Are You A Conqueror?

I was introduced to this song on the TV show Empire. I’ve been listening to it regularly every since. But today I LISTENED to it.

The song is about life. It’s about dreams. And most importantly it’s about mindset..

As you get older, when you are on the path to accomplishing a goal or fulfilling a dream, you will have doubters. You will go through negativity. You will go through adversity.

It simply won’t be easy.

However, do you have the mindset, the strength, the resilience, the fight, the courage, to pull through and to the keep going..

The lyrics to this song is powerful..

I AM A CONQUEROR

Life is like a big merry-go-round,
You’re up and then down,
Going in circles trying to get to where you are.
Everybody’s been counting you out,
Where are they now?
Sitting in the same old place,
Just faces in the crowd.
We all make mistakes,
You might fall on your face,
But you gotta get up!

[Chorus:]
I’d rather stand tall
Than live on my knees,
‘Cause I am a conqueror,
And I won’t accept defeat!
Try telling me no,
One thing about me
Is I am a conqueror,
I am a conqueror!
Ooh oh

Got a vision that no one else sees,
Lot of dirty work, roll up your sleeves,
Remember there’s a war out there,
So come prepared to fight!
You never know wherever the road leads you,
Not everyone’s gonna believe you,
Even though they’re wrong, don’t prove them right.

[Chorus:]
I’d rather stand tall
Than live on my knees,
‘Cause I am a conqueror,
And I won’t accept defeat!
Try telling me no,
One thing about me
Is I am a conqueror,
I am a conqueror!
Ooh oh

I am a conqueror!
We all make mistakes,
You might fall on your face,
but you gotta get up!
We all make mistakes,
You might fall on your face,
Don’t ever give up!

[Chorus:]
I’d rather stand tall
Than live on my knees,
‘Cause I am a conqueror,
And I won’t accept defeat!
Try telling me no,
One thing about me
Is I am a conqueror,
I am a conqueror!
Ooh oh

I am a conqueror
We all make mistakes,
You might fall on your face,
But I am a conqueror!

New Year, New Me, New You

2015 is here! But first let me talk about 2014.

Twenty fourteen was a year of transformation for me.  In 2013, I was about to lose my mind. Well, I had actually lost myself. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted, out of shape, unfocused and stretched way too thin. I had too much going on and wasn’t getting anywhere.

I started my transformation in November 2013. I had to make some changes in my life. So I decided I had to:

Get My Mind Right

I was beyond unhappy and feeling stuck with where I was in my life and career. I had lost my optimism, silliness, and goofiness. I had lost my sense of direction and desire for achievement and success. Every morning on my way to work, I started listening to 5 to 10 minutes of Napoleon Hill’s The Science of Personal Achievement: The 17 Universal Principles of Success. The tips and individual success stories on the CD helped remind me of philosophies I believed in and the person I used to be — Happy, Energetic, Goal Driven, A Success.

Lesson: Your Thoughts determine Your Action. Your Action turns into Habits. Your Habits lead you to Success or Failure.

Get My Circle Right

I’ve always been a loner type. I rarely talk on the phone and rarely hang out. One person was able to knock down all my barriers and we became extremely close. I’ve known this person for over 10 years. However, the friendship had become unhealthy. I had to let the friendship go. It wasn’t easy, but I did it.

Lesson: The people you allow into your life will either expand you or deflate you. They will either add to your growth or assist in your deterioration. They will uplift you or knock you down. So choose your friends and associates wisely.

Get My Body Back

Where did my toned, athletic body go??? Where? I just let my body go. I wasn’t working out and I was eating everything in sight. So, I started back working out. It was slow. I started with 30 minute walks on the treadmill twice a week. It grew to walking 1 hour up to 4 times a week. Then I started attending a kick boxing class 2-3 times a week. By late Spring, I was walking/running on a track. Then back to kickboxing. Late fall, I moved to my favorite sport, BASKETBALL of course, by joining a women’s basketball league.

Lesson: Having a lifestyle that includes physical activities gets you out the house, involved, relieves stress, around new people and eventually leads to losing weight.

Get My Growth On

There was a time in my life when I was devouring books left and right. I could read a Rich Dad, Poor Dad book in less than 3 days. I was hooked to biographies, personal finance and self help books. In 2014, I read several books like I Was Blind, But Now I See, Never Eat Alone, My Story, and My Song – Mother-Daughter Reflections on Life and Faith. I attended several computer training classes on site and over the internet.

Lesson: Once you graduate from high school or college, don’t stop growing. Continue to learn, grow, feed your mind, and expand your imagination by reading and listening to books/ebooks, podcasts, watching youtube or training videos and attending workshops or conferences.

Get My Entertainment On

I decided to get out the house more. I am such a home body. I had got so caught up with leaving work and running to basketball games, practice, trainings and tournaments. I forgot to have a life and interests outside of basketball. I took wine tasting classes, a cooking class, attended outings with former high school and college teammates and classmates, hosted a girls night out, attended art gallery functions, attended the Memphis in May activities and more

Lesson: Life is short — SO LIVE!

I feel so much better than I was feeling at the end of 2013. I’m back to smiling a lot more. I’m back to laughing and being goofy a lot more. I’ve lost a few pounds. I’ve meet different kinds of people. I plan to continue my transformation through 2015.

A new year is about new beginnings. It does not have to begin in January. Like I said, I started my transformation in November. Changes that you make don’t have to be immediate or big either. It’s all up to you.

This video is a great motivator to get you started or back on track with your transformation.

On-The-Job Training with Basketball

A lot of things have to come together in order for college basketball teams to be successful. The coaching staff and players work hard at season preparation, team building, game preparation and strategy, skill development, goal setting, program promotion, leadership development, problem solving, community service,  individual and team motivation. If you think about it, majority of the things I mentioned are what’s necessary for small businesses and corporations to be successful also.

Below is an interesting article on how athletics help women in business.

In research released by the EY Women Athletes Business Network and espnW, the majority of women executives surveyed say that a sport background can help accelerate a woman’s leadership and career potential, and has a positive influence on hiring decisions.

The research report, Making the connection: women, sport and leadership, based on a global online survey of 400 women executives, was conducted by Longitude Research across Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, with the top five responding countries being Brazil, Canada, China, the UK and the United States. Half (49%) of those surveyed were in the C-suite, meaning that they serve on the board of directors at a company or in another C-level position, such as CEO, CFO or COO. The remaining 51% surveyed were in other management positions.

Ninety-four percent of the respondents have participated in sport and close to three-quarters (74%) agree that a background in sport can help accelerate a woman’s leadership and career potential. Close to two-thirds (61%) say that past sporting involvement has contributed to their current career success and that a background in sport has a positive influence on their own hiring decisions, with more than two-thirds (67%) highlighting a background in sport as a positive influence on their decision to hire a candidate.

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