Faith & Fight: 3 Lessons for Tackling Life's Most Challenging Moments

What does faith mean to you?

In the dictionary, you'll find multiple definitions: belief and trust in loyalty and to God, something that is believed with strong conviction, an allegiance to a duty or person.

As a Christian woman, small business owner, and military veteran, all these meanings resonate with me. My faith, in both my spiritual beliefs and myself, has helped me overcome countless obstacles and to build a life I'm proud to lead — even when the cards were stacked against me.

In my new memoir, "As My Leaders Go … So Do I", I give readers a look inside my personal journey of love, leadership, and determination and share some of the invaluable lessons I learned along the way.

Lesson #1: Know Your Worth

After serving in the Marine Corp for 10 years, my first job as a civilian was as a receptionist earning just $17,000 a year.

As a young black woman, I was ecstatic to have a job and didn't think twice about the salary. Of course, I now know they got me for a steal, but at the time I knew nothing of my individual worth. Today, that has changed.

As a government contractor, I'm in the business of making sure people get paid decently — no matter where they work. At Civility Management Solutions (CivilityMS), my multi-million-dollar business that offers professional services to federal, state, local, and commercial entities, I give people a job and provide them with the opportunity to work in a variety of different areas.

Being a woman, being Black, being a veteran, being from a low-income background — I understand the importance of having a secure job, and I’m proud of the work that I’m doing.

Lesson #2: Seeing is Believing

Before I launched CivilityMS in 2012, I sat down at my kitchen table and created a vision board and a detailed business plan.

To be successful, I knew I had to really see my success, take a leap of faith, and eventually stop working for someone else. (To certify as a Woman-Owned Small Business, it's required that you not work for anyone during "normal business hours.") I spent years completely dedicated to growing my new business, putting myself out there day after day, getting to know others, and letting them get to know me.

It wasn't easy, but developing that initial vision for my business and taking that risk was completely worth it. Over the past eight years, I have won multiple awards, sat on numerous panels, served as a keynote speaker, and was even asked to sit before the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee — not once, twice, but four times now.

CivilityMS now employs 40 individuals and projects revenue of $3.5 million in 2020. If I hadn't believed in my success from the beginning, I would have never realized it all these years later.

Lesson #3: Fight for Others — and Yourself

The concept of advocacy has always resonated with me. As long as I can remember, my focus has been to "plead the cause of others" — my friends, my employees, my teams — not in an effort to be a better leader, but simply to be a better person.

And today, more than 30 years into my career, advocacy has found its way into my work. I lead by example. I stand up for others and for myself. I don't just talk the talk, I walk the walk — a trait that my employees and my clients recognize, trust, and respect.

All these lessons have gotten me to where I am today. It hasn't always been easy, but my inner hustle paired with an unwavering faith has made all the difference — both in my personal life and my business.

It won't all happen instantly, but if you can see the best in others, stay humble, learn from your mistakes, and always put in the hard work, the success will come. Just keep going.

What lessons have you learned along the way? Share this blog with your staff, start some internal conversations, and post your comments below. What feedback did they have to share?

And, if you're facing your own battle and would like to learn more about my journey, I invite you to order your own copy of "As My Leaders Go … So Do I" at LaurieSayles.com.