On Friday I had the amazing opportunity to provide mentoring for an up and coming film maker as part of Genesis Child Films intensive workshop series
Shout out to my girl, Candice Onyeama for the invite!
One of the great questions that I was asked was "everyone talks about visibility and showing up authentically but how do I do that?"
If you've ever wondered the same thing, sis, here's my response:
Last week I mentioned that one of the common mistakes that people make, when it comes to mindset work, is thinking that it's a one-time thing
This is because, in the same way that real gardens need maintenance to ensure that weeds don't get out of hand, so do our minds
I also promised that I would give you some of the tips and tricks that I like to use for renewing my mind on a regular basis and that you can too
So here they are:
Last week we talked about 3 disempowering life and business beliefs
Remember that, sis?
As we stand at the beginning of a new year, I think it’s important that we discuss how to make it a success
If you’re anything like me, you’ve entered this year with a set of goals and things that you would like to achieve
Here are 4 lessons that we can learn from the widow in 2nd Kings 4:1-7 about how we can do that:
There are some seats at the table that you have to be invited to rather than create yourself
This is known as vertical networking. For example, Esther would not have been able to get her audience with the king and save her people if she hadn’t first gotten on his radar as described in Esther 5:1-2:
“Now it happened on the third day [of her fast] that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, across from the king’s house, while the king sat on his royal throne... So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favour in his sight, and… Esther went near [to speak to him]”
But how do we get close enough to the influencers within our industries to get on their radars in this new digital age?
How do we get to their inner courts, so to speak?
By being an asset to them and/or they’re community through:
Last week I mentioned that one of the things that we should be doing while waiting for our breakthrough(s) is seeking wise counsel from mentors
Rather than wallowing in discouragement
Esther is a prime example of this on at least 3 occasions. For example:
Esther 2:20
Which says “Esther had not revealed her people or family [before becoming queen], for Mordecai [her uncle] had charged her not to reveal it”
Esther 4:14
When she used her power, privelage and position as queen in service of her people at that same uncle’s behest.
But the specific passage that I had in mind when I mentioned this last week was Esther 2:15-18, which states that:
After their year of prep, when it was finally time for the ladies of the harem to meet the king “each young woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace”. But-
When it was Esther’s turn to see the king, “she requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised”
which was more than likely something more catered to the King’s taste than hers, helping her to secure the crown
This coincides with my previous post re what Esther teaches us about why we shouldn’t feel bad for promoting ourselves
Remember that, sis?
When it comes to promoting yourself through PR content is also king
Because it:
Positions you as an expert in your field
Increases your authority and credibility
Gives you a larger platform to share your thought leadership and message
Attracts your ideal clients
And more
Like Esther, though, we shouldn’t be approaching it thinking about how we can serve and elevate ourselves but how we can serve and elevate others (the people attached to the platform we are pitching)
Because your success, in life and business, correlates with the amount of people that you serve by solving their problems
The best way to achieve this?
Do like Esther…
Research, sis!
In my most recent post, I talked about How to be a trailblazer
You can read it here if you missed it, sis
Of the 5 things that I mentioned, one of them was the fact that being a trailblazer often means going first or being the first
which may mean discrimination, isolation, discomfort; people questioning your validity and/or the validity of your vision until God vindicates you- just like Zipporah suffered.
Going first or being the first also means leading by example, which is something that we see through Samson’s mum
To summarise a previous post about her:
Recently, I found myself going down a bit of a rabbit hole while having my morning devotion
Has that ever happened to you, sis?
I started off in Exodus 15
Where verse 20 says that Miriam (Moses’ sister) was a prophetess
This then landed me in 1st Corinthians 14
Where verses 1-5 talk about what prophecy is
Which then had me thinking about thought leadership and why it’s so important in networking and PR
Let me explain….
One of the things that I have mentioned quite a bit, in these last few weeks of studying Ruth, is that Ruth went from working in Boaz’ fields to owning them with him as his wife
She accomplished this feat through many different means and methods such as:
Networking horizontally: Which involves networking across; with your peers
Networking vertically: Which involves networking with the gatekeeper(s) of your industry
Making a proposal: Which involves pitching your ideas so that they can be realised e.g. for PR
But, if you study the story properly, it becomes very apparent that the thing that really helped Ruth succeed was the mentoring that she received
Namely from Naomi (her mother-in-law)
This shows us, as modern women, how important it is that we seek mentorship too
Not sure how, sis?
We can take a leaf out of Ruth’s book in the following ways:
