Today's RWISA author spotlight belongs to Linda Mims. Here is some great advice by Linda. Enjoy! :-)
You Take the Blue Pill, the Story Ends. You
Take the Red Pill …
By Linda Mims
I
was sixteen when I first suspected that I might be the one. I’d seen people in my family striving for excellence all
my life. My parents’ friends were creative types who often took time to quiz me
about my goals and what I was doing to achieve them. I had been persistently
pleading with a leader at my church who had the power to make one of my goals a
reality.
This
woman headed the Womens’ Ministry. Everything from church announcements to
annual celebrations fell under her domain. I wanted to be the youth announcer
on the weekly, hour-long radio broadcast that emanated from our church, but she
was speaking a language that I didn’t understand.
“Take some speech
lessons and come back to me.”
Where in the world was I going to get speech
lessons and how would I pay for them? My family knew some people, and the house
did overflow from Friday to Sunday with weekend guests, but that didn’t mean we
had money. A party costs maybe $25 back then—especially if everybody brought
food and drinks.
Bottom
line, we didn’t have money for speech lessons. Still, I wasn’t going to give
up. I was a spiritual youngster, even before I knew what spiritual meant. I
told the Lord what I wanted and then forgot about it. While I was waiting,
strange, but wonderful things were happening to me. I was voted vice president
of my choir and I was chosen to deliver the Youth Day Address. Go figure!
One
Friday evening, my mother received a phone call. The church maven and her
assistant had gone on strike. I was too young to understand everything a strike
entailed. I just knew that I was being asked to fill in as the main radio
announcer for the broadcast; the very thing I’d wanted in the first place. That broadcast went out to hundreds, maybe
thousands in the Chicago listening area.
When
she returned from her strike, Ms. Maven kept me on as a junior announcer and
she became one of my most revered mentors. That was the year I discovered that
I was tight with God. I could get a prayer through! Was I the one?
I’m every woman. It’s all in me.
While
in college a few years later, I watched a bold, beautiful young woman, with a
voice as big as a brass saxophone, sing on a makeshift stage. It was an
impromptu concert behind one of the lecture halls on my university campus. The
day was balmy and the sun was bright. We shaded our eyes as we stared straight
into the golden orb that bathed her in its light.
She
looked like a woman and a child at the same time. She wore very few clothes.
Just a band around her breasts, a pair of short shorts, ankle boots, and a tall
feather stuck in the crown of one of the biggest afros I’d ever seen.
We were fascinated, and her voice held us
captivated. After the performance, members of the group handed out bills that
said their name was Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan. They would be performing at a
local club that night.
We
showed up to the club, but a multi-ethnic crowd had filled the place to
capacity. You don’t need to ask for racial diversity once everybody realizes
you have something we all desire. Anyway, we couldn’t get in. That day would be
the first and only time I’d hear Chaka Khan sing for free. At the time, I
wondered if she was also the one!
In
1978, Chaka Khan recorded her first solo album, Chaka. One song from that album
would define the rest of my life. In it, she sang my truth! I’d always felt
that I could do anything, but it wasn’t until Ms. Khan sang the words, that I
knew how to describe what I’d always known.
“I’m every woman. It’s
all in me. Anything you want done, baby, I do it naturally. I ain’t bragging,
but I’m the one. Just ask me and it shall be done.”
I had a theme song!
You may not know the purpose, but know that there is a purpose.
In The
Matrix, one of my favorite movies of all time, there’s the scene where
Morpheus gives Neo a choice between the red pill or the blue pill. Neo has been
searching for information about the matrix. Morpheus has to convince Neo that
he isn’t looking for the matrix, but what he’s really looking for is more.
Morpheus believes that once Neo has answers to his questions, he will come to
accept what Morpheus already knows. Neo is the
one.
Being
the one is about knowing that you
want more. You want to change things. You may not know what your ultimate
purpose is, but you know that there is a purpose. You’re so absolutely
self-motivated and focused, that God himself delights in your purpose. I told
you I’ve always been spiritual, so, I’ll say that I believe when God and the
universe delight in your purpose, there’s no stopping you.
The
Matrix is fiction, so let’s take a look at real-life people who wanted
more. One such person was the late author, Janet Dailey. A prolific writer,
Dailey thought she could write better than most of the romance writers she was
reading. She knew she was the one.
When people referred to her as “just a secretary” who writes romance novels,
Dailey said the following, and I quote:
“One of the things that to me is the biggest
compliment any writer can get is hearing from the ones who say, ‘I used to
think reading was boring until I picked up one of your books.’ ”
Between
1974 and 2007, Janet Dailey sold over 300 million copies of more than 100
titles. Not bad for “just a secretary”.
Then,
there was Steve Jobs. Steve dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon
after six months, but he stayed there and audited creative classes over the
next 18 months. A course in calligraphy developed his love of typography. Apple
and Macintosh computers would be the first to offer creative fonts, including
calligraphy, for the consumer’s use.
Steve
Jobs partnered with his friend, Steve Wozniak, to start Apple Computer, in the
Jobs’ family garage. Steve Jobs said, “I want to put a ding in the universe.”
I guess he knew that he was the one!
Being the one comes with
certain responsibilities.
Many
of you have already realized that you are the
one; you just haven’t taken the red pill yet. When you're ready, there are
some responsibilities:
1.
Toot your own horn
First,
toot your own horn! You can't be afraid of appearing to be too much of a
showoff. Waiting patiently for others to give you the rewards you so richly
deserve, may yield nothing but hurt and disappointment. Individuals will slink
away with your destiny in their greedy little hands without so much as a
backwards glance for you.
A
few times, I spoke too quietly in meetings or waited until it was too late to
claim my own ideas that I’d shared with others in private. I watched, stunned,
as another, bolder individual stole my idea, shouted it out, and received my
praise. I had to wise up quickly and realize that there are differences in the
way that leaders and achievers talk and present. First, leaders declare that
they have something to say. Then, when everyone is focused, they speak. They
make sure their ideas are credited.
Don’t give up; opportunity does knock more than once.
I’ve
learned that opportunity knocks more than once. Heck, when you're the one, you create opportunities. When
one door closes, another door really does open. If you weren’t ready the first
time, the truth is, you can keep reinventing yourself until your moment comes
or until you’re tired of trying.
“Sometimes life is going
to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith.” —Steve Jobs
Throw
away that false humility! It’s okay to hang back while you formulate your plan.
Go ahead! Get the lay of the land. If you are confident in the knowledge that
you can do anything, take as much time as you need. Just don’t overdo humble.
That’s almost as bad as having too much pride.
It’s
permissible to show pride in yourself and your accomplishments. The 21st Century
is begging for your stories, calling for your experiences, and expecting you to
step up and lead, in every way imaginable. Women like Oprah Winfrey—women like
Taylor Swift—they are leading change with their out-of-the-box ideas and
sweeping changes to the status quo.
Men
like Barack Obama are stepping out of obscurity and into the Senate and the
office of the President of the United States. Have the audacity to dream! Wear
your mantle of distinction with pride. Step-up, speak-out! You are the one!
You Take the Blue Pill, the Story Ends. You
Take the Red Pill …
By Linda Mims
I
was sixteen when I first suspected that I might be the one. I’d seen people in my family striving for excellence all
my life. My parents’ friends were creative types who often took time to quiz me
about my goals and what I was doing to achieve them. I had been persistently
pleading with a leader at my church who had the power to make one of my goals a
reality.
This
woman headed the Womens’ Ministry. Everything from church announcements to
annual celebrations fell under her domain. I wanted to be the youth announcer
on the weekly, hour-long radio broadcast that emanated from our church, but she
was speaking a language that I didn’t understand.
“Take some speech
lessons and come back to me.”
Where in the world was I going to get speech
lessons and how would I pay for them? My family knew some people, and the house
did overflow from Friday to Sunday with weekend guests, but that didn’t mean we
had money. A party costs maybe $25 back then—especially if everybody brought
food and drinks.
Bottom
line, we didn’t have money for speech lessons. Still, I wasn’t going to give
up. I was a spiritual youngster, even before I knew what spiritual meant. I
told the Lord what I wanted and then forgot about it. While I was waiting,
strange, but wonderful things were happening to me. I was voted vice president
of my choir and I was chosen to deliver the Youth Day Address. Go figure!
One
Friday evening, my mother received a phone call. The church maven and her
assistant had gone on strike. I was too young to understand everything a strike
entailed. I just knew that I was being asked to fill in as the main radio
announcer for the broadcast; the very thing I’d wanted in the first place. That broadcast went out to hundreds, maybe
thousands in the Chicago listening area.
When
she returned from her strike, Ms. Maven kept me on as a junior announcer and
she became one of my most revered mentors. That was the year I discovered that
I was tight with God. I could get a prayer through! Was I the one?
I’m every woman. It’s all in me.
While
in college a few years later, I watched a bold, beautiful young woman, with a
voice as big as a brass saxophone, sing on a makeshift stage. It was an
impromptu concert behind one of the lecture halls on my university campus. The
day was balmy and the sun was bright. We shaded our eyes as we stared straight
into the golden orb that bathed her in its light.
She
looked like a woman and a child at the same time. She wore very few clothes.
Just a band around her breasts, a pair of short shorts, ankle boots, and a tall
feather stuck in the crown of one of the biggest afros I’d ever seen.
We were fascinated, and her voice held us
captivated. After the performance, members of the group handed out bills that
said their name was Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan. They would be performing at a
local club that night.
We
showed up to the club, but a multi-ethnic crowd had filled the place to
capacity. You don’t need to ask for racial diversity once everybody realizes
you have something we all desire. Anyway, we couldn’t get in. That day would be
the first and only time I’d hear Chaka Khan sing for free. At the time, I
wondered if she was also the one!
In
1978, Chaka Khan recorded her first solo album, Chaka. One song from that album
would define the rest of my life. In it, she sang my truth! I’d always felt
that I could do anything, but it wasn’t until Ms. Khan sang the words, that I
knew how to describe what I’d always known.
“I’m every woman. It’s
all in me. Anything you want done, baby, I do it naturally. I ain’t bragging,
but I’m the one. Just ask me and it shall be done.”
I had a theme song!
You may not know the purpose, but know that there is a purpose.
In The
Matrix, one of my favorite movies of all time, there’s the scene where
Morpheus gives Neo a choice between the red pill or the blue pill. Neo has been
searching for information about the matrix. Morpheus has to convince Neo that
he isn’t looking for the matrix, but what he’s really looking for is more.
Morpheus believes that once Neo has answers to his questions, he will come to
accept what Morpheus already knows. Neo is the
one.
Being
the one is about knowing that you
want more. You want to change things. You may not know what your ultimate
purpose is, but you know that there is a purpose. You’re so absolutely
self-motivated and focused, that God himself delights in your purpose. I told
you I’ve always been spiritual, so, I’ll say that I believe when God and the
universe delight in your purpose, there’s no stopping you.
The
Matrix is fiction, so let’s take a look at real-life people who wanted
more. One such person was the late author, Janet Dailey. A prolific writer,
Dailey thought she could write better than most of the romance writers she was
reading. She knew she was the one.
When people referred to her as “just a secretary” who writes romance novels,
Dailey said the following, and I quote:
“One of the things that to me is the biggest
compliment any writer can get is hearing from the ones who say, ‘I used to
think reading was boring until I picked up one of your books.’ ”
Between
1974 and 2007, Janet Dailey sold over 300 million copies of more than 100
titles. Not bad for “just a secretary”.
Then,
there was Steve Jobs. Steve dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon
after six months, but he stayed there and audited creative classes over the
next 18 months. A course in calligraphy developed his love of typography. Apple
and Macintosh computers would be the first to offer creative fonts, including
calligraphy, for the consumer’s use.
Steve
Jobs partnered with his friend, Steve Wozniak, to start Apple Computer, in the
Jobs’ family garage. Steve Jobs said, “I want to put a ding in the universe.”
I guess he knew that he was the one!
Being the one comes with
certain responsibilities.
Many
of you have already realized that you are the
one; you just haven’t taken the red pill yet. When you're ready, there are
some responsibilities:
1.
Toot your own horn
2.
Don’t give up
3.
Throw away false humility
First,
toot your own horn! You can't be afraid of appearing to be too much of a
showoff. Waiting patiently for others to give you the rewards you so richly
deserve, may yield nothing but hurt and disappointment. Individuals will slink
away with your destiny in their greedy little hands without so much as a
backwards glance for you.
A
few times, I spoke too quietly in meetings or waited until it was too late to
claim my own ideas that I’d shared with others in private. I watched, stunned,
as another, bolder individual stole my idea, shouted it out, and received my
praise. I had to wise up quickly and realize that there are differences in the
way that leaders and achievers talk and present. First, leaders declare that
they have something to say. Then, when everyone is focused, they speak. They
make sure their ideas are credited.
Don’t give up; opportunity does knock more than once.
I’ve
learned that opportunity knocks more than once. Heck, when you're the one, you create opportunities. When
one door closes, another door really does open. If you weren’t ready the first
time, the truth is, you can keep reinventing yourself until your moment comes
or until you’re tired of trying.
“Sometimes life is going
to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith.” —Steve Jobs
Throw
away that false humility! It’s okay to hang back while you formulate your plan.
Go ahead! Get the lay of the land. If you are confident in the knowledge that
you can do anything, take as much time as you need. Just don’t overdo humble.
That’s almost as bad as having too much pride.
It’s
permissible to show pride in yourself and your accomplishments. The 21st Century
is begging for your stories, calling for your experiences, and expecting you to
step up and lead, in every way imaginable. Women like Oprah Winfrey—women like
Taylor Swift—they are leading change with their out-of-the-box ideas and
sweeping changes to the status quo.
Men
like Barack Obama are stepping out of obscurity and into the Senate and the
office of the President of the United States. Have the audacity to dream! Wear
your mantle of distinction with pride. Step-up, speak-out! You are the one!
Thank you for supporting this member along the WATCH "RWISA" WRITE Showcase Tour today! We ask that if you have enjoyed this member's writing, then please visit her Author Page on the RWISA site, where you can find more of her writing, along with her contact and social media links, if she's turned you into a fan. We ask that you also check out her books in the RWISA or RRBC catalogs. Thanks, again for your support and we hope that you will follow each member along this amazing tour of talent! Don't forget to click the link below to learn more about this author:
Thank you for hosting me, Yvette!
ReplyDeleteIt was my pleasure! :-)
DeleteVery inspiring post! Thank you Linda! And thanks, Yvette for hosting. :D xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, Vashti! :-)
DeleteGreat readiing your blog post
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting! I'm happy you enjoyed this post. :-)
Delete