Lessons from Jesus' Donkey on How to Overcome Insecurity and Get Visible

Lessons from Jesus' Donkey on How to Overcome Insecurity and Get Visible

If you’re looking for some quarantine viewing, sis, I would really recommend “20 Feet from Stardom” on Netflix

On the surface, it seems like a documentary on the music industry from the vantage point of (legendary) background singers. But, on a deeper level, it’s a really inspiring ensemble piece on grit, purpose and overcoming adversity.

One of my favourite quotes in the programme came from Dr. Mable John (former background singer to Ray Charles as part of The Raelettes):

“We as women need to know our worth. We need to know as women we’re important and I think the breakdown is when a woman doesn’t know who she is, and she settles for less. Check out your worth because you’re worth more than that”

A prime example of how we can carry out this awesome advice in our own lives is demonstrated really clearly in Matthew 21, which tells the story of the origins of Palm Sunday (today)

For example…

Lessons from God on why it takes a village to run a successful business

Lessons from God on why it takes a village to run a successful business

It is my belief that creation often reflects the Creator, sis

In other words, we can learn more and more about God the more that we study the Earth and it’s contents.

With it being Mother’s Day in the UK today, I’ve been reflecting on motherhood

A few years ago I did a blog post on the scriptures that describe God as mother rather than Father, as we’re used to.

For example, in Deuteronomy 32:18, God describes Himself as the God “who begot” or gave birth to us

Feel free to check out some other examples here and here.

We, as women, are able to reflect this aspect of God on both a spiritual and physical plane

For example-

Lessons from Sarah on How to Keep from Giving Up

Lessons from Sarah on How to Keep from Giving Up

One of the biggest lessons that we learned from the last few weeks of studying Ruth is that there are life and business goals that don’t happen without other people’s say so

For example, when it comes to PR, you can’t get featured unless someone accepts your proposal or pitch- just as Boaz did for Ruth all those years ago.

The issue is that sometimes the road to achieving your goals and dreams is by no means easy or linear

To the point that we can feel like our efforts are futile

But how can we keep from giving up when the going gets tough?

Well, there are 2 main steps which we see really clearly outlined in the events of Sarah’s life- as detailed in the video below.

SOUND GOOD LOVELY?

Great! Do whatever it is that you need to do to get comfortable so you can watch and enjoy the video below.

Lessons from Ruth on How to Find a Mentor

Lessons from Ruth on How to Find a Mentor

One of the things that I have mentioned quite a bit, in these last few weeks of studying Ruth, is that Ruth went from working in Boaz’ fields to owning them with him as his wife

She accomplished this feat through many different means and methods such as:

But, if you study the story properly, it becomes very apparent that the thing that really helped Ruth succeed was the mentoring that she received

Namely from Naomi (her mother-in-law)

This shows us, as modern women, how important it is that we seek mentorship too

Not sure how, sis?

We can take a leaf out of Ruth’s book in the following ways:

Lessons from Ruth on How to Craft a Media Pitch

Lessons from Ruth on How to Craft a Media Pitch

In my previous blog post, I gave 4 steps to networking vertically (with the gatekeepers of your industry)

These were:

  1. Start from where you stand

  2. Network across

  3. Network up

  4. Pitch

All of which are demonstrated clearly through the life of Ruth

For example, Ruth could not have gone from working in Boaz’ fields to owning them with him as his wife without him accepting her proposal. Click here if you missed that, sis!

As such we, as modern women, will have to take a leaf out of Ruth’s book if we want to achieve our goals- especially if they include increasing the visibility of your brand and business by pitching the media

A great place to start is mastering guest posting by becoming a guest author, blogger or contributor on another person’s platform.

Having now been featured in over 40 platforms, including Thrive Global, HuffPost, Bustle and the TEDx blog, you can read my tips for getting started with guest posting based on my experience via my most recent article in The Creative Penn

Lessons from Ruth on How to Network Vertically

Lessons from Ruth on How to Network Vertically

In my previous blog post, we discussed the 3 lessons that Ruth gives us about networking horizontally

Or, in the words of Issa Rae, “networking across” with your peers. Click here if you missed that, sis!

But here’s why I stated that networking up also has it’s place:

Whereas networking across allows you to kick start and actualise your dreams without the affirmation or approval of the powers that be within your industry, there are some seats at the table that you have to be invited to rather than create yourself.

For example, Ruth could not have gone from working in Boaz’ fields to owning them with him as his wife without him accepting her proposal (yes, you read that right! See Ruth 3 and 4). Likewise-

There are life and business goals that don’t happen without other people’s say so

For example, my godsister recently applied to start university this September. Without them accepting her, though, she couldn’t just show up to class and demand a degree! A friend of mine wants to start a charity but she has to go through the proper channels and authorities to get it registered. Likewise, when it comes to PR, you can’t get featured unless someone accepts your proposal or pitch- just as Boaz did for Ruth all those years ago.

So, how do we go about getting in front of these gatekeepers?

Well, to summarise what has already been alluded to, you must:

Lessons from Ruth on How to Network Horizontally

Lessons from Ruth on How to Network Horizontally

As I recently shared via Facebook and Instagram:

One of the common misconceptions about networking is that we should be approaching the top dogs or celebrities of our industry so that they can put us on

That being the case, no wonder so many people find it intimidating!

To quote Issa Rae, though, it's not about "networking up" (although I do believe this has its place). It's about looking at "who's next to you" and "networking across".

In other words, it’s about networking horizontally or with your peers.

Upon exploring Ruth’s life, we see that she is the perfect illustration of this very concept

For example…

Lessons from Ruth on how to keep showing up (even when you don't feel like it)

Lessons from Ruth on how to keep showing up (even when you don't feel like it)

A few weeks ago, I made mention of the fact that Ruth could have followed Naomi (her mother-in-law) to Bethlehem and chosen to do nothing but wallow in the house

Because, let’s face it, she had every excuse to- having lost her father and brother-in-law and become a widow herself. But she didn’t.

Instead of checking out of life, like Naomi did initially, Ruth decided that she would keep going and keep pushing forward for them both

Which, unless you missed my last 2 blog posts (here and here), you’ll know that Ruth’s decision to go work in the fields led to her marrying Boaz. birthing children and becoming one of Jesus' fore-mothers (Ruth 4:13-22; Matthew 1:1-16).

Which then begs the question: how do we as modern women keep showing up even when we don’t want to?

Especially when life happens, PMS happens or (from a business point of view) tech/staff issues happen- meaning that you don't always feel physically, mentally and/or emotionally able to put yourself out there and remain visible.