Love YOU!!

“Anything BEAUTIFUL… is worth getting hurt for.” -PRINCE

Last night, I watched a repeat episode of #NewGirl that paid tribute to Prince. Prince sang with Zooey Deschanel and was the most AMAZING guest in the world. It was also the funniest, LMAO episode EVER!!!

PRINCE’s name is synonymous with the word Love because he believed in it greatly and shared so much of it. When we learn to LOVE ourselves passionately, with all our flaws and faults, it’s worth every sacrifice that we might make. Because you can end up an AMAZING person like Prince. A superstar who took the chance and believed in his own self-worth.

PRINCE’s ADVICE TO YOU…

Cream
Prince and The New Power Generation
This is it
It’s time for you to go to the wire
You will hit
‘Cause you got the burnin’ desire
It’s your time (Time)
You got the horn so why don’t you blow it
You are fine (Fine)
You’re filthy cute and baby you know it
Cream
Get on top
Cream
You will cop
Cream
Don’t you stop
Cream
Sh-boogie bop
You’re so good
Baby there ain’t nobody better (Ain’t nobody better)
So you should
Never, ever go by the letter (Never ever)
You’re so cool (Cool)
Everything you do is success
Make the rules (Rules)
Then break them all ’cause you are the best

GO FOR IT!!!

💜💜💜 PR💜NCE 💜💜💜

“Prince transcended radio’s apartheid like a musical Mandela.” – Bill Flanagan

Another AMAZING song that Prince wrote…

“With This Tear” was a gift from Prince, who wrote the song especially for Celine Dion and offered it to her. It’s also on the soundtrack of Sleepless In Seattle (one of my all-time favorite movies). The tracks were produced mainly by Walter Afanasieff, Ric Wake, and Guy Roche

Bill Flanagan of the CBS Sunday Morning show so eloquently said:

“Prince was a one-man Rainbow Coalition. He sang sweet soul ballads like Smokey Robinson; he laid down the funk like George Clinton; he rocked like the Rolling Stones; and he shredded on the guitar like Santana.” And, “Prince transcended radio’s apartheid like a musical Mandela.”

#KudostoBillFlanagan

Every Sunday, I do enjoy watching CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood, and I look forward to seeing the end of each segment because you get to see the masterful Artistry of the “Sun” design. This morning, I was eager, awaiting the anticipation of what they had in store for Prince… LOVE the Purple, heart-like, world shape, universal SUN that you designed for Prince.  💜💜💜

#RIPPRINCE

And last but definitely not least… REMEMBER TO “Unleash Your Inner Awesome” like Prince. He would be proud! 💜

💜R.I.P. PRINCE💜

“Life is so unpredictable, so Live your life. Everything else should fall into place. Let people dance to your tune and your convenience, NEVER theirs.”

 

 PRINCE, WE 💜LOVE 💜 YOU, AND YOU GAVE ME THE COURAGE TO EMBRACE MY SEXY AND LOVING SELF JUST THE WAY I AM. 💜

THANKS, ARSENIO!

#RIPPRINCE

Yes, You Can!

“Yes, you can…

Trust that you can…

Believe that you can…

Know that you can…

and you will SUCCEED.”

Welcome to #ThoughtfulThursday! Today is a day to reflect and, of course, count your blessings, and think about your week–things that may have happened and how one regroups if the end result was not to your liking.

Perseverance is a word that I rarely talk about, but it definitely lives deep down in my spirit. Who has not experienced hardship, disappointment, or sadness on a few occasions? But in that instance, we often think, ‘nothing lasts forever,’ even though death and natural endings are definitely inevitable parts of our reality. So, when facing negative feelings compounded by the feeling that time is so short, how does one ever truly enjoy LIFE?

It helps me to feel positive and motivated when I reminisce on women like Harriet Tubman, whose resilient spirit speaks volumes, and truly can’t be matched or measured; especially when you wonder if she had been a happy person. We can’t truly know the evil, the hatred, and inhumane behavior she must have witnessed. And yet, in facing all that stood against her, she remained resilient, weathered the storm. How else could she have overcome, if she hadn’t trusted, had the faith and confidence that she and all those she wanted to help would be okay.

And, most importantly, SHE NEVER GAVE UP!! She was consistent, passionate, and smart to outwit the countless bounty hunters that were after her. I’d like to think it was because Her Faith and Trust in God never wavered, because what else could get her through, when her daily trials and tribulations worked against her, tried to make her doubt her own power and capability to achieve the unthinkable.

Because Harriet Tubman NEVER GAVE UP!!!

In consideration of Yes, You Can! and being able to take control of one’s situation despite how others felt about your decision, I heard something that I just have to comment on:

Yesterday, Michael Strahan announced that he was leaving Live! with Kelly and Michael to begin working full time with my girl Robin Roberts at Good Morning America. Okay, I’m happy for Michael, yet shocked because these things do happen. However, I honestly feel some kind away for Kelly because she was blindsided and that’s just not cool. Yes, in business there is no friendship, but there is something called respect.

So, Kelly, hang in there as this too shall pass, and you are definitely strong enough to weather the storm that was thrust onto your lap out of nowhere. Everyday, I thank God that I am a woman!! I’m just sayin’.

“Nobody should ever be blindsided,” she said. “I don’t know who’s in charge, but somebody should’ve said, ‘This is gonna happen.’ You shouldn’t have to read it in the paper. Ever.” – Oprah

Lovin Self Congrats Harriet Tubman, my Shero

“NEW YORK, April 20, 2016 – After more than a year of campaigning to convince the U.S. Treasury to replace the portrait of Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with the face of a female American hero, Women On 20s is celebrating the Treasury Department’s decision to accelerate production of a new $20 bill, revealing its design in time for the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in 2020 and working with the Federal Reserve Board to fast-track its issuance into circulation.

Secretary Lew’s choice of the freed slave and freedom fighter Harriet Tubman to one day feature on the $20 note is an exciting one, especially given that she emerged as the choice of more than half a million voters in our online poll last Spring. Not only did she devote her life to racial equality, she fought for women’s rights alongside the nation’s leading suffragists.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

http://www.womenon20s.org/pressrelease42016

Kudos to the Womenon20s organization who took-up the charge and succeeded in their endevors.

http://www.womenon20s.org

http://www.womenon20s.org/results

 

Love Sees the Vision

The percentage of Americans who can see themselves starting a business in 2015 is 51% up from 42% back in 2013. – 2015 Amway Global Entrepreneurship Report

The March issue of Money magazine focused on Being Your Own Boss; as the number of people doing so (and wanting to) have increased greatly after the banking industry collapsed (an excellent read). I’ve taken the plunge; I’m self-employed (a.k.a. an entrepreneur) because I was ready to take the jump by having the Faith that my parachute will open. I’m in the planning and development stages for my Lovin Self website for the sale of my Essential Bath Salts (Cashmere Petals, Fresh Peonies, Warm Orchid & Calming Lemongrass) and Soothing Bath Teas (The Nile, Exotic Amber, & Cleopatra), of which all 7 of those luxurious aromas are ready for customers to enjoy, and I’m WORKING toward and PRAYING that my website will be ready to launch at month end.

I’m READY now, yet there is SO MUCH that goes into launching a website. For example, the SSL Certificate that protects your customers’ sensitive information over the Internet is extremely important, and equally important is having the right person to do the job. The Privacy & Returns policy must be on point, because people are entrusting you with their vital information, and that is something a good business owner can’t take lightly. Another checklist item is making sure that the SEO, which stands for “search engine optimization,” is in place and operating. Applying SEO aspects to your webpage “is the process of getting traffic from the ‘free,’ ‘organic,’ ‘editorial,’ or ‘natural’ search results on search engines, this cost is very important to the traffic that flows to your website.”

Having said all of that, I am very proud of what LovinSelf.com is shaping up to look like; especially, our monthly newsletter being created by my AMAZING & AWESOME editor Melissa Swenka who rocks every time and keeps me sounding intellectually savvy. My web developer and I are still working on improving and ironing out minor glitches.

The great news is that my 2BMe – “To Know Me… Is To Love Me… Just Because” – jewelry collection will be featured on my website, and in production, hopefully, before Mother’s Day. As an additional part of the 2BMe line, I will be offering silver-plated necklaces and bracelets for purchase, once we launch, with bracelet sizes 7 inches for ‘Tweens and 8 inches and 10 inches for bigger wrists.

Oops… I’m getting sidetracked… 

Getting back to the March issue of Money magazine, because I’m a new entrepreneur myself, I feel like they could have done more in depth reporting on the “Ultimate Guide To Flying Solo” because startups are on the rise, and many Americans are taking that leap of Faith and launching their own business.

If you are still uncertain or don’t know what to do or where to begin, reading as much as you can on the subject (I suggest starting with Steve Harvey‘s book Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success) is an excellent way to start. But, most importantly, whatever your idea might be, do your research, research, research.

Money magazine recommends the following:

Step 1 – Figure out if your brilliant idea is a viable business – How many people want your product/service (your idea).

Step 2 – Put some real numbers on your idea – Figure out what to charge potential customers.

Step 3 – Plot out how to fund your launch – It does take money, but not millions, to launch your idea.

Step 4 – Protect your own financial future – We have to stop blaming Wall Street, “Corporate,” or the Banks when we continue working in their businesses; you have the power create your own. Ditch their rules and regulations by figuring out how to solve the problem and not be a part of it. You need to find YOUR solution and TAKE THE JUMP.

Step 5 – Make the most of Year One – Focus, plan, and continue to execute. Learn from life’s lessons and failures, and then regroup and be consistent.

My recommendation for Step 6 – NEVER GIVE UP!! Make determination, passion, and confidence your best friends.

Lovin Who You Are

“It’s not about going back… it’s about life being ahead of you & you run at it, because you never know how far you can go.” —Penny Chenery Tweedy

 

Source: KDHamptons.com

 

I have watched the movie Secretariat, seriously, a hundred times and not because I simply love horses. It was because Diane Lane gave a star performance portraying a remarkable woman by the name of Penny Chenery Tweedy, the First Lady of Racing. Today she is my #TuesdayHeroine.

Being a strong-minded, no-nonsense, feisty woman allows me to say, “I am who I am. And I will not apologize for who I am. If you love me, you will accept me… Just Because.”

Penny was that woman, who saved her family’s horse farm by listening to her gut and ignoring all the odds stacked high against her, especially in the male-dominated breeding and horse racing industry of her time. She was the youngest of three children and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College, then studied at the Columbia Business School. Penny knew for certain what she truly believed thanks to her parents, and she stuck to her guns when she made the decision to take on the responsibility of running the farm.

It appeared at times that the only support she had came from her father’s secretary and the farm’s horse trainer. As a child she loved horses; she listened and watched intently as her father, who came from poor beginnings, built their farm of great horses even though he was facing financial straits. Their trainer, who was a sneaky, conniving thief, was trying to rob them of great thoroughbreds. Right before her mom died, she stopped the sale of three of their great thoroughbreds, which was being brokered by that very same conniving trainer. Not to mention, he also happened to be rude, obnoxious, and definitely disrespectful toward Penny.

Penny had to juggle her marriage and family (a husband and four children), who remained in Boulder, Colorado, with the responsibilities of the family’s horse farm, which was surely challenging at times. But, what I loved about Ms. Chenery Tweedy is that she stuck to her guns and ignored her bothersome brother–a professor at Harvard–and her husband who had joined forces to get her to sell the farm and, of course, Secretariat before the 1973 Kentucky Derby. REALLY?!

Secretariat is an American Classic, the story of a remarkable horse that won the 1973 Triple Crown, whose records have yet to be broken. And it was Penny’s brilliant mindset at the “Coin-Toss” alongside her father’s brilliant mind from which Secretariat was reared. Thank God that she ignored all the Nay-Sayers and embraced her belief and trust in SELF.

The moral of the story is to Never Give Up!!! When you believe in a thing, believe it wholeheartedly, unequivocally, where you can’t be shaken, rattled, or removed from it until it reaches full potential.

“Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four Cs. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.” —Walt Disney

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Thank you, Ms. Penny Chenery Tweedy, for setting the stage for excellence, for never quitting or giving up, and for representing women exceptionally well. You are my #TuesdayHerione.

Love Says Jump

“I was tired of the way I was living. I was tired of going nowhere. I was sick and tired of being poor. I was completely worn out by poverty.” —Steve Harvey, Chapter 1, Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success

Every successful person must do this.https://t.co/mK5bAuErjd

— Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) January 13, 2016

Happy #MindfulMonday! If there is a day that will remind you of how sick and tired you are for not making a change in your life and doing something to improve it, it’s Monday. Am I right?! So, it is on a Monday that I decided to share some inspiring thoughts I had the pleasure of finding within this 6 minute video, which has only catapulted my drive to succeed and continue to forge ahead with my goals of making the Lovin Self brand a household name. If you are not happy with your current situation or circumstance… who is going to be the first to change it? Your neighbor next door, the postal worker, or your imaginary friend (or, worse, an imaginary enemy)? Who is so tired of being the blame for your lackluster performance in the game of life.

Like many who have taken the #JUMP against all the odds and made it through–Joy Mangano, Oprah, Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs, and Michael Jordan–you need to be willing to take the Jump or Leap of Faith that can change your life for the better. I learned a very long time ago that if you want anything to change that affects you, you need to be a part of the SOLUTION and not a part of the PROBLEM. Yes, the rich keep getting richer and the Middle Class has been displaced. So what do you do about it? Do you sit and whine, complain that it’s unfair? Or you could jump on the back of that runaway horse (The Kentucky Derby is fast approaching) and grab the reins and ride your now-winning horse to the finish line like Penny Tweedy (my #Heroine for tomorrow’s post) did in 1973. Her horse Secretariat won the Triple Crown!

“So many people are missing their way in life because they are afraid to sign the lease on their gift.” – Steve Harvey

Let me explain…

A lease is a legal document outlining the terms under which one party (Tenant) agrees to rent property from another party (Landlord). Your “Gift” is the Tenant, and you are the Landlord who is ready for the deal to happen; but you refuse to sign the “legal” contract because you are afraid to make the commitment to SELF.

Every person that exists in this world does have a gift or talent; as I mentioned prior, here are a few more people who have embraced their talents and enjoy the rewards: Rihanna, Beyonce, Mark Zuckerberg, Kim and Kanye.

The world is changing so fast that the Internet can’t keep up; but yet it is a tool that you can utilize to charge-up your career goals and your gift by offering you a platform from which you can #JUMP into the arena of executing your life’s dream. I have taken the plunge, so can you.

“When you put your efforts into your gift, you are giving God something to bless.” – Steve Harvey

How I Learned That Any Action is Better Than No Action — The Seeds 4 Life

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.” – John F. Kennedy I, by nature, am a cautious person. I’m sensitive to what’s around me. Always have been. And I think this can be a good thing a lot of times. I am in…

via How I Learned That Any Action is Better Than No Action — The Seeds 4 Life

Another Day to Love

Live in the moment, because tomorrow is in the tomb of time; and be thankful for being able to love another day (a.k.a. FRIDAY). When we put forth positive energy, we will get positive results back, making it easier to set goals for yourself. A happy spirit is a vibrant, vivacious spirit that only looks for the “good” to happen. This happy spirit does not feed on or look for fuel from a negative or defeatist outcome. Yikes!!!

If this was a challenging week, you can take comfort in the fact that it’s over. Take this opportunity to look at the challenges you faced, regroup, and aim to learn from this lesson by moving forward with another plan. It will require your focus, and a willingness to execute with a joyous spirit.

Why? Because your underlying goal is to change your life for the better. The only way to do that is to change your thought process (i.e., your mind), and not begrudgingly.

God willing, I will see you back here on #MindfulMonday with my “You Need To Jump” blog.