Miss T Says...

"We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think.

- Swami Vivekananda

Hi SoulJourners!

It has been a long time since we spoke. Please accept my apologies. The different activities demanding my attention extended themselves further than the time I have. Things have been mad crazy since my return from the states. I have been trying to unpack, wash my holiday clothes (which is real difficult without a washing machine of my own) and get ready for my return to work, which included ensuring my uniform still fits, signing new contracts, attending meetings, and the list goes on. 

Time goes by so quickly!

I do not intend to drag out this holiday lark longer than it needs to be. I do however want to share one last post about one of the women I met whilst abroad. To protect her identity, I'll call her Miss T. Miss T's  personality has left a firm imprint on my memory because I found her to be an open box of contradictions. 

Miss T be open like my boxes

I call her open because from the very first meeting Miss T opened the door to her life and told us to step right in. She offered intimate details of herself that I would have thought only her nearest and dearest would be privy to. From the get go we were invited to her home, she wanted to do business with us, she wanted to hang out, she wanted to visit us in London, she wanted to follow me on Insta...and so on. 

I speak of her contradictions, because whilst she lives a life that the super conservative christian might frown upon, she insists she is a child of God; her world is fast paced, yet ,"I love being the mother figure to the young person who needs a mother", she declared. I found her company both grinding and fascinating. I was fed up but still wanted to hear her speak...and speak is one thing she was good at! 

Amidst all of Miss T's talking however, I came to realise that all her speech was an accumulation of her life experiences. And as I reflect, I must admit that she actually had some precious jewels of wisdom that one could embellish one's life with, making it glisten with success. Now I can't remember everything she said, but I will share with you what I remember. 

1. Sell Yourself

You see my smile?
Let the best bits of you shine 

I don't think Miss T was referring to standing on a street corner here, or being full of yourself. But I do remember her saying that by the age of 19 she was a store manager, with employees old enough to be her mother working underneath her. She attributed this success to the fact that at her interview, she spoke very highly of herself to the point of almost bragging. She was unapologetic about raving about her skills (there might have been some embellishment in there too! Ssssh!) and refused for any past mistakes to define her. 

2. Step Out in Faith 
There may come to a point in life where you may think "enough with all the strategising, calculating, turning it over and under, and going around and around. Now I am just going to do it". Which is the same point Miss T arrived at only two months ago. Prior to April 2015, Miss T had a secure job as a paralegal at a law firm with a steady income. This was until she decided to step out. She gave up her job, put her house up for rent and moved to Las Vegas to start again.  Please do NOT misunderstand me. I am not advocating reckless behaviour. However when you are in a position in life that you are persistently unhappy with, and have a sensible and realistic plan to get you  to the place you'd rather be, and have prayed or meditated  and are at peace with your plan, you should by all means step out in faith. You may initially feel like a fish out of water but I strongly believe that if you constantly talk to God, stand firm in the belief of your success, and continue to take strategic steps, it will eventually pay off. 

This was the very painting hanging up in Miss T's hallway. 

3. You Will Never Get Rich Working for Someone Else

I can't say I have had enough work/business experience to be able to endorse this one fully. But I guess what Miss T meant by this remark is that your employer will always make decisions that will benefits his/her business. And these decisions includes your take home pay! Furthermore, working for yourself will drive you to be successful because if things turn for the worse, simply switching jobs will not be an option. I think this is what might have pushed Miss T. to quit her safe job as a paralegal in Ohio in order to start her own collection agency in Nevada,

. 

4.You Will Fail if You Venture into a Business You Know Nothing About

"Why open a restaurant, if you know nothing about cooking? Or about service?" Miss T exclaims one night whilst driving us back to our hotel. I think I totally agree with this. Miss T insists she is certain her collection agency will succeed after years of working with lawyers who specialised in claiming back unpaid loans for large corporations. If I am honest with you, I would apply this school of thought to most things in life, from business to blogging. I would like to add in my two cents and say if you are looking to venture into something new it would be advisable to get some work experience, attend workshops or to do some volunteering first. 

5. Always Read the Small Print

I think most of us can think of a time we wanted to beat ourselves up for not reading and reading the small print, or asking more questions before signing on the dotted line, or checking the box. Miss T's experience in law taught her to ALWAYS read the small print first. Fortunately this seemingly small act of wisdom saved her thousands of dollars on the monthly repayments on her car when she fell ill and could not work for a few months.

No more talking about my holiday.
The End

Well that's it for now. I hope these pearls of wisdom have helped you in some of your decisions, I also hope you have found them practical.