Becoming a Game Changer

Becoming A

GAME CHANGER Even When Things Do Not Go as Planned!

By Dr. Sakeisha Hylick – Marriage Can Win

I have overcome the odds, both personally and professionally. After being reared in single parent homes, my husband and I decided at the initial phase of our marriage that divorce was NOT an option. We decided that our marriage was going to succeed where our parents’ marriages had failed. Fueled with a desire for our marriage to win, we embarked upon a 20-plus year journey to ensure that our marriage would win. Together we have endeavored to be transparent in our marriage to help others win in their marriages! We offer a” no holds barred” approach when it comes to love and marriage.

After going through several ups and downs, my husband and I faced another setback.

One day I experienced one of the most traumatic series of events in my life. I received a phone call from my husband informing me that his contract with a major company in Miami, Florida had been unexpectedly terminated. A difficult eight months serving as an associate pastor, spear heading a marriage ministry and raising two children who had both been struggling due to severe bullying ensued. As a result, we decided to sell our “dream home” and rent a townhome nearby where we could regroup. Although the living quarters were tight we settled into our new normal.

After 19 plus years in the Healthcare industry, I was excited to see a new pathway open up in terms of being accepted into a mentorship group that was designed to help take my pharmaceutical career to the next level. A breathing issue developed that eventually prohibited me from returning to my passion which was helping others in the community as a pharmacist. This was the most devastating blow of all. What was supposed to be a brief time out from work, turned into a 1 year plus battle with my health.I was informed that I could not return to my position as a pharmacist.

Instead of focusing on the obstacles I decided to focus on the opportunities.

I decided to pursue full time my true passion to educate, empower and encourage couples to embrace that Marriage Can Win! Together, my husband and I host weekly live interviews on Facebook to tackle what we refer to as “The Great Divide” in Marriages: Challenges in communication, finances, and sex. We launched a radio show called “Marriage Can Win”. This passion and energy led us to launch our first virtual summit ‘Vows to Victory’ that 650 motivated couples registered to participate. The premise behind the project was that we would take a group of bold couples willing to share their truths and triumphs in a transparent manner.

Finally, everything seemed to be back on track when life happened again! During the final day of the summit I began to get ill. I had trouble breathing, fevers, cough, fatigue, etc. and ended up having to watch the rest of our summit from a hospital bed! However, that did not stop me. I rested and was ready to get back to helping couples win in their marriages. Four days later, everything came to a screeching halt after a conversation with a powerful intercessor, who was a nurse who encouraged me and my entire family to return to the emergency room where I, my husband and our daughter all tested positive for COVID-19.

Although a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 knocked us down temporarily, it could not keep us down.

My husband and I launched an all-out crusade to help married couples. We have written our 4th book, entitled Struggling to Keep the Vows which will be officially released on September 30, 2020. I quickly realized something, when life doesn’t always go as you planned, you have one of two options: 1) You can either make a choice to stay where you are or 2) Take a chance and get up, dust yourself off and try again.

Here are some of the lessons I learned along the way:

1) Learn to Change Your Perspective

I had to learn to step outside of my situation, by shifting my perspective. I asked myself, what could I do differently if I were in a similar situation? What could I take from this event to apply to future situations?

2) Leverage temporary setbacks to your advantage

I started to consider what I thought were negative experiences in a more positive light. Consider them as lessons to prepare me for the future.

3) Listen to the Voice of God in every situation

Although things may not go according to plan, God always has me exactly where he wants me to be.

4) Look for opportunities for growth

Sure something bad happened to me, but if I could take one moment and really look, I can see positivity all around me. I had to make the choice to use these situations as an opportunity to grow and to learn and develop into who I was ultimately called to be. Although those negative experiences may have been extremely painful, they were the driving factor to helping me become an even better me!

5) Learn when it is time to pivot

This year has caused many, if not most of us to hit the refresh button in our lives, businesses, ministries, and relationships. Many of us have experienced a job loss, the loss of a loved one, our businesses and/ or families were financially impacted. I had to learn to pivot. It is during seasons like this that I had to look for new opportunities or take advantage of the time afforded to me to pursue my true passion like never before.

I believe that Marilyn Monroe said it best, “Sometimes good things fall all so greater things can come together!”