In today’s post, we are learning about staying focused on purpose during a pandemic, and beyond, by our fabulous blogger of the month – Lakesha N. Logan.

*Taps the mic* Is this thing on, because I have a lot to say!

So, you made the BIG leap?! The leap of faith into your entrepreneurial journey. Congratulations! Feels good huh? You’ve climbed obstacle after obstacle, losses, and wins for the sake of financial freedom. Any day now the perfect opportunity can change your LIFE! For better, or in most of our cases during this current pandemic, for WORSE! Things just can’t get any more detrimental, is what we all thought. Our neighbors are dying. The unemployment rate is at an all-time high. And essential workers are at risk. So, where do we go from here? How do we stay focused on our purpose during a pandemic and beyond? Well, let me tell you how!

1. Be Careful What You Take In

I know, I know the world at your fingertips can be a beautiful thing. But it can also suck you dry! Excessive social media usage can increase your risk of developing anxiety and depression. Social media can lead to negative effects on how you may feel about your quality of life and the way you feel about your appearance. Make it a priority to feed your mind and dedicate your time to positive vibes only. Any source that makes you feel less of a person, delete, unfollow, or unsubscribe. Trust me, you won’t miss it at all, and your mental health will appreciate it!

2. Plan For The Worse

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” -Benjamin Franklin. Being an entrepreneur alone has unexpected financial and physical bumps in the road. But a pandemic most definitely has uncontrollable unforeseen circumstances. So why not plan ahead. Hold your coins beloved! It’s time to do away with the unnecessary. Comb through your financial statements and determine what goes and what stays! I mean it is a pandemic anyway. I hate to break it to you but you can cancel those every other day, take out sessions, that mani-pedi, chop that cell phone plan down by inquiring about new plans that fit your budget, return those impulse purchases, cancel subscriptions, and you can forget about traveling sweetheart! You never know how long we will be in this pandemic so spend wisely. 

3.“I Am My Brother’s Keeper”

If anyone has ever told you that you can live this entrepreneur life alone then they lied to you, my dear! “You ARE the company you keep” and that’s a fact. Surround yourself with movers and shakers with positive vibes who want the best for you and themselves. Someone who can tell you like it is and hold you accountable. Read you when you need to be read and praise you when you deserve to be praised. Friends who win together, STAY TOGETHER! No bums allowed! You need each other more now than ever because tomorrow is not promised. 

4. An Organized Life Is A Happy Life

Remember that “thing” you’ve been putting off? Organizing those files, drafting those pitches, planning that content calendar, working on that marketing plan, and organizing your workspace in order to be more productive. Yeaaa it’s time to get to it! I promise you the level of achievement you will feel will have you bouncing off the walls with motivation to keep pushing with loads of anxiety off of your shoulders. “Researchers concluded that physical clutter in our environment can overload the visual cortex, competing for attention in our brain and interfering with our ability to focus and process information” -Mother.ly

5. Remember Your “Why”

Family is everything! It is our reason for existing. It’s our drive that keeps us alive. Our light at the end of the tunnel. As parents, we want more for our kids than we have ever had. We set the bar high when it comes to what we see for their future. We battle on life’s most dangerous paths so that they may choose another route. What they see in us is great no matter how we may feel about ourselves so we must keep the faith for the sake of generation after generation.  You will be that change and the legacy you will leave will hold weight for eternity!   

6. Recap Your High Points

In the midst of heartache and trouble, we can sometimes forget our highs. That moment where we felt powerful, accomplished, and believing that great things are ahead. If you find yourself in that space, take a stroll down your Instagram or Facebook feed (I know you post all of your wins). Or even take a trip down memory lane in your tagged photos. Do you see that smile? You remember how you felt that time your friends gave you that surprise party. The day you signed that first client and cashed in on your first entrepreneurial income. Or maybe even your first date with the now love of your life. Yea that was you! 

7. Show Up Or Shut Up!

Yes, I’m talking to you! Are you that friend that talks about that business you want to start? Get that degree? Launch that course you feel compelled to teach? But you never SHOW UP! You don’t take the necessary steps it takes to reach those goals. Your social media feed is filled with the total opposite of an entrepreneur in the making. You “sell” products but where is your website? Why aren’t you marketing your products to your audiences? How would we know what you are passionate about if you don’t show up? Whether it’s an audience of 10, 50, or 100, you still have to SHOW UP! Trust me, someone is watching, and you never know where your next break will come from. 

8. Give Yourself Time To Be Human

We can’t win them all beloved. Even the best of the best has their disappointments. This too shall pass and will only make you stronger in your faith. You have every right to be upset in the wake of bad news. You are a human being with feelings and bottling in those feelings is not healthy for the mind, body, and soul. So, decline those calls, leave those messages on delivered, and for the sake of God don’t answer that door. They all can wait. Your mental health is a priority! 

9. Focus On the Positives

You beat all odds against you! You are not what the media or history books say about you. You are powerful and you are thriving. You are an inspiration to little black boys and girls all over the world. You are surrounded by love and God’s promises.  “You ARE your ancestors wildest dreams”. Celebrate that!

10. “Mind The Business That Pays You”

What others do should not concern you. How they run their business, raise their families, or wash their butts it’s their business and not yours. If it does not affect your way of life, then you should have no parts of it! Your time is valuable. Giving your energy to negative sources takes away from your daily productivity and potential income. The time you spent debating in the Shade Room with a stranger could have been put towards networking with another creative. Use your resources wisely. It takes 60 seconds to respond to positivity on your feed. But the negativity can carry on all day. 

11. Find Your Peace

All of this boss talk can be exhausting. And not to mention, we’ve been in 2020 for 3 years! We live in a world that wasn’t built for African Americans to thrive, yet we live to see another day. Some of us. We carry the world on our backs and honestly, we need to find our peace before we lose it all. Set aside a time daily to focus on what makes you feel good. Light a candle, run that bubble bath, pour a glass of wine, and crank up that Sade album! And don’t forget to lather yourself in essential oils. Thank me later!

12. Always Give Thanks

There is so much power in prayer. Every awakening morning, mid-day and before you lay your head down at night getting in the habit of giving thanks can work marvelous miracles in your life. This is your moment with God. Lay it all out. Ask for guidance, forgiveness, and for Him to use you for His good works. No man or woman that walks this earth is perfect. God wants you to come as you are. At times you may feel convicted but that just means that you are growing in your faith. 

Thanks for reading!  

Writing this blog was not only liberating for me but it allowed me to serve in a way that I pray will be beneficial to you all on your entrepreneurial journey! I won’t lie, running 2 businesses and a personal brand is quite difficult these days and there are times I struggle with a few of these tips. But the reward is far much greater! 

Let’s Connect!

You can find me in these social media streets!

IG: @nola_royal_queenie

FB: Lakesha Logan

TikTok: @nola_royal_queenie

ClubHouse: @nolaroyal

Personal brand website: www.nolaroyalqueenie.com

Royal Divine Services LLC: www.royaldivineservice.com

E: [email protected]

E: [email protected]