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September 2021 Issue ~ Volume 7 -Issue 3
Odunuyi
How She Overcame Tragedy To Become
Bold, Fierce, &
Just Go Overcoming Fear To
Promote Your
Brand
Top To Get You Through A Pandemic How To Have An
Morning To Watch Spotlighting the strength, diversity, and uniqueness of this journey called womanhood
CONTENTS
Speak Woman Cover Girl
Just Go LIVE! Overcoming Fear To
Promote Your
Brand
Pg. 18
Pg. 5
How To Have An
Empowered Morning
Tasha Odunuyi
Pg. 7
Top Apps Pg. 4 Pg. 8
Monica Akpotosevwe
Pg. 14
Farah M. Green
Lauren Grimes-Jackson
Pg. 16
Pamela Hodge
To help organize your life Pg. 15
Pg. 22
Angela Stewart
EDITOR’S NOTE To be empowered is a choice! This issue features powerful women sharing their journey of finding the strength to choose to be empowered!
#SpeakWoman We invite you to share your story of manifestation. Shanda Campbell, Editor-At-Large
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Speak Woman Magazine strives to publish correct and accurate information. We do not accept liability for any inaccuracies. The views expressed in published articles are that of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Speak Woman. Actions based on information in Speak Woman are at your own risk. Reproduction of any part of this publication without prior written consent is prohibited. Trademark Property of Speak Woman Magazine, LLC
~
Publisher: Speak Woman Magazine, LLC
LAUREN GRIMES-JACKSON Lauren is the Amazon Best-Selling author of “Purposeful Pain”, and the highly anticipated blog turned E-book entitled “Intimacy”. She is also the app owner of “The Purpose”, which is available in both iTunes and Google play. Lauren was born and reared in Opelousas, La. She is first and foremost a Christian woman dedicated to helping bridge healthy relationships between women and men, through her own life experiences, and journey toward wholeness. Lauren obtained a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Northwestern State University, in Natchitoches, La, a Master’s of Science Degree in Banking and Financial Management & also a M.B.A both from New England College, in Henniker, New Speak Woman Hampshire. Lauren’s aspiration is to promote healing and Woman liberation from the perpetual cycle of brokenness To often associated with the vagaries of life. Lauren Watch acclaims herself as being the bridge to helping men and women merge their passion into their God designed purpose. She is a certified life coach, with years of experience in corporate coaching. Lauren enjoys speaking and sharing her knowledge about becoming an author, branding, and finance. She has been a speaker for Women’s conferences, the Shreveport-Bossier African American Minority Expo, and a panelist speaker for the Shreveport/Bossier Ladies in Leadership luncheon. In 2019, Lauren was an honoree for the Athena Award, and she was also apart of the 2019 40 under 40 Class both hosted by the local chamber. Lauren currently resides in Shreveport, La, and is a proud mother of 2 handsome boys. She is also a successful entrepreneur in the arena of mortgage lending. Lauren is a Mortgage Loan Officer for Planet Home Lending Mortgage Company and has been in the banking industry for over 10 years. How do you define empowerment? I define empowerment as the ability to positively affirm one’s destiny and shut down any self-sabotaging thoughts or ideas that can influence remaining stagnant.
What was the inspiration behind your decision to leave your corporate leadership and coaching position and enter entrepreneurship as a business coach? I wanted to take the limits off myself and be able impact other clients that would help to broaden my scope and sphere of influence. What was your inspiration behind your book ‘Purposeful Pain’? After being married for 10 years, I had to make the hardest decision of my life to end my marriage to my college sweetheart. After, many conversations with my support system, I decided that I needed to take time to reflect and heal from the choices I’ve made. Healing was not something that I had seen before, but I knew that it would be powerful to not only do, but display. I made my book “Purposeful Pain: Give Me Your Isaac”, my personal journal & guide to document my journey to wholeness, as well as lend practical instructions with a scriptural base. Each chapter ends with a transparency which allows the readers to truly understand that I not only wrote the book, but I lived the steps that I was encouraging them to take to get to their purpose.
Connect with Lauren @ www.bridgingyourpurpose.com
Overcoming Fear To
Promote Your Brand
Just Go
LIVE
Social media has changed the game in countless ways. What was once thought of as an easy way to stay connected to family and friends has now become a multi-billion dollar industry allowing entrepreneurs to gain world-wide brand influence while increasing their bottom line. All from the comfort of there own home or office. While social media algorythms are constantly changing One major benefit of social media is the ability to ‘go live’. This feature allows your audience to connect with you on so many levels. Live videos have a way of connecting to your audience in ways that text and photos can’t. Live videos allow you to showcase your personality and expertise. This is an opportunity to show that you are an expert in your field. So, what stops entrepreneurs from using this little to no expense outlet of going LIVE on social media? The answer to my question varies for each of us, but the core issue is fear. Fear of messing up or fumbling words, fear of no one showing up, fear of how I look and sound on camera. These are just some of the ways we allow fear to talk us out of going live and promoting our product or service. So, how can we overcome fear and excuses and Just Go LIVE? •
Understand that fear is an illusion. Many of us have heard fear defined
as false evidence appearing real. I have found this statement to be true no matter the situation. I think of fear as a lion with no teeth. The goal of fear is to stop you and make you stay stuck where you are because if you push through the emotion of fear and just go live you will find that your fears are wrong. You can do this! •
Prepare! Set a goal for each live video and from that goal create 3 to 5 points
that you would like to cover in your live. This will prevent you from going off topic and ensure that you get your overall point across. Don’t be afraid of stumbling your words. We all do it. With each live you will learn the art of recovering and don’t forget that this will also show your audience that you are a real person. •
Don’t focus on the number of viewers. Focus on your presentation.
Stay consistent and focus on giving value understanding that with time your viewership will increase either from replays, algorithm changes, and viewers seeing you being professional and consistent. Additionally, expect the trolls. Understanding that everyone on social media is not in a healthy state of mind. Don’t let them get you off focus. Consider it a badge of honor and use that block button.
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How To Have An
Morning The ability to have an empowered morning depends on us having the confidence, determination, and ability to do so. It also requires understanding that no matter what is going on in our lives we have the power to decide how our day is going to go.
Plan the night before…
Decide what time you will wake up and stick to it. Avoid the temptation to hit that snooze button. You can even set out the clothes you plan to wear in the morning.
In the morning…
Spend some intentional quite time. Pray, meditate, journal, or simply allow yourself to sit quietly and just be in the moment. This allows you to set a peaceful tone for your day. Take note of the very breath in your body which is a true gift from God.
Create a daily schedule.
Make a list of all the things that you need to complete in the day. Prioritize that list and get to work. Remember to give yourself grace for the items you did not get to during the day.
Move your body…
This does not mean you must go to the gym every morning. It simply means that you take about 15 minutes to get your heart rate up and stretch your body. This could be turning on your favorite song and dancing or going for a brisk walk. Again, the goal is to get your heart rate up which will release endorphins which make you feel happy.
Monica Akpotosevwe
You Are The Vibe!
The tree must grow before you gather it’s leaves. This statement is one that resonates deep within. As people navigate through this thing called life, we look at all of the glitz, good and beautiful. When we are blessed, we say oh “God is good” and we’re full of ultimate praises. But what happens when the blessing wasn’t meant for you in the first place? What happens when the blessing seemingly doesn’t benefit you, but rather part of your journey of purpose?
Flashback of 10 years old: I was so scared of people. I was afraid of what people may do to me. Therefore, I became a recluse. I buried myself in my room and in books. (Side note, my love of books came from having the ability to escape my life and re-enact myself as if I was a character in a novel). I was by every stretch of the imagination a “loner”, because I wanted to be alone safely in my room at the age of 10. I no longer wanted to dance, do double dutch, or even ride bikes down the street. On top of that, I had so many emotions bottled up and I could not get them out because I was drowning in fear. Weeks prior I was walking to my friend’s house who lived right behind the elementary school I attended. We would gather at her place and walk to school together just in time for breakfast. This particular day, I had a new attitude. With my braids freshly done, new clogs and a new dress on, (because it was picture day at school) I thought I was EVERYTHING! Plus, I had just gotten baptized the night before at church. You couldn’t tell me anything with my new attitude and new look. With an extra bop in my step, I proceed to my friend’s house as per usual, when a two-door gray thunderbird pulled alongside me. A white man rolled his window down and asked me if I would like a kitten. I told him no as I was on my way to school. The man said,” well, will you help me find a good home for him”? I thought about it for a second. With my newfound attitude as a new babe in Christ, I thought to myself helping someone else will make God proud and surely my job as a Christian.
So, I told the man yes. At this point the man was outside the car and asked me to help him find the kitten. So, I glanced in the car and did not see anything. He pulled the front seat upward so I can get a better look in the backseat for the kitten. As I looked, I bent my head and body into the car to look in the back seat. When I raised up to turn around, I was met with a red handkerchief around my face and the man struggling to get me into the car. I see a gun on the seat of the car and all I can remember is fighting and moving my body profusely to get away. I blacked out. I woke only to remember myself running down the street. There is so much more to this story that is absolutely mind blowing. However, this is how I got to the point of wanting to be alone and absolutely FURIOUS with God. I felt like God allowed this to happen to me. I was so confused as a 10-year-old child of why God would allow something like this to happen to a brand-new babe in Christ. I thought he wanted me to help others. I thought the purpose of a Christian was to be kind to others and help if they asked. I was so torn, confused, mad and frustrated. In my anger though, I found purpose. Although I didn’t know it was that at the time, I was practicing some of the very things I teach at Vibaciousbox. Like how to connect with yourself when you feel lost, how to love yourself, or how to set unwavering boundaries when trust is broken. As it was broken that day in fourth grade, the rose-tinted lenses I was looking through of the world no longer existed.
At the age of 10, I would write poems and short stories an outlet of my emotions. I would spend a dangerous amount of time alone when I was not doing hair (which was a business I started when I was 10). I wrote so much it turned into a passion. My then negative and demented thoughts then turned to positive thoughts about myself. The thoughts of myself turned into positive visions of what I would like my life to look like. I continued to write good things of myself and affirmations, it became a way for me to be good to me and love on myself. I didn’t have to hide from myself any longer. I could be me. The good, bad and the ugly. Since then, I have lived by the value that sometimes you go through things not for you, but for others. By sharing my story, I have helped suicidal men and women, women who have given up and lost all hope. Because that pain was turned into purpose. Don’t get me wrong, the journey was ugly. I made some very horrible choices in my darkness as a result. I allowed people to use me for their ultimate glory while I only got a sliver of temporary happiness. I wanted to be loved and accepted. I definitely searched in all the wrong places for that love. However, my story of survival has saved more people than it has ever hurt. I don’t wish the pain, sadness, and anguish on anyone, but I am glad that God allowed me to start practicing self-love and self-care at a young age, so that I can guide women on how to do it, because I definitely “got it out the mud”. It took a long time for me to accept that I am the vessel and not the recipient of the blessing. I began to understand that true self love and self-care comes from having the ability to explore even the scariest parts of yourself. It’s not always pretty quotes and attractive pictures, but it’s a journey with yourself to do better for and with yourself. I had to learn very early, that I am worth that journey and I enjoy still being on it today. Now, I get to share my journey so that other young girls and women don’t have to grow up in bondage of non-self-exploration and appreciation.
Afterall, the opposite of self-love is self-hate. If you allow the situations in your life to largely consume you, you can miss the blessing. Regardless of if it’s for you or someone else. Later when I made amends with God, I would jokingly ask, why I was chosen to have such a gift? Before you roll your eyes and say “Sis, how is your tragedy a gift”? Hear me out. Some people are given the gift or talent of prophecy, service, serving and etc. I was giving the gift or both service and exhortation as it speaks about in Roman 12. We are all given different gifts by God’s grace. But we don’t get to determine who those gifts are given to.
The tree must grow before you gather it’s leaves. My gifts of being able to lift up other people and serve them came initially through a tragic event in my life. It put me in a season of seeking and in my seeking and transparency is where I find purpose. I leave you with this, in everything you encounter, I encourage you to look beyond the situation to determine if parts of your purpose are there. I also encourage you to look deep within yourself to find unwavering self-awareness. When you have this selfawareness, it’s the most BEAUTIFUL thing. It’s where freedom and purpose are found. Embrace your journey and the fact that you may be the recipient of blessings or the vessel.
You are the journey. You are the vibe.
@Vibaciousbox
Farah is a Certified Exercise Nutrition Coach, Body Activist, Speaker, Author and the Founder/CEO of
Thick, Bold, and Healthy LLC Farah encourages women to embrace their bodies through body image consulting, health, wellness, and nutrition. After years of fighting with depression, low self-esteem, and weight loss, she discovered every health and wellness journey begins with self-love. As a result, she created Thick, Bold & Healthy LLC and launched The Body of Gold Podcast where she teaches healthconscious, curvy women to be the best version of themselves by not allowing the scale to dictate their self-worth. TBH is a one-stop shop for all things related to body positivity, nutrition and wellness.
Farah M. Green
How do you define empowerment? I define empowerment as taking control of my destiny and enjoying the process of becoming the woman that I ultimately want to be. There’s power in creating the life you truly want to live and not wanting to settle for less. As women, we are often taught that we must follow the leadership of men and create a lifestyle based on societal standards, especially beauty standards. I believe we must go against those rules to authentically be ourselves and find true happiness. It’s not enough to want to attain a certain level of happiness, health, and wealth just because it looks great on someone else. There’s empowerment in defining your ‘why’ of wanting to achieve a certain level of health and abundance. Owning and defining what you want out of life is determined by me and other individuals of how they want to live life. So, if I had to pick a word that defines empowerment it’s FREEDOM. The freedom to become stronger, more confident and control your own life because you create your story. How would you want your life’s story to be told? @TheTBHLife
TOP APPS
We live in a time where there is an app for everything. This can be overwhelming for some, so we have listed 5 apps that may help you organize your life.
WhatsAppA free and easy way to connect with people from all over the world. This app is free and available on all your devices. Great for businesses of all sizes.
Google CalendarA scheduling app that allows you to easily view your schedule and add to your schedule in just a few simple taps. It also automatically adds events to your calendar that are received via Gmail. Click UpAllows you to be organized in one space. Create multiple workspaces allowing you to work with teams and create tasks and customized settings and due dates. This convenient app connects directly to your google calendar. Mint-
An easy to use budgeting app that allows you to set budgets, pay bills, and save all from one simple app.
UpholdA simple investment app that allows you to trade easily between national currencies. Trade cryptocurrencies, US stocks, precious metals, and more.
Pamela Hodge “Empowerment is the process of becoming stronger and more confident through life’s journey. It is the knowledge that we can do anything we put our minds to, and do it well. We can be strong, confident, and in full control of our choices and decisions. To be empowered is empowering others.” Pamela M. Hodge
Pamela is a POWERHOUSE! She is the proud mother of two children who are both enlisted in the United States military. Her son is a Sergeant in the Army and her daughter is a Senior Airman in the Air Force. While instilling the importance of community service and a strong educational foundation within her children, she continues her education and outreach. Pamela earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology Engineering, a Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovative Practices, and is a candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health, with a Community Health track. As a result of her exemplary academic efforts Pamela was inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success. Pamela is an ordained Prophet, Chaplain, and Elder, commissioned as an intercessory prayer warrior and hosts training sessions on spiritual gift assessment and personality types for spiritual leaders. She is also a retired public health epidemiologist who worked for the State of Connecticut’s Department of Public Health (DPH) as an epidemiologist under the infectious disease track for over 26 years. During those 27 years, Pamela played a team role within award-winning state initiatives including the Immunization Program, Comprehensive Cancer Program, Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program, and so much more. She relocated to Ohio in 2019 keeping a personal promise to return and give back to the students of Central State University
Due to the love and dedication for her undergrad alma mater, Central State University (CSU), she continues to reach out to the administration to find ways to be of service and to give back to current students. She participates in the CSU National Alumni Association conferences, Visiting Alumni Day, and supporting the Emerging Scholars Program through coat drives, along with the upkeep of their student Pantry. She also serves as the Greater Dayton Alumni Chapter Chaplain. Pamela is a strong proponent of Historical Black Colleges and Universities and leads by example as she urges fellow alumni to continue their financial support to sustain her beloved university. In addition to the support provided to CSU, she is an active participant in her Dayton community. She participates in the annual African American Cultural Festival and is a member of the associated Village, tutors elementary students in reading through Omega’s Hope Foundation, and participated in the first annual communitysponsored Dayton HBCU Send-Off.
In addition, Pamela has made a community impact as a statecertified youth sports referee in Connecticut for 10 years, where she was also the first local woman to coach football, baseball, softball, and boy’s basketball, while earning community awards for her efforts.
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Odunuyi
How She Overcame Tragedy To Become
Bold, Fierce, &
www.born2empowerher.com
Tasha Odunuyi is an author, inspirational speaker, and a serial entrepreneur who is dedicated to helping women overcome trauma and hardships in their lives and find the way of love, forgiveness, and healing as they let God take first place in their lives. As an entrepreneur, sitting at the helm of her own successful fashion label, Diella Designs, Tasha empowers women to show up bold and fierce, unapologetically commanding any room they enter with style and grace. Nothing of her ambition and her glowing business and personal accomplishments as a wife of 28 years and mom of two amazing boys and a beautiful girl speaks to the stain of abuse, trauma, grief, and utter devastation she has endured and overcome. Some 20 years ago Tasha endured a tragic turn in her life when three of her brothers got into a heated argument that led to the death of one of them due to injuries from the fight. It was this incident that led to the subsequent sentencing and 4-year incarceration of one of her brothers for second degree murder. It was also the beginning of a slow mental erosion of a third brother. Mental health is not an easily understood topic amongst African American families and fighting the stigma of therapy is not easy. One of Tasha’s brothers suffered silently with his mental health after the family tragedy of his brother’s passing. Eventually his condition spiraled and deteriorated and ended in his own tragic death two years later. As the eldest, Tasha felt a moral obligation in all the upheaval in her family to fight for the way of love, peace, dignity, and unity. She has consciously chosen the long and often difficult path of compassion, love, and forgiveness and is actively committed to breaking generational cycles of abuse. At the start of what many may deem a real life horror story, Tasha chose to support her brother through a number of arduous court cases while still nursing a 6-month old baby and maintaining her work and family obligations. What Tasha has been able to achieve is nothing short of the grace of God operating on the inside of her. Standing for unity and forgiveness in families in very unprecedented circumstances and serving as an advocate for mental health amongst the black community, Tasha has been dubbed a modern-day Joseph, and is now one of the voices of our generation that God is using to empower women to live healed, whole, and free. Tasha is on a mission to help women look within and tell their stories of triumph and resilience and to start shifting the perception of past trauma and find purpose in their pain. We all have a choice Tasha believes– “we either can choose love and a life lived abundantly or accept and live into our fears and live small and limited. Choose wisely! Your Story could very well be the thing that unlocks healing for someone else. Every story may not start off beautiful, but God can make everything beautiful at the right time. There is purpose in your pain. I am on a mission to empower you to empower other’s so we can begin healing our communities”.
How do you define empowerment? Empowerment, to me, means having the grit and grace to push through anything life throws at you. It's the freedom to just be and rest in God. Healthy, whole, and healed in all areas. Finding the freedom in your voice and who you were created to be. Tell us why helping women to overcome trauma and hardships and find healing is so important for you. I believe that empowering women to heal is important because not doing so keeps us from operating fully in that pre-destined place God ordained for us. Our healing opens the door to fully operate at the capacity that God desires for us to walk in. What was your inspiration behind your book ‘MUSTERING THE STRENGTH TO FIGHT’? Mustering The Strength To Fight was important to write because it was my way of showing women that although the storm came it did not kill you. You are not your story or what happened to you. It was important to carry them on my faith journey, so they could see the evidence of how faithful God is if we trust him and keep pushing through. It's my prayer that I would help people see through a different lens when we are put in places where compassion, forgiveness, resilience, and faith are needed. We need it and we also need to give it. What would you tell women struggling to find strength to fight? If you are looking for ways to find the strength to fight, I would ask women to visualize what victory in this fight looks like in the end. Look back over Gods track record in your life. His track record is flawless. You probably didn’t think you were coming out many times before, but He came through like He always does. I would say think on those things to fight for your healing. Muster up the strength no matter how small and hold on like your life depends on it because it does. God can make everything beautiful in his time.
What is next for you? Moving forward I would like to pursue offering Christian plays and developing a safe coaching space where I can mentor women and girls to turn pain into purpose. I also plan to start a non-profit shelter for abused and battered women and children where I equip them with the tools to become whole. I would also love to host and attend conferences across the world speaking to women on all things empowerment!
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