What Makes Me the Perfect Person to Teach this Course?
Back in 2007, I started a career in fundraising. I knew it wasn’t for me from the very beginning, but I was a single parent with bills to pay, so I stuck with it. Very early on in my fundraising career a friend of mine said, “you’ll always have a job in fundraising.” He was right. Year after year, I kept fundraising jobs. Year after year, I felt tethered to a career I despised. Have you ever stayed in a career that you despised because you told yourself you’d always have a job?
In 2018, after more than a decade in fundraising I decided to change careers. I thought I wanted to move into the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) space but hadn’t come to that place of 100% certainty yet. Because of that, I accepted the first non-fundraising job I found. What was supposed to be one job, turned out to be four. I’d jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. I left that job after 8 months. I felt like I’d failed. I felt overwhelmed. I decided to go back to the drawing board.
After leaving that job, I took a huge leap of faith. I sold my house and lived on the proceeds while also financially supporting my father and children. My father was in A LOT of debt. I decided to help him. One child was in college and the other was close. I also started my first business. I was determined to work for myself, to be a creative and an entrepreneur. I attracted an amazing client, leading a DEI project, but soon realized I hadn’t saved enough or invested enough. I’d spent money faster than I realized. To sustain things, I needed to go back to work.
Again, I felt like I had failed. My friend’s words surfaced once more, “you’ll always have a job in fundraising.” I started looking for fundraising jobs again. Again, I accepted one of the first jobs I was offered. This job was part fundraising, part communications, part strategy. Since it wasn’t all fundraising, I felt some joy and hope that I might finally be on the right track. However, after giving it my all, the environment became toxic. I separated from the company and decided this was it for me. I would begin to create the life of my dreams and never look back.
I decided then and there:
- I would never work in a toxic work environment again
- I would never work in fundraising again (unless I was fundraising for myself)
- I would never settle for a job I despised again
- I would only work in spaces where I am valued
- I would only work with organizations and on projects that align with my purpose
- I would only entertain offers and apply for opportunities that align with my purpose
- I would only accept opportunities that align with my purpose
After separating from that company in 2021, I decided I would live a purpose-filled life. I also decided I would buy another house and begin to claim a life of joy, love, and freedom. At nearly 50 years old, I decided I would live my life as a liberation conjurer and creative – a writer, poet, and filmmaker. In the last two years alone, I have started to realize many of these dreams. Since 2021, the following things have manifested in my life:
- I started my career in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion!
- I’ve worked with teams and people I respect and value and who respect and value me!
- I bought another house!
- I’m producing my first film and have been awarded a grant to make it happen with a dope-ass mentor!
- I have started earning more money annually than I ever earned in fundraising! (OMG!!!)
- I completed a degree in Social Justice and Community Organizing!
- I became a certified spiritual practitioner through the Centers for Spiritual Living!
- I have taught and facilitated workshops in spaces like East Bay Meditation Center and Spirit Rock!
Not too shabby for someone who was once filled with fear and a sense of failure. If there’s something you really want to achieve but you’re afraid or you aren’t sure how to get there, I would love to support you through The Process.