When I was little, I would sit glued to the TV for hours upon hours watching my favourite shows during my spare time
Shout out to you if you also grew up watching Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel and Cartoon Network!
Up to today I still remember many theme songs, but do you know what else I still remember?
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 many times have you turned down opportunities, including ones you always dreamed of, simply because you thought you weren’t good enough, smart enough, or that there was someone better suited than you? I’ve certainly let my insecurities affect how I’ve showed up or not showed up before, but I’ve come to realise that no one is looking for perfection. People are simply looking for someone with solutions to their problems.
I remind myself of this whenever I have a PR engagement, and I’m tempted to listen to that self-critical voice in my head. I silence all the negative thoughts and think about what the audience needs from me and how best I can help them. By focusing less on my insecurities and more on the fact that I have knowledge that can transform someone’s life, I step away from the unrealistic pressure of being “the very best” and step into my purpose: showing up, serving, and sharing with others.
I shared all this and more on my recent Strength X Glory IG Live with (host) Laureen Alexa. We also talked about how you can step into the confidence needed to share your story by realising that:…
2 weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending Tiwa King’s first in person event since the "panoramic". Even more special, though, is that this was actually the first time that we had met in person full stop.
This, despite the fact that we live in the same city and had spoken virtually and on the phone (for hours at a time) prior to this day.
Tiwa’s event (The Authenticity Checklist) was a full circle moment in a lot of ways because of:
#1 The nature of the event itself
I first encountered Tiwa at TEDx Peckham 2018. I use the word “encounter” because we didn’t meet. She sang “Glory” as I sat there transfixed by the power of her performance.
At the time, I had a vodcast in which I would interview inspiring Christian women in business. I made up my mind, right there and then that I would reach out to her. Then...
She ghosted me...
Or so I thought...
According to my mum, my 2 favourite words as a child were "no" and "why?".
This made me the kind of child that you couldn't just ask to do something/not do something. I had to be negotiated with. I had to be placated. I had to understand the reasoning behind what you were telling me to do or not do.
As you can imagine, this got me into trouble with the more traditional adults in my life who saw my inquisitive nature as rudeness and disobedience.
But, did it change anything? Not really! Chalk it up to my ENTJ personality type but even as an adult I don't do anything that I don't see the logic or sense behind, let alone commit to it.
"So what makes you so committed to helping women in business to pitch the media so that they can get more visible, attract their dream clients and get paid what they want?" You may be wondering.
Once again, the answer lies in "why".
One of my favourite books of the Bible is Proverbs. When I’m feeling particularly demotivated (typically first thing in the morning), my go to scripture is Proverbs 6:10-11:
A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.
It literally snatches my edges and gathers me all the way together!
I’ve always really loved the lines before this scripture too. For example, Proverbs 6:6-8
Which reads:
Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no captain,
Overseer or ruler,
Provides her supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
Prior to my recent trip to Costa Rica, I always saw these lines a simple admonishment to:
Be a self-starter
Not procrastinate
Prepare
That all changed when I saw a group of ants in action and managed to capture it in the video below
One of my favourite quotes from John Maxwell is: “If you think you’re leading, but no one is following, then you are only taking a long walk”
Because, the truth is, as much as you may have a mission and vision that you feel called to establish- you can’t do it by yourself, sis!
In fact, to quote from a devotional that I once wrote on Euodia and Syntyche and make this more clear:
A God-given vision will always require the assembling of a team, as teamwork makes the dream work more effectively and efficiently than doing things alone. However they also teach us that teamwork only makes the dream work if they remain like-minded, just as Paul implored [Euodia and Syntyche] to be [in Philippians 4:2-3] . Without “complete sympathy with the object of the alliance” (in the words of Andrew Carnegie) the vision will fall apart and never come to pass.
But how can you get people to willingly follow and support your cause like that?
Well, there are 5 main steps which we see really clearly outlined in the events of Zipporah’s life (particularly as Moses’ wife)- as detailed in the video below.
So…I have a confession to make, lovely..
When it comes to new year, I can be a bit of a grinch. To the point that, last year, I wrote an article for TEDx entitled “Looking beyond new year”. To quote from it, here’s why:
I don’t believe in the magic of new year! Do I believe it’s a great time for reflection? Yes, and I do so around this time! Do I believe it’s a great opportunity to set some new intentions and goals? Absolutely, I always set New Year’s resolutions! But, when I say that I don’t believe in the magic of new year, I mean that I do not believe in the myths surrounding it such as that, in and of itself, a new year will:
Wipe the proverbial slate clean, getting rid of all the challenges and issues that people currently face in life
Mean that no new challenges and issues will pop up, thereby allowing them to have a flawless and “successful” year overall.
I also don’t fall into the category of people who believe that, just because they’ve set a goal or intention for the new year, it will automatically come to pass (regardless of the aforementioned challenges and issues).
So what this means is that when people are saying things like:
“This is going to be my year”
“New year, new me”
And more around this time of year, it absolutely annoys me!
You see things don’t change just because you want them to. At least one, if not all, of the following must take place in order to achieve your goals/new years resolutions:
Developing the right mindset
Taking consistent action
Practicing successful habits
Having a strong enough why so that when the going gets tough, you won’t give up
It’s that last point that I’m going to be focusing on today as I discuss how to find the why behind your goals (using Rachel and Leah as an example of what NOT to do) because I truly believe it will be as fundamental to your journey as it has been to me so far.
SOUND GOOD LOVELY?
Great! Do whatever it is that you need to do to get comfortable so you can watch and enjoy the video below.
