Saying Goodbye to Excuses!

Since I discovered my first Seventeen Magazine 13 years ago I was hooked. I loved the pops of color on the pages, and the opportunity to read about the different lives of girls around the world. Laying on my bed for that hour reading and re-reading the articles took me from my ordinary life as an average high school girl to taking a peek at the world beyond my small southern city. I also learned, I learned things that mom did not have time to teach me. How to do my hair, what perfume smelt great, or how to put on make up. My mom, bless her heart was a single parent working 12 hour shifts. I only saw her on her way in from work or on her way out to go to work. Seventeen was my teacher. As I got older I started to gravitate to Essence and Elle, Glamour and InStyle. You can find the many copies scattered throughout my apartment as well as Success, Black Enterprise, and Entrepreneur. As I matured my taste in reading matured, but what never changed is the desire to create my own magazine filled with inspiration, power, and guidance to young women.



As the real world came swarming in, I could no longer dream about magazines, editing, fashion, creating inspiring articles, or taking over the world one reader at a time. I had to be practical. Find a job that would support me, hence the medical field. I spent years doing what others wanted from me, I did not have the courage to even understand that I had a dream or calling;it was just something I thought about from time to time. As I set off to achieve a level of success I was burdened with heaviness of being the first in my family to graduate from college so I had to " make it," what ever that means. On my journey to" making it" I have stumbled, picked myself up, stumbled again, and now remain frustrated because I am plagued with the desire to create and inspire, I need to write.

Every post I write on SheMogul is a chip away at every excuse I made because of fear, or lack of self confidence. The more readers I gain the more momentum I gain. Soon SheMogul will not be just a blog that is glanced at from time to time. SheMogul as Candice says will be a movement, a brand.

As you set forth on your journey to living out your purpose there are three very key elements that you must keep at the forefront of your mind:
1. You can only live your life for yourself, living for others is the best recipe for unhappiness.
2. Fear is an evil nasty thing that can keep your from your purpose in life.
3. Excuses are what we use to waste time. Really what is an excuse, but just a way to justify why something did not get done. Remember that if there is a WILL the is a WAY!

This week I challenge you to say goodbye to excuses and just do it! Leave a comment and let me know what you think of SheMogul.....



Shameka

Monday Inspiration: The Beauty of Purging

Taken From: SheKnows.com

Recently I have been enjoying the show called The Amanda's. It's a show about a professional organizer, her employees and there organizing adventures. Before the team can really began to organize a space they take the client through a process called purging. During this process the client gets rid of anything and everything that they don't use, cant use or is no longer of importance to them. This is the only way a space can truly be organized. So this weekend I set out on my own purging adventure. I went through my bedroom with a trash bag in hand to get rid of the over following "stuff" that had taken over my room in the past two years. It amazed me how much " stuff " I had accumulated. The more I got ride of the more order and peace I felt. I started to wonder if the process of purging can be applied to different areas of my life.

This week I plan to challenge myself to get rid of habits that are of no benefit to me.

This week I'm leaving behind the bad habit of not eating breakfast.

What can you truely say that you need to leave behind....? Lets talk about it!


Shameka
<3 2012

What I learned from Whitney + 1

Sorry everyone I have been away. I have unfortunately been sick. Sore throat + congestion is not fun at all. I feel much better so now I'm ready to get back to work.





Taken from: Newnownext.com



While I was away I was rocked like everyone else by Whitney's passing. It took me a whole week to get over the shock. I am one of the mid 80's babies who was just coming to age when Whitney dropped off of the music sense. Although I can remember some of her iconic moments such as her in the Body Guard and her role in Waiting to Exhale, her music wasn't something that was played in my bedroom after school. I more know Whitney for the scandal that surrounded her life rather than the barriers she crossed or the path she blazed. This saddens me even more than her un-timely death. As fans and people who appreciated and gained from her talent we were more caught up in tearing her down than holding her accountable with our love.

From Whitney I have learned two things:

1. Celebrities are HUMAN not GOD: I would not say I learned this, I already knew this but it has been even more apparent as of late. This is a very important tidbit because we hold such people on a pedestal, when they falter we turn out backs. They were given a talent that is meant to inspire and encourage us.

2. The Choices we make shape our lives: Choices have the power to flip our lives inside out, keep us stuck, or lead us down the wrong path if we are careless. Even the smallest choices could have the potential to be devastating. I often wonder if Whitney had made some different choices in her life, where would she be today? Just a thought.

This got me thinking about Choices and how we make them. Should we buy that house, marry him, move to a new city, eat that last piece of cake, these are some choices that everyone is faced with at least once in their lives. Often times when choices are made they are not true to what we want or what is best for us, because they are made based on fear or, other thoughts, wishes, or feelings. For example: Fear is a common driving force to why we make the choices that we do, and often they are not right choice. Remember that opportunity comes from opposition.

When making choices ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I being true to myself?
It is important to make sure that you are being authentic, making a decision that you can live with and not based on anyone else. Making decision based on someone else could latter on cause resentment or anger.

2. Why are am I making this choice?
Really think about why are making the choice. Have you been influenced by other? Is it fear? Is it lack of education? Knowing why you are making the choice that you are could potentially help you see that you may or may not be making the right choice.

3. Finally is fear guiding your choice?
The presence of fear is the sign that you are on the verge of something great or a learning opportunity. Make a list of pros and con's . If your gains out weigh your loses you would be a fool not to move forward.


How do you make good choices? Leave a comment and share. I need 10 followers this month. Invite your friends to follow.


Shameka
<3 2012

Work-Love Balance: Is it possible

With the day dedicated to love fastly approaching I have been wondering if there is a thing as work-love balance. Women are spending more time in the office, climbing the corporate ladder or making an impact in the lives of others. Is there any time for much else. I work at least 50 hours a week at my job, and then I spend another maybe 10 hours a week working on my writing or learning everything I can about the publishing industy, any time left after that is devoted to rest or vegging out in front of the T.V. This may account for the reason why I'm still a single girl.  So what I want to know ladies is how do you devote yourself to more than one thing? Is it possible to have the career you love and the man that makes your heart skip a beat?



I'm loving Meagan Good on the Digital Cover of Vibe Vixen. Check out the article where beauty talks about Love and turing the big 30!


Taken from Vibe Vixen

Hey Ladies, share how you balance being in love and maintaining a successful career. What do you think, is it possible?

Monday Inspiration: 5 ways to stay motivated

The race is not given to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the  brilliant or favor to the learned, but time and chance happened to them all

ECCLESIASTES 9:11

January is  over. Feburary is in full effect.  Before we know it spring will be here. We have all more than likely set resolutions and goals for all of things we want to accomplish. Now the question is who is still movtivated, working hard to reach those goals? Or did we set them for the sake of setting them and push them to the back of our minds. Have we grown tired of striving for greatness?  We must remember that the race is not given to the likely winner but the one who perseveres to the end.

Here are 5 ways to keep you working toward that goal:

Start the day out reviewing your goals and tracking your progress.

Break your goal into small action steps and plan to accomplish one action step per day.

Reward yourself after every goal you achieve. Give yourself something great ( spa day, new bag, or shoes)

Visualize your goals using a vision board or vision journal. The pictures will help motivate you, or just remind you of what your working toward.

At the end of each month or the begining of the next month evaluate your goal, you never know you may find that one on the list may not be important to you, or it may need a bit of tweaking. This is the time to remind yourself why the goal is important to you. You want to make sure that you know exactly why you want to achieve the goal.

How do you stay motiviated? Leave a comment and let me know what works for you.

Shameka

<3 2012

Monica's New Life

  Taken from Monica.com


I remember back in the day when Monica's video where she is walking in city, white rain coat and umbrella singing about love. I was no more than 10, but I couldn't wait to get home to turn on BET to see the sassy teenager. I wanted to be her. I wanted that life filled with love, fashion and the city. At eight Monica was my idol. Now at 27 I am still looking up to this amazing woman. It doesn't help that she married a cutie.

Monica is definitely a great example of a women who looks for opportunity in challenge. She says" whatever happens to me is just part of my story. It doesn't define who I am and it hasn't deterred me from where I'm going." Monica has gone through some things, not all good, but what is refreshing about her is that she keeps it real. She also grows from each challenge. I do believe if Monica had not weathered the challenges of her past she would not have such a wonderful life now.

Monica is still standing tall, I'd take her over Bey any day. Yep! I said it. Make sure you look out for her new album to hit stores in a couple of months.

Whats your favorite Monica song and why?


Shameka,
<3 2012