Photo Credit: Black Enterprise

In the words of Bishop Vashti Mckenzie, “Are there any brilliant women in the room?!” First and foremost, let me say this, if you know you are are brilliant I better see a comment below from you proclaiming how truly brilliant and amazing you are.

Two brilliant women needing no introduction, Marion Jones and Tai Beauchamp are in the picture above at the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit. While I know a picture is worth 1000 words, nothing can quite compare to seeing these women here, sharing their lives, stories, struggles and triumphs in such a supportive uplifting space. Now its going to take me several days to truly share all the amazing personal branding and success building tips I’ve learned at this event with you, but today I wanted to start off with some great advice from these very powerful black women and tell you exactly where you need to be right now to get into a “Reclaim Your Power” state of mind.

A few golden nuggets of wisdom we all can use on our success journeys:

Purpose is like a compass. You need to know why you are here
- Valorie Burton, Life Coach

My take on this quote: Do you know your strengths? Do you know how to tap into them and make the “right” people in your industry notice who you are and what you are doing. A BIG theme here is learning that success starts with tapping into the best in you.

As busy as you are you need to carve out some time for introspection.
- Bishop Vashti Murphy Mckenzie

My take on this quote: Staying busy is not going to get you where you want to be. You need to make time to analyze your personal and professional goals. You need to make time to create SYSTEMS for yourself to help you get your objectives done in SMART ways. What have you accomplished? Where do you want to go? These are all things for you to think about.

If you don’t tell your story, someone else will.
- Kimberly Stone, PoshGlam.com

My take on this quote: Social Media can be very overwhelming and looks very intimidating on the surface, but in today’s market EVERYBODY is using this medium for entertainment, information, entrepreneurship, (list goes on) reasons. Don’t leave it to other people to post about you, highlight you or define who you are on this ever growing digital space. As I explain in my audio series on building your visibility online, if you want to be successful and build your own personal brand you HAVE TO get proactive about using social media to tell your story.

Money has no conscious, it depends on yours.
- Valerie Coleman Morris

My take on this quote: As someone who several times resisted impulse buys of some AMAZING stuff at this BE EVENT (let me note that I could not resist getting Marion Jones new book I HAD to get that) … but anyhoo as someone who works hard NOT to impulse buy I believe your success also depends on being thoughtful, strategic, and smart with respect to where you put your money.

You can have anything you want, but you can’t have everything at the same time.
-Tina Wells, Buzz Marketing

My take on this quote: As very busy ambitious professional women we often want to do it all and have it all, but is that even possible? You want the great business and the perfect personal relationships, but both require a great deal of time and dedication. While you can have everything you want at certain points in your life based on your vision you might have to sacrifice family time to focus on your business or you might have to cut back on the business to make time for your family. Balancing the two is difficult, but its something must partake in on your journey to success.

Where you need to be right now to get into a “Reclaim Your Power” State of Mind:

Start with the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit Video Highlights. Listen, watch, and take in all this positive energy to help you get more focused and clear on your vision.

Where to go next? Well stay tuned as I share even more in my next blog post. Till then stay blessed – LaShanda Henry blogging Live at the BE Digital Lounge Sponsored by AT&T