Purpose is the very thing you are called to do on earth. It is your divine calling. Many times so many of us can be so confused about what we are doing here on earth . So we spend a lot of time either doing the wrong things or delaying that thing God has placed on our hearts to do. On my recent podcast I talked about why goal setting and envisioning your life is so important. Purpose is directly  alignment with setting goals and a vision for your life. If you aren’t clear on your purpose it could become very difficult for you to achieve what you are called to do. So here are some ways you can work towards aligning  with the Purpose for your life. 

1. Serve God- Serve People: Serving people is a form of prayer to God . The more you serve the more selfless you become. Being on purpose is about removing  being self driven from your vocabulary. In this day where digital communities are solely about self promotion and less about adding value to others, the key to truly tuning into why you are here on this earth is to serve the needs of others. This applies in career, business, etc.  One of the ways to practice the art of serving is to volunteer in various areas of our life; serve at your church; serve for an organization or a cause you care a lot about. 

2. Follow your Passion: What is the thing that you can do without necessarily getting paid for? What is the thing that when you talk about it your eyes light up? That thing is your passion. When you seek after volunteer opportunities make sure they are things you enjoy doing, things that light up your soul. 

3. Start things and do them consistently: You have to start somewhere. We don't have to have all of the answers figured out.  I learnt this at a very earlier juncture in my career and in my work. Most of the things that are successful in my life I just took a leap of faith with passion and perseverance and they have yielded fruit in many ways.

I believe these three thing will help you as you begin to think of your calling in life. For more on how to discover your purpose stay tuned for my latest podcast.

 You change every moment and sometimes even you don’t know that you are changing so allow room for that change. Last year I have grew so much and God has pushed me in ways even I couldn’t imagine being pushed. We have been through a lot together me and God and we have traveled the world together as well all whilst doing his work. I couldn’t have imagined going to some of the places I went to this year if not for God and his grace.

As I journey through life one thing I am becoming more and more uncompromising of is my growth process. I believe there are times we are expected by the people around us to explain every piece of our change process. As I was sharing with a friend the other day, how can I explain my change process to someone if I myself I am still trying to figure it out? I remember  having a really intense conversation with a close friend years ago who kept challenging the fact that I had changed and had left no room for her in my change process and I had no response for her. Asking someone to explain their change process is like asking the author of an ongoing book, what is going to happen in  unwritten chapters. How can the author explain this to the reader when the story is still unfolding? God takes His time to design us each of our lives and what is most important is to key in to those changes. As we change so do our perceptions on certain things in life, relationships, our work, our calling etc. 

So here are three things I make sure of to remain focused throughout the year and to embrace my change process

1. Tune out the noise: I do my best to tune out the distractions around me. From what gossip exists about a famous pop star, to anything that may pull me away from what  i truly need to be focused on I have learnt to zone into what matters the most on a daily and weekly basis. My relationship with God,  my family and my work.

2. Press Forward: pressing forward for me has meant I need to always set goals and have clear timelines of how to achieve them. Every year I may update my vision board and develop a personal strategic plan for what needs to be accomplished for the year.

3. Have a winning team of supporters : For me what centers me in all of my work is my faith. Knowing I am not doing my work for accolades but to please God has kept me focused, streamlined and allowed me to do less explaining to others about what God is doing in my life and building relationships with a community of people who are there to support me in being the best version of who God wants me to be. 

This year I embrace further change, and as I set out to accomplish what God has called me to do I look forward to what there is to learn, as I continue to write the story of my journey. Happy New Month. 

Philippians 3:14 

My year in 2018  started first with my recognition as a recipient of the Okay Africa Okay 100 women award. I was honestly taken aback because I didn’t expect it at all. To be sincere for a while Okay Africa was one of those platforms I was getting tired of because I felt they were one sided in how they told stories and stories saturated from particular spaces of influencers or regions on the continent but the Okay 100 2018 list gave me hope that they did their work! I remember when the list went live I took my time to praise God and didn’t share I think for almost a day until people started to recognize that I was made it. I was the first Sierra Leonean woman ever to make the list and it was for my work with women and girls. I remember how necessary it was for me to spend time with my God first before I even went public with the list.  In May of 2018 I decided to take a break and focus on flourishing my fairly new launched business and hosting an event in Sierra Leone. After some much needed work I needed some selfcare time with my close family members.  I also took some time to seek the face of God for what he wanted me to birth come 2019.  This year for me is all about making God proud in intentional ways and not human beings. The Okay 100 Women List was an amazing honor to God be the glory and I know there is much in store that will inspire many women globally. 

That year one of my projects I will engage is my podcast titled Tea and Peppersoup.  I decided to launch Tea and Peppersoup as a way of service to share my life insights as well as others who are close in my intimate space. The podcast focuses on my career journey through social impact and entrepreneurship through the lens of faith and wellness. You can listen to it directly on my website. I hope you have an amazing and prosperous new year and I look forward to sharing more with you soon! 

This past saturday, I was invited by Okay Africa as a guest to the 1-54 art fair  held at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn New York. The fair was founded by Moroccan Touria El Glaoui in 2013, and it is the leading international art fair dedicated to contemporary art from Africa as well as the diaspora. The fair gets its name from the  54 African countries that constitute the continent, with annual editions in New York, London and Marrakesh.  For self care check in and wellness I decided  to go. The art I saw this weekend from various artists particular female artists was so rich, full of depth, with vivid imaging and social messages. From artists like Sethembile Msezane, to Peju Alatisse I left with my creative tank on full and pondered on quite a lot about the essence of being a creative as well as a social entrepreneur. I reflected on the artist journeys and wondered what type of focus, purposeful living and passion driven behavior got them to such spaces. This of course then led me to reflect on my own path and the things that keep me focused on my purpose driven path.  

1. Your vision
I always uphold my vision with high regard because it is what drives me. Most importantly it is God's vision for my life and it is my life's compass. This weekend I reflected on the journeys of each of the artists I encountered and wondered how might their vision to become artist have influenced their journey, and how quite possibly it helped them remain focused. For me my vision is what keeps me focused, it invigorates me and also helps me connect to the right people as well as disconnect from the wrong ones. You can usually tell you are in great company as a vision carrier when the community you are in talk BIG ideas and Future. Your vision then is a great part of your journey in achieving your destiny and fulfilling your purpose. 

2. Your gifts
When i speak of gifts I am speaking specifically about divine gifts, things you didn't have to go to school for necessarily, the things you are just good at.  Your gifts help you locate what you should be doing in this world, and keep you focused on your purpose driven path. For me many times, when I use my gifts I find the most satisfaction in those moments. My gifts also help me remain focused on working smart and having perseverance in challenging times.  There is a certain assurance one has when you are aware of your divine gifts. For me I know I always have them and I keep them protected and put them to good use and even when things get difficult for me in difficult seasons, my gifts always make room for me to keep on excelling in life. Whether it is speaking, writing, creating etc, my gifts have always helped me maintain focus on my path.

3. Your calling 
Our calling is the main reason we are on this earth. For some people it could be helping to encourage others, for some it is making people laugh, for others it is healing etc. Knowing one's calling can help you drown out the noise of distractions along your path of purpose. Knowing one's calling can also help you say yet to the right opportunities and decline the wrong ones. 

As I reflected on each of the artists I encountered this past weekend, I wondered how might these three things have gotten them to such large international platforms. Sometimes it is easy to see the outcomes of the lives of others, without zoning into what their journeys must be like. For me I am learning each day that the goal of fulfilling my purpose on this earth is to stay focused on my vision, tune into my gifts and to adhere to my calling. For more on my visit this weekend visit Blanc Modern Africa instagram page.