I've moved!!!

Hey wonderful and ever so lovely people. Wanted to let you know that you can now find me over at AbsolutViolette.com.

It was time to move on and grow and in order for me to do that I had to switch up my platform. I'm keeping this site though for reference purposes, and as testament to myself of how far I've come.

If you liked this site though you're sure to love the new one ;)

Bless & Love Y'all!!

Stay Pretty & Precious, 
Peace

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How to Safely Enjoy the Rest of the Summer

What's up my gorgeous readers!! Praying y'all are having a fabulous day. Ladies, it's the last day of July already!!! Can y'all believe that?! This summer is just running by. Goodness! Make sure you take the time to get out there and ENJOY it too. Yes, keep working and hustling, but don't forget WHY you're actually doing all that. Enjoy the fruits of your labour and the beautiful life that God has blessed you with. We may not all be able to jump on a plane to Maui, but as beautiful as today is, go ahead and take a stroll through the park. You can close your eyes and envision Maui for your next vacation ;) 

What your mind can conceive and believe, it can also achieve

With that said, you may recall me talking about the 3 Things Everyone with a Dream can Learn from The Chesscake Factory yesterday, and how ideas don't necessarily need to be original. Well didn't I come across a company that makes a sunscreen targeted for ethnic people?! I'm telling y'all, all you need is a marketing genius, and you're well on your way, lol. 

So I got a little curious about us black folks and sunscreen. I tried to find some statistics on the usage of sunscreen in the black community, but what I found was pretty much ancient data, lol. I know I myself don't use sunscreen (did I say that out loud? Lol). And even though my melanin has a built-in SPF of about 15, to get the same amount of vitamin D as my caucasian sisters, I'd have to stay out in the sun longer which is no bueno.  So here are my top 3 tips to having a safe and enjoyable summer.

Safe Sunning

Yup, you guessed it, sunscreen. Lather that bad-boy on! If the one you have leaves a yucky white residue, return it and ask the sales person to recommend another one. No excuses. Stay away from the spray-on sunscreen though as they're known to not be safe.

Safe Sipping

No, not alcohol, although you should drink responsibly too, lol. WATER - Drinking water is important period, but during hot humid summer days, it's imperative! Yes it's annoying to have to go pee on the hour, every hour, but trust me, your skin will thank you :)

Safe Swimming

While we're on the topic of water, swimming, jet-skiing, boating, tubing, "anything-ing" that has to do with water, wear a life-jacket for safety measures if you're swimming skills aren't on fleek. And even then, keep one handy just incase.

So there you have it. August starts tomorrow, stay safe, stay happy, and stay blessed. Oh and before you go, let me know in the comments below what your plans for August are :)

Love & Bless Y'all!

Stay Pretty & Precious, 
Peace

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3 Things Everyone with A Dream Can Learn from Cheescake Factory

Today as you may know is National Cheesecake Day in the U.S. I was randomly browsing online, secretly wishing (not much of a secret actually) that they had a chain here in Canada. I'm sure they would make some good money. 

Nonetheless, came across an article about how the company got started, and instantly got inspired, and of course I wanted to share :)

Not much of an original

Did y'all know that the original recipe wasn't even "original"??? Evelyn Overton, the Detroit homemaker whose recipe is now a heavily guarded secret, actually got the recipe from a newspaper!! All she did was follow the recipe and because everyone loved it, her family was smart enough, and business savvy enough to capitalize on it. 

Ladies, there are so many ideas out there that have already been invented. We get discouraged at times listening to peoples' opinion that the market is oversaturated. So what? Yes, "everyone" does and sells hair. Yes, "everyone" sells graphic Tees. And yes, "everyone" is a blogger. You need to realize however that you have something unique concerning a non-unique opportunity. You just need to believe in yourself enough to dare pursue it. 

Started from the bottom (literally) 

Ms. Overton started her business in her basement kitchen! I'm sure when she started she never dreamed of how big the business would grow. But guess what? You don't need to have it all figured out to get started. I've quoted Tony Robbins before saying this, but it deserves repeating:

"It's not resources, but resourcefulness that ultimately makes the difference" 

If you need to run your business from the garage, do it. Heck, I've even seen some very functional offices in a closet space! I'm telling y'all, we are too full of excuses. Start where you have to, but please, START.

Used the last of their savings

Now once you've actually started and you notice that you've got a hold of something that could actually take off. You need to have the guts to put your money where your mouth is. If you've ever watched Shark Tank, one of the questions they always ask is how much money the owner has invested themselves. You can't expect somebody else to invest in you if you're not willing to do it yourself. 

Investing can be many things, it could be an online course, learning how to use a camera class for dope pictures, it can be renting a space or facility, or perhaps attending a conference for learning and networking purposes. Whatever form of investing you come across, trust me, to get to the next level you are going to have to invest something.

I hope this inspired you to take the plunge and go pursue your dreams. Who knows, you could be the owner of the next big franchise. But we'll never know unless you try :)

Let me know below what fears you think hold people back from pursuing their dreams.

Love & Bless Y'all!

Stay Pretty & Precious, 
Peace

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Get Started - Journey to Your Life's Purpose

Happy Friday beautiful people!! Praying that your week was amazing. Heading into the weekend I want to encourage you to continue to keep a clear vision of what it is you want and begin to make actionable tasks towards achieving those goals.

This week I'm seeing 2 visions come to life from 2 different people that I just want to quickly share and I hope this encourages you to pursue your dreams. The bible says:

"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin..." (Zech 4:10)

Realize that everyone's gotta start somewhere. No one starts off being great. Allow yourself the grace to make mistakes, to learn from those mistakes, and to grow along your journey. Enjoy your journey!

CreateHERStock

The above image is actually from one of the visions I mentioned in my intro. Neosha Gardner is the founder of CreateHERStock, a company she started as she saw the need to fill the void of stock photos that catered to and portrayed women that look like her, women of colour. She's actually launching today!! Follow the hashtag #CreateHers on Twitter at 8pm EST today to catch the scoop. You can also check out her website (linked above), and if you are a female blogger and/or creative of colour, and want access to her database of images, sign up!

Generation One

Bringing it back real quick to Lamar & Ronnie Tyler, founders of BlackAndMarriedwithKids.com. Their movie, Generation One, launched on July 14, and had a live screening in DC last night. From what I heard it was a HIT. I talked about it in more detail in a previous post, which I encourage you to check out, but I wanted to bring it up again because tomorrow the national wealth discussion surrounding generational wealth takes place on social media using the hashtag #GenerationOne.

Get Started By Being You

The 2 visions mentioned and launching above are of different nature, and the businesses may be in different phases of their existence and journey, however both are doing what they felt called to do. Know that there is space for you and your vision because no 2 people are alike, and so even if someone does what you want to do, no one can deliver it like you. Does that make sense? Don't be intimidated by other people's successes and think that you missed the boat, that it's already been done. NO - Whatever's pressing on your heart to do, the world's waiting for you to bring it. So please, live by the purpose and design that you were created to be. 

Comment below what you think is holding you back from getting started, or if you're doing what you feel called to do, please share how you got started.

Love & Bless Y'all!

Stay Pretty & Precious, 
Peace

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How to Get What You Want - Write the Vision

Happy Wednesday y'all!! Hope everyone's doing great. I wanted to come to you today because it dawned on me this morning that we are halfway through the month that is halfway through year. We are literarily halfway through the year. So I think this is the perfect time to reflect. Businesses and and corporations do mid-year reviews all the time, and as I said on Monday, you should treat yourself as a business, and do the same. It's not to feel bad or deflated about what you haven't accomplished, it's about giving you the opportunity to make changes where needed so that you can still have an amazing year.

What Are Your Goals

You may or may not have sat down to write your goals at the beginning of the year, but I want you to know that statistics say that goals written down are way more likely to actually happen. So if you didn't, use today as the perfect opportunity. If you did write down your goals, read them and see where you stand in terms of completing them. You need to keep them at the forefront of your mind. It's not beneficial to write them down, close the book, and never look at them again until it's time to write down the goals for the following year. Having them constantly in your mind will allow you to focus on them, and as T. Harv Eker (author of "Secrets of the millionaire mind") says:

"What you focus on expands. So focus on what you want, not what you don't want."

I try to read my goals on a daily basis. I wrote them down, made it look a lil cute with colours and what not, put it in a sheet protector, and it's by my bed and part of my morning routine to read everyday. 

What Do You Want

Writing down your goals obviously requires you to know what you want. It might sound like an easy task to figure out, but believe me, it's not. So many are too focused on just making it through the day that if you were to ask them to state 3 things they would love to have or experience (money not being an issue), they're stumped. For one reason or another, people stopped believing in the power of their dreams, and stopped dreaming all together. The bible says "You have not because you ask not" (James 4:2), so you better figure out what it is you want, and ask for it, quick! Lol.

Vision Boards

It may be hard for you to express what it is you want in words, especially if you've never thought about it or don't write a lot. So a great and very powerful alternative is to create a vision board. I personally both write down my goals and have a vision board in my bedroom. You do whatever feels right for you, but I highly recommend you do something. Yesterday I heard a powerful testimony from my mentor, Christine of "Moms 'n Charge". She had heard about a blogger event called "Social Media On the Sand", an invite only event, which takes place in the Caribbean. She said this is an event she'd love to attend and put an image that represented the event (her on the beach), on her phone. This way her vision "board" was with her everywhere. Cause we all know we can't live without our phones, lol. Doing this kept her goal, her vision, in the forefront of her mind. It allowed her to subconsciously and consciously focus on it. And as quoted above, "what you focus on..." Long story short, she got an invite and registered to attend the event yesterday. How amazing is that?!! The same can come true for you, whatever your goals are. The power is within you to manifest anything!

My encouragement for today is that you do something (preferably everyday) that supports your dream, your vision, your goals. 

And of course I'm going to ask you to share in the comments below what you did or have done lately to accomplish/fulfill your goals :) 

(This post includes affiliate link)

Love & Bless Y'all!

Stay Pretty & Precious, 
Peace

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Making Money by Making YOU the Brand

Since writing the post last week about changing ones mindset as it pertains to how we treat money and acquire wealth, I've got to know of Nicole Walters, aka Naptural Nicole. Nicole is among many things a blogger, however how she has impacted me of late with her Periscopes, is her passion and education about "monetizing thyself™" as she puts it. This is literarily her mantra, her call to action, her mission!

The importance of the concept to monetize oneself goes beyond just making money, it's about seeing the value, power, and impact that we all have within. Gone are the days when we look at ourselves as helpless and powerless. Self-perception is everything when it comes to making a difference. "As a man thinketh, so is he" (Prov. 23:7)

What?

So what does monetizing actually mean? Oxford dictionaries defines it as "convert into or express in the form of currency". How does that translate to your life - know your worth! Literally, you are worth dollars. Your life and experiences have taught you plenty, share it with world. Someone will find it valuable enough to pay for it.

Why?

Why bother you ask? Not only is it a way to diversify your income (if you already have a 9-5), but it will build your self-esteem. If you've never considered your intellectual property as valuable, realizing that what you've been through was not really about you, but to help & serve someone else, is an incredible boost to your sense of purpose. You see, your knowledge and subsequent worth is not limited to what you learnt in school. The school of hard-knocks has been known to teach lessons money can't buy. Hold a seminar/webinar and set somebody else free. 

Earl Nightingale says that your rewards (compensation, money or otherwise) in life will always match your service. So be of value to somebody else, and life will reward you. I say life, because your reward may not come from who you initially served. However the law of reciprocity, law of attraction, whatever you want to call it, will repay you. 

Where?

With the advancement of technology, you have a front seat, a platform, and access to the entire world! You obviously don't have to minister or serve the entire world, but you have access, and that's what I want you to realize. Yes, the internet is a viable tool, but it's not a necessary tool. You can have tremendous impact locally. You can for instance mentor in your local church. 

You might say you don't have the resources to share what you want to share they way you want to share it. Well Tony Robins says, 

"It's not resources but resourcefulness that ultimately makes the difference."  

Everyone can find an excuse but if you want it bad enough, you'll find a way instead. And this brings me to my final point, 

Invest in YOU! I heard someone yesterday say, you can't expect using freebies alone to take you to the next level. To start monetizing yourself you may not have to spend anything. However, you can't expect others to spend top dollars on you if you yourself aren't willing to invest (at least) that same amount in yourself.

Comment below different ways which you think you could monetize yourself. Or if you want ideas, tell me what you do (or what your knowledge is) and we'll brainstorm together :)

Love & Bless Y'all!

Stay Pretty & Precious,
Peace

It's important to keep the discussion of creating generational wealth for your family going. Please join in the National Wealth Discussion via Social Media on July 18th using #GenerationOne. Visit www.GenerationOneMovie.com for the latest updates. Also check out my blogpost featured in the BlackAndMarriedWithKids founders' Generation One blog tour here.  

This post includes affiliate links.

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Money Ain't Everything, But it's Up There with Oxygen

This post is part of Generation One Blog Tour which I am really excited to be a part of along with many other inspiring bloggers. To learn more and to join us as we tell the world how we are creating generational wealth, CLICK HERE!  

As the blog title suggest, we're here to talk about money. The title is also a quote from a woman whose mentoring I love, Rita Davenport. Money, money, money, the thing we all want, but are looked at as greedy if we admit it, looked at as good-for-nothing if we don't have it, yet hated on if we do, and don't share it according to other peoples opinion. Why is this subject so controversial, yet so necessary?

This post won't answer that age old question, however I join in with the Tylers in trying to break the silence and start a conversation that can spare the next generation a whole lot of pain and suffering. 

As a mom, like many of you, we want our children to do better, have better, and be better than we did, had, or are. A major part of that is teaching our kids simple principles and values that a lot of children outside of the African-American community learned before 1st grade. 

Simple things like savings!! 

Sounds like a simple concept, yet half a generation is able to sport the latest Jordan's, have the newest iPhone, but don't have $100 in a savings account. That to me has to change, and stems from what I believe to be a flawed mindset. 

If we operate from a scarcity mindset, or one that says, "things ain't never gonna change - might as well", then YES, we are creating that reality, and things won't change.

For things to change and to create generational wealth, we've got to take ownership and realize that it starts with us as parents. Yes we want to pass on the tools they'll need to succeed, but we should also want to pass on the money they'll need to succeed. Why have our children start off their careers in debt (student loans) if we can prevent it? Do what you gotta do, and set the expectation of success. Les Brown, another mentor I love, says that you can determine someones expectations by their behaviour. Act as if! Or like Steve Harvey puts it, act like a success. 

If you believe this is possible, you won't mind doing the things that the majority of other people won't do, so that you can have what they don't. Your belief and willingness to change your future generation's perception and knowledge about how money works, starts with discipline. Nobody said it was going to be easy. Changing a mindset and consequent behaviour rarely is, but it is oh so worth it!

To help you get started, I highly recommend you watch the amazing movie produced by Lamar & Ronnie Tyler, Generation One. (Find the official trailer below). The couple will also kick off the debut of #GenerationOne with a live screening in a city near you:

Atlanta – Wednesday July 15

DC – Thursday July 16

Chicago – Saturday  July 18

More Cities TBA

*Join the National Wealth Discussion via Social Media July 18th using #GenerationOne*

Visit www.GenerationOneMovie.com for the latest updates.

Love & Bless Y'all!

Stay Pretty and Precious, 

Peace

Lamar and Ronnie Tyler are co-founders of BlackAndMarriedWithKids.com. They wrote and directed Generation One to give African American families the tools and strategies they need to begin building wealth for their families TODAY. The Tylers know this film has the power to change lives. You can grab your copy HERE. This post includes affiliate links. 

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