 Watched Black Panther for the 3rd time in the theater. The film came out in February 16, 2018. The first time we watched it in the theater I shed tears of joy. The second time we watched it, my love shed tears of joy. The third time we both thoroughly enjoyed it just as much as the first 2 times. I love how movies really touch the human emotions, they can reach far. I will say this is the first movie I've seen where I actually felt bad for the bad guy/villain. I actually wept for him, his situation was absolutely based on circumstances from the past. Powerful performances throughout the entire film. I stopped buying dvds a long time ago but I would love to own this one. (I previously owned over 600 dvds, now I have less than 100). This week's unique project consisted of recording multiple sound bites for a client in front of a green screen. A video marketing agency that creates spokesperson videos for their clients (quite brilliant idea) acquired my services. The company has people like myself record several different lines that they can splice up and change the background to whatever is needed such as a company's building/store front etc. I spent almost 2 hours on my feet recording in front of my green screen at our office. It was fun to bring out the green screen and be creative with it again. Learning chromakey/green screen technology was a fun skill I acquired almost 3 years ago and I need to start doing more things with it again. Gotta get my creativity going! The job was absolutely worth the price and it is the most I've made per hour on any of my jobs, cha-ching! I love what I do!  My books arrived so I can spread my genius out into the world more! I'll be either giving a percentage to a few people to go out and sell them or I'll get the experience of selling to others in person by doing it myself. That way I keep all the money and also gain valuable experience. I will be donating a percentage of the sales of my books to Save the children. I have a sponsored son named Meabel from Ethiopia (pic) through save the children and I feel it is a beautiful organization. I have a goal to one day sponsor a child in every 3rd world country. I am on my way to making that dream happen.  I am inching in closer to completing my second book. I planned on completing it before the end of this month, April, but I will have to adjust that deadline. By May 15th is my new deadline. I wanted to have completed 2 books in the first year of being a member of You Are The Project. This, my second business, is still coming along. We are working on a few things we can do in terms of social media and getting the business out to those who spend most of their time online. We look forward to new improvements!  Book I will be reading: the greatest salesman. Had a friend mention this one to me a couple times and since I have to get used to sales I'm checking it out for sure. Gotta start branding myself as a sales woman. I put in a reserve at the library for the book and hopefully it will come in this week. I look forward to reading it.
Keep shining your light, remain thankful and let it flow. Karma is cosmic. -Shenteria
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 This week, I created a video for a new platform for supporters of President Trump. The creators feel as though they are being censored for their views by liberal platforms so they created their own platform. I feel it is a great idea to start something new when you feel your voice isn't being heard. Although I do not share the same views as the platform, as an entrepreneur I do not mix business with personal. I gladly created the video with my voice over explaining their site. I would never get personally involved in a business transaction as I know it can harm my business relationships. Besides as a human being I must respect everyone's opinions. I've been quite controversial myself with my first book Growing Up Black in America Without Experiencing Racism, A new reality and hope for the future. A lot of people disagree with my experience, but as they say the truth shall set you free. It certainly has for me. I applaud anyone taking a stand for what they believe in. Another positive transaction completed, I'm sure there will be more with this client in the future. I was approached through Instagram by an empowering woman named Miriam Fairclough who has a business called Black Diamond, Mining My Own Business and she liked my MMOB shirt. She asked if she could repost the picture in which I wore the shirt, of course I was honored she asked. I took a screenshot of the new post, see pics below. Be sure to check out Miriam and Black Diamond, Mining My Own Business (MMOB) in 2019 when she officially launches her conference. Her website is www.drlisabaxter.org
This week's You Are The Project lesson was about replacing bad habits with good behaviors and habits. The best way to get rid of a bad habit is most certainly to replace it with something far better. They say it takes a month to create a routine to stick to, so start your new routine today! If you need help staying on track and keeping on top of your goals, check out You Are The Project. They can most certainly give you a leg up!  You Are The Project: The greatest project you can work on is yourself This week, I am reading 2 books: Hope for the flowers and I have a dream (borrowed from the library). Hope for the Flowers was given to me by my mother-in-law last year. It is a beautiful story about caterpillars and butterflies. An inspiring read about life, revolution, and hope. I've read it twice before but since I love it I decided to pick it up again and renew it within my mind. Of course the I Have a Dream book needs no introduction. It is the remarkably empowering speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in 1963. This book contains his entire speech with a foreword from his daughter Reverend Bernice King. It is wonderful to read such empowering words that inspired a nation to rise up and make a change!
Learning new skills! I saved a lot of Udemy courses in my account that I will be taking for marketing: digital marketing, social media marketing, Facebook live marketing, etc. Two days ago, I completed the zero budget marketing course and received the certification for it. My problem with marketing was I kept feeling we had to create new content for our business, even though we had not spent enough time recycling the great content we already have. I'm most certainly learning.  The more I mind my own business, the more I make magical things happen. Stay blessed and keep shining! -Shenteria
This week's unique voice overs consisted of a Harvard University research paper I recorded for a client for one of their classes on the famous campus. It's unimaginable that my voice will be heard in a classroom inside Harvard University, but it certainly has or will be! YEAH!!! Just yesterday, I recorded a voice over for Cantu the famous hair product brand. It was fun to go into my bathroom cabinet and pull out a product from a company which I recorded a voice over for. What an accomplishment! I do love Cantu's leave in conditioner. There were also countless videos I had to put together for clients and quite a lot of podcast intros for clients in Michigan. One of the best parts of being a voice over artist is being able to work with people from all over the world.  In terms of my self-improvement progress through You Are The Project this week I am working on getting back focused. The car accident threw a big wrench into my life! I'm now bouncing back and moving forward again, I can't stay down for too long. I plan on taking more time to meditate and doing it more than once throughout my day. I have learned that I need more alone time to talk with God and bring myself back down to Earth, to connect and center myself. I also plan on reading a new book once a week as I honestly love reading and I know how much my ancestors fought for me to have such a privilege. I cannot take that for granted. I am working on becoming more patient and understanding and I know how impatient I can be and have been. Since I'm such a forward moving person, I move at a much faster pace than most of the people I know. In doing that, I have often times become impatient because I just assume that everyone can go as fast as I do, but that isn't the case. I recognize that my impatience has made me somewhat judgmental as well so I am practicing patience and understanding. Two wonderful virtues to have. I must pick my Spanish up again! I am learning that I take for granted things that are free, as does most people, so I am going to hire a tutor to help me with my Spanish. I already purchased a Spanish learning course, now I think the tutor will certainly keep me focused even more. I look forward to truly being bilingual. I have lately been thinking that I want to revamp my first book, Growing Up Black in America Without Experiencing Racism: A New Reality and Hope for the Future. It is still a mouth full for a title and subtitle, but I love it! I have a friend who recently moved back to Vegas and she wants to go out with me and market my book so I'm thinking a revamp might be great. Technically, this version on Amazon is the second edition since I made an edit not too long after it was published. The people who purchased it from my kickstarter have a unique version. I could make another edited on into he 2018 version, but I may just order more copies and market it as is. We shall see. My second book, my voice over book, is coming along pretty well! I wrote majority of it while I was in Japan this past December & January. I am now putting some finishing touches into it including adding pictures and more helpful tips for those who want to become a voice over artist. Below is a cover I created for it, but I'm not sure if it will be the final cover just yet. When I wrote my first book, a lot of things changed when I was going through the process of writing it including the cover and the title of the book.  Last week I reserved a book about Madam C. J. Walker at the library. She was the first female millionaire in America! I found it so exciting to read about a black woman who was the first female millionaire in America all the way back in the early 1900s! I'm sure I learned about her in school, but could not recall anything except that she created hair products for black hair. It was a fascinating and empowering experience to read all about her as an adult, especially as an entrepreneur. Since I do have financial goals myself, I look to Madam C. J. Walker in terms of my possibilities. Seeking out the opportunities that are unlimited. She has totally opened my mind, just by reading about her life. It goes to show, you never know whose life you can affect by living yours to the fullest. Oh did she do exactly that! Below she is being a total BOSS LADY while driving her Model T Ford. You go Madam C. J. Walker! YOU DID THAT!  This week I am reading: Don't sweat the small stuff...and it's all small stuff by Richard Carlson. It is an amazing read for the mind. It is a must read for those who stress out about a lot of things that do not matter in the long run. I used to be one of those people so I am glad I purchased this book! It contains 100 small chapters of about 2-3 pages each of very useful information to help us all navigate life with a bit more ease. Stay blessed, smile, and be thankful. -Shenteria  2 days ago, 4/2/18, I had my most profitable day of work. Of course it was a Monday the day in which I also give presentations at my office here in Vegas for our You Are The Project business. I also set up the live stream right after. So I had to juggle a lot of work for my voice over business and YATP. Since I work from home I often times put off work til later unfortunately. But since I had a lot to do I did some work at home, then went to the office for the presentation and lesson. Needless to say I had left over work yesterday to complete. I was swamped! It feels great to be swamped with work! I remember when I first started out in voice overs and I wanted days like that.
I spent most of my work day at our You Are The Project office yesterday. I began to realize if I get myself in an environment such as an incubator for my business I can really flourish. When I have no distractions I get in my zone and that's exactly what I was able to do yesterday. Some might say working from home is its own incubator, but not exactly. Sometimes I get distracted by the TV and lounge around because of the environment. In working at our office yesterday from 3pm to almost 7pm, I had the incubator epiphany! I did notice however that since You Are The Project is people centered I wasn't as focused as I know I could've been when working in the office. As there were people coming in and going out constantly. So I started to recognize that I need my own office beyond our You Are The Project space and beyond my studio at home. I need my incubator space, with it's own studio to make my voice over business flourish even more. So today begins my quest. I need to set a specific date to accomplish this goal otherwise I will let it go uncompleted like a few others I've been jumping back and forth to and from. I will also eventually need an assistant when I have my own office. If I want both of these goals to happen I have to JUST DO IT! Thanking God every step of the way. I AM THE PROJECT. Stay blessed. -Shenteria  Currently I voice weekly sermons for a wonderful organization called Brotherhood of the Cross and Star (BCS). These sermons have strengthened my faith and keep me moving forward in a positive direction by being thankful for each and every blessing of a new day. May they inspire and motivate you as well. I truly love the work I do, it feels wonderful to speak such encouragement to others. Below is the latest sermon: Lately, I've been so busy improving myself and running two businesses that I've gotten too busy to update my blog! In pursuit of one's goals you have to prioritize things and I've certain done just that. This blog is more so a memory piece for myself to think back on times I struggled or times when things were smooth sailing. Right now in my career, things are booming! I am constantly receiving jobs that blow me away and many that are taking me to another level in my career. I recently added the title of video spokesperson as I created an entire natural hair video series for a client in Australia! Each week I was given an outline of topics to discuss in the new video and I ad-libbed majority of it. It was definitely a growing experience in my career as I've never done an entire series for a client and I'd never had to ad-lib so much (onscreen). It was a total of 9 videos with an intro and outro included for women that were interested in wearing their hair natural. It is a very informative series that I am proud that I was able to be a part of. On March 5th, 2018 I began working with the wife of someone whose webinars I have watched. Someone who has a great reputation as an entrepreneur. For me to be able to work with someone who has taught me something over the internet is an honor. I even had a skype session with them discussing what was needed for their project. No name dropping allowed! I worked as a video spokesperson for them and I look forward to a long term working relationship with the two of them. Things are certainly moving forward in my career, I'm so thankful! Later on that day, I was in a car accident. I thank God no one was killed or badly injured. It involved myself and 3 other cars. A woman suddenly stopped in front of me (thankfully I wasn't close behind her otherwise I would've hit her) but I hit my brakes in time to avoid her. Unfortunately the woman behind me hit into my car, then the man behind her hit her car, then the man behind him hit his car. It was a car pile up! I missed out on the lesson at our office that night as I was heading there for the presentation. My bumper is pushed into my tires and my trunk can no longer open. I am truly thankful that I only received back pain from it and am currently going to a chiropractor for that. Today, March 23rd, I am going to return to the gym as I have not been since the accident. I am ready to get back into fantabulous shape as I did before, summer is coming! It's already like summer here in Vegas! We shall see how things go with this accident and my back as time goes on... My progress in You Are The Project continues as I am back up and going since the accident. Of course I've still been working but I'm back learning Spanish and getting even closer to completing book number 2!  I am so swamped with work while I'm here in Tokyo, Japan. Today, (the 10th in Japan, 9th in America) clients started swarming in seeking voice overs and videos! I am absolutely grateful for all the business that is stirring up and coming my way. However, it is bittersweet as I only have less than 3 days left here in Japan. Regardless, as an entrepreneur who is able to work remotely from anywhere in the world there are many wonderful benefits! Hard work, focus, and dedication truly pays off. So to make sure I stayed on track today completing all of the work I have to do, I created a to do list on my phone. I first tweeted it for accountability, if it's out there for the world to know then I make sure I am a woman of my word and stick to it. However, I do not have control of outside forces and unfortunately my work has been halted as someone is using the washing machine which is right outside our apartment (not good for recording audio files). Regardless I still have tons of time to complete my work, just later than I previously thought. I even added a new job onto the list from another client. All of this work does cut into my adventuring around Tokyo for later today, but work comes first! As an entrepreneur, I have to stick with PRIORITIES and DISCIPLINE!
Along with all this fascinatingly fun work I have to do today, I am also unveiling my new logo! Last night I put it together and it looks really nice (if I do say so myself). I thought of creating a new logo because Brotherhood of the Cross and Star kindly displayed my logo on their website for voicing their sermons and I figured it might be time for an update. I had the older one (on the left) created about 2 years ago. Check these out:
2018 has just arrived and already I know it is going to be the best year ever! I know this because I keep thinking positive, I keep sending out positive energy to the world and therefore it keeps coming back to me. I constantly humble myself by being thankful to God for giving me the gift of another beautiful day. When the mind is right, everything is right. When your mind is consumed by anxiety, fear, and all the negative things in our world then you have to reprogram your mind. It starts within, for me it started with self-love. Above all else I needed to recognize myself as a being to be loved in order to be able to give love and spread positive vibes in our world. So start off 2018 in the right way! No more doing things you should not be doing, start doing all the things you should be doing like improving your mind, your body, and your spirit. Do it for you, do it for our world. Be the change you wish to see in our world! Create the change! Show the change!
I strive everyday to be the best version of myself because I want young people to know they are worthy, that they can achieve their goals and dreams regardless of where they come from. -Shenteria MarieThe new year is here! So far this year I have been in Tokyo, Japan. It has been such a wonderful experience, filled with laughter, peace, and love. I have met many people from different parts of the world, France, Australia, India, Africa, of course Japan, and New Zealand. When meeting so many people from all over, it helps me to really recognize the oneness of us all, the world is our ground, we are more alike than we all think. Life is certainly the most precious gift we are given, treasure it. Fill your life with memories of laughter, joy, peace, spreading love, focus on the things that make you feel good. A positive mindset goes a very long way. The more I strengthen my mind to focus on the good things in this world, the better I am able to treasure every precious moment of being here. When the mind is positive, everything becomes positive. Even difficulties appear as opportunities to make you stronger. No matter where you are in the world, seek happiness where you are. You don't have to be in Japan or any exotic land, you just have to be you. To change one's surroundings does not permanently change their mindset. Even when I think of myself years ago and how little I thought of myself. I was focused on what other people thought of me which made me very unhappy. My focus has most certainly shifted to the things in my life that bring me joy. LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE. DO YOU but always be kind! Here's a few pics from this marvelous month I've been blessed with in Tokyo, Japan:
Currently, my love and I are away on a vacation/business trip in Tokyo, Japan. We have a little apartment over here that we rent out. The whole year we were unable to visit so we decided on a last minute go! My wifi is limited for now until we get ours permanently installed. I am still able to get work done which is the best, I brought my studio set up with me, oh the luxury of working from home! I've been working on voice overs and videos for clients while all the way over here in Tokyo! Currently, I have a client putting the finishing touches on a e-learning course I will be recording while here, fun, fun, fun! I have attached a few photos from our trip. So far we have been here for 3 days and will be here for a whole month...  Us at Motown House in Roppongi  We've been eating at some really good food places, so far we've had our classic beef bowl, sushi, and today we ate at our favorite Indian place: Sun Rose in Oimachi. Oh they have the best butter chicken and OMG the naan is to die for! It is so big and tasty!  Delicious Indian place called Sun Rose in Oimachi, Tokyo, Japan  Sushi in Roppongi This trip has been my favorite so far, this is my third time visiting Japan and this time I have picked up a few phrases and will continue to do so. Why have an apartment in a foreign land and not immerse yourself in the culture? I am on it! Besides someday I will be bilingual, then eventually trilingual. The possibilities are endless. Remember: YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, so make it count!
Yesterday's lesson through You Are The Project was the importance of self-control. I must admit that self-control is a continuous life long lesson that I continue to be smacked upside the head with over and over again. Of course, the ability to adapt to all kinds of situations warrants a major need for self-control. Therefore, it isn't just me who continues to get smacked by this lesson, everyone struggles with it I'm sure of it!  Regardless, I can say that I have learned a great deal of self-control through discipline by conditioning my mind to react differently to others. For example, you are having a fantastic day and something bad happens. A car cuts you off or someone spills coffee on your shirt right before a meeting; do you allow that one incident to control your day? Do you allow it to dictate the rest of your day by putting you in a negative mode? Even when the day was going exceptionally well! Why would anyone allow that to happen? Lack of self-control, completely. That being said, of course our world would look so different if everyone had the discipline of self-control the acme of all human virtues.  I will say that it is a lot easier said than done. Anger, sadness, disappointment, etc are such strong feelings and if a person has been conditioned to accept those feelings it will initially be hard to fight them off. With conscious effort towards changing negative feelings into positive ones, it is surely possible to gain that magnificent virtue. Here's a big tip: do thankful comparisons when in a negative feeling. A thankful comparison is when you think of someone less fortunate than you and feel empathy for them so much so that you change the negative feeling into complete gratitude for your situation. Once again it is easier said than done but with much practice it is very helpful in changing a negative emotion into a positive one. SELF-CONTROL IS THE KEY TO A HAPPY LIFE.
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April 2018
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