Friendship

What to do when people don't support you

What to do when people don't support you

When I first started to gain traction with PR it was as a blogger in the first quarter of 2017. However, by that December, I was ready to quit writing all together

Here's why 👇🏾

"If someone who I've considered a sister for 10 years could so misconstrue and under rate my writing," I remember thinking, "What hope is there that strangers will get me?"

And so, like I said, I seriously considered calling it quits with The Far Above Rubies Collection and all the business ideas that I hoped would come out of it

Fast forward to now and I am an award winning blogger, international speaker and freelance writer who has not only been able to monetise my gift but get featured on platforms such as Thrive Global, The TEDx blog, HuffPost, Bustle, Mic, Addicted2Success, Black Ballad and more. I also just got rave reviews for Media Magic (the luxury retreat that I held in Tulum, Mexico in July teaching business women how to get PR for themselves)

What led to this success was...

Lessons from Exodus 1 and 2 on How to collaborate effectively

Lessons from Exodus 1 and 2 on How to collaborate effectively

There are 5 ladies of great significance in Moses’ early life, as detailed in Exodus 1 and 2:

  1. Jochebed (his biological mother)

  2. Shiphrah (his midwife)

  3. Puah (also his midwife)

  4. Miriam (his sister)

  5. Pharaoh’s daughter (his adopted mother)

What struck me most about them is how they buck the traditional stereotype that women can’t get along! I mean, sis, they literally all came together in order to preserve their joint vision- protecting Moses and keeping him alive- despite the fact that the Pharaoh reigning at the time had commanded that all Hebrew boys be killed at birth!

Not only that, they did it successfully!

So clearly these 5 bad-ass women have a lot to teach us about the power of collaboration in bringing our God-given visions to life and how to do it- all of which I shared on my Facebook page this week via the (live) video below.

Lessons from Asenath on how to be productive

Lessons from Asenath on how to be productive

So for the last 2 weeks, lovely, we’ve been doing a lot of talking about Asenath and what she gave birth to- particularly with regards to the significance of her first son’s name (Manasseh).

Today, we’ll be moving right along to decoding the significance of her second son’s name (Ephraim) and what she has to teach us about being productive- all of which I shared on my Facebook page this week via the (live) video below.

Lessons from the 10 virgins on how to build purposeful relationships

Lessons from the 10 virgins on how to build purposeful relationships

When I was in secondary (or high) school our head mistress taught us a song in one of our assemblies. The lyrics were:

"Accentuate the positive

Eliminate the negative

Latch on to the affirmative

Don't mess with Mr. In-between"

I know you're probably wondering how this all ties in with today's theme and title, right lovely?

Okay, let me explain!

It occurred to me that in all my recent chat about relationships, I'd only really talked about how to set healthy boundaries in them- aka how to swat away negative, unhealthy or non purposeful relationships.

Yet I hadn't spent much time talking about how you can build positive, healthy and purposeful relationships so that you can harness their power (as detailed here). To fix that, I shared exactly that on my Facebook page this week via the (live) video below!

How and why female friendships are so important with Naama Barnea-Goraly

How and why female friendships are so important with Naama Barnea-Goraly

In today's interview, I will be talking about how and why female friendships are important with none other than the amazing Naama Barnea-Goraly (M.D. and creator of Telle- a private app designed especially for women to connect with the women they can be themselves with, and nurture female friendships). 

By the end of this video you will know:

  • The difference between male and female communication and why it evolved that way

  • The science behind female friendships in terms of how they can improve your health and well-being

  • How to foster healthy female friendships (plus how the Telle app can help!)

  • And much more!

Sound like your cup of tea, lovely?

Great! You can do whatever it is you need to do to get comfortable and press play to access this awesome conversation, below:

Lessons from the 10 virgins on the characteristics of purposeful vs non purposeful relationships

Lessons from the 10 virgins on the characteristics of purposeful vs non purposeful relationships

In the last few weeks we have been spending a lot of time in Matthew 25 studying The Parable of the 10 Virgins and what they have to teach us about relationships.

Today, now that we know why relationships are so important and all that jazz, we are going to be talking about what they reveal about the characteristics of purposeful versus non purposeful relationships so that we know exactly which relationships we need to:

in order to achieve our God-given purpose(s).....all of which I shared on my Facebook page this week via the (live) video below.

Lessons from The Virtuous Woman, Lydia and Priscilla on How to be a Strong Business Woman

Lessons from The Virtuous Woman, Lydia and Priscilla on How to be a Strong Business Woman

I have been a fan of Mary J. Blige since my childhood in the early 90s and have taken great inspiration from watching the way that she has blazed trails, set trends and overcome adversity, both in her career and personal life, from then even up till now. This, in addition to the fact that her songs tend to surround themes such as female empowerment, make her a favourite. 

With a title like “The Strength of a Woman,” her new album seems set to carry on this important discussion. So, to celebrate, I was inspired to share 8 markings of a strong business woman through some of my favourite Mary J. Blige lyrics. These were then featured on Sheleadsafrica,org, where I discussed characteristics such as:

  1. Having a niche (both in terms of specialism and market)
  2. Having goals and going for them
  3. Refusing to tolerate negative entities
  4. Rising above naysayers and enemies of progress
  5. Seeking positive relationships and collaborations
  6. Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
  7. The importance of having a positive outlook and faith
  8. Using your platform for good

You can read the article in full here.

This then set off a chain of events in which I became inspired to research some of the business women of the Bible. Because, as much as some would have us believe that women should have no choice but to stay at home, the women we are about to discuss show differently....

Lessons from Athaliah on Seeking Godly Counsel

Lessons from Athaliah on Seeking Godly Counsel

Athaliah was the daughter of Queen Jezebel and King Ahab. They were the monarchs that rejected God and introduced the worship of a god called Baal in Israel- even going so far as to kill the majority of God's prophets. 

After lots of shuffling of monarchs, when they died, Athaliah's son (Ahaziah) became king. However, the Bible says that:

"He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. Therefore he did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction " (2nd Chronicles 22:3-4)

Athaliah, therefore, has much to teach us on the importance of seeking godly counsel.