The Payment is in the Process

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Too often, we correlate the amount of hard work we are willing to exert to the amount of money we receive in exchange for our work. We believe that our highest efforts should be reserved only for those jobs and duties that pay highly and benefit us the most. However, if we wish to achieve greatness, we should put out our best efforts regardless of the job or the amount of money it pays. Every opportunity should be treated that same. Whether you are flipping hamburgers at McDonald or running a million dollar company, you should strive to be the best and give 100% of your efforts, for this is how you propel yourself to your goals and dreams.

The belief that the payment is in the process, is what turns an intern into a executive. Everyone has to start somewhere and, for most people, the starting point is usual at the bottom. Whether or not one stays at the bottom is dependent upon their attitude and the amount of hard work they are willing to give. The intern who strives to be the best intern who ever worked for his/her company, will not be an intern for long. The one who is always willing to serve and help others, will always have someone willing to pull him/her up to the next level. The one who develops a hard work ethic and uses it in every situation, will always get to their desired destination.

Even if your current position is not the one you desire, strive to be valuable and essential to the success of your company.  Strive to make things run as smoothly as possible. Be proactive and anticipate needs. Strive to be the kind of worker who is missed when you are not around. Be willing to give of yourself and your gifts freely. Perform every task as if you are being paid handsomely. Take pride in your work, for your work ethic and the result of your work become apart of your reputation, and your reputation follows you wherever you go. Hard word also helps increase your sense of pride and self esteem. Always keep a smile on your face and have a positive attitude. Be grateful for every opportunity and treat every opportunity the same. Know that every step you take and every ounce of effort is moving you closer to your goal.

Do not become too focused on the destination. The payment is in the process. Enjoy the journey. Every moment we have here on this earth is a blessing. Every opportunity is an learning experience. Always give your all and life will give back to you. In order to grow to the next level, you much first grow out the level your currently reside. When you perform every tasks to the absolute best of your ability, nothing and no one will be able to hold you back from greatness.

Choose Your Words Wisely!

We are powerful magnets, attracting to us the things we think and speak of most. When you focus on what you don’t want or what is, you will draw more of that to you. When you focus on and learn to expect what you want, you will get it!

My Aha Moment – The Power of Thought and Belief

As a teen, I became plagued with anxiety, depression, and many other issues that crippled me and prevented me from being happy and living the life that I truly wanted to live. Desperate to be cured of my disorders, I began searching feverishly for explanations and solutions to help me overcome my ills. I read many books and articles, each time hoping that it would provide me with the aha moment and solution to all my problems. However, nothing I read seemed to resonate with me on the level I needed it to. It wasn’t until a early 2013 that I found what I had been looking for all these years.

It all started when I watched an episode of Oprah’s Lifeclass on OWN. That particular episode, Joel Olsteen was the guest and he was speaking about his new book “I Declare”. He spoke so passionately about purpose, speaking blessings over your life, and the power of two simple words; “I am”. His words inspired me and I was hungry to hear more of what Pastor Olsteen had to say. The next day I decided to look for the audio book of “I Declare” on my local library’s website. Unfortunately, “I Declare” was not available yet. However, there was another book listed by Pastor Olsteen that caught my eye. The title read, “Live Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential“. Desperate to learn more from Pastor Olsteen, I checked it out. Over the next 2 week, I listened to this book at least 5 times. This book changed my life and set me on a path I never thought possible. It spoke to me in a way that no other book ever had. It was simple and easy to understand. It gave me a whole new outlook on life. In a nutshell, it gave me a new perspective on what was possible. Pastor Olsteen changed my life with just one statement. He spelled it out so clearly within the first few paragraphs.

If you don’t believe you can have it, do it, be it; you never will!

7 Steps to Live at Your Full Potential

1. Enlarge Your Vision
2. Develop a Healthy Self Image
3. Discover the Power of Your Thoughts and Words
4. Let Go of the Past
5. Find Strength Through Adversity
6. Live to Give!
7. Choose to Be Happy

The most important realization I took from this book was the understanding that I was limiting myself through my thoughts and words. What nailed this home was a story he told in the book. He referenced a man on vacation that came across an immaculate home. The man admired the extravagant home for awhile and then said, “I’ll never make enough to purchase a home like this.” I often spoke like this when it came to certain dreams and aspirations I had that I thought I could never accomplish or attain. The thought and belief that I couldn’t do it, have it, or be was keeping me from even trying. In addition, it was also pushing what I wanted further away from me.

Pastor Olsteen taught me that you become what you believe. If you believe, all things are possible. Do not limit yourself. Break through the barriers of your mind. Enlarge the vision you have for your life, what you can accomplish, and what you can obtain. Learn to expect more. What you expect, you will get. Realize that your thoughts and words have power. Thoughts control our attitudes, our actions, and our self image. They also control our destiny. We give life to what we speak and think. Think about what you are thinking about. Speak words of faith and victory over your life.

I am forever grateful to Joel Olsteen for blessing me with this book. Reading this book, set me on a path of discovery. It lead me to read other books about the power of thought, positive thinking, and the obtainment of wealth and success. This journey of discovery is what gave me the courage to start Journey of She and strive to teach women/young girls all across the globe what I have learned. Pastor Olsteen put me on a path to believing in myself, developing a vision, and discovering my purpose. I believe this book saved me from a life of depression and misery. It made me feel alive for the first time. I used to walk through life on auto pilot, just going through the motions believing that I would never have much more that what I had at the time. Impossible is no longer in my vocabulary. I now look as life in a completely different light. The possibilities are endless for me, for I now know that I can do whatever I put my mind to.

Thank you Pastor Joel Olsteen!

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• Let Your Dreams Change Your Reality, Never Let Your Reality Change Your Dreams – Part 1 (blumaaffirmations.wordpress.com)

Self Doubt – The Silent Dream Killer

Self doubt is a reoccurring theme in my life. The scene plays out the same way each time. I go from feeling alive and lit up with a burning desire about an idea or plan; to giving up before I even realize what hit me.  Self doubt is the culprit. If it is not caught early, it will slowly spread and intensify until it overcomes you. It is a silent dream killer and yet again, I find myself toe-to-toe with this sneaky murderer. However, there is something different this time around. I realize that I have an advantage that I didn’t have in prior encounters. I have awareness. Self doubt presented itself, just as it always has. Yet, it has not been able to evasively run off into the darkness with my dreams. Thru self analysis and the study of success, I was able to quickly recognize the subtle signs that my dreams were in danger of being overcome by self doubt. I recognized that my subconscious was hard at work, tossing around negative thoughts such as the following:

“This will never work.”
“I can’t do this.”
“I’m being unrealistic.”
“I’m not good enough to accomplish this.”

I am positive that many of you have encountered that same or similar thoughts. These types of thoughts can kill any dream, goal, or desire. This is the point at which most dreams die, never to be seen or heard of again. Self doubt is what prevents the majority of dreams from becoming nothing more just that; dreams. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Instead of passively allowing your dreams to be stolen, you can actively choose a different option. It’s not about eliminating self doubt entirely. It about feeling the fear, recognizing and identifying exactly what it is, and courageously moving past it.

Success does not come by chance or luck. It comes only to those that determine exactly what it is they want and stop at nothing to get it.  Self doubt is one of the many road blocks to success. It is also one of the many reasons why people fail and allow themselves to settle for a mediocre existence. Do not let it become your excuse for failure. Do not mistake a small road block for a dead end.

As I am suffering from this inflection at the very moment, I offer to you a few suggestions that are helping me keep pressing on.

1. Determine and define exactly what it is you want to accomplish. If your vision is vague, it will be hard to develop the will power, desire, and persistence it takes to move forward with tenacity.
2. Ensure that the thing you are aiming for is something that you enjoy and have a burning desire for. Desire is the fuel for success.
3. Accept that self doubt may come from time to time. The key is to recognize it when it presents itself, identify it as such, and courageously move past it.
4. Although we sometimes do not realize it. We have the power to chose what we think. Self doubt may become automated at times, but we can recognize those thoughts when they arise and choose differently. Instead of dwelling on how you don’t think you can do it, tell yourself that you can. Even if you do not believe it at the present moment, tell yourself anyway. If you repeat these positive statements continuously for a long period of time and back them up with faith, you will eventually convince yourself that you can do it. And you will.
5. Finally, realize that you are not alone. Everyone experiences self doubt. Many of the world’s most success people struggled with self doubt during their journey to success and even battled it after they achieved it.

YOU CAN DO IT! KEEP PUSHING!

S.L.

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#ThrowbackThursday – Madam C.J. Walker (5/9/13)

Madam C.J. Walker was born Sara Breedlove in 1867 on a cotton plantation in Delta, Louisiana. She was the daughter of recently freed slaves and was orphaned at the age of 7. After the death of her parents, she was sent to live with her sister Louvinia, and her brother-in-law, Jesse. In order to survive, she was forced to pick cotton and work as a household maid. To escape the abuse of her brother-in-law, she married her first husband, Moses McWilliams, at the age of 14. In 1885, she gave birth to her only child; a daughter, named Lelia.

Just two years after the birth of their baby girl, her husband died. After his death, Sarah, with her daughter in tow, moved to St. Louis. Upon arrival, she began working as a laundrywoman for as little as $1.50 a day. With her pay, she was able to provide for and educate her daughter. While in St. Louis, she also met and married her second husband Charles J. Walker.

During the 1890s, Sara developed a scalp condition that caused her to lose her hair. Fueled by the determination to cure her ailment, she began experimenting with homemade remedies and other products. One of those products was the invention of Annie Malone, another successful, African-American, female entrepreneur. She became a sells rep for Annie Malone’s hair care products. Shortly after, she moved to Denver, Colorado.

While in Colorado, she continued to work on her own hair care treatment. She changed her name to Madam C.J. Walker, founded her own company, and began selling “Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower”, a scalp conditioning and healing formula. In 1907, to promote her product, she and her husband began traveling across the rural south; selling door to door and performing demonstrations of the “Walker Method”.

In 1908, with profits rising, she opened a factory and a beauty school in Pittsburgh.  In 1910, Walker moved the company to Indianapolis where she built a factory, hair and manicure salon, and another training school. While in Indianapolis, the company began recruiting and training sales associates known as “Walker Agents”; who promoted and sold the products. At one point, she employed over 3,000 people, mainly African-American women. She organized local and state clubs and conventions for her agents. Her Madam C. J. Walker Hair Culturists Union of America convention in Philadelphia in 1917 is considered to be the first national meetings of businesswomen in the country.

With the Walker System, Walker Agents, Walker Schools, and other successful products; Madam Walker was able to amass a large fortune within her short 15 years business endeavor. At the time of her death, at the age of 52, her business was worth $1,000,000. Today, she is considered to be the first self-made, American woman to become a millionaire.

What We Can Learn from Madam C.J. Walker

1. Empowerment. Madam C.J. Walker is well-known for being the first American woman to become a millionaire. However, what I find most noble is that she found the empowerment of other African-American women to be much more important than the money she acquired. Through her company, Madam Walker was able to employ, empower, and improve the lives of thousands of African-American women and their families.
2. Opportunity. In a time where men dominated the business world, Madam Walker created her own opportunity and took responsibility for her own success. She began right were she was and never looked back. She did not sit around waiting on opportunities to come to her or for someone to hand them to her. She wrote her own story. If she can do it, so can you. Start now and create your own success and opportunity.
3. Perseverance. Through determination and relentless hard work, Madam Walker was able to go from rags to riches. She remained faithful in herself and God. She remained faithful in her dream and had the determination to stand by that dream until she realized it. She DID NOT give up.
4. Service. Philanthropy and activism were close to Madam C.J. Walker’s heart. She gave both time and money to many worthy causes and willed 2/3 of her estate to charity.

Madam C.J. Walker is a divine example of how faith, determination, and relentless hard work can propel a person to monumental success. Armed with a great deal of courage and tenacity, she was able to achieve an abundance of prosperity in a time where women and African-Americans had little to no rights or social equality. I am beyond thankful for everything Madam Walker has done to advance, not only African-American women, but women as a whole. I will honor her by taking full advantage of the opportunities she, and countless other brave women, have afforded me.

Thank you, Madame C.J. Walker

Quotes

• “I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations. I have built my own factory on my own ground.” Madame C.J. Walker
• “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” Madame C.J. Walker
• “I am not satisfied in making money for myself. I endeavor to provide employment for hundreds of the women of my race.” Madame C.J. Walker
• “There is no royal flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard.” Madame C.J. Walker

Bundles, A’Lelia. “Madam Walker Essay” . http://www.madamcjwalker.com. Retrieved on May 7, 2013.
Madam C.J. Walker. Biography. http://www.biography.com/people/madam-cj-walker-9522174?page=1. Retrieved on May 7, 2013

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Introducing: Journey of She “Throwback Thursday”

Courtesy of (http://www.the-inner-soul.com)

Throwback Thursday usually consists of posting pictures from the past onto a social media page or network. Radio stations have even gotten in on the act by allowing listeners to take a trip down memory lane while playing songs of the past. I’ve decided to put my own spin on this popular sensation. However, I will do it in an informative way that will brings about awareness and inspiration. Journey of She “Throwback Thursday” will shine a spotlight on influential, successful, trail blazing women of the past.

It is my hope that I will not only educate others, but also educated myself in regards to their journey and the mark they made on the world. They faced tremendous obstacles and lived without many of the luxuries, conveniences, and freedoms that we take for granted today. They overcame slavery, oppression, racism, and social injustice. Through their courage and perseverance, each of these women made it possible for us to dream big and posses the opportunities to transform those dreams into reality. Given everything they endured for us, we have no excuse to not reach high and strive to be as successful as possible. These extraordinary ladies deserves an abundance of praise and thanks. In my opinion, the most appropriate way to show our gratitude is by taking full advantage of the opportunities they have afforded us and carrying on their legacy by paving the way for future generations just as they have done for us. For all they have done to advance women of the world, Journey of She “Throwback Thursday” is dedicated to these remarkable women.

Check back this Thursday for our first tribute to the first female millionaire, Madame C.J. Walker.

S.F.

Let Your Dreams Change Your Reality, Never Let Your Reality Change Your Dreams

“Our only limitations are those we set up in our own minds.” Nepoleon Hill

How often do you use words like IMPOSSIBLE, NEVER, or CAN’T? If you do, it’s time to erase these words from your vocabulary. Reason being, if you believe you can’t have it, do it, achieve it, own it, etc; you never will.

We, as humans, have been conditioned to think rationally and logically. As we grow into adults, we lose the childlike ability to dream and believe. We learn to let our reality change our dreams, instead of letting our dreams change our reality. We have been trained to live and think inside of a box. If you are among the millions of people who think in this way, I encourage you to break thru the barriers you have created in your mind, step outside of the box, and expand the vision you have for yourself and your life. I encourage you to retrain your brain. In the words of Norman Vincent Peale, “Become a possibilitarian“. What do you have to lose?

It all begins with the way in which we think. Are your thoughts set on poverty and fear or are they set on abundance and success? Many of us are uneducated on the power of thought and thus, are unaware that the universe has a way of bringing toward us the things, situations, and circumstances that correspond to our inner most dominating thoughts. Like a mirror, it reflects back toward us what we project into it. The universe will give you what you want if it is in harmony with your inner most dominating thoughts. For instance, if you dwell on poverty and hardship, you will continue to draw unfavorable circumstances toward you. If you remain positive and focus on the possibilities, even when circumstance are not ideal, the universe will work with you to manifest those thoughts into their physical counterparts.

For the past few months, I have read and studied many books on the power of thought and its connection to success. Each book highlights the fact that we are the masters and makers of our destiny because we have the power to control what and how we think. Its time to start thinking about what we are thinking about.

In future posts, I will dive deeper into the subject of thought, how it affects our circumstances, and how crucial right though is to achieving success. In the meantime, if you have a desire, dream, or goal; develop a plan of action and stick with it until it becomes a reality. Begin right where you are. Don’t sit around waiting for a special event or the “right time”. The time is always now. Cast fear, doubt, and worry out of your mind. Believe wholeheartedly in yourself and the goal you wish to accomplish.

If you wish to learn more about this topic, I encourage you to read the following books:

Live your Best Life Now By Joel Olsteen
The Prosperity Plan: Ten Steps to Beating the Odds and Discovering Greater Wealth and Happiness by Laura Berman Fortgang
The Science of Getting Rich By Wallace D. Wattles
Think and Grow Rich By Napoleon Hill
The Secret By Rhonda Byrne

S.L.