I'm so totally honoured to share that I spoke at The Rise to Millions Conference in Paris and received a Legendary Woman of Impact Award there recently 🥳🥳🥳
It was the last weekend of October to be exact
As I stood in front of the crowd, trying to find the words to express how honoured I was, I ended my speech by saying something like: “Well, this wasn’t on my bingo card, but it’s real, and it’s happening because I chose to follow my dreams...literally"
Here's what I meant by that 👇🏾
Just before my birthday, I had a lovely brunch with my good friend, Eunice
It was so good! 🤤
We laughed and chatted
And, like how it always goes, the conversation fluctuated between serious topics to the both of us just belly laughing
One of the topics that stood out for me was the one we had about the 7-F Framework or the Wheel of Life
There are different versions of it but the one I follow covers (in no particular order):
Faith
Family
Friends
Firm (business or work)
Fun
Fitness
Finance
In my conversation with Eunice, I told her about the “Fun” aspect of my life
i.e. how I’d shifted my mindset, and how doing so has not only improved my productivity but my relationship with being productive
For example, if you know me, you know I always say “October is my birthday"
In the past, this meant I’d reserve this month for fun, being with friends, brunch dates and just letting my hair down a little more
So I always had great expectations when it came to October, in the past, but this year was different
Here’s how 👇🏾
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 👇🏾
In September, I found myself asking myself a series of questions
I know you’re thinking “Such as?”
Well…
Like: "What is it that makes me the most happy, and how can I incorporate that into my life on more of a daily basis?"
But that was very much at the beginning of the month
I think that anybody who knows me well, knows that I love traveling
Yes, it's because I get to experience different cultures and spend time with the people that I love and eat delicious food and all of that sort of jazz
But I also realise that part of what I love about holidays and traveling, is also the person that I am when I'm on holiday
I know what I'm going to wear on each day, and I'm hyped to wear those things. I know what I'm going to do, I know who I'm going to see
So, not only am I more relaxed, but actually, I am more organised
With this in mind…
In line with that, one of the things that I started to ask myself every day in September (after this realisation) was:
What kind of birthday celebrant are you?
Are you the sort of person who:
A) Is very low-key (as in “I don't celebrate at all” or “if I do, it's just on the day?”)
B) Is more of the mindset that the whole month is your birthday?
I'm the latter, as in:
I always say “October is my birthday” even though it’s only technically today
(October 3rd, on the day of sending this email)
This whole idea of October being my birthday is not just this self-centred wish to make it all about me, though
Believe it or not…
It has always been a celebration of life and an acknowledgement that there but by the grace of God go I
Earlier this week I attended the funeral of Mr Williams, my old secondary (or high) school teacher
He was my very first form tutor and my chemistry teacher throughout
More than that, though, he was one of my favourites
It's literally impossible for me to talk about my best memories from that time without mentioning his humour, passion and huge impact
One of the things I remember most about him is that he practised something called “peer teaching”
I.e.
If I managed to solve a problem or really impress him with my work, he would have me come up to the board, write out how I solved the equation and talk both him and my classmates through my process
But the reason that he did this wasn't because he thought I was a science genius, but because he wanted to:
Check my understanding (or that I didn’t cheat!)
Give the class the opportunity to hear an explanation in language that they could understand and relate to
When Mr Williams was calling me to the front of the class to help my classmates, he didn't require me to:
Become more of an expert
Gain more experience
Jump through a bunch of hoops to prove myself before diving in (or further)
That wasn't an issue or what he was even looking for
What he wanted was someone who knew just a bit more than his other students and could share it effectively
And that's all you need when it comes to PR too!
“Thank you for being the sent one to do and show us how possible it really is to execute an idea- a God-given idea… This is so deeply encouraging, Nina, honestly…”
This was a message that I received from my good sis, Rebekah, shortly after coming back from hosting Media Magic…
(the luxury retreat that I held in Tulum, Mexico in July teaching business women how to get PR for themselves)
…and updating her on how well it went
A theme that I was surprised to see come up in many other conversations that I would go on to have with loved ones afterwards
Aside from being beautiful words (that still have me emotional even now), there are a few key take-aways:
