After speaking on a panel of incredible women at the Women’s Empowerment Expo 2009, with over 20,000 women in attendance, I stumbled upon another incredible speaker. Standing at 5 foot even was a poised, statuesque woman with a body most would die for. She had on an amazing pink dress that perfectly complimented her perfect form and a smile that radiated across the room. Although she looked really young, she had a wisdom about her. She was supposed to be on the same panel as I was but as the day’s agenda changed, we ended up on different panels. When another panelist introduced us, I felt an instant connection to another woman out to motivate and transform lives.
Her name is Dr. Joy Ohayia. She’s the author of Don’t Let “IT” Get You and BluePrint For Success. I was so fascinated by her ageless appearance and her passion for health and wellness that within a few seconds I knew she would be our June P3 Pearl Cover Girl.
At 47, looking very much in her early 30’s, she’s holding her own. Dr. Joy and I finally caught up a few months later. We sat down for a little girl talk about her vision and how she made it where she is now, her regimen for her fabulous body and how she’s been able to stay so fit with two children.
You’ll discover the meaning of Dr. Joy’s coined phrase, “the it’s” of life which often times lead to disaster when it comes to producing results.
There are also some tender moments during our talk. One in particular stands out when she candidly reveals how her life was while wearing the golden handcuffs. She opens up about that time in her life and offers what actually drove her into the arms of her truth passion for health and fitness.
You’ll experience her deep desire to share her wisdom when she explains the 5 steps to a good workout which will give you maximum results you’ve been looking for. She states “just because you’re working out, doesn’t mean you can eat anything. A perfect combination of both fitness and healthy eating is key.”
She even gave me a tip on my workout as well. Believe me, you want to sit back and listen to this hour of unscripted girl talk with Dr. Joy. Find out what she knows for sure, two of her favorite quotes and a new “mantra” I shared with her that we both agree is worth sharing with all women pursuing a strong vision.
Enjoy this moment with me, Lisa Thomas with Dr. Joy Ohayia.
There are several marketing strategies to fundamentally build a business. The strategies are simple but not always easy. However, if they are coupled with vision, vigor and a little tenacity, both business and life can be enjoyed with ease and results produced with velocity.
Remember as you read these strategies I never said it would be easy, however I did say, it "can" be done with ease AND velocity with the right energy going in the right direction.
The other thing to keep in mind is that you will have to address what I called the "human condition." A lot of people "struggle" in business and they want somebody, anybody to tell them what to do and how to do it. Frustration kicks in and you want to quit. I know. I was one of the ones who "struggled". It was very frustrating at times and "hard" until, one day it just wasn’t.
When I first thought I understood the strategies, I’m about to share with you, my first reaction was "I already know that". I knew they worked but the truth of the matter was my bank account did not reflect that I really "knew" them or better yet understood them or "implemented" them. I’m sure you’ve experienced thinking you know something but your results prove otherwise, right?
Again, the thing that will get in the way is the "human condition", your barriers, road blocks, and what you think you already know. Be aware of the barriers and road blocks as your read these.
Here are several strategies I have used in the past that have worked well in all of the businesses I’ve been involved in:
Vision : Having a clear vision reflected in the marketing of the business.
Ideal Client : Identifying the "Ideal" Client.
Building Authentic Relationships : Building "authentic" relationships that foster who "you" are.
Strategic Referral Partners: Identifying who they are and intentionally building a "nurturing" relationship with them.
Client Referral Strategy: Implementing a client referral program that ignites an interest in referring business.
Promotional Event: Designing and creating a promotional event that interest the "ideal" client.
Strategic Alliance: Identifying partnerships that inevitably create alliances where we both win.
Email Campaigns: Creating email messages and campaigns that make a lasting impact on your client.
Business Networking Groups: Identifying best practices for maximizing a networking group.
You must first and foremost have vision. Vision is the basis from which you will operate. It is the foundation of your every move, your every action. Without vision, whether in business or in every day living life, one might find themselves lost, living in hope to produce a result or find yourself producing results with a lack of fulfillment or peace within.
Vision must be first.
A Few questions you might take time to answer are:
What is it that you want to accomplish?
Why are you in business?
What is your true motivation?
What is your heart’s longing for the business?
What is the future of your business?
What is the result of your business fulfilling all of its goals?
And ultimately, what is "your" vision of the business?
These are just a few questions to begin your thought process of identifying a vision.
I’d highly recommend you have one for yourself first and use that vision, if it fits for your business.
Remember, you don’t have to be in business alone or struggle to make it successful. You must "implement" the strategies channeling the right energy and the right direction.
As founder and president of The Power, Passion & Purpose Group, Lisa Thomas brings over twenty years experience in business, relationship and individual life coaching. Her vision is every woman lives a life of power, passion and dreams come true.
Get Focused and Get Results! Body Image Motivator Dr. Joy Ohayia, founder and President of QuantumQuest knows how to do both. After 20 years of keeping herself fit, Dr. Ohayia founded QuantumQuest to provide natural holistic, nutrition and fitness programs to clients. In her late 40’s, this super fit, busy wife and mother of two teenage sons is a walking advertisement for her business.
Dr. Ohayia is passionate about motivating people towards a natural hygienic system lifestyle and has a unique approach. She provides a fully comprehensive program for her private, virtual, and corporate clients allowing them to achieve and maintain their wellness goals. As a certified member of the American Fitness Professionals and Associates, Dr. Ohayia has professional certifications in the areas of Weight Management, Nutrition and Wellness, and Personal Training.
Dr. Ohayia is the author of Don’t Let “IT” Get You!: An Empowering Health and Fitness Guide for Women . This complete guide encourages physical and emotional health and shows readers how to breakthrough obstacles and people who hinder them from health and happiness. Joy leveraged her experience from executive level positions at AT&T and Merrill Lynch in “Blueprint for Success”, where she provides a roadmap to success and encourages readers to find their passion while doing so.
Dr. Joy Ohayia holds a doctorate degree in Natural Health and Holistic Nutrition from the University of Natural Health. A graduate of Stony Brook University and Rutgers University, Joy received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in applied math and statistics. During these years, Joy (Enoch) Ohayia, achieved numerous accomplishments in the sport of Track and Field, earning four individual records for sprinting, one of which still remains unbroken over 25 years later. She continues to run three miles a day, even with her busy schedule, and is a nationally ranked sprinter with the master’s division of the USATF (USA Track and Field).
Dr. Ohayia is a much sought after health and fitness expert. She has provided tips to numerous audiences through speaking engagements and various media outlets.
Do you know how fast the blink of an eye really is? Research indicates we blink approximately 12 times per minute and on average a blink takes approximately 300 to 400 MILLISECONDS.That’s pretty darn quick!
Consider this - in the blink of an eye , any one of us could have our lives change forever.In the blink of an eye , any one of us could have a stroke or someone we care about could have one.
Did you know strokes are our nation’s 3rd leading cause of death?
What exactly is a stroke? A stroke occurs when a blood vessel is either blocked by a clot or ruptures, preventing blood from carrying oxygen and vital nutrients to parts of the brain. When that happens, the area of the brain that doesn’t receive blood begins to die and the body functions controlled by that area become hindered.
There are three critical things I want you to take away from this article:
I want you to be able to:
- RECOGNIZE signals
- RESPOND quickly
- REDUCE risks
Let’s look at signals so we can RECOGNIZE them:
• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.
One evening I was on the phone with my best friend (age 51). I’d called to see how she was doing because she was having some severe health issues and was scheduled for surgery. She didn’t sound like herself; her speech was somewhat slurred and she complained about the lack of control in one of her legs. Back in the dark recesses of my brain something nagged at me but I remembered she’d just told me she’d taken some pain medication the doctor had prescribed. I decided the slurred speech and loss of coordination in her leg were due to the pain med. Perhaps if I’d been quicker to recognize and acknowledge those signals and respond , she might have only had one stroke . . . instead of three! Fortunately, she recovered and is in good health today. She still has slight trouble with the coordination of that leg from time to time but she’s very lucky not to have had more devastating and lingering consequences.
If you ever suspect someone is having a stroke, please RESPOND quickly. Time is of the essence! The shorter the time from stroke to treatment – the shorter the recovery time and the lower the risk for lasting damage. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THE SIGNALS & SYMPTOMS CAN GO AWAY AS FAST AS THEY APPEARED. Remember, “Time lost is brain lost .”
Are we at risk? Let’s see.
The American Stroke Association lists the following risk factors:
Unchangeable/uncontrollable factors include:
a.Chances for having a stroke more than doubles each decade after age 55 BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE – STROKES DO NOT RESPECT AGE – children as young as 11 years of age have had strokes!
b.Men are more prone to strokes than women; HOWEVER, more women die from stroke than men.
c.Risk of stroke is greater for those who have parents, grandparents, or siblings that have had strokes.
d.People who have had a stroke, heart attack or TIAs (Transient Ischemic Attacks) have a higher risk factor than those who have not. TIAs are “warning strokes” that produce stroke-like symptoms but typically leave no lasting damage.
Good news! Some risk factors that can be changed and/or controlled:
a.High blood pressure
b.Cigarette smoking
c.High cholesterol
d.Diabetes
e.Heart disease or arterial disease
f.Sickle cell anemia
g.Poor diets such as those high in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol and sodium *
h.Obesity / lack of physical activity
I have both controllable and uncontrollable risk factors – how about you?
What we can do to REDUCE our risk of having a stroke?
The American Stroke Association tells us . . . “Exercise your POWER!”
• P ut down cigarettes and stop smoking.
• O bserve advice from your doctor and know your family’s medical history.
• W atch your weight and be physically active at least 30 minutes on most days.
• E at healthy; avoid foods high in saturated and trans-fats, cholesterol and sodium.
• R egulate high blood pressure and diabetes.
What can we do to help knock stroke out of its “3rd place position?”
1)KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! Learn all you can about strokes so you can RECOGNIZE the signals and RESPOND. Visit stroke.org, strokeassociation.org
2)Help raise awareness – educate your friends, family and co-workers so we can all REDUCE our risk.
Strokes occur “In the Blink of an Eye.” Please for yourself and for the people you care about, be ready to:
- -RECOGNIZE signals
- - RESPOND quickly
- - REDUCE risks
If you have comments or questions for the author, you can email GiGi at tidbitz2009@yahoo.com.
When I was a young girl there was a house down the street from us that was supposedly haunted. It was empty and overgrown with vegetation. It had a fence and a rusty gate that wasn’t locked but closed. It would not take much to push it open. This house fascinated me. It both thrilled and frightened me at the same time. I lived in an older neighborhood right outside New Orleans.
There were many times I would stand at the gate and stare at the house. I asked my mother about the house and she didn’t know much and all she would say is something bad happened there and it was haunted scolded me with the words, “don’t ever go in the house.”
She would not tell me what had happened even though I begged her to. She would just say that I didn’t need to know.
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am very curious and will track down a mystery and fill in all the details on a subject I can.
I was drawn to that house. It was built in the late 1800’s and all the paint was peeling off. This two story rambling was complete with columns on the porch and cracked windows. It was a decaying southern beauty that once was something to behold when it was lived in. Even in its present sad state it was something to behold. There was an overturned rocking chair on the porch that was broken. I often wondered who had rocked in that chair.
Since I was a young girl of four or five, I had experiences and knew things no normal child should know. I believe that God granted me this gift so I could be of service to people as I got older but also so I would have a sense of his presence. I knew I was different but for many years I viewed my psychic abilities as a curse rather than a gift.
Fifty years ago things were far different than they are now. If it wasn’t mainstream then it was viewed as odd, weird and something to steer clear from. It is easy to fear something you don’t understand or have any knowledge of. Also my mother often admonished me to keep quiet about my abilities because people would not understand. For years I tried to ignore or block my gift but was highly unsuccessful. It was a part of me as surely as my arms or legs are attached to my physical body. It was attached to my spirit and my consciousness.
One day I decided that enough was enough and that I was going to explore this house. Even if I got caught and was punished for it, it seemed a small price to pay to satisfy my curiosity. My siblings would often dare each other to go in this house but they were easily frightened and nothing could have convinced them to go past that gate. I waited until after dinner. Everyone was watching television and deeply engrossed in a movie. I knew that my absence would not be noticed for a while.
I stood at the gate of this neglected once beautiful home and pushed it open and just like I was in an old movie. It creaked so loud that it startled me. I could see that it had not been opened in quite some time as there were vines growing on it that broke when I opened it.
It was mid summer and there would be plenty of light for a little while. The mosquitoes were buzzing around like they often do on a hot humid summer day and I walked slowly toward the porch as I swatted at them. I walked up the massive stone steps and stood in front of the door and discovered a padlock on it. There had to be another way in.
I peered into the windows which were covered with some curtains that were ragged and torn and what little I could see was shrouded in shadows. I went around back and there were the remnants of what was once a beautiful garden that someone had put a lot of time and effort into. There were grandfather oaks covered in Spanish moss and a few statues here and there of angels and cherubs.
I could smell honeysuckle very strong and a gardenia bush that was loaded with blossoms was sending out a heady aroma. Some rose bushes, several crepe myrtle trees and a wisteria vine that covered one of the trees completed this wonderful scene. There was a huge old stone bench turned green with algae under one of the trees. I walked around the garden contemplating picking a few of the flowers that were growing there after I explored the house. In the early evening light it was so peaceful and ethereal
on the grounds of this place.
The house was my next stop. I explored a back door and it was locked and then I went to a side door that led to what was once the library. It was unlocked. There were floor to ceiling built in bookshelves with just a few old musty books that were decayed and swollen with moisture. I saw rat droppings and spider webs and it gave me pause but I kept going.
The outside light was dimming but I was too caught up in my adventure to notice. I heard music coming from somewhere and I walked to the other side of the staircase which was in the middle of the grand foyer. I followed the sound of the music and walked into a room that was open. That is when I saw her. There was an old woman sitting in a chair holding a decorative tin box. It was the kind of tin container mom put her delicious fruit cakes in. She was looking right at me and for some reason I felt no fear. I asked her if she was a ghost. She didn’t answer but I knew she was. I didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.
She had white hair to her shoulders and it was straight and curled slightly under. She had thick bangs and was wearing a long skirt that went all the way to the floor and a white long sleeved blouse. I kept hearing the faint strains of piano keys being touched and played with. I couldn’t make out a tune. It was like someone was practicing and was unsure of what they were doing.
She motioned for me to come a little closer. She just kept looking at me waiting for me to comply. I was a little fearful because she didn’t look like what I expected a ghost to look like. She was so real to me. I came closer and she opened the box and it was full of beads and she lifted a handful of them up and told me they were her Mardi Gras beads.
They did not look like the plastic beads they throw today. They appeared to be glass and had so many pretty designs on them. She said she loved them and liked to wear them. She told me her name was Sadie and in a flash she was gone. A normal child would have been out of there in a shot but I was upset that she didn’t stay longer and that is when I noticed that it was very cold in that room. It was a Louisiana summer and hot outside.
I walked around a little longer exploring the rooms a bit that were empty for the most part but soon I had to go because there was very little light left and I didn’t want to be missed at home. Serious physical punishment would be the end result if I got caught. The house was definitely haunted but what had happened there had not been revealed to me.
A few weeks later I decided to go again a bit earlier in the day. This time I looked in cabinets and closets for some childish treasure. There was almost nothing there until I checked a closet in one of the upstairs rooms. There was a shelf way up high and no way to get to it.
I remembered that I had seen a rickety old stool in the garden out back and went to retrieve it. I took a chance when I stood on it but I am glad I did. There in the back of this shelf was the old tin box that Sadie had been holding. I could not believe my eyes. It was covered with dust. I held it in my hands and slowly pried it open and there were the beads. I was amazed, excited and overcome with emotion.
Now, What do I do? Do I take them home and tell my mother where I found them and about Sadie or do I just take the box home and say nothing? As I was pondering my dilemma I felt a presence in the room and it was Sadie standing a few feet away smiling at me. Once again it was cold in the room. She said two words, “take it.” Then she was gone.
The city condemned the property shortly after my last trip there and a story about the house came out in the newspaper. There were some citizens who were trying to save this old historic piece of property. It seems that in its heyday a wealthy family lived there and there were many parties and balls The family fell to misfortune through a number of tragic deaths. The last one was Sadie.
She was one of the original descendents of the family. She had no heirs and the property passed to the city. It seemed she lived in the house alone for many years, a recluse, and saw very few people. She had lost one son to a fall from a horse and another was killed when his gun went off while cleaning it.
The story goes that her husband left her, they reconciled and on the day he came back he had a fatal heart attack. One day she went out back in the garden and hung herself from a tree. I had that box of beads for many years and told my mother I had found them which was partially true. I just never told her where.
I have often thought of Sadie and wondered if she finally went into the light. The house is no longer there but Sadie’s memory lives on through me. I have often thought about that rickety old stool I used to explore the shelf in the closet and since it was under a tree it might have been used when Sadie hung herself. I had felt her sadness and felt how alone she felt.
As a young girl this experience taught me that there is life after death. Our spirit lives on and never passes away. It is eternal. Since then I have had many experiences like this. One thing I know is, scoff if you will, but we are eternal. For most people I don’t recommend an experience like this to prove it. There is nothing to fear.
If I had been older I would have known what to do to help Sadie go into the light and to this day I think about her. I know she is finally at peace as I asked God if she was and the answer was yes and that she was finally with the family that she grieved so much over when she was alive.
My point to telling you this story is to give you hope regarding the hereafter and a sense of what it can be like for someone who is left all alone in their golden years. It can be a very dark place to be. If you know someone like this offer a blessing and a prayer for them and see if you can somehow reach out to them in any way.
Someone once told me that they would rather be broke than lonely. I think that sums it up. We are supposed to be here for each other. Find someone to lift up today and honor the divinity that created you. After all, God is always there for you!
This is a true story and happened to me when I was about ten years old. Since then I have experienced a lot of different things but nothing compares to Sadie. I was asked what happened to the beads and through the years I have given a strand or two away. I passed on Sadie’s legacy to others and I still have the box and one strand of beads.
It took many years for me to fully come out of the closet with my gift. My experience with Sadie was a catalyst that pushed me forward. Now, I embrace it. I know that it was something I am supposed to share.
Whatever your gifts or talents are know that they should be shared. Pick up that sketch pad. Plant that garden. Sing that song. Tell your story. Play that piano! Write that novel! You never know what doors will open for you until you try. God has been with me every step of the way guiding me and I fully trust that guidance.
