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Episode 117: How will you profit from your circumstances?

Welcome to Hustle in Faith. This podcast is dedicated to helping you find your trail to a happier healthier you by discussing topics regarding Christianity, health & wellness, beauty & so much more! I’m your host Tosha Johnson.

Episode 117: How will you profit from your circumstances?

You don’t need me to tell you that the Coronavirus situation continues to wreak havoc on the world. This virus has brought death, destroyed economies, and dare I say, permanently changed how we live our daily lives. What we need to realize is that the Coronavirus is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Despite the chaos this virus is causing in our lives, we can still live the extraordinary life Christ came to give us (John 10:10). The one “bright spot” that I have been noticing lately is that this virus has forced people to tap into their hidden talents. These are God-given talents that many of us did not know that we possessed. Dare I say this, due to the Coronavirus situation, many of us are not only able to pursue our God-given passion but turn them into lucrative businesses.

Although the Coronavirus is affecting everyone, I can truly say, thanks to Christ, this year has been one of my most profitable year; both mentally and financially. The purpose of this episode is to encourage everyone that you can still live the extraordinary life Christ came to give us.

Again, despite the Coronavirus creating trouble in the world, if you put Christ first, you can be profitable in the midst of this pandemic. In case you want to learn more about what I consider to be an extraordinary life, check out my podcasts. What is an Extraordinary life? And What will your dash look like?

My point is, although the Coronavirus is affecting everyone, it does not have to be in a negative way. For some of us, this virus has created opportunities for many of us to pursue and showcase our talents. Again, the Coronavirus is affecting everyone in different ways. Once again, these different ways are NOT necessarily bad for everyone.

For example, I’m a part-time group fitness instructor. I teach dance and boxing/kickboxing. Up until this point, many of my fellow instructors who teach fitness full time, were running themselves crazy working at multiple gyms to make ends meet.

What’s interesting is when the virus hit all over the world, this virus forced many of these talented instructors to be creative with their talent. Some way, somehow, many of these savvy instructors were able to get in touch with their students and started hosting virtual classes. As you can imagine, these instructors are living their best life.

They do not have to run themselves crazy from gym to gym; they can teach in the comfort of their own homes. Even better, these gyms that callously mistreated their fitness instructors and took their talents for granted are basically begging these instructors to allow the gym to promote their classes for them. Again, the Coronavirus is affecting everyone in different ways and these ways are not necessarily bad for everyone.

The dilemma of these instructors reminds me of a Bible principle. The Bible teaches us that we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9). I know this way of life takes more effort, but the benefit is well worth the outcome. Much of my success is due to me learning this principle of not becoming weary in well doing.

My hope from this episode is that you do some soul searching and find out who you really are and what God-given talents you have in your possession. In order to accomplish this endeavor, you must put Christ first in your life. You do this by daily reading, meditating, and properly applying the word of God to your life. In doing so, you will find out who God made you to be and what talents He put in your possession. The story of Gideon is a good example of what I am talking about (Judges 6 Chapter).

To make a long story short, Gideon was hiding from his enemy when the angel of God approached him. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” I can only imagine Gideon’s expression when the angle of God said this to him. Nothing about Gideon’s personality screamed valiant warrior. In fact, it was the complete opposite.

Gideon was fearful and hiding from his enemy. I can only imagine him saying “What you are talking about . . . mighty man of valor!” I can see Gideon looking around to see who the Angel was really talking to. It’s easy to understand where Gideon is coming from because he like many of us don’t see ourselves the way that God sees us.

If you read the story, you will see that Gideon had gifts and talents that he did not know that he possessed. Like many of us, Gideon had settled for living a settled for life. He saw himself as the world saw him, powerless and without recourse. In other words, Gideon did not know that God created him to be a victorious leader, not a victim.

Again, like many of us, Gideon did not know who he was from God’s perspective. Due to his lack of knowledge, Gideon did not know what talents and gifts God had already given him. This is why I encourage people to study the Bible. By studying God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will show you your God-given talents as well as how to pursue them. All of which will help you to live the extraordinary life Christ came to give us (John 10:10).

Once again, the Coronavirus situation has not been bad for everyone. I know firsthand that many of the fitness instructors are out there living their best life. They are literally making more money now than they did before the Coronavirus. They have been able to teach students not just from their local gyms, but ALL over the world virtually by live streaming via Zoom or other online platforms. I for one have been attending many of these classes.

In fact, I had the wonderful opportunity of connecting with one of my favorite dance fitness instructors who teaches overseas. When I don’t create my own choreography, I can rest assured that they have choreo I can use. Needless to say, this virus situation has taught people that they do have other resources.

I know many people are faced with the dilemma in how to stay safe as well as pay their bills. Teachers on a larger scale are facing a similar situation as the fitness instructors. The business side of me sees all sorts of opportunities these teachers can leverage. I hope these teachers do as my fitness instructors did and harness their power by tapping into the gifts that they possess. Many of these amazing instructors realized that teaching virtual classes allowed them the opportunity to not only save money, but still have the ability to do what they love.

Sadly, corporations and institutions have proven time and time again, that they believe their employees are disposable. Although we may not be able to control our circumstances, we can control our reactions to them. Instead of wallowing in self-pity and believing the lie that you are doomed without that dead-end job, you need to seize this opportunity to channel your time and energy into seeing your life from God’s perspective. All of which will help you to carve out other career paths to help pay the bills.

This is what I did. Seeing how corporate America mistreats people, I channel my time in energy into developing my God-given talent. I am happy to say, many of my passions (side hustles) have been very, very lucrative. In fact, this year financially has been fantastic! The bottom line is, I learned to see myself how God sees me. Only in this perspective can you truly see what talents and gifts you have at your disposal.

By Gideon embracing who God made him to be, a valiant warrior, Gideon was able to defeat the Midianites and protect his people. The reason Gideon was defeated all those other times, is because he saw himself as a coward even though God made him to be a valiant warrior.

With this being said, so many of us walk around with defeated mindsets because we buy into society’s narrative of who we are. Some of us have even bought into the lie that where we are born and/or the families we were born into determine our success in life. Now, don’t get me wrong. I know that some of us were born into this life with more hurdles to overcome than others.

Nonetheless, this does not determine your level of success. If you recall, even Christ, our Lord and Master were not born in the best of areas. Neither was He born to rich and famous parents. In other words, Jesus did not have the best of circumstances. Evidence of this fact is why Nathanael said to Philip, “. . . Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth. . .” (John 1:45-46).

My point is that you can be profitable despite your circumstances. My hope is that you learn from Gideon as I did. Roman 15:4 teaches, “. . . For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope . . .”. Gideon’s tribulation is one of these things.

His story was written so you and I can learn to accept ourselves as God made us to be. In this world, in order to be successful in life, you have to master the art of embracing who God says you are, not how the society sees you. Seeing myself from God’s perspective is how I became successful.

Here are some thought provoking podcasts to help you along the way to your journey are my interview with the Hustle in Heels podcast and What has the Coronavirus taught you about your brand?

Regardless of how many hurdles that you have to overcome, run with all of your might so you can gain enough speed to clear over every last hurdle in your path. You may get tired along the way, but if you focus on God, He will give you the strength that you need, until you cross the finish line.

Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. Don’t forget to check out Hustle in Faith’s Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith and StarenguCrew, our new fitness apparel shop.

If you enjoy Hustle in Faith’s content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating, purchasing a journal or item from StarenguCrew in order to help offset the cost of producing this show.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest. Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who will inspire you in the next episode!

Episode 116: It’s My Birthday!

Episode 116: I’m 38. Let’s Celebrate!

Well if you couldn’t tell from the title of this episode I’m celebrating my birthday! I’m now 38 years old. It feels so weird so saying that number. I remember when I was a kid how I used to think 40 was ancient. Now that I’m approaching 40 at what appears to be lighting speed, I can’t help but laugh; forty is not as ancient as I thought it was.

Needless to say, this will definitely be a year I know many of us will never forget. Not only was this the start of a New Year, but a shiny brand-new decade. When this year first started, I had all these plans. I had already written out my short term and long term goals and was all set to work through my bucket list.

Then the Coronavirus or as Black Twitter calls it, Rona came around and pretty much said, “Slow your roll, you’re not going anywhere.” I was supposed to be celebrating my birthday this week in Toronto And later this year. In December, I was going to celebrate my mom turning 60 by taking her to Costa Rica. Although I was really looking forward to taking those trips, I made my peace with having to cancel them; due to the Coronavirus. Sitting on a plane with a mask on is definitely not my jam.

The Coronavirus and Black people having to take to the street in protest is not what I had envisioned for 2020. I’m not going to get into these topics, but If you want to learn more about my thoughts regarding the politicizing of the Coronavirus and Black community check out episode 108 and if you’re interested in learning more about why protests are taking place and how to fight back against racism check out episodes 109, 110, 111, 114 and another episode called Random Thoughts Thursday: Homelessness & Gentrification.

What part of Revelation are we doing today? 😂 😂 😂

It’s amazing to sit back and think that we are literally living through a chapter that will without a doubt be discussed and debated about for years to come. If you’re Black listening to this episode, I don’t need to tell you how exhausting it is to be trapped simultaneously within two pandemics…the Coronavirus and suffering through the not so subtle effects of systemic racism.

What I want to remind everyone listening to this episode is that our lives are like a vapor (James 4:14). Our life is a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Life is short. If I had to choose a theme song that represented my life up until now, it would be hands down U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

I absolutely love that song and that group. I’ve actually seen them in concert twice. One time I was in the front row and Bono looked directly at me and smiled. I think he was just as surprised and pleased to see me there as I was to be there. Again, check out the lyrics to this song and you’ll see why I spent so much of my life unnecessarily searching for my place and purpose in this world.

Despite all the chaos that is currently happening in this world, I almost feel guilty saying this, but this has been one of the best years of my life; apart from not traveling to Canada and Costa Rica. I can finally say, I found what I’m looking for. Peace and contentment. Now, there were moments in my past where I thought I found this dynamic duo, but I realize now that those events were meant to motivate me to get to the spot where I am now.

2015| Me and my mom riding ATVs in La Fortuna, Arenal Volcano area in Costa Rica

I can TRULY 100% say that I have a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). I have never been happier than I am in my current life right now. I am satisfied with my life. Not many people can say this. You know what? I can say this because I did not allow the hardships I have experienced go to waste. I know what it’s like to be broke; I know what it’s like to lose a loved one; I know what it’s like to feel like the world is against you and you’re left to muster what little strength and energy you have to fight back against what oftentimes feels like the wind.

Now, I’m well aware that the majority of the people listening to this episode may not want to hear about my happiness, but just hear me out anyway. I have been through a lot of ups and downs in my life. Emphasis on a lot. This is why I’ve learned not to allow my peace to be dictated by my circumstances. In other words, I do not let anyone or anything steal my joy. Don’t get me wrong this is much easier said than done. I am here to tell you that peace that surpasses all understanding is possible if you put Christ first and work toward that outcome.

My parents never sugar coated anything. I do not come from a rich family. Fighting for peace and success is something that I’m so blessed my parents instilled in me when I was a child. I knew early on in life that in order for me to experience success that I would have to work twice as hard and be creative in how I achieved success. People are quick to envy your success, but I guarantee they will think twice about taking the journey you took to get there.

I always wanted to mirror my mom’s life. My parents got married when they were 19 and shortly after had me and my sister. I envisioned myself getting married young and doing the same thing. I remember being so mad when I was in my early 20’s about not being married or having kids. What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I find Mr. Right? The funny thing is I was the one putting all this pressure on myself, not my mom. My mom literally said, “Tosha, I love you but if I could do it all over again, we would not be having this conversation.”

She went on to share all the reasons why I should enjoy being single and childfree. I love the analogy she came up with to describe marriage. You’re wearing a beautiful dress. Marriage is like a necklace. That dress is going to be beautiful regardless of whether you decide to wear that necklace. She was brutally honest in sharing with me, how much she sacrificed for us and how she didn’t want me nor my sister to go through all the pain and heartaches she went through in trying to provide for us.

My parents were happily married, but it was a lot of work. Emphasis on a lot. It was even harder because neither of my parents came from good families. My mom literally had the worst parents in the world. Prayer and constantly seeking God’s guidance is the only way she knew how to raise us. She clearly listened to God. We had a wonderful childhood. We had the childhood my dreamt about but never got a chance to experience herself. My mom is proof that where you start in life does NOT determine the level of success you can and will achieve if you put God first. I am not just saying this because she is my mom, but her life story is absolutely fascinating. I’ll convince her one of these days to let me interview her. 😉

As I get older, I noticed from my own experiences and those around me that my mom was right about everything; not having kids and not rushing into marriage. Both duties are a lot of work. After watching my friends and others struggle with raising their kids or listening to them complain about their marriages confirm that my life is perfect “as is”. Now do not get me wrong, I would still be open to the idea of marriage if I found the right guy. I’m so glad that I didn’t get married when I was younger. I was not complete; nor was I ready for that responsibility.

Looking at the divorce rate and others who remain in unhappy marriages demonstrates that they were not ready for the responsibility of marriage either. In order to have a successful marriage both people have to know who they are in Christ’s eyes. Honestly, I had got married earlier, I would have been bringing a lot of unnecessary baggage to the table. I was too insecure. I was looking for a spouse to make me happy and give me fulfillment. With this weak mindset, my marriage would have been doomed from the start.

As I stated before, marriage and raising kids is a lot of work. I know how hard I had to fight to finally find peace in my life. This is one of the main reasons I know for a fact I would lose my peace and joy if I had kids. Marriage and children would have derailed my life, not enhanced it. Thanks to me often seeking and appreciating my mom’s godly advice, God has blessed me with not only being able to find contentment in my personal life, but my professional life as well.

Speaking of my professional life, when I graduated from college and started my career, I had all these crazy ideas that working hard would move me up the corporate ladder. Good grief, I was so naive! I seriously thought I was going to conquer the world. I legitimately thought I was going to make it to the top of the corporate ladder.

Due to my own stupidity, I ignored society subtle reminders about where my place was supposed to be on the corporate ladder…the bottom. Although society kept sending me notices to stay in my place, if you know me, their notices were never going to be an option for me. I kept working my butt off for a dream that I soon realized would never materialize. There were so many times in my career I knew I was doing Director level work but never received the title nor the pay. Obviously, this isn’t fair, but it is what it is. Again, super naive on my part.

I will be the first one to admit that I had bought into society’s definition of success. Again, I was super naïve.

My ethnic sounding name, my unwillingness to play mind games nor lose my dignity to get ahead, endure endless microaggressions and working with just flat out racist people had me questioning if this was the type of “success” I really wanted for my life. Being unfulfilled with the corporate BS led me to question what success is, how to achieve it and why I even desired it. While I was searching, I discovered that what society deems as success was not real and it did not align with what God had in store for my life.

God knew deep down that I’m not the type to lie, cheat and steal my way to the top. He knows my motto is, “Work to live, not live to work,”. This motto is something I deeply desire and live by. This is true success for me. In case you want to learn more about the steps I took to create my ideal life, check out the episode called What will your dash look like? The dash I am talking about is the one seen in an obituary or a headstone. There are two dates. Your birthdate and the day you leave this world. In between those two dates, is a dash. That dash represents the life you led while you were alive.

My point is, I want my dash to matter. One of my biggest fears in life is to wake up one day and realize that I had my ladder leaning against the wrong wall (in this case that wall was the corporate world). Challenging my fears led me to take a long hard look at my desires and aspirations. All of which leads me to take a different approach with life. I now view life from God’s perspective. After aligning my life with God, I can see that God gave me a 9 to 5 so I could use that money to fund my life, not be my life.

The money I make from my 9 to 5 enables me to fund projects and endeavors that bring me joy, promotes my creativity as well as allows me to be a blessing to others. As I stated before, despite all the chaos that is currently going on, this year has been one of the best years of my life. Here is how all this came about…

Back in the day, I spent many sleepless nights teaching myself how to create websites, use Photoshop, create voice overs, edit audio and create videos. Although these things were my passions in life, I often wondered if it was a waste of time and money. I remember I would tell my mom how much I really wanted to learn these things even though I knew I would never get to use them on my real (9 to 5) job. The thought of not utilizing my knowledge made me want to give up and quit learning.

Due to my mom being my biggest cheerleader, I kept going. She convinced me to stop focusing on the money aspect and just enjoy the journey. She continues to explain that the money will come later, and that money should never come before my passion. She was right again. It was not until I started truly taking her advice to heart that I started getting hired for the creative jobs I truly desired to do.

People have been hiring me as a business consultant; I am doing voice over work for anything ranging from company voicemails, small movies roles, video games, company tutorials and one of my projects that I’m most proud of is that my voice is being used for Virginia’s Department of Education online learning curriculum. Even right now, I’m literally working on yet another amazing project creating a suite of product tutorial videos for a company that found me on YouTube. They found me on YouTube guys. They literally said, “Hey, we like your teaching style. Can you do this for us?” I can’t make this up! My websites have opened so many opportunities for me that I never in a million years would have thought were possible.

I know there are times that you may feel like giving up but I’m here to tell you to keep going. Because I took my own advice, I created this podcast during the second worst period of my life. When it rains it pours. I was unemployed for a year, so you can imagine what my bank account looked like. I went on a ton of soul crushing interviews. During this time in my life, I just felt so defeated. After I was done throwing myself a pity party, I figured I would share my journey in how I wanted to create my ideal life by putting God first.

I wanted to share my experiences with others so that my knowledge isn’t wasted. Regardless of how hard a time I’m going through, I want to motivate others to keep going so they can define what success looks like for them. So in the event that you are having a hard time, one of the ways I shifted my perspective to focus on God was to express more gratitude. Learn to be grateful for what you have and not focus on what you lack. After all, why should God give you the desires of your heart if you’re not content with the blessings He’s already given you?

So several years ago I started this exercise, which I still do to this day. Every day, regardless of how bad a day I have had, I write down 3 good things that happened to me and then place that sheet of paper in a shoebox that my mom was so kind to decorate for me. Now I’m not going to lie to you, some days are much harder than others to find something to be thankful for was hard work. There were days where I literally wrote, I have food, clothes, and shelter and that’s ok because you know what, I know that God appreciates our efforts.

Then at the last week of the year, I go through and read them all. I make a list of all the major events that I want to remember and write them in my journal. Obviously, you don’t have to do the last part, but it’s kind of nice having a Top 10 list to reflect on when you’re going through tough times in life. It serves as a reminder that you made it through then and you can make it through now. It’s just a matter of time before you will be back to living the high life again

If the exercise I just described sounds appealing to you, please be sure to download the grateful notes I created. They are a lot prettier than the post-it notes or a sheet of paper. This is an exercise that I’ve been doing for almost over 7 years. In the event that you are having a hard time, I want you to please download my free planner and grateful notes from my website. I can truly say that my desire is to have a well balanced meaningful life. I want to help others to do the same. With that being said, I want to share with you a couple of goals I have in store for the future.

So this year, I’m super excited to share with you one of my major accomplishments. I’m proud to announce my fitness t-shirt apparel shop called StarenguCrew.

StarenguCrew is geared towards women who don’t doubt the power of a workout. Working out is a lifestyle. It is my honor to create designs that will celebrate your shine!

I’m super excited about finally being able to launch this project, so I hope you decide to support my shop.

I love teaching dance fitness and boxing. You don’t want to catch these hands! 😉

I’ m all about keeping it moving, so I want to share 3 more goals I have in store for the future:

1.) I’m in the process of studying for my certification in nutrition. My goal is to create a health and fitness show with my friend. You can learn more about this in Episode 115: How do all the pieces fit together?

2.) My goal is to create an afterschool program for high schoolers so I can teach them everything that I know about business. Oftentimes, students of color (primarily Blacks and Latinos) are not in a position to gain the skills they need to be successful in business.

It’s amazing to me how many people express confusion in how to end systemic racism when an idea as simple as mine which seems to be glaringly obvious is overlooked or ignored. It frustrates me how school conditions you to only think about working for someone else. While there is nothing wrong with this, you should give kids choices.

3.) I’m going to teach myself how to build apps because I have so many ideas. The best way to make your dream come true is to build it yourself, so that’s exactly what I plan to do.

One of the greatest compliments I ever received was from my Spanish teacher. She said, “Tosha, when you say you’re going to do something, you do it. Like there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s going to happen.” Hearing that made me feel good because she’s right. Nothing irritates me more than empty promises. Actions speak louder than words. I know some of my goals will take a while to materialize, but just knowing that they will bring me great joy.

Again, my journey to peace and contentment is a daily constant battle that I must be willing to fight. If you’re wrestling with the same issue, please know that you are not alone. Let God take the wheel so He can reduce the time it takes for you to slay every obstacle that comes your way. I finally found what I’m looking for, so now the whole world can see that this girl is on fire!

Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. Don’t forget to check out the Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith that is available for sale on Amazon and StarenguCrew, our new fitness T-shirt shop.

If you enjoy Hustle in Faith’s content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating or purchasing a Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith or Tshirt from StarenguCrew in order to help offset the cost of producing this show.Be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest.

Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who will inspire you in the next episode.

Episode 115: How do all the pieces fit together?

Hustle in Faith How do all the pieces fit together?

Episode 115: How do all the pieces fit together?

There have been so many instances in my life where seemingly random isolated experiences end up connecting like puzzle pieces. Now, regardless of whether the pieces I experience are good or bad, I place those pieces in a mental filing cabinet. Just in case I think one or more of those pieces might fit into my puzzle, I want to be able to easily access them.

As I stated before, I realize that everything is connected. When I was growing up one of my favorite church songs was, “We’ll Understand It Better By and By.” I especially loved hearing this song when my dad was leading the church in singing. He had an amazing voice! As a kid, I loved hearing how beautiful this song sounded when everyone was singing in harmony. As I grew older, I appreciated and realized how beautiful the lyrics are to this song.

This song speaks about all the trials and difficulties that we will have to go through in life. It lets us know that if we keep our focus on God, we will eventually understand why we went through that hardship. As I have grown older, my understanding of life has increased. I realize why God placed certain puzzle pieces in my life. One puzzle piece that I have come to understand better over time is the gift of teaching.

I’ve always been a nerd. I really do enjoy learning from others and sharing my knowledge as well. It brings me great joy to help people achieve their dreams. When I was a kid, like many kids, I thought I was going to be a teacher, but as I grew older, I knew that wasn’t the case. Hats off to all teachers out there because you all really are the real MVPs.

Although I have a 9 to 5 job in marketing, it’s interesting how my life choices steered me back into my first passion, which is teaching. I enjoyed teaching but not in the traditional sense. Honestly, the way my personality is set up, being in a classroom all day would not have worked out for me. Thanks to technology, I am able to teach on a part time basis. I have been teaching English online since 2013. How all these pieces came together was due to my quest to learn Spanish; another childhood passion of mine. When I was in grade school I took Spanish and still remembered a lot of it.

Learning Spanish has always been on my bucket list. Mainly, because I already knew that many of the places I wanted to travel to outside of the U.S. were Latin countries. Although I was focused on the private Spanish lessons and connecting with language meetup groups to practice my Spanish, in retrospect, I can see God was leading me on two different journeys at the same time.

I was fulfilling my desire to learn Spanish, but on the other hand, those connections that I made in my language groups led me to eventually start teaching English to adults overseas. I’m in a win win situation. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of helping people not only improve their English, but I’ve made amazing friends in the process. As I stated before, It brings me great joy to help people achieve their dreams. Many of my students have even thanked me for helping them get jobs. I have been instrumental in not only helping them to learn English, but guiding them in making the correct career choice.

Some recent events that happened to me are prime examples of why you have to be open to recognizing how and when certain pieces are meant to fit together. One of my English students is from China and happens to live in Chicago. She told me that she specifically chose me for that reason. She was a doctor in China and is seeking to improve her English so she can become a doctor here in the U.S.

I remember how shy she was when we started our first class and how much she opened up by the end of that class. Getting people to feel comfortable around me is something that has always come easy to me. I think it’s mainly due to the fact that I’ve mastered being comfortable in uncomfortable situations. So it’s almost like I go out of my way to make sure that other people don’t have to feel that way with me. Hope that makes sense.

Anyway, over time we became friends. She is one of the nicest people you will ever meet! One day she was expressing her frustrations to me about the medical field. She truly has a desire to help people but was growing frustrated with the inability to do so via the traditional methods. Therefore, she was contemplating learning more about Chinese medicine and acupuncture. Now everyone who knows me knows the following:

Health & fitness are my jam, I’m in the process of getting certified for my AFAA and will soon pursue a certification in nutrition. I’m constantly researching vitamins, exercises, and the list goes on…
I’m super creative and pretty savvy when it comes to business, so many of my friends come to me for career advice.
I’m a techie at heart, so I pick up technology quickly. I don’t let not knowing a software or platform stop me from achieving success. I’m all about teaching myself.

When my student expressed her concerns and desires about her career, she had no idea that I’ve been wanting to start my own health and fitness channel for years. In fact, I had already started the process in studying for the tests that I would need to take in order to learn more about this field. Her expressing how traditional doctor jobs were leaving her unfulfilled, prompted me to encourage her to start her own YouTube channel.

I wanted her to start her own channel because she truly is an intelligent woman who has a passion for helping people. I explained to her how she could use Youtube as an opportunity to share the knowledge she already has as well as use it as a vehicle to build up her own Chinese medicine business. Seeing the joy in her face brought me joy. She was so happy! Although she wasn’t sure where she could go to attend a Chinese medicine school, I told her not to worry and that everything will all come together for her.

No joke, a couple days later, I just so happened to be coming from Target and walked by a sign advertising a Chinese medicine school. Do you realize how random that was for me to see this sign? This was not a coincidence! If you saw where this sign was placed you would know that it was meant for me to see it. I immediately texted my friend and now she’s going to enroll in that school to learn more about Chinese medicine and acupuncture.

I know a lot of people would dismiss everything that I just said as a coincidence. Not me!. God has proven to me over and over again and again, in too many different ways and occasions that nothing in life is a coincidence. While my friend is studying her Chinese medicine and acupuncture while I’m going to continue my journey of studying nutrition.

Our plan is to do a health and fitness show together (hopefully in 2021). Again, God is slowly but surely guiding me to yet another adventurous journey that I can’t wait to start. My life experiences and events are not random isolated mishaps. They are all connected. All of what I described to you stemmed from my desire to become fluent in Spanish (shout out to Julieth once again for helping me to accomplish this goal).

God used my desire to learn Spanish to connect me with folks who were just as passionate about learning languages. God gave me the teaching puzzle piece, so He could bless me as well as allow me to be a blessing to others. All of my experiences of being comfortable in uncomfortable situations were not wasted experiences. I channeled that negativity into the ability to connect with people. I’ve always been able to make people feel comfortable so they can express themselves.

In doing so, I have been able to help them craft a plan in how they can achieve their goals and desires. I am proud to say that every time people leave my class they are either laughing, smiling and/or thanking me for being their cheerleader. Teaching English is a side hustle that came out of nowhere. I only teach 3 hours a week and my schedule is full every week. Again, this puzzle piece stemmed from my desire to take Spanish.

Its lessons like these that have taught me to see life from a different perspective. I try really hard not to allow anger to be the first emotion I experience. I do my best to properly place the puzzle piece in my life. If I can’t determine where it fits, I no longer become frustrated. I simply place it in my mental filing cabinet for later when I come across where that piece should go so I have easy access to it.

The more I read the Bible, the more I come across interesting stories that reinforce the fact that nothing in this life is random or a coincidence. I’m reminded of this story in 1 Samuel chapter 8 and 9. The Cliffnotes version is that Israel wanted a king. God gave Samuel the responsibility of finding this person for them. God told Samuel that someone would come to him looking for donkeys from the land of Benjamin and that Samuel was to anoint this person as Israel’s king.

Now while all of this knowledge was being given to Samuel, on the other side of town, Saul’s father told Saul that their donkeys had gotten loose and told Saul to go and find them. Saul and his servant spent the entire day searching for these donkeys. Yet, they couldn’t find them. So Saul says to his servant, “Let’s go back home because otherwise my dad’s going to start worrying about us instead of the donkeys.”

However, Saul’s servant persuaded Saul to go see a prophet to help them locate these donkeys. Of course, that prophet was Samuel. Before Saul could explain why they were there Samuel told Saul the donkeys were found and that he would be king. Saul stayed with Samuel so he could finish hearing the rest of the message that God wanted Saul to hear. Think about it. This set of events was put into motion because of donkeys.

When you read the story, you will see how God has a way of taking what seems accidental and linking those people or things together to accomplish His will for our life. However, we have to be open to hearing and receiving wise advice from those who have our best interest at heart. What if Saul was a snob and refused to take his servants advice about seeing the Prophet? Saul could have easily refused to listen to him and went back home.

The events of people like Saul and many others in the Bible prove that many of those seemingly random puzzle pieces are oftentimes divine connections. If we fail to see the connection, we will miss out on the purpose that God has in store for our life. We need to keep in mind that God doesn’t do things traditionally. He does things in an unorthodox way. This method reinforces Him crafting unique events in our lives that can’t be easily explained away. All of which demonstrates how much He cares about us.

If we put God first, every experience in our life will never be wasted. In fact, God will channel that energy into helping us not only solve our puzzle but reduce the time it takes for someone else to solve theirs. When you view life this way, it takes the stress out of trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together so you can take comfort in knowing that they do and that you will understand it better by and by if you stay in faith.

Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. Don’t forget to check out the Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith that is available for sale on Amazon.

If you enjoy Hustle in Faith’s content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating or purchasing a Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith from Amazon to help offset the cost of producing this show.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest. Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who will inspire, see you in the next episode!

Episode 114: Random Thoughts: Meaningless gestures, Confederate statutes, and Karens

Episode 114: Random Thoughts: Meaningless gestures, Confederate statutes, and Karens

I just came back from an amazing 20-mile bike ride. This is typically how I typically spend my Saturday mornings, but today is different because many people are celebrating Independence Day. Don’t get me wrong, I love having an extra day off and BBQ with family, but for the majority of Black people, this is a day that has often been a source of side eyes or whatever shrugs.

In fact, you may even see an increase in people wearing the July 4th to Deny shirts being worn. Why? If we really want to get technical Juneteeth should actually be a much bigger celebration because on June 19, 1865, is when the slaves in Galveston, Texas were freed.

Please do not get it twisted just because many Black people don’t share the same zeal for this day doesn’t mean that we don’t support those in the military especially when a large population of the military is composed of minorities (despite the fact the media only seems to show photos of the white ones). It’s just with everything going on it seems like this holiday is becoming more and more cynical.

If anything the tradition for most Black people I know is to listen to this video of James Earl Jones reading The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro by Frederick Douglass and this video will demonstrate why he felt this way.

It’s sad that so much of this speech still rings true today. I was actually going to bike further than what I did today but cut it short because I had way too much to say about stories and things I’ve seen this week and I really needed to get this episode out of my head.

So let’s jump in. I saw this tweet from a comedian, Kevonstage (who by the way is hilarious) stating that the real estate industry is changing the word Master bedroom. Now one of the main reasons they are changing this word is due to the fact that on a plantation, you would have a master of that domain who would then exercise control and dominance over enslaved or indentured servants. So the Houston Association of Realtors decided to change the name from Master room to Primary room.

I belong to quite a few Black business groups and many of us felt the same way. This is yet another stall tactic to keep White people from addressing the real issue at hand.

Black people have been pretty upfront about what we want for a while now…It would be great if the police would stop killing Black people and put end to systemic racism once and for all Be sure to check out Episode 110 “Where do we go from here? regarding more details in how we go about accomplishing this feat. So seeing that we’ve been battling these issues for well over 400 years old and they still haven’t been resolved, I’m thinking that we start there first and if we have time leftover clean up the English language.

So many women in my Black Business groups were all saying the same thing. Enough with the stall tactics already. Meaningless gestures like this, don’t do anything to impact the community. If the real estate industry really had a desire to make sustainable lasting change then why not create programs to help Black people own homes instead of continuing the oppressive acts of redlining and doing something about the harmful effects of gentrification to Blacks and Latinos. I dig into the effects of gentrification in an episode called Random Thoughts Thursday: Homelessness and Gentrification so check that out as well.

Please be aware that many of the so-called laws that have been enacted to supposedly help Black people have always consisted of some sort of loophole that once again benefits White people. That’s a heck of a headstart. White people have been able to build equity while we’ve been fighting for equality.

Owning your own home is one of the easiest ways for an American family to build wealth. Why wouldn’t you start there? I know why because if you can get us to buy into the illusion just a little while longer you change the rules of the game, move the goalposts even further to keep us from even having a fighting chance to win the game. Laws on paper don’t mean a thing if there’s no one who wants to enforce them.

Clearly, racist in Chief Trump has made it abundantly clear that he has no intention of helping Black people. When racist in chief Trump isn’t busy retweeting White supremacists he’s busy continuing his agenda to further oppress Blacks. He is now threatening to eliminate the 2015 initiative known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, which requires localities to identify and address patterns of racial segregation outlawed under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 by creating detailed corrective plans.

Trump literally said, “At the request of many great Americans who live in the Suburbs, and others, I am studying the AFFH housing regulation that is having a devastating impact on these once thriving Suburban areas,” he wrote, adding, “Not fair to homeowners, I may END!”

Which is really code for “I’m going to do what I can to make sure no Blacks or Latinos are able to move into the suburbs.” Here’s the thing, we all know that these laws never really worked in the first place, but knowing that they existed gave you some sort of comfort in knowing that there was a law that you could reference. Now if Black and Latinos were having a hard time obtaining homeownership with laws such as this one or the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act it is going to be near impossible to get one now.

The Homeownership gap will continue to widen. According to the U.S. Census, during the 1st quarter of 2020, 44% of Black families owned their own home compared to 73.7% of White families. What’s even more disturbing is that in 2016 At $171,000, is the net worth of a typical white family is nearly ten times greater than that of a Black family ($17,150). Again, as Black people continue to fight for equality White people will continue building wealth.

I can personally attest that housing discrimination is very real. My parents dreamed of having their own home. They also lost count regarding how many times they were denied for a home loan. When they finally got approved we ended up moving out to Villa Park. We stayed there for 11 years.

Now back in 2002, my mom was being aggressively approached by lenders trying to force her to refinance their home. My mom’s background is in Finance, so of course, she knew that refinancing under their terms would be in their best interest, not my parents.

My parents refused to refinance at the higher rates they were trying to force on them. However, what the media fails to mention is that mortgage companies got clever. Whenever literally stopped accepting the mortgage payments from Blacks and Latinos in order to force them into foreclosure. The media NEVER talks about this part.

I know this sounds crazy, but it is true. That’s what happened to us. By the way, while all of this was going on my dad was diagnosed with Colon Cancer. They only gave him 6 weeks to live, but my mom kept this secret from all of us including my dad (not sure how she pulled that off). So anyway, imagine my mom literally battling a mortgage company, taking care of my dad, my sister, and myself.

I helped take care of my dad whenever I wasn’t working. I was working full time and went to college at night. My schedule was literally working from 8 to 4:30 and then attend class from 5:45 to 9pm. This was my schedule 4 days a week for all 4 years of college. I didn’t find out until my dad passed away 2 years later at the age of 43 which was the same year I graduated from college that my mom was battling the mortgage company alone.

We had all the evidence we needed to prove our case that the mortgage company was trying to intimidate us. However, when the media started getting a little too deep in their investigation and literally told us due to the government officials that were involved they could not continue their investigation. How crazy is that?! So my mom was forced into foreclosure because she was too business savvy to know that refinancing on the banks’ terms was not in her best option.

We take comfort in knowing the fact that my mom’s persistence and resistance resulted in many of the judges involved in her case magically retired and/or resigned. I can only imagine what’s going to happen if that idiot Trump gets his way and the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing is eliminated.

What drives me crazy is that while this country is going to hell in a handbasket while the racist in chief along with his evil minions are more worried about protecting Confederate statues than the rights of Blacks and Latinos to live in peace. I am so tired of hearing racist people say, “They are trying to erase our heritage.”

Here’s the thing, those statutes never should have been built in the first place. Why would you want to have a statute dedicated to people who fought to keep slaves? I know that common sense isn’t all that common anymore, but this is just crazy.

Do you realize what a slap in the face it is to drive past these statutes, drive on roads, or attend schools that bear the name of those responsible for oppressing your ancestors? I couldn’t imagine being someone in the military who has to be constantly reminded that they are fighting for a country that chose to honor their service this way. Why in the world would this be the legacy that you want to “pass down” to your kids?

All of the Confederate statues and flags should be removed. Plus, it never ceases to amaze me that the racist in chief and his evil minions forget that this wasn’t even your land. It’s the Native Americans. By the way, it’s always amazing when you hear people who passionately defend keeping the Confederate statues and flags, “Why don’t you just leave America?” My response is I will never leave a country that my ancestors built. If anything, why don’t you leave? You stole the land from Native Americans and then enslaved Black people to do the work for you. What exactly did you or your ancestors’ contribute that justifies your stay here?

I’m sure we all know the answer to that question…The funny thing is that these are the very same people who end up relying on essential workers who are oftentimes Black people and also happen to be the lowest paid. As if that’s not frustrating enough they also have to put up with the Karen’s of the world.

In case you’re not sure what I mean by Karen. It’s a term that Black people use to describe White women who throw temper tantrums when people call them out for their racist behavior. They just can’t seem to mind their own business. They are incredibly nosey because they have no lives and insist on getting into yours and when Black people don’t go along with their nonsense they turn on the White tears and the cops will most likely be called.

By the way, Black folks have been using Karen and Becky as code names forever but over the recent years, it’s gotten more popular due to folks like Amy Cooper, BBQ Becky. Although I have to admit, Karen is the name that you’ll most likely hear.

I recently read a story about a Black family that literally had the cops called on them for building a patio on their own property and didn’t show their paperwork to a Karen. Imagine the audacity of these two lawyers not showing their paperwork to a racist neighbor. I can’t make this up if I tried!

What really pushed me to write this episode is because my mom shared a story with me recently that could have easily gotten out of hand as well. My building has an onsite laundry room in the basement that no one can access without a key. So my mom’s in the laundry room and this White woman was walking outside by the laundry room window. This woman peered into the laundry room which again is in the basement.

This literally means that this White woman literally went out of her way to see what my mom was doing. Which again clearly this chick was not Nancy Drew it’s a laundry room so this was a no brainer. My mom told me she just gave her a look and the lady kept right on walking. I don’t know why Karens feel entitled to get into everyone’s business. No one asked you to police the world. By the way, this is just one of thousands of stories that you can read about Karens (C heck out this latest one about the Karen who went nuts in Target).

Karens are dangerous sociopaths who use their weaponize their White privilege against Black people by throwing temper tantrums when they don’t get their way and then threatening and/or calling the police.

When you see these videos you will understand why it drives me absolutely insane when I hear White people say if you’re not a criminal, a thug and just behave yourself and don’t break the law that the police would never be called. That’s simply just not true and the Karens, Beckys, Ken, and Chads of the world know it which is why they have no problem calling the cops.

It’s a sick game that these people like to play in an attempt to see how much control they can exercise over people they believe are inferior to them. They know that they will most likely not suffer any consequences and/or if they do it’s a slap on the wrist. However, their sick behavior has deadly consequences for Black people.

It’s absolutely heartbreaking and ranges from dying because they were reading in their car, to buying Skittles and so many other innocent activities. What’s truly sad and frustrating is that these are only a handful of stories that we know about. I can only imagine how many more are waiting to be uncovered…

The frustrating thing about Karens is that if I behaved this way I would be in jail or worse. The interesting thing is that a lot of White people know this and even share their stories about crimes they have gotten away with under the Twitter hashtag #CrimingWhileWhite. That hashtag is a prime example of the double standards that exist in this country. This is because innocent until proven guilty is NOT what happens when the police show up and Black people are involved. It’s vice versa. Check out the story about the pastor that called the cops on White people trying to beat him up and they ended up arresting him.

Again, there are numerous stories of White women lying and calling the cops on Black people for no reason. There’s this notion that White women are to automatically be viewed as victims. Thanks to video, everyone can see that this simply is not the case. Every Black person, myself included has encountered Karens throughout their life. I’ve always been taught to fight back and will continue to call out wrong behavior. Now even though I’ve been using the term Karen for this episode, mainly to introduce the phrase to those unaware of what a Karen is, but I prefer to call them they really are…White supremacists.

When you give them cute little names like Karen, BBQ Becky, you diminish their devious behavior. They have damaged numerous people’s lives. Like Will Smith said, “Racism never left, it’s just filmed.” The one thing that is providing some solace to Black people is the ability to share our stories on Twitter via hashtags like #BlackinIvory, #LivingWhileBlack, #BlackLivesMatter, or on videos that we share amongst ourselves in hopes that we can generate enough attention in order to get justice for those who were harmed. You’ll read countless stories about ignorant White people going out of their way to discredit the achievements that Black people worked so hard to achieve. I can definitely relate to some of the stories shared in those hashtags.

Like for example, if we make it into management positions we’re a diversity hire and not because we have the intelligence or skills to do the job. These types of comments can really play tricks on your mind if you let them linger.

The thing is that Black people in the corporate world tend to work twice as hard. Black people know that there’s an unwritten rule, “Last to get hired first to get fired,” which is why this is the case.” Black people can’t rely on nepotism or have the connections many White people benefit from that allow them to get jobs without having the required knowledge or education. I know firsthand that this is the truth because I’ve definitely worked with managers who were a few fries short of a Happy Meal…

I’m sure you can see we have a long way to go in our fight against racism. This is why we can’t get bogged down with being complacent with meaningless gestures, condoning Confederate statues, and White Supremacists like Karen. If we do were doomed to living in a world where our potential is never fully realized because we’re too busy fighting to exist.

Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. Don’t forget to check out the Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith that is available for sale on Amazon.

If you enjoy Hustle in Faith’s content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating or purchasing a Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith from Amazon to help offset the cost of producing this show. Be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest. Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who will inspire see you in the next episode.

Episode 113| Are you getting enough rest?

This is episode 113: Are you getting enough rest?

Are you getting enough rest? With all of the chaos going on in the world right now, the answer to this question is most likely, “No.” Although I understand the reason why, nonetheless, rest plays an essential role in our lives.

A lack of rest creates havoc in our bodies that lead to diseases and other problems. The majority of our attacks from Satan come when we are weary and tired (Lk 4: 1-13). It is during this period of time when Satan inflicts us with his negative traits such as anger, fear, frustration, depression, etc. what many fail to realize is that our mental health issues stem from a lack of rest.

The events of Elijah in 1 King 18 & 19 demonstrate the pitfalls and mental anguish that stem from a lack of rest. If you recall, Elijah’s ordeal left him truly exhausted emotionally, physically, and spiritually. When we are mentally drained, our thought life (heart, soul, and mind) is weakened and we become easy prey for Satan.

Exhaustion gives us less control over our spiritual life. As a result, confusion and depression can easily descend upon us, which is what happened to Elijah. In many traumatic situations, we need to calm down, rest, and reprogram our thinking to focus on God, His power and promises to us.

This mindset combined with rest and nourishment was God’s response to Elijah (1Kin 19:5-8). God’s prescription for Elijah confirms that simply getting enough rest and nourishment both physically and spiritually play important roles in maintaining our thought life. This is why Christ insisted on His apostles following the above prescription (Mk 6:30-32).

While we are resting, God uses this time to cleanse the entire body both spiritually and physically. Even Christ took time to rest from His busy schedule (Mk 4:38-40). To see the changes we wish to see in this world, we must get spiritual and physical rest.

1. Spiritual Rest

Only through Christ can we rest our mind and soul. Hence why Christ said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (matt 11:28-30). Christ continues to say, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am ^[^f^]gentle and lowly in heart.” Through this process, you will find rest for your soul. Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light.

When we truly seek spiritual rest, we pray often and don’t allow our souls to be consumed with worry (Matt 6:33). This is what Christ did. To maintain His sanity Christ often sought places of solitude so He could gain guidance and comfort by talking with God. Talking with God is what keeps us calm and gives us the ability to carry on.

There was a period of time when I felt like my life was spinning out of control. Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. When I took time to examine my life, I noticed I left God out of my daily life. I was trying to do everything myself. So much of my dependency was focused on maintaining my 9 to 5 job at all costs.

In hindsight, focusing on a 9 to 5 job was dumb on my part; even if there was a job shortage. My desire and motto has always been, “I work to live, not live to work.” Sadly, I had lost sight of this fact. All of which caused me to forget that God is my Source and my 9 to 5 job is just one of many resources that God can use for my livelihood.

It was when I started studying the Bible more and really seeking God’s guidance for my life is when He led me down a path that introduced me to so many talents and opportunities that I didn’t know I possessed. Many of those skills are why I’m finally living the fulfilled life I always wanted to live.

I have a great 9 to 5 job in an industry that I never would have imagined myself working in a million years. I must say, many of those talents I discovered when I was unemployed. What I thought were just hobbies like voice over work, teaching English and dance classes, creating video tutorials, and my t-shirt shops God turned into side hustles.

Taking advantage of my unemployment so I could get spiritual rest enabled me to put God first. As I stated before, God uses rest to cleanse our entire being. All of which brings me to physical rest.

2. Physical rest

Our bodies are temples (1 Cor 6:19). A temple is something precious and requires proper care. One of the major ways to accomplish this feat is to ensure that we get enough sleep. It’s so sad that many of us (myself included) have either intentionally or unintentionally chosen to work ourselves to death. As a society, especially in America, it’s been engrained in us to be workaholics.

However, this was never God’s intention. God doesn’t want us to work harder. He wants us to rest so we can work more efficiently. His goal for us is to work smarter not harder. The only way this will be accomplished is by getting enough rest. In order to reinforce the importance of physical rest, God incorporated rest into the 10 commandments (Ex 20:8).

Whenever I feel like life’s negative circumstances are starting to gang up on me, I take time out to pray, meditate, and go to sleep. Will my problems magically disappear? Most likely no. However, the combination of prayer and sleep renews my spirit in such a way that positions me to see life from a new perspective as well as offer me a solution to my problems.

The aforementioned is why Jesus was always encouraging His disciples to take time to pray and rest, especially during life’s storms (Matt 11:28). Prayer and rest gives us the clarity we need. This combination will help us to recognize why God allowed certain circumstances in our life (Mark 6: 45-52).

It’s up to you how you choose to spend your time in the storms we encounter in life. Worrying and anxiety accomplish nothing. Focusing on God and His Word will place you in a position to rest spiritually and physically so He can calm the winds and waves that occur in your life.

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Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. Don’t forget to check out the Prayer and Gratitude Journal for Men and Women of Faith that is available for sale on Amazon.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest. Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who will inspire, see you in the next episode!