Taisha Lewis' Secret Sauce for Success

1. Who are you? What's your story?

My name is Taisha Lewis and I am a first generation Canadian woman born to Vincentian parents in the East end of Toronto (Scarborough). My mother, who raised me as a single-mom, is my biggest inspiration, role model and champion.?She has taught me many things, not the least of which is that I can do anything I set my mind to.?And so, I’ve set my mind to do countless things over the course of my life, including making the hip-hop dance team in high school, learning French and Spanish, getting into and graduating from law school, travelling the world, beating my leg press record, making Partner, giving back to my community, and mentoring and coaching incredible women at every step of my journey.?I am currently a Partner in the Corporate Commercial Group at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.?I am also an aunt, great-aunt, sister, niece, Godmother, friend and cheerleader for many people in my life.?In my spare time I like to read, host games nights, go to the gym, and watch Netflix with my partner.

?2. What's your definition of success?

I define success as achieving a goal - whether big or small, whether in your career, personal life or otherwise - while maintaining your sense of self and creating positive impact around you.?For me, if one’s success does not involve a positive impact on others in some way, it is not true success.?And that positive impact may be as simple but as meaningful as helping others to see what is possible in their own lives.?Maintaining a sense of self is also important, because the last thing you want is to lose yourself and your integrity in the pursuit of a goal.

3. How did you achieve success?

One key component to my success has been believing in myself.?I think it’s super important to believe in yourself and believe that you are worthy of the thing you are trying to achieve.?I think this is a step that we don’t pay enough attention to and it’s something that we often take for granted.?If I don’t believe that I can do something, I won’t be able to do it.?If I don’t believe that I’m worthy, or I think I’m not deserving, I will never go for the goal and take the steps needed to achieve it. Sometimes it took a leap of faith.?Other times it took a vision board and self-affirmations.?And yet other times, if I faced a particularly difficult setback, and it was hard to believe in myself, I would consult my track record, noting the past challenges I had successfully overcome, which would help me to believe that I could do it again.?And if that was ever proving to be especially difficult, I would lean on the people that I trusted and they would tell me the truth of who I was, that I was more than capable and that I could absolutely do it.

4. What's your secret sauce for success?

My secret sauce for success is intentionality. Achieving a goal requires a plan.?And you do not necessarily need to know all the steps upfront, but mapping out at least one or two steps in the direction of your goal will help to steadily move you forward and will make the journey less daunting.?I’m a list person, so I like to write/type my plan out and take it one step at a time.

5. How do you prioritize peace?

I prioritize my peace by creating and enforcing boundaries.?Whether that is by limiting negative energy, protecting my personal time, going to therapy, being discerning about how much and what types of media I consume, or spending time with God, I determine the boundaries I wish to have in my life and I enforce those boundaries.?

6. Anything else you would like to share?

I would not have been able to accomplish the things I have accomplished without the unfailing support systems I have had in my life.?I am forever grateful to my family, friends, mentors, coaches, teachers and everyone that has encouraged me along the way.?I would not be where I am without them.