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How to find your why and achieve your PR goals

How to find your why and achieve your PR goals

Last week we talked about the fact that despite what we’re commonly told, simply setting your goals or having a clear vision for what you want for 2024 isn’t enough to keep you on track

Remember that,? If not, will you check that post out here?

Which is why as you set your goals or create that vision board, it's important to consider the why behind every goal

Not sure how?

The 5 WHYS Technique is one of my favourite journaling prompts because it has helped me and my clients stay consistent and accountable with achieving our goals - even when motivation runs a little dry

So, whether you want to start or grow your business, get PR success, or travel the world - the 5 WHYS technique can help you identify the core reason behind your aspirations. What’s great is that it’s super simple. Just grab a pen and notebook and ask yourself why you want to achieve a particular goal. Ask yourself this question 5 times to get to the core why.

Here's an example of how that works in practice...

Why using your voice is the key to unlocking your next level

Why using your voice is the key to unlocking your next level

How many times have you shrunk or downplayed your personality? And how many times did you think doing this would help you advance in the business world? One of my earliest memories of being told I was being “too much” was the feedback I’d get on my school report cards. They often read, “Nina is great, but she talks too much.” Well, all I can say is look at me now (lol). I literally get paid to speak and coach other women to use their voices to pitch the media and tell their stories. 

But I’m not the only woman who’s turned her “too much” into her superpower. I recently asked my IG community what they got in trouble for when they were younger and how they’ve turned that into their superpower as adults and businesswomen. Here are some of their responses:

What Tetris taught me about PR Success

What Tetris taught me about PR Success

One of the things that I like to do to de-stress is play Tetris.

For ages my high score was in the high 6000s and I spent ages trying to beat it until one day I stopped and just went back to playing for pleasure.

A few days ago, I opened up the game to play it again and had to laugh. My new high score was 7032 and I had absolutely no idea when I'd done it!

How to network for PR success

How to network for PR success

Recently I wrote about what attending Tiwa King’s first in person event since the "panoramic" taught me about how to do purpose-driven PR

You can read that here if you missed it, sis

Here's the thing, though, when I first started going to networking events by myself, it used to make me so nervous and fill me with so much anxiety- mostly because I had no idea how to break the ice so that I could form connections with the other attendees.

Can you relate?

Well, although going to networking events on your own can be daunting, your network really is your net worth.

In other words, to have a profitable business you must learn how to build and leverage profitable business relationships.

Here are 5 tips to help you do this through live events:

How to overcome fear of success with visibility

How to overcome fear of success with visibility

We often hear the phrase "shattering the glass ceiling" in terms of the invisible barrier that stops women achieving their goals and progressing towards top positions in both the work and business sector. But what about the internal glass ceilings that we impose on ourselves? The limiting beliefs systems rooted in culture that have been passed down to us from generation to generation and now threaten to hold us back if we do not unlearn them?

Well, I recently wrote an article for Black Ballad, called "Are These Toxic Cultural Beliefs Holding You Back In Your Life & Business?" that explores 5 common toxic cultural beliefs and how we can overcome them according to a cognitive behaviour therapist (Amanda Bakare) who I interviewed along with 4 other black business women to get a greater depth of perspective and expertise.

One of the toxic cultural beliefs that I mention in this article is the fear that friends will become enemies and, as Michelle Shaw (event planner and stylist) put it, “put their mouth on you,” if we share our ambitions and successes publicly. This is something that is definitely a factor as we start to manifest our PR goals and become more visible. If this is something that has been stopping you from putting yourself out there (more or at all), I want to share this excerpt from the article

2 steps to shattering self-imposed glass ceilings

2 steps to shattering self-imposed glass ceilings

We've been doing a lot of talking about purpose recently

Including why purpose is important to your PR strategy and how to do purpose-driven PR.

The reason for this is because when I reflect on the nativity story, particularly from Mary's point of view, that's the overarching theme that jumps out to me about this season

Here's why:

In giving her the gift of Jesus, God took an average little girl and gave her the opportunity to present herself in a new light by lifting the lid of her potential; endowing her with His power and giving her purpose.

But, most of all, God gave her something special to share with the rest of the world- an expression of His love.

To me, this shows us as modern women that we are also pregnant with purpose- meaning that we have something to give and contribute to the world too

However, as a person who sits at the intersection of many identities, I know how hard this can be to believe at times (if not all the time)

You are literally presented with messages built from systems that contradict and try to convince you otherwise every single day but...

Guess what?

Your ability to speak up, step out and shine as the woman that God created you to be is tied to coming out of agreement with society and accepting your divine status as "blessed among women" (Luke 1:28)

Yes you!

Simply put, you can't be a thought leader if you don't actually believe that you have ideas worth sharing...

You can't make impact if you don't believe that you have the power to...

You won't use your voice if you don't believe that it's significant...

You can't be visible if you don't feel that who and what you represent matters...

Because it's impossible to shatter glass ceilings that you continue to uphold

Ready to break them down?

Here's what you must do instead

How to scale with PR

How to scale with PR

What's a movie that you've seen over and over again but never get bored of?

Honestly, I've got quite a few including anything Disney, anything Marvel, most musicals and Forest Gump (among others).

Forest Gump is one of those movies that has so many quotes and titbits that have now made it into mainstream culture; so it's clearly not just me who loves it

Be it real life Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurants, my favourite meme for saying hello or quotes such as "Run, Forest, run!" and "Life is like a box of chocolates," there's no denying it's impact

The issue with the idea of life being like a box of chocolates, though, is that the analogy is no longer true.

Once upon a time, you'd never know what kind of chocolate you were going to get until you took a bite out of it. These days, boxes of chocolate come with menus so you can literally pick and choose exactly what you want- which is nothing like life at all!

So, allow me to suggest another analogy that came to me a few years ago: "Life is like long multiplication". Not as sexy, I know, but hear me out…

How to Get Started with PR

How to Get Started with PR

I'm the sort of person that can't eat breakfast, lunch or dinner until I have settled on something good to watch while eating...to the point that I could be starving at times; yet not be able to put a morsel of food in my mouth until I've settled on something to entertain me. To me, if I'm not eating socially, the programme that I watch is just as much a part of the culinary experience as the food. It's the foundation, if you will.

PR has foundations too. In fact, one of the questions that I am asked most frequently by potential clients is "What do I need to get started with PR?" In other words, they want to know the foundational things that they need to have in place before they embark on their PR journey. If this is something that you've also been wondering, here's the tea. You need these 4 things: