“G-R-I-N-D; I’m on my GRIND. G-R-I-N-D; I waste no time. G-R-I-N-D; it will all be mine cuz I AM ON MY GRIND!” – D. Monique
For the past 3 years, I have chosen one word to focus on for the entire year. You see, I’m a believer in new beginnings and absolutely love fresh starts. (Sometimes to a fault, I must admit.) Instead of having a laundry list of goals and “to dos”, I had ONE WORD that would imply every possible goal, desire and “to do” throughout the year. It’s been an interesting journey for me so far. Let’s backtrack a little…
In 2014, my word was PUSH… hoooooneeyyyyy, I most definitely was pushed in more ways than one! I was pushed out of my comfort zone. I had to push back at certain somebodies and situations to protect my growth. I pushed my way up and down I-75 as my mother faced brain surgery. I pushed others harder than I’d ever had before to do and be their best. I even found myself doing push-ups! (LOL really…I hate those things though). To sum it up, I’d say my 2014 sounded a lot like this song…
“It Pushed Me” by JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise (Click the link to listen)
Lyrics:
God gave me a vision of where I would be
But He didn’t show me what I’d go through on the journey
But everything that I faced prepared me for what God has for me to do
So now that I’m here I can praise Him for all that I had to go through
What the devil meant for evil God used to get the glory
It pushed me into my destiny. God used it to make me who He called me to be.
All of the test and trials were apart of God’s plan.
They have all made me stronger and taught me how to trust Him
That’s why my praise is so crazy and often misunderstood
Cause what the enemy thought would destroy me
God turned it around for my good…
Thank You for PUSHing me!
In 2015, my word was GO… Yo, I was so ready for this word!!!! I fired up a new Pinterest board, created a new vision board, compiled an extensive music playlist and made it a part of my lesson plans for all of my music students. This word really had my wheels turning and I must say that those two letters pack a LOT of power. Embodying this word enabled me to quit my job and trust God with a new one (I didn’t have one lined up when I resigned). I had increased my clientele in my business. I had been hired to do 7 jobs in that year alone! I was so blessed that I had to turn down 4 of them. I learned to let so much stuff go – literally, figuratively, emotionally, physically and relational. I got to go to a Stevie Wonder concert for $35 with fantastic company AND we got the VIP treatment (a random God -induced blessing). Shoot, my husband and I left an entire state on faith before we had jobs or our own place to live! That worked out, too, in case you were wondering! To sum it up, I’d say my 2015 really got going and many of the things on my vision board AND bucket list got crossed off (in completion). If my 2015 were a song, it would sound like these…
“Go Go Gadget Flow – Live” by Lupe Fiasco
I’m from a city in the midwest, best city in the whole wide wide world…
I got that go go go go go go go go go go gadget flow! (Love the intensity!)
“Go Hard” by Lecrae feat. Tedashii
Go hard or go home! Lord, use me…
[…] Man, forget my flesh. I done been crossed over, see the full court press
I’m a full court mess if the Lord don’t use me
Runnin’ from my trials thinkin’ everything’s groovy
If the Cross don’t move me, then I don’t wanna breathe no mo
If I ain’t seein’ Christ partna, I don’t wanna see no mo…
[..]So for God I go hard but I don’t wanna die tonight
But it’s too many people out here who ain’t heard about the Christ…
Go hard or go home! Lord, use me…
[..] Aw man we ain’t focused on the war we just kicking it
worried about our image and our space up on the internet
Take me out the game Coach, I don’t wanna play no mo
If I can’t give it all I got and leave it out there on the court
Thank you for the grace, for the will and the desire
Got me living for Your glory instead of living to retire
But I pray I never tire of going hard for Messiah
I don’t need no motivation…You’re the reason I’m inspired!
Go hard or go home! Lord, use me…
AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH….LET’S GO! I LOVE THAT “GO HARD OR GO HOME”!
So, I know you can’t believe it, BUT we’re more than halfway through the year 2016! My word for this year is GRIND. The word grind means a lot of things, but to me it is all about working diligently with a relentless perseverance until my goals are achieved. The Grind. Always easier to talk about than to be about. However, it rings true that if you are not actually grinding then you have no grind. That’s what I set out for my 2016 to be about.
I must say that this year has been a challenge, but a welcomed one. I have been working toward mastering my grind one day at a time. My quote of focus for this word comes from the movie, Creed.
“One step at a time. One punch at a time. One round at a time.” There are SO MANY GOALS in my vision that I am not only focused on reaching one of them but ALL of them. The application of this quote to my life is making it a lot easier to accomplish more than I ever have. I’m no longer overwhelmed with so much to do, but rather will tackle one task or one room (when cleaning) at a time. Before you know it, you’ve won that fight.
The NEXT blog post will go into depth about how the movie, Creed, enhanced my life and my grind. Look for it to post next Thursday, August 4th.
Instead of listing all of my goals, I will list a few of my results from my GRIND thus far.
- I’ve lost 10 pounds! Just 50 more to go.
- I’ve paid off 3 of my smaller debts. Paid in full!
- My car is clean and is well-maintained. Still running smoothly. Thank You, Jesus!
- I have a savings! (I didn’t have one before.)
- My hair is finally at a healthier stage. I cut those tresses off, honey…had to be done.
- I’ve checked off 3 more things on my life’s bucket list already.
- I wake up early every day! As a result, I get more done.
- I read more!
- My life is better organized. I threw away everything I didn’t need and took pictures of momentos that were collecting dust.
- My marriage is happy, healthy, better AND fun!!!!!!! I luh my baby!
- I’ve helped launch my husband’s new business, Maine’s Express. It’s doing well. Check it out!
- I’ve started a regular Periscope broadcast, Miss BJB Scope. Watch live on Fridays @ 8pm EST. (@TruTalentDiva120)
- My company, Tru Talent Productions, has restructured and redesigned a few things and is still developing.
- I created my first app, Tru Divas Club! It is available on Google Play Store right now. Coming soon to the Apple store.
- I started a podcast, Tru Talent Diva Podcast. New podcasts available every Tuesday. Listen here: trutalentdiva.podbean.com
- I finally have peace of mind, especially in dealing with people. (This is HUGE!)
…and there’s more in progress and to come! Folks, it’s only July! I’m so pumped.
The point of it all…
What this activity of choosing one word to focus on for the year has taught me is that you can do and have ANYTHING when God is the Master of your life! I know it’s the middle of the year, but I recommend asking God to show you what ONE WORD you need to focus on for the rest of this year. Then, gear up and see what God will lead you to. That Proverbs 31 Woman status is attainable as long as I’m aligned with the Man above.
My grind is made possible only by the grace, mercy and favor of God!