pitch

How to overcome imposter syndrome

How to overcome imposter syndrome

Leonna is the owner of Shake Culture Dance where she choreographs dance classes within her own organisation and other’s. She also directs music videos for Christian hip-hop artists, offers dance fitness classes for adults and children, and more

In fact, she did an amazing dance fitness class at last year’s Media Magic retreat and will be doing the same this year too

Prior to attending Media Magic, there were plenty of platforms that she wanted to go on but they seemed out of reach

Or that she “could only dream about” them

Because of factors like imposter syndrome (which is something I wrote about in my recent article with Addicted2Success (Imposter Syndrome Is Rooted in Your Past But Here’s How You Can Rewire It), by the way)

This was brought about by limiting beliefs like telling “[ourselves] that we're not worthy of getting somewhere” or “friends… family or the people that have known us for our whole life who say ‘Maybe don't dream too big, or maybe just settle..’”

By the end of the retreat, however, she said: “Entrepreneurs with imposter syndrome should come to this retreat [because] 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...”. According to Leonna, what led to this transformation was…

How to overcome the fear of telling your story

How to overcome the fear of telling your story

“Do you think my story is interesting enough to share?” This is one of the most frequently asked questions I get

Especially from would-be clients

My answer? While having the practical components in place is important

Like branding, knowing how to structure a pitch and the ability to communicate your story

Ultimately you need to have faith and a “who knows” spirit to succeed. Here's what I mean by that 👇🏾

Why communicating your why is so important

Why communicating your why is so important

When the ladies attended Media Magic, in Tulum (Mexico) last July, only 33% of them knew their why

I know this because of the results they got from my PR readiness assessment

This means that, at that point, they did not know what kind of impact they wanted to maķe in the world through PR

Which is an issue because not only does knowing your why keep you going when life be life-ing, in general, it helps you to remain steadfast ìn the face of having pitches ignored, rejected or ghosted

By the end of the retreat, though, I had them assess themselves again and the results revealed that 100% of them knew how to do this. What led to this success was…

How to overcome good girl syndrome

How to overcome good girl syndrome

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a HUGE Disney fan! The film that started it all? The Little Mermaid

Which I got for my 5th birthday

One of the things that I love about Disney movies is that they typically have deep, inspirational messages that can be applied to everyday life. The Little Mermaid is no exception

In case you’re unfamiliar with the story, here’s an example of that:

Ariel (The Little Mermaid) dreams of being human. When she falls in love with Prince Eric, she goes to Ursula (the sea witch)

She wants the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone:

  1. Become human forever

  2. See Eric again, get him to fall in love with her and seal it with a kiss

Ursula agrees to help Ariel, but there’s a catch: she wants Ariel’s voice as collateral

Also:

  1. Ariel will only have 3 days to find Eric and experience true love’s kiss

  2. Without that kiss, not only will Ariel not get her happily ever after, she’ll be Ursula’s prisoner forever

I know what you’re thinking, “How do mermaids, sea witches and having magic spells broken by true love’s kiss relate to my life, Nina?”

Well…

Why you need a North Star

Why you need a North Star

Years ago, my good sis Michelle told me I have the gift of communication

When she said this, I thought, “Yeah, I have a way of communicating, I can speak to others, teach, write, and use my gifts to convey big ideas”

But what I’ve also come to realise over the years is that my gift of communication fuels my curiosity about language

Hi, I’m Nina, and I’m a word nerd

I get curious when I hear or see a word that I’ve never come across before or suddenly have the urge to know where the origins of a phrase comes from

Even if I’ve heard it lots of times in the past

One such phrase is “North Star”

We often hear people talk about something being their North Star

I’ve always understood what this phrase meant as the thing that gives us purpose or fuels us towards a particular goal

Or our why

But, recently, I’ve been curious about why we say “North Star” in the first place

Here’s what Google told me:

How PR changed my life

How PR changed my life

If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen that I recently went live with the lovely Gladys Obaze
She's a coach and brand strategist who helps creative women heal, grow, and build thriving, and authentic brands that attract success

One of the questions she asked me was how PR has helped me

Well...

The short answer: it changed my life

The longer version?

Why mentorship is important

Why mentorship is important

When the ladies attended Media Magic, in Tulum (Mexico) last July, 0% of them knew how to get relevant PR opportunities

I know this because of the results they got from my PR readiness assessment

This means that, at that point, I could have given them the exact language, structure and anatomy of a successful pitch but it would have meant nothing because they didn't then know how to pitch platforms where their ideal clients were actually hanging out

Which is an issue because showing up on such podcasts, magazines, stages and so on leads to not getting a return on your efforts or investment

By the end of the retreat, though, I had them assess themselves again and the results revealed that 100% of them knew how to do this

What led to this success was…

Why haste makes waste

Why haste makes waste

If you’ve been rocking with me for a while, you’ll know that I struggle with productivity anxiety

I’m happy to report that I’m getting over it, and while it’s an everyday thing, I can look back on my progress and see how far I’ve come

In case you’re unfamiliar, productivity anxiety makes you feel like you’re not doing enough which meant that I used to hate planning and saw it as a waste of time

Can you relate, sis?

For me, it was better to get stuck in and do the damn thing than “waste time” actually planning. But then, I audited my life and realised the havoc this was wreaking. For example: