Happy Labor Day

According to Wikipedia Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.

When I hear the word work, it makes me think about faith. Many of us truly believe that we have faith, but faith is a formula. Faith needs work to work. 

When a woman is in labor, she can believe that the baby will just slide and glide out or walk out of her without any effort on her part, but the reality is that she has to push.  She has to put in the work to give life to her little miracle.

What miracle do you want to happen in your life?  What goal or dream do you believe for? Are you putting in the work?  If you don’t want that vision to die, you have to push. You have to put in the work.

Now when I say put in work, I don’t just mean working hard…many of us do that every day. I mean working smart. For all that we do, there is a corresponding process or system that could help everything to go more smoothly and lead to higher quality outcomes.

Lately I’ve been studying business so that I can grow and strengthen the companies that I own.  In my research I read a staggering fact that 99 out of 100 small businesses fail in 10 years. We often have great ideas, great products and the ambition and the drive to start a business, but the reason that it is not successful is because we have not put in the right type of work.  To see our desired outcomes and ensure that they have longevity, we have to put in the work on the front end to create excellent systems.

BusinessDictionary.com defines a system as A set of detailed methods, procedures, and routines established or formulated to carry out a specific activity, perform a duty, or solve a problem.

When we take the time and put in the work to create a system, then our businesses, our goals, our dreams, our children, or whatever we believe for can continue to grow and flourish without us even being there. That is the type of work we want to do.

So celebrate the work you’ve done up to this point today, but tomorrow and beyond I challenge you to put in the right work.

Happy Labor Day!
Monday Morning Motivation (The Book) Coming November 2011!

Trust The Process

I’ve always tried to control my life.  I would subconsciously manipulate situations to work in my favor. I didn’t realize that I was doing it until recently.  What I found was that while I might have gotten my way for a moment, my master plans often back fired or failed. 

For example, when I am a facilitating Youth Work Professional training, I always have one participant that’s eager to get to the point of it all right away.  What they don’t understand is that each workshop agenda has been specifically designed to teach them the new concept or skill in such a way that breaks down and then reveals the pieces in manageable chunks that build upon one another.  It’s a process often referred to as scaffolding.  This method of teaching and learning makes a far more powerful impact than if I had just dumped all of the information on the students at once.

Initially they don’t understand why I do things the way that I do, but in the end, a light bulb goes off and it all makes sense to them.  When I come across a student like this, I have to remind them to ‘trust the process.’  My mother always said, “Everything happens for a reason” and I’ve found that this has always rung true.

Things happen along our journey that are meant to teach us, prepare us, strengthen us and humble us.  Let’s take relationships for instance.  When we meet someone that we are interested in, we try to pour it on thick right up front.   We try to make them notice us, like us or even love us.  If they don’t, we’ll take another approach like trying to play the best friend role in hopes that they will then see how awesome we are and automatically fall in love with us.  (I’m speaking from experience of things that I know I am guilty of.)  Situations like this don’t always end in disaster, but here we are again trying to manipulate a situation instead of just relaxing, having faith and trusting that things will happen the way that they are meant to. Perhaps that person was only placed in our lives for a specific reason.  That reason may have not been a relationship at all.

The same is the case with our careers, our circumstances…or even when bad things happen.  We have to trust the process as opposed to trying to control the situation and manipulate our desired result.  In doing this we often miss a very valuable lesson or even a blessing that was supposed to come out of the situation. Think about how much more fulfilling an experience would be if we allowed it to run its natural course.  We could truly sit back and savor the benefits knowing that they are ours authentically, not because we manufactured or manipulated the outcome.

Today I challenge you to take a deep restorative breath, sit back, relax, let go and enjoy the ride.  Take things one day, one hour, or even one moment at a time. Savor the journey.  Allow your life to lead for a change.  Surrender to faith and trust the process.

Harvest Time!

Many seeds are edible. Therefore they serve a dual purpose.  They can be eaten and they can be planted.  If we eat them they give us satisfaction for a moment, some nourishment, and a limited supply of energy.  If we plant or sow them, they will multiply and reap an abundant harvest. 

Now think about the seeds that are in your life.  What do you do with them?  Are you looking for a quick fix or long term benefit? 

Photo by Nicole Ashley Allen

The seeds in our lives are our money, time, talents, and energy.  Figuratively eating those seeds translates to things like get rich quick schemes, rapid weight loss, and other means of instant gratification.  We don’t want to wait. We want it all now.  What we fail to realize is that by indulging in the small pleasure now, we are actually taking a huge loss in the long run.

Imagine how much more we could have if we planted those seeds. Imagine how infinite the possibilities would be if we invested our money, time, energy and talents into things that would cause them to grow and flourish as opposed to dead end situations, things and people that reap no harvest.

Here is an example of eating the seed versus planting the seed that I want you to consider.  Think about which side of the spectrum you are currently operating in, and then think about where you want to be…

You spent $500 in a weekend on an outfit, some shoes, eating out at restaurants, buying drinks, paying cover charges, and parking fees.  You looked good, had a funky good time, ate well, and drank well.  The next morning you have a headache, perhaps a temporary one from a hangover, or maybe the start of a lingering one from a consequence that was a result of your actions. The fun is over.  You ate the seed.

You invested $500 in real estate by placing a bid, or going in with a partner to acquire a low cost property in your city.  Once you own the property, you rehabilitate it, and sell it for three times more than what you invested, which is still be affordable.  Now you have simultaneously improved your community, created an opportunity for a family to be home owners and made a profit that you can now invest into something else.  You planted the seed.

Eating the seed is easy because we believe that it’s safe, secure and it feels good right now.  Planting the seed is scary because it feels like a risk.  Like faith, once we plant that seed, it becomes something that we cannot see immediately.  But just because we can’t see it, does that mean that it’s not there?  Taking the planting route may be difficult at times.  Things may occur in the process that knock us down or beat us down to the ground, but remember, it is from the ground where all things grow and there is nowhere to go from there but up.

Before this year comes to an end, I challenge you to plant a seed that you might have otherwise eaten.  If you want the harvest, you must sow the seed.

Beyond The Advance

As soon as trouble comes, we want to be rescued right away. When we are working at something, we want the payment before the work has been completed.  Therefore, it is safe to say that most of the time we want all of the rewards, answers and solutions for our problems and our work right up front.  We settle for Mr. or Misses Right Now.  We take credit cards and loans with high interest rates.  We want to lose ten pounds in ten days.  We devour fast food while on the go. What we often fail to think about is what this obsession with expediting our life, experiences and allowances might actually cost us.  If you are going through some type of trial right now, you probably want the answer, the victory, or you just plain old want things to get better right now…but sometimes, waiting until after the storm to see the sunshine and the rainbow makes it worth the wait.

Talented authors and musicians often get hefty monetary advances for book and record deals.  This means that they get a lump sum of money up front, which will be made back once their books or records begin to sell.  It seems like a sweet deal, and quite often is, but, if the advance is not made back in sales, then the artist does not receive anything above and beyond it.  They do not get the overflow.

An advance may sound like the best things since sliced bread, but let’s look at it from another angle…

When I visited the "And Still We Rise" exhibit at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, the charismatic tour guide led us through each area and taught us tons of interesting tid bits that confirmed for me how much our history informs our present state of being. 

In 1862 the current president, Abraham Lincoln, issued an executive order to free slaves.  It was called the Emancipation Proclamation. Sad to say, many slaves never experienced true freedom because their owners had another plan in mind.  Most of the slaves were held because of the debt that they owed to their master's.  The owners had the audacity to say that since they provided food, clothing and shelter for the slaves, that they had to work off that debt before they were truly allowed to be free.

Upon hearing this I made an immediate correlation between the happenings around the Emancipation Proclamation then, and the music industry now.  Artists are given weighty advances, fancy cars, clothing and jewelry upon signing a record deal.  The allure of it all prompts eager singers and rappers to sign thick contracts without reading the fine print.  Once the record drops and millions of copies are sold, the rising star is left wondering why they are seeing little to no profit from all of their hard work.

What they fail to realize is that they are in fact paying for all that they were afforded in advance.  The company deducts the advances and expenses from the profits made from the units sold.

So very similar to the situation with the slaves, we may think that we have made it big time by getting big things quickly, but what we are really faced with is a big time disappointment as we work to repay a debt that we never asked for in the first place. This might also correlate to authors who sign major book deals.  All of this goes to show that in many instances, up front advances, quick fixes and easy answers come at a much higher cost.

Now that I’ve got you thinking, I want you to relate this to your life.  I want you to think about how when we have a problem, we want the solution right away.  We may get that answer or incentive, and it may be good, but what we don’t realize is that what we could have gotten on the other end is far more valuable.  We don’t go through anything in vain. Everything that we experience is for a reason. As soon as things go wrong, we run to God and want him to fix it on the spot.  If He does not, we get upset and feel that He does not hear our cries.  We don’t trust Him, so we look for that quick fix instead.

If we just trust Him and wait to get through something, then we will come out in the end equipped with strength, patience and knowledge in addition to a desired income that will exceed our expectations. Since we’ve put in the hard work, the sweat and the tears, the payment that we receive, or the solution to our problem is so much more savory.  Sometimes we just have to wait patiently to see what is beyond the advance. Why settle for good when you can have great?

If the answer to your problem is not coming as quickly as you would like, it’s ok!  Know that an even sweeter deal is on the way.

Please Pass The Activator

Ok, let’s be honest…out of everyone that is reading this, who had a Jheri Curl? For my younger subscribers who were born after the eighties, this might be a foreign term to you. If so, simply Google “Michael Jackson with Jheri curl” and you should find a plethora of pictures and definitions. According to Wikipedia, “The Jheri curl is a hairstyle that was common and popular in the African American community. Invented by and named for Jheri Redding, the Jheri curl gave the wearer a glossy, loosely curled look.” Now don’t get it twisted. That glossy shine by no means came easy. The harsh mixture of chemicals that were needed to make this look possible often left the user’s hair in an extremely brittle and dry state. In order to bring those juicy curls to life, Michael Jackson and all of those that followed suit with the popular hairstyle from the 1980’s had to add a product called activator.



Now think about that major dream, vision or goal that you have for your life. Can you picture it? Some of you may be living it right now, but for many of you, it is only a dream, vision or goal in your mind or on paper that has no life. So what’s the difference? What is missing? What do those that are living in their dreams have, that the rest of you do not? The secret ingredients are Faith and Belief. Until you add those things to your dreams…they are dead. You need faith and belief to bring your goals to life. Faith and belief are the activators that add the juice to your vision, thus making it a reality.



These two ingredients create an activator that gives your life that shine…no longer lying dormant, dull and lifeless.



If you don’t have the activator, you may as well not speak about it.

If you don’t have the activator, you may as well not write about it.

If you don’t have the activator, you may as well not waste time daydreaming about it or visualizing it.



Sometimes we are not even aware that our style is dry and crunchy.

We say things like, “I really want to go to back to school BUT…”



“I really want this job BUT…”



You might as well finish those sentences with, “…BUT….I don’t believe.” Or “BUT…I don’t have faith.”


We defeat ourselves before we even begin with our little faith and lack of belief. If you find yourself speaking in such a way, it’s time to get some activator!


If you find that a loved one or a friend is in a drought, don’t have them walking around looking like that! You would not let a loved one or a friend that you truly cared about walk around in public with their hair all over their head looking all crazy. So don’t allow your people to kill their dreams by not believing that they will come to pass. Give them a little squirt of your activator. Share how it has brought the shine back into your life. Share your faith and belief based activator until they are able to stock up on their own supply.


Last week I heard a quote that really resonated with me. It said, “When your focus is clear, what you want will show up in your life, but only to the extent that your focus is clear.” Let me amend that twice over for the purposes of this message.



“When your faith is strong, what you want will show up in your life, but only to the extent that your faith is strong.”



“When you believe, what you want will show up in your life, but only to the extent that you believe.”



1 Part Faith + 1 Part Belief = Activator (The activation of your vision, your goals and your dreams).



Invest in an unlimited lifetime supply.

Your Gift Will Make Room for You

A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. –Proverbs 18:16

After you read this sentence I want you to close your eyes and take a moment to think about that thing that you are certain is your God given gift. Have you identified it? Is it speaking? Writing? Cooking? Advocating for those that cannot advocate for themselves? Educating the masses about a particular issue that needs increased awareness? Now ask yourself, are you using that gift?

Our gifts are not even about us, they actually have the purpose of blessing others, but God is really generous because when we are operating in our gifts we experience a feeling of true bliss. Think about it. Think about the feelings and sensations that you have when you are doing what you know that you have been called to do.

Author, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, describes this as a concept that he calls “Flow” which is defined as, “An experience involving heightened states of awareness, confidence, and performance…Total engagement—you lose yourself in an activity.” This happens because we are engaging in something that taps into our intrinsic motivation which means that we don’t need any external stimulus or reward in order to do this thing. If no one ever told us that we were doing a great job, if no one ever gave us a grade of A, if we never got paid, we could still wake up and do this thing every morning for the rest of our lives and it would bring us joy. So we experience just as much of a benefit if not more as those whose lives we are making a difference in.

If the benefits of our gifts are so vast…then why aren’t more people using them? I’d say that the number one reason is fear. This is interesting though, because a lot of you say that you have faith…but faith and fear cannot co-exist. There has to be one or the other. We make excuse after excuse as to why we can’t do what we know we are supposed to be doing right now. Money, time, our families…the list goes on and on. But did you know that your gift will make room for you? That in itself should be motivation enough to take the leap, but to even further support that, your gift will also give you access to the great. Let me break that down in terms of my experience…

One day it became crystal clear to me that my gift was to encourage others and help them to realize their dreams using my writing and speaking. As soon as I fully immersed myself in that gift, door after door began to open. It is to the point where it feels as if my path is clear and barrier free…I don’t even have to knock anymore because people of high esteem (“The great”) are waiting at the open doors saying, “Hey Monica…come on in!” I am at a point where I have to turn down opportunities because I can only do so much at one time. I’m not trying to brag, but do you know that I have never truly had to look for a job? There was really only one time. When I graduated from graduate school at the University of Michigan with a resume full of credentials and experience I couldn’t seem to find a “job” to save my life. It was at that time that I finally sat down to write my first book. It was a blessing in disguise because if I’d had a job lined up, I never would have sat down to begin putting in the work to prepare to share my gift with the world. Do you see how God works? Ever form of income that I have received since then has come in the form of a job, contract, or opportunity that someone specifically sought me out for and offered to me.

You may still not be convinced because you think you don’t have the time. You might be working toward a certain goal that is time specific and you think that stopping what you are doing to operate in your gift may get in the way. Well let me tell you, based on my experience that If you truly have faith, like you say you do, trust that not only will your gift make a way for you but it will also expedite matters.

As you can see, I could talk about this forever, but I am going to stop here to let what I’ve said marinate. My challenge to you is to stop trying to dictate everything in your life, get in The Passenger’s Seat (This is a teaser for the next motivational message) and let God and your gift lead you. Then sit back and watch how it will make room for you and put you in the presence of the great!

A gift opens doors; it gives access to the great. –Proverbs 18:16

The Faith Based Plan

Employee or Entrepreneur: Who Are You? Who Do You Want To Be?

I'll never forget the day when a friend of mine learned that I did not have a "real" job. He jokingly said, "What are you on, the faith based plan?" He was laughing, but the more that I thought about it, the more that it made sense. I am on a Faith Based Plan because I don't have to know where my next check is coming from to feel a peace beyond all understanding.

When I made the somewhat impromptu decision to leave my job, my employer at the time could not fathom how I could possibly survive. "What will you do for health insurance?" he asked. My response was, "I didn't even need health insurance before I started working here." That's what we often fail to realize, we jeopardize our mental and physical health more by being in environments that are not fulfilling because stress will make you sick, literally.

Now I don't encourage anyone to just up and quit without a plan. First and foremost you must have faith, but you must be creative in how you bring in income because whether you have a job or not, the bills still need to get paid. I have been without full time employment for over two years now and I have yet to be homeless or hungry. Sadly there is no longer any such thing as a safe or secure job. I feel that I am in a better position than most because my livelihood in not in the hands of another human being. If you are contemplating taking a leap of faith like I did, let me recommend a few basic principles that I practice.

Planning, Patience and Persistence

I am not the type to plan years in advance, but I try to plan at least a month in advance to make sure that I am able to cover my monthly living expenses like rent, car payment, and communication (home phone, cell phone and internet). I also make sure that a certain amount of money is set aside every month for self -care, Investing in my vision, and entertainment.

While living on the edge like this is fulfilling beyond measure, notice that I did not say it was easy. I saw financial expert, Catherine Eagan speak last year and she said something that really resonated with me... "Where you are right now is not necessarily representative of where you are going." You are going to be everything that you hoped and dreamed to be if you see it and you believe it, but it may not happen overnight so patience is an absolute must.

There will be times when you can't eat what you want, there will be times when your work is rejected or criticized, there will be many roadblocks along the way, but never ever stop. That is a mantra that I tell myself constantly. Never stop. No one who is anyone ever got anywhere without being persistent. Did you know that Walt Disney filed for bankruptcy? You may not have known that, but you do know that he never gave up because even in his absence his legacy lives on.

Believe In You

If you don't believe in yourself and what you do, no one else will. Why should they? You train people how to treat you so if you believe that your dream is the best thing since sliced bread then trust and believe that the world will too. Make yourself a HUGE DEAL. People often think that I spend thousands of dollars on marketing and promotions, or that I have some marketing or publicity guru behind me...the truth is that I just spend a whole lot of time believing in me. I constantly and consistently put it out into the world that I AM a HUGE DEAL, and wouldn't you know, other people started believing it too.

Get Your Legal Hustle On

When you don't know when or how you next check is coming, creativity is key. Tap into all of your talents and skills because there may be times when it feels like your true dream is not bringing in the cash that you desire. Let me give you a few examples. Over the years I have taught myself to do hair and nails. It's not something that I am head over heels in love with doing, but best believe it gave me tons of extra money during my college years. In addition to writing I also teach dance and kickboxing. I am still operating in my purpose of adding value to the lives of others while making some extra dollars. The possibilities are endless...dog walking, landscaping, selling your books or artwork, freelance writing, rent parties, selling plates of food...shall I go on, or do you get the picture? When you are creative, there are tons of things that you can do to supplement your income without engaging in any questionable or illegal activity. And in most cases you have a ton of fun while you are at it.

Invest in Personal Growth and Development

I have been able to operate so many legal hustles because I always invest in my own personal growth and development. While it may be challenging, it's never too late to invest in a new skill. Many classes and resources are free and readily available; we just don't take the time to do our research in order to realize that these opportunities exist.

Learning gives you the time and space to think and grow which in turn allows you to realize your true potential. So I encourage you to take the money that you spend on the club, or eating out, and enroll in a life coaching session or a class at a local college or university that will help you to hone your craft. I personally plan to set aside some money to take a creative writing course at UCLA this spring or summer.

Downsize to Maximize

Sometimes in order to get ahead, you have to leave some things behind. Do you really need four different gym memberships when you barely attend any of them? That was me. I had a membership at three different gyms until I decided to start teaching fitness classes which not only brought in extra money, but it also came with a free gym membership. As a result, I ended up saving at least $150 per month. Now that is an extra $150 that I can use to order my books to sell, or for that personal growth and development that I spoke of.

How can you downsize your life to maximize your dream? Can you move into a cheaper residence? Can you do your own hair and nails instead of going to the salon? Could you host a Girls Night In instead of going to a Girls Night Out? Think about it and adjust accordingly.

Sacrifice for Success

With success comes sacrifice. During your time of building, you may not be able to live the lifestyle that you are accustomed to. For instance, I have discovered several delicious options that I can prepare with a bag of potatoes.It goes back to being creative. You may not be able to eat how you like to eat, dress how you want to dress, or party like you want to right now, but the benefits in the not so far away future are well worth it.

Sacrifice doesn't always mean giving things up. It just means adjusting the way that you do things so that it helps you to build your vision. For instance, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to travel. So I have incorporated that into my business. When I want to visit a city, I set up some speaking engagements, consulting work, book signings and book club appearances so that I am still bringing in income and working toward my dream, while having fun at the same time. They say don't mix business with pleasure, but why not? I work hard, so I like to play hard and as long as business is getting handled, I don't see the harm in that.

In conclusion, I want you to ponder few pertinent questions. Are you en employee, or an entrepreneur? Are working to make someone else rich, while you make ends meet, or are you working to build your own empire? Where are you now? Where do you want to be?

Take it from me, living your dreams is possible. It just takes believing in you and what you do...faith and work. The Faith Based Plan is a package that has infinite perks and benefits. Let me know when you are ready to sign up.