Diversity and inclusion are the keys!

People who make money using social media generally have one thing in common.?

They have created a mindful community.?

Growing up, I never had a community of people I could count on. My parents divorced when I was young. My father moved to another state and my mother took a job in a city far from my immediate family.?

My mother worked hard –12 hours a day. I grew up with nannies who made my meals, picked me up, and dropped me off from school. They were great, but they were no substitute for my mother who I only got to see on weekends and even that time was mostly used for grocery shopping. We rarely had family time, a chance to connect or to really bond. It made me feel lonely and isolated growing up.??

And then, when I was fourteen, my mother decided that it was best to ship me off to a Catholic boarding school. I was miserable there, unable to fit in with the other girls or find my purpose. Eventually, I couldn’t stand it any longer and I called my father and told him to come get me.?

Fast forward I eventually had a family of my own and found myself working in a job where I started at 7am and many days I wouldn’t get home until 6pm. My job was selling luxury vacations but I couldn’t take my own daughter on vacation when she was off from school because I was always working during the holiday season.

It was an incredibly high-pressure, high-stress job. Nobody was ever allowed to be late – not even by a minute. The bosses controlled the clients most of the time and if you came late, you would lose your opportunity to make a sale and you would have to wait until the afternoon before you could get in front of any prospects again. You would waste practically your entire day even if you were a minute late!

One day, one of my co-workers was running behind schedule. Afraid of being late, he was speeding and flipped his car. He was admitted to the hospital, where the doctors told him he was paralyzed from the waist down. He never walked again. His accident was a huge shock for everybody at the office.?

I kept working but I realized that I was on the same path as my mother. I was at a job that was destroying my soul. And most importantly, was preventing me from seeing my daughter and living my best life. I was determined to make a change and so I quit and started to look for a new one on LinkedIn.?

On social media, I wasn’t really looking for anything other than a job, but I finally found something that I had been looking for my entire life: a real community of like-minded people. I found people who were the same as me, just trying to provide for the best for their families, trying to find where they belonged, and trying to make their way in life.?

I then realized that LinkedIn was so much more than just a place to find a job. I could carve my own path, make my own hours, and not stress if I was running late. In fact, everything I had been searching for, I found right here with you guys.?

Along the way, I realized it’s about how and what you communicate that makes all the difference in the world. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if it’s on Facebook, TikTok or LinkedIn, or face to face. You need to communicate authentically and try to find your tribe of people.?

I found social media is like one gigantic, never-ending cocktail party. Everybody is invited. Everybody is there. You dress your best: whether in a beautiful dress, killer shoes or a power suit. You get into your fancy sports car and drive over to the party thinking you’re going to crush it. Only your find your car is lost in a sea of other fancy cars. You look like hot stuff. But guess what? So does everybody else!? Everyone else is dressed to the nines. Everybody else has the same idea.?

The thing is, you can’t just show up, looking flashy and expect to connect with people. You need to start humanizing your experience and connect with people with meaningful relationships. Figure out what separates yourself from the room. You need a strategy and that starts with defining your personal brand. Your personal brand is your authentic self. We generally try to hide behind fancy cars and nice clothes but it’s who you are that really matters.?

People who have interacted with me over the years, know who I am. I’m the same person online as I am offline. I talk plainly, openly, and I know a few good curse words. (Which I would use on my posts if it didn’t get me kicked off LinkedIn, lol. By the way… I learned all my curse words from the girls at my boarding school!)?

How do you build a diverse and inclusive community?

It’s the same for a newsletter. People always ask me: how I build a following? How do I do it? It’s about finding your own purpose and communicating that authentically to form lasting relationships. It’s about taking the time to invest in people and showing up each day. Be open to new ideas and new people are the keys. Allowing diversity and inclusion of all types of people regardless of ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation is extremely important. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts. You need to do the hard work before even writing a word. Only then will people listen to what you have to say.?

Tomorrow is my 51st birthday. Yes, I have lived half-century, how amazing is that? Life is fun if we learn to appreciate its little blessings, and one of those blessings is witnessing another year.?

I believe that, despite the many challenges we face each day, we deserve to give ourselves a moment of celebration when our birthday comes. For myself, gratitude and my faith are what have kept me going despite the adversity. As night falls today, I pray I wake up to a day full of hope and possibilities, with the strength to face and overcome all life hurdles and adversities.

I'm thankful to all the people I have met during my life and how they have impacted me along the way. I can’t wait to find out what the future holds. I can’t wait to watch as my daughter grows up and goes to college and all the things that are in store for her.?

One person I would like to thank is Cory Muscara, who is the co-founder of Mindfulness.com and author of Stop Missing Your LIfe. Social media is a great communication tool but it can also be a little chaotic. It’s important to have a mindfulness practice for your mental health, especially during these tough times.?Thank you Cory for all the love, and support you share on a daily basis through your text messages. You inspire me!

For anyone interested in receiving Cori's texts- text the word “Lorena” to 1-631-305-2874 to receive the same free, daily text message on mindfulness, meditation, and mental health, I'm loving them!?

The second person I would like to congratulate is a dear woman named Neha, a single mom who lives in India, and who was working in a toxic work environment. She came to LinkedIn in despair, not sure what to do, feeling trapped. I saw as the LinkedIn community support her. Her post went viral and she was connected to a news editor from Zee News who helped her and now she couldn’t be happier. Thank you Sushant s Mohan For my part, I’m glad to see the community stand for women who have been mistreated and abused in the workforce. You got this Neha! Thank you for speaking up!

Stephen's Quote its clear like water.

This community has afforded me so many different opportunities and has helped me grow and prosper as a mother, an entrepreneur and as a person. I’m incredibly grateful and excited for this upcoming year.?

One of the upcoming opportunities that I’m particularly excited to share with you is called Crypto Pharaohs, an amazing new NFT collectable that was created by Next Decentrum. There is a collection of just over 7,000 pieces to snatch up. I’ve been honored to have been invited on as a strategic advisor. This collection represents everything that I believe in – inclusion, community, and diversity. I would highly encourage you to check their project out at Crypto Pharaohs World It’s not too late to join their whitelist although the spots are quickly filling up.?

As we enter into the New Year, I hope this newsletter has inspired you to become more inclusive and to be open to diversity. I understand this isn’t an easy task, especially with so many influences pulling us apart, but we must bring people together, no matter what their differences may be, regardless of who they are or where they come from. Until next time, my loves!?