T.H.E. Celebration

Let’s Talk About Burnout

Let’s talk about burnout. 

We’ve all sung this song before. 

Whether it was out front leading the tune, 

Joining in the chorus,

Or subconsciously humming it to ourselves as we pick up the broom.

We can’t sweep away the exhaustion, 

The depletion of energy. 

The jagged, gnawing feeling, 

That we are nearing our candle’s end. 

For too long burnout has seemed that necessary friend

You must deal with if you want to achieve. 

If you want to be the best at ______. 

Fill in that blank with whatever extrinsic achievement we are 

Chasing, 

Hoping it will finally show everyone we are enough. 

But we can out hustle our worthiness. 

Or we’ll find ourselves buried in a hole of our own making. 

We need to redefine what it means to be winning. 

To recognize that perfectionism

And burnout often goes hand in hand. 

Where is the balance? 

Where is the rest? 

What are the flags, 

Warning signs, 

And hints 

That can suggest when we’ve gone too far. 

On this week’s episode, 

Let’s talk openly about burnout. 

Together, let’s explore ways

We can invite more balance into our lives. 

Not just when it gets so bad it can’t be ignored.

But as a practice. 

A commitment. 

A path.

That leads us back home to ourselves. 

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Creativity is: Complicated, Poetic and History-Telling with Lloyd Wilkey and Liz Prisley

We are all creatives

Each day we are engaging in creative work. 

In our thinking, unique way of approaching our life, and in what we are building. 

But what does it mean to be a creative? 

This episode kicks off a series that will be exploring this very question. 

Each month I’ll share with you two people who dive into what creativity means to them. 

Our guests this week are Liz Prisley and  Lloyd Wilkey. 

Both are brilliant creatives and I am blessed to count them as good friends. 

In 6 words or less, Liz describes herself as: “Passionate. Intersectional. Feminist. Poet. Leader. Educational.”

In 6 words or less, Lloyd describes himself as: “It’s Complicated.”

On this week’s episode, Liz and Lloyd explore how creativity can be complicated, history-telling, and poetic. 

And of course so much more. 

Get ready to dive into your unique creativity. 

You can learn more about Liz here.

You can learn more about Lloyd here.

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How to Succeed With Ads Without Breaking The Bank

You need a huge budget to make an impact using ads.

This is one of the biggest misconceptions I come across. 

The truth is - with as little as $1 a day - you can get into the paid ads game. 

My mission is to get more people like you - impact-driven businesses - to start working on their FB & IG ads funnel. 

In this week’s episode, I pull back the curtain and share the ad strategy that we’ve been perfecting over these past 18 months. 

The title says it all:  

“How to Succeed With Ads Without Breaking The Bank”

By the end of this episode, you’ll have taken a giant leap forward towards creating an ad campaign that consistently generates high quality leads. 

Specifically, I show you how to tap into the power of relationships, and apply it to marketing. 

Storytelling + Dialed In Messaging = A Winning Ad Campaign. 

Let’s get started on creating yours! 

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Living In Legacy & Breaking The Curse With Khalisa Rae

Have you ever had a conversation that changed your life? 

This week’s episode, ‘Living In Legacy & Breaking The Curse’, with Khalisa Rae, is all of that and more. 

Our guest, Khalisa Rae, is an award winning poet and journalist that speaks with furious rebellion. She is also the author of Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat (Red Hen Press 2021). 

This day, Khalisa gifted all of us with her honesty, poetry, insights, brilliance, and creativity. I am truly grateful for the courage and vulnerability she brought to our conversation. We explored:

-Healing from trauma

-How to create your own team of superheroes 

-The importance of honor your gifts

-The power of words 

-Protecting your light 

Khalisa shared some really powerful stories that left me feeling more grounded and connected to my inner power. 

Not to mention that she shared with us two poems that hit me right in my soul. 

I’m telling you - this episode will be a game-changer. For anyone who is serving a mission greater than themselves - this episode is for you. 

You can learn more about Khalisa through her website.

Or you can follow her on Twitter @k_lisarae

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Here is Khalisa Rae’s Full Bio:

Khalisa Rae is a poet and journalist in Durham, NC that speaks with furious rebellion. She is the author of Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat (Red Hen Press 2021). 

Her essays are featured in Autostraddle, Catapult, LitHub, as well as articles in B*tch Media, NBC-BLK, and others.

Her poetry appears in Frontier Poetry, Florida Review, Rust & Moth, PANK,  Carousel, HOBART, among countless others. 

She is the winner of the Bright Wings Poetry contest, the Furious Flower Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize, and the White Stag Publishing Contest, among other prizes. 

Currently, she serves as Assistant Editor for Glass Poetry and co-founder of Think in Ink and the Women of Color Speak reading series. Her second collection Unlearning Eden is forthcoming from White Stag Publishing in 2022. Follow her at @k_lisarae on Twitter. Find more information here and here.

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Marketing: Ethics, Biggest Mistakes, and Lessons Learned

Can marketing be ethical? 

What are the biggest mistakes I can make in my marketing? 

These are just two of the big questions I cover in this week’s Q&A episode. 

Q&A really allows us to leave the world of generality and get specific. Chances are if it’s a question you have, others are asking it too. 

We go to some deep and uncharted waters on this one.

If you are a thought leader, are in the nonprofit world, are an entrepreneur, side hustler, a leader or you want to learn how to communicate your ideas more effectively - this one is for you. 

Each of the questions we cover will build a strong foundation for you to move the dial on your passion, your business, what matters most to you, and your thought leadership. 

Do yourself this favor. 

Hit play. :)

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Getting Deep, Ugly & Honest With Your Spirituality + Money Blocks With VibeQueen and Suki Eleuterio

“Your business will be as successful as your mindset will allow you to.” 

This was one of the themes that this week's episode is centered around.

My guests - VibeQueen and Suki Eleuterio - believe business and spirituality go hand in hand. 

This episode is a timely reminder that you are perfect as you are.

Your business isn’t a vehicle by which we can prove our worthiness.

You’re already worthy - just as you are

Suki and VibeQueen explored how to process and move through our money stories, our self-image, and our limiting beliefs.

Suki Eleuterio is a spiritual and business coach focusing on helping people harness their creative energy to create the life and business their SOUL desires. She is also an award winning blogger, podcaster, wife, and mommy.

You can follow her on IG here

VibeQueen is an artist who has been in the music industry for 15+ years. Her mission is to entertain while uplifting her audience through guided meditation, self-awareness, and sharing her journey through her music, blog, and podcast Vibe Talk Awaken. 

You can follow her on IG here

 This conversation was so empowering. 

Do yourself this favor.

Hit play. 

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The Unexpected Gifts Of Failure

Failure.

A complete sentence. 

Is it a teacher 

Or a jailer? 

Is it a beginning 

Or does it end there? 

Where do you place your next step 

When the ground beneath you begins to erupt? 

Maybe if there was something to grasp, 

If it wasn’t so abrupt.

Perhaps if no one was watching, 

Not even me seeing me.

 Then this…

Failure

Would be easier to swallow. 

If self-criticism were a competition, 

I’d be a tough act to follow. 

Perfection.

Maybe it can serve as my protection. 

From any and all

Ridicule  

And rejection

And failure. 

There is fog on the glass of my reflection. 

I find the courage to wipe it, 

I shine back clearer. 

I need to reexamine my definition. 

A life without failure 

Actually sounds 

Kind of boring. 

Where would be the discovery? 

The intrigue? 

The lessons learned from walking through the fire 

And getting just a bit burnt. 

Realizing the nightmare scenes 

Are actually just branches of trees 

Scratching at my window.

Scary shadows revealed to be nothing. 

But it’s the confronting. 

The facing. 

The tasting the fear on your tongue 

And rather than deciding to run...

Moving forward. 

Moving toward that which I find to be frightening. 

Failure. 

It can be a beautiful teacher. 

Not gentle. 

But honest.  

Failure. 

Unexpected gifts found within if I’m willing to persist. 

To insist:

I know. I know. 

There is danger waiting. 

But I’d rather lose it all

Than die knowing 

I never even tried. 

I had all of these ideas

And just kept them shut inside. 

We get to decide when failure is an ending. 

A complete sentence. 

A teacher or 

A jailer. 

And when failure 

Is actually the greatest of all treasures. 

P.S. I hope you enjoy this week’s episode: ‘The Unexpected Gifts Of Failure.’

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How To Show Up, Be Vulnerable & Grow Your Business With Alex Emm, Adrian McGee & Alisha Kumar

“Imposter syndrome.”

“Being in a space where no one looks like me.”

“Learning to be my authentic self.” 

These are just three of the honest conversations we had on this week’s episodes.

My guest - Adrian, Alex, and Alisha - are each a powerhouse in their entrepreneurial field.

They generously shared brilliant advice on marketing, social media, content creation and the power of storytelling. 

Even more importantly - we had vulnerable conversations on the mindset, struggles, and journeys of entrepreneurship.

Alex Emm is a Social Media Manager and Copywriter helping small businesses be present and tell their stories in the fast-paced world of social media.

You can follow him on IG here

Adrian McGee is the CEO of The Grind Season, a platform that provides tips on success, pursuing purpose, and wealth building.

You can follow her on IG here

Alisha Kumar is passionate about helping businesses ​take advantage of the latest and greatest digital marketing trends to create a unique footprint with their marketing. 

You can follow her on IG here

This episode will give you both the tactics and the real conversations that are at the heart of living with and pursuing your passion. 

Do yourself this favor. 

Hit play. 

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Feel All The Feelings (Without Toxic Positivity)

Feel all of the feelings. 

Even the ones that feel messy. 

Or don’t fit neatly into a polished box of positivity. 

Create your own paintings. 

Express your unique style. 

They’ll tell you:

To put on a smile,

Take the stage, 

Work the gimmick, 

Wear the mask of plastic happiness. 

It’s what they want to see...

The spectators. 

The followers. 

The audience. 

Do it for the show.

The hallowed accolades

Followed by the inevitable silence. 

Artificial lights that glowed begin abruptly fade. 

When will we come home to the movement inside us? 

The honesty behind the performance. 

The fuel. 

The sadness. 

The fire. 

The heaviness. 

The energy. 

The struggle. 

The ignition. 

The pain. 

Feelings are feelings when we let ourselves feel them. 

Trapped inside a lie of good vibes 

It’s the farce that starts to tear us apart. 

An elephant’s painting, 

Words created by AI. 

Without the:

Worry or 

anxiety... 

Sans the risk, 

Of ridicule

And rejection…

Creation without risk is imitation. 

It’s the vulnerability that makes it creativity. 

Feeling all the feelings. 

It’s not easy. 

But it sure beats the drudgery

Of pretending. 

Feeling all the feelings

Is human.

Feeling all the feelings 

Is you and me

Being. 

P.S. 

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode: Feel All The Feelings (Without Toxic Positivity) 

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Owning Your Inner-Power Tom Earl Interviewed By Natasha Bazilevych

I LOVED this conversation on marketing, running ads, the creative process, and so many other topics.

Natasha Bazilevych invited me to be a guest on her podcast and it ended up being one of my favorite interviews.

On this episode, you get to see me switch hats and become the interviewee.

Natasha really brought out some honest answers from me and we explored things I’ve never shared before.

She even got me to perform one of my spoken word poems.

I had a blast!

We also covered a lot of ground that any creative, entrepreneur, or leader will get a ton of value from.

Thank you Natasha for such an awesome experience.

You can listen to Natasha’s podcast here and learn more about her work here

Do yourself this favor.

Hit play.

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