On October 5th I attended the Next Level Speakers Conference
This was all thanks to one of my close friends who got me a ticket as a birthday gift
One of my all-time favourite motivational speakers, Eric Thomas (ET), was a keynote speaker
I’ve followed him for years and had seen him twice in London before this (I wasn't kidding about him being one of my faves lol). But seriously, every time I see Eric Thomas it’s incredible, and the copious notes I took are testament to that
Here’s what I learned 👇🏾
If you're not where you want to be, it's because of one of three things:
#1 The people around you
Eric made this point based on the story of Joseph from the Bible. Here's what he shared: Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him. They didn’t want to see him succeed or do better than them, and they resented him to the point where they wanted to harm him. Even his dad, who loved him, made matters worse when he gave Joseph the coat of many colours. Joseph didn't have the right peers around him, and the person who should’ve mentored and showed him the way didn’t know what he was doing either. Like Joseph, if you don’t have the right people around you and if you don’t have the right mentorship you’re not going to get where you want to.
#2 Your environment
Joseph wasn’t in the right environment where his gifts and purpose could activate. It wasn’t until he left his father’s home; went to Potiphar’s house, jail and, ultimately, the palace that he was in the correct environment where he could take up his rightful place. Joseph became a leader in all three of these environments. He could dream his dreams, and they would be appreciated rather than resented and reviled. The lesson here is the importance of being in the right environment. When you are in the right environment, you will walk in your gifts and exercise your talents, and your true purpose and glory will flourish rather than flounder
#3 The system you are currently in or using
Let’s compare Joseph’s journey to Samuel’s. When Samuel heard God calling his name, he went to Eli (the priest) and basically said: “Yes, I heard a call and assumed it was you”. He went to Eli 3 times, thinking it was him who was calling his name until Eli realised Samuel was hearing the voice of God. With that, Eli coached him about how he should answer the next time he heard that voice: "Rather than coming to me, you should respond by saying: 'speak Lord for thy servant heareth'". Joseph didn't have that kind of guidance or system when he was with his family because, despite his dad's favouritism, he was low in the hierarchy his brothers had established. But when he was in Potiphar's house, Joseph was made chief and could do anything he wanted; he could run his whole estate. Even when imprisoned, the guards trusted him so much that they would get him to ensure all the other prisoners were in line. When he got before the pharaoh and interpreted his dream, Joseph was made second in command and tasked with preparing for the famine.
When I was listening to Eric Thomas speak, I could relate
I’ve certainly been in situations where I’ve been around the wrong people or in the wrong environment, and system
It also put me in mind of what the incredible women who were part of Media Magic said they loved about it the most
And I realised that I had curated a successful retreat because I was able to reverse engineer and positively harness the 3 key ingredients (a positive network, environment and system) mentioned in ET's talk
For example...
Leonna:
Who said:
"A lot of times it's us telling us that we're not worthy of getting somewhere. Or sometimes it's our friends or our family or the people that have known us for our whole life who say 'Maybe don't dream too big, or maybe just settle...' but really you should go where you're appreciated and that requires you to expand your territory. Sometimes you just need a little push and that retreat, for me personally, was that push to know that not only I can think of it, but I could actually do it...There’s so many platforms that I’ve wanted to go on…that I thought I could only dream about but in this retreat… I really learned how to actually reach out to those huge platforms that will help bring my business to the next level…If you really are serious about going to the next level, if you really are serious about getting on those platforms that you thought, like me, you could only dream of getting on- this is worth the money, it’s worth the time and the sacrifices that you need to make to get to the next retreat. It’s so worth it because it’s no longer just a dream, these are now things that I can actually attain"
Vickie:
Who said:
“It was a phenomenal experience [because] I needed the release of just being in a place that was calm and peaceful; where I could step away from my day-to-day operations… That gave me the chance to then truly hone in on and focus on what I was trying to accomplish... So the power of it for me was that separation and then the value of the information that we were given... The information [was] not overwhelming, it’s very clearly laid out; it was accessible- even for someone that’s not familiar with public relations- and I love the fact that I came away from it feeling and knowing that I now have a clear pathway for the things I want to do next in my business… This [retreat] absolutely needs to be the next step that you take!”
And Andrea:
Who said:
"The highlight for me was the group of phenomenal women. These women were open, inviting, friendly, ready to be vulnerable, ready to give, ready to receive... They saw the things in me that I was blind to, they spoke to my next; they spoke to my future… I'm literally in awe. If you're thinking about coming to Magic Media, know that you are walking into an environment of love and support, of encouragement, of people who really do want to see you succeed and will be rooting for you. [Also] know that when it comes to PR, Nina is going to get you together. During our sessions, how she walked us through the playbook, and she had us complete tasks- It gave us a sense of clarity…Honestly, book the ticket, sign up, put your deposit down, do whatever it is you’ve got to do. If you want to move forward in your business with PR and if you are looking for a community of women who will support you in that, please look no further!"
Ready to connect to the right people in a distraction-free environment and get all the systems you need to achieve PR success? There’s a waiting list that you can join to get early access to details about next year’s retreat and first dibs on early bird tickets. Will you join here?