Good Morning! I was inspired to write this post after the amazing night I had last night at a taping of the 2019 Black Girls Rock Awards. I was surrounded by beautiful black women of all shapes and sizes and was in the presence of Hollywood Royalty such as Regina King, Brandy, Monica, Issa Rae and THE Angela Bassett! I am so inspired by them and their stories and I started thinking to myself, as much as I am a fan of all of these women, in order for me to get to where I want to be in life, I have to see power and strength within myself before anyone else can believe in me and my dreams. In other words, I have to learn how to be my biggest fan.
Now anyone who knows me knows I know how to be a fan of someone who’s talent and drive I admire. In middle school and high school it was Usher (people still ask me if I am obsessed with Usher to this day!) and in my 20’s, it was Trey Songz (had the nickname Visa cause I was everywhere a Trey fan wanted to be lol) While I am still fans of both of these artists, I realized that I have to go as hard promoting myself and my talents just like I did for them early on in their careers. That means I gotta post consistently on social media about what I’m up to, don’t hesitate to talk about myself and what I do at networking events and in casual conversation and most importantly, carry myself like the shining star that I’m destined to be! Dimming my light in order for someone else to shine is no longer an option for me because I know what it feels like to not live up to your potential and to have people ask, “Where have you been?” or “What happened to the site/hosting/discussions?” Even though people may not have said anything to me about what I was doing while I was in the midst of it all, they were still watching, observing and talking about the moves I was making to others (in a positive way for the most part!) so my hard work did not go unnoticed. The thing is that in order for me to be consistent and persistent in achieving my goals, I can’t do it for onlookers. As supportive as my family and friends are, I can’t do it for them either. I have to push myself to be the best version of myself in order to bring my vision to life and it starts with knowing who I am and what it is I truly want out of life and not letting anyone or anything get in the way of that.
Angela Bassett had many gems during her acceptance speech last night but one of the things she said that stuck with me was “You aren’t just enough, you are more than enough!” and I realized that being my biggest fan means knowing my worth and not accepting anything less than what I know I deserve. I can’t settle in any aspect of my life from my personal relationships to professional goals and everything in between. I have to let every success be a stepping stone to the next goal and see every misstep as a lesson and a blessing instead of failure. I have to stop allowing my perception of others dictate my reality because I do not always know what it took others to get to where they are in their lives because I am only seeing the final result and not the work, struggle and sacrifice it took to get there. I know that this is a process and that change does not come overnight but in time, I know I will get to a point where I will be 100% confident in everything that I do and anyone who doesn’t believe in me and my vision will be seen as unnecessary background noise that won’t be included in the soundtrack that is my life! I think that’s how Oprah lives her life and Oprah is life goals personified!
Since I plan on staying true to my word about SPAIF, (self- promo at its finest for those of you who don’t know!) make sure you check out the latest episode of the Weekend Friendz podcast that I host with my homie DJ by clicking the link to listen on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify. Let us know what you think in the comments! New post on Wednesday so stay tuned for that as well! Until then always make sure to love and live luxuriously!