The 5 P’s of a Successful Brown Girl

Hey MRG’s,

I think it’s safe to say that of all the things we want out of life (whether big or small) we all mostly just want one thing out of life and ironically Drake said it best to simply express out feelings in one sentence:

— in a nutshell no matter whatever walk of life… to sum up our wants in life this is all we want- TO BE SUCCESSFUL!
I know that I did. I knew that I wanted a successful career, to have my own and to be a fearless girl at doing it…whatever IT was!! I was simply fueled with the drive that I had to make it happen because I had watched “Mama Rose” my whole life be a total queen at being a master at so many things- from being a single mother, career woman, and STILL managed to fit in her passion of being a cosmetologist! That woman is a beast! And she instilled in me, whether she knows it or not, the mindset to be a go getter and take life and success by both hands and go full speed ahead!

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL?

There are certain pillars we all need as brown girls to just be a total ‘BAWSE’ in life. I sat and thought about the things that made me into the woman who I am today based off the lessons I silently learned from my mother. Instantly I thought of this post I read a while back 5 P’s of a Successful Life and instantly thought of applying that to a brown girl… First, because there is not another type of female like us PERIOD! We can’t be duplicated. Second, because we are wired to be different- we have to work twice as hard, be efficient, all while giving off a little taste of our magic in the process!

So I tweaked that list just for us…

1. Plan– HAVE A GOAL IN MIND!! Never let anyone convince you that you that a plan for your life is not necessary. Your plan is your intention and set of actions that will aid in achieving your goal. A plan includes some idea for what you want to do in your life whether it be a job, college, pursuing a hobby- at least let it be something. Going through life aimless is NOT the business child! Take the time to discover in your life careers of interest, something you are passionate about and would like to pursue and then…. Go After It! Don’t sit still waiting for life to happen for you, because in a matter of years you will look up and realize they have passed without you accomplishing a thing.

Be motivated by your plan.
Take the necessary training, whether a trade or college.
Stay focused.
Make sure it is something that you love- you don’t want to be driven after a goal for something that you hate doing and feel like you’re wasting time.

2. Personality– stay with me here! Once you go through life you will learn that something that will set you apart from the rest is going to be your infectious personality. It will be a combination of your smile, spunk, humility, your drive, your will to succeed, work ethic, and being a go getter! Cultivate these qualities and your success will begin to speak for itself where you will begin to stand out amongst your peers.

For me it’s how I was able to sell myself into the Sales & Marketing career I am in now. Literally, I went into my interview for my job with my game face on! I gave them the “Bizness” of my personality and what I had to offer!! I gave them my bright personality, southern charm, and sold them on my abilities! Because when you got IT hunny, they have not choice but to get it!! Less than 24 hours later I got that call and one of the first things the HR Recruiter told me was– everyone loved you and thought you fit the best of what this job requires.. (I truthfully had a Monica McCall from Love and Basketball moment of silently saying yes and jumping in my apartment.)

3. Persistence– the will to never give up is strictly in our DNA! We come from a long line of fighters and driven women that wanted to be success in their own right based off their humble beginnings! If you watched ‘Black Girls Rock 2017’ the story of Suzanne Shank was most inspiring.. From humble beginnings in Georgia, to taking a road less traveled for women in Engineering, to successful career in the military, and utilizing the tools she learned to become the cofounder of a trillion-dollar firm on Wall Street! Not bad for some black girl magic huh?? Mama Rose always said:

It’s not about where you come from, but all about where you are going.

Have the mind-set that you will do whatever it takes to see yourself through to success- no matter what hills, bumps, curves, and halts come your way.

4. Perseverance– in addition to persistence you are going to need this P on more days than you may want to count! Because believe you me there will be those days when someone is going to test you “hood side” and tap on a little too strongly to try to deter you from success. There will be that one person who just can’t measure up to your “it” factor so they will try to cramp your style or find ways to make you look bad. Then there are the times when it just seems that no matter what, nothing is going your way to the point of giving up. Yet, perseverance is that little person on your shoulder that says the right things to keep you going, to push through when you think the success is impossible. It’s going to require you seeing, hearing, and experiencing many things that will make you question ‘what are you doing this for??’, but trust yourself that success comes with obstacles and you have what it takes to see success through to the finish line.

5. Prayer. Last, but absolutely not least- this is the P that means the most to your success! Praying to God to help you make it through the day, guide your paths, build you up when you are weak, treasure the gifts that you have, and just sustain you in life! Spirituality is key and in our nature to thank God for our successes, but to also keep you on the course. Many nights will require just praying for the strength to make it another day to see your dreams achieved. The power of PRAYER is an integral part of a brown girl’s success!
Success is the goal. No matter how you have to get there remember the most important part is to get there!!! Utilize these 5 P’s and cultivate your plan, have one bomb personality, persist and persevere to the end, and by all means pray for the success that you want.

Because…