2019: Game Changer

Happy New Year BOSSers!

Can I just say how excited I am for 2019? Speaking to my peers, 2018 seemed quite eventful in the most challenging way. There were a number of eye opening experiences that lead to changes in attitudes and perceptions towards people and society. In some ways it has brought people together and in some circumstances it closed a couple of chapters. But nothing to fear when we look at what 2019 has to offer.

Aiming to make a difference in 2019

Making this year a game changing year should be a goal for us all to consider and here are the reasons why.

Scrolling through social media during the last quarter of 2018 saw lots of fun new entrepreneurial activities.  What really hit me the most was to see a large number of celebrities in Ghana for the Afrochella, TINA conference and a couple of other events over the Christmas break, which I initially planned on being there but due to finances was unable to make it. Another thing that inspired me are the number of young women becoming entrepreneurs and giving back to the community in order to increase in value. This was something I used to be heavily involved in when I was in secondary school, where I was the president of a newly found organisation called EMPV (Ethnic Minority Pupil Voice) group. The organisation was a network which created a platform for young people to discuss social, economical and political issues within the news and the impact it had on ethnic minorities. Once a year the organisation hosted a cultural food event, welcoming well- established guests and members of the community. I guess what I am trying to imply here is that I used to make a difference a long time ago and now I have come to realise that it is time to reconnect with what I once did in order to fulfil my goal for the year.

Put yourself to the test- 1 Goal

To change the way I live out 2019, I decided to put myself through the test with just 1 main goal that can be built upon as time passes. The Goal should not be exactly drastic like move to the moon by December but neither too small such as loose 1kg of weight. By setting the theme for the year as ‘The Game Changer’, I knew that my goal had to solely reflect that one thing that would set itself apart from previous years. My goal for 2019 was to be financially stable, meaning that I set my career straight with a job that I will enjoy and also wish to strive in.

Occupy yourself less

Make time for rest and enjoying the simplicity of life. It’s easier said than done, especially when you hope to win so much in life. The simplest things like proper breathing, our health, friends and family become a secondary during our strive. It is only when those areas start to wobble or come to us with concern that we realise that it becomes a problem.

Our wellbeing is very important should be taken seriously if we want to succeed. There is no point in working really hard and making yourself sick and hated when you won’t in future be able to enjoy yourself.

Complete what you finished

How many times have we started a project (or thought of a bright idea) that could bring let’s say another income or make a difference in the community but never really get round to finishing or getting it in gear? I know I can name many classic examples where I made the decision to start on a project but in the end never got round to launching it in full swing. Instead, I kept discussing the idea like it was in full action.

Well in 2019, the aim is to jot down these innovative ideas and then select one or two that I feel that I can work on. Once those projects have been selected I scale out my game plan relating to this project with realistic timeframes to identify the feasibility through research and funding before deciding  whether to move forward with the idea or not.

I know for myself this year. I hope to travel more and incorporate a travel blog and vlog to my channels. It’s been something that has played on my mind for a while since I love to travel. Another idea I had is to work on the BOSS Challenge to incorporate more relevant content to my subscribers and lastly develop my entrepreneurial sense.

Process of elimination (The hiatus in the storm)

Ever felt so burnt out that you just feel to take an entire year out just to enjoy your own company and live life in peace day by day? Yes. That’s exactly how I felt after my last vlog and blog post about a year (or more) ago. It’s not to say that I didn’t want to or couldn’t be bothered with, but more to do with the fact that I was burning myself out with my Master’s degree, a full- time job, volunteering, travel vlogging and blogging, everything all at once. Perhaps had I limited myself by 2 or 3 responsibilities, I may have been able to manage myself a little bit better and so to say balance my ‘work-life-balance’ a little better. But as a very determined person, that picture became blurred by the rush of adrenaline and flow of opportunities that sometimes make it so difficult to turn down some of these once in a lifetime offers. Soon enough what used to be adrenaline and passion began to feel like a chore filled with anguish and a tonne of stress.

With that being said, I had to make that stern decision, first if all by seating myself down metaphorically and note down all my involvements, as well as everything that was stressing me out. This can range from projects to my relationship with friends, family and potentials; career goals and/or struggles, personal desires and generally how I felt or saw myself from the outside and within. Believe it or not, this task seemed harder than I thought it would be and it took me a few weeks to complete a simple A4 page. The aim of this task was not to fill up the entire page but to empty myself out with all of my concerns, thoughts and feelings so that it was all visible in front of me rather than being pilled all up in my head.

The next task involved my spiritual connection by involving God in the process to allow Him to take control of my life. As a Christian (and some other faiths may agree on this), we are taught to put our trust in the almighty, to guide us in the way that we should go and live our lives according to our destiny. I strongly believe that we all have more than one option to fulfil our life’s purpose, and so regardless of whichever path we take, there is always a plan of action for us. Also, by asking God to be involved in my life and figuratively ask Him to ‘take the wheel’, I am able to shift and relieve myself from that heavy responsibility of making things work. Far too often we try to be superhumans but in reality, we can try to do so but only for a short period of time because we aren’t created to be superhumans. Moreso, by inviting God, I also asked Him to clarify and reorder my priorities.

You’d be surprised! The shift of responsibility is relief that can feel so good when done wholeheartedly! Things actually became a lot clearer by asserting myself with a reality check. And so the process of ‘task elimination’ began. In fact, it became a lot clearer to me that the most important thing to me at the time was work and completing my studies. Everything else was secondary and didn’t matter more. It was a tough decision but one that was truly worth it, as I was able to shift my focus to specific things instead.

Now that a year has gone by, I am proud to say that I have managed and completed the projects I struggled to maintain at the start, including completing my Master’s degree and a couple of travel vlogs which I edited and uploaded in my own time. As I said, a process of elimination is often needed in our life, in order to make sure that everything can actually be completed. There is no need to rush things. All you have to do is take things easy, one step at a time, and all will work out just as well as had you tried to complete it all at once.

Want to see what I’ve been up to? Check out my vlogs below!

Travel Vlog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUvFp6mbPyg&t=222s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l24Wu-Hu9Y4&t=355s

Getting ready for 2018 – BOSSChallenge Sign Up today

My oh my has this year gone by so quickly! I can still remember this time last year when I took part in challenge 100 and launched, like it was just last week. But hey, if the year went by very quickly, it means that the year was a good year for you. We know this from the times we had so much fun, time just seems to fly by like a rolling tide. Of course, the fact that we are near the end of 2017, this means that we need to start getting prepared for the next year that is set to come in a matter of days.
And I was thinking, if I had the power to write my future for the year 2018, how and what would I like to happen? I think it would be a great way to set myself up and prepare myself with goals that would make 2018 interesting and successful.

Here are two things to get yourself prepped!

1) #BOSSChallenge100

I know it’s a little later than I had hoped but the BOSS Challenge will be starting on the 4th December (basically in a few days). If you’re a little unfamiliar about this challenge I will quickly brief you on it in less words than my original post (click here to read more about the BOSS Challenge). The BOSS Challenge or now #BOSSChallenge100 is a 100-day positivity cleanse for females to feel and be empowered. Each day, each BOSSer is required to apply at least one of the BOSS attributes, to encourage their personal development. These are Beautiful, Optimistic/Opportunist, Self-Assured, Sister. During these 100 days you will be either in contact with other BOSSers or receive frequent email notifications from me to keep the move going.

If you would like to take part, sign up TODAY by sending me an email thaliebrown@gmail.com or find me on Facebook @ThalieBrown. Don’t worry it’s FREE.

2) Vision Board

I really enjoyed making my vision board. I felt like a little kid literally tearing magazines and newspapers apart and sticking images onto card board… Almost like having an Argos catalogue and, sticking and cutting everything up for your dream house. This year I’m coming up prepared with a better and more concise plan  for 2018 (Not to say that the vision board for 2017 wasn’t too realistic enough). With this board, I hope to set myself the right goals that will take me one step closer to where I want to be in life, and I’d suggest that you do the same for yourself too, so that we can all celebrate a successful 2018!

Oh and yes!

And maybe a third point to add…

I have a new travel vlog that’s up on my YouTube channel! Just click here to view.

That’s it from me.

Making Executive Decisions

Hey what’s up PinkShaders!

I know its been a hot minute and maybe since I last posted but your girl has been cooking up some projects that are manefesting themselves into something really exciting. I also celebrated my 25th birthday on a private beach in Ghana (may not be much of deal to some of you but it was the best birthday I ever had! Vlog available on my YouTube channel). So what’s been holding me up? I’ve been working on maximising my potential to better myself (reference to my #BOSSChallenge click here to see my latest travel and subscribe to my channel! xxx

For the past 2 months or so, I’ve picked up another blogging gig at Final Call Production and have started a master programme in International Business Management. This is in addition to my YouTube channel (which I know has had a few delays but will explain further below), still mentoring young people and working on a few secret projects *wink*. These are just a few examples of my initiatives to make an executive decision for my own personal life  and is a choice to pursue the things I know and hope, will spark something in future.

Now on to what this blog post is really about….

Those around me would have heard me say this a thoussand times and probably even more. It’s litterally been my personal tagline/ motto for the year and honestly an encouragement to help me make direct decisions and take responsibility of my own actions, life and future. I cannot stress how important it is to take responsibility on making decisions that affect YOUR own life.

Up until 2 years ago, I used to be told what to do and blame any mishaps on those who had a bigger say on what I ought to do with MY LIFE, MY GOALS and MY DREAMS.

As an Executive or BOSS of your life.

One of my favourite bible quotes that I translate into my own words (and totally applicable to this concept) is “You reap what you sew”. In other words you make a decision + you put the energy in = you reap the benefit.
If you decide to reap whatever without actually putting any energy in, you’re not exercising control and in that sense arr runnning on sheer luck and total reliance on the energy of others… trust me your luck will run out and what you expect may turn out to be the complete opposite to what you really want or need.

Another reason why executive decisions making is so important in life, is because, I’m tired of re-doing the things that aren’t up to my standards. Delegating work is part of the job of being an executive. And if you are able to demonstrate that ability successfully and up to your standards, then kudos to you. However,
when you have a goal that is not common with the person(s) you are deligating the task to, then the likelihood of achieving the same common goal is slim or barely existent.
In fact quite often (and be sure to let me know if you have experienced the same thing).. I have come to realise that whenever I trust someone with the most important project/ high level task to complete something, I often find myself having to re-do or takeover the work because it didn’t meet my qualities and thus realise that I am relying on others to do what I can do better and my way.

Now, 2017 is already coming to an end and the question I have for you is, are you not tired of being let down by people whom you have relied one too many responsibilities that are way too important to you? At this moment in our life, we need to think.. “what is that one thing holding me up from reaching that set goal?” and what different course of actioms will I need to pursue to ensure that I am no longer delayed.

Sit yourself down today and make that executive decision to hold yourself more accountable to your life and what you wish to achieve in the month or even year(s) to come.

Reclaiming my time

I am so tired of running around unproductively. Living a life of an empty yet busy routine, day after day and going to bed thinking of what my life could have been had I just followed my dreams rather than listening to the persuasive suggestions of those who seem to care about my future. Don’t get me wrong. We should always appreciate those who think of us whether good or bad because it allows us to practice our reasoning and thought process to outweigh the pros and cons of our decisions.

Growing up, my days as a young maestro in performing arts, international relations, languages and a little entrepreneur (if I may say so), I was given ample advice on what to do next with my life and what career I should pursue. “Become a lawyer” they would say, or, “a minister of Foreign Affairs, translator or a manager”. It was annoying but also kind of funny. The disregard for my sense of creativity despite being in performing arts school and taking leading roles on more than 4 occasions! Not saying I’m the best but that was just what I did.
All these different careers began to take over my mind and as time went on and got to a stage where I needed to make a ‘final decision’ on the career path I deem to live my life on and make my living, I began to panic. I began to fall into the category of ‘I don’t know what I want to be, I don’t know what to do’. I became even more confused as I continued to look for more council.

Now how many of you have found yourself right here? Leave a comment below to let me know how that’s been working out.

I’ve now a graduated with an honors degree in business. As proud as I am of this achievement, I still feel like parts of me is missing. Quite frankly I’d love to relive m dreams of when I was younger but I look at how long ago that was and it would make me upset that the time to do everything may have passed.

For years I felt torn between the things I wanted to do and careers that I was told that seemed ‘fit for me’. But listening to pastor Devon Franklin’s sermon at the Potter’s House One church LA titled ‘Reclaiming my Time’ (hence the title- look below for the YouTube link), I am finally hearing my alarm clock ringing after feeling it buzzing for such a long time. By the way… in case you don’t know much about him, he is a pastor and a film producer with his own film production company. You may recognize one of his movies- ‘Jumping the broom’ (one of my faves). So it made me think. How is it possible to be a preacher and still pursuing a dream that many (including those that gave me council) perceive to be unfit and also not a path worth for me to even consider? It’s possible.

So listen. What I’m really trying to say is that time is the most valuable currency we have in life and on this earth. Your childhood dreams were given to you for a reason. Your talents to pursue are still within you, only if you truly wish and make it your aim to keep trying until you get there. Time has not yet run out.

So stop hitting that snooze button and start reclaiming your time!

 

 

 

Why Wait? Just Keep Walking

Life is compiled of a journey filled with multiple stops and diversions. And as you are going through life trying to get through a journey from one stop to the next, there will be times where you are provided with the options where you can take a shortcut or quicker option such as a bus that will allow you to get to your destination a lot quicker than your usual walking pace (obviously). Now what you need to know is that this bus that’s presented to you tends to arrive a little later and you might have to just stand there and wait. but you know full well that you can’t just wait and sit there, expecting for things like this shortcut to help you out immediately when you want it.

So you make the decision to start walking because at least you know you’re getting closer to where you need to go rather than just standing there and waiting. As you’re walking start to walk and you see the bus go past you, once, twice, three times, four times, five times. Multiple times, this same bus drives past you as you are walking. people will think you are a fool. Even the bus driver would think you’re a fool because how is it possible to miss the same bus that many times and the bus is still going to your place.

What I’m trying to say is that a shortcut with an easy route isn’t always accessible. every time I was walking the bus nowhere near the closest bus stop and the time it was supposed to come it didn’t come, it came at a different time that didn’t meet the time where I was going to be there. so I ask myself, do I want to wait for it again? and wait for the shortcut to come and pick me up or do I want to make sure I still make it to my destination at my own pace? so you need to remember, in life you still need to keep going at it, whatever you are doing to achieve a goal, keep walking because you’re still going to make it to the same destination. you’re going to be given that space to think and accept your journey. that is the blessing of walking through your journey and sometimes by just giving that shortcut a miss because I’m able to have fresh air, think of the things I need to do instead of having to RUSH RUSH RUSH and not being able to accept the journey (my journey). every journey makes our story unique. the more journeys you have the more you’re able to experience and relate to people.

I hope this inspires you to keep going and doing the things on your journey, despite the times that people will call you a fool.

Take that bold leap with no shade

Ever found yourself thinking of something you would say but then realise that you really don’t have the guts to say anything? What’s worse is that in your mind you visualise the actions and how the storyline would unfold. And its not anything malicious.  In fact it could be you asking for help when you feel like you are stuck or even trying to see if that empty seat on the train next to someone is going to be taken by the person standing next to you.

Taking a leap of faith in such situation seems very daunting and perhaps you’re right. But what makes you think that by standing there and mentally living out the scenario, willl help you get to where you really want to be if you don’t take a step out of your comfort zone?

In the recent months I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching. And I’ve come to realise that the things  I want in life are bigger than what my current environment has to offer me. So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking to figgure out, what is it that I really want and how best can I use the resources around me? Looking at my list with all the lines and scribbles, I went through my contact on social media (because we all follow the things we like) and began searching for the right people to ask for help. I attended / put together events with motivational speakers and industry specialists and began to TALK to them. 

T- taking time to

A- cknowledge who they are by

L- earning the way they communicate, to have 

K- lear, bold and consistent conversations with them.

By doing so, I felt less nervous or scared to go back to them and truely ask for the help I really needed. And what the heck, I would even sometimes feel confident enough to ask them there and then. Either way, to take that bold leap means to step out of your comfort zone and boldly work towards what you want – your goals. No shade means that there is no grey area- it is what it is and you reap what you sew.

So today, think of what you really want to achieve in life. Set yourseld goals and check your resources. Then go out and TALK in order to ask.

Learning To Appreciate The People I Am Jealous Of

Hey what’s up Pinkshaders,

Honestly, with all the things are happening around us, it’s a shame that as various communities we are unable to get together, work together and support one another. This week, I started a new job and after a year of struggling to find something that felt right for me, I was glad that the struggle search was finally over. But as I was saying, we really need to learn to come together and support one another in our communities. I have spent countless hours on social media looking at the success of my peers and feeling somewhat sorry for myself because while, they are excelling, I am still struggling to figure myself out. I’m seeing friends sharing the stage with big artists, hosting MTV awards, launching their websites, producing films and so forth, while I’ve been at home, trying to find a new job to hold me through. I could have been salty (jealous). I could have been angry and spiteful. But that was not the case. one early Saturday morning, as the sun began to rise, I woke up feeling very blessed and had the urge to send words of encouragement and acknowledge them for their success in working towards their dreams. I honestly don’t know what came over me at that point in time and for some of these individuals, I haven’t spoken to them in a really long time, so it definitely would have been a really random message for them receive but having gone through my BOSS Challenge journey, I knew that I had to be the sister and let them know that I support them and encourage them to continue pursuing even though I may be far away.

In life we go through struggles as part of the growing process. Our struggles are what make our personal stories unique. It really isn’t worth trying to live by life of the same person you intend to live like, nor to try to copy the life of your peers because it’s not possible to follow their life minute by minute for what they have experienced. Not everyone or should I say nobody will ever be able to explain or tell you the exact accounts of all their struggles they encountered  because a) some information is disclosed to themselves and therefore a secret but b) because they forget some emotions or exact thoughts they have had.

So rather than trying to be someone you’re not or hating on people for what they are achieving, we need to come together and acknowledge one another’s success. That way we are able to build better relationships with each other and help our communities. Essentially, in this process, by acknowledging what they have done, I also partly felt like I could add to their success, just because I showed my support.

My challenge for you this week, is to send that really heartfelt message to the person you have admired for achieving the things they have done and if you honestly want to be there for them let them know.

The Plot Twist of Practicing Patience

Sometimes what you thought you really wanted and thought you really needed wasn’t actually what you wanted nor needed. The act of practicing patience is a skill on it’s own. It’s a combination between mental preparation, mental action, physical action, emotional action and preparation. You see you start off by setting yourself a goal or target to change or achieve something but rather than providing a specific time limit, time is what will limit you from achieving just want you desire. Instead of placing pressure to achieve what you want, the role is reversed where you work towards your goal at your own pace and allow time to manifest itself until you obtain your goal. Patience is never rushed and can never be rushed. You will become frustrated and angry before feeling encompassed with the will to give up and lose hope. Patience is an active journey that feels inactive. It teaches you to learn your way through the struggles, the complications, confusions and mishaps.

The best way to practice patience is to meditate. take a step out of the hustle and busy environment, which is clouding your perceptions and the vision to seeing your goal.

B R E A T H E . Let time take it’s cause. Stop stressing, just focus on your goal and gradually take a step towards it each day and before you know it you’re there.

Now if you’re reading this and wondering why I twisted the plot. Well, I realised that the journey and act of practicing patience will sometimes throw a plot twist along your way to see if you really know what you want and whether when something half as good or slightly different to what you had hope for, would sway your vision and change your goal? If so, did you find something better or did you lower your bar just because it almost fit the criteria of your goal? If you gave in to something lower than your anticipated goal, you may want to reconsider your choice because your journey to practicing patience has just added another plot twist and is not yet completed.

 

Vegan for Vegetarian Week- Oh My!

It’s Vegetarian week this week and for a while I have been having the urge to stick to just eating veg and ditching the near. Now for my meat loving friends its a huge shocker but the reality is that in the recent weeks I’ve started loosing appetite for eating meats and have subconsciously been selecting vegetarian options instead. This is not the first time I’ve been vegetarian, in fact I see myself as a “flexitarian”. This means that I flex between being a vegetarian, pescatarian and straight up meatlover. In the past, I have been vegetarian from a month to 3 years. It’s usually until it wears off. So you’re probably wondering “why”? Well my friends, I’m yet to still figure this out for myself.

But as mentioned previously, it’s vegetarian week and I thought to myself, I wonder what it would be like to take my eating lifestyle to another level, by being vegan for a week. I’ve never done this before but I know for a fact that I have had vegan days without realising and I’m pretty sure most of you would have had experienced the same if you think about. Now before you talk smack about how vegans are like rabbits eating leaves and carrots or how you always have meat or fish in every meal, I would like you to think of a time when you ran out of meat/ fish/ milk/ cheese and you had to complete your meal without it? Or you felt peckish and wanted to grab a quick snack so you bought packet of oreos? See? Well I have a few more examples that I actually realised for myself.

1. pasta and tomato sauce without any meat or cheese (because you didn’t have any)

2. Crisp/ chips

3. Veg Fried rice/ Rice and peas / Jellof rice on its own

4. Chow mein

5. Oreos/ Ritz crackers

6. Aunt Jamaica’s pancake

7. Bagels/ Bread and margarine

8. Income Instant noodles (fried onion and fried noodles flavour).

And there are more!

Being a vegan sounds really daunting. One thing I  must is that being a vegan on day 3 has been an absolute eye opener to realising the lack of options there are available when you’re out in public and you don’t have your packed lunch. I pretty much feel like I’m left with no choice other than eating snacks like crisps, nuts or fruits, just to get me through the day. And if I really wanted something to eat, I would have to ask the food place for the ingredients to ensure it was actually vegan friendly or result to eating salad. For this reason I feel like it’s definitely more expensive to be vegan when you are out, than when you have a pantry full of options on what to cook for yourself at home.

What’s more, I nearly fell into the trap of accidentally eating mac ‘n’ cheese all because I was craving a cheese and onion slice from the bakery today, until I realised that I was trying out the vegan diet! Clearly I have been tempted to already give in. Luckily, I saw a Burrito place and was able to order myself a really nice and juicy naked burrito without cheese and sour cream but with extra guacamole.

KUDOS to all the vegans out there. I’m going to be strong and try it out for a week but if I give in, it is not my fault *hides face* I just don’t think a complete vegan life is for me just yet.

Let me know if you’re participating in Vegetarian week or if you are a vegan by commenting on this post. It would be interesting to hear on the different takes on people’s experience.