Overcoming Obstacles: A Tale of Personal Transformation

For too long, I had been letting fear and doubt hold me back. I was stuck, anchored down by my own mental blocks. But as I discovered, the fourth quarter doesn't mean you're out - it's a chance for a comeback! In this raw and honest episode, I chart my journey of literally getting up and turning my dreams into goals. We also shine a light on the pivotal role growth plays, and how taking ownership of our lives is crucial to overcoming the obstacles that we often place in our own paths.

Remember the microphone I bought at the start of the year? Well, I finally put it to use! Listen in to hear how I transformed what seemed impossible into the possible and pushed past the fortress of procrastination that had held me captive. I also share how the power of affirmations can be a beacon of motivation. So join me on this journey and remember you are capable, you are enough, and it's never too late to start. As the inspiring Attorney Carol Moseley Braun once said, "Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure." This episode is not just about a microphone, it's about pushing past those mental blocks and taking action. Let's challenge the impossible together.

Chapters

• 0:00 Uplifting Black Women and Overcoming Obstacles
• 8:54 Microphone Purchase and Podcast Announcement

Transcript

Kerry: 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Melanin Unicorn Podcast, a weekly podcast that is dedicated to the upliftment of black women. If you are feeling stuck, I am going to help you get unstuck, so you will no longer want to sit on the side of the road, but instead get up and start walking towards your dreams and goals in life, and plus hold ea ch other accountable. My name is Kerry and you are listening to episode number one we just aptly titled Just Coming Into the Fourth Quarter Doesn't Count You Out. Now, let's get started, enjoy the show. In today's episode, I would like to talk about Just Coming Into the Fourth Quarter Doesn't Count You Out.

Kerry: 0:48

I found a very interesting definition on Google, of course, and the quote, the word, was back in the game. So the definition is to become involved or active in something again, returning to some activity after an absence. I feel like, for me, I wasn't returning to an activity because I didn't even start. Those quarters came and went, so for me, returning to something after hiatus can either energize me and you or make us feel defeated. Full transparency here. Like I just previously said, that first quarter, that second and that third quarter came and went, and here we are in October. Can you imagine Right. And I said this fourth quarter oh, we getting it together, sis, okay. And so here I am. Oh, this is it, let's get down to business, right? So let me explain why I'm so energized in this fourth quarter.

Kerry: 1:58

I left my contract job at the end of June and it was. It wasn't a bad place to work. My voice was amazing. She wanted me to come on full time, but I turned her down and told her that the goals that I have for myself do not align with this role.

Kerry: 2:17

Who says you want to talk about growth? Listen, there was a time in my life when I would have taken a job offer and then been miserable, and then I would have started looking for my escape, turning into Houdini so I could make a run for it, and this has happened to me in previous jobs. I would accept roles, I would say yes, and my whole being is screaming, screaming, girl, you in danger. And in my Oda May Brown voice from Ghost hey, Whoopi. So what is growth exactly? Growth is the process of development or maturing, physically, mentally, or spiritually. We've all seen that clip from Insecure when the good sis says you know what that is, that's growth And And immediately immediately high-five one another and yell out, I know that's right, but when did I realize that growth was happening to me? When did you realize that growth was happening for you? when growth was happening for me?

Kerry: 3:22

When I said something, I didn't backtrack, it was final. When I said no, no is a whole sentence, I was not going to explain myself to the route of exhaustion. I stopped second guessing myself. I no longer entertained bull mess. I would not allow myself to be guilt-tripped into doing something I didn't want to do, right, so you know.

Kerry: 3:51

So then you have the flip side of that. When are you not true to yourself? When was I not true to myself when I put my desires on the back burner and I elevated others' desires and purposes ahead of my own? Hmm, let me tell you something.

Kerry: 4:08

Slowly but surely, resentfulness sets in. You become angry, sometimes even spiteful. You don't invest in yourself, you procrastinate your confidence and yourself becomes low, as well as your self-esteem takes a dive to. You stop believing in yourself, right? So those things that we have to take into consideration, because this is our lives that we're talking about, right? We do not want to come to the end of our lives and be shown what we should have and could have accomplished, like on a movie screen, and we're just watching our lives and we realize that we have squandered it and we didn't move when we should have, and we let fear and doubt and what other people's conversations keep us from doing so.

Kerry: 5:07

It's time for us to wake up out of the slumber. We must wake up in order to fulfill our purposes and our desires and our goals for ourselves, right? So when you're waking up out of your slumber, this is what happens. You know that you deserve better than where you are right now. You are no longer doubting yourself. You start to realize, you know what? I'm hella talented and creative. Yes, sis, you are. You most certainly are, and you are no longer allowing others to dictate your wins and your successes, and you no longer need others to make you feel validated. No, and most importantly, you are no longer being your own roadblock. Now, that's growth, okay, that's coming into this fourth quarter or wherever you are in your life at this moment, you are no longer going to be counted out, and we are going to affirm and we are going to persist and we are going to hold each other accountable.

Kerry: 6:23

Because let me tell you something this is not a podcast, this is not a show where we are talking about other black women. We are not gossiping, we are not putting people down. No, this show that was birthed within me is about the upliftment and the empowerment of black women, and that's what I'm here for. And if I even for a second feel myself deviating from that, then this show, this podcast, is over, because that is not the purpose of it. That is not what was poured into my spirit by the Holy Spirit of how he wants this show to go. So I'm going to leave you with an inspiring quote, and it comes from Attorney Carol Moseley Braun, a former US senator who became the first African American woman elected to the Senate and the first woman senator to represent Illinois. Ms Moseley Braun was also a US ambassador to New Zealand, and this is what she said Magic lies in challenging what seems impossible.

Kerry: 7:34

I'm going to say that again Magic lies in challenging what seems impossible. So, whatever is going on in your life, you are deeming it impossible. I am telling you it is very possible, it is extremely possible, it is possible for you, it is possible for me. This podcast was birthed out of impossible and it has become possible. So I am challenging you with that quote. You turned your impossibles into possible. That's the goal, that's the homework. That is what you and I will be working on from this day forward turning the impossible into the possible. We are no longer counting ourselves out, we are counting ourselves in, and that's what we're doing.

Kerry: 8:28

And I thank you for tuning in to my first podcast. It really was a journey to get here. I am not going to lie, it has been a journey. It has really been just a lot of starts and stops. You know the downing of myself, the saying can I?

Kerry: 8:54

I purchased the microphone at the beginning of the year and caught it on sale it's a Yeti, if anyone is interested in knowing and I still didn't do anything with it. I bought a fancy little case to put it in. You know I got the covers so those peas wouldn't sound like bombs coming out of your mouth. I did everything and I did nothing sat and. Every scenario that I came up with as to why or I'll do it later, it just was in my mind, it was impossible, and so I'm here to tell you that I turned that impossible in this fourth quarter into the possible.

Kerry: 9:38

So thank you so much for tuning in to the very first show. I'm so appreciative. Show notes will be available on but sprout, Buzz sprout. Sorry about that. You can also follow the show on Instagram at the Melanin Unicorn the podcast, also tune in for affirmation Wednesdays, where I will share an affirmation to keep us going. I will see everyone next week and remember you are love, you are excellent, you are beautiful, you are well, you are safe and, most importantly, you are you. I will talk to you soon. Bye.