by desing | Faith & Purpose
So over the weekend, I had some AH-MAZING women participate in our Made to Succeed Academy’s – Women Who Are Made to Succeed panel discussion where we got real and raw about our individual journeys of success, confidence and womanhood. Even though the session is for my high-school students who are a part of the program, I walked away feel super inspired, empowered and blessed to know these exceptional ladies.
One of the women on our panel was media personality, Déjà Vu, who some of you who are in the New York City area may know from the radio station WBLS. She’s such a ball of positive energy and she said shared something powerful during our panel discussion that struck a chord with all of us, “Don’t be the girl who cried goal.”
Are you that girl? Have you been saying you’re going to do something but for some reason or another, you haven’t gotten it done yet nor have you started your plans to achieve that goal? Are you walking around “talking about it” but not “being about it?”
Don’t feel bad if you are that girl because I was that girl for a few years too. When I was working at Atlantic Records, I started hating my job after about a year or so. I had co-workers and close friends who I would constantly complain to about all the reasons why I hated my job. Well after a few years of complaining and not doing anything about it, one of my close friends grew sick of my complaints. She told me what I needed to hear. She blatantly reminded me that I had been complaining about the same thing for years, so it was time to either do something or shut up about it.
That was the moment that I woke up and set my goal of leaving my job and going full-time into my purpose by that April as we had that conversation in January. It’s been over four years and I never looked back.
I understand that circumstances in your life may be less than ideal to start pursuing certain goals. I’ve learned, however, that there is no such thing as perfect circumstances. You may be putting off your goals for an illusion of a perfect moment and it’s making you into that girl who cried goal. If this is you, that stops today.
We can allow ourselves to let any little thing can deter us from starting or finishing a goal. Perhaps you want to strengthen your relationship with God so you’ve decided to get back into going to church. Well Sunday morning comes and because it’s raining or it’s too cold outside you decide not to go. Maybe you set a goal to become an actress but because you went on a few auditions and got rejected, you decide to stay comfortable in that corporate job that you can’t stand.
Do you have anyone in your life that’s holding you accountable to those goals that say you’re going to accomplish? If not, you definitely should and I’m available to help you too. There are going to be challenges on your journey of birthing your success but you have to be committed to see it through. It’s going to be a challenge to accomplish your goals if you’re around people who are not goal-oriented and driven because if they’re comfortable in mediocre circumstances then that will rub off on you.
What’s something that you said you were going to do but you keep putting off? Or what things are you allowing to distract you from finishing what you started?
I hear so many women complain about their jobs, their lifestyles, their finances, their relationships but won’t do anything to create change. What are you going to start doing now to create the change that you want to see? If you want to go on that vacation then go, even if you have to go by yourself. If you want to shift careers then do it, even if no one in your family supports you. If you want to write that screenplay then start doing it now, no more wasting time.
Think about all the books that haven’t been written, businesses that haven’t been started, songs that haven’t been sung, or dreams that have gone unfulfilled because of the fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of success or fear of the unknown.
I’ve heard it said before that one of the wealthiest places in the world is the cemetery because there are dozens of ideas and inventions that died with those people. You don’t want that to be your story – be the girl who slayed her goals, not cried about it.
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
@iammariaimelendez
P.S. – If you want to work with me as your accountability partner in achieving your goals, then let’s schedule a personal goal-coaching session for you here!
by desing | Classes, Faith & Purpose, Services
What do Oprah Winfrey, Maria Melendez (yes that’s me), Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Lady Gaga all have in common? We all have daily, morning success routines! I don’t know about you but it feels good to see my name in the same sentence with billionaires! I know you want the same.
One of the ways I’ve been able to grow Embrace Her Legacy to an organization that provides co-curricular programs, personal development workshops and empowerment resources is that I’ve always remained teachable while I’ve viciously studied and applied success principles to my daily life – which is why I’m so adamant about teaching these proven success principles to you! Learning these principles has enabled me to add additional income streams to Embrace Her Legacy including speaking engagements, empowerment workshops and teaching online classes.
If you want to become a millionaire, you have to first think and act like a millionaire because you attract success by the person you become. You don’t have to chase it, you can make it come towards you. You do that by working on both your personal and professional goals daily. How success you’ll become is hidden in your daily routine.
Don’t you want to adopt some of the same activities that Oprah, Bill Gates or Howard Shultz have in their day-to-day? I know you do!
I want you to take this masterclass and learn how to take advantage of every minute of your day so you can get from where you are to where you want to be. Don’t say you don’t have time because that’s an alibi for mediocrity and I’ll prove it to you in this class. You have the time but you just have to find it. Once you start implementing some of these principles in your daily routine, I promise that you’ll see exponential growth in your lifestyle, wealth, health and productivity.
You’re Going to Learn:
- The benefits of a success routine
- How to apply personal development in your daily routine
- Understand what personal development is
- How to carve out time to work on your personal goals daily
- How to maximize your morning and evening hours to achieve your destiny
- Personal development activities to adopt into your morning and evening routine
- How to use your goals to guide your daily time-management & action steps
- Create the most productive & effective schedule at work
- Ways to strengthen your inner spirit daily
- How to identify & set priorities in your daily task lists
- Implementing a “5 to 9” schedule to help you start working towards your dreams now
Part of my purpose is to help birth the dreams that are already inside of you. We spend thousands of dollars and time on formal education but often times, we find ourselves still empty while sitting at that job that you hate. And the only reason that you’re sitting there is because you need to pay bills and pack back those student loans that you took out just to get that job. Am I right? Well, you were not created to just get a job, pay your bills, have some benefits, go on a few vacations and die.
This class is going to help you consider your aims in life in order for you to realize and maximize your potential to help you build, design and attract a life of abundance, prosperity and success. Learn ways to start working on your dreams now, and be the woman who attracts unstoppable success in her life by creating your personal success routine. Be better and rise to the occasion of your success. It’s waiting for you!
AND – the class is ONLY $7 as part of a new initiative I’m launching in order to make personal development affordable to everyone, that’s cheaper than a day’s lunch!
You can listen to the class at your leisure and you’ll also receive an action steps worksheet to help you apply what you’ve learned. I hope that you enjoy and I promise you that you’re doing the right thing by investing into becoming a better you!
Download Now
by desing | Faith & Purpose
Unless you’ve been under a rock the past few days, you know that Beyonce released another visual album over the weekend titled, Lemonade. I didn’t download it immediately because honestly as much as I love Bey, there are more important things in my life to do than be the first to listen to her album. So I decided I would download and listen to it when I had time. Nevertheless, I had to give her respect for her work ethic, innovation and unprecedented way of delivering her music directly to her audience. Talk about “power moves!”
Well, it just so happened that I took a listen last night and boy was I pleasantly surprised! I don’t want to give it away to those of you haven’t listened to or watched the album, but Beyonce is extremely vulnerable and transparent about challenges in her marriage. She candidly hints to several instances of infidelity and shows us her vulnerability of being so in love that she’s faced with some hard decisions to make in regards to the future of her relationship.
She made vulnerability sexy and wasn’t afraid to admit that she’s willing to look crazy and jealous for her man. Wow? I NEVER expected something like that from her. I thought that was just me J
When we see Beyonce, most of us see this persona of a perfect woman with the perfect career, perfect family, famous husband, perfect body with a slew of riches and fame. But Beyonce was bold enough to show us that she’s just like the rest of us. She has her own fears, insecurities, trials and tribulations just like me and you; for that I must commend her. I’ve always admired her but that album unveiled a growing beauty that I never seen from her before and it was all because of her vulnerability.
As women, there’s this pressure to have it all together all of the time. Am I the only one who feels like that? Growing up, you probably heard “what happens in this house, stays in this house.” However, that can lead to this impression that when we experience challenges or hard times come that something is wrong, not knowing that challenges are simply a part of life.
You and every other woman around you is a walking story. Beyonce teaches us that it’s fine to be vulnerable and transparent as long as you’re in control of how the story is being told. Walking around with masks of perfection gets overwhelming. Trust me, I’ve been there and done that. There’s such a beauty when you decide to remove your masks and have the courage to be you, flaws and all.
You have the choice to decide if your circumstances will own you or not. Don’t be someone who is so afraid of people’s opinions that you don’t have the boldness to walk in your story and inspire others along the way. No amount of approval of others will keep you permanently secure, the only approval that matters is the one that you have of yourself.
I’m not telling you to get on Facebook to blast out your business all the time because you don’t want to me that girl (unless you have an inspirational story that you want to share.) Nonetheless, I want you to start embracing the power in your vulnerability because it will help connect you with the people you’ve been called to impact. This is the core of your legacy!
Being vulnerable brings authenticity. There’s nothing wrong with being transparent about your challenges and what you’ve overcome. Think about it, when you meet someone who you think has it all together and they share with you some of the trials they’re experiencing, doesn’t that person become more attractive and human? Nobody can relate to someone who hasn’t endured anything, so embrace the sexy in your vulnerability.
You’ll be surprised to see what happens for you when you do. Don’t be hostage to your secrets or pain because all that will bring is shame which you weren’t designed to carry.
Be the woman who when life throws you lemons, you make some tasty lemonade, package it and sell it for a great profit!
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
by desing | Faith & Purpose
I celebrated my birthday over the weekend and while in the midst of enjoying the weekend, I happened to meet a woman who shared the same birthday with me. We hit it off immediately and soon she shared with me some challenging trials she had faced within the last year. I told her that I admired her transparency and for that her beauty vibrantly shined from within.
That’s when it hit me.
“Everybody’s got something.” We live in a world where it can be so easy to think that we’re the only ones who are struggling with problems; especially amongst women. There’s so much pressure to be the perfect mom, wife, girlfriend, sister, employee, or businesswoman. You’re supposed to act like everything is fine even though deep down inside you may be crumbling.
Those feelings of inadequacy, lack of confidence or low self-worth can lead to prolonged feelings of loneliness, guilt, shame, worry, anxiety and even depression. I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone – everybody is dealing with something and you’d be surprised to know what that woman next to you is going through.
You may see her posting pictures of a thriving business and personal brand, but not know that she’s suffering from depression. You may see her post pictures of her engagement but her fiancé is secretly seeing someone else. You may see her going on a vacation to Dubai but not know that has insurmountable debt because she lacks discipline in her finances. She might tell you all is OK but she may be counting her last quarters to try to get something to eat.
Truth is that we are all dealing with something and being envious of what someone else has is a sign that you may lack maturity or a grateful attitude. Maturity doesn’t come with age but acceptance of responsibility. You’ve got to learn to be grateful for what your individual story is because you were designed for it. Your story may not be “perfect” but who cares? That’s what makes you beautiful!
I’ve been learning to be content where I am and I’ve seriously embraced an attitude of gratitude in spite of the challenges that I face. You know I’m a woman of faith so my trust in God has brought me to a place of peace with my story. I may not understand why certain things happen to me, nor may I like it and may even have some fear of what’s to come but I know Who holds my future.
It’s in your pain that you often find your purpose. So instead of wishing it were easier, be thankful for what you do have. I know that sounds super cliché but it’s so true!
Learn to be comfortable with your story. Not every story is a romantic comedy; some stories have deeper meaning than that. Those stories are the ones that connect with people. People like to see transparency and vulnerability as it’s a way for you to build trust with them. There’s so much beauty in transparency, honesty vulnerability.
So I want you to do an attitude check. Are you slightly envious of someone else in your life or someone you see on social media? If so, find out and why. Replace the envy with gratitude for what’s going right and for the power of your dynamic story! If you’re in one of those brutally tough seasons, remember that seasons will eventually change. After winter, always comes spring.
Your “spring” may be right on the other side of your renewed attitude of gratitude. I’m not telling you be happy about what’s going wrong but trust that even if all hell is coming against you, you’re not going to allow anything to steal your joy, beauty, strength and resilience.
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
by desing | Faith & Purpose
Do you fear failure?
I know many of us do. I understand as failure can be painful, embarrassing and discouraging to the human spirit which is why you may hold off on your dreams.
A common question that I get asked is, “How do I find out what I’m supposed to do and my purpose?” First, you must know what purpose is. As you’ve probably heard me say before, purpose is when you’re using your natural gifts, talents and abilities to serve a human need. Therefore, one of the key principles to discovering what you were created to do is to follow those gifts inside of you.
The other crucial key to discovering what you created to do is to get off your butt, get off the sidelines and get in the game. What I mean is that you have to overcome the fear of failure and be willing to make some mistakes in order for your journey to unveil to you what your purpose is. Too many of us are watching others play the game of life from the sidelines wishing that we had what they have. Social media doesn’t help as the need to compare is proliferated 100 times over.
You may be choosing to wait on your dreams because you’re waiting for the perfect time or circumstances. Newsflash, neither that time nor that circumstance exist. You’re going to have to decide to discover your purpose and one of the best ways to do that is simply by trial and error.
I thought that working in the music business was my destiny which is why I pursued it. Little did I know that God had other plans for me, which is how I transitioned from employee to where I am now as entrepreneur, author and speaker. However, if I had been a servant to my fears, I would have never pursued my career in the music business. After a few years in, I knew that it wasn’t for me anymore. My journey led me into my purpose simply by trying something which didn’t work.
That’s my advice to you. Instead of waiting on the sidelines waiting for your moment to fall out of the sky, try new things that interest you. It’s time to take action! Instead of being afraid that you’ll fail because your circumstances aren’t perfect, why not try anyway?
If you’ve been waiting on the sidelines to have hundreds of thousands of dollars before you start your fashion line, how about taking action to have a small line by the end of the summer? If you’re interested in event planning, how about taking a volunteer role as an assistant to an established event planner? If you like to sing, how about auditioning for your church’s choir or share videos of yourself singing on YouTube?
If it doesn’t work out, dust yourself off, get back up and try again. Once you start, you can determine what you like, what you don’t like and build from there. One thing I realized while working at a major record label was that I did not like answering to anyone which is when I knew entrepreneurship was an option for me.
Life will show you what’s for you but you have to be willing to give it a chance. Don’t be one of that person who watches everyone else, criticizes and does nothing. Be the person who does not the person who says you’ll do. People don’t pay attention to what you say; they focus on what you do.
I encourage you to think about what you’re gifted at and what interests you in order to start the process of discovering your purpose. Your purpose isn’t something that you decide but it’s something that you’ll discover!
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
