Everyone has dreams but are you bold enough to live it?

1 May

“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.” – Les Brown

Everyone has dreams. Whether or not they ever share them is irrelevant. Deep down we all have something we would like to achieve. We all like the idea of making an impact or leaving our mark on the world. Just try having a conversation with a stranger or even a loved one and ask them the question ‘what would you do if money wasn’t an issue?’. It is then they will start to reveal their true passions. They’ll begin to think of their deepest desires and explore the details that come with it. It’s amazing what people will share with you if you ask.

I had an eye test the other week and during my appointment my optician and I got talking. While she was carrying out the test she asked me what my plans were for the rest of the day. I told her I was on my way to a business meeting. She then began to ask me about it. She seemed interested so I didn’t mind sharing. I began to tell her that I had started a new venture just before Christmas and today I was meeting a potential supplier. I showed her pictures of my products and she seemed very impressed and encouraged me to keep on going.

The test was almost over and while she was typing up her notes I asked if she did anything outside of work too. I’m always intrigued by people’s lives and I genuinely wanted to know more about her. She immediately stopped typing turned round to face me, paused and then smiled. She said yes, I sell bags. She then began to go into detail about the bags and showed me pictures. She then continued to tell me about the types of people that would purchase one of the bags and how much they would spend each time. She spoke with such enthusiasm and passion, it was lovely to see.

“But” she said. “I work here from 8am-8pm, my days are busy I just don’t have the time to focus on my business”. So I said to her “if you really enjoy this hobby then you should make time for it”. She agreed but still couldn’t see how she could transition from employment into business.

This lady not only had a lovely product but also had customers. She knew her market, she had made the sales! However, she was still fearful of not having enough money and hence focused more on earning money rather than chasing her dreams. The Les Brown’s quote at the beginning of this post is unfortunately so very true. Many people bottle up their dreams and ideas and carry it with them to their grave. This lady obviously had a passion for selling bags but her job was too demanding to give her the time to work on her business. Unfortunately, she now potentially becomes another valuable depositor to the graveyard.

For me, I think it’s a shame. It’s a real shame that many people adhere to society’s unwritten rules that you need a job to give you income. Or the rule that job security is more important than freedom and happiness. Your job or anything for that matter should NEVER take away your happiness. Everyone deserves to be free and happy.

Now the sad thing is, this isn’t an isolated example. This lady is not the first person I’ve spoken to that has had a dream but hasn’t been able to put it into action. Fear and doubt constrain so many people. The thought of not having regular income paralyses a lot of us (let’s not lie here). So we opt for the more comfortable option to avoid the uncertainty. But in doing so don’t we sometimes lose sight of what’s important in life? I strongly believe that you should never be afraid to live your dreams.

So let’s not make the graveyards any richer. Let’s not carry our dreams to the grave. But let’s live them and in doing so we can inspire other people to live theirs.

 

Natalie x

Ambitious Introvert?

14 Dec

Being both ambitious and introverted comes with its challenges. I sat down the other day and wrote out a few things I regularly deal with. Sometimes I feel as if I’m being pulled in opposite directions and for my own peace of mind I’m constantly having to find the balance.

For example,

I want to come forward but I also want to be in the back

I want to be spontaneous and outgoing but I spend too long analysing possible outcomes

I want to run away from business meetings because they’re usually overdone and I have work to do

I want to lead but I also want to follow

I want to be an entrepreneur but risk and uncertainty terrifies me in more ways than one

I want to receive the recognition you deserve but you don’t want to be centre of attention

I want to go to business networking events but I really can’t be bothered with the small talk

I want great success but I don’t want to be scrutinised

I realise that some of these things I deal with are essential to my personal development and the progression of my businesses. As much as I want to be recognised for my work, I don’t want it done in a way that makes me centre of attention. There’s something calming about being in the backround. But the success I’m aiming for, it’s inevitable that I will need to come forward at some point. That’s why I have to  feel the fear and do it anyway!

So even though sometimes I want to be 100% introverted and stay home all day and read a book…I can’t. My ambitious side tells me to get up, get out and chase my dreams. I never see my introversion as a hindrance. I understand it is crucial to my success! what success can I achieve without careful thought and knowledge? and equally, what success can I achieve with no action? That’s why I’m learning to find a balance between both traits.

So if you’re an ambitious introvert. You’re not alone. Would love to connect! 

Leave a comment below. How do you balance the two?

Nat x

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It’s 4am and I’m tired 

9 Nov

This post was written about 3 weeks ago. It had been a busy week and I hadn’t got much sleep. On this particular night I decided to pass the time by writing.

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Its Friday. 1:09am to be exact. I’ve been in bed for an hour. It was a late one tonight as I was preparing paperwork for a meeting tomorrow.

My daughter’s fast asleep in her crib by my bed. Her little sighs and yawns are no longer cute at this hour. Each sound seems to fill the room, preventing me from falling asleep. But to be honest she’s not the reason I’m awake. I just can’t switch off my mind.

There’s so much to do

I’m currently juggling motherhood, my relationship and my business. It’s likely that I’m not excelling in all these areas but I like to think I am. In my short 3 months of being a mother I’ve already developed the “I can do it all” approach often taking on more tasks than I can handle. Being a new mum and an entrepreneur has its challenges.

It’s now 4am and I’m tired. 

We’re both awake now for the night feed. I’m currently writing this post using my phone with baby in my left hand and phone in the right whilst balancing the bottle with my chin! If motherhood has taught me anything that is to be creative. I’ll do all I can to juggle looking after baby and the million other things that needs to be done. I tweeted the other day…”I’m mastering the art of multi tasking” but am I really? Let’s be honest I can only really focus properly on one task at a time. I may feel like I’m being productive because I’m busy but the reality is I’m probably spreading myself too thin…

She’s now been fed and the good baby that she is she has gone straight back to sleep. But my mind’s still awake…

I’m thinking of my client meeting tomorrow. “Have I got all the paperwork ready?”, “will I close the sale?”. I think perhaps being an introvert also means I’m highly analytical of my actions. Each action I take usually requires a long drawn out analysis asking myself “should I have done that?” “What were the other people thinking?” “Did they perceive me well?” “What can I do better next time?”

It’s now 5am and I’m awake

The birds are singing now and tiredness has left me. My thoughts have kept my company throughout the night and now I’ve been awake for an hour just “social media scrolling”. I like to mentally plan my day and I usually do this while scrolling through instagram ‘liking’ pictures of motivational posts hoping that somehow it will change my life. lol

There’s probably not much point falling back asleep at this point.

It’s now 7am and I’m tired again

I managed to fall asleep again but the broken sleep is getting to me. I just know that today will be difficult and coffee will be needed. However, today I can’t stay in bed even if I wanted to. My client meeting is at 2pm out of town and yes little one is coming with me. So I better start getting ready.

Maybe I’ll get some sleep tomorrow night…

Nat

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What’s stopping you?

5 Oct

“I just need that million dollar idea” “I don’t have enough money to start a business” “I don’t have the right skills”

There are probably a million more reasons why people don’t pursue business or become an entrepreneur. We’re all waiting for the ‘right time’. We tell ourselves that we need to reach a certain level before we act. We put things off for years thinking we have all the time in the world! Some of us are probably even waiting for the stars to align and for the world to stop spinning before they decide to chase their dreams. It’s all ridiculous. There’s no right time! You can plan as much as you want but anything and everything in your life can change in an instant!

That’s why I’m asking the question “What’s stopping you?”

What’s stopping you from leaving your job that you’re so unhappy in? What’s stopping you from applying for that business start up funding? What’s stopping you from working on your passion in your spare time? What is it?

In the past I have asked myself these same questions…and yes I came up with excuses. I could’ve written you a book containing all my reasons. But when I revisited these reasons…each time the answer pointed back to me. I was the problem (still am).

I’ve been on this entrepreneurial journey for about a year and a half now. I have tried and failed at a few things including making and selling gift hampers, tutoring and setting up a concierge business. I’m not bitter about any of these because they have taught me invaluable lessons. But it dawned on me the other day that the greatest challenge I’m facing on my journey is my mind set! That’s right. It’s not my competitors. It’s not the amount of resources I have and it definitely isn’t about my skills (I have 2 degrees for goodness sake!). The common denominator was always ME. Each time I came to a hurdle or a setback I would get discouraged and give up and move on to the next task.

So I asked myself how badly do I want it?

And honestly before I had my daughter…deep down I would have answered not that much. I may not have admitted it but that would have been the true answer. I realised I didn’t want it that much because when I came up against trials I was quick to back down. I was quick to say…well maybe this isn’t for me and I would give up! But since having my daughter, everything I’m doing has so much more purpose. I look at her and I realise I’m not just living for myself anymore…in fact, this time next year I’ll be a wife AND a mother! I have responsibilities. I have to be accountable.

That’s why I’m starting to look at entrepreneurship in a different light. It is the ultimate teacher of perseverance…I thought it was a career choice for the talented and the highly skilled. But when I really started to understand it, I realised that it is just a test of mental strength and whether I’m willing to keep going right to the end!

What ideas have you never put into action? What’s stopping you from achieving them today?

Leave a comment down below!

Let’s chat

 

 

 

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Reflections of a mum-to-be; The ultimate sacrifice

27 Jul

***This post was originally written on the 10th July***

From the moment I first found out I was pregnant my body underwent some drastic changes. I noticed quite quickly that there was something foreign inside of me that was changing my body. My hormones were all over the place, I felt nauseous, I spent most of the day in bed, I was exhausted. There was nothing I could do about it, I just had to surrender and let my body do what it needed to do. They say the first 3 months of pregnancy are crucial as it’s when most of the development happens. So whether I liked it or not, I had to slow down and do what was best for my baby.

I became a slave to my hormones. I spent the last few months going from energetic to lifeless. There was no in between. I felt there was nothing I could do about it. I’ll be honest it was difficult for me to adjust to this as I’m the kind of person that likes to be on the go all the time. And for someone stubborn like myself being forced to slow down and take it easy…isn’t something that came naturally.

But aside from the physical changes I realised there were mental changes taking place. My focus shifted from myself to my unborn child. Although I’m carrying this child I’m effectively already a mother, I still don’t know what it’s actually like! It’s difficult to comprehend something you haven’t experienced. But I’m sure first time mums would agree it’s a surreal experience.

I’ve always been aware of the notion that there is no love like a mother’s love. But now I’m actually experiencing it, I can say this is true. Even though I haven’t met my princess yet, we have developed a relationship over the nine months. I find myself looking at her scan pictures thinking “ah you used to be so small! Now look at you!” lol. I talk to her everyday and I tell her that she will be amazing and do great things.

But I can already see that motherhood is the ultimate sacrifice.

My goals and dreams are now orientated around her future. Although I feel like I’m just starting out in life and I’m yet to achieve some of my goals and dreams, I feel like her future is more important. It’s a strange perspective to go from focusing on yourself to a little life you’ve never even met. But I want the best for her. I have been blessed with this gift and I’m not going to waste the opportunity by not giving her the best start in life.

I can already see that my life has moved forward so much since finding out I was pregnant. My ambition has increased and my work ethic has improved. I feel this sense of urgency now that I didn’t experience before. It’s become all about her. She is already such a blessing in my life and she doesn’t even know it yet. She has given me a higher sense of purpose that I could ever even dream of! Although circumstances aren’t perfect, her little life is perfect and I vow to do everything in my powers to ensure she is happy!

 

 

 

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5 ways to increase your earning potential as an entrepreneur

20 Jul

In previous posts I established the limitations of self-employment and the restrictions it can have on your earning potential.

But the question is…how can you increase your earning potential as an entrepreneur?

Delegation

First up is delegation. Having people work for you not only helps to spread the work load but allows your business to reach a wider range of people. Bringing people on board to work for you gives you more time to focus on working ON the business, rather than IN it!

Systems

Now that you’ve taken yourself out the equation you can replace it with systems. Creating a system is a great way to ensure your business remains running even when you’re not there. The success of the business is no longer solely reliant on you, it is now reliant on the system. This ensures that your business can be run and managed by anyone. This is advantageous because it helps to create continuity.

Distribution

If done correctly, distribution can take your business from 0 – 100 ! If you have a product your main aim should be to put it in front of as many people as possible. That way it increases your chances of sales. No matter the idea or product, with the right marketing and distribution your business can take off! Obviously it takes a lot of hard work but when you look at the examples of successful businesses you can see they have mastered the art of distribution e.g McDonald’s.

Ownership

This way is more for the creative ventures such as writing, painting, music etc. By creating a unique product which you claim ownership over, means you have the right to sell this on for profit. This means that even after the original effort has been completed you can still benefit from the work you put in. For example, writing a book may take you months or even years to complete but if written well, could provide you with regular income for years to come.

Repeatable services

Creating a business that requires your client to come back month after month will help provide your business with a steady income stream. For example, monthly subscription services are a great way to gain that commitment from customers. It not only provides customers with a guaranteed service but it also helps stabilise business income. Gaining commitment from customers through direct debits is desirable to help generate a regular income for your business.

So there you have it! 5 ways to get you thinking about increasing your earning potential as an entrepreneur. All of these suggestions can contribute to your set up for a lifetime of residual income.

Please share any more tips below!

Natalie

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Ambitious Women; Let’s hear from Jackie

18 Jul

Name | Jackie Taiwo

Tell us a random fact about yourself | I taught myself to play the piano when I was 12 and was pretty good for a few years, but I haven’t touched a piano in over a decade now.

What is your current occupation? | I work full time building my new business, Melariche (www.melariche.com), an online makeup & skincare catering to women of colour. On any given day, I may be working on web design, marketing & sales strategy, brand curation, operations management, social media…the list goes on and on. We launch in August, so everything is super busy, but it’s so fulfilling to work on a project that you’re passionate about and believe in.

Melariche---ORIG---logo

Would you class yourself as an ambitious woman?| Most definitely. I’m always in pursuit of a goal I’ve set for myself whether that be in my personal life or career related. What’s interesting though is how I have been able to jump onto new opportunities without looking back. I studied engineering college, but decided to work in corporate finance after graduation. After working a few years, I then decided to pursue a joint law-business graduate degree (thinking I would move into business role within the entertainment industry), and by second year of grad school decided I just had to leave the country and was hired by an international law-firm willing to relocate me after graduation. I was able to transition at each stage because I did not believe my path was limited by my current experience at that time. And I think having ambition is being able to see a vision for yourself beyond what society or your environment says you should do.

Have you always been ambitious? If not what was the turning point for you? | I think my ambition was engrained in me early by mother, who passed away in 2002. My mother was born in the deep south in the height of Jim Crow (quite literally born on the land her grandparents were enslaved on), but she was not someone who let her circumstance limit her vision. At 19, single and pregnant, she moved to the New York by herself to give her family more opportunity. She worked hard, got married and was able to buy a home with ten years. Fast forward to 1981, five kids later, a single mother now, she decided to get her bachelor’s in nursing while pregnant with me and graduated with a degree from one of the best nursing programs in New York. I watched her step up in the community whenever it was needed. Our local HeadStart program needed a bus driver to take local kids (including myself) to the school. With six kids, a full-time job, she made to time to volunteer to drive that bus. I can name countless instances where she was first in line to help those in need. Like so many black women, she all did this without seeking recognition and was not incredibly vocal about her achievements. I doubt she would have even called herself ‘ambitious.’ She did what she thought was necessary to provide for herself, her family and her community. But her ability to see & create opportunity has had a big impact on me. She did not let her struggles define her and that’s a powerful mindset. In my toughest times, I think this type of ambition has been so powerful in motivating me to push on.

Jackie 2.jpg

What is your biggest achievement to date? | My 4-year-old daughter has to be my biggest achievement. She’s beautiful, super smart and headstrong. Outside of that, I would say quitting my job as a corporate lawyer after 5 years. Yes, quitting was a huge achievement for me. I was so unhappy and not living in my purpose but I was incredibly afraid to quit. Overcoming that fear was huge feat and I’m so proud that I was able to do it. Fear can really cloud your ambition, so letting that go was a major step for me and has allowed me to progress to where I am today – one month away from launching Melariche!

What is your long term vision for yourself? | My vision is massive. I want to grow Melariche into a ‘Sephora for women of colour’ and really shake up the beauty industry which has ignored women with darker skin for far too long. I want to eventually build Melariche stores all around world. Our tagline is ‘Celebrate Your Beauty’ because our brand represents beauty in all colours and sizes. Women are constantly told that they need to a look a certain way in order to be beautiful or to be successful. I want to challenge that notion by encouraging women to look however they want, wear whatever makeup they want, do their hair however they want, and that’s okay and beautiful because it’s YOU and you have been and will always be enough. Live life on your own terms and break the mould!

It’s also incredibly important to give back and I’d like to start a program that empowers vulnerable women to see possibility beyond their immediate struggle and pass on the mindset that my mother gave to me.

What have you sacrificed or willing to sacrifice to achieve your vision? | I’ve given up a lot of my time. I work on Melariche in every free moment because there is always something to do. The to-do list never ends. This unfortunately means I struggle to be present when I’m with my daughter and husband, and at times I’m afraid I won’t feel the effects of this until years later. But my husband is incredibly supportive and every day I block out time that is just for me and my daughter (working on putting the phone down!).

What advice can you give to other ambitious women that want to pursue their dreams but are afraid to do so? | Optimism. Remove the word “can’t” from your vocabulary. The power of being positive cannot be understated. Talk about your vision confidently – even if you don’t have the resources – focus on what you can accomplish and make a growth plan and believe in it.

Also, I think it’s important to pause and set aside a few days to literally write down your 3-year or 5-year plan, whether it’s for your business or career.  Write down what you want to achieve and be as detailed as possible about how you’re going to achieve it – force yourself to be realistic, take note on your strengths and include a plan to work on your weaknesses. Have someone you trust read it and to help determine if the plan you’ve set out will actually get you the results you seek. Also, write down contingencies for each stage, knowing that even if you execute your plan perfectly, sh*t happens beyond your control requiring you to pivot. But when that time comes you’ll be prepared because you know there’s a plan B.

 

Want to hear more from Jackie?

Follow her on Twitter Instagram & Facebook

Website: www.melariche.com

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Are you ambitious? business minded? or pursuing  your passion?

Want to be apart of this series? Express your interest by emailing quietlyambitious@hotmail.com or messaging here  

 

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Being self-employed is restricting your earning potential, and here’s why

13 Jul

In a previous post I spoke about why leaving your 9-5 job to be self employed was a waste of time. This post has been written to expand on a few concepts presented in that post, one namely being the restriction on your earning potential as self-employed.

We have always been taught about exchanging our time for money. Time = money. This is because we have been conditioned into a system that rewards us with a specified amount of money for the time and effort we put into a job. So as a self-employed person, working 8 hours a day means that person would receive an income equivalent to the time spent doing the job.

It’s clear how this concept works. It follows a simple formula.

Hourly Rate X Hours worked = Income

Therefore, time spent not working means there would be a loss of income.

But when you really get down to the details, you begin to realise that self-employment can be restricting your earning potential.

Let’s use the example of a private tutor that charges £20 per hour for their services. They work 8 hours a day and at the end of the day they earn £160 as compensation for their time spent doing the job.

20 X 8 = £160 per day

But let’s say the tutor has continuous work coming in for the week and they’re able to work 8 hours each day. We can now calculate their income for the work week.

(Hourly Rate X Hours Worked) X Days Worked = Income

(20 X 8) X 5 = £800 per week

Simple right? So the tutor could potentially earn £800 per week.

But let’s say for the purpose of the example that this tutor could work an extra 2 hours each day, taking it to a total of 10 hours a day.

(20 X 10) X 5 = £1000 per week

Now this tutor has increased their weekly earnings by 25% by just doing an extra 2 hours per day!

But let’s continue to push this tutor to their limit. Let’s say they can work an additional 2 days a week. So in total they’re doing 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. They’re putting more time in so that would mean more money right?

Correct!

(20 X 10) X 7 = £1400 per week 

The tutor has now increased their income by 40% by doing an additional 20 hours over 2 days.

We could keep pushing this tutor. Let’s say they can work 24 hours for 7 days (unrealistic but let’s go with it for the sake of the example).

(20 X 24) X 7 = £3360 per week 

The tutor would have now increased their weekly income by a whopping 140% ! That’s amazing right?

Now if we extrapolate this formula and calculate their earnings for the year based on working 24/7 for £20 per hour we can see they will earn £174,720 for the year!

What a nice salary I hear you say!

However, the reality is…no one can work for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week…even if they tried.

The example above has obviously been exaggerated to show you that as a self-employed individual charging an hourly rate you are capping your earning potential. In reality we know that self-employment income can fluctuate so we should expect that the earning potentials are a lot less favourable than what you see here.

But the problem with working for an hourly rate is there is only so much you can earn in a given time. If the tutor was physically able to work every second of the day based on the £20 per hour, that tutor could only ever earn £174,720 for the year. Yes, they could increase their hourly rate, but then again there would be a cap on this too. Essentially, their maximum earning potential will always be proportionate to the hourly rate set.

But what does this mean for budding entrepreneurs? Well if you only charge an hourly rate for your service you are essentially capping your own earning potential. You’re limiting your work to the confines of time. The calculations show that you will never supersede the maximum if you work under the time=money system.

So, we (as entrepreneurs) need to become more creative and innovative with our service. We must look at ways to stretch our time further. Unfortunately, we cannot physically be in two places at once, nor can we alter time, but we can consider other methods that will open up unlimited earning potential!

Come back next week where I’ll give you tips on how you can increase your earning potential as an entrepreneur.

Natalie

 

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Ambitious men; Let’s hear from David

11 Jul

Name | David Morgan

Tell us a random fact about yourself | I have a very rare, unreleased R&B album, fully recorded in my shower.

What is your current occupation? | I’m a full time writer/artist/musician/human. I like to create anything that I possibly can, as much as I can. I currently have a number of projects on soundcloud, with “Genesis” being my latest release.(http://soundcloud.com/DavidFnMorgan).

I am the author of 3 books (Light, Love, and Life) available at www.LightLoveLife.co. The first 2, Light and Love, were self published and the 3rd, Life, my personal favorite, was published by Austere Magazine. I am also into writing video treatments and directing my own visuals. I currently don’t have the proper resources to make things as big as I imagine, but you can watch my videos at www.youtube.com/c/DaveMohicans

Would you class yourself as an ambitious man? | Yea, I guess so

Have you always been ambitious? If not what was the turning point for you? | Yea, ever since I was young, I was always determined to make whatever I want to happen, happen. Whether it be tying a blanket around my neck and teaching myself how to fly (hurting myself multiple times in the process lol) or just trying to learn something new, I was always determined to do whatever it took, regardless of what anyone else said. But the moment it hit me that I am truly ambitious is when I realized I was willing to work harder than anyone else for my dreams. What others considered too hard or too tiring, I considered normal. I can’t count how many nights I’ve put sleep to the side in order to finish a song, story, or whatever I was writing at the time. Even in the face of defeat and when things aren’t going exactly how I want, I push through and continue to strive to make my vision a reality. I’ve seen many others quit along the way when it gets tough, but I refuse to fail. After I figured out that no one is going to hold my hand and protect me from the hardships of life, I had no choice but to go hard. I’m not exactly where I’d like to be but I know for fact I’m going to get there. I couldn’t tell you how I know, but I just know. I think that’s what ambition is.

What is your biggest achievement to date? | I would say my biggest achievement is putting myself in a position to be as creative as possible without having to compromise much of my time working for anyone else. It wasn’t easy, but it has been worth it. I had to make the decision that I was not going to do anything that didn’t leave me feeling fulfilled once I was finished. The past 7 years of my life have been dedicated to nothing but creating. I didn’t realize that until recently. Literally everyday, I have created something. It isn’t the most lucrative occupation, but wealth isn’t all about money anyway. It has definitely been a process though. I’ve had days where I question if I’m doing the right thing. If I should just go back to school. If I’m “behind” in terms of “growing up” compared to my peers. Everyone has those dark days, but the sun always comes back up, and when it finally starts shining for me, I realize I am doing exactly what I was made to do. That’s the greatest feeling. I know there’s a lot of people who go their entire lives without knowing what their purpose is. I figured it out early. That’s my biggest achievement.

What is your long term vision for yourself? | My long term vision is to be able to make a sustainable living solely off of creating things and putting positivity into the world. I want to make more music, write more books, create cartoons, clothing, everything! lol Seriously though, there’s a lot of things I would like to do and I pray that life leads me down the path of being able to accomplish it all.  I don’t want to end up making a lot of money but living a life I hate. I’ve made a few life changes. I recently stopped smoking and drinking just to have a clearer vision and more control over how my life goes. I think this will allow me to hold myself fully accountable for my success as well as my mistake. I won’t have any excuses as to why I did something dumb. I may dabble every now and then, probably only when there is something huge to celebrate, but as of right now, I feel great without my vices. As far as a written plan, I’m working on that. I never really know what each day will bring, so I kind of just go with the flow with no laid out steps necessarily, but keeping an end goal in mind. I’m getting better at planning though because it definitely helps.

David Morgan

Photo by Morganne Nikole

What have you sacrificed or willing to sacrifice to achieve your vision? | I sacrificed getting a degree. I went to Texas Tech University for a couple of years until I finally accepted the fact that my passion for creation was 1000 times stronger than my urge to go to class. There were days I would just skip class completely and record 2 or 3 songs in my dorm room, and it only got “worse” (better in my opinion because I was fine tuning my craft) when I moved into an apartment. To most people, it wasn’t the smartest decision, but I’m 100% sure had I slaved away in school, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I wouldn’t have had the time to write 3 books, or make all these mixtapes, or perform at all the shows I’ve done. I’d probably have a job and a lot more money, yea. But I know for a fact I would not have been able to accomplish what I’ve accomplished so far. I wouldn’t feel fulfilled. By no means am I advising anyone to drop out, but that’s a sacrifice I made that I believe turned out for the better.

What advice can you give to other ambitious men that want to pursue their dreams but are afraid to do so? | Don’t second guess yourself. Get rid of all doubt. The most important thing is self-confidence. If you truly believe you can do something and you really want to do it, go for it. Don’t let “No” get in the way. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it.

**Featured image photographed by Najee Rashad**

Want to hear more from David?

Follow him on Twitter Instagram & Snapchat @DavidFnMorgan

Website: www.DavidFnMorgan.com

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It’s midday, I’m in my PJs but I’ve been the most productive I’ve been in weeks

6 Jul

We all believe that to be productive we need to be dressed, ready and sat behind a desk. We take pride in our perfectly organised Instagram ready desks. We spend ages in IKEA looking for the perfect pencil holder to match our folders. We’re convinced that if our office utensils don’t match it will block our productivity and stifle creativity. Some of us may even prefer to leave the house. Sitting in Starbucks drinking overpriced coffee tends to be the most popular option… There seems to be something about a coffee shop that ensues an atmosphere of ‘productiveness’ right?

(Yeah sorry to break it to you but it’s just excellent branding and marketing)

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not criticizing anyone that works in coffee shops. I’ve been about that life (still am, occasionally). I’ve been known to drive 20 minutes to a coffee shop just to sit there for hours because I was convinced that I would be more productive there than at home. Sometimes this was true. But others…well I just wasted my time and money.

But I realised that being productive is nothing more than your mindset. It has nothing to do with the environment you’re in.

The other day I woke up early and felt inspired to write. I had this surge of creativity and I knew instantly I had to get it out my head and onto ‘paper’. I sat in my bed and got out my laptop and started tapping away at the keys. Before I knew it, it was midday and I hadn’t even stepped foot out of bed. Now, usually this would bother me. I rate my level of achievements based on how early I wake up and whether I got dressed for the day and left the house. But on this particular day I did none of that, but I still had a feeling of accomplishment. It was a strange experience. My environment was screaming laziness, un-productivity and procrastination but my actions were the opposite. That morning I managed to complete 2 blog posts, schedule a meeting and recruit another person for my business.

This is why I say productiveness is a mind set.

I realised on this particular day that my willingness to be productive was based on my mindset. I woke up feeling inspired to write and instead of disrupting that inspiration by getting out of my bed and setting up my desk, I instantaneously began to release what was inside. This free flow of creativity is what led to my productiveness. I didn’t try to confine it to ideals that I thought were necessary to produce great work. I just let my ideas and thoughts be. Creativity can strike at any moment and when it does I believe that’s when it comes in it’s most authentic and natural form.

So if you come to my house before 12 and see me in my PJs, don’t assume that I’m not working hard to achieve my goals!

Natalie

 

 

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