provide her with the necessary tools and resources to pursue her goals. Creation of additional Pug At The Beach titles and accompanying products remains a constant as do the personal beach adventures which fuel Taylor and ultimately her company. In 2008, she fullfilled a long held dream and moved to South Florida where she's at work on the next Pug At The Beach book.
print byline
Jackson Dunes is the pen name of New Thought writer Diana Taylor who is the creator of Pug At The Beach, a multi-medium company devoted to providing tools of transformation for people on a quest for joyful and mindful living through the philosophies of a small island dog named Pug. Pug At The Beach is about hope, inspiration and fun.
broadcast bio
With us today is New Thought writer Jackson Dunes, creator of Pug At The Beach.
"JD" is a dynamic, inspirational speaker and highly successful leader in teaching people the pursuit of joyful living through the art of mindfulness. Her journey has brought her from stay at home mom, to a life altering decision to end a 24-year marriage, to an even greater test of faith that was the misdiagnosis of a terminal illness.
Working through these profound life events, JD's life was transformed by walking the difficult path of self awareness towards inner peace.
The inner journey that transpired as a result was the catalyst for the creation of Pug At The Beach, a company devoted to providing tools of transformation for people on a quest for joyful and mindful living.
Her unique approach to story sharing through the philosophy of a small island dog has garnered much attention and respect as well as a legion of devoted followers who speak of being consistently empowered and motivated to make changes in their own lives.
Recently she was nominated for the Small Business Administration's Champion Of Women In Business Award.
