A few months ago I had this grand idea to do a huge mid-year vision board party here in Houston at a local restaurant or lounge. The idea came to me after so many things on my own vision board began to come into fruition. I wanted to share the excitement of creating a vision board and sharing the positive experiences that would come as the vision started to come to life. Due to my ability to over extend myself, I have not had the time or energy to truly focus on this project. I reached out to a place I thought would be perfect for the event and never received a returned call. I became discouraged and no longer wanted to follow through with the project.

But today I woke up and decided that I would move forward with the event on a smaller scale, send personal invites, and enjoy the moment. I am always thinking so big that I want every event I am planning to be a grand affair. Besides the cost of a grand affair, there is an extensive amount of stress that comes with big events in big places. I almost missed out on an opportunity to bond with some of my closest friends and to have conversations that are difficult to have in a crowd.

As I finalize the details for this event, I realize that we live on such a macro level that we forget that life changing moments happen on micro levels. There is more to life than events with big numbers, big names, or big bills. As I said in my last blog post, you have to continuously realign your plan with your purpose. Your word is all that you have, so be truthful when you speak and follow through always.  I am excited about this weekend and look forward to wine, wings, and magazines.

Write the vision. Make it plain. Be you. Do you. Tell your own story. On your own terms.

There is nothing like having your life all figured out and then a dump truck comes and unloads life all on top of your situation.  Everything that you worked through and how far you have come has suddenly fallen behind the priorities of  your dream. When you sit down and talk about where you want to be in 6 months, 1 year or even 5 years, it sounds good and even looks good on paper. What we never stop to plan for is life itself and we get discouraged when obstacles come our way.

Many times our plan is a part of our purpose, but life happens as a way to guide us and ensure that we do not lose sight of the end during the process. The distractions of society pollute our path and push us away from where we are supposed to be. Our plan starts to look more like a copy cat of someone else’s purpose instead of an original of our own. We start to want what someone else has and to be where other people are. We are no longer involved with a pure heart, but a selfish desire to prove someone wrong, get rich, or to be better than someone else.

Despite all of the twist and turns in life and the many changes to your plan, your purpose will never change. You have to continuously remind yourself of the WHY and make sure that your plan is always aligned with your purpose. The amount of time it takes you to get to the next level is determined by how many times you forget your purpose. We are here for a reason greater than our micro life. We play a bigger role in evolution and have a duty to leave this Earth better than it was when we arrived here.

Evolve. Grow. Learn. Plan. Never forget your purpose. Be you. Do you. Tell your own story. On your own terms.

A young lady reached out to me via social media to ask me about my journey. This broad question was asked in relation to career paths and remaining positive. We had a few hit and miss connections, but we ended up speaking last night for a few minutes and I realized then that our stories are all very unique, but they are the blue print for someone who desires to be where you are.

I fast forwarded through the dramatics of my life and focused more on how to persevere, how to stay positive, and how to plant seeds. Perseverance is not something that can be taught, but a passion or fire that makes you continue towards a goal that seems impossible. I told her how I struggled to pay for college, but no matter what came my way, I never gave up. My goal was to become a nurse, complete Howard, and work at the best hospital in the world and I did all of that because I pushed through the mess. It may not be easy, but it will definitely be worth it.

Remaining positive when you are not where you want to be is extremely difficult, but it is up to you to see the positive in what seems to be a negative situation. Many times the positive is not glaring you in the face and you have to search for it, but finding it helps put the pieces together that seemed to not fit together before. Another tool in remaining positive is to shut out or quickly compartmentalize any negativity that people may throw your way. You may reach a point where you are comfortable with your circumstances and here comes a negative spirit trying to analyze your situation for you. They may ask you to look around at everyone else your age, or to look at people who are where you want to be, or simply tell you that you should just abandon your dreams. Those people do not belong in your presence and you have to be strong enough to allow your peace to reign over their pessimism.

Planting seeds in life is how you give back to those who are coming behind you. I wish I could have been this introspective at 18, 20, or even 25. I explained to her that somethings in life just comes with time. I feel as if someone may have told me these things years ago, but I did not believe them because I had my own plan in my mind. Even when you feel that someone is not listening, it is still very important to drop those gems of wisdom so that when their heart is ready to listen, they will have something positive to push them through. You can only accept the truth when you have stopped your thoughts and opened your heart. Prayer and meditation is everything.

I always say that, “I am where I am supposed to be.” Even when I do not believe it, feel like it, or want to accept it. Your journey may not look like someone else’s or have a platform as large as another person’s, but you have the power to be the example of excellence for someone else. Someone wants to be where you are, even if you do not think it is the best place to be. There is a place for your voice, your wisdom, and your experiences.

Keep shining light on the good and the bad. The children are watching. Plant the seeds. Be you. Do you. Tell your own story. On your own terms.