DON'T FORGET YOUR PASSION. YOU'RE GOING TO NEED IT.

What does it mean when someone has passion? According to Webster’s Dictionary, this word known for powerful emotions; such as joy, hatred, or anger, also has several meanings: ardent love, strong sexual desire; lust, and the object of such love and desire, just to name a few. But what does it exactly mean for someone like you or me to keep a flame that is burning inside our hearts to reach a specific goal(s)?

My thoughts—as I sit here typing away at five twenty-one in the morning—wonder how do we continue that desire toward whatever it may be without waning from our dreams or goals? I’ve seen too often people sprint from their starting blocks like an Olympic Track and Field event; putting their hearts and souls into their desire but only months later the sprint turns into a run, and then a jog, and eventually quits before reaching the finish line.

Speaking from experience I have several theories as to why this happens. One, we don’t create a plan and put it to use. When jumping out of the starting block, we want to hurdle over the smaller things to improve our profession or craft and race to the yellow ribbon instead of taking the necessary baby steps. You don’t see any medical professionals pulling this—at least I pray they don’t for the sake of their patients. Look, any goal you want to achieve will have some sort of competition; whether it’s getting a promotion on the job, buying a new house, or wanting to become a better person. Achieving success requires a detail itinerary to help navigate toward your goal. Even corporations, big or small or just a sole proprietor, need a business plan. If you want to move up, organize your thoughts on paper.

Secondly, we tend to lack self confidence. Instead of trusting our gifts and/or talents, we constantly have a need to seek validation from others. Its one thing to join certain groups or organizations to gain insight on your field of interest while listening and taking their constructive criticism, but it’s entirely different when you ask someone over and over if you’re good enough. If you’re having this quench for instant justification every five minutes, then you need to step back and reevaluate your goals. Perhaps you might be achieving your ambition for the wrong reasons.

And thirdly, this happens all too often and it’s pretty sad too. We give up when the going gets tough. There is no such thing as an easy road; there will be stumbling blocks, rough terrains, treacherous streams, and let’s not forget, a huge mountain before seeing your hard work pay off. I bet you your favorite celebrity or mentor had to experience a rough road before achieving their success.

Six months ago, a friend of mine (and close to his own breakthrough) listened patiently while I ranted on the phone about a recent stumble. I whined to the point of my voice breaking, complaining of how hard the publishing business has been. So after a few I-don’t-know-why-I’m-still-trying-to-do-this-at-my-age rants, he paused for a moment and told me in a calm voice, did you really think it was going to be easy, Mani? Not a yeah, I feel you type of response or relayed some encouraging words—he spoke to me as a friend and got real with the situation. And he was right.

More importantly to sum up this entire post, if you are working toward a goal and you are not seeing any results; don’t give in to that whisper telling you it’s not worth it because breaking any barriers is an accomplishment itself. Remember what I said about baby steps? That little pitter-patter is better than no movement at all. And if you are worried if the world hasn’t taken notice of your hard work, as Tyler Perry said—sometimes you’re meant to be hidden. I say all the time there is no such thing as an overnight success. It’s a word the media likes to hype up to sell papers. What they’re actually saying is after their ups and downs the world is finally taken notice. So for all of you go-getters, this could be you. Don’t give up. And oh, by the way, don’t forget your passion. You’ll need it.

This post is dedicated to Miss Ella Curry of EDC Creations and Black Pearls Magazine for inspiring me to write this blog. She started the dialogue on Facebook, and I truly appreciated her insight. Thank you. J

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IMANI'S "HOW TO" MOMENT: Twenty-Six Chances

If you don’t first succeed then you try again. That old cliché’ still makes sense to this date. If you fail, get up and devise a plan B, C, D, and so on...

Untimely Revelation was considered my plan C. It went on life support—and then revived again last spring and now it's back to its final resting place—my hard drive. Look, being a new author in this finicky market is tough. You take the time to write from your heart; develop characterization and a storyline into your crafted masterpiece, and then you gain confidence in your work and fall in love with your stories, but reality hit you and realized they may not be ready for the public.

And that’s why two out of the five stories are going to market as individual short stories—The Shattered Mogul and Zion’s Road. This was something I’ve should’ve done from the beginning. Instead, I thought at the time creating a short story collection would be beneficial for myself as well as the readers. What better way of putting a theme of love, faith, and forgiveness in one novella. It's being done all the time, so why not do it?

The problem with the other three stories—actually two, because I have plans for the story, Seven Months—they lacked a special kind of oomph. The characters were strong, but the plot wasn’t.

So this summer my blog will have an exclusive with these two stories as features of the month—Daniella’s Story and The Mission. I’ll post the synopsis at a later date. What I can tell you these stories have a common thread of inspiration and hope. And of course, my unpredictable literary brand is shown through these narratives. What they are? You will soon find out.

My Imani’s “How-to” Moment—any attempt you take toward your dream and it don’t fall through is not considered as failure. There are twenty-six letters in the alphabet. Go through each one as a plan of action by taking the necessary improvements to perfect your craft. Take a different route than you previously hadn’t thought of taking. All in all, it’s your dream, do all you can do to protect it. 

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The New You Series: The Perfect Lie

It was ten minutes until six a.m., and I sat on the side of my bed shaking off any lingering sleep. I glanced to the sheer curtains as the dimmed violet sky was greeting to a new day. My body felt as though as it wanted to curl back beneath the covers. So I forced myself to perform a series of stretches, changed into my workout attire, and left for my run.

Minutes from my house was the getaway I grew accustomed for two years. The spacious trail is enough for people from any walks of life to enjoy the same benefits of clean air, great scene, and a chance to run/walk/bike ride to a new body. And since the day start out with virtually an empty trail, I move with the wind—lightly treading for the first five minutes and then escalating to a good sprint. The light traffic hadn’t broken my focus, it only helped with an inner peace to do a couple of my favorite things—pray and meditate.

As I run, I thank the Lord for giving me a second chance to become the Imani I should’ve been a long time. The kind of woman that realizes beauty is a mere superficial façade that changes over time and perfection is a falsehood of the mind. Bruce Lee said it best—showing it off is a fool’s idea of glory. Being perfect does not surmount your true purpose of life, because when you least expect it, the unrealistic surface you hold dear will leave you.

I also give thanks for being placed in a situation to learn humility and patience. Not only I allowed the lies of superficiality to drive me to the point of depression and gain a ton of weight, but living a life when putting myself first became last. The tireless effort I’ve put into assisting people who weren’t able to take care of themselves has been a life lesson itself. The numerous times I complained about life, I should’ve got on my knees and thanked Him quietly for working me. His creation became the result of what I am today—a woman that uses her inner strength toward her advantage.

Me, Before

I then added another thanks. It’s something I’m truly grateful to which I’m still blessed to have—my legs. When I lived a life of obesity, I suffered a great deal with painful limbs. From my hips to the tip of my toes throbbed to the point I didn’t want to get out of bed. And standing at five feet two, it made walking unbearable. Ultimately, I took the initiative to do something about it but I needed to appreciate a lifestyle change based on mental as well as physical transformation. And though it wasn’t easy, I achieved to what I thought was an impossible feat.

I may have made it through the storms but there’s still an occasional rain shower. Every morning into the night, I wrestle with lingering demons of my past as self-doubts would tap my shoulder. So my daily run is more than physical. It’s an inner workout to shed the mental weight. When some people start a weight loss program, they tend to forget their mind and soul are just as important. A person cannot open a new door until they’ve closed the one from their past. Essentially, you can lose all weight you want while ignoring that unfinished business, but I guarantee your successful weight loss could potentially come back. I know this, believe me!

Meanwhile as I ended another three or four mile journey, I walked back to my truck recollecting the new ideas I developed for my projects. That pathway I set out every morning is an access leading to many stories I’ve written as well as major business decisions concerning Pink Noire. So what I do at the crack of dawn is just another part of my business day. My mission is not superficial—it’s a regeneration of what’s to come.

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