Warning: Take Advantage of Your Opportunities before They Run Out

Public Service Announcement:

A closed mouth doesn’t get fed.

A plain, simple, yet powerful statement that we all use so frequently and loosely; however, never really take heed to it.

How many of us go through life and not really express the things we want out of life? We wake up each morning, wishing things were different and seeing others seek out opportunities and achieve their wildest dreams and you wonder, “why can’t the things I desire happen for me?”

Well, part of it is because of a lack of communication. Life is all about networking with the right kinds of people, and speaking up about what you want when the moment is presented to you.  Many times, we find ourselves in prime positions to seek out the opportunities we long for, but no one ever knows because sometimes those words are never spoken.

As I get older, and I do more and more evaluation, I find that even in my own life, there are so many things that I want to accomplish, and I’ve been in the positions to excel, but I can be very shy and that will hinder my opportunities.  With 2018 coming to a close, I vowed to myself that 2019 So be seen, speak up, let the world know what you want; otherwise, you won’t even know what you are capable of, or what you will be able to achieve.

I advise all of us to begin to prepare for our 2019, and make a promise to ourselves that if there is something in this world that we desire, to not be silent about it.  Our voices deserve to be used to speak up and advocate for what we want out of life.  There is no reason why you should live in a world where you never seize the opportunities you seek.  How will you be satisfied with life if you don’t take a step into the deep end?

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3 Ways to Improve my Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Health

Now that I have surpassed a big milestone in my life (turning 30 in November), I am consistently pulled into a position of how I feel that this next chapter in life is a part of a big transition for me in life. I feel like im at a point in my life where there are so many opportunities that will come into fruition for me after I turn 30 that I want to make the most of what life has in store for me when I turn 30. In order for me to achieve this, I must be emotionally, mentally and spiritually aligned and healthy so that I will be able to properly receive what is for me in this next phase in my life. Without these three aspects of my life in check, everything I feel will not fall in place and be completely out of sync for me.

Oftentimes, and also do many times in my life, I’ve walked around in life not knowing which way to go or how to get to my desired goal in life. As I’m sure we all have at one point in our lives, I’ve suffered from several emotionally trying events in my life; some that I’d wish I had never had to experience; however those experiences are what shaped me and molded me into who I am today, and they also shaped how I view how to prepare myself into becoming more emotionally, mentally and spiritually healthy for anything else that may arise in my life.

I want to highlight at least one thing I do to remain emotionally, mentally and spiritually healthy throughout my life and hope that it helps someone else in their life if they are going through trying times, or need any suggestions in these areas as well:

1. How to stay emotionally healthy:

  • Conquer my self-awareness: in order for me to remain emotionally healthy, I had to remember that the first step is to always be aware of my inner self and stay grounded in that. If I kept on the forefront of who I was emotionally first, those around me will realize my worth and watch over me when I truly need it most. For me, this and my overall happiness were things I had to and continue to have to work on, because if I’m not happy with these things about myself, then others around me will not see these qualities in me.

2. How to stay mentally healthy:

  • Take charge of your self-care: There is no reason that in 2017, no one is not abiding by a self-care regimen by now. I feel as if this is not s staple in your life, it needs to become one quickly. I adapted a self-care attitude early in 2017 and have not looked back since. Making my self-care a priority has not only improved my mental health, but it has also proven to make me a healthier person inside and out.

3. How to stay spiritually healthy:

  • Take time out of the day to meditate: Meditation has become a lifesaver for me in many circumstances. Taking as little as 5 minutes to breathe has been quite a lifesaver and a refreshing restart that I never thought it would be. Meditation has also allowed me to gain more spiritual awareness with myself, especially in the times when I feel I’m losing touch with it. With my busy schedule I get very lost in everything that surrounds my job that I sometimes lose sight of taking the time for those things, and that is where meditation becomes a big priority for me.

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Would You Rather Win with the Team or on Your Own?: Collaboration vs. Competition

In the African American community, it is so common to see so many people excel in different business ventures and entrepreneurial endeavors that they have branched out on and it makes me wonder to myself, is it possible that people can achieve satisfaction from collaborating with their peers, as opposed to being in competition with them?

What would have happened if two people would have come together to make that happen, instead of having so many different avenues of the same business running at the same time.  I believe it is because more people thrive off healthy competition with one another; as opposed to collaborating and sharing the spotlight with someone else.

People who are individually competing in something are naturally going to want to overshadow anyone else they are competing against, because they want to make sure they are seen as the number one person.  This reminds me of the “crabs in a bucket” mentality; where we constantly step over and manipulate each other, just to be the person at the top.

Humans live for the validation of others, believe it or not.  Even when you do not realize it; you live for some form of validation in your hard work and dedication to a task.  Even when you don’t expect it, a kind gesture, a thank you or some written recognition goes a long way when you have put in the time, dedication and effort t to get to a certain place with someone and you competed and won.

I also believe there is some level of competition within collaborating with others; however, when sharing a project with someone, it is just that.  It is a shared and joint effort, and therefore the work and end product is presented and shared amongst the group.  No one person is anticipated to be outshined by another person, because that is not hte purpose of a collaborative effort.  The point is to allow all parties to have an equal and conscious effort into completing the task.

So, again I say, we all have plenty of opinions on whether or not competition is good or bad for you; however, I like to think when using competition in a positive framework, it can be utilized in a morale-boosting way in a professional workplace and things of that nature.  I also like to think that collaborative efforts are just as creative and deserve just as much credit as welll.  In the end, it all depends on how or what your personal rewards-based system runs on: do you enjoy collaborating and sharing the positive efforts  with other peers, or  do you live with a competitive mindset on getting things achieved?

Whitney C.2 Comments

Take that Leap 

I found another motivating quote pic on Instagram this week, and it resonated with me in a way that I needed to add a few motivational words to it for today.


I can’t count how many times I have said I was going to take the chance to do something great, and get stalled at point of fear.  

The fear of being rejected for your ideas, the fear of failure, the fear of not being positively supported will take a very big toll on you and cause you to question yourself; and your ideas and your chance to be great will be stunted by your inability to push through the barriers.  In the end, you give up; and in the future, you begin to regret those chances you didn’t take when you had the chance. 

I try my best to not live in the mentality of regret.  I make a conscious decision to do something or not to do something, and I find peace with that decision.  Living in regret will only cause you more pain, you will begin to have self-doubt about future goals and opportunities, and it’s just not a fun way to live life. 

Wasn’t it Ms. Frizzle from Magic School Bus that said “take chances, make mistakes and get messy!” 

I think we should all take heed to that gem of a statement. 

✌🏾️

Whitney C.Leave a comment