We’re Back
I made the decision in 2018 to scale back from social media both personally and professionally. I was depressed and dealing with project delays in my business that took a lot of time to manage. I knew that I needed to make some sacrifices so I could continue to push all of the agendas forward!
After setting a standard for years of being active and growing my network, I became consistently inconsistent with advertising.
Taking a break from advertising was good for my business because I didn’t have the infrastructure set up at the time to scale and onboard investors consistently. There was more demand than we were able to keep up with. I needed to take the time to restructure some things, hire more team members, build a solid foundation and continue to cultivate my existing partnership projects.
From a personal perspective, what I desired at the time was to separate myself from distractions and build a healthier foundation focused on peace and wellness. I was in denial about how much I was suffering, but it’s so clear to me now when I reflect back, that I was miserable and masking the pain through work, business and partnerships.
I am grateful for the opportunity to be a leader and to manage so many impactful projects.
I feel honored to be partnered with people that want to create change in black communities and it’s a blessing to be in the position I’m in but I also want to shine light on how big of a burden leadership positions can be when you aren’t taking care of yourself.
I loved forming partnerships, pouring into my companies / communities and connecting with like-minded people! I loved making sacrifices to build my wealth. I loved knowing that I was cultivating family business and building generational wealth with my family and people that care about the community.
All of those things were and still are genuine but I wasn’t taking care of me. I was ONLY pouring into business, projects and partnerships.
Professionally I was thriving and flourishing… Personally, I was at my breaking point.
I thought the time away from social media would be peaceful but what I ended up getting from the break was chaos / skepticism and one of the most traumatic growth chapters of my entire life.
It’s been 4+ years of consistent depression, anxiety, fears, delays, discouragement, regret, harassment, verbal abuse, deception, mistakes, love, healing, equity, family, growth, happiness, wealth, abundance and blessings.
Reflecting back to who I used to be, what I tolerated, the people I surrounded myself with, the trauma, the insecurities, the pain and the suffering - I am so grateful for the decision I made to take a step back from marketing and advertising my life and my businesses.
I had a lot of healing to do and it was becoming unbearable to do it while trying to show up for the world and be perfect for everyone that was counting on me. I really needed to redirect that “save the world” energy and save myself.
I was committed to cultivating the relationships / partnerships / projects I had built over the years and was excited about the new chapter I was about to embark on, so dealing with the backlash from my decision to take a social media break caught me off guard. It was one of the most challenging aspects of my entrepreneurial journey. I learned that when things change - people change. They like you, support you, believe in you one minute and are skeptical the next.
It was a tough lesson to experience but I am so grateful that I did. Over the years, I realized that I could have mitigated confusion by giving my supporters a heads up before I took a social media break. I could have explained the delays to the public and outlined what my partners and I were doing to address it.
It didn’t have to be anything extensive but communication in general is the solution to a lot of problems. I know now that if I wasn’t suffering and had the capacity to communicate, I probably would have avoided a lot of skepticism.
Unfortunately, with the amount of work that needed to be done, I was focused on communicating with my partners and didn’t have energy to share our journey with the general public. We were dealing with a lot and “sharing our journey” had to / still has to be done strategically.
I knew I wanted to summarize the entire process eventually so I made sure to document everything, but in that moment, I couldn’t do it. I needed the break and had to give all my time / focus to self development, growing my businesses, cultivating my partnerships and pushing my projects forward.
It’s important to accept responsibility for your actions and know the role you play in what goes wrong but I also understand that regardless of our capacity to document and share the process *in real time*, the people that wanted to be skeptical were going to be skeptical and how everyone individually chose to respond was out of my control / based on their own perspective.
The skepticism reenforced the fact that I don’t want to be connected to people I’m not meant to be connected to, I don’t want to be connected to people that don’t want to be connected to me and I don’t want to be connected to people that tell stories without verifying facts.
Pay attention to how people treat you!! Be mindful of what people do / say when things don’t go according to plan. Be mindful of how people react when they’re unclear of what’s going on.
Growth is such a beautiful thing. Healing is such an empowering experience. Life can get better. We are capable of being better. We have everything we need even when we feel like we don’t. It doesn’t matter how stuck you feel, you can create change. If you are intentional about healing, over time, you will start to recognize the growth and begin to see yourself differently.
“We’re Back” is my announcement that I am back, my businesses are back and we are excited about sharing our journey with you.
I am very different than I used to be. This version of me is beyond anything I’ve imagined and better than the fairytale I used to tell myself I wanted.
I am more private, I have more boundaries, I am more selective, I know that I don’t deserve disrespect. I am constantly growing / evolving and improving. I am working daily to give myself grace and to not strive for perfection but for progress. I am free.
I don’t have any desire to fit in. I don’t have any desire to live up to the unrealistic expectations that people have previously projected onto me and my life. I look forward to continuing to create my own rules and doing the work to build a foundation for positive global impact.
Summary of Lessons Learned:
Fear can be debilitating. Don’t talk yourself out of anything / everything because of it.
You have everything that you need! You have the strength within you to push your agenda forward!
Take the time to invest in your health, counseling, healing, happiness, love, peace, family, businesses & dreams.
Separate your personal life from your business.
Take care of yourself first. If you aren’t good whatever you are managing could follow suit. Make your health and wellness your top priority.
Communicate with your audience. If you are in need of a break or have to make a change within your business - that’s okay…But communicate.
If you set a standard in your business and deviate from the standard it could cause your supporters to be skeptical. COMMUNICATE. Share what your intensions are so they have an opportunity to process it for what it is. Creating a space for assumptions leaves more room for chaos.
Partner with the right people! Partnerships can be lucrative and abundant - make sure you are working with ppl that are qualified, on the same page as you and have your best interest at heart.
Heal from your past and the trauma that occurs in the present. Healing is a forever process.
Dedicate time toward growing.
I doubted that healing was possible in different phases of my journey and experienced a debilitating stagnancy. It is possible! You have the strength to create the change regardless of your circumstances. It’s not going to happen overnight. Be patient. Take the time to create the change.
Set your foundation up for your business (work with mentors and coaches that are experienced and have a track record of success).
Maintain high integrity - Always do what you say your going to do. Communicate when you cant.
Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. When you’re building businesses, partnerships, and / or your wealth - take the time to think a head and identify potential challenges or delays that could come up.
Get on the same page with your team, family, partners etc. about risks and issues that could arise as you are pushing your agenda forward.
Being connected to people that aren’t on the same page as you could contribute to compromising your plan and your mental health.
Surround yourself with people that respect you and see value in you and your abilities.
How someone reacts is not a reflection of the way you deserve to be treated - it’s a reflection of them and how they have chosen to respond.
In entrepreneurship, you have to be vested in knowing your worth and not taking other people’s actions or reactions personally.
Under promise and OVER DELIVER.
Social media breaks are healthy. Take the time to rest and reset.
Embrace making sacrifices to grow personally and professionally - you cant keep doing the same things and expect different results.
Do what needs to be done so you can live an abundant fruitful life.
Thank you for supporting me!!!!!
If you are reading this and you’ve known me for a long time or have been following me over the past few years - I hope this provides more clarity and perspective. I hope you find peace knowing I'm healing, happy and free. For anyone that isn’t familiar with me and my story - I am so grateful that we’ve crossed paths and you are here reading this blog. I invite you to continue to follow my journey and to tune in to the next series of blogs. We have a lot to cover and so much to learn.
Healing is not easy but it will always and forever be worth it. Take the time to unpack your pain and suffering. Eliminate bad habits. Remove yourself from toxic people and relationships. Take your nutrition seriously. Exercise if / when you can. Make the necessary sacrifices. Be in nature. Do things you’ve never done before. Write down your goals and the things you need to do to accomplish them. Connect with people that have good energy and exchange value! Create a plan to do the work and acknowledge your progress.
Respect yourself. You deserve to be respected. Care for yourself. You deserve to be cared for. Love yourself. You deserve to be loved. Hold yourself to a high standard. Do what needs to be done to have a good quality of life. The process can be peaceful - it doesn’t have to be miserable. Building generational wealth isn’t easy but neither is poverty. Create the change.
You deserve all the goodness coming.
One day at a time!