Learning Leadershp from Moana

After last week's blog, I had the pleasure of watching Moana again (and again! When do these kids go back to school though?). I love that every time I watch that movie, I see something new. I learn a new lesson that I can share with my son and with all of you! Here are two more lessons that I learned from Moana.

1. Don't become so content that you lose your focus on becoming better. Who you are is important, but growth is the goal. Every person should be focused on becoming a better version of themselves. When you focus on enjoying the person you are today AND simultaneously welcome and prepare for the person you can be, you can give so much more to the world.

I think Grant Cardone says it best in 100 Ways to Stay Motivated: It is my duty to be successful. Take that duty seriously, and strive to be better every moment of the day.

2. Think outside of the box. Leaders should be empowered to discover new roads and help their people to become better versions of themselves! It is our role as leaders to encourage idea generation and improve upon the processes, rules, and procedures in place. The only boundaries that exist for a leader and their organization are the ones that the leader establishes. If you choose to allow freedom within your organization, it doesn't undermine your power.

If appropriately built, your organization will know what your vision is, and they will bring you ideas to support and sustain that vision in the long term. After all, what is a visionary without the help of his or her "visionees?"

Shanta Wilkerson

Moana: Disney's still teaching life lessons!

It is no coincidence that today marks exactly 1 full year from my last post! It is #WINTENTIONALWEDNESDAY, so let's not talk about the losses or the unforeseen events of the last year that lead to my silence. What I want to discuss today is far more necessary than that! When I was a kid, Disney movies were always teaching me something. The Lion King taught me that family may not always have your best interest in mind. The Little Mermaid taught me never to sacrifice your voice for the affections of others. Beauty and the Beast taught me to always see the good in people even when their past has made them ugly. There are so many more, but let's dive right in! These are just a few of the lessons I learned from watching Moana (approximately 1 million times since my child found it on Netflix).

1. We are given our life mission before we know what life is.
2. We have our ancestors to guide us through our journey. We call it intuition.
3. We may be tempted to give up on our mission/vision/goals when things get tough, but we can't. People are relying on us to get it right!
4. We don't need special tools to complete the assignment. (Shiny isn't always a good thing LOL)
5. We will need to find our own strength to face the challenges of our journey, but those destined to help will always come when we need them!
6. We may have been chosen to fix a problem that we didn't create.
7. The reward of a completed mission is well worth the risks it took to get there.

What are some of your favorite Disney movie lessons?

Today is #WINtentionalWednesday!!!

Today is #WINtentionalWednesday, and I am so excited about it! One of the most important skills in life is the ability to set and reach your goals! Why? Because to successfully set and reach goals, you must be intentional about your personal development: What are my strengths? Weaknesses? How can I improve in my weak areas to maximize my impact and minimize the time it takes to reach my goals?


What are some dreams that you have for your life? What visions of yourself inspire you? Each of us has inside of us the propensity to dream and to create the life we choose! Personal development is the key that unlocks the door to our greatest experiences while consistency is the force that pushes that door open! Think about your life goals and visions for a few minutes. Do they seem lofty and frightening? Mine often do. That is when I remember that I can accomplish those goals with ease when I take calculated and INTENTIONAL steps towards them.

One of my dreams is to own a Maserati Ghibli Q4 (although those Teslas are quite appealing!!) With all of my current customizations, this car is well over $80,000. However I dice it, TODAY, this car is "slightly" out of my reach. Fortunately though for me, I know that by setting and reaching small goals and staying consistent with my stated intentions, I CAN own this car!

 Once again, really think about your goals, dreams, and visions for your life! Sit down with pen and paper and write down ALL of the tools that you currently have to get you there and then write down all of the tools you THINK you need to get you there. Now is where the work comes in! Find a way to utilize personal development to improve the skills you have and gain the skills that you need. This is your challenge. How do you intend to win today?

Current Events: Pause for the Cause(s)

This week millions of Americans celebrated independence day: black, white, brown, and albino, and then a few days later the news of two fatal police shootings shook the "entire nation," rather it should have. (Click here for the stories.) Once the news broke, it exposed the fractures and fault lines of America. #BlackLivesMatter was once again (and frustratingly so) the subject of discussion with sentiments ranging from "If they'd done... they'd still be alive" to "I don't understand why they keep doing this to us" and whole lot of in between!

While I agree that #BlackLivesMatter, I also know that this issue is deeper than race. It's much deeper than systematic oppression, and much deeper than police brutality. This is an issue of good versus evil, light versus dark, and heaven versus hell. If you disagree, think about this. You have a black friend in the LGBT community whose life was turned upside down after the shootings in Orlando. People were killed because of their sexual preference/identification. Take it even further and think about the possibility of another friend who is black, LGBT, and raised Islamic who is hated because of the actions of another radical extremist group!

Prejudice and categorization exists to create division, disdain, and a lack of trust within communities that, if we could ban together with a positive purpose, would become an unstoppable force for good. Don't let you absence from the groups being affected stop you from speaking. Don't allow your absence from a certain struggle cause you to belittle the struggle and rights of those in that struggle. We must all come together and learn to empathize with our fellow human being. We must realize that there is more at play than race.Think about this:

While we crusade for racial equality (which is a VERY worthy cause), the unseen hands that shape our country are pushing forward agendas that will take our rights away and have us stuck with no one to depend on but the very people that we are so prejudiced against.

Moldy Bread and the Championship Fighter

Today, I had the pleasure of being a guest host on the Dr. Walter Sims radio show on 106.3 WJPMG! It was truly an amazing experience, and I was honored to be a part of it. We talked about a lot of things, but one point that stuck out to me was when the Doc asked me "Why is personal development so important?" I responded to his question with another question:

Would you make a sandwich with moldy bread?

Of course no one wants to eat a sandwich made of moldy bread (and more than likely, no one will), but we often neglect ourselves which, in this analogy, implies that more often than not we are eating that moldy bread. Not only are we eating it, we are forcing it on others as well! We form relationships with people when we should be focusing on our foundation alternatively we push our needs to the back of the cabinet and work to provide for everyone else's. When you are working to rebuild yourself after trauma or discover who you are in life, period, you need to work on the foundation of your life: YOURSELF!

 

When you truly focus on personal development and becoming the best version of you that is possible, you will discover just how flawed you are! Don't let that stop you!

You are more powerful than you even realize. Take the first step, and you will be forever thankful! This principle applies to everyone, but if you are a survivor of domestic abuse and an entrepreneur (especially if you've been feeling a little lost after leaving), I am here to help you navigate your new life! It can be intimidating, but when you realize that you are not alone, you can accomplish new and amazing things. Let's rebuild your life together; we are all championship fighters!

 

Great Missions Reuire Great Minds

In 2016, you can hire a coach/mentor to teach you just about anything, prepare you for just about anything, or push you to become the best you possible! I've met and interacted with so many great coaches (Rochelle Ford-Wilson, Dr. Walter Sims, Aprille Franks-Hunt, Allyson Byrd, the list goes on and on) over the last 2 years, that it's literally become a goal of mine to see how many lives I can impact. I have just been a bit confused about how to impact those lives.

I know that I talk a lot about living on purpose and doing what God placed you on this Earth to do, but I must admit, it can be a challenge (especially if you don't know what that purpose is or if you have so many ideas that it's hard to narrow it down). Purposeful living has been a challenge for me in many ways, but the biggest challenge came from within! Yes, the greatest challenge that I've faced on my mission to live on purpose is my own SELF CONFIDENCE! "But Shanta, you're all over the internet doing stuff. How are you not confident?"

Let me break it down a bit. For about 6 years, I was in a relationship with a person who was mentally, spiritually, emotionally, financially, and lastly physically abusive. He was able to break down all of my defenses and implant these negative vibrations into my psyche that created a very volatile and negative co-dependency between us. Even though this month makes 3 years since I left that relationship, I am still dealing with the residue from staying so long in that negative environment!

Last week I made the decision to take my life ALL THE WAY back! I took a HUGE step in my life, and I hired a coach of my own! He's not just any coach, I hired a friend to keep it 100% real with me & share my life with! After everything that happened with my abuser, I was so ashamed and embarrassed which kept my confidence at those lower levels. Dr. Walter Sims is a PHENOMENAL mentor! He is helping me rebuild my self confidence, and be accountable & consistent with my business, vision, and message.

Going forward, you'll see a lot more posts about finances, entrepreneurship, and domestic abuse! It is my mission to help survivors become thrivers and live their best lives possible. Each of us has a purpose to fulfill. Some of our purposes are meant to reach a larger audience than others. In order to be as efficient and intentional with your purpose as possible, you need a coach! Every coach is not for every body, but when you're ready, the right coach for you will become apparent! And remember, someone is looking for that special gift that only you have!

Your Gift will Make Room for You

I was having somewhat of a panel discussion a few weeks ago with some associates and one of them said "Your gift will make room for you." (Proverbs 18:16 A gift opens doors for a man and brings him before the great.) The young high school kids we were talking to were getting so many golden nuggets of truth that I wish someone had known to share with me back in 2008! Her statement resonated with me on such a deep level & I haven't been able to get it out of my head! It wasn't until I started writing this blog that I realized exactly what that means. The definition, simply stated: Your passion will create a sense of urgency that no need ever can!

That's right. A sense of urgency makes all the difference. Think about it. How hard are you likely to work for some thing or someone that doesn't speak to your passion or purpose? Some people live to serve others in whatever capacity they can, but for the rest of us, we need to be pursuing our own passions and utilizing our other talents. We thrive on purging ourselves of our gifts. Our fulfillment is in our ability to procreate our vision for the WORLD to see!

As a mother, my child is one of the most important creations that I've ever made. Before he grew inside of me, there was a purpose growing there. It was a seed that the creator planted. He also gave me all of the tools and the blueprint for how I should prune and strengthen the seedling as it grew! Once I discovered the blueprint, it unlocked a level of power and energy in me that nothing can squelch! You have the same experience available to you. You just need to unlock it!