Isn’t it funny how social media and the pop culture gods and the powers that be all of a sudden start throwing out these phrases that we adopt and coin as our own personal mantra? We don’t even know where they came from and how the words plummeted from outer space into our now common vocabulary. All we know is that the message rings true and resonates with our whole entire beings.

I’ve heard “pop” phrases such as “OMGeee” and “Yes, sis!” and “Get your bag” about a thousand times, yet have no idea the author of these slogans. I only know they roll off my tongue or the tips of my fingers onto my keypad as easily as the air expounds from my lungs.

What causes me to stop suddenly and slow down to take note though is when others direct a certain hip, dicey comment my way. A few times I’ve been surprised by someone uttering to me, “Nicole, You are goals.”

Wait, what?

I’m goals? How can I possibly be goals when I have these weaknesses, and these shortcomings, and make these mistakes ALL THE TIME? Yet what I understand they’re seeing, is that I’m maybe a bit further along in some areas they’re still progressing in.

That is a huge revelation for me because I’m so focused on getting to my own “finish line” that I often forget about the leg of the race I’ve already completed.

Can you relate?

Even with being a published author, I neglected to see the 8 years of self publishing experience I have under my belt because of the grind of pushing out my current book. It took several promptings from Holy Spirit and multiple reoccurrences of mirroring circumstances for me to move forward and step into 1-on-1 coaching.

I finally could see that others needed the information I’ve accumulated and I had a duty to provide them with this knowledge

I say all that to say it’s so important that we understand how far we’ve come and that there are others straggling behind to get to where we already are.

Yes we have our goals. Yes we have our dreams. But we’re created as interdependent beings and that means we are actually someone else’s goal. We are actually someone else’s dream.

SELAH.

In all honesty I feel very uncomfortable sharing about others perceiving me in this “elevated” way. I struggle with my own perception of pride and want to make sure that I’m not coming across as cocky. But I know there is truth to what I’m being shown and it’s honestly false humility to try to diminish our own light.

I had the amazing opportunity to interview a heavy hitter in CLE. She is “goals” to me all day and even in our conversation I was already looking at her as a possible mentor. It was during our talk where she mentioned how in certain cities there is pressure to dim your light. When you walk into the room you can’t seem like an expert. I resonated with that. In some of my videos I’ve noticed that my posture is poor and my shoulders are drooping and I know it’s because I don’t want to seem too knowledgeable or too excellent. But that is not who we are as children of the light. We are to shine brightly in the midst of this world.

We are to be excellent.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

-Marianne Williamson

In other news, did you know that I have a monthly newsletter? You can email me if you would like to receive it, or sign up on my website! Just click on “Blog”, go to any blog post, then scroll down until you see “Join Our Newsletter”! I share all of my updates on events I am selling books at and the latest happenings in authorship! You can also view the latest newsletter on my linktree.

Are you on Instagram/Facebook? If so, please reach out! I have started a series called “Word of the Day Wednesdays” where I share 5-10 minutes worth of nuggets that are on my heart, which I hope are encouraging to others on IGTV/FB Live! I have these also posted on my Youtube channel. Have you read “Stories for the Urban Soul” and are eager to dialogue about your favorite characters, lessons learned, and so much more? Well, now you can download 20 Dialogue questions available on my website to discuss with your friends! Just enter your email in the pop up box and its there!

If you have read “Stories for the (Urban) Soul, please put up an Amazon review here! I was SUPER encouraged and blessed when a new reader put up her review for my 2nd book which you can view here :).

Did you know I have a FREE preview of my book? You can learn more by downloading here. Scroll all the way down and you will see the Kindle Version of the book depicted.

As always thank you for your support!

SHALOM